The Packers are accustomed to their quarterbacks setting records . . . just not the kind of records Brett Hundley set this season.
The backup quarterback went 3-6 during Aaron Rodgers’ absence, including 1-4 at Lambeau Field. Two of the losses were shutouts at home, something that hadn’t happened in Green Bay since Mike McCarthy’s first season of 2006. And Hundley set an NFL record for most attempts at home without a passing touchdown in a single season with 162.
So it was that McCarthy was asked about Hundley’s play during the coach’s season-ending press conference Thursday.
“I think that’s a statistical question, No. 1,” McCarthy said, via Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I think there’s a lot of good things Brett did. There’s definitely things that have been highlighted and probably blown out of proportion that didn’t go right. I’ll say this: From the time he stepped in the game in Minnesota to the time he walked off the field in Detroit, he made significant improvement.
“Brett and I talked about this, this week. I felt that he should’ve been better prepared for the situation that was he was put into, but once he got the opportunity, I thought he did a heck of a job. I thought he really improved, so you can see with the reps and the primary attention and all the things that when he got his opportunity he really maxed it out. I’m not making excuses, but I don’t know if I’ve ever coached an offensive game where we had 13 drops in two games. You have to look at the whole picture. He’s running an offense. It isn’t like we cut everything back and played bland football. A lot of good things to learn from, [and] he’ll improve from it. I look for him to have a great offseason.”
Hundley is under contract for next season, but it doesn’t mean he will remain on the team. The Packers likely at least bring in competition at the position behind Aaron Rodgers, even with Hundley and Joe Callahan on the roster.
“We need to have the most competitive 90-man roster in the league,” McCarthy said. “I don’t think you can ever have enough quarterbacks. The quarterback’s the most important position in the building. You’d like to have four real guys in training camp. I think that’s something that you focus on and try to improve, but you like to say that at every position.”