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The kid was having a tough time making the transition from college to the pro game.
So having played quarterback in the NFL himself and having watched Brian’s entire football development as his coach and his brother, Jeff, the University of Louisville’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, is offering as much help as he can.
“I’ve coached him for a while, and I’ve tried not to put my nose in there too much and give my opinion,” Jeff said in a phone interview Wednesday. “But the last couple weeks as he started to struggle, I told him, ‘If you need to talk, I’m here.’ And when he’s calling me for help, he knows he’s struggling a little bit. But he’s listened to everything I’ve said, and he agrees: It’s kind of a head game with him right now.”
Entering the Packers’ third preseason game Friday night at Denver, Brian has completed 12 of 26 passes (46.2 percent) for 103 yards, with no touchdowns, one interception and one lost fumble for a passer rating of 41.0. Third-stringer Matt Flynn has better numbers — 17-of-27 (63.0 percent) for 130 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions for an 87.0 rating — than his fellow rookie, and coach Mike McCarthy acknowledged recently that Flynn, a seventh-round pick, has closed the gap for the No. 2 job behind Aaron Rodgers.
“There’s been times out there where I feel in a good rhythm and I’m doing well, and there’s times where maybe I’m a step slow getting to the right person,” Brian said. “If I can just get into a nice rhythm and get things going, I’ll feel a lot better out there. You just have to keep grinding, keep working hard, keep pushing yourself and just know that all the hard work will eventually pay off.”
Jeff watched the Packers’ exhibition opener on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football,” then called virtually every sports bar in Louisville last week before finally finding a Packers-friendly pub that could get Saturday night’s game in San Francisco via satellite. And he doesn’t like what he’s seeing from Brian, a second-round pick who’s 15 years younger than Jeff.
“I think obviously he’s very frustrated right now. Things aren’t going as smoothly as he had hoped,” Jeff said. “I think he had one of those bumps in the road where everything was going pretty well. Now he’s struggled and he’s letting it affect his head and losing confidence and playing tentative. I just told him, ‘You need to simplify — just drop back, look for the open guy and cut loose.’ ”
Jeff, who entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent and played for six teams during his seven-year NFL career and even played in the ill-fated XFL, went back into the archives and watched tape of Brian at Louisville, going so far as sending Brian a copy of one tape to remind him of how he’s capable of playing. Jeff said he also told his brother that things have come easily up until now.
“I kind of had to work my way in there the hard way — bust my butt in the offseason and during the season, put in extra work to get an extra edge,” Jeff said. “With him, so far to this point, everything has gone smooth — he played great in college, had a great career. And now he’s playing against the best of the best and he’s hit some bumps in the road.
“It’s never easy as a rookie quarterback. The things I’ve seen him do (at Louisville), he hasn’t done those things (with the Packers). Because he’s been cautious, been tentative, been unsure. And you can’t play the quarterback position like that at all. He knows he’s struggling. Once he does get into a rhythm, he’ll be back to throwing the ball the way he knows how to.”
Packers quarterbacks coach Tom Clements said the “most NFL-ready quarterback in the draft” tag Brian Brohm received this spring has unfairly raised expectations — even though he was the 56th overall pick and third quarterback taken.
“At that position especially, it is difficult to do well early. He’s getting better. It’s still a learning process for him,” Clements said, adding Brohm’s fumbled exchange with center Junius Coston against the 49ers was because Coston snapped it prematurely. “There’s a big jump between college and pro, even if you’re playing in a pro-style offense in college. The types of defenses you see in the pros you don’t see in college. And you certainly don’t see the speed you see in the pros. So it’s an adjustment.”
For his part, general manager Ted Thompson isn’t overly concerned, despite calls for the team to sign a proven, veteran backup. Brian said he’s been trying to put his brother’s advice to good use.
“I knew it would be a challenge. It’s been nice to have a brother who’s been through it,” Brian said. “I feel like I’m right on the verge of really having some breakthroughs. If I can get into a nice rhythm in these upcoming games and get into the flow of the game, I’ll start playing with a little more confidence and start feeling a lot better out there.
“That’s the thing — you have to be confident in your throws, confident out in the field, and eventually things will get going the right way.”
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