March 30th, 2009

Brohm Needs To Step Up

Aaron Nagler in Brian Brohm, Matt Flynn, Mike McCarthy, Ted Thompson

Adam Somers over at the great new Packer blog Ol’ Bag of Donuts has a good overview of the pros and cons of Thompson’s selection of Brohm in the second round of last years draft and how perceptions of the pick have most likely changed over the course of the year. Somers seems to think that Brohm’s ‘value’ is so low that he is untradeable at this moment. This isn’t strictly true – any GM that was in love with Brohm (dubious, I know, looking at his drop in the draft last year) would still view him as a valuable commodity, no matter what he looked like in preseason last year. He still has value. Fans tend to forget that personnel people have a ton more information than we do when it comes to the players we only see when the lights come on for a handful of snaps in preseason.

Don’t forget there were two distinct stretches during training camp when Brohm was finding open recievers on almost every play against the defensive starters (insert “So was everybody else in 2008!” joke here…) while Rodgers was struggling against the number twos. And I think fans would be wise to go back and watch McCarthy’s rotation versus his counterparts on the opposing sidelines during preseason – Brohm was in with a bunch of second and third level guys against a lot of number ones, while Flynn was in against scrubs almost exclusively.

Now, none of this excuses what was obviously tight play on Brohm’s part throughout preseason last year. He stared down receivers and was thinking entirely too much, while Flynn was much more fluid and very much a ‘gamer’, making things happen when nothing was there and doing whatever was needed to move the chains. But my hunch is that we will see a much improved Brohm in 2009. He did not magically become a terrible football player, but 2008 was a definite wake-up call for the player that was being heralded as “the quarterback most ready to start right away” in last years draft. 

15 Responses to “Brohm Needs To Step Up”

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Re: GM that was in love
Ummm….Ron Wolf and Brett Favre, of course Brohm has value

Franklin Hillside said in March 30th, 2009 at 10:42 am

Who said he was “the quarterback most ready to start right away”last year? Whoever said that was not paying attention to Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan.
After watching preseason last year I thought Flynn was the better QB to back up Rodgers. Lets hope Brohm can step it up cause I`m sure TT will be drafting a QB in the later rounds.
Speaking about the draft…what are the odds we draft Greg Jennings Jr from Western Michigan?

jerseypackfan said in March 30th, 2009 at 10:47 am

I am willing to give Brohm a little more time before calling him a wasted pick. I am very interested to see his development this year and if he looks the part of a promising quarterback.

Matthew said in March 30th, 2009 at 10:58 am

jersey – it was repeated ad nasuem. I specifically remember Steve Young saying those exact words the day of the draft…

packeraaron said in March 30th, 2009 at 11:07 am

Aaron is right. I remember listening to radio interviews before the draft on WFAN here in New York and I remember Phil Simms raving about Brian Brohm and how he was ready to start right out of college.

Keith said in March 30th, 2009 at 11:30 am

Ok so here is the question or..eh..questions :)

1) We know Brohm doesn’t have the strongest arm in the world…so who is his arm strength compared with? Chad Hennington? Does anyone have any similarities that scouts or analysts brought up?

2) The NFL game is fast. Brohm looked very unsure of himeslef and lacked confidence in his decison making process. This is something that is correctable and one thing to really look closely at in training camp. Is he making decisons quicker.

So who do you think Brohm can end up being compared with? What current or former players?

Matthew said in March 30th, 2009 at 11:44 am

Was Steve Young or any of the taking heads at ESPN right at this point? The last person I am listening to is Steve Young on QB advise anymore since he has been programmed by World Wide Leader. I love when fans make fun of him on the sidelines at games.
I did not believe the hype one bit on him coming out of Louisville. Actually, I was happier we got Flynn. At least I knew with Flynn we are getting a proven winner and he had the toughness to lead a team to a national title when he was at LSU.

Now exactly what did Brohm bring to the Packers?
I think the tools at ESPN were just harping the kids junior year at Louisville on Draft Day and saying the kid can lead a team.
They did touch a little on his senior season not being that good. His numbers were down, he was sacked a lot and he threw 12 INTS.
If he steps it up then great I do not dislike the guy. I just do not think he has the right tools to lead a team to a championship thats all.

jerseypackfan said in March 30th, 2009 at 12:05 pm

jersey – while I agree with some of your points, it’s hard to dismiss Steve Young out of hand. The guy did play quarterback in the NFL at a very high level. It’s not like his opinion is worth NOTHING…

packeraaron said in March 30th, 2009 at 12:09 pm

I knew that comment was coming from you Aaron. I should have defended Young a little better.
I know Young was a great QB in SF and not so good in the USFL and TB. What I am saying is he has been brainwashed by ESPN when it comes to saying things.

jerseypackfan said in March 30th, 2009 at 12:32 pm

I sort of agree that Brohm is untradeable at this point. Or, at least, I doubt any team would give up anything near a second round pick for him.

He is a developmental player. And that’s okay. McCarthy has proven to be an accomplished QB coach. I look forward to seeing how Brohm (and Flynn) improve from last season to this season.

Rodgers was written off as a “bust” by some at this point in his career. It just means that some people have too little patience.

Donald's Designated Driver said in March 30th, 2009 at 1:18 pm

QB is a strange position. The transition from college to the NFL is difficult. How many #1 picks have failed or have taken years to make the leap to the NFL lineup? This is particularly true of QB’s who played in the run and gun/spread type offense.

Too soon to write Brohm off and unless Rodgers gets hurt it’s not likely we’ll ever see him outside of a few quarters in pre-season. His development will take place on the practice field, not on Lambeau field.

Ron La Canne said in March 30th, 2009 at 3:05 pm

Brohm was touted as being “most ready” by many people besides Steve Young. You can’t compare Flynn winning a national championship to Brohm’s Sr. season at Louisville in terms of accomplishments. If you do that, how do you account for Flacco and Ryan? It’s not like either of those guys came close to a national championship. Brohm might well be a bust in the end but it’s way too early to tell. One would expect the biggest improvement to be Year 1 – Year 2 so we will see

Andrew n Atlanta said in March 30th, 2009 at 4:49 pm

The following QBs were drafted in rounds 1-3 in the last 3 drafts.

Brodie Croyle, Charlie Whitehurst, Tarvaris Jackson, Kellen Clemens, Matt Leinart, Vince Young, Drew Stanton, John Beck, Kevin Kolb, Brady Quinn, JaMarcus Russell, Kevin O’Connell & finally Brian Brohm.

The ‘logic’ presented by some would basically mean that “none” of these QBs have any trade value & all are destined to fail in the NFL.

It’s all about opportunity. As long as AR is healthy, BB won’t be playing. It doesn’t diminish his value before the NFL hierarchy. Only the fans that view everything as black/white are confused.

WoodyG said in March 30th, 2009 at 4:59 pm

Andrew, Flacco played in the FCS championship game.

bomdad said in March 30th, 2009 at 7:09 pm

bomdad, you didn’t really just say that, did you? I think you see the point I was making

Andrew n Atlanta said in March 30th, 2009 at 8:29 pm

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