“Profile of a Competitor and Things to Come…”

Colt Brennan has now seen several minutes of play in games in the NFL preseason in his rookie year with the Washington Redskins.

In watching replays on YouTube this is what I’ve come to understand about Colt:

In Hawaii he was the most prolific player in ALL of college football in just two short years. The most awesome thing he did for the State of Hawaii is that he passed on a NFL draft and guaranteed position somewhere in the NFL in his junior year to return to play football again for UH. He passed on several million dollars because he loved Hawaii and the people and his team and wanted to come back for another winning season.

Living in Hawaii I witnessed the greatest two seasons that Hawaii football experienced under the leadership of Colt Brennan. The whole state was alive with energy during the last few games of their historic season.

But also at the time I remember myself criticizing his playing and his game.

I remember saying several times to friends that as soon as he gets slammed and hit in the NFL he is going to get hurt and crumble and his career will be over. I constantly said he was too skinny and small for the NFL and he was a “little cocky” when it came to the game. As a person he is humble as anyone, but his confidence in what he is capable of doing as a player sometimes came across as cocky, but now we can see it is simply his pure passion and fever for the game.

Despite his smaller physical stature at the time he put up impressive stats and broke all kinds of NCAA passing records and led UH to an undefeated season and also led the team into their first BCS game in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia.

UH was outclassed and out coached by a well oiled Georgia Bulldogs Football team and lost, and Colt Brennen fizzled out in the game, and then in his following final post season game at the Senior Bowl as well.

The critics including armchair critics like myself rode him hard saying “told you so”.

As a person, everyone living in Hawaii including myself loved Colt and what he gave to Hawaii and we still do.

But after the BCS game in Georgia, many started to question his true ability as a player.

One of my criticisms other than his weight at the time was that even though he was the #1 passer in the NCAA, he was playing in a less competitive league than say the PAC 10 or the SEC. Football is pretty big in Hawaii, but come on, compared to the BIG SCHOOLS, the budget and the schedules just don’t match up. So many including myself said “Who cares if he’s putting up big numbers, it’s just the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) we’re not playing the big schools and the big teams.” And so after the BCS game against Georgia, many of us just said “See. Told you so.”

Now it seems that many are criticizing his play with the Redskins saying “Ah, he’s just playing preseason right now and against 3rd string defenses.”

“Who cares if he’s putting up big numbers, it’s just the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) we’re not playing the big schools and the big teams.”

Hindsight is 20/20. Now the pieces are starting to come together.

Here’s my observations about Colt and what his coaches see about him and why Jim Zorn is giving him time to run plays even if it’s just the preseason right now…

1. Colt is a competitor.
2. Colt has raw skills that with some refinement will make him the best. In other words he has “it” or “instincts” or just that intangible factor that the best have.
3. He will get better with time and as he plays with better competition.
4. He learns from his mistakes.
5. He WANTS to WIN. (see #1)
6. All the critics say he is UNCONVENTIONAL. All his coaches know that this is what makes him potentially great…No one great is NORMAL. Everyone great has some things that make them different and unique. The great ones know that they are unique. They leverage their uniqueness. This is what makes them great. Colt knows he is unique.
7. He works HARD and he is HUMBLE. He is grateful.
8. He is a smart player and understands the game.
9. He is a leader. Takes responsibility for mistakes and gives credit to others for his success.

Colt responds well to right coaching and great team mates.

Hawaii had a shot at winning the BCS against Georgia and making history. In hindsight, June Jones head coach of UH at the time was in contract negotiations with SMU during the time of the BCS game. It’s very obvious that Jones really didn’t care if UH won the Sugar Bowl or not at the time. He was already satisfied with his accomplishment of getting the team there, and his mind was elsewhere on his next possible coaching job away from UH and his million dollar contract negotiation. It’s just my opinion but I don’t think June Jones really expected his team to do well at all, and just wanted them to have fun and enjoy the experience. He had lower expectations based on the circumstances. June Jones was not focused on winning or doing their best or even his best at the time. His focus was elsewhere. The season had been won already and just being at the BCS Sugar Bowl already insured UH millions of dollars in revenue. He had already accomplished his job. In turn Colt did not really have a coach that was “all there” during the Sugar Bowl.

The following game during the Senior Bowl Brennan had a case of stomach flu and went down to 185 pounds. This just proved even more that he was too small for the NFL. He also dealt with a hip injury.

Things did not look good for the upcoming NFL draft.

Fast forward to 2008

Colt Brennan had good training camp workouts enough to have teams be interested in him.

He gains weight to over 210 pounds.

He gets surgery on his hip and works out to recover.

He continues training and rubbing shoulders with the best in the NFL.

Now with three NFL games behind him with the Redskins, he is starting again to show how great of a QB he really can be and is again starting to put up impressive numbers and stats if only even in preseason.

Colt is the type of player that rises with the tide of great coaching and great team mates.

All his coaches could see it…Especially his head coach now Jim Zorn who was also a starting NFL quarterback for many years. Colt couldn’t have a better coach at a better time than right now.

Colt is now bigger, stronger and faster than ever, and now he is playing in the NFL and will continue to get bigger, stronger and faster and smarter.

Colt is the type of QB that throws it out there and expects his receivers to get it. TV announcers call him a “gunslinger”.

Now in the NFL he will also have the fastest and strongest receivers and linemen working with him. His level of play is just going to go up.

He is a leader. He takes responsibility for mistakes and gives credit to others for his success.

This is what all his previous coaches knew about him…That he has what it takes. That is has the same qualities as the best in the NFL.

In watching his replays from his UH season last year and watching replays from the last two games with the Redskins Colt is a much faster and quicker player who plays with much more speed, confidence and energy than he ever did in college…and he is just getting the feel for the NFL right now.

He is going to be great. Not just good, but GREAT. The NFL is going to make him better than ever.

My armchair prediction is that he could be starting QB for the Redskins before the end of the year and lead the Redskins into the playoffs his rookie year.

The following is what has been said about him by announcers and coaches.

“He takes responsibility for losses and credits his team mates when he wins.”

“Colt Brennan just finds a way to get it done.”

At the Hall of Fame game a few weeks ago…Where the Redskins played the Colts, Brennan threw for 9 out of 10 completions and for 2 touchdowns.

[The critics can say he was playing against a 3rd string defense but those stats would be just as impressive if a first string quarterback was throwing against a 3rd string defense..something to think about...9 out of 10 completions even if it was a 3rd string defense].

This is what John Madden said of Colt Brennan:

“I like the way he plays. I mean you can just feel his energy. He brings a certain energy to the game. A certain energy to that team, and [when] we talk about throwing you know… and not throwing always the way you’re supposed to, but throwing from every angle.”

“He brings a certain energy to the game.”

Others have said…

“Colt Brennan just finds a way to get it done.”

“He is a player’s player.”

This is what was said of Colt when he was playing for UH…

“Pure talent has a way of overcoming the critics.”

So true.

Here is a fun video of Colt when he was in Hawaii and NOT PLAYING FOOTBALL…Not only do we get to see a little glimpse of how Colt is off the field but we can see why Hawaii loves him and why he loves Hawaii…

Mugi cha is a popular drink in Japanese families especially in the summer (served refreshingly cold) and also in winter (served warm). It is a drink made of roasted barley and water. It is also a popular drink in Korea (called Bori cha).

Barley itself is a “super green food” high in minerals and amino acids, so it goes to make sense that Barely “tea” also contains those same elements.

It is not really a “tea” and it does not contain caffeine. It has an earthy taste closest in color and flavor to a weak coffee. Depending on the time and strength of brewing it can taste somewhat sweet to more earthy in flavor.

The traditional method of preparation calls for boiling roasted barley and then letting it sit and then cool in the fridge. However in these modern times the more popular and convenient way is to use pre-bagged Mugi cha that you drop in a liter to a liter and a half of water and let sit in the fridge for an hour or more. After the first hour to few hours it tastes kind of sweet, but left for more than 24 hours it is much stronger and “smoky” in flavor, it is best consumed within 12 hours.

The health benefits from my personal experience and observations are that I believe it regulates my blood sugar as I don’t succumb to “sweet tooth” cravings as much. Thus consumed long term it could help lead to losing weight, this could partially explain why many Japanese and Koreans are slender. Another anecdotal observation is that it seems to lessen the growth of my gray hairs if consumed regularly everyday. I once read somewhere online that barley and Mugi cha have a high copper content, and according to my sister and brother in law, copper is a good supplement that prevents gray hair (my 50-something-ish brother in law is living proof of this since he supplements his diet with copper and does not have ANY grey. Amazing.)

There are also sources online that say Mugi cha lowers cholesterol and purifies the blood, both being excellent benefits.

The amazing thing about Mugi cha is the cost. For example the brand I am drinking now is from Japan and distributed by Ito En in Honolulu. It is a bag of 54 serving packs each good for a liter of barley tea or more. It is distributed in Japanese markets. The cost? My wife bought it for less than $5 (yes…less than five dollars for the whole bag. Amazing.) We bought ours at “Don Quixote” a Japanese supermarket chain from Japan located in Honolulu for $3.99 (3 dollars and 99 cents).

The bottom line here is that Mugi cha tastes good, and is easy to drink, HEALTHY, and inexpensive.

Cheers!

Just about everytime I speak on the phone with someone on the Mainland or overseas I get asked the same question…

“What’s The Weather Like In Hawaii?”

The answer is always the same.

“It’s nice.”

As a matter of fact ever since I’ve lived here for the last 7+ years the weather has never sucked.

It’s typically warm and breezy or warm and humid.

Sure sometimes it’s so humid that it’s somewhat oppressive but it’s always replaced within a few days or a week with another picture perfect warm sunny breezy day with zero smog.

Of course there are days of “vog” (volcanic pollution) and we have our version of “Santa Ana Winds” or “devil winds” when the breezes blow “backwards” and the air is thicker with congestion and heavier. But it is soon replaced with another warm and breezy day.

Other than the stretch of rain last year where it rained every day for 40 days straight (this is no biblical exaggeration, it did rain 40 days and streams were over flowing into the roads)…but even then it was warm.

Sure we have our winters here where we have to bundle up with long sleeves or wear long pants to bed for about 10 days, but for the most part it’s warm sunny and breezy.

Even today as I look outside, it’s warm sunny and slightly humid…but it’s still nice.

So to answer your question “Hows the weather in Hawaii?”

“It’s nice.”

Last updated: 8 April 2010

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