Stretching the Field: Breaking Brennan
by Luke Paul Chandler
In a little over a year, Colt Brennan’s star has fallen from record setting sure-fire first round pick to possible undrafted free agent. Luke Paul Chandler examines the flaws in Brennan’s game.
By Luke Paul Chandler
Judging talent from one year to the next is a tough process for NFL talent evaluators. Looking at a prospect a year before his final season in college can be a difficult process, and often there are misjudgments in talent levels. When trying to determine if a player will be a legit NFL talent a year from now, a lot of factors can change that. In some cases, a sure thing in preseason becomes a risk teams are unwilling to take.
A year ago, Colt Brennan of Hawaii passed on the NFL after a record-setting junior season. He chose to come back, even after allegedly receiving a late first- or early second-round evaluation from the NFL’s Advisory Committee. Brennan felt he could improve his play, and felt he owed it to Hawaii after the university granted him a second shot. A year after that decision, Brennan faces a massive drop in his draft stock.
Realistically, Brennan may not even be drafted until the fourth round, at the earliest. With questions about his mechanics, health and playing in a system, he faces a huge battle. Brennan was carrying a system player label and other question marks heading into 2008, still had a productive year, but failed to quiet any of the nay-sayers on his talent level. In fact, the past two games he’s played in have dropped his stock significantly.
Coming into the Sugar Bowl, Brennan had questions regarding his ability to read a defense pre-snap. During the game, Brennan felt an NFL-caliber pass rush from the aggressive Georgia defense, and he looked lost at times. In the WAC, he faced many teams that played soft zones, and did not zone blitz much. Georgia was aggressive, rather than passive, and it paid off. What Georgia also masked their blitz packages to confuse Brennan. On any given play, it was hard to determine where the pressure would be from, and Brennan couldn’t properly audible out of the current play. One play that seemed to give him trouble was when the Bulldogs rushed their nickel back. The offensive line was not properly sealing off the edge, and the defensive back would come free nearly untouched. He had no chance on many of the plays. Brennan rarely felt the blindside, and never even had the chance to check down to a receiver.
In head coach June Jones’ offense, receivers often break off their designated route to get free from defenders. His ability to be accurate and react quickly inside of this system was impressive in college, but it may get him killed in the NFL. As a result, Brennan developed a tendency to hold on to the ball for too long. He trusted his receivers to break open, and with the quickness of the Georgia secondary, they could not get open. Also, Brennan rarely had to throw the ball away in college, and subsequently was on the turf for much of the Sugar Bowl. His reads were in the short to intermediate range, and Georgia rarely had to honor the deep ball.
At the Senior Bowl, his inconsistent mechanics lead some to wonder if he can be converted into an NFL drop-back passer. At the Senior Bowl, Brennan had difficulty learning to take snaps from under center. Brennan does admit that his footwork is a problem that needs to be fixed. In the run-and-shoot offense, in the shotgun he just had to turn and throw the ball. He has never learned to throw with his legs. Few NFL passers succeed with this style of throwing. As a result at the Senior Bowl, Brennan was sailing passes and not able to push the ball deep into coverage. Game tape shows his awkward, low release point and footwork often caused his ball to float. He’s going to have to be paired with a dedicated quarterback coach who will put the training wheels back on his bike, and rebuild his game.
Most troubling at the Senior Bowl was his weight. He weighed in at 185 pounds, which would make him one of the lightest NFL quarterbacks. This was blamed on a recent bout with the stomach flu. His frame looked thin, and he looked unable to take a hit. He bulked back up to more than 200 pounds by February’s NFL Combine, but it’s questionable whether the weight was put on in a safe way, and is a genuine playing weight. To even further the questions of his durability, Brennan recently had hip surgery is out several months.
Brennan is not without talent, but he may not be the savior he has been labeled as since the end of the 2006 season. His accuracy and ability to throw on the run are a plus, but is a team willing to invest so much into a player who may only have the talent level of a third string quarterback? Some teams, such as the Bears, are rumored to be interested in him and make a move on him early, but he is a huge gamble.
Contact Luke at Luke@newerascouting.com.