http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/28/AR2009082804118_pf.html
Quarterback Regains His Footing
By Mike Wise
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Whenever I read a poorly constructed e-mail lambasting Jason Campbell -- or, okay, willingly participate in a debate on Miserable Suburban Guy radio -- I have to remember to conserve my passion for a debate that matters.
Like health care.
Or "Hard Knocks," or "Mad Men."
Heck, Re-tweets vs. Original Thought.
Because I can't waste another spare minute defending the player who is rightly the Washington Redskins' starting quarterback this season, the guy who marshaled his team down the field in Friday night's 27-24 loss to the Patriots, managing a first half that the Redskins' porous defense almost ceded to Tom Brady and Randy Moss.
In fact, the next person who seriously wants to engage in a meaningful argument about why Campbell can't play like he's related to Archie Manning, or Brady or Drew Brees, I submit the next paragraph as conclusive proof of why you're wrong.
Shaun Hill. JaMarcus Russell. Brady Quinn. Kyle Orton. Marc Bulger. Mark Sanchez. Trent Edwards. Byron Leftwich. Daunte Culpepper. Matt Schaub.
At this moment in his career, I would take Campbell over every one of those NFL starting quarterbacks. (I want to say Matt Hasselbeck, Jay Cutler and Joe Flacco, too. But to avoid the predictable, "You homer, Wise, Hasselbeck went to a Super Bowl, Flacco was one game short of playing in the Super Bowl and even owner Daniel Snyder and Vinny Cerrato, the team's executive vice president of football operations, wanted Cutler instead of Campbell." I'll just stick with those inferior 10 quarterbacks listed above.)
The point is, before the masses grow dark and dour over the quarterback they have leading their offense, think about who they don't have and be thankful.
Look, Campbell needed this as much as his loyalists, to thread a beautifully thrown ball to Santana Moss along the left sideline on his first possession -- a spiral that just evaded the Patriots' defensive back. After completing as many passes in the first two preseason games (four) as Michael Vick completed while taking six snaps on Thursday night, Campbell needed to put up 17 first-half points against the Patriots, and he watched Chris
ey catch and rumble for 73 electrifying yards in an offense so bereft of the big play a year ago.
Heading into the Meadowlands on Sept. 13 against the Giants requires regaining your confidence, even in the preseason.
But more than that, Campbell needed his fence-sitting supporters back, the people doubting whether he has the goods or whether he's Patrick Ramsey in training -- just another kid with a cannon arm who, between musical-chair coaches and systems, had his head on a swivel.
ey recently said the reason Campbell had such a lousy second half in 2008 was because he had three seconds or less to throw every snap, that a cut-and-paste offensive line could not protect him. Jim Zorn, the man whose career as a head coach in this league is married to Campbell's development, has gone so far as to say he called conservative plays the last two months of the season because he feared for Campbell's safety.
"I was very pleased," Zorn said of Campbell's first-half performance, according to a halftime transcript provided by the Redskins. "He was very much into the game. He was competing hard and doing the things you want. We missed on a couple of long ones, but he came back and was running the show."
Zorn went on to prove his central point from last season: When Campbell has time, he's a different player.
"We're executing," Zorn said. "When you get protection -- when you get pass protection -- you can do a lot more things. You can run these longer-developing plays. Our offensive line, I'm very pleased with how they played, particularly protecting the quarterback."
Sure, you can say Campbell's coach and teammates are adhering to an old jock code: even when the guy behind center looks bad, have his back and take the blame yourself. And, yes, it would have been nice to see Campbell scramble out of danger and make up something on the fly -- like Brett Favre before he went gray or the Vick of five years ago.
But here is what truly matters: Todd Collins was named the backup for a reason; the Redskins already have a quarterback who started 16 games in a single season last year, the first time that happened since Brad Johnson in 1999.
And I don't want to hear another word about Cutler and how good he looks with Chicago. He's a malcontent, a time bomb who could detonate a locker room at any time. Much more risk than reward.
The best thing Campbell did all week was unleash a bit of a sneer when asked about his 1-of-7 outing a week ago against Pittsburgh, saying he was also the quarterback who once completed 20 of 23 passes in a game that actually mattered.
It was Campbell saying what the people who still believe in him have been saying for most of the last year:
He's here. He's tired of hearing you jeer. Get used to it
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With the Cardinals reaching the Super Bowl, is Dan Snyder officially the worst owner in the league?
