Where is Matt Flynn when you need him?

The second exhibition game provided additional cause for concern! If Ted Thompson would have thought a backup Quarterback you can count on is worth the money and would have kept Matt Flynn. It would have not only made the pre-season much better, it would have avoided this new problem of who is going to backup Aaron Rodgers?

After looking back at pre-season records over the years, which are not easy to find, I have discovered that what some Packer fans have been saying does not hold water. Since the first quarter of Thursday nights game at Lambeau Field, I heard fans at the stadium saying what fans are still saying today: "Pre-season games are meaningless" but...
The truth is that that there is some correlation between how you do in the pre-season and the regular season. The past two Packer championship teams 2010 and 1996 only lost 3 games combined in those pre-seasons. The Packers 2nd string Quarterbacks over the past two decades have always been better than what Graham Harrell is right now.
It's the 3rd pre-season game that matters most as the starters typically play into the 3rd quarter so as long as the Packers core players start getting healthy and the Packers do win at Cincinnati on Thursday evening everything might be just fine. That is as long as injuries don't hit this team as hard as they did in 2010 when somehow the Packers were able to overcome them all. The one good thing about sad game on Thursday was no notable new injuries.
Before getting into the Quarterback situation let's talk about the Defense, where the most improvement needs to come on this team compared to last season: First we will be taking a look at the rookies and  how they are doing:

Pick #1 LB Nick Perry is looking good: With Clay and Nick as the starting OLB's both healthy and playing well at the same time, opponent QBs will get getting rushed and sacked and making bad throws. This could be very exciting and make everyone else on Defense better.

Pick #2a DE Jerel Worthy has a lot of potential: Might not start right away but will make an impact and hopefully push B.J. Raji to get back to his 2010 form before fame got to his head a little bit.

Pick #2b CB Casey Hayward: He just might start because the other CBs fighting for the spot seem to be banged up and/or less productive so this rookie can claim the position as Charles Woodson moves to safety this year. Start or not Casey Hayward makes the secondary better.

Pick #4a DE Mike Daniels has not made a difference yet but I keep hearing about how great he looks in practice so he will be in the mix.

Pick #4b S Jerron McMillian: It the Packers did not have Charles Woodson and Morgan Burnett, a very solid safety duo, McMillian could be a first year starter. Too bad he was not a Packer already last season when Nick Collins went down.

Pick #5 LB Terrell Manning: Have not heard a lot about him yet but I suspect he will make the team considering how awful the Defense was last season. Again in the Cleveland game it looked like we did not have much of a pass rush and everyone was always open, including when Manning was in the game. Is this a coaching problem? I don't know but this Defense needs to get better fast!

Pick #7a T Andrew Datko: I don't think making the 53 man roster is possible here the practice squad is a possibility if the Packers have room to take on this project.

Pick #7b QB B.J. Coleman: I was really looking forward to seeing this strong armed cocky kid play but it did not happen until the final minute and then he threw an INT on his very first pass. He will be the 3rd string QB but if the Packers only keep two Quarterbacks he will be on the practice squad. They say he is just not ready to be the #2 guy yet.

So who is going to be #2? Well Mike McCarthy is not going to cut Graham Harrell after two bad pre-season games after all the work he has put into helping this guy improve over the past two years but...pre-season games is where guys like Matt Hasselbeck and Matt Flynn would shine over the years before they move onto other teams with a chance to start. You have to be able to shine in pre-season playing with other backups or you simply can't be counted on to be the man if Aaron Rodgers goes down for a game or two.

Harrell won't get as much time next week against Cincinnati because typically the third game is when Rodgers plays the most. In the fourth game, McCarthy will have to decide how much time to give to Harrell and how much to give to. If he does not have success the Packers will need to bring in a veteran who will have just been released by another team as they get down to a 53 man roster including just 2 or 3 QB's.

Who might be available after the pre-season? Here is a list:

• Matt Moore (Carolina)
• Tarvaris Jackson (Seattle)
• Matt Hasselbeck (Tennessee)
• Kevin O’Connell / Charlie Whitehurst (San Diego)
• Kellen Clemens (St. Louis)
• Brady Quinn/ Ricky Stanzi (Kansas City)
• Chris Redman (Atlanta)
• Scott Tolzien / Josh Johnson (San Francisco)
• Colt McCoy (Cleveland)
• Matt Leinart (Oakland)
• Trent Edwards (Philadelphia)
• Tyler Thigpen / Vince Young (Buffalo)

Yep, that is a list but not an impressive one. The Packers like to stay young but my choice would be Matt Hasselback. If his starting days are over it is time to come home where it all began. He used to sit on the Packer bench behind Brett Favre back in the day. Now he can sit on the bench behind a slightly less durable, but better Quarterback and better man, Aaron Rodgers. This way if Aaron does miss a game or two, the season is not over.

If the Packers have to count on Matt Hasselbeck or some other starting Quarterback for more than a few games we won't be winning the Superbowl. To reach your goals you must have your best player healthy. This is why the Offensive line playing well is priority #1 and they looked okay in the first quarter vs. the Browns. Everything is fine Packer Nation as long as our best player is healthy and everyone else just does their job. It's all good when you have Aaron Rodgers!!!