Graham Harrell: 14 pounds heavier. "That ball has some juice now".

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For four weeks, Graham Harrell wasn't allowed to touch a football. His trainer wouldn't let him.

To the backdrop of "Renegade" by Styx or "Sail" by AWOLNATION, the Green Bay Packers quarterback was at the row machine, hurling a medicine ball or whipping through a footwork drill.

"He was relentless," trainer Bobby Stroupe said. "When that ball hits the wall, he wants it to be the loudest. When he's doing rows, Graham is the strongest guy we have. He got up to six plates. This guy is competitive."

Eighteen weeks and 14 added pounds later, Stroupe hopes he's sending the Packers a new quarterback.

SNIP-

This former "system quarterback" who broke a scroll of records in Texas Tech's BB-gun offense has a chance to be Aaron Rodgers' backup. Harrell hopes his grueling off-season in Tyler, Texas, pays off.

He says his arm is much stronger. He's driving the ball with more power.

"Absolutely," Harrell said. "With all the shoulder stuff, I definitely saw improvement in my velocity. And the flexibility, that's huge for me. Every morning, I'd get up there and we'd get after it."

At Accelerate Performance Enhancement Center (APEC), Stroupe has trained both NFL and major-league baseball players - particularly pitchers. Stroupe has worked with Philip Humber of the Chicago White Sox who threw a perfect game in April. The true results won't be revealed for a while. Game situations.

But already, teammates are kidding with Harrell. One told him he treated this off-season like the video-game, Madden, adding to his "arm strength" attribute.

Nothing happened overnight. Stroupe says the quarterback never endured a training program like this. He was a gamer, not a lifter. When Stroupe first tested Harrell, he was surprised at just how inflexible he was. Harrell was stiff in all joints that require rotation. His hips, groin, ankles, elbows, everything.

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