Matt LaFleur delivers blunt assessment of rookie still learning his craft with the Packers in the NFL
Taylor Elgersma played a significant amount of snaps
Taylor Elgersma is still learning how to play American football. Coming from the Canadian version of college football, with significantly different rules that include 12 players per team on the field, the rookie quarterback had significant exposure in the Green Bay Packers’ 23-19 win against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday.
Battling with third-year quarterback Sean Clifford for the third-string job in Green Bay, Elgersma played right after Malik Willis and had the best passer rating among Packers QBs in the game.
Passer rating vs. the Colts:
> Taylor Elgersma 96.4
> Malik Willis 62.5
> Sean Clifford 39.5
But that doesn’t mean the game was clean for the rookie by any means. He had huge problems in the pocket, creating his own pressure and leaving it unnecessarily at times. He also had a bad play called back due to a penalty by the Colts. After the game, coach Matt LaFleur was honest about what he saw.
“I thought there were a lot of good things that he did. Obviously, he led us on a couple of scoring drives,” LaFleur mentioned. “I do think there were a couple of times where he put the ball in jeopardy in some tough situations, and we got bailed out by a penalty on the defense. So, I think there’s a lot to like, but also a lot to learn from.”
What’s on the table
With Jordan Love out due to a left thumb injury, the backups had a lot of time to play. Elgersma entered during the second quarter and stayed on the field through the fourth, even though he didn’t have as many throwing attempts — LaFleur called many more running plays when Elgersma and Clifford were on the field. With the rookie, the operation of the offense wasn’t as clean either.
Love and Willis have locked roster spots, obviously, so the Canadian is basically battling Clifford for a practice squad spot. And due to his arm talent and physical profile, it would make some sense to keep him as a developmental project — even though Clifford would certainly be more prepared to play a regular season game now if needed.
Love is expected to return to practice this week, but not to play against the Seattle Seahawks next Saturday. That means a final chance in the preseason for Elgersma to show improvement and try to grab a spot to be around for longer.
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