saintfan

Whodat, where did you say you wanted to see Brooks improve his numbers? Which statistical categories were those? Would you kindly go back and research that post and asses Brooks\' numbers (the ones you deem important) then versus now? Do that for me pa-lease.

I, sir, have NEVER attempted to prove Aaron\'s worth statistically. True, I have argued with you about it \"up and down this board\" and I\'ll continue to do so because my position has not and will not change. Statistics can prove whatever a person wants \'em to prove pending the spin, and I sir, am not attempting to be a spin doctor. I leave that to Satintz08...he is the professional spin doctor, however you\'re not far behind.

FYI Brooks\' numbers would be even better if (a) our defense could\'ve stopped anybody earlier in the year and (b) if we had more than one receiver that knew how to get open and (c) if we had ANYbody on the roster who could catch and (d) the coaches would game plan to his strengths...etc, etc, etc. As always, I\'m not givin\' Brooks a free pass. He\'s thrown some head scratchers a time or three (tell me which QB in the NFL hasn\'t), but all in all HIS play has been SOLID while the rest of the TEAM\'S play needs to be questioned.

C'mon Man...

lumm0x

Here\'s for you Prince:

The Aaron Brooks we see today is more mature on various levels than he was the year he stepped in for Jeff Blake. He now has a marquee role on this team. He has been essentially guaranteed by this coaching staff that he has job security. When Blake got hurt he saw an opportunity to earn the big pay cheque. Now he has the big pay cheque. I\'m not trying to insinuate that any of his current motivation regarding performance is financially driven, but perhaps his early muse was.
Early in his career he also lacked as much practical knowledge of the position in terms of NFL style and caliber of play. He was forced to play and react more heavily on inherint instincts rather than coached and acquired knowledge. My opinion is he has a tendency to overthink situations rather than just go with his gut. His unpredicability was a advantage he possessed early on. Defences also knew nothing about him at that time. They didn\'t expect the escapability, the huge darts he can throw vertically. They defended dump off routes, expecting a rookie to use the high percentage check downs as a safety net, when Brooks just intended to rocket the ball in a clear passing lane. And lastly, his pocket presence was more noticable as a rookie than today. It\'s hard to say why. Perhaps he was so nervous at that time the mere presence of a defender within his reach set him in motion and instincts took him to open field. Today, maybe he\'s more accustomed to looking a reciever open under a collapsing pocket that he forgets just how long he\'s had the ball.

To bring him back to this type of play, perhaps he does need to understand that tommorrow is promised to no one. That he does not have carte blanche job security. Maybe the team needs to publicly declare a different team member the clear cut leader of this team, on field and off, and take the limelight off of him. The leagues tendency is for the QB to be the team leader but there are a variety of cases where that is not the case. Baltimore for example. Ray Lewis is the unquestioned focal point of that team. Alot of expectation is removed from the QB there because of that. It is one aspect the QB doesn\'t have to concentrate on excelling at. Maybe Brooks needs to have this requirement of the job removed to focus more on growing as a QB than as a leadership. Maybe all of this leader talk and leadership course, etc, are a distraction. I can think of many employees in various jobs that suddenly excelled at their duties when the part of the job they hated, and that frustrated them, was removed from the tasks.


That\'s about all I can add here.

canucksaint

Back to the original question about AB and why I think that he performed better in his early years. As I stated earlier, he was working of instinct then, whereas now he is thinking too much. I preferred him the old way when he got things done. I do agree with Billy in the fact that he has improved as a pocket passer, however that is not his forte, and if it isn’t, then why are they trying to make him into something he isn’t. I just don’t understand that logic. In answer to Billy’s question of “am I saying that AB isn’t a good pocket passer�. Well, no. I’m not saying that, I am saying that he should work with his talents and not try to force things. As for the comparison to other QB’s and do I apply the same standards. Probably not, however I don’t have the love for their team or scrutinize them as much. However I am happy to see that he has rediscovered his legs and is trying to run a bit more now.

ThePosterFormerlyKnownAs-

It\'s always interesting to see how eveyone views Aaron Brooks. I do agree that he plays better when he plays instinctive. I also agree that Brooks needs to run the ball more. When Brooks took over for Jeff Blake, he basically just improvised and made things happen. That was successful then, but I don\'t think you want to keep running an undisciplined offense like that.

Right now Brooks is in the same situation that most young QB\'s are in. He is learning to make better decisions and cut down on the mistakes. When compared to other pocket passers, with the same experience, he seems to be holding his own. That is if you judge him fairly against some other QB\'s. There are not too many QB\'s in the history of the NFL that are fully developed in their 3rd year as a starter. I think the tag that Aaron Brooks is never going to be a great pocket passer is way too premature. I\'m not saying he will, but just that it\'s too early to say.

I think Brooks needs to continue to develop his skills as a pocket passer, but when things break down, I think he needs to place it upon himself to use his atletic ability to make plays. Hey, at least Brooks possess those skills. It\'s a very nice asset to have, rather than having a QB that doesn\'t have that option.



[Edited on 6/11/2003 by ThePosterFormerlyKnownAs-]

canucksaint

I agree that he may have to potental to be a good pocket passer, I just don\'t like it when I see him trying to hard to be a pocket passer and acting like his feet are in cement. IF he can develop these talents (which he should be able too) then he will be a stand out QB. I am enjoying watching his development, and I am willing to still give him a chance to improve.

WhoDat

NEVER!

saintfan

In my humble opinion Jake Delhomme sucks pond water!

JOESAM2002

Now I know that ain\'t right saintfan. I got a 2 acre square pond and have never seen him down there drinking.

WhoDat

It could be worse. He could be Aaron Crooks.

whowatches

Odd... I saw O8 hangin\' around a pond last week while I was fishin\'.... very interesting.

Don\'t need no Blue\'s Clues to figure that one out!