Source: The Wisconsin State JournalNov.self storage 14--GREEN BAY -- Two weeks ago, Scott Tolzien was on the Green Bay Packers' practice squad, dressing alongside seven other NFL stepchildren in an auxiliary locker room.Wednesday, while conducting his first news conference as the Packers' starting quarterback, Tolzien was standing at his new locker just two doors down from that of Aaron Rodgers, the franchise quarterback and the man he's replacing until further notice."It has been," Tolzien said, "a wild couple of weeks."For Tolzien, and for the Packers.The NFL poster child for quarterback stability for two decades, Green Bay will go to New York to play the Giants Sunday with two quarterbacks, neither of whom was on the 53-man roster 10 days ago.With Rodgers mending from a broken collarbone and season-long backup Seneca Wallace on injured reserve, Tolzien will be the Packers' third starter in three games. Prodigal son Matt Flynn, who was on the street after being jettisoned by three teams this year, will be his backup.Rodgers was injured on the Packers' first series against Chicago and Wallace hurt his groin six days later on the first series against Philadelphia, a disturbing trend that coach Mike McCarthy insisted won't repeat itself Sunday."We're not going to need (Flynn), OK?" McCarthy said. "I've had enough of this bad karma about quarterbacks getting injured. So Scott's going to play the whole game."Surprisingly, that's not as frightening a prospect as it once was. In fact, the Packers' backup quarterback situation is in considerably better shape today than it was when Rodgers went down against the Bears 10 days ago.Neither Tolzien nor Flynn will ever match Rodgers in ability or performance. However, both would give the Packers a better chance to win in Rodgers' absence than Wallace, a 33-year-old journeyman, or, for that matter, weak-armed 2012 backup Graham Harrell.That's because both have played impressively in a Packers uniform. Tolzien made his NFL regular-season debut after Wallace went out Sunday and, despite two interceptions, played well enough that McCarthy made a strong public commitment to him afterward.Flynn, Rodgers' backup from 2008 to 2011, played well in his only two starts with the Packers. If his elbow is as healthy as he claims it is, Flynn should be able to pick up where he left off after a 16-month sabbatical that took him from Green Bay to Seattle to Oakland to Buffalo and back to Green Bay.More important, quarterback no longer looks like the disaster area it did after Rodgers grabbed his left shoulder."We're real confident in Scott," wide receiv迷利倉r Jordy Nelson said. "The way he came in and just controlled the huddle. He was very confident in the way he spoke. He knows his stuff and we see the work that he puts in. When you see a guy grinding like he does every day, you know he's going to be prepared. It's great to see that. He's going to make the most of his opportunity."One thing Tolzien will have going for him is a full week of practice with the first team. He took only a handful of first-team reps last week because the Packers were preparing Wallace to play and yet he still went out and impressed everyone with his arm strength and command of every situation.Tolzien, the third-stringer at San Francisco the past two seasons, said the experience he got Sunday and the practice reps he's getting this week will help him show that he's more ready to find success now than he was when he came out of the University of Wisconsin."I'd like to think I'm a lot better now," Tolzien said. "There's no substitute for experience. You just think about all the reps I've had since college up to this point. If you're treating them the right way and you have the right approach, you should be getting better every day."The Packers would settle for Flynn being the same quarterback he was when he concluded their 2011 season by throwing six touchdown passes in a game against Detroit that meant nothing to Green Bay. Since then, Flynn was beaten out by ex-Badger Russell Wilson in Seattle and Terrelle Pryor in Oakland. He also spent a week in Buffalo this season.Though dogged by rumors of a damaged elbow, Flynn knows the Packers offense well, which is important since he joined the team Tuesday. He said the elbow affected him during training camp but is no longer an issue, that he "can perform and throw at 100 percent."Flynn said he has no regrets about anything that happened since he left Green Bay for big free agent dollars and a chance to start in Seattle."I feel like I worked my tail off everywhere I went, controlled what I could control and things just didn't work out," he said. "For whatever reason, things didn't work out the way I planned or saw in my head. But I feel like I'm still the same player I was when I left here."If he is, and if Tolzien can build on his Sunday performance, quarterback won't be the Packers' biggest concern against the Giants. Now, about that defense ...Contact Tom Oates at toates@madison.com or 608-252-6172.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.) Visit The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.) at .wisconsinstatejournal.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉
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