FanHouse Heath Shuler

Never thought I'd say this but Heath Shuler might be a better quarterback than politician.

In February, the former Redskins QB-turned-Democratic Congressman told the Associated Press that "In order for us to get the confidence of America, [the stimulus bill] has to be done in a bipartisan way ... I truly feel that's where maybe House leadership and Senate leadership have really failed."

Which prompted Jim Manley, the spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, to offer this: "Let me get this straight -- this is coming from a guy who threw more than twice as many interceptions than touchdowns?"

Well, guess who's back under center? That's right, for one day only, those fans who spent good money on Heath Shuler jerseys after the 'Skins selected him with third-overall pick in the 1994 draft will have the opportunity to wear them again.

What do you get when you combine the greatest college football player in the history of the game, Tim Tebow, with women's underwear? Tee-bows of course, cleverly designed underwear with the letter T and bows on them.

Already the University of Florida has forced the sales staff to take down an unauthorized picture of Tebow, and now the panties, which took these here Internets by storm last week, have to sell their product without the Great One's likeness.

But is anyone else troubled by the irony of the University of Florida, they of the Tim Tebow No. 15 jerseys that are available across the country, profiting off Tebow while Tebow himself can't?

Everyone makes mistakes. But when those mistakes are magnified by intense scrutiny of the NFL draft, well, they become much more embarrassing than, say, my typical Friday morning, mustard-stain-on-khakis incident.

Which is why the NFL FanHouse braintrust got together to determine who is the biggest bust for each NFL team. They're not listed in terms of stupidity -- they're all stupid relative to a team's total draft performance. Meaning, of course, some teams "bust" is much different than another organization's; we did it this way to avoid just linking you to DetroitLions.com.

Instead, we're putting it in current draft order, sans trades, and allowing this list to serve as a reminder of each's team's ability to properly execute a fail. The "bust factor" was based primarily on three things: statistical production (or lack thereof), position in the draft and other available options during that year's draft.

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Former University of Tennessee star and Redskins first-round draft bust Heath Shuler might now be a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, but that doesn't mean he's regurgitating the party's talking points just because Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid think he should.

In fact, he's pretty upset with the stimulus package (Shuler was one of a few Dems to oppose the plan) and happily points the finger at Democratic leaders on the Hill, telling the AP: "In order for us to get the confidence of America, [the stimulus bill] has to be done in a bipartisan way ... I truly feel that's where maybe House leadership and Senate leadership have really failed."

I think I'm like most NFL fans in that even though I'm aware that Heath Shuler is a smart, capable man who is now a U.S. Congressman, I still have a hard time seeing him as anything other than a lousy quarterback for the Redskins.

So I was a little taken aback when I saw this column from a former Virginia legislator, suggesting that Barack Obama would be wise to choose Shuler as his running mate. That legislator, George Grayson, writes:

A top passer at the University of Tennessee and runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1993, Shuler played several seasons for the Washington Redskins, thus also giving him name recognition in Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. area.

Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and disagree with Mr. Grayson -- Redskins fans know Shuler's name, but they mostly know it from saying it before saying "sucks." That's not exactly the kind of name recognition Obama wants on his ticket if he's going to turn Virginia blue.

Still, it sure is impressive that Shuler is even part of this discussion. Remember when he was best known for a five-interception game against the Cardinals?

The Washington Redskins must really believe in QB Colt Brennan because they just signed him to a 4-year deal worth around $1.8 million. Brennan will join Todd Collins and Derek Divine in backing up Jason Campbell.

the good news for Brennan and the team is the positive medical report he received. Last week, Brennan was cleared to practice and participate in camp, where he has a very good chance of becoming the No. 3 quarterback on the roster behind Jason Campbell and Todd Collins.

The former Hawaii quarterback had minor hip surgery to repair the labrum on April 8. Though some thought he might have to start camp on the physically unable to perform list, Brennan made a quick recovery. Through weight lifting, he is 220 pounds.

Brennan has a pretty good shot at becoming the Skins' #3 quarterback. Campbell is the starter with Collins as a very steady backup. His main competition is Devine, who was signed by the team this past May.

The scary thing is that he has been assigned the #5 (he wore the #15 in college ... which is Collins' number). All Redskins fans remember that Heath Shuler wore that number when he was a first round pick in 1994. Shuler was a bust, starting just 18 games in his three-year career in D.C.

Guess who may be coming back to the nation's capital? The one and only Heath Shuler. Luckily, though, he won't be wearing the burgundy and gold if he makes it back. Shuler is running for Congress in the 11th District of North Carolina.

Shuler's first tour of duty in Washington wasn't that successful. Out of the 19 games he started, 15 were failures. And that was enough for some to not even want to see him back, even in a suit and tie. Since leaving the Redskins, Shuler helped keep the New Orleans Saints sorry before exiting to the real estate and land development business. And now he's making a run for Congress.

Trivia question: what are the names of Shuler's two children? His four-year-old is named Navy, and his one-year-old is Island. And I have no idea if they are boys, girls, one of each or an unfortunate result of a losing wager on a bet.