There may have been some conspicuous moves made on draft day this year, to say the least.
However, none were more mind boggling to me than the decision by the Green Bay Packers to draft not one, but two quarterbacks, even though they already have a young round-one draft pick who has been waiting patiently in order to take over for the legendary Brett Farve.
The first of this pair of draft-day picks, Brian Brohm, was taken in the second round, a round that is typically reserved for players who are expected to start.
The Packers claim that Aaron is their man, but if so, why give up such a high pick for someone who is expected to be a backup?
In the later rounds of the draft, the packers also drafted Matt Flynn out of LSU. While many do not expect Flynn to ever become a star quarterback in this league, he did win an NCAA championship and does have some potential.
However, I am once again forced to question why the Packers feel compelled to draft quarterbacks when they supposedly feel confident in their young starter?
OK, Aaron Rodgers did suffer a couple of injuries during the playing time he has gotten in the NFL, although he has also shown flashes of brilliance when healthy. After all, it’s not like the kid doesn’t have talent.
In fact, some would make the argument that Rodgers was a much better prospect coming out of college than Matt Ryan ever was. And yet, Matt Ryan is being anointed the face of a franchise before ever even playing an NFL preseason game, while Aaron Rodgers is being forced to compete with two good rookie quarterbacks, as well as the shadow of a legend, just to earn a starting nod.
Is it just me, or is something very wrong with this picture?
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2 months ago
i think we should of traded up for a running back, i think grant is a one year wonder , our D is good more than good enough like bears was to keep us in the game, with a ok QB or unproven in rodgers case a great running game could of secured us alot more wins this year i think then just having rodgers and grant
2 months ago
I think you're both crazy. Rodgers hasn't shown 'flashes of brilliance' since he was wearing a Cal uniform. He's far from being a surefire NFL starter in this league and besides the Packers had no other veteran quarterbacks on the roster when they chose Brohm with the 56th pick. Should they have gone RB or CB at that spot? With RBs' McFadden, Mendenhall, Stewart, Johnson, & Rice all off the board who exactly could they have drafted to play ahead of Grant, Jackson, Morency, or Wynn? How bout CB. McKelvin, Rogers-Cromartie, Talib, Jenkins, Cason, and Flowers were all gone. So who then? Patrick Lee was the next CB off the board at pick no. 60 just 4 picks after the Packers may have secured the biggest 'steal' of the entire 2008 draft by selecting Brohm. If Brohm turns out to be the real deal the Packers can trade either him or Rogers in 2010 for a possible no. 1 pick. If he's not he sure as heck will make a nice back up at a decent cap number. As for Grant being a 'one year wonder', you need to get a clue! He didn't have just one little breakout game, he started the last 10 GAMES rushing for 929 yards with an average of 5.1 per rush and 8 touchdowns. The Packers were 8-2 in that stretch. Oh yeah and he also tacked on 201 yards and 3 TDs against the Seahawks in the playoffs. I give Ted Thompson a ton of credit for being patient and finding the best possible football players at the most economical price. Show me a better, young team in the league as cap friendly as the Packers and I will never crash your message board, again. Why don't you naysayers just sit back and appreciate the 13 wins the Packers organization gave you last year.
2 months ago
Ted Thompson just simply wanted to create some competition for the #2 QB spot. Actually its not a bad idea to have 3 QBs on your roster. GM Ted Thompson and HC Mike McCarthy have both basically said that this is Rodger's team. The NFL is just simply too complex of a game now days to expect rookies to be starting QBs. I don't think they drafted Brohm with an intention to push Rodgers for his starting spot. Rodgers knows the offense and has shown that he can play at a high level in the NFL. He hasn't proved if he can remain healthy or play consistently though. Obviously their best option is Rodgers at this point. No QB is ever a sure thing though which makes sense to have a few competing to see who comes out on top.
2 months ago
your right, the Packers have said that Rodgers is their guy, and that Brohm will be a backup. But if he will just be a backup, why use their 2nd round pick? Any pick within the top 3 rounds is generally reserved for players who are expected to be starters. I think Brohm is a good player, as is Rodgers and Flynn. I also believe it is important to have depth at QB. But a backup QB is either supposed to be the future franchise QB or a veteran mentor. Which one of those is Brohm? i don't believe he's either.
2 months ago
You asked, "The Packers claim that Aaron is their man, but if so, why give up such a high pick for someone who is expected to be a backup?"
Because they needed a backup.
from 2 months ago
They need a backup QB. It's called Daunte Culpepper, an established veteran who can mentor Aaron into becoming an elite QB. How can Brohm be a mentor to Rodgers?
2 months ago
How can Daunte Culpepper be a mentor for Rodgers? Do you want him to become an overweight, mediocre quarterback with a propensity for fumbles?
from 2 months ago
Maybe because he used to be an MVP, he nearly broke the record for touchdown passes in a season, and he has the balls to play even while injured, which is why his performance has severely dropped in recent years. As far as his weight, it is simply the weight that he is best playing at. You should also note the Jamarcus Russell weighs significantly more than him, and that he was one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the game even while playing at that weight. And as far as the fumbles, Daunte never had that problem till his thumb got injured, the same injury that caused a fumbling problem for Kurt Warner. So yes, he's exactly who i would want as a mentor.
from 2 months ago
What year was he MVP again? Could you refresh my memory? Oh that's right, he wasn't.
Durability and playing while injured? How about playing in 17 games over the past three seasons.
The weight issue? According to NFL.com's player profiles, Culpepper outweighs Russel by five pounds.
Mobility? True, he was mobile back in the day. But that was before he wrecked his knee. Since the injury, he has only topped 100 yards rushing IN A SEASON once.
Nearly breaking the passing touchdowns record? He was 9 away from even tying it.
Fumbles? He had 27 in his first two years as the starter in Minnesota and averaged 16.5 per season over the first four years he started, including a whopping 23 in 2002. I don't care what kind of injury you have, you shouldn't be coughing it up that much. Kurt Warner, who you cite as having the same injury, has never fumbled more than 12 times in a season and averaged just 10.75 fumbles per season during the most fumble prone stretch of his career.
2 months ago
Hello! Did anyone see the Green Bay vs. Dallas Cowboys game. There are you're Aaron Rodgers flashes of brillance. 2 touchdowns. 200 plus yards. NO INTERCEPTIONS!!!!! Yeah....they lost that game. But the Cowboys were the best team in the NFC heading into the playoffs. Rodgers will be fine and a young gun backing him up is nothing short of necessary for 6 or 7 years down the road.
from 2 months ago
Thanks for the backup. Maybe these guys don't consider 2 touchdowns and no interceptions with 200 yards of passing against a upper tier defense a good game for a young QB, who knows. I think Rodgers will be fine no matter who backs him up, although it is definitely more traditional to go with a veteran backup at the very least.
2 months ago
Actually taking two quarterbacks takes the pressure off Rodgers, because he won't have Favre hanging over his shoulder, waiting to take over when the first injury comes or the first bad game comes along. This was more of a message to Favre, "Thank you, but we both need to get along with our lives."
2 months ago
What puts more pressure on Rodgers? Picking two rookies to back him up or bringing in a veteran? I think the latter. You need three quarterbacks on the roster in any case. Thompson and McCarthy are taking a page from the Ron Wolf/Mike Holmgren era by drafting talented quarterbacks, training them in their system and then using them for trade bait if the starter establishes himself (witness Brunell, Detmer, Hasselbeck etc..)
2 months ago
The packers have complete faith in Aaron Rodgers. Drafting Brian Brohm was just Ted Thompson showing he picks up the best talent on the board, regardless of position. We also cut our two "veteran" one year pro quarterbacks and didn't resign Craig Nall. Brohm and Flynn give the packers their number 2 and 3 quarterbacks. So its not a question of Rodgers talent, its just that Thompson wanted three quarterbacks on the roster and he thought these guys were better than anyone he could get in free agency.
from 2 months ago
There were many high quality players that the team could have drafted at Aaron Rodgers' spot. After all, just about every wide receiver was still on the board, and they probably should have used that pick to get themselves a running back to complement Ryan Grant. If they wanted a backup quarterback, they should've waited till the 5th round and drafter Colt Brennan, Josh Johnson, or Dennis Dixon then, as they are all prospects that, even though they need time to develop, have the talent to become stars in the future. Also, they could have even signed some good undrafted free agents such as Anthony Morelli out of Penn State. To me, spending a 2nd round pick on a backup QB just doesn't make sense.
2 months ago
But they needed a quality back-up, not a project. With a lack of veteran free agent talent, I think that Brian Brohm is a great selection in terms of a back-up quarterback.
2 months ago
one game of aaron rodgers playing the cowboys is not brilliance they changed their whole defense from a pass rush happy D to sit back and let him see what he do to a zone and cover 2 D with no blitzes on him at all , ANYONE coulda played in that case and looked good , nonetheless i still have faith in him, but maybe not as much as others
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