Irn-Bru wrote:old-timer wrote:You're right dude. There's a lot of sloppy thinking on this board wrt Campbell, I really don't get this ridiculous commitment to him when he has, quite simply, NOT PERFORMED.
What "ridiculous commitment"? I can only think of a handful of people that are pushing for Campbell to stay with the team as the starter for the long term. Most on THN think that he's not the solution, but that we do have worse problems right now (which is far from "ridiculous commitment"). Then there are the outliers at the other end, who think Campbell is THE problem with the team . . .
Instead of worrying about "sloppy thinking" on the board, why not be on guard against sloppy mischaracterizations?

That's easy for you to say now, now that many of the die-hard Campbell supporters have softened their tone in response to the extended 3 year drought on offense.
But I've been here, and going all the way back to 2007 the MAJORITY have bent over backwards to explain all of the reasons for Jason's lack of productivity ... too many systems ... bad receivers ... too conservative play calling ... bad pass protection ... on and on .. each year there has been what isn't unfairly characterized as a "ridiculous commitment" to an individual player, though I would personally characterize it as plain old fashioned excuse making. And it's disingenuous to suggest otherwise.
Even now, the popular opinion has shifted focus entirely to an injury decimated o-line and how no QB could be expected to produce behind that line. And though this could be a reasonable and fair assessment, one would have to disregard dozens of games over the past three years where adequate o-line play did not translate to acceptable production on offense. That fact calls into question the premise of pass protection being the main culprit in this case.
And even this year, there were games where poor pass protection wasn't the issue ... with the most recent loss to San Diego's second stringers a prime example. In that game, Campbell had plenty of time to throw during the course of the game, yet failed to produce a TD in the second half which could have sealed a victory. Furthermore, throughout the game we watched the majority of his throws grossly off target, sailing high and behind his receivers ... even short throws ... and without pressure.
Statistically, in the end, Campbell's game looked good on paper... 66%, 281 yards, 2 TDs. The real story is that the majority of the passes were within 5 yards of the line, and the 2 TDs were a 2 yard pass to Yoder and a 3 yard pass to Sellers. What is not mentioned are the two stalled drives that resulted in 2 chip shot FGs from inside the red zone in the second half against San Diego's reserves, when a TD on either drive could have sealed a victory.
All excuses aside ... there is a pattern. 6 times this year the Redskin offense has failed to score more than 14 points. Last year, they failed to score more than 14 points 8 times. That's 14 games of 14 or fewer points over the past 2 seasons, with several of these games being against weak defenses.
Yesterday, Rogers threw a TD against Arizona. I timed it ... he had two blitzing defenders in his face inside 2 seconds ...yet he dodged them, rolled right and fired a TD pass. Campbell would have been crushed, and the board would have been singing that same sad, familiar tune about how lousy the pass pro was and how NOBODY would be able to make a play with two defenders on top of him in 2 seconds. Clearly, QBs across the league have to deal with pressure on a regular basis, and it is not just Jason Campbell that faces such things.
I find it extremely telling when some here want to blame the defense, and claim that even with Haynesworth, we just don't get enough sacks (40), yet if we give up 43 sacks, it's the worst o-line in history.
There has been, and continues to be a double standard applied on the board ... if you make excuses for Campbell, however much of a stretch ... including such things as PTSD ... it's OK to go on ad-nauseam. But to point out the fallacy of these excuses is viewed as tired rhetoric that nobody wants to hear.
There seems to be no such thing as a Campbell apologist, but anyone not supporting the excuses are considered haters. Whatever.
Good QBs make plays and bad QBs make excuses. Even with the other issues on the team, better offensive leadership from the QB would have produced more wins. Certainly no Super Bowl, but likely something more than a team who was viewed this year as a laughing stock, offensively.