While he looked good during the offseason organized team activity practices and minicamp – and even early in training camp in practice – Harrell’s preseason play has been cause for concern. Well, for seemingly everyone but the coaching staff.
“No doubt in my mind,” first-year quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo replied when asked if he believed Harrell could get the Packers through a game if Rodgers went down. “I have 100 percent confidence in him. He knows it. He’s shown the ability to lead, he can be a consistent player and I feel like he can make all the throws.”
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“Who are the other guys (Harrell is) playing with? You have to have 11 guys on the same page, and if you don’t, it makes it tough,” said offensive coordinator Tom Clements, who had been the Packers’ quarterbacks coach the past six years and remains heavily involved with the position.
“The games are important, but you’re not just evaluating on the game. You’re evaluating him in the classroom sessions, practice, and how he handles the games. Maybe (it’s) a little more magnified this year because of the injuries, but in preseason football when you’re playing with new guys or rookies or guys new to the system, it’s often the case that things look bad at times. You have to play through that, and he’s done that.