Herschel has found some rivals...

[7DnBrnc53]

That is probably the most similar precedent to the Wilson trade. Hadl's dropoff seemed just as out of nowhere, too. Albeit more typical of QBs in their mid-30s in that era; I can't imagine GB thought it'd get more than 3 quality years out of him, so what possessed them to give that much?!

Dam Devine, then the Packer coach, traded for Hadl in a desperate attempt to save his job, or, if you prefer, to have a good season. Ironically, Devine got the Notre Dame coaching job when Ara Parseghian resigned after the 1974 season, giving Dan Devine the proverbial golden parachute.

What's sad is that Devine felt he had to turn to that option because a trade for Archie Manning was taken off the table after his backup was hurt. Oh, what could have been.

[Todd Pence]

Denver Bronco coach Lou Saban's trade for Charger backup Steve Tensi. At the beginning of 1967 the Broncos were in dire need of a quarterback. There was a revolving door behind center, with none of the canditates showing even a semblance of being able to impersonate the position. Who could forget such legendary names as John McCormick, Max Chobian, Mickey Slaughter, Scotty Glacken, and Jim LeClair? Saban's desperation showed in his crazy offer to the Chargers for Denver's number one picks in the '68 and '69 draft. San Diego couldn't take the deal fast enough. While Tensi was arguably better than any of the rest of the motley crew of signal callers, he was hardly a franchise saving quarterback. He lasted four years with the Broncs and posted a total of ten career victories as a starter.

[Ronfitch]

That is probably the most similar precedent to the Wilson trade. Hadl's dropoff seemed just as out of nowhere, too. Albeit more typical of QBs in their mid-30s in that era; I can't imagine GB thought it'd get more than 3 quality years out of him, so what possessed them to give that much?!

Dam Devine, then the Packer coach, traded for Hadl in a desperate attempt to save his job, or, if you prefer, to have a good season. Ironically, Devine got the Notre Dame coaching job when Ara Parseghian resigned after the 1974 season, giving Dan Devine the proverbial golden parachute.

What's sad is that Devine felt he had to turn to that option because a trade for Archie Manning was taken off the table after his backup was hurt. Oh, what could have been.

And that Green Bay had played the Rams nine days earlier and saw first hand when Chuck Knox benched Hadl during the game that Hadl was no longer the player he had been.

[JohnTurney]

Hadl's dropoff seemed just as out of nowhere, too.

Hadl hurt his back pushing his car in Marina del Rey. The back affected his throwing. His back was problematic in late-74 mid-1974ish ... he couldn't get as much on the ball as he did in early 1973 or before... he was known for having a very good (not great) arm.

He always maintained there never was a problem with his arm and that may have been true. But the non-football back did cause a problem for a while...he slumped when he hurt it and took a while to get the back working again. By then...he was probably just getting old.

Hadl never told the Rams what happened. Klosterman, though, could see the difference and made a deal while the getting was good. Why GB didn't notice was always the head-scratcher for me. If Klosterman/Knox/Rosenbloom could see it...why couldn't Devine and Packers brass?

[SixtiesFan]

Hadl's dropoff seemed just as out of nowhere, too.

Hadl hurt his back pushing his car in Marina del Rey. The back affected his throwing. His back was problematic in late-74 mid-1974ish ... he couldn't get as much on the ball as he did in early 1973 or before... he was known for having a very good (not great) arm.

He always maintained there never was a problem with his arm and that may have been true. But the non-football back did cause a problem for a while...he slumped when he hurt it and took a while to get the back working again. By then...he was probably just getting old.

Hadl never told the Rams what happened. Klosterman, though, could see the difference and made a deal while the getting was good. Why GB didn't notice was always the head-scratcher for me. If Klosterman/Knox/Rosenbloom could see it...why couldn't Devine and Packers brass?

I remember reading that Hadl hurt his shoulder while pushing a car during the middle of the 1973 season. He dropped off the rest of the year, while the Ram running game carried the offense (along with a strong defense) to a 12-2 record. Hadl had a poor game when the Rams lost to Dallas in the playoffs.