Safety Condren Anxious to Take Full Advantage of Second
Chance with Colts
INDIANAPOLIS – Brannon Condren said he has learned from his past.
That, he said, means learning from his mistakes and he said he doesn't mind acknowledging a mistake or two from his first stint with the Colts. He said he could have worked a touch harder.
He could have been a bit more prepared.
Condren said it wasn't that he was unprepared last offseason, and it wasn't that he didn't work hard. But Condren said there were areas on which he could have improved.
This offseason, he said, he wants to make those improvements.
"I'm just trying to come in this year more prepared than last year," Condren said during the Colts' recent offseason conditioning program at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center.
"I think last year I came in in better physical shape than I did my rookie year, and this year I want to improve on that even more. I want to be out there not getting tired. You get so sore within the first couple of days practicing so much . . . I just want to get my body prepared for that so I'm not as sore as I was the last couple of years. . . .
"If you're not in shape, you're more susceptible to get hurt. If you pull something, like I did my rookie year – I'm trying not to do that again. That really set me back that first year."
Condren, a fourth-round selection by the Colts in the 2007 NFL Draft, appeared in eight games as a rookie, then was released shortly before the 2008 regular season.
He played in four games with St. Louis and four with Miami before re-signing to the Indianapolis practice squad in October.
He re-signed with the Colts in early January.
"In a way, I'm trying to spin it (last season) around and head to a positive, you know?" Condren said. "I guess maybe it was a good thing for me, to make me try harder than I was before last year. To me, I thought I was doing a lot, but if I look back on it now, there are things I could have done more.
"This year, I'm doing to do anything possible."
He said he spent this past offseason studying the Colts' playbook, ensuring that he had the plays down far more thoroughly than he did in the past.
"Last year, I thought I had them down, but I guess I didn't have them down as good as I should have," Condren said during the team's May/June organized team activities sessions, adding:
"All of this stuff we're doing now, I already know it really good, so hopefully, I'll just build on that and be a lot smarter out there."
Condren, who said he felt he played well in training camp and preseason last season, said he hasn't lost confidence in his physical ability.
"I've never had that," Condren said. "I just feel my first year or two here I didn't study my plays enough. Physical for me is not even a question. I know I'm fast and strong and whatever. It's just the mental part. In college, our defense was very basic. I didn't have to study at all.
"You get up here, and I guess I came in with kind of that same mentality. I studied, but not as much as I should have. I'm just going to do it twice as much and it should help me out a lot."
Condren said while he was disappointed to be released last season, he said he believes he has learned from his past, and said he can turn it into a more productive future.
"I've always known I've had the ability – it's just the smarts out there," Condren said. "I played really well during the preseason, but there were things I could have done better. I messed up on some calls, and things like that. So, it's pretty much just working on that.
"It's been a good offseason. I'm eating perfect and doing a lot more weightlifting and stuff, just trying to get my body ready and get in shape. I've started a lot earlier this year than I did last year. . . .
"I came in and you think you can just get out there and play. It's a lot more than that. You don't realize that, but I have realized that now, so I'm looking forward to getting out there and standing out this year."
