Sports

The Associated Press

ASHBURN, Va. — With the preseason more than half over, it’s become quite clear that there is no need to read between the lines when listening to Washington Redskins coach Jim Zorn evaluate a game. He tells it like it is and isn’t afraid to needle anybody, but does so with such an upbeat attitude that even the players getting picked on are probably chuckling along.

Take quarterback Colt Brennan, the sixth round pick from Hawaii who threw the winning touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s 13-10 victory over the New York Jets. Brennan has put up impressive numbers in two of three games — helping the Redskins to a 3-0 start — and some of the faithful are ready to anoint him as The Next Great Thing.

Zorn’s message on Sunday: Get real. Delivered in much nicer words, of course, and accompanied by a smile.

“I just don’t want to splash the water on him yet, you know what I mean?” Zorn said. “Here’s the thing: He’s had great vision, he’s made some heads-up plays, and we’ve had success. I really like all that. Maybe I want more, but I want better technique. I want him to use the kind of techniques that are going to take him further down the road. Remember we were talking differently last week after the Buffalo game: ‘Oh, Colt came down to Earth.’ Well, now he’s in outer space again.”

Translation: Brennan, destined to spend the season as the third-string quarterback, is a raw rookie who would probably be pummeled to bits if he were to play against a good starting defense.

“From my standpoint, I think he’s doing OK,” Zorn said. “He’s having fun, but there’s a lot more distance that he has to go. He shouldn’t be strutting his stuff.”

Then there’s Devin Thomas, a second-round pick who was supposed to contribute right away. Instead, Thomas failed the conditioning test at the start of training camp and missed the first two games because of a hamstring injury.

So, when Thomas had an unspectacular debut against the Jets — one penalty and no catches despite plenty time on the field — Zorn added yet another reason to poke fun at a rookie who still isn’t in football shape.

“Devin had his eyes wide-opened in this game,” Thomas said. “I saw him putting ice down his back in the first quarter, and I’m thinking ’That’s kind of funny.’ He was trying to cool himself off. It was, like, midway through the first quarter.”