The starting quarterback for the Buffalo Bills next season is not on this current roster, at least if they’re serious about winning. Well, let’s rephrase. A quarterback who’s already played this year won’t be the starter. Both Ryan Fitzpatrick and Trent Edwards are what they are. Fitzpatrick is a passable backup that can give you an occasional start. Edwards has a better chance of reuniting with J.P. Losman in the UFL as he does starting here next year.
Another thing is certain; the next starter for the Buffalo Bills will not be coming via free agency. Forget starters, there’s barely adequate backups available in next year’s class. With the exception of Kyle Orton, who the Broncos are sure to resign, this list of “prospects’ is about as intriguing as a Dick Jauron press conference.
Chad Pennington will be 34 next season, and he’ll be coming off major surgery, not a good recipe for throwing in the Buffalo winter wind. And he’s the BEST of the free agent crop.
Duante Culpepper, Charlie Batch and Mark Brunnell are has-beens. David Carr, Chris Redman, Rex Grossman and Josh McCown never even got to that point. A.J. Feeley? Kyle Boller?
Ladies and gentlemen, your 2010 free agent quarterback class.
Trade for Michael Vick? Unless Tony Dungy comes along in a package deal, I hardly think so.
The Bills are most likely to find their next quarterback in the draft. The problem with that is since taking Jim Kelly in 1983 they’ve failed each and every time they’ve used an early pick on a quarterback. Todd Collins was a bust. Ditto for Losman. Edwards didn’t go until round three, but the team liked him and invested a lot of time in his development. Mission fail.
If the season ended today, the Bills would be drafting sixth. Even if they hold their current draft spot, they’re not going to get the top quarterback on the board. They’re probably not going to get the second or maybe third either. Cleveland and St. Louis are near locks to finish below Buffalo and they’ll certainly be looking where Buffalo is on draft day. Washington and Seattle both currently have the same amount of wins as Buffalo and both could target a quarterback with their first pick. Did I even mention Oakland? Better hope San Francisco doesn’t lose out.
Realistically the Bills could pick as high as eighth and end up with only the third, fourth or maybe even fifth quarterback on the board. If that happens, do they still take a quarterback for the sake of taking one? Did we not learn our lesson in 2004 when we drafted Losman in the first even though Eli Manning, Philip Rivers and Ben Rothlisberger were already gone? It’s hard enough to trust this front office to make the right call when they take the top ranked player at a position, let alone third or fourth.
Hopefully they’ll give some extended playing time to Brian Brohm before the season is over and see what he can do. Yes, the second rounder just a year ago was a bust in Green Bay. He couldn’t even beat out unheralded Matt Flynn for a backup job to Aaron Rodgers. Yes, the Bills plucked him off the Packers’ practice squad, a sign that 31 other teams in the league could’ve had him if they so desired.
Playing him would also be harder on Brohm because he came to Buffalo midseason and doesn’t have as strong a grasp on the playbook as Fitzpatrick and Edwards do.
But having said all that, it’s far to early to write off the career of a prospect like Brohm. Sometimes, one mans’ trash is another’s treasure. Just ask the Packers how picking up an unwanted Bret Favre from Atlanta worked out for them. Was Kyle Orton ever as important in Chicago as he is to Denver? Matt Schuab didn’t get on the field much for Atlanta because of Vick but became a star in Houston.
Maybe a chance of scenery, coaches, players and schematics could jump start Brohm’s career. He’s certainly smart enough, scoring a 32 on the Wonderlic last year, tying Matt Ryan for the highest among quarterbacks. Arm strength is definitely not an issue. He can make all the throws.
If I’m Perry Fewell, Brohm is my starter for the last two, maybe even three games. It’s no secret the Bills offensive playbook isn’t the most intricate in football. Keep it simple, something the Bills are geniuses at.
Plus, Jauron didn’t want him, as made obvious by the Bills signing Brohm the day after he was fired. That alone should make any Bills fan want to see him on the field.
Maybe, just maybe Brohm looks great. Maybe they don’t have to reach for the third or fourth quarterback on the board next April, and can instead focus on a top offensive tackle or linebacker.
Playing the ‘nobody else wanted Brohm so he must not be good’ card is weak. How many teams wanted Jason Peters or Fred Jackson? That worked out quite well for this franchise. Besides, what do you have to lose now? If he stinks, he’ll fit in nicely with Fitzpatrick and Edwards and we’ll reach for yet another quarterback next April.
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3 Comments on Give The Ball To Brohm
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I too hope to see Brohm on the field shortly. I did hear (only could listen to the game) that Edwards and Brohm were standing with AVP all game long and Edwards was helping Brohm understand the plays being called. Maybe that will help accelerate the process? I’m definitely intrigued to see how he’ll perform.
I saw some of Brohm’s play for Green Bay during the preseason and he looked *terrible*. Any insight as to why he played so poorly there and what is expected to be different with the Bills?
- November 25, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Want your QB in 2010? Then root for this : Buffalo Sports Daily[...] that the quarterback of the future is not on the Bills roster. Yes, just yesterday I wrote the Bills should start Brian Brohm near the end of the season, but it’s not likely to happen. Why not? Because Perry Fewell and [...]