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All the Rage Rash of injuries force Browns to sign XFL QB Brohm
BEREA, Ohio (AP) -- Jeff Brohm has survived weeks of training camp with the Orlando Rage of the new XFL, where smashing in the quarterback's head will be part of the fun. So Brohm's not too worried about getting through a few days as a backup with the Cleveland Browns. Maybe he should be. After all, most of Cleveland's quarterbacks are wearing casts, ice bags or using crutches these days. "I noticed that," Brohm said. Forced by injuries to use two wide receivers at quarterback last Sunday, the Browns placed their fourth QB -- Kevin Thompson -- on injured reserve Wednesday and signed Brohm to a contract for the season's final week. "I've never heard of an NFL team that actually had to put four quarterbacks on the injured list," Brohm said. "That's amazing." That's what the Browns said when Ty Detmer tore his Achilles' heel without being hit during the preseason, and when Tim Couch broke his thumb on the final play of practice. And it was equally amazing when Spergon Wynn and Thompson couldn't play last week against Philadelphia and Browns head coach Chris Palmer surprised the Eagles by using wideouts Kevin Johnson and Dennis Northcutt at quarterback. The injury bug at quarterback is enough to make a backup wince, and that's just what Johnson did Wednesday when informed that all four QBs who started training camp this season are now teammates on IR. The Browns have had seven quarterbacks on the roster this season and now have 14 players on injured reserve. "Ouch," Johnson said. The unusual rash of injuries have brought Palmer's practice methods into question. Some current and former Browns players have accused Palmer, whose job could be in jeopardy, of running summer practices that are too long and too tough and the pounding has eventually caught up to the Browns. However, Palmer pointed out that only two of the players on IR -- Couch and Thompson -- got hurt during practice. "All the others are game related," Palmer said. "I've talked to some of the players. [Linebacker] Jamir Miller said, 'I've been through easier camps and I've been through harder and this is about the norm.'" As the Browns gain more depth and experience, Palmer said his coaching experience has shown him that the practices will be different. "As your team starts to mature, you will see that the practices will change," he said. For the past few weeks, Brohm, an undrafted free agent out of college who has kicked around the NFL with four teams, has been working out with the Rage, who will begin play in the XFL in February. And no, despite the league's comparisons as a football version of the World Wrestling Federation, the XFL is much more NFL than WWF. Eye gouging, choke holds and pile drivers will be banned in the XFL, and nothing will be scripted. "The games are going to be real, yeah." Brohm said. But could it be more dangerous for quarterbacks? "It is a little bit more," he said. "There's no in-the-grasp rule. A quarterback can't slide. If he does, he's still alive. That, I don't like." The XFL promises to be the ultimate experience for football fans. Brohm said coaches and players will wear microphones, and cameras will be permitted on the sidelines and in the huddle and locker rooms. "I asked them, 'Should I watch my swearing?'" Brohm said. "And they were like, 'No, we'll edit it.' It should be interesting." Brohm worked out with the Browns during the summer, but wasn't signed. He was skeptical about what he might be getting himself into when he was drafted by the XFL, but is looking at it as a chance to showcase his talents and a way to get back to the NFL. It's a little like being a minor league baseball player, which Brohm was for the Cleveland Indians before focusing on football. "It was basically a deal in the summer," said Brohm, drafted as a center fielder by the Indians in 1990. "I played with Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez. The Indians wanted me play full-time and I wasn't ready yet. "Now after seeing some of these contracts getting signed I should have."
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