Scott Tolzien, the new Green Bay Packers quarterback, found himself in the unlikely situation of having to lead his team through their game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Last week, starting quarterback and undisputed team leader, Aaron Rodgers , was sacked on the first play of the game, which resulted in injury, forcing him to exit the game.
It was later established that Rodgers had suffered a broken collarbone, which sidelined him for this weekend’s game at home against the Eagles.
The only back-up quarterback the team had on its roster, Seneca Wallace, had to quickly step in, but was unable to defeat the arch rival Chicago Bears, losing 27-20.
This past Sunday, Wallace was the starter in place of Rodgers and things again didn’t go well for the Packers, who lost Wallace to a groin injury early in the game.
Enter Scott Tolzien . Who?
Here’s what you need to know about the Green Bay Packers new quarterback, who by the by, didn’t do too bad of a job, considering that he was just brought up from the practice squad after Aaron Rodgers’ injury.
His name is pronounced toll-zeen.
According to USA Today , Tolzien, who was with the San Francisco 49ers in 2011 and 2012, never started an NFL game. He was used as the scout-team quarterback to emulate the quarterbacks the 49ers were playing that week.
In case you were wondering, this is Scott Tolzien – now in at QB for Packers. He was on the practice squad 6 days ago pic.twitter.com/pzsw4rBCV5
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLONFOX) November 10, 2013
Tolzien was released by the 49ers in week one and quickly nabbed by the Packers, who were playing San Francisco in their season opener.
The Packers quarterback played for the Wisconsin Badgers in college and led his team to the Rose Bowl in 2011.
He was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award in his senior season at Wisconsin.
Scott Tolzien grew up in Illinois, surrounded by Bears fans, but that didn’t stop him for rooting for Brett Favre and the Packers.
USA Today reports there were no photos of Tolzien wearing a Packers jersey when writing their piece on the newly crowned quarterback. The team has assigned the number 16 to Tolzien.
Packers Coach, Mike McCarthy announced in the post-game press conference that Tolzien will start in the quarterback position for the team next week.
Scott Tolzien will start for Packers next week http://t.co/bqe004zJD0
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) November 10, 2013
Even though the Packers lost to the Eagles 27-13, Scott Tolzien completed 24 out of 41 passes and threw for 280 yards in his first NFL start, earning him a spot in the roster for next week’s game against the New York Giants.
What do you think of Scott Tolzien’s performance in the Packers-Eagles game on Sunday?