On Graham Harrell and Backup Quarterbacks in General

As OTAs progress, Graham Harrell is becoming more and more comfortable in the backup role behind Aaron Rodgers. Likewise, Mike McCarthy is becoming more and more confident in his third-year quarterback. Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press-Gazette quotes the coach:

I’ll say this about Graham: I’ve always been impressed with the progress he’s made with every opportunity he’s been given. This is clearly the best opportunity of his professional career, from my view of what’s gone on since he left Texas Tech. He’s getting better. It’s right there for him as far as being the No. 2.

That certainly sounds to me like a coach who's pleased with his player's progress. Jersey Al, however, looks at it in a different light, saying that when a team with a star quarterback loses its leader, it's pretty much in trouble no matter how good the backup is. He's also got some interesting stats to examine involving recent Packers backups' performances.

In any case, nobody wants to see Harrell get much playing time during the regular season. But as far as backups go, if they're playing multiple games, it probably won't make much of a difference who would come in to replace an injured Rodgers.