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NFL Europa Diary - Carlton Brewster, Part III
posted 05/18/2007
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 five games he currently leads the league in receptions (26) and receiving yards (372). Over the past two games, both against Cologne, he caught a 55-yard TD pass but then was held to just one catch for 20 yards in the rematch.
Berlin travels to Frankfurt in Week 6 on Sunday. The game can be seen on NFL Network at midnight (CT).
Packers.com will post periodic diary entries from Brewster about his experiences in Europe with his "springtime" team. Here is the third installment:
I got my first touchdown in our first game against Cologne. I was happy, felt like I got the monkey off my back. We went into Cologne and beat a very good team. But this past weekend, they came here and beat us pretty good, so the series is 1-1. They have a very good defense.
The touchdown play was a crossing route. I was lined up tight split on the left-hand side. We had another guy on the other side of the field, and he ran a crossing route, too. But his was at a higher angle, so I rubbed off him and flattened it out a little bit. The corner let me go, because he thought he had help on the other side, but he didn't. I caught it and took it the rest of the way. Another receiver was out front blocking for me, but I could have walked into the end zone because the corner let me go.
Last week, in the rematch, a lot of people thought they had a good defensive scheme for me. But in NFL Europe, you have to have an international player on the field at all times, at least one player. And our left tackle, he's German, he didn't play that game. So we had to keep one of our international receivers in, and the rest of us had to alternate every series. So instead of me playing 60 or 65 plays, I only played 30 to 40 plays. So that's what it was.
That was a problem, and I was frustrated. It was a close game, and usually I'm out there. On one series, we had a 10 or 12-play drive, and I was on the sidelines. I knew if I was out there, I could make a big play, but that's how the rules are over here.
My Green Bay teammate, Tim Goodwell, has been playing excellent. You couldn't ask any more from him. The first game he played against Cologne, he hardly played in the first half, and then he came in and dominated. Ten tackles, seven solos and two forced fumbles. You can't ask for a better game than that. Then this last game, he had six or seven tackles with three tackles for losses. Nothing against our linebackers, but Tim is the best linebacker we have on our team. He's very athletic. Wherever the ball is, he'll be there too.
Tim and I got real tight when we were in Green Bay working out before we went to Tampa for training camp. We've been real close. He went to Birmingham for a couple weeks and got treated for his injury, and he's 100 percent now. I didn't know he was this good. He surprised me. I'm happy for him, and I know he's going to continue making plays. He's a good ballplayer.
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My mother, my sister, my mother's best friend and her husband, they came up to see me last Thursday and spent the whole weekend with me for Mother's Day. I was so happy to see my mom. They spent a lot of time touring. They loved it here in Berlin, loved the food, loved everything. My mom said she wants to go overseas more and do different things now. My highlight was to see my mom in the stands this past weekend. My mom is my No. 1 fan, to see her before the game waving and smiling and cheering, it was a blessing. I was happy for them to come here safely and see me perform.
I've been going to movies. The cinema is nice here, very big. I saw the new Spiderman. This movie theater is in English, so a whole bunch of us went. It was just like going to a movie in Green Bay.
But all the TV shows, they translate to German. I've been watching Fresh Prince, and the Bill Cosby shows, and it looks so funny to see Will Smith speaking German. I was watching that Al Bundy show, and it was the same thing. You can tell the voice is somebody different, that's what's funny about it. I'm not really learning any German, staying away from it. Some guys have German books, and some things sound the same as English, but I'm not really picking up German at all.
We've got another five games, and the first half of the season is over with. Myself personally, I have to turn it up. Everybody has to turn it up another notch. Offensively, we haven't found our identity yet, if we're going to be a heavy passing team or a heavy run team. We're still searching. I think we're going to find it this week, and hopefully we can make some plays downfield. We've got a big game at Frankfurt, the defending World Bowl champs. We've been successful on the road, so hopefully we can go down there and pull it out.
For me personally, this second half of the season will be like the Spiderman movie. He found a new suit, the all-black, and he was a different person, and that's going to be me for the whole second half. My play on the field is going to be different. I've got some good numbers, but I've dropped a few balls and I don't drop passes. That's a fluke to me. I'm real, real tough on myself, and you have to be tough on yourself in this business. I know I could have had better numbers, so the second half of the season will be a new me. Hopefully I can get some good things going and get to the World Bowl. |
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