Could this mark the end of the Edwards era? Matt Bowen
The Buffalo Bills haven’t wasted any time since the firing of Dick Jauron on Tuesday to start making changes.
Perry Fewell was named the interim head coach, and his first decision came down yesterday when he announced that the club would start Ryan Fitzpatrick on Sunday over former starter Trent Edwards—a move we all could see coming given Edwards’ struggles this season. Mike Shanahan’s name has been bounced around the rumor mill, and owner Ralph Wilson has stated that no job would be safe.
We knew change would occur, but what I am curious about is the signing of quarterback Brian Brohm from the Green Bay practice squad, which was confirmed last night—because this should all but signal the end of Edwards as the Buffalo QB.
We don’t know much about Brohm as a pro except that he was beaten out by Matt Flynn in Green Bay to back up starter Aaron Rodgers, and that we often don’t see second-round QBs hanging out on the practice squad. But that is besides the point for the Bills, because they obviously see some sense of a future for him in Buffalo. They cut QB Gibran Hamdan today to make room on the roster for Brohm, and in doing that—along with his two-year deal—he may just be part of the bigger future for Ralph Wilson’s Bills.
Edwards is certainly not. Anyone you talk to inside of the Bills’ facility will tell you the same thing—he is struggling. Terrell Owens hasn’t produced, Lee Evans hasn’t produced and this offense as a whole has been a disappointment.
Fewell’s decision to sit Edwards has just moved the process forward of making a permanent change at the QB position in the future. As our own Mike Lombardi wrote the day that Jauron was let go, the Bills need a size/speed team to compete in the elements, and Edwards doesn’t provide that. He doesn’t have the arm to throw the ball down the field in the weather, and he doesn’t have the ability to make plays for the offense that the Bills want to be.
Could Brohm do that? We don’t know, and anything we do say is speculation until he is given a chance with his new team. Yes, it is obvious that he wasn’t a fit in Green Bay, as he struggled when given opportunities in the preseason to win not only the backup job but a roster spot. However, the Bills and their scouts obviously have something in mind for the former Louisville star.
One scout I talked to compared Brohm's arm strength to that of Matt Ryan’s in Atlanta. Is that good enough to win in December at Ralph Wilson Stadium? The Bills are going to find out, as they will with plenty of changes that are sure to come.
Edwards was just the first victim of that change.
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Brohm was so slow getting rid of the ball in GB that his arm was still cocked on the plane flight to Buffalo.
Put him behind this young Oline and he's sure to get hammered like a Freshman at orientation.
Any ifurther insight to the rumor that the Pack cut Jake Allen in an effort to try and keep Brohm?
As far as his prospects go, well, he was a really good college QB.
With all of Bradford's injury problems, why do I get this feeling that Buffalo takes him at 4 or 5?
@ Brat Man -
Dude your comments are pretty much worthless whenever you post. You drink your beerS on Sundays and watch a few games and think you are some sort of arm chair GM. I'm sure Brian Brohm is totaling bummin' if he read your comment.
Packer Jon - the Packers matched the Bills offer, so it is possible. Not sure it matters either way...Allen is a scrub.
I suspect this is reading WAY to much into the signing. The Bills have 9 games in the books and they ain't going nowhere. Brohm was a 2nd rounder who in GB couldn't make it work -- or really even come close -- I suspect the Bills signed him now not as some central part of a "big shakeup" or probably even with many expectations for him (come on, how high can his stock around the league be when in only his 2nd year he was cut after training camp and every team passed on him allowing the Packers to sign him to their practice squad?).
No, I would guess they signed him now so he could start getting familiar with the offense to give him his best shot at representing value to them next training camp and season. This is just a team rolling the dice, the expectations are probably low but then so was the cost.
Chris is dead on. By plucking Brohm from the Packer practice squad, the Bills get a "veteran" QB from a good passing team at no cost or compensation. It gives the Bills a few months to evaluate Brohm, a successful college QB, before the draft. If the Bills like Brohm, it could save them the risk and cost of a high draft pick for a unproven college QB.
I wish Brohm luck. Only Tim Couch, signed briefly by talent-evaluator wunderbar Mike Sherman, looked worse in Green and Gold than Brohm. Brohm always appeared to be playing in a lower gear than everyone else. In his one preseason here, Couch played with the parking brake set, but walked away with $600,000 of Sherman's bonus money.
Brohm plugging in would position them to get a tackle from Rutgers or Ok St.
If Brohm was so terrible, why did the Packers offer him a deal to keep him from signing with the Bills?
The Packers offered him a deal because Rodgers has been hurt and Flynn is the only other QB on the roster. You could let Brohm go and bring in a veteran for backup, but he's got to learn the system. Brohm wasn't good but he at least knew the system. Letting him go is good for both sides. The Packers can find another prospect and Brohm can see if a fresh start triggers his career.
Everyone is quick to label someone a failure when things don't work out with their first team. Did you marry the first girl that you dated? If not, it didn't mean that you weren't the marrying type, just that it the two people didn't fit. It's the same with players and teams. Sometimes you just need to find the right team/coaches/system/teammates that motivate you to be a stud. Favre was a joke to Jerry Glanville in Atlanta but the Packers made him a project. That worked and there are other examples in the NFL. Dilfer was terrible with most teams but won a Super Bowl with the Ravens. Granted it was more because of the defense, but he played much better with that team.
Brohm has a chance to get things going with the Bills. What does either side have to lose?
Nov 19, 2009
04:45 PM
If Brohm is the future in Buffalo, then this team is going nowhere.