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NFL Europa Diary - Carlton Brewster, Part II
posted 05/03/2007
Wide receiver Carlton Brewster is one of a handful of Green Bay Packers allocated to NFL Europa this spring.
Brewster is a starter for the Berlin Thunder, and after three games he currently leads the league in receptions (23) and receiving yards (283), which also places him first in total yards from scrimmage. He has yet to score a touchdown, however, and the Thunder has lost two straight games to fall to 1-2, so despite some individual success he's not entirely satisfied with his play.
Berlin travels to Cologne in Week 4 on Saturday. The game can be seen on NFL Network at 11 a.m. (CT).
Packers.com will post periodic diary entries from Brewster about his experiences in Europe with his "springtime" team. Here is the second installment:
I've been putting up some pretty good numbers, but that's thanks to my quarterback, my O-line, the whole offensive staff, period. And the defense, the DBs who give me a good look in practice, and the coaches putting me in positions for me to catch balls and make plays.
But overall I'm not satisfied with myself. I don't think I've been playing up to my potential yet. I've graded myself probably a C average these last three games. Overall, I've got a lot of improving to do. Just being more disciplined on my route running, the depth of my routes, blocking, securing the ball, reading zones, just little things like that. It's not big things, just little things, but small things add up.
I'm leading the league in receiving, and I am very competitive that way. Anytime we play when I'm out there, I feel like I'm the best receiver in this league, and you've got to have that attitude when you step on the field, you have to have the attitude no one can touch you. It's an honor to have those yards and those catches, but it doesn't mean anything when you don't win football games. The other receiver on our team, Rich Musinski, we're the top two in the league, and it doesn't look good when our record is 1-2, so hopefully the next couple weeks we can get our team back on track. Because we've got a lot of potential, we're just doing a lot of stupid mistakes, not getting the ball in the end zone. We're moving it great, just not getting it in the end zone.
For me, my dad says, "When are you going to score a touchdown?" And my mom told me last week, "You're going to score a touchdown this week," but I didn't score again. I came up short. It's frustrating. I've got all these catches and yards, but every time I think about it I think about Keyshawn Johnson when he had that big year in Tampa Bay and he had like 1,500 yards receiving and one touchdown against the Detroit Lions in the last game of the year. So I always keep that in my head, I can't have all these catches and yards and not get in the end zone. Hopefully this week. I've got a lot of makeup to do and hopefully I can have a three-touchdown game in a big win. I know the times are going to come because I'm a hard worker and I'm going to be all right.
I almost got in the end zone our last game. It was our first drive, and a guy on our team blocked a punt. On our first play, we were running a slant, and when I ran my slant the guy didn't move. He was in my way and bumped me, and it should have been a PI (pass interference), but he put his hand in there and deflected it, and the safety dove and caught it. It was an amazing play. That's when I knew luck was not going our way. That was a terrific play by the safety. I thought it was just going to be a deflection and it would be second down, but the guy dove out of nowhere and picked it.
Our coach, John Allen, is doing a lot of different things week in and week out to give me a chance to get the ball. He was an assistant receiver coach in Cleveland, helping us out for two or three weeks during training camp last year, and he saw my potential there, so when he got the head coaching job here I kind of knew I was going to end up in Berlin, because he liked me a lot.
One thing that's really going to stay with me was being in Olympic Stadium here. Just seeing how big it was and knowing the history, with Jesse Owens and Adolf Hitler. A couple weeks ago before our first home game, we went to a soccer game, and the soccer fans are wild. They cheered the whole game, the whole three hours, standing on their feet cheering. It's crazy how you can be so proud of your team to keep cheering the whole time. Both sides were competing with each other, and I had chills in my spine. I was wishing I played soccer, seeing both sides competing on the field and in the stands. I took a lot of pictures of that.
I didn't really pay attention to the draft round for round. I waited until the draft was completely over and I looked online at who Green Bay snatched up, and I saw they got a couple of receivers. It's not in my power, so I looked at it like I have to go into camp and compete. That's me. I'm going to be a competitor. We've got a good young receiving corps already, and then you bring these guys in, you're going to get the best out of this group, and that's what it's all about in the NFL. I just have to keep doing what I'm doing.
I'm not really worried about it right now, because I'm just worried about winning games and getting us to the World Bowl. Everything else will happen after the season. It's in the back of my mind, but right now I'm thinking we have to beat Cologne on Saturday. |
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