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Colt Brennan, the record smashing quarterback from the University of Hawaii has a legion of loyal fans. But Brennan also has his doubters--those who don't believe he has what it takes to succeed in the NFL...

Colt Brennan -- WWBWD? (What Would Bill Walsh Do?)

by PaT Gesuale (Scribe)

15

6,657 reads

Opinion

April 25, 2008


Colt Brennan, the record smashing quarterback from the University of Hawaii has a legion of loyal fans.  But Brennan also has his doubters--those who don't believe he has what it takes to succeed in the NFL.

 

Bill Walsh, known in football circles as “The Genius”, and arguably one of the best, if not THE best NFL coach of all time—drafted, mentored and coached the legendary Joe Montana, as well as Steve Young, both Hall of Famers. He also liked Tom Brady.

 

So with less than 1 day before the 2008 draft, and considering the multitude of mixed opinions out there regarding Colt Brennan, I have to wonder what Walsh would say about him. Sadly, Walsh passed away last year, and we can’t ask him, but he did leave behind a legacy of coaching philosophy that has helped shape the last 20 years of football.

 

Former Redskins offensive coordinator Al Saunders had this to say when applying some of that philosophy to Colt Brennan: “'Bill Walsh used to say the most important attributes for a quarterback are accuracy, courage and intelligence. Those things all override a strong arm, and this kid has them.'”

 

Okay, so let’s break it down:

First, let’s look at ACCURACY:

During an interview at the Senior Bowl, 49er Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz said that technique and mechanics can be coached—accuracy is God-given; it’s something that can’t be coached.

 

Brennan set an efficiency rating record in ’06 with 185.96; in ’07, it was 159.85. His pass completion rate in ’06 was 72.5%, and 70.4% in ’07. These statistics are computed with yards, completions, TD’s and interceptions in relation to

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15 comments Last one added 7 months ago — Leave a Comment

  1. pomai patton about 1 year ago

    gone at #29 to the 49er's.

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    • David about 1 year ago

      As a die-hard 9ers fan pomai, no way would I pull the trigger on Brennan at #29, we have bigger needs besides a QB. I would however take him with our 3rd round pick.

      I applaud this article, this couldn't be more clearer about Colt Brennan, matter of fact this is THE best article I've seen about him. All people see is just that he came from a run-n-shoot system, people fail to see the accuracy, character and situations hes been through. Over and over answering questions about his past, his size, his arm strength, when will people be really satisfied, that is really the question that needs to be answered.

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  2. Scott Fender about 1 year ago

    I want the 49ers to grab him at the 4th or 6th round today and if not pray that he falls to round 7

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  3. Reggie Garcia about 1 year ago

    i want him to go to st.louis. idk why, i just think he would look good in a Rams jersey

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  4. Nathan Soules about 1 year ago

    'skins got him. Looks to be a long-term back up project.

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  5. Rich Tandler about 1 year ago

    Excellent analysis, Pat. The best laid out case for Brennan--or any player--I've read in a long time. I think the Skins will be happy they got him.

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  6. Brendan Majev about 1 year ago

    I agree. The kid is probably better than Rex Grossman already, even at half strength.

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  7. Bobby S about 1 year ago

    don't know how the hell Brennan fell so far, but his financial loss is the Redskins jackpot, no doubt about it. What Redskin fans got (they don't know it yet) is Tony Romo, Brett Favre, and Kurt Warner (1999 version) all wrapped into one. Simply put, when we look back at this draft in a few years, Brennan, by far will be looked upon as the greatest heist!

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  8. Khoa Nguyen about 1 year ago

    Are you ppl delusional? Colt Brennan = Timmy Chang V.2+

    He's a significant upgrade to the previous Hawaii system qb model, but as we've seen in the past, BIG stats in college does not translate to success in the NFL i.e. Ty Detmer, Andre Ware, David Klinger, Tim Rattay, Danny Wuerffel....

    I don't have any ill will towards Colt; in fact, I praise him for getting drafted and receiving his opportunity in the NFL. BUT to think this is the next coming of "Tony Romo, Brett Favre, and Kurt Warner (1999 version) all wrapped into one", he is NOT. Let's be real, if he was, would have been selected much higher.

    The 5th, 6th, and 7th round picks are gambles and usually designated to be development picks that are considered low risk and potentially high rewards i.e. Tom Brady. I'm sure everybody on here would like to see that sort of Cinderella story here as well.

    My prediction is you'll see him in NFL Europe this summer (as where most late round picks and rookie free agents go to develop) and in a few years playing in arena football, where he will be STUD and a household name in the AFL fanbase.

    Who knows, five years from now, I might have to eat my words, but putting my money on my prediction is much like the Redskins choosing Colt... "low risk"

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    • PaT Gesuale about 1 year ago

      Khoa, Thank you for taking the time to read the article and comment. I agree-- big stats do not translate to success in the NFL. However, the criteria I used in my analysis were 1) accuracy 2) intelligence and 3) courage-- attributes Bill Walsh said he looked for in a great QB. (You may want to refer to how "accuracy" is defined and calculated in QB stats, before lumping it into the general category of QB stats.)

      I can't say how the other quarterbacks you mentioned stack up against this criteria. Perhaps you would like to delve into that yourself-- my intent was only to measure Brennan against those criteria. It would be interesting to read your analyses of how these others do stack up.

      Although I did not make any predictions of Brennan's success in the NFL (as you have in your comment) I do conclude that Brennan does measure up to Walshes' criteria for a great quarterback, and that given Walshes' expertise, it would be prudent to consider Brennan's great potential.

      Given the analysis I went through, MY OPINION is that Brennan will turn out to be a great QB in the NFL-- although I did not mention that in my article. I only mention it now to point out that MY OPINON
      obviously differs from YOUR OPINIONS that you expressed in your comment.

      Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but in my opinion not everyone bases their opinion on facts and thoughtful analysis, and very few do.

      Thanks again for taking the time to comment.

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  9. David about 1 year ago

    To Khoa....well there goes your prediction, there is no such thing of NFL Europe anymore?? But funny you mention Tony Romo and Kurt Warner, those guys weren't even drafted and yet they had success.

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  10. kaohuona santos 10 months ago

    Hats off to backing up passionate response with knowledge base! Well put Pat!!!
    That pretty much separates the comments from just all passion to passion with substance.

    It was refreshing to read a follow-up comment like that.

    Mahalo!
    ps

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  11. PaT Gesuale 10 months ago

    Thanks for the comment, Ka'ohu'ona-- like you, I appreciate passion, I just want it to come from facts and thinking, rather than just pure feelings. Too many articles and blogs regarding Colt Brennan (at the time I wrote the article) were not based on facts and thinking, and that is what prompted me to write the article on Colt Brennan. PaT

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  12. PaT Gesuale 10 months ago

    Thanks for the comment, Ka'ohu'ona-- like you, I appreciate passion, I just want it to come from facts and thinking, rather than just pure feelings. Too many articles and blogs regarding Colt Brennan (at the time I wrote the article) were not based on facts and thinking, and that is what prompted me to write the article on Colt Brennan. PaT

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  13. Travis Evans 7 months ago

    I support Brennan for President

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    • About the Author PaT Gesuale (scribe)

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