WitP: Sopoaga, Mouton, Brennan, Bess, Manuwai

Isaac Sopoaga had fun at his defensive coordinator's expense today.

Manusky had put his shades on top of a water cooler for a quick second and then turned away to have a conversation. Upon seeing it, defensive lineman Isaac Sopoaga snagged Manusky’s shades and put them on for the entire team stretch period.

Without recognizing Sopoaga’s prank, Manusky scrambled to find his glasses, asking everyone on the sideline where they had gone.

“It was something I wanted to do just to get coach Manusky fired up for today,” Sopoaga said with a huge smile after practice.

Manusky continued to rant about how he had just put them down five minutes ago and then they suddenly disappeared.

“Coaches, players, trainers and the equipment guys they were so worried trying to look for his shades, but I had them the whole time during warm-ups,” Sopoaga said. “I just wanted to see how he was going to react. He got really mad!”

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An article from Nashville TV station WKRN notes the buzz surrounding Ryan Mouton.

I talked with a couple of folks at length about rookie cornerback Ryan Mouton and they are very excited about the strength, speed, athleticism and aggressiveness he brings to the position. Don’t be surprised to see him make a big move in camp for one of the spots backing up Harper and Finn. He was a third round pick, but some felt he had first or second round talent. He was slowed his senior season at Hawaii by hamstring problems, but feels great now.

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Here are some training camp notes about Colt Brennan from Redskins.com:

Under the watchful eye of Jim Zorn and Chris Meidt, the quarterbacks gathered at midfield and took turns throwing the ball into a small hoop in he middle of a net.

The drill tested quarterback accuracy, both in the pocket and on the move.

Jason Campbell was the least accurate, missing the hoop in the net on four throws that I saw.

Colt Brennan did the best, nailing the throw in the hoop on two occasions.

Todd Collins hit on one of his throws, as did Chase Daniel.

Colt Brennan’s first throw of 11-on-11s is a crisp pass to Marko Mitchell.

Colt Brennan rolls right and quickly throws to Fred Davis, who catches the ball at the 2-yard line and swerves into the end zone.
Brennan drops back to pass and seems to hesitate. He starts to roll right again. This appears to draw the ire of Jim Zorn: "What are you looking for?"

Colt Brenna fakes play-action, then rolls right. He connects with Trent Shelton for a nice gain.

Another nice note about Colt, from Warpath Confidential:

They ran two drills with it in the early practice today. First, each quarterback threw from a three-step drop. Next, the QBs threw after rolling out of the pocket.

Here are your unofficial results:

Colt Brennan jumped out to an early lead going 3-for-4. He then cooled down, finishing the drill 4-for-7. Other than Brennan’s early accuracy, the most interesting part was the applause he got from the crowd after each throw.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post discussed Colt in a Q&A today.

Hague, Va.: Dan the man, Please tell me what you think of Colt Brennan as a quarterback and if you think he has any chance of playing this year?

Dan Steinberg: You can't tell if these questions are sort of poking fun at the Cult thing, or actually optimistic that a sports blogger who spends his afternoons asking Redskins how much they can bench press will jump on the Internet and drop this news: Colt Brennan will be the starting quarterback by Week 7.

I mean, sure, there's a chance. If multiple QBs get hurt, obviously, or if Campbell is terrible and Collins struggles or gets hurt or whatever. But no one, inside the Skins brass, has ever, ever, ever given the Cultists any signs of hope, which is why they turn to me, I guess.

Do I think, on merit, Colt Brennan will be starting in the first four games of the year? No, I do not. Do I think the Internet will break if Zorn turns to Brennan at some point? Quite possibly.

Here's some grist: the Redskins have renamed one of their pass patterns "Colt." It used to be called "Corner Omaha," or something like that. C-O

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The Sun-Sentinel's Omar Kelly writes about where Davone Bess stands in the Dolphins receiving corps.

I keep getting asked how Davone Bess is doing (Hawaii fans in the house) and I finally have an answer. Bess is primarily being used in the slot in the three receiver sets. He might get worked in with the starters (Ginn and Greg Camarillo) here and there as a sub. However, the second team receivers are Patrick Turner and Brandon London, and I totally understand why.

Both are BIG, supposedly physical receivers who have similar skill sets. It's easier to compare them against one another when they're on the same rep. Genius.

Bess talks to Jeff Darlington of the Miami Herald about the opportunities he and the other Dolphins receivers have been given from the coaching staff.

He's short. He wasn't drafted. He attended college nearly 5,000 miles away. And yet, even as a rookie, Dolphins wide receiver Davone Bess was given enough opportunities last season to catch just two fewer passes than Ted Ginn Jr.

You hear that, Brandon London? Are you taking notes, Anthony Armstrong? How about you, Patrick Turner?

``These coaches don't care what school you went to or how big your name is,'' Bess said Tuesday. ``It's what you can show on the practice field and transfer over to the game.''

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Vince Manuwai is slowly working his way back from last year's season-ending knee injury.

Vince Manuwai stretched on the ground with an athletic trainer. Holt, Starks and Manuwai returned for the evening session. Nursing lingering leg issues, all three will be held to one workout per day as a precaution to prevent injury.