Well, Brett Favre is well on his way to being King of New York after throwing six pre-season passes for the Jets. It’s such a story of redemption after he was treated oh so meanly by the Packers. There’s no sense dwelling on this aspect of Saturday’s game except to say we look forward to the coming regicide after his first four-interception game.
Instead, let’s dwell on Colt Brennan, aptly described by some as the best player no one wanted. Looks like his being drafted waaaaaay down at 168 could turn into the equivalent of taking Randy Moss late in a fantasy draft last year (like, um, two bloggers you might know). That is, a player with gaudy statistics being overlooked again and again because of some irrational reservations becomes a key contributor. Brennan may just do it as a backup, but we’ve seen what Todd Collins (Todd freakin’ Collins!) can do when a season-saving starting job is thrust upon him. How much more could Mr. 14,000 yards in Three Years bring if similarly saddled?
One thing he’s already saddled with: that #5, something of a, well, cursed number for Redskins’ quarterbacks, thanks to some other guy who wore that number (we won’t mention his name, as it would be equivalent to a John-Carpenter-on-John-Lannan, no-hitter-killing jinx). He’s dealing with that nicely, however, on the road to perhaps purging that wretched burgundy digit of its demons.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, pre-season, third-string defenses, meaningless games, etc. Well, apparently rookie Colt Brennan passes better against third-string defenses than veteran Mike Nugent kicks against third-string special teams units, or than Eric Mangini playcalls late in games against third-string units of all kinds.
In any case, isn’t it better having a pre-season focus on a rising backup QB, rather than engaging in another tired round of "Mark Brunnell vs. somebody" debates? The answer is yes.
Showing posts with label Brennan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brennan. Show all posts
Monday, August 18, 2008
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Corner-Turning Weekend Part II
A few days later than planned, and while we prepare to see more pleasant surprises tonight against Buffalo, let’s count the ways the Redskins turned some corners of their own last weekend.
1. The start of getting some serious HOF recognition for the glorious Gibbs years. Gibbs, Riggins, now Monk and Green. Hopefully soon to be joined by Grimm, Jacoby, etc. But at least for now the population of NFL-dominating Redskins is increased significantly.
2. Jim Zorn looking confident and “with it” on the sideline, easily managing the Gibbs-built team, and not appearing overwhelmed, even drawing admiring commentary from Michaels and Madden for his rampant stoicism.
3. Related to the above, and Mike Wise commented on this earlier this week, the team took the first step to leaving behind those glory days of the 80s and early 90s. They will always be remembered, but never identically duplicated.
4. They stayed out of the Brett Favre fiasco. A Dan Snyder of even just five years ago might have dropped and/or traded everything to land such a marque name. While there were early rumors of the Redskins making a bid, the blow was (again) struck for continuity in the team’s name not surfacing for weeks in conjunction with Favre. There is confidence in Jason Campbell. There will be no repeat of Mark Brunell usurping Patrick Ramsey.
5. Speaking of quarterbacks, how about that Colt Brennan lad? Yes, yes. Preseason, third-stringers, garbage time, blah blah blah. But how about all three quarterbacks? Campbell: perfect. Collins: still grasping at a new system, but nearly perfect. Brennan: first professional action and within one incompletion of complete perfection. The QB situation may be more stable than we thought, more stable than perhaps in years.
So there are a few of the many reasons for a return to good feelings about the Redskins after that whole offseason of Gibbs-retirement, Jim-Fassel-flirtation, head-coach-hire-by-default drama. For all that happened, the team is very similar to the one that ran the table at the end of the season and very nearly ran through Seattle in the closest 35-14 playoff game ever. Who knows what other pleasantries await us tonight?
1. The start of getting some serious HOF recognition for the glorious Gibbs years. Gibbs, Riggins, now Monk and Green. Hopefully soon to be joined by Grimm, Jacoby, etc. But at least for now the population of NFL-dominating Redskins is increased significantly.
2. Jim Zorn looking confident and “with it” on the sideline, easily managing the Gibbs-built team, and not appearing overwhelmed, even drawing admiring commentary from Michaels and Madden for his rampant stoicism.
3. Related to the above, and Mike Wise commented on this earlier this week, the team took the first step to leaving behind those glory days of the 80s and early 90s. They will always be remembered, but never identically duplicated.
4. They stayed out of the Brett Favre fiasco. A Dan Snyder of even just five years ago might have dropped and/or traded everything to land such a marque name. While there were early rumors of the Redskins making a bid, the blow was (again) struck for continuity in the team’s name not surfacing for weeks in conjunction with Favre. There is confidence in Jason Campbell. There will be no repeat of Mark Brunell usurping Patrick Ramsey.
5. Speaking of quarterbacks, how about that Colt Brennan lad? Yes, yes. Preseason, third-stringers, garbage time, blah blah blah. But how about all three quarterbacks? Campbell: perfect. Collins: still grasping at a new system, but nearly perfect. Brennan: first professional action and within one incompletion of complete perfection. The QB situation may be more stable than we thought, more stable than perhaps in years.
So there are a few of the many reasons for a return to good feelings about the Redskins after that whole offseason of Gibbs-retirement, Jim-Fassel-flirtation, head-coach-hire-by-default drama. For all that happened, the team is very similar to the one that ran the table at the end of the season and very nearly ran through Seattle in the closest 35-14 playoff game ever. Who knows what other pleasantries await us tonight?
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