A year ago, Matt Cassel got his chance to be an NFL starting quarterback when then-Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard blew up Tom Brady's knee. Cassel led the Patriots to 11 wins, and played well enough for the Chiefs to trade for him in the offseason.
Smash cut to Cassel tweaking his knee during Kansas City's third preseason game (God's sense of humor is underrated), which forced him to miss the first Sunday of the 2009 season. Any chances the Chiefs -- an outfit that won six times in their last 32 games -- had against the Ravens were out the window with Cassel on the bench.
A year ago, Matt Cassel got his chance to be an NFL starting quarterback when then-Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard blew up Tom Brady's knee. Cassel led the Patriots to 11 wins, and played well enough for the Chiefs to trade for him in the offseason.
Smash cut to Cassel tweaking his knee during Kansas City's third preseason game (God's sense of humor is underrated), which forced him to miss the first Sunday of the 2009 season. Any chances the Chiefs -- an outfit that won six times in their last 32 games -- had against the Ravens were out the window with Cassel on the bench.
Now that the preseason is over, Brennan's future is much cloudier. A rough camp saw Brennan get banged up quite a bit, and now he won't play at all in 2009.
LANDOVER, Md. -- If there's anything NFL coaches like to see from young players, it's an ability to learn from their mistakes. So when Redskins quarterback Colt Brennan -- one week after throwing an interception in Pittsburgh's red zone -- was picked off by New England's Jonathon Wilhite on the Patriots goal line, it had to set off some warning lights for Washington's staff.
It certainly did amongst the Redskins fans in FedEx Field. As Wilhite rumbled 99 yards for a New England score, the disgruntled Washington faithful let it all out.
After a strong showing during the 2008 preseason -- specifically the nationally-televised Hall of Fame game -- Colt Brennan became the apple of many Redskins fans' eyes. Forget the investment and talent of Jason Campbell, or the fact that Todd Collins had a three-game winning streak to lead the 'Skins on an improbable '07 playoff run; masses of Colt fanatics pined for the decorated collegiate star from Hawaii to lead their troops at some point.
After not seeing any regular season action in 2008, Brennan was thought to be ready to battle Collins for the backup role this season. Instead, he's struggled and found himself fighting for his life to save a roster spot against Washington's new flavor of the preseason, Chase Daniel.
On its face, it sounds implausible. No way Jessica Simpson, singer, "actress," inspiration to millions ... of preteens, would date a third-string quarterback. Particularly given that her last relationship was with the face of the Cowboys, Tony Romo.
But then I remembered that she was married to Nick Lachey, who was known more for hanging out with Matt Leinart than he was for his musical talents as a member of 98 Degrees. So maybe there is something to the rumor that Simpson and Colt Brennan (No. 3 on the depth chart, No. 1 in the hearts and minds of Redskins fans) are a couple.
All eyes will be on Philadelphia Thursday night, as the Great One returns to competition.
Tom Brady hasn't played in almost a year. His blown-out knee now healed, Brady is a rare breed in today's NFL -- he's a veteran player who's actually looking forward to the preseason. As the summer schedule kicks off in earnest Thursday, Brady is far from the only interesting storyline.
This should go over well: former NFL quarterback Rich Gannon ranks the NFC East quarterbacks and he thinks Tony Romo is the best of the bunch. It's hard to get worked up about such lists since they have absolutely no bearing on how the season will unfold. But that's not the point, at least for fans of the Eagles, Giants and Redskins.
I think it's fair to say that Jason Campbell, the Redskins' 2005 first-round pick, has yet to live up to expectations. It's not entirely his doing -- Washington is notoriously tough on young quarterbacks, particularly in a Joe Gibbs system (which Campbell found himself for the first three years of his career) -- but that doesn't make fans and media suddenly more forgiving.
With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.
Meet the ... Second consecutive season under the same playbook. This is quite significant because the Redskins' current signal-caller hasn't been afforded this "luxury" since his senior year in high school. I can't even imagine what Jason Campbell has done with all his extra time this offseason, what with not having to learn an entire new playbook. Every other player has to know his own job on each play. The quarterback has to know the job of all 11 players on each play. Comfort matters.
Sorting the Sunday Pile looks back at the NFL weekend that was. It's also an unofficial Brady Quinn blog.
Before training camp began, there was 
LANDOVER, Md. -- If there's anything 
After a strong showing during the 2008 preseason -- specifically the nationally-televised Hall of Fame game -- 
On its face, it sounds implausible. No way Jessica Simpson, singer, "actress," inspiration to millions ... of preteens, would date a third-string quarterback. Particularly given that her last relationship was with the face of the Cowboys, Tony Romo. 
This should go over well: former NFL quarterback 
With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all. 
