Posts tagged ColtBrennan at FanHouse

The Washington Redskins must really believe in QB Colt Brennan because they just signed him to a 4-year deal worth around $1.8 million. Brennan will join Todd Collins and Derek Divine in backing up Jason Campbell.

the good news for Brennan and the team is the positive medical report he received. Last week, Brennan was cleared to practice and participate in camp, where he has a very good chance of becoming the No. 3 quarterback on the roster behind Jason Campbell and Todd Collins.

The former Hawaii quarterback had minor hip surgery to repair the labrum on April 8. Though some thought he might have to start camp on the physically unable to perform list, Brennan made a quick recovery. Through weight lifting, he is 220 pounds.

Brennan has a pretty good shot at becoming the Skins' #3 quarterback. Campbell is the starter with Collins as a very steady backup. His main competition is Devine, who was signed by the team this past May.

The scary thing is that he has been assigned the #5 (he wore the #15 in college ... which is Collins' number). All Redskins fans remember that Heath Shuler wore that number when he was a first round pick in 1994. Shuler was a bust, starting just 18 games in his three-year career in D.C.

The Washington Redskins took Colt Brennan with the 186th pick in last weekend's draft. He was the tenth quarterback selected, and although Brennan seemed like a potential franchise player last fall, he'll struggle to make the 53-man roster behind Jason Campbell and Todd Collins. So what happened? According to the Honolulu Advertiser, it was all about timing:

The former University of Hawai'i quarterback's decision to return for his senior season will cost him about $1,378,500 over a three-year period.

Brennan, who was projected to be a first- or second-round pick after the 2006 season, saw his value drop after a poor outing in the Sugar Bowl, an illness that caused his weight to drop to 185 at the Senior Bowl, and a recent hip surgery

Brennan confirms as much, and his college coach, June Jones, suggested that by returning for his senior season, Brennan was turning down $25 million.

A confluence of events torpedoed Colt Brennan's draft prospects -- a horrid Sugar Bowl (which wasn't entirely his fault) and some subpar off-season workouts -- but he's now been drafted in Round 6, some three or four rounds later than a lot of folks anticipated back in the fall, which is something Andre Woodson still can't say.

Brennan's new employer: the Washington Redskins, who took Carson Palmer's brother (now his legal name) on Day 2 last season (that obviously didn't work out). Jason Campbell is the starter (head coach Jim Zorn said so!) and Todd Collins is firmly entrenched as the backup, but Collins, who came into the league when Brennan was seven, can't play forever.

So what does this pick mean? Well, that Brennan will be battling for a roster spot, and best case, eventually graduate to Jason Campbell-backup status. No way that happens in 2008 -- the West Coast Offense isn't something you pick up while you're waiting for Domino's to show up -- or, hell, 2009, but I'm guessing that was the thinking behind the selection.

So what does NFL Network's Mike Mayock think?

Pros: "Slides naturally in the pocket, finds throwing lanes, in-breaking routes he does a great job on."

Cons: "Anytime he has to drive the football to the outside of the numbers, he will struggle; he looks like a centerfielder crow hopping to throw the football home.

He's also had well-documented off-field issues; he didn't deal with them very well at the Senior Bowl and [NFL] Combine ... but I will say that getting hurt didn't hurt him."

Mayock adds that Brennan will go on injured reserve, and that he's a developmental prospect. So, yeah, maybe the 'Skins should've held onto Carson Palmer's brother.

So maybe the quarterback position wasn't as strong as a lot of mock draft nerds suspected. Matt Ryan went third overall, and the Ravens traded back into the first round to grab Joe Flacco, but Brian Brohm and Chad Henne lasted until late in Round 2. Still, four guys went on the (new and improved!) Day 1 of the draft, which is right about at the historical average*.

But there are still plenty of guys who will be kickin' it in their parents' living room today waiting -- hoping -- that their cell will ring with good news. One of those guys, Kentucky's Andre Woodson, was considered a first-round pick just four months ago, and now, to hear NFL Network's Charlie Casserly tell it, anyway, will be a late Day 2 selection.

Taking a similarly precipitous fall (at least as perceived by the media) is Hawaii's Colt Brennan. Word on the street has the Bears interested, which might explain why Chicago passed on Brohm and Henne on Saturday. (Well, either that or they're certain that their "wishing is believing" personnel strategy will finally pay off with Rex Grossman this season).

In addition to Woodson and Brennan, there are other intriguing names still available for those teams looking for long-term projects. San Diego's Josh Johnson and Oregon's Dennis Dixon are the two biggest and Johnson, after an impressive off-season of workouts, could be gone early in the third round.

* no idea if this is true, but it sounds right

I think the Canton Repository's Steve Doerschuk has it right in the very first sentence of today's column: "Chances are, you're sick of Brett Favre." Of course, that doesn't keep him from devoting a few hundred more words to the subject, nor did it keep me from reading, and then regurgitating it here.

Anyway, Doerschuk rattles off some teams that could use Favre's services next season, assuming that he wasn't, you know, retired. It might've been easier to list those teams that didn't need him, but whatever, here ya go: Cardinals, Ravens, Bills, Panthers, Bears, Lions, Vikings, Texans and Redskins.

Of the eight, I love the idea that everybody thinks so little of Nick Lachey's BFF that the Cards should give serious consideration to finding their next franchise quarterback. Even if he's 38 years old.

Baltimore is a no-brainer, even if they draft Matt Ryan, and while Trent Edwards is unproven in Buffalo, I'm guessing some fans (even those not related to Edwards) would rather see him get experience than hand the job to Favre.

Chicago is also an obvious destination, Colt Brennan or not, as are the other two NFC North teams. But I can't imagine anybody in Washington would want Favre over Jason Campbell.

It's hard to say if Colt Brennan's best football is behind him, but it sure seems that way after a great college career that ended on a sour note (courtesy of Georgia's 41-10 Sugar Bowl beatdown). In the months since his final collegiate game, Brennan has struggled at the Senior Bowl, struggled at the NFL Combine and seemingly struggled at his Pro Day.

Perhaps more noteworthy than the fact that he completed just 60-something passes in 88 tries* at his Pro Day (something about the wide receivers not being able to run routes, which might make him a perfect fit in Chicago; more on that in a sec), is that Brennan has somehow managed to pack on 33 pounds since January.

How did he manage to do it? Apparently, a strict schedule of waking up, lifting weights, eating and running, although I suspect some aspects of the routine were more important than others.

When asked about whether the Bears approached him after his Pro Day performance Brennan offered this pearl:

I definitely talked to somebody from Chicago, and that's a place that is a great opportunity for any quarterback. I would love to go to Chicago more than anything; that would be awesome..."

Translation: Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton are garbage. Even a likely sixth-rounder with a bad hip knows that.

* For some perspective, Matt Ryan completed 51 of 52 passes at his Pro Day. He's that good.

And it only took 20 years to admit the problem! With an assist from a soapless Heisman Trophy finalist and the best coach in school history leaving them for SMU.

Check out this video documenting the school's decrepit athletic facilities ("In the locker room there are missing ceiling tiles, broken soap dispensers and inoperable fire alarms. In the weight room you'll find damaged Olympic weights, cracked upholstery on machines and broken equipment.")

The funny part is that even though the Warriors won the WAC this year, they've still got Boise State on the brain. Whatever, at least they're finally allocating some money to address the situation. I'm guessing that's the only reason cameras were allowed to show the mess in the first place, now that Hawaii can stand up and say "change is coming".

(H/T: The Wizard of Odds)

Notes on a trip to the NFL Scouting Combine.

The 2008 NFL Scouting Combine is three days old, and although there are many 40s yet to be run and many Wonderlics yet to be taken, we've seen enough for an early look at the winners and losers:

Winner: Rashard Mendenhall. The Illinois running back considers himself the best back in the draft, and there are definitely NFL coaches who agree with that assessment.

Loser: Darren McFadden. After he weighed in at 211 pounds, a whole lot of people in Indianapolis were saying McFadden, the Arkansas running back, just doesn't have enough lower-body muscle to fight for tough yards in the NFL.

Senior Bowl practices are going on this week, and that means the coaching staffs for 30 NFL teams are getting their first up-close-and-personal looks at the prospects in this year's NFL draft. Although the Senior Bowl game itself is mostly an exhibition, the practices can make a big difference in NFL teams' evaluations.

That's bad news for two quarterbacks, Hawaii's Colt Brennan and Kentucky's Andre Woodson, both of whom have struggled. Tony Pauline reports:

Brennan's inadequate arm strength is obvious to all in attendance. His passes lack any velocity which gives the defensive backs extra time to break up his throws, something that's been a common occurrence.

Woodson has been all over the place with his throws and has shown poor accuracy. His receivers are consistently slowing up in routes, reaching back or leaving their feet in order to try and catch the ball.

I'm on the record as saying Woodson is unlikely to be a first-round pick and Brennan is unlikely to be a first-day pick, and nothing I've heard out of Mobile this week has changed my opinion there.

A look at the 2007 junior class as players decide whether to enter the 2008 NFL draft.

If you're a wide receiver, you need to view the Hawaii football program as a sinking ship right now. With the departure of coach June Jones and quarterback Colt Brennan, there's really no way to know what kind of team, and especially what kind of offense, Hawaii is going to have next year.

So it's no surprise that two Hawaii junior receivers have declared for the 2008 NFL draft. First it was Davone Bess, and now it's Ryan Grice-Mullen, who made his announcement today.

I don't see either one as a great NFL player, but I think Grice-Mullen is a better prospect than Bess. Grice-Mullen has better speed and can probably make a better transition from the Jones attack to a standard NFL offense.

If the situation at Hawaii were different -- if he knew who his quarterback and coach would be -- I might feel differently. But as it stands, Grice-Mullen is making the right decision by turning pro.

See the full list of 2008 NFL draft early entries.