Why are we down on Brohm?

[Alphadawg7]

Yes, the concept of the practice squad is mind blowingly tough to wrap my head around, like cell lysis or something. If their is a "potential" franchise QB out their who was selected in the 2nd round the year before and all you have to do is cut, lets say, John Wedling, you do it without hesitation. And if the other 30+ teams thought he was worth anything, they would gladly cut their "Wedling" too and outbid the Packers for his services. He cleared waivers! And I did read about what "really happened". The Bills propaganda machine will have you believe that there was some feirce battle over Brohm, when I've read numerous reports that the Pack made an offer that they deemed Brohm to be worthy of and then said, "Don't let the door hit you in the A**" It's not like the Bills signed him to a big contract! So I'm not sure what the disconnect here is or how hard you think it is to understand the madness that is the PS, but again, it's pretty simple, NO ONE WANTED HIM AND HE WAS SITTING RIGHT THERE FOR THE TAKING.....kind of sounds like our head coach!

 

lmao...I stand by my original reply and this post by you furthers that...

[SuperBills12]

I like saving the various NFL Draft Magazines every year -- especially Pro Football Weekly and Sporting News -- just so that I can go back and revisit them over the years.

 

So I recently looked back at the 2008 mags. And I would surmise that (aside from Bradford and MAYBE Clausen), Brohm's reputation when he came out back in 2008 was significantly better than that of any other QB that is set to be drafted in April. Does that mean that the draftniks missed the boat with Brohm? Could be. Or it could be that he found himself in a bad situation in GB.

 

SN had Brohm rated as the #1 QB prospect -- ahead of Matt Ryan. They compared him to Peyton Manning and predicted that he would be NFL ready from day one, given his pedigree (dad and brothers were coaches) and top flight production exhibited at Louisville.

 

PFW rated him third behind Ryan and Henne. They ranked him ahead of Joe Flacco, but cautioned that they believed that Brohm had limited upside. They predicted that he would be destined to become a career backup or a marginal starter who would leave his team always hoping for more.

 

My concern is that his greatest strength coming out seemed to be that he had a great deal of polish -- and the learning curve for the NFL wouldn't be very steep for him. However, the reason the Packers left him unprotected was because he had less of a grasp of the offense than 7th rounder Flynn. To be honest, there is very little to go on when it comes to Brohm. From the Bills perspective, he had very little opportunity to display his goods. The Atlanta game was difficult to evaluate. On one hand, his stats were lousy -- but he played behind the worst OL that we put on the field last year. Gauging his physical skills in that game, I thought he showed a lively arm -- and the ball seemed to come out of his hand quickly. I, for one, would rather that the Bills give him a real opportunity before using a 2nd-3rd round pick on the likes of McCoy, Pike, LeFevour, etc.

 

Well said.

[John Cocktosten]

So, with a little common sense and a little attention to the details of what GB has publicly done and said, it was pretty clear that GB would have preferred to keep him (which is why they matched the offer) to try and get some value for him this offseason. But, because of injuries and needs at other positions (also publicly said by GB) they realized they couldnt carry 3 QB's so they chose to risk losing him for nothing rather than occupy a ACTIVE roster spot just to try and get some trade value for him.

 

I mean, geezus, none of this is rocket science and was literally pretty obvious and practically stated by GB...

Okay Captain obvious. If GB thought anything of him, he would've never hit the PS in the first place! Did the Eagles ever let their 3 QB's hit the PS? NO. Could they have used the room on their roster down the stretch? YES! The difference is, Vick and Kolb have value in the NFL and to their team. So while you contend that GB tried to "hide" Brohm, I say that is ludicrous because every good GM out there knows who is where in the NFL and nothing goes under the radar! Yes, Brohm chose to leave, but if he was any good, GB WOULD HAVE NEVER PUT A PLAYER OF VALUE AT RISK therefore they would've never allowed him to walk!

WHEN HAS THIS EVER HAPPENEND BEFORE GENIUS!!?? Please answer!

So again, it's simple, there is not a team out there who put players at any position on their practice squad who have great value to their team or around the NFL. Please tell me where you have ever seen a QB, which is the most imortant position in the NFL, put on waivers and go on to be a good pro in the last 10 years? Especially when the guy was a 2nd round pick the year before! I didn't think so bro.

[Captain Hindsight]

People act like we gave up the farm to get this guy. We signed him for next to nothing. He had potentially coming out of college and it didnt work out in GB for whatever reason. A Bills fans it is our job to hope...thats what sports fans do

 

 

I hope this guy can be good. Matt Moore for example could be carolinas starter this year. He was picked up mid season by the panthers a few years back...It can happen why not see what he can do? If not its not like we made some huge investment

[Alphadawg7]

Okay Captain obvious. If GB thought anything of him, he would've never hit the PS in the first place! Did the Eagles ever let their 3 QB's hit the PS? NO. Could they have used the room on their roster down the stretch? YES! The difference is, Vick and Kolb have value in the NFL and to their team. So while you contend that GB tried to "hide" Brohm, I say that is ludicrous because every good GM out there knows who is where in the NFL and nothing goes under the radar! Yes, Brohm chose to leave, but if he was any good, GB WOULD HAVE NEVER PUT A PLAYER OF VALUE AT RISK therefore they would've never allowed him to walk!

WHEN HAS THIS EVER HAPPENEND BEFORE GENIUS!!?? Please answer!

So again, it's simple, there is not a team out there who put players at any position on their practice squad who have great value to their team or around the NFL. Please tell me where you have ever seen a QB, which is the most imortant position in the NFL, put on waivers and go on to be a good pro in the last 10 years? Especially when the guy was a 2nd round pick the year before! I didn't think so bro.

 

LMAO...you are comparing Vick and Kolb to a player who never played a down in his 1 1/2 years in the NFL? Secondly, what one teams views as necessary for its team to compete week in and week out is different from the others. Thirdly, Vick was NOT on the active roster to be a 3rd string QB who never saw the field...he was on the roster with the intent of playing him in situations while Kolb was the ACTUAL backup QB...

 

These two scenarios are not even remtorely related...

 

Oh, and fourth...some teams have a philosphy of carrying 2 active QB's and others 3...so, again your rant has nothing to do with the intentions of GB.

 

Fifth...most importantly, everything GB has said and done completely contradicts your uninformed argument...

[John Cocktosten]

LMAO...you are comparing Vick and Kolb to a player who never played a down in his 1 1/2 years in the NFL? Secondly, what one teams views as necessary for its team to compete week in and week out is different from the others. Thirdly, Vick was NOT on the active roster to be a 3rd string QB who never saw the field...he was on the roster with the intent of playing him in situations while Kolb was the ACTUAL backup QB...

 

These two scenarios are not even remtorely related...

 

Oh, and fourth...some teams have a philosphy of carrying 2 active QB's and others 3...so, again your rant has nothing to do with the intentions of GB.

 

Fifth...most importantly, everything GB has said and done completely contradicts your uninformed argument...

Again, when has an NFL franchise ever put a young QB (who was a high draft pick just a year earlier) first on waivers and then on a practice squad? Please answer this question!

 

So LMFAO all you want, your argument that GB thought anything of him is absurd because he would have never been put on waivers or the practice squad!

 

Again, I trust the other 30 teams who had a shot at him, not the previous regime or you. Please answer the above quetsion because you seem to be avoiding it.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

I say that is ludicrous because every good GM out there knows who is where in the NFL and nothing goes under the radar!

John, you're usually a pretty good poster. Take a deep breath buddy.

 

BTW, your statement above does not strengthen your argument. Talent evaluators make mis-judgements often enough that we can all recite the names of players who were written off only to show the world that they weren't anywhere near worthless. You ought not to suggest that we can predict how Brohm will do in his career...he only has two seasons under his belt. The jury is still out.

[John Cocktosten]

BTW, your statement above does not strengthen your argument. Talent evaluators make mis-judgements often enough that we can all recite the names of players who were written off only to show the world that they weren't anywhere near worthless. You ought not to suggest that we can predict how Brohm will do in his career...he only has two seasons under his belt. The jury is still out.

There is misjudging a player and there is giving up on a player after 1 year in your system. The Pack gave up on him. Don't discount Thompson's ego in all of this either. He whiffed badly with Harrell a year earlier and by him waiving Brohm a year later after burning a 2nd rounder looks bad. Plus, the Packs Oline was a complete mess this year, especially earlier and Rodgers took a beating. So having 3 QB's on the roster is hardly a stretch when your starter is at risk everytime he drops back.

I get misjudging talent, but NFL teams don't give up on QB's so quickly (especially young ones). Again, when has this happened?

[Alphadawg7]

Again, when has an NFL franchise ever put a young QB (who was a high draft pick just a year earlier) first on waivers and then on a practice squad? Please answer this question!

 

So LMFAO all you want, your argument that GB thought anything of him is absurd because he would have never been put on waivers or the practice squad!

 

Again, I trust the other 30 teams who had a shot at him, not the previous regime or you. Please answer the above quetsion because you seem to be avoiding it.

 

LOL...thats the question you want answered? Seriously, you want to argue that question with total disregard to the factual reality of what transpired in GB. Whether it happened once or 100 times is irrelevant to your argument about GB, espcially given GB actions and public statement completly contradict your arguments in the first place.

 

We can play this game all you want...How often does a future HOF QB last to the 6th round just to come in and replace a franchise guy (who at the time had what was once called a "lifetime" contract with their team) out of nowhere? How often does a grocery store employee come in and win the SB for a losing franchise and become one of the best passers of his generation? How often does a guy over 40 throw for more than 30 TD's in a season? How often does a team go to 4 Superbowls in a row?

 

You can play that game all day long with endless examples of things that may not be the norm, but do happen. So, the fact that placing a 2nd round pick on the PS after one year isnt a common occurence, it doesnt mean in a certain situation that a team would make the decisions GB did.

 

Again, I stand by my post earlier...you need to read through this thread and get a better understanding of the PS, what teams have to do sign one, the timing of his placement, the situation GB was in, etc. But you dont...you just rant and rave with a clear lack of any knowledge of the reality of how Brohms situation played out for both GB and the other franchises...

 

Good luck with your blind rants...not worth discussing further really since you dont want to add anything other than scream about how he was on the PS...

 

PS: No one is saying Brohm will be anything, we are just saying its completely absurd to write him off becaue you cant get over him being on the PS while completely ignoring the circumstances that led him there. Not to mention the fact that he was only in the league 2 years with literally no chance to play other than one unprepared start for us.

[John Cocktosten]

We can play this game all you want...How often does a future HOF QB last to the 6th round just to come in and replace a franchise guy (who at the time had what was once called a "lifetime" contract with their team) out of nowhere? How often does a grocery store employee come in and win the SB for a losing franchise and become one of the best passers of his generation? How often does a guy over 40 throw for more than 30 TD's in a season? How often does a team go to 4 Superbowls in a row?

 

PS: No one is saying Brohm will be anything, we are just saying its completely absurd to write him off becaue you cant get over him being on the PS while completely ignoring the circumstances that led him there. Not to mention the fact that he was only in the league 2 years with literally no chance to play other than one unprepared start for us.

So your comparing Brohm's situation to Tom Brady and Kurt Warners? Brady was never put on a practice squad. Warner was an undrafted FA. Brohm was a 2nd rd pick the year before! Makes sense.

 

And I love how you have this intimate knowledge of what happened in GB. While you've read what Chris Brown wrote and how the Bills "stold" Brohm, I've read plenty that said the Packers didn't care if they lost him. Now given the circumstacnces of his situation, the Packers obviously didn't care if he walked because they put him at risk WHICH NEVER HAPPENS IN THE NFL. AGAIN, WHEN HAS A TEAM EVER WAIVED A 2ND ROUND QB THE NEXT YEAR? IT DOESN" HAPPEN!

 

Alpha,YOUR theory that the Pack loved Brohm but didn't have enough room for him on their roster is wrong and completely ridiculous. I don't even know how you are buying your own BS on this one. Now continue to tell me that i don't know how the PS works.

[Bring Back Kelly]

So your comparing Brohm's situation to Tom Brady and Kurt Warners? Brady was never put on a practice squad. Warner was an undrafted FA. Brohm was a 2nd rd pick the year before! Makes sense.

 

And I love how you have this intimate knowledge of what happened in GB. While you've read what Chris Brown wrote and how the Bills "stold" Brohm, I've read plenty that said the Packers didn't care if they lost him. Now given the circumstacnces of his situation, the Packers obviously didn't care if he walked because they put him at risk WHICH NEVER HAPPENS IN THE NFL. AGAIN, WHEN HAS A TEAM EVER WAIVED A 2ND ROUND QB THE NEXT YEAR? IT DOESN" HAPPEN!

 

Alpha,YOUR theory that the Pack loved Brohm but didn't have enough room for him on their roster is wrong and completely ridiculous. I don't even know how you are buying your own BS on this one. Now continue to tell me that i don't know how the PS works.

The guy must have not showered one day in Green Bay. They wrote that guy off. He must have really smelled. I can not explain why they let him go, nor can I understand why every team balked on him. Regardless of what happened, We get a guy with potential. That is still what every team gets when they draft a QB. Who knows, but I am glad that we get the chance to see what he can do. I am hoping he takes this serious and comes out blazzing in Pre-Season. I won't rest my hat on it, but if we get the right guy in here to tudor him, he could be a good QB. He has nobody to show him how to be a good QB. You need a good Vet to show these guys the ropes.

[John Cocktosten]

The guy must have not showered one day in Green Bay. They wrote that guy off. He must have really smelled. I can not explain why they let him go, nor can I understand why every team balked on him. Regardless of what happened, We get a guy with potential. That is still what every team gets when they draft a QB. Who knows, but I am glad that we get the chance to see what he can do. I am hoping he takes this serious and comes out blazzing in Pre-Season. I won't rest my hat on it, but if we get the right guy in here to tudor him, he could be a good QB. He has nobody to show him how to be a good QB. You need a good Vet to show these guys the ropes.

You're right, it's great that the Bills got a young QB with "potential". But that goes to my original point that Alpha just can't seem to wrap his head around. Using the powers of deduction and the facts, if a QB who was taken in the 2nd round a year earlier and put on waivers and clears (which means 31 teams didn't think he's even worth a 7th round pick), does that QB really have true "potential". Then said QB clears waivers (30 teams pass) and is put on the teams practice squad and left for any team to grab him without compensation (unless the Pack chooses to activate him or match any offer), does that QB really have true "potential"? Again, by using qualitive powers of deduction, teams didn't think he was worth very much, actually teams didn't think he was worth anything. Not because it's my opinion, but the opinion of 30 NFL teams. I would think that 30 NFL teams would jump at the chance to get a guy with true "potential", especially a QB. Again, this would never have happened and situations like this don't happen.

So by using logic and also considering that the Bills are never smarter than the rest, what is Brohm other than a wasted 2nd round pick and wishful thinking?

[dubs]

Brohm and Flynn were drafted in 2008, before Aaron Rogers ever started a game in the NFL. The Packers drafted both of these guys thinking Favre was gone and they were going into the season with an unproven guy. They didn't know whether or not Rogers would be the franchise guy he is today, so they drafted a couple insurance policies, knowing they probably wouldn't have all three guys there for long. As it turned out, Rogers is excellent and the other two guys were fighting for a backup spot. Flynn obviously looked better, so they kept Flynn and put Brohm on the practice squad. The Bills saw an opportunity late last year to pick up a guy who was highly touted coming out of school and put in a situation where he didn't have much of an opportunity to play, figuring, why not? It doesn't cost them anything. It's a low risk, high potential return move. Maybe he is a late bloomer and meets the expectations most experts had put on him, or maybe he doesn't. Either way, the Bills lose nothing.

 

I thought it was great move because at the end of the day, the Bills haven't had to give up anything. They picked up him up primarily to get used to the organization and try to come in and compete during training camp.

 

So...what exactly is the big issue with that?

[Ozymandius]

Don't rule anything out, sure. Give him a chance to compete and prove himself, sure. But keep expectations low. All Brohm has been up to this point in his career is a practice squad level player. Can that change? Sure. But organizations need to plan contingencies and hold appropriate levels of expectation for their players. You can't plan around a practice squad player becoming a starting QB in this league.

[dubs]

Don't rule anything out, sure. Give him a chance to compete and prove himself, sure. But keep expectations low. All Brohm has been up to this point in his career is a practice squad level player. Can that change? Sure. But organizations need to plan contingencies and hold appropriate levels of expectation for their players. You can't plan around a practice squad player becoming a starting QB in this league.

 

I don't think anyone is saying the Bills are going into the season thinking that Brohm is going to be the second coming of Jim Kelly. I think what people are saying (who are defending Brohm), is that we have three guys on the roster. Two of them have significant playing time in the NFL so they can be properly evaluated. One of them does not. The one that does not has been somewhat of a disappointment in his career, up to this point, but has never actually been giving an opportunity to succed. So let's refrain from judging that player right now, until either the Bills cut him or he gets a chance to play.

 

The extreme opinions on the one side of this are astounding (not you Ozymandius).

[Albany,n.y.]

How did I just contradict myself? In the first quote, I said they stashed him on the PS in hopes of hiding him there (which GB said) because they didnt have room on the active roster but still hoped to find a way to keep him around...it has nothing, read that again, NOTHING to do with the active 53 man roster which is what they field week in and week out that I talked about in the second quote you put in this post. In the second quote I refernce that exactly where I said they are not going to keep Brohm on the ACTIVE roster of a CONTENDING team just to manuever for a trade in the offseason when they BELIEVE they can win and NEED the roster spot on the...wait for it now...ACTIVE roster.

 

You are not even reading the posts well enough to argue them.

 

So, to spell it out for you one last time as clear as I can make it...GB DID, and it was published, MATCH the Bills offer to keep him. Brohm said no as he knew he had no chance at ever playing in GB and Buffalo presented possibilities.

 

GB also said they hated losing him for no compensation but did not have a choice as they didnt have the luxury of carrying 3 QB's as a result of injuries and needs at other positions. Not to mention, they LOVE Flynn and he is their guy to back up Rodgers and we know Rodgers isnt going anywhere.

 

So, with a little common sense and a little attention to the details of what GB has publicly done and said, it was pretty clear that GB would have preferred to keep him (which is why they matched the offer) to try and get some value for him this offseason. But, because of injuries and needs at other positions (also publicly said by GB) they realized they couldnt carry 3 QB's so they chose to risk losing him for nothing rather than occupy a ACTIVE roster spot just to try and get some trade value for him.

 

I mean, geezus, none of this is rocket science and was literally pretty obvious and practically stated by GB...

You've spun this so many ways, you don't even know what you yourself are talking about. In one post you say that GB matched our offer, to put him on their own 53 man squad, so they could trade him later. I'll trust your statements that you know the difference between being on the active roster & practice squad-a match meant he was going on GB's 53 man roster. If you don't understand the difference, you ought to stop lecturing others on the difference. THEN, you later post that GB was interested in winning games, not concerned about trading him down the line.

For the last time, which statement do you believe: A) GB tried to match so they could trade him. or B) Green Bay wasn't concerned about his trade value, they were in win now mode. You can only pick one, which is it. BTW, whichever one you pick will contradict an earlier post YOU made.

[dubs]

You've spun this so many ways, you don't even know what you yourself are talking about. In one post you say that GB matched our offer, to put him on their own 53 man squad, so they could trade him later. I'll trust your statements that you know the difference between being on the active roster & practice squad-a match meant he was going on GB's 53 man roster. If you don't understand the difference, you ought to stop lecturing others on the difference. THEN, you later post that GB was interested in winning games, not concerned about trading him down the line.

For the last time, which statement do you believe: A) GB tried to match so they could trade him. or B) Green Bay wasn't concerned about his trade value, they were in win now mode. You can only pick one, which is it. BTW, whichever one you pick will contradict an earlier post YOU made.

 

It's a moot point bro, relax. He's on the team regardless of what the Packers or the rest of the league think of him. Let's hope he's successful. If not, nothing gained, nothing ventured.

[Albany,n.y.]

It's a moot point bro, relax. He's on the team regardless of what the Packers or the rest of the league think of him. Let's hope he's successful. If not, nothing gained, nothing ventured.

You're right, he can't do any worse than Hamdan, who he replaced at the time we signed him.

[reddogblitz]

You're right, he can't do any worse than Hamdan, who he replaced at the time we signed him.

How many NFL Europa MVPs has Brohm won?

[Steve0022]

There is a good chance that I know Brian Brohm better than anyone on the message board. Mainly because I watched every college snap he ever took. I even played against him once. That being said, I think it's very hard to properly evaluate the collection of quarterbacks that played last year because they had such in inordinate amount of time to throw. However, I do know that Brohm and Edwards are two different types of quarterbacks. Edwards seems to be from that west coast mold where it seems that he's just fine with three straight completions even if it doesn't result in the first down. Brohm on the other hand has more of a winning mentality. He likes to make sure the completion will result in a first down, and he certainly isn't afraid to let it fly down field. He's actually better in Buffalo weather than in the warmer climates too. For some reason he just sweats like a pig in the heat. He's also a much more accurate passer than Fitzpatrick and once he's comfortable in the offense he very rarely ever makes mental errors in regards to where to throw the ball.