Brennan impresses coaches with strides made from last season
ASHBURN – The fans coronated him after his first game — a preseason one at that. Colt Brennan went from third-string QB to first-rate phenomenon. Except in the minds of the coaches. The fans saw the touchdowns; the coaches saw mistakes on almost every play.
They saw completions occurring with improper footwork. They saw him leaving the pocket too early, a sin even though the result — against backups — might have been favorable.
Flash ahead to last Thursday. Brennan did nothing to generate excitement in the fans. He was under pressure; he also made few plays. But the coaches? They saw progress.
Clearly, it wasn’t based on his stats in the 23-0 loss to Baltimore. Brennan completed four of 12 passes for 43 yards and a passer rating of 10.1 However, it was the little things they saw this summer as opposed to last: his cadence; his ability to change protections; his improved footwork.
Not that Brennan was better than the other two quarterbacks. Starter Jason Campbell went through his progressions much better than at this time last summer. Todd Collins was fairly accurate. Brennan, by comparison, resembled a second-year quarterback — which he is. But the coaches saw progress.
“He was accurate, he made great plays, there were some great throws on rhythm and he did everything right,” offensive assistant Chris Meidt said. “He made a couple great reads and great throws.”
Compare that to what Meidt thought about Brennan’s first game last summer, vs. Indianapolis.
“He did nothing else right, yet he threw a couple corner routes for a touchdown and all of a sudden he won some games,” Meidt said.
In reality, it’s hard to judge Brennan’s night as anything other than bumpy. The protection failed him, as coach Jim Zorn pointed out in his next-day press conference.
But Brennan also knows he escaped the pocket too soon on at least two occasions. His impatience cost the Redskins a chance at a big play. Once, he misread the corner’s reaction on a slant and go and should have looked off rather than throw the pass. He threw an interception, but the read was right; the receiver just slipped. And even Brennan said there were four or five times he rushed his throw.
“It wasn’t what I wanted or what the fans wanted,” Brennan said of his outing. “But last year everyone said I had a great preseason, but there were two games stat-wise that I didn’t do much at all. Luckily I have three more games where I have a chance to go out and do something. It seems like all it takes is one good night to really get people fired up.”
