The Packers recently signed Vince Young. This is especially bad news for Graham Harrell, more than B.J. Coleman. Harrell does not have any more practice squad eligibility left, where Coleman does.

Young under the tutelage of Mike McCarthy should make a positive difference.

Harrell doesn't have the physical tools that can be worked with and massaged into being a serviceable QB. Point in fact, his first real NFL action he tripped over his own feet!

Coleman has an NFL arm and could be stashed on the practice squad quite easily.

Barring a major flop, the backup quarterback position for the Packers is Young's to lose. He's shown good arm strength in his first practice and he's won more games than both of the other backup quarterbacks combined.

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Here is my concern with Young.. he has an ultra fragile ego and confidence.. not to mention that according to some he has a hard time digesting a complex playbook. Are those products of the past? Was it a lack of preparation on his part off the field? Has he matured and that fragility dissipated?

I think it is possible that he leapfrogs both Coleman and Harrell on the roster.. but I don't think it a lock. Harrell might not have a cannon, but having said cannon is not the only way to win a roster spot at QB. Heck there have been starters in this league that have won a ton of games with more of a rag arm than cannon. Sure he tripped (got stepped on) in his first snap.. but that is hardly a case to dismiss him from the possibility of being the backup.

Heck, Rodgers didn't light things up in his what first couple years in Green Bay.. weak arm was thrown around. Injury prone.. good thing that wasn't the same QB that developed into maybe the games best over the past couple seasons.

Coleman... he might have the arm, but the book on him was he was more of a gambler than technician... I think he is still a viable project.. but the same might be said of Vince Young yet today. VY has never proven yet that he could command an NFL offense with efficiency.. and he certainly hasn't proven with his arm and accuracy that he is a NFL caliber passer. Young fits more of the scrambling QB that is more effective with his legs than his arm and reads.. to me, he is a project with a more limited window of time to develop.

Basically, I don't think he is a lock for the roster. At least not anymore than Coleman being the second QB on the roster.

Oh.. by the way, I disagree with your post. [grin1]

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McCarthy on QBs: "BJ did not take the step I was hoping for. (But) I'm not giving up on BJ Coleman. I think he has a bright future."

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Vince Young's checked past is in the past.
He is no longer the #3 pick. He is no longer the guy.
He is no longer looked to to carry the franchise.
There is no way to have an ego when you have been knocked down so hard.
Today he wants to make the team. He knows doing so means he will carry the clipboard. By signing his contract it shows he is ok with that.

Young is months/years behind Harrell and Coleman in learning the system. He has a giant task in front of him. The good news is that every backup (or almost every backup) has a reduced playbook to work with. That is necessitated by the lack of practice time since the first team QB gets the vast majority of the snaps during the regular season so teams usually give the backup fewer plays to work from.

What Young has on his side is more experience and more athleticism. As I mentioned before no one is going to give him the job. He will have to earn it. My guess is his overall experience and his athletic talents will give him the edge over Harrell. And no I don't begrudge him his fall and fumble. Those big lugs step and trip QBs all the time. They should do a better job of watching when they put their feet.

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As was said in the other thread, this, IMO, has a lot to do with the Kaepernick/Griffin phenomenon - both from a defensive and offensive point of view. It certainly can't hurt to have a reasonable facsimile for practice - assuming Young is physically anything like what he used to be - the defensive. On the offensive side, I can't help thinking the success of those guys against us and in general made an impression on MM and Ted Thompson - the concept of wanting that new toy to play with. I would still see Harrell as the primary long term back up if Rodgers, heaven forbid, went down for most of the season, but I would see Vince Young as kind of a relief pitcher/change of pace guy - a new option to use, like so many teams tried in one form or another, either in a wildcat or from scrimmage with enhanced QB running factored in. This would be used 1. rare occasions any game 2. that very rare game when the rush is so bad that Rodgers kinda falters 3. if Rodgers goes out with a short term injury - a few plays or the rest of a game. As has been said, Coleman could still go to the practice squad for seasoning, and with his apparent badness in camp, maybe he is less likely to be lost that way.

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No mistaking this addition. It was solely because the staff is not comfortable with Graham Harrell and B.J. Coleman. Today, Mike McCarthy said Coleman has not taken the step forward that he hoped.

Vince Young can't emulate Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick or Robert Griffin III so this read-option "signing" is false. The best player to do that on the Packers roster is Randall Cobb.

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What makes you think so - regarding Young? True, Cobb more resembles Griffin, but Vince Young in college looked VERY much like Kaepernick - big, fast, durable, and adequate ability to pass. I don't know how much of that ability is still there, but I guess we will find out.

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True, Colin ran 4.53 and Young a 4.58 in college, but I'd have to say Colin has gotten quicker where injuries have slowed Young.

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What injuries? To my knowledge.. the only major injuries he has suffered happened between the ears.

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I thought he had some knee injury as a Titan?

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