It didn’t take long for Colt Brennan to find fans. His first night off from training camp had him at the movies where a child wearing a Brennan jersey walked past.
“That fired me up a little bit,” he said.
Welcome to Washington, where third-string quarterbacks are often more revered than starting passers. Brennan’s first impression may have been the best by a Redskin since Babe Laufenberg’s 1985 preseason.
Brennan completed 9-of-10 passes for 123 yards against Indianapolis on Sunday with two touchdowns and a 157.5 quarterback rating. Three times Brennan made jaw-dropping throws. Twice coach Jim Zorn seemed to say “Oh no” before saying, “Oh yes.” Zorn may have wanted to hold his clipboard a little higher at times for fear of what the sixth-round sidearmer was doing.
“[Brennan] was very accurate in his throws,” Zorn said. “I thought his decision making was average. Even on the big play he threw to Jason Goode was not a great decision. It was a very fortunate completion. The decision he made to throw on the corner route for a touchdown, the scramble play to [Marcus] Mason — awesome. It’s a mixed bag.”
The game film review last night probably wasn’t a lovefest. Brennan relied on instinct too often for Zorn. His mechanics are still troublesome.
“Coach might turn to me and say ‘You’re pretty horrible when it came to technique and stuff, but you made up for it with some good throws,’” Brennan said. “It all comes down to what you do on the field and making sure I go out there and have some success.”
Brennan’s not playing this season barring injuries to Jason Campbell and Todd Collins. Next year might be iffy, too. It may come only after Zorn has long tutored him in the little things, but Brennan has something Zorn can’t teach.
“When you get in a game you just want to go to what’s comfortable,” Brennan said. “I kinda felt it was coming and I felt comfortable out there, but there’s still a rhythm and the way they want it done.”
Zorn seems willing to overlook the side-arm movement. It worked to break 31 NCAA records at Hawaii with 131 touchdowns in 38 games. Brennan has a little Sonny Jurgensen in him in just slinging the ball.
“At first, [Zorn] kinda wanted to see about my release,” Brennan said, “but my release moves around a lot and not in a steady place. As long as you get the ball there, [he’s] not going to mess with it.”
For now, Brennan will enjoy August before being given the clipboard on Sundays. His cell phone couldn’t handle all the postgame messages, but Brennan knows he’s becoming the next great hope for Redskins fans.
“The coolest thing of the night is when I walked on to the field before my first drive and I could hear a little ovation or roar from the crowd,” he said. “All I’ve heard for the last couple months is so much negative. So much people saying I couldn’t do it. For our crowd to be so excited to see me on the field playing was the best feeling of the night.”
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
