The Buffalo Bills made sure that the exited NFL Draft weekend with a rookie quarterback in tow - they just took said rookie quarterback a bit later than anticipated. With the 209th overall pick, Buffalo brought in Troy's Levi Brown as their fourth project quarterback.
Most of us haven't seen Brown play, however, and I'm also fairly certain that one drive isn't going to make or change opinions on a prospect. Still, we thought we'd share a nice video of a Brown-led Troy drive from 2008. We're sick of talking about football. Let's watch ten minutes or so, shall we?
The video after the jump is from a November 15, 2008 game between Troy and LSU. Obviously, there's a rather massive talent and conference disparity there, and this also happened to be a home game for LSU. Troy surprised some people by competing with the Tigers, losing the game 40-31. Brown attempted a whopping 72 passes in the game, completing 34 for 316 yards with two touchdowns and one pick. You'll see one ten-minute drive from that game after the jump.
Some things to note here:
- This game occurred in Brown's junior season. Brown had a very good junior season (61.3% completions, 2,030 yards, 15 TD, 3 INT), but he was much more assertive and productive as a senior (63.7% completions, 4,254 yards, 23 TD, 9 INT). He made improvements upon his junior season, so bear that in mind.
- You can see just how gimmicky and unique Troy's spread offense is - not gimmicky in the sense that you've never seen it before, but that type of attack just isn't run in the NFL, particularly from a communication standpoint. There will be a learning curve.
- Physically, Brown stands out - he's big, mobile and has a solid arm. The ball looks a little funny coming out of his hands, and it takes some velocity and accuracy off of his throws. That is correctable.
- Brown, perhaps due in part to the type of scheme he's operating, looks very decisive with the ball. He anticipates routes well and makes great decisions. His downfield accuracy is concerning in this video.
- I'll re-iterate that this is LSU. This is a top-flight program from the SEC; the speed of the game is different between Troy and LSU. Brown didn't have a great statistical game, but he didn't look out of place on the field, either. He put his team in position to win the game.
More comments about Brown are welcome. Film!