Sean Clifford Reminds Me Of Brett Favre, Carrington Valentine is Him
Packers Mailbag 8-14-23
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“Who will be our backup QB? (my guess is clifford)” evanhayes7577
I agree with you. Sean Clifford all the way. That’s been my guess for a while now just because the Packers spent a 5th round draft pick on him. While that’s not a crazy investment, the Packers still valued him enough to target him at that point in the draft.
The second the Packers signed Alex Mcgough from the USFL I thought that was bad news for Elting because I didn’t see the Packers releasing Clifford when they used a draft pick on him.
Now after watching Friday’s pre-season game I am 99.9999% certain that Clifford has already won the backup job.
Sean Clifford looked completely comfortable and poised in the pocket on Friday. You can tell that he doesn’t let pressure get to him in any way. You would assume a 5th round pick coming into a pre-season game would look cautious and a little hesitant, but Clifford looked the exact opposite.
He’s not afraid to take risks which can be a double edged sword. His fearlessness can cause him to make throws that he shouldn’t. But he’s still young and has time to clean up his decision making. He really does remind me of Brett Favre just because of his fearless mentality. Favre still holds the NFL record for interceptions at 336. Part of what made Favre great was his willingness to take risks.
Now mind you, this was the pre-season and he was playing against 2nd and 3rd stringers, but still, what he showed gives me confidence in what he can become moving forward.
Clearly Clifford has things to work on, but the great thing that he showed Friday night is that he moves on quickly. Right after his interceptions he came back out and pushed the ball right back down the field. People always talk about the importance of leaving the negative plays in the past, but oftentimes guys get in a funk after throwing an interception. It messes with their head and they lose their confidence. It looks to me like Clifford doesn’t have a problem with that.
If Love ever went down with an injury this year, I wouldn’t feel that all hope is lost.
“Do you think Carlson’s performance Friday night was “first time playing jitters” or indicative of something that needs to be a concern? If so, do you think they need to bring Crosby back?” (GoPackGo1265)
Carlson’s time in Green Bay has been littered with inconsistency. He’s been unable to find his rhythm. Missing two extra points in a pre-season game makes me nervous. If it was the first time he displayed inaccuracy throughout camp that would be one thing, but so far in camp he’s been shaky.
According to packersnews.com he’s made 69.5% of his field goals in training camp so far. If that number doesn’t improve the Packers will have no choice but to find a new kicker. In Matt Lafleur’s press conference after the pre-season game he stated that Carlson needs to learn from it and get better. My question is how long will the Packers wait until they decide they need to come up with a backup plan?
It’s possible that Carlson fixes his issues and leaves the inconsistency in the past, but right now it’s a problem. It came out earlier today that he missed his first PAT at practice today. I get missing long field goals, but PAT’s should be made almost 100% of the time. Let’s hope he can get things fixed, but if not the Packers need to find someone else.
While Mason Crosby has the experience his leg strength has been waning over the last few seasons. He has only made 9 field goals of 50+ yards in the last 4 seasons and last year went 1-4 on 50+ yard field goals.
A few other free agent kickers are guys like Ryan Succop and Robbie Gould. Succop is 36 years old and has also struggled on deep kicks lately. Gould has not attempted a 50 yarder in the past 2 years. Many of the free agent kickers are still free agents for a reason.
Let’s just hope Anders Carlson can clean up the mistakes because there aren’t great options currently available on the free agent market.
“What did you think of Carrington Valentine in the preseason game highlights wise?” (doughsoldier3744)
He’s the guy that stood out to me the most. He was flying around the field and making plays left and right.
One things for sure, he did not look like a 7th round draft pick on Friday night in Cincinnati. It looks like the Packers got a steal. It came out today that Packers practice ended with Valentine picking off Jordan Love and taking it to the house.
Matt Lafleur praised Valentine after the game and also mentioned that he’s the exact kind of corner you look for. Athletic, long, and competes extremely hard.
PFF gave him a 89.8 grade which was the 2nd best on the Packers defense behind William Hooper. Valentine was targeted 6 times and only allowed 2 receptions for 16 yards. He also added 2 pass break ups and an interception. He made himself known against the run, flying to the ball and making tackles.
He’s looking like a lock for one of the final cornerback spots. Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas, and Keisean Nixon are still ahead of him, but if any of them get injured I’d say the Packers feel confident in their depth with Valentine playing at a high level.
The past 3 years the Packers have kept 6 corners twice, and 5 corners the other year. If Eric Stokes starts the season on the roster, that’ll make Valentine the 5th corner. I’d say he’s played himself ahead of the other corners in the room: Innis Gaines, Corey Ballentine, Tyrell Ford, Kiondre Thomas, and William Hooper. Hooper also made some nice plays and has a chance at one of the final spots.