Why All the Colt Brennan Hype in Washington

Hive mentality

Ever since Colt Brennan was drafted by the Redskins all Redskins blogs have seen an uptick in traffic, and there are rumblings in Redskinsland, typified by this comment from Mark and this post by Spence, both from DC Pro Sports Report, I'm not singling them out, these are just two I saw today, about whether Colt is getting an inordinate amount of coverage and hype given that he is at best number three on the depth chart, behind a first round pick and the guy that led the team to four straight wins to end last season and push the Redskins into the playoffs.

There are five reasons Colt Brennan comes with so much hype and is making such a stir in Washington:

1. He tore it up in college. There will always be QBs that dominated at the college level coming into the pros. Often these guys ultimately disappoint, think of Andre Ware, Heath Shuler, Ty Detmer and often they do not, think of Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Phillip Rivers, obviously there are many other examples. Until these players succeed or prove they cannot there is always the dream of having that dominating QB on your team. As long as Colt does not get a chance to go live under center he will always be potential and therefore the most popular guy on the sideline.

2. Jason Campbell has not yet proven himself. Many Redskins and Auburn fans will take exception to this, I simply have not yet been convinced that Jason Campbell is really a serviceable long term NFL starter. I am not a hater, I just haven't seen it yet. In 2006 when he took over from Mark Brunell in game ten of the 2006 season he went on to a 2-5 record with 10 TDs, 6 INTs and a fumble. In 2007 he played 12 games and a start before getting injured, the team went 5-7 with him, he three 12 TD and 11 INTs and had a terrible 13 fumbles (8 lost). There is some softness and uncertainty here, if he rocks this season no one will doubt him yet many fans will agree Jason Campbell is still riding on potential and has not delivered. Thus it becomes easy to look past the starter to the

3. Backup that is a fish out of water. Todd Collins lit it up for the Redskins, won four games and got Washington into the playoffs, thank you Todd we will never forget that and now that is so last year. By all accounts Todd has not had as good a preseason as Jason Campbell, he is older and more entrenched in his Al Saunders system and may be having a harder time getting into Jim Zorn's system. He's older, has a short contract and is no one's long term solution at starter. Thus it is easy to look past the aging back up to the

4. Young gun with the huge fanbase. Colt Brennan was like a machine in 2006 and 2007, 58 touchdowns 182.8 passer rating in 2006, a 12-0 record in 2007, overall Colt set 31 NCAA football records. Size, system, mechanics, these are all concerns for Colt and any quarterback coming into the next level of play in the NFL, like another smallish guy Drew Brees, at Purdue you knew he had a head for the game, the question was always with Colt and Drew, would they be able to translate it into success? There is no denying Colt has a huge upside on the field and when you take into consideration all those insane Warriors fans that may translate into dollars and eyeballs, sports is about marketing and if and when Colt becomes the Redskins starter a business venture I would invest some money in would be game trip packages to Redskins games catering to Warriors alumni.

5. Colt is Jim Zorn's guy. I think when Jim Zorn looks at Colt Brennan he sees his old self, Jim Zorn still thinks he can play and would love nothing more than to take a guy like Colt from scratch and nurture him into the NFL version of the college Colt. Jason Campbell may be the starter now and Todd Collins may be the backup now, Jim Zorn makes the decisions going forward. If Jason Campbell is less than stellar in every phase of his game, well may face discrimination from a coach that would rather take a chance on a QB he selected over a QB he did not that he does not believe can make the offense go.


None of this is an attack on Jason Campbell, I look forward to seeing him in action this year, nothing in the NFL speaks louder than performance and Colt will have to wait his turn at best, if Jason Campbell does become a top shelf NFL quarterback in the next two seasons then maybe Colt becomes more valuable as trade currency.



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