Aaron Brooks Kerry Collins

Collins drops back to pass, Jared Allen beats the left tackle around the end of the lineollins throws the ball out of bounds. Second down and ten.""First and ten: Brooks drops back to pass, Jared Allen beats the left tackle around the end of the linerooks avoids the rush and connects with LaMont Jordan for five yards. Second down and five."It won't happen every time. But when fans see Brooks dance in the pocket for the first time next season, it will be a breath of fresh air.Fresh air that the haven't been able to inhale since their early days with Rich Gannon.In a March 21st article entitled "Aaron Brooks much too comparable to Collins," I evaluated the similarities of former Raiders' quarterback Kerry Collins and recently-acquired Aaron Brooks. The common thread between both of the passers was seemingly their questionable decision-making ability-which time and again resulted in turnovers for their respective teams.However, one of the paragraphs included in the piece began: "Besides the glaring difference in mobility between Collins and Brooks?But it was left it at that. Now, it's time to retouch upon that statement. If you can find just one positive coming from the acquisition of Aaron Brooks, the above statement is it. Certain fans may be able to extract a plethora of positives from the aura that Brooks brings to the field, while others may not see much in the former Saints starter. Nevertheless, whether you are a fan categorized in the former or the latter of those divisions, it is impossible to deny one fact:Brooks isn't a statue; Kerry Collins got around as much as the Statue of Liberty. For some teams, like Indianapolis and New England, a pure pocket passer is the best fit. But for the , (as the last two seasons have proven) it's like forcing a left shoe on your right foot. With enough work, you will get it on. Maybe you will be able to walk around a bit. But don't try running.If the shoe don't fit, you mustuit.With the offense that Oakland possesses heading into the 2006 season, the mobility of Brooks could pan out to be the link that brings everything together. He may not possess the ability to dart down the field like his cousin Michael Vick; moreover, he can't truck a linebacker like Daunte Culpepper. But he can make just enough happen to turn an approaching 1st and 10 disaster into a more reasonable second down situation.With Kerry Collins in the driver's seat, it seemed as if backup quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo caught more thrown away balls on the sideline than Randy Moss hauled in on the playing field-which explains why Collins posted his lowest interception mark since the 1999 season, when he started just seven games for the New York Giants. So, whereas the numbers look respectable on paper, in person they are far less attractive.If Brooks can fully recoup from an abysmal 2005 campaign, he might turn out to be that last piece of the ' puzzle-which, on the surface, has seemed to be unsolvable for the past three seasons. Mull it over: Moss was at his best with a mobile quarterback at the helm and Jerry Porter and the Raiders' offensive line blossomed at the turn of the twenty-first century under the agility of Rich Gannon. And with Moss, Porter, Curry, Gabriel, and Jordan around him, the recouping phase should come much easier for Aaron Brooks.But for now, history is the primary judge in predicting the future of quarterback Aaron Brooks. Let's just hope the historical numbers of his 2003 season are the ones that carry over into his empty 2006 stat table.For now, however, you can just sit back and visualize a quarterback that can leave the pocket, and even run beyond the line of scrimmage.