I know, I know. You've seen all you need to see of Ryan Fitzpatrick, a career backup.

You're beyond done with Trent Edwards, whose career is going to pieces. You want to see the

other guy. When things are grim at the quarterback position, NFL fans always want to see the

other guy.

But don't get your hopes up. Brian Brohm isn't playing any time soon. He won't be active

Sunday, and there's a good chance he won't play at all this season. Brohm is stashed away in

the same box with James Hardy, Steve Johnson and, to a lesser extent, Aaron Maybin.

"He's not in the plans right now," said offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. "We're trying

to win games right now, and we'll play the guy who gives us the best chance to win."

You can't blame the coaches for that. Perry Fewell is auditioning for the head job. He

feels no obligation to play for the future. But you also can't blame fans who want to find out

about Brohm, a top prospect who lost his way after getting drafted in the second round by

Green Bay in 2008.

As of Sunday, it'll be one month since the Bills signed Brohm. He has been working

exclusively with the scout team. Clearly, he's not ready to be trusted with the profound

intellectual challenge of running the Bills' offense. It wouldn't be fair to throw him into

the fire with so little preparation.

This is, of course, the organization that fired its offensive coordinator 10 days before

the opener and gave the job to a virtual novice, Van Pelt. That was around the time they cut a

veteran left tackle and gave the job to a kid who hadn't played a down in the league.

It was those same Bills who hired a general manager, Russ Brandon, with a marketing

background and no significant experience in player personnel. Oh, and the guy making the

decisions on the field right now, Fewell, had no head coaching experience one month ago.

Gee, it seems the Bills lead the league in allowing people to figure things out on the fly.

But suddenly, a month isn't enough time for Brohm to at least suit up as the No. 2

quarterback.

"I'm going to keep working," Brohm said Wednesday. "Whatever they feel they need to do,

they're going to do, and I'll be ready if they call upon me. They didn't promise me anything.

They just wanted to bring me in and get a look at me. They thought I had some potential."

I'm not saying Brohm is the answer. He was once considered a potential Top 10 draft pick.

But he faded during his final season at Louisville. As a rookie with Green Bay, he lost the

No. 2 job to a seventh-round rookie, Matt Flynn.

But at some point, it would be nice to see Brohm in an NFL game. Is it so hard to get a

quarterback ready to run the Bills' offense? We're not talking about re-shaping President

Obama's health care plan here.

What's the worst that could happen? Brohm might throw the ball to the opposition, the way

Fitzpatrick did several times in Kansas City? He won't get Lee Evans as involved in the

offense?

Really, how much practice and film study are required to check down to Fred Jackson on

third-and-13?

Fitzpatrick has passed for under 100 yards in two consecutive games. If Fitz is Fewell's

ticket to a permanent head coaching job, it's not a very encouraging sign. What if he has a

third straight sub-par passing performance against the Pats on Sunday, Fewell was asked?

Fewell paused for eight seconds before answering. Then he said Brohm hasn't had enough

chance to develop in the offense. He said it might be a "recipe for failure" to throw him in

now.

"But you never say never," Fewell said. "You approach each day as it comes, each situation

as it comes, and you never rule out a possibility."

My translation: At some point, someone in management, or owner Ralph Wilson, might order

him to do it. But these are the Bills, who never make a move until it's absolutely the right

time.