Here’s what I know about Colt Brennan: Teammates seem to love him, his swagger and his ability to make plays. Santana Moss couldn’t stop raving about him after the preseason opener last summer. And before camp, I’d talked to scouts, and ex-scouts, on other teams who say their connections on the Redskins were saying how much they liked Brennan.
But does that mean Brennan has a realistic shot of passing Todd Collins on the depth chart? It’s hard to imagine given what coach Jim Zorn has said about Collins this summer, about how comfortable he looks and how well he knows the offense. Collins looks better than last summer in practice, when he played behind a bad line and with unproven receivers in practice. And that’s due to his increased comfort with the offense.
They know what they have in Collins, which is what coaches need to know about the No. 2 quarterback.
However, what if Brennan stars in the preseason and Collins does not. Zorn has indicated in previous conversations that he has not shut the door on Brennan overtaking Collins. But he would have to do more than just make plays. The Redskins want to see how he’s progressed in his development.
It’s the ability to stay in the pocket and not escape to make plays on the run at the first sign of danger, as happened last year. To his credit, Brennan has done a better job in practice of staying in the pocket.
It’s throwing in rhythm; is Brennan taking his proper drops. For example, on a five-step drop, Zorn wants him to take five equal steps. In college, Brennan had to take three big and two small steps. But in Zorn’s offense, the timing requires five equal steps. So even if Brennan completes a pass using his old ways, it would not serve him well long-term in this offense.
There’s also the matter of his sidearm delivery. He doesn’t use it on every pass, but he does like to throw this way. If he doesn’t have passing lanes, will that impact his delivery and, consequently, his success?
Brennan has a knack for pinpoint accuracy on certain passes, squeezing in throws that have the margin for error of three inches. He has a mindset conducive to big plays, which also leads to some negative ones.
But the Redskins still need to see more from him to push him ahead of Collins. That doesn’t mean he can’t, or won’t, get there. But Collins is a more proven commodity; coaches like that — who would give the Redskins a better chance to win should Jason Campbell get hurt?
In reality, Brennan’s time may be a couple years away. For now, he remains one of the more intriguing players to watch this summer.
