Paul Bretl | 8/25/2024
GREEN BAY, Wis. — There will be a number of roster decisions that Packers’ GM Brian Gutekunst will have to make over the next roughly 60 hours. However, one of the more difficult decisions to be made lies at the quarterback position.
The good news for the Packers is that these decisions at quarterback don’t involve the staring position–they obviously have that part figured out. But as far as the backup role goes, I’m not sure of how much clarity there actually is, even after three preseason games and 19 training camp practices.
“We’ll see,” said Matt LaFleur after the preseason finale when asked if they are good enough at backup quarterback. “Certainly, again, I think it’s similar to the kicking competition in terms of there were some really good moments and then there were some things we absolutely have to do better, and then we’ll evaluate everything that’s out there for us.”
As has been the case throughout much of the summer, in the Packers’ preseason finale against Baltimore, there was some good and there was some bad from both quarterbacks.
Clifford and Pratt would rotate every two series in this game. Afterward, LaFleur said that they did this to provide a more fair comparison, with both quarterbacks playing with the same units and, for the most part, going up against the same players on defense.
For Clifford, he got off to a very slow start. He began the game just 1-for-7 passing on his first two series. Overall his numbers weren’t all that impressive, completing 6-of-14 passes at a very low 3.8 yards per pass attempt with one touchdown–although it was a very good touchdown pass squeezed into a tight window to Malik Heath.
“First and foremost,” said Clifford of the touchdown pass, “Malik ran a great route and they do that little double bracket, where they bracket certain players. So I just saw that they bracketed the through route that we had going and we were able to kind of sneak it behind the ear of that linebacker, and Malik obviously made a great catch as well. It was a great play, great protection as well.”
Pratt was the far more efficient of the two, completing 8-of-12 passes at 6.7 yards per attempt. His back-shoulder touchdown pass was a really well-placed ball and a big time throw with Bo Melton having very little separation from the defender. However, just when it looked like Pratt was going to win the day, he threw an interception right to a Ravens defender. A throw and a decision that just cannot happen.
“I thought they competed hard,” said LaFleur of the quarterback play. “I thought, for the most part, they did what we asked them to do. There’s a couple throws that you always want to have back. Certainly, the interception there, when (Michael) Pratt looked like he was a flyer on a punt going after the guy that picked off the ball. Was it (Trenton) Simpson I believe that picked that off? So that was a good lesson for him. Like, you don’t have to go like you are running down on kickoff and making a tackle.”
Through three preseason games, Pratt would complete 65.7 percent of his 35 pass attempts for 178 yards (5.08 yards per attempt) with one touchdown and one interception. His quarterback rating 78.4. Clifford, meanwhile, would complete 51.1 percent of his 43 passes for 207 yards (4.81 yards per attempt) with one touchdown and one interception. His passer rating was 59.4.
While the preseason games will certainly carry some weight in the decision-making process, Gutekunst and LaFleur are evaluating the entire body of work this summer from both quarterbacks. We’ve heard LaFleur previously discuss the importance of the quarterback getting the process right and if that is done consistently, the results will follow.
After Jordan Love would sign his extension, LaFleur referenced the 2022 preseason as a turning point in his development. However, if you go back and look at Love’s numbers that summer, they weren’t all that impressive, but the process component of it–getting in and out of the huddle, pre-snap adjustments, footwork, decision-making, going through his progressions, and more–were where LaFleur saw great strides. The point being, when discussing Pratt and Clifford, it’s not only about the final numbers.
With that said, what was supposed to be Clifford’s advantage in this competition–his experience–didn’t necessarily play out that way in live game action, with Pratt being the more efficient and effective of the two overall in preseason games.
“I think I had a pretty good camp and I just think the most important thing was to learn throughout,” said Pratt. “I think there were a lot of things I really learned throughout the process and I think I got a little bit better every single day, so that was what was really important to me.”
Two qualities used to describe Clifford is the gamer-like quality he possesses, as quarterbacks coach Tom Clements has described, and that he’s resilient, as we’ve heard LaFleur say. However, while there were flashes of those qualities, inconsistency defined Clifford’s summer.
Pratt, on the other hand, is navigating the learning curve that stokes with making the jump from college to the NFL—something LaFleur has equated to drinking water out of a fire hose, resulting in the up and down play that we’ve seen from him.
Gutekunst said on a few occasions this offseason that he wants to get back to “drafting and developing” quarterbacks. It’s for this reason that I don’t think an outside addition is in the cards for the Packers. As we’ve seen with starting quarterbacks, this is a process that takes more than one offseason, or in Clifford’s case, more than a year, particularly when you’re working with Day 3 draft picks.
It’s for this reason, that I do think keeping three quarterbacks is in play for the Packers, but then that decision impacts the makeup of the rest of the roster, forcing the Packers to go lighter at another position group. As a trickle-down effect, who then has to be released? Also a part of this decision-making equation is the Packers belief–whether it exists or not–that they can get one of these quarterbacks to the practice squad without being claimed by another team.
So with the evaluation process now complete, the decision now for Gutekunst becomes Clifford, Pratt, or both? If either has to take over for a long period of time, the Packers are going to be in trouble–as is the case for most teams at the backup quarterback position. So the question becomes, in the short term, which of the two gives you the best chance to win a game or two? And in the long-term, who has more upside–and then striking a balance, or a compromise, between the two if the answers are different.
“It’s not my decision to have,” said Clifford. “I think the world of Mike (Pratt). I think that he’s a great player. I think that I’m also a great player, so it’s not my decision to have here. I think they should keep all of us.”