June 23rd, 2009

Brohm Still Struggling

Aaron Nagler in 3-4 defense, Brian Brohm, Will Blackmon

That’s the word out of camp today.

Though he seemed to do a bit better in the red zone drill, throwing for a touchdown and also running one in, during full team sessions, Brohm reportedly struggled mightily, holding the ball too long, staring down receivers and generally looking unsure in his play over all.

Now, it’s June. It’s shorts. And he’s not exactly working with the ‘A’ team. (I mean, he threw a touchdown to Devin Frischknect for Gods sake *apologies, it was actually Kole Heckendorf – Who? Exactly* who, to his credit, apparently made an amazing catch with Tramon Williams all over him) But for Brohm to come out in mini-camp and still be struggling with many of the same parts of the game that he did last pre-season is disconcerting to say the least.

I found this Tweet from Tom Pelissero of particular interest:

Will blackmon came untouched on slot blitz. Brohm would have been annihilated in a game

When a corner comes on a blitz from the slot, that is more often than not the quarterback’s responsibility. (hattip:  Chris over at Smart Football)

Now, in the video above, Logan is scheming against a 4-3 defense, and the blitzer in question is a LB instead of a corner, but the concepts are the same. No doubt Brohm is seeing things a bit muddier due to Capers 3-4 scheme and hard-to-determine blitz tendencies. But make no mistake, that is a rudimentary concept displayed in the video above. Brohm should be at least at the level where he knows to check a corner in the slot and to get the ball out to his hot read if he comes on any blitz.

Don’t color me panicked on Brohm, but color me concerend.

18 Responses to “Brohm Still Struggling”

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If the Packers kept 4# then eventually may have have only Brohm

ctpack said in June 23rd, 2009 at 1:03 pm

What language is that?

PackerAaron said in June 23rd, 2009 at 1:32 pm

@ctpack – stop making CT packers fans look ignorant!

I’m concerned too about Brohm. He was a 2nd round pick, and is having trouble catching on as a 3rd string QB. Didn’t he go through McCarthy’s QB School that helped A-Rod so much? It’s amazing how much Brohm’s stock has dropped since he decided to return for his senior year.

Mark said in June 23rd, 2009 at 1:58 pm

LOL, I was thinking the exact same thing. I think I’ve deciphered it to read: “If we had kept Favre around another year, Rodgers wouldn’t have re-signed, we may not have drafted Flynn, and Brohm would be our #1 QB right now.”

It is an interesting, and scary, thought, but altogether unlikely. If Favre comes back before the draft, or doesn’t decide that he’s leaving in the first place, Rodgers sticks around another year. If he decided to come back after the draft, and the Packers had accepted him, we’d already have Flynn, who’s outperforming Brohm. While it’s possible that someone else would pick up Flynn after he was put on wavers in order to be placed on the practice squad, I don’t see it as being all that likely.

Jayme said in June 23rd, 2009 at 2:05 pm

Hold on folks! I seem to remember very similar questions being asked about Aaron Rodgers’ play in his second preseason. It seems to me that there is a lot more to playing QB in the NFL than merely learning the plays. You have to decide who you are going to be as a player and you have to become a man under the most unforgiving spotlight. Brohm never really had to think about those issues in the bubble that was Louisville as his brother was his coach and he was a lot closer to his family. In Green Bay he’s on his own and that crucible will either make or break him. I want to see what he does throughout this year and next year as well, if he manages to hold on. You guys are way jumping the gun on this one, just as you did with AR, whom I think was more emotionally mature than Brohm is at this stage of his career. Everyone matures at a different rate and that’s neither good nor bad, just different. I say bravo to Flynn for the strides he’s made thus far, but I’m also not giving up on Brohm quite yet.

Sparkyo said in June 23rd, 2009 at 2:10 pm

Sparkyo, it’s a fair point you’re making but to be clear, Rodgers never looked as bad as Brohm did last preseason. Did he struggle? Sure. But he never had the deer-in-the-headlights look that Brohm does when he’s under center. Plus, Rodgers took command of the huddle from the moment he was drafted. I distinctly remember him jumping all over an OL in his first preseason drive his rookie year when the lineman had a false-start. Some saw that as Rodgers being cocky (Corey hated Rodgers for this and other signs of arrogance for years) but I saw it as a kid who was drafted behind a legend and wanted to assert himself as soon as possible.
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I don’t have any problems with where Brohm is. Again, I’m concerned, but no more than I would be with any other second year struggling player. But you def saw a jump in Rodgers play from year one to year two. No, he wasn’t Mr. August the way Hasselbeck was, but he def improved in Year Two. Here’s hoping we see the same improvement from Brohm.

packeraaron said in June 23rd, 2009 at 2:22 pm

Mark,all I am saying is Rodgers( I feel) has much better upside than Brohm.Packers have the youngest team in the league.Only time will tell for all these young players we have

ctpack said in June 23rd, 2009 at 2:53 pm

There’s a chineese proverb that goes kind of like this: If a horse wins one race, it’s luck. If he wins two races, it’s coincidence. If he wins three races, bet on that horse. I feel that way with Brohm. I hoped this time he would beat Flynn (who, btw, is a winner. Am I the only one seeing Hasselback writen all over him?), but it’s okay IMO if he doesn’t. But he better win the 2nd string job by september 2010, or he’s a bust.

PackersRS said in June 23rd, 2009 at 3:51 pm

My memory’s getting hazy, but I seem to recall A-Rodge looking pretty awful in 2005 and 2006. And I remember being fairly shocked at how well he played while subbing for Favre vs. the Cowboys in ‘07. Brohm still has a decent shot to become a good player.

MC said in June 23rd, 2009 at 3:52 pm

MC – he didn’t look like a Pro Bowler, but there was definite improvement. And after the Pittsburgh preseason game, the Dallas performance didn’t surprise me in the least. What DID surprise me was Rodgers starting all 16 games last season. Never thought that would happen.

packeraaron said in June 23rd, 2009 at 4:00 pm

Aaron – not only did he start all 16 games, but he played hurt. So he showed that he was a tough player, but failed to dispel the “injury prone” label that’s followed him.

Jayme said in June 23rd, 2009 at 4:10 pm

I make Ct look bad, What? I represent the Pack all over the 203 and the 860.I watch games at Buffalo Wilds Wings in Milford with few Packer fans.We could of had the Michigan quaterback the Dolphins took after Brohm.

ctpack said in June 23rd, 2009 at 4:59 pm

AS packer fans, we can feel some concern because we expect more from a QB picked that high. However, we may have struck some kind of gold (maybe not 24 kt) with Flynn. Let’s count our blessings. What if TT HADN’T taken Flynn too? We’re not going to bat 100%, that’s for sure. Never forget those famous words….”CRAP SHOOT!”

retiredgrampa said in June 23rd, 2009 at 8:10 pm

CTpack up in the valley!

bomdad said in June 23rd, 2009 at 8:12 pm

Still not sure why they picked a QB at #2 last year. Basically, it was a “crap shoot”. What the Packers needed was a backup for Rogers not a developmental project. Actually they got their developmental project with Flynn at #7. If they’re not planning on Rodgers for 6 or 7 more years I’m really confused. I’ll guarentee that Brohm will not be with Packers after his rookie contract expires. If the Packers are lucky they could pick up a #5 or 6 for him. Most likely he’ll be cut.

Ron La Canne said in June 23rd, 2009 at 9:50 pm

Aaron, you’re right that AR never looked as bad as Brohm did last year, but that’s not saying a whole lot! ;-) Still, I am in agreement with what MC has said about AR, circa 2005-6. I would describe 2005-6 as having plenty of deer in the headlights moments for Rodgers. Indeed, 2007 was no picnic either in my memory of his play with a couple of exceptions that you’ve already enumerated. I also remember being at Packers’ Family Night in 2008 and seeing him get booed by some fans for his poor play at the outset. BTW, I’m sure at least a measure of that was fallout from the Favre imbroglio. I also don’t want you to think that I am painting you as necessarily jumping the gun in a rush to judgment on Brohm as I know you are generally a thoughtful observer of all things football. Bottom line, to sum up my general outlook, I guess I just have a problem with all the nihilism seen in the comments sections on these Packer sites regarding anything unassociated with BLF’s posterior.

Sparkyo said in June 24th, 2009 at 2:36 am

I love that someone who reads our site used the word ‘nihilism’, and did so without quoting Lebowski. You don’t get THAT at the ol’ GBPG!

packeraaron said in June 24th, 2009 at 8:23 am

Aaron, FYI: I may use pugilistic or lugubrious before the day is over.

MC said in June 24th, 2009 at 11:15 am

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