Packers' Brett Hundley prepares for fourth season under different circumstances

-- If any personal demons have been plaguing Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Hundley as a result of his struggles last season, the first step in abolishing them begins this Thursday night.

Hundley is listed as the Packers' unofficial backup quarterback for Thursday's preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans, but he's essentially going to be the starter given it's highly unlikely Aaron Rodgers plays a single snap.

This season, his fourth, is actually under different circumstances for Hundley. Not only is it a contract year, but he has an extensive amount of regular-season game tape on himself to reflect on and build off of.

Prior to 2017, he had all but 10 attempts to look back on

"It’s actually really cool for this to be the first offseason for me to be able to actually study my own game film," Hundley said after Monday's practice. "To be able to take that big leap, get some experience under my belt and just feel comfortable."

Hundley, for the most part, struggled as the Packers' starting quarterback a season ago. He started nine games and played in 10, throwing nine touchdowns -- all on the road -- and 12 interceptions and completing just over 60 percent of his passes.

"You can say things slow down until you actually get the experience, but now you can start saying, 'oh I understand this now, I understand why we read it like this.' So things are starting to slow down even a lot more. And, going into my fourth year in this offense, little changes, I just feel comfortable out there."

The Packers needed to simply stay afloat in the NFC playoff race while Rodgers recovered from a broken collarbone suffered in mid-October. Two months later when Rodgers returned against the Carolina Panthers, the Packers were coming off of two back-to-back overtime wins and were still in playoff contention.

Fast forward to this past offseason when the Packers traded cornerback to Damarious Randall to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for quarterback DeShone Kizer, Hundley's roster status seemed to be on the fringes.

Truth be told, expecting Kizer to pick up an entirely new system and win a backup job within five months after being shipped off from a franchise where quarterbacks tend to stray from success seems like a tall order. It's almost safe to say Hundley's job was never in jeopardy.

That isn't to say Kizer won't ultimately end up as the primary backup, but Hundley's experience and familiarity with the Packers' offense gives him an evident edge and will likely propel him to being Rodgers' backup come September.

Combining that experience and familiarity is almost necessary if Hundley hopes to remain playing in Green Bay. A strong preseason in a contract year could end up going a long way.

"I play football not to look at it from that perspective," Hundley said. "Nothing’s going to change from my first year, second year, third year compared to this year being that it’s a contract year. For me, I’m just going into it giving it all I got, and that’s sort of the way want to play this game. I don’t want to look at the fourth year contract year as a bigger year than most.

"Naturally, you’d think of it because now you don’t know where you’re going to go but you want it to be the right situation and you want to put your best foot forward. As long as I’m worried about my present and my now and giving it all I got every opportunity I can, everything else will take care of itself."

Hundley has thrown 10 touchdowns to just two interceptions in nine career preseason games dating back to his 2015 rookie season. He'll have more than enough opportunities to showcase his newfound learnings this month with the Packers likely to use Rodgers a little more cautiously in exhibition affairs.

Coach Mike McCarthy said at the end of last season that the Packers could've done a better job preparing Hundley for an emergency situation. They've since hired a new offensive coordinator in the returning Joe Philbin.

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Zachary Jacobson is a staff writer/reporter for Cheesehead TV. He's the voice of The Leap on iTunes and can be heard on The Scoop KLGR 1490 AM every Saturday morning. He's also a contributor on the Pack-A-Day Podcast. He can be found on Twitter via @ZachAJacobson or contacted through email at [email protected].

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Comments (21)

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Klincker's picture

August 07, 2018 at 09:50 am

I dont think it really matters what Hundley does in the pre-season. He showed that he could do some nice things, and has nice stats. But, as a starter, he didnt grow, and really didnt improve, as the season went on last year. Not that he should get the credit, but he easily could have been on the losing side of the OT win vs Kizer and the Browns last year. So, MM can play him all he wants in the pre-season, I dont think its gonna matter when it comes to playing vs the 1s in a regular game. He would REALLY have to light it up, show outstanding command for me to change my mind.

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freddisch's picture

August 07, 2018 at 09:56 am

If Hundley is Rogers backup, then Green Bay does not have a backup!

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Johnblood27's picture

August 07, 2018 at 11:01 am

I am completely done with the Hundley experiment.

I would much, much rather see Boyle and Kizer get ready to play NFL football.

Perhaps Gute needs to have Hundley take a few snaps and look OK to be able to move him for a late round pick. That would be the only valid reason to see Hundley under center wearing a GB uniform IMO.

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Point-Packer's picture

August 07, 2018 at 11:01 am

This post gave me flashbacks to yelling "throw the damn ball!" at the TV over and over and over and over and over....

Hopefully Kizer gets ample time on the field. We know who Brett Hundley is and that's not an NFL QB.

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Doug_In_Sandpoint's picture

August 07, 2018 at 12:02 pm

Hopefully his “different circumstances” is sitting on a couch somewhere.

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Demon's picture

August 07, 2018 at 12:20 pm

If MM is the quarterback guru he claims to be, and a great play caller as many claim, why did Hundley play that badly? Maybe it's because he lacks any skills necessary to bee an NFL quarterback.

I remember last season sitting kn my sofa wishing westill had Anthony Dilweg or David whitehurst. Things had gotten that bad!

As far 0as I'm concerned the Packers owe me a new 50 inch TV. I dont feel i should be liable for what happened to mine due to the product they put on the field.

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I bleed green more's picture

August 07, 2018 at 01:44 pm

Boy your going way back, yeah I remember them but forgot them long ago. We have had some good backups that went to other teams and did well.

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Handsback's picture

August 07, 2018 at 12:35 pm

If you compare Hundley verses Kizer in terms of potential, Kizer is the guy. From a performance standpoint, Hundley had a chance last year and blew it. Kizer needs a year with Philbin in order to see what he can do with great coaching, because he wasn't as good as Hundley. The difference is Hundley has three years under his belt and Kizer only one. So the preseason is their chance to show who can make a difference.

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Since'61's picture

August 07, 2018 at 12:40 pm

If Kizer and Boyle show us anything during the preseason Hundley should be chucked. I'm sure the Packers are hanging onto the belief that they can still get something back for Hundley but why would any other GM want him at this point and why would they waste even a 7th round pick for him when they know the Packers will probably release him anyway?
On the other hand if Kizer and/or Boyle can't move past Hundley on the depth chart what does that tell us about them?
Bottom line: Rodgers cannot get hurt. Case closed. Thanks, Since '61

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Cubbygold's picture

August 07, 2018 at 04:41 pm

yeah, he should be gone. No team is looking at Hundley and saying 'yeah, I'll give you a draft pick for that guy'. He's wasting development opportunities for other guys and should be sent packing

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Tundraboy's picture

August 07, 2018 at 09:19 pm

Spot on Ar least we have a couple of new guys to audition.

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Since'61's picture

August 07, 2018 at 12:43 pm

Deleted, double post, sorry. Thanks, Since '61

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stockholder's picture

August 07, 2018 at 12:50 pm

TT drafted 5 QBs , Arron Rodgers! Ingle Martin (2006-5a), Brian Brohm (2008-2b), Matt Flynn (2008-7a), B.J. Coleman (2012-7b). (Even though he had Arron Rodgers. ) Yes- they'll keep Hundley. Yes- Kizer stays until they move him. The packers want cheap back-ups. Thats just the way it is in GreenBay. Leave all options on the table. The years between Bart Starr and Brett Favre, they don't remember. They have Arron Rodgers. The team is on his back and not the back-up. The days of Earl Morral , Joe Theisman, Doug Williams are Gone. It's about the nucleus of the club that matters. Cap numbers. Future comp picks. Every year we hear how the NFL is equal. Anyone can beat anyone on a given game day. The hungry team can win. The best thing about Hundley/// was he exposed the Wrs for what they were. Wrs that were not getting separation. An offensive Line that couldn't give him time. Te's that were to slow. Rock BOTTUM! Like it or not this team was bad last year. Hundley doesn't have the arm of Rodgers. He should be cut. Hundley is a MM pawn. A guy for a comp pick and better QB. Hundley is Hope for another Arron Rodgers. Why Else would MM keep him?

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4thand1's picture

August 07, 2018 at 03:00 pm

The only different circumstance Hundley should prepare for is being traded for a 7th round pick. I'm sure MM will let him hang around until it's contract time, then Gute can chuck him.

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pacman's picture

August 07, 2018 at 03:25 pm

My first post since last season! It's that time again - it's SB or bust, yet again!

I don't see how Hundley will retain a roster spot. Not because of Kizer but because of the lack of talent.

But I would certainly expect that all 3 backup qb's are judged for what they show. My only question is who will and how they will be judging them. Last year, somebody clearly judged incorrectly and lost his job.

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PatrickGB's picture

August 07, 2018 at 03:45 pm

Point Packer nailed it “Hesitating Hundley”. By this time he gets it, the game will have passed him by.

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Lphill's picture

August 07, 2018 at 04:16 pm

Bye bye Brett

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Lare's picture

August 07, 2018 at 05:25 pm

Maybe we can trade Brett to the Jets.

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Paul Konieczny's picture

August 07, 2018 at 08:56 pm

We can only hope he does really well this preseason. Thanks, since 57.

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Tundraboy's picture

August 07, 2018 at 09:15 pm

"Coach Mike McCarthy said at the end of last season that the Packers could've done a better job preparing Hundley for an emergency situation."

More like, Could have done a better job of teaching him how to play QB period.

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Cartwright's picture

August 08, 2018 at 05:40 pm

We all know how badly Hundley played last year but as the article mentioned it gave him experience and a body of work to analyse and process. Could it be possible he learned something and shows it during pre season. If so, maybe we can get a pick for him afterall.

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