The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

On the first day of Washington Redskins training camp, a heckler stood near the front of the crowd and criticized every bad pass, every bobbled ball and pined out loud for the return of departed quarterback Jason Campbell.

"Must have been a great catch," the fan yelled after McNabb completed one pass, "because it couldn't have been a good throw."

As the days went by, other fans might have felt that the heckler was on to something. McNabb seemed to have more passes intercepted than he should. He was throwing behind receivers, and earlier this week, he unleashed a wounded duck that was easily picked off by Carlos Rogers downfield.

McNabb's performance could be simply a matter of him adjusting to new surroundings and a new offense. Or maybe fans are catching a glimpse of why the Eagles were willing to trade the quarterback after 11 seasons.

tribeofjudah wrote:Do we want Jcam back....?

tribeofjudah wrote:.... You all say we're going 10-6 - well NOT if our QB struggles. Are we in trouble? Do we want Jason Campbell back?

McNabb shrugs off misfires

Redskins training camp report

Date published: 8/12/2010

BY RICH CAMPBELL

ASHBURN

--They started out as isolated miscues. A late pass here. A wobbler there. A bounced throw here. No big deal.
Before long, though, it seemed to be more of a trend. By the looks of it, Donovan McNabb--the Washington Redskins' brand new franchise quarterback--was in the midst of a poor training camp. Through the first 10 days, someone out to justify Philadelphia's decision to trade him had some evidence with which to start building a case.

Redskins coaches and players, however, aren't concerned. Not only did McNabb arrive from Philadelphia with a reputation for being somewhat inconsistent in practice, he's expected to experience some growing pains while learning a new offense for just the second time in his pro career.

"You want him to make some of these mistakes so he can learn from them," offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said. "They're new plays for him, so he's got to see them versus tough looks, see the bad mistakes, and then he remembers it so he can get it again in a game and he's already seen it."

The errors have included inaccurate passes, ill-advised ones and some that have been poorly timed.

On Tuesday, he underthrew a pass intended for Santana Moss deep down the middle. Cornerback Carlos Rogers adjusted and intercepted it after a deflection.

Rogers also picked off Mc- Nabb in 7-on-7 drills last week. Later in that practice, McNabb bounced a pass intended for tight end Fred Davis.

Similar plays have been scattered throughout training camp.

"That's how you're able to correct your mistakes," McNabb said. "Once you make a mistake and you realize what the mistake was, then you eliminate that. We've all made mistakes as these days continued on. We've all corrected them and found out what it is that we did wrong, and we're gonna make mistakes in the game. It's just making sure you realize what you did wrong and correct it for the next game."

For McNabb, it's an ongoing process that started immediately after the Redskins traded two draft picks for him on April 4. He joined the team's offseason program right away and started studying the playbook.

After playing in Eagles coach Andy Reid's offensive scheme for 11 seasons, he had to take a crash course in a new system with new terminology and different priorities.

"It just takes some time, like learning a new language," head coach Mike Shanahan said. "I don't care who you are--if you learn a new language, it takes some time before it comes out automatically and you can think."

McNabb took the developmental process a step further just before training camp. He hosted Moss and wideouts Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly at a weeklong training session near his Arizona home.

That, however, was as much a bonding exercise as anything.

On the field, much room for improvement remains.

"We know that everything isn't going to be where we need it to be for Dallas, but that's why we play the preseason, to kick the rust off a little bit and kind of get our timing and chemistry where we need it to be," McNabb said. "Kind of get our confidence at a level we need it to be and just have fun doing it."

Of course, there's a difference between shining in practice and in games, and McNabb has been known to turn it on when the stakes are higher.

Part of that stems from his ability to excel when a play breaks down. He's one of the NFL's best at throwing on the run and making something out of nothing.

In practice, his goal is to strictly execute the offense and make the proper reads and throws. In games, however, he doesn't have to be as rigid.

"He's scary when he gets out of the pocket," Kyle Shanahan said. "We're trying to get him to learn our system and execute our offense and not always looking to do that, but we know that when we call a bad play and stuff doesn't work, we've still got a chance with him because he can make some good stuff happen when nothing is there."

Washington's four preseason games, then, are significantly more important than any he has played in since breaking into the league.

It's all for the sake of progress. There's still plenty of time to get it right. For now, the Redskins aren't close to worrying.

"Especially in these last few days, he's taken a step forward," Kyle Shanahan said. "He's still not where we want him yet and where he wants to be yet, but I feel very good that he will be."

ATX_Skins wrote:I'm sure our outstanding core of receivers are running the most crisp routes too.

Maximoral wrote:

ATX_Skins wrote:I'm sure our outstanding core of receivers are running the most crisp routes too.

Good point ATX_Skins. To take that idea a step further, other than the one season that the Eagles had T.O., and he wasn't disgruntled, can anyone remember McNabb having decent recievers to throw to? He put up big numbers with average guys for years.

Just give him some time to get used to our system and get acclimated with our guys. He's done well with less talent than we have before. No reason to think he won't be able to again.

"We know that everything isn't going to be where we need it to be for Dallas..."

PulpExposure wrote:He'll get better in our system without a doubt. However, the plain fact is that McNabb just isn't very accurate. So we will see games where he's turfing the ball constantly (in Philly they called it throwing "wormburners"). He won't suddenly become an accurate QB in DC.

Deadskins wrote:

"We know that everything isn't going to be where we need it to be for Dallas..."

I hope he means right now, not that he won't be ready by week one.

ATX_Skins wrote:

Maximoral wrote:

ATX_Skins wrote:I'm sure our outstanding core of receivers are running the most crisp routes too.

Good point ATX_Skins. To take that idea a step further, other than the one season that the Eagles had T.O., and he wasn't disgruntled, can anyone remember McNabb having decent recievers to throw to? He put up big numbers with average guys for years.

Just give him some time to get used to our system and get acclimated with our guys. He's done well with less talent than we have before. No reason to think he won't be able to again.

I really wish we had signed T.O.

(guy's stop trying to hit me, i was just saying....)

brad7686 wrote:

ATX_Skins wrote:

Maximoral wrote:

ATX_Skins wrote:I'm sure our outstanding core of receivers are running the most crisp routes too.

Good point ATX_Skins. To take that idea a step further, other than the one season that the Eagles had T.O., and he wasn't disgruntled, can anyone remember McNabb having decent recievers to throw to? He put up big numbers with average guys for years.

Just give him some time to get used to our system and get acclimated with our guys. He's done well with less talent than we have before. No reason to think he won't be able to again.

I really wish we had signed T.O.

(guy's stop trying to hit me, i was just saying....)

T.O.!!

VetSkinsFan wrote:

brad7686 wrote:

ATX_Skins wrote:

Maximoral wrote:

ATX_Skins wrote:I'm sure our outstanding core of receivers are running the most crisp routes too.

Good point ATX_Skins. To take that idea a step further, other than the one season that the Eagles had T.O., and he wasn't disgruntled, can anyone remember McNabb having decent recievers to throw to? He put up big numbers with average guys for years.

Just give him some time to get used to our system and get acclimated with our guys. He's done well with less talent than we have before. No reason to think he won't be able to again.

I really wish we had signed T.O.

(guy's stop trying to hit me, i was just saying....)

T.O.!!

Is in Cincinnati.

SkinsJock wrote:we might have been better off by getting a lot of players in here - we are much better off at QB by having McNabb than Campbell


we obviously have some issues with our O line and with our receivers BUT we are a lot better off IMO than if we had kept Campbell and gone and found a bunch of great offensive linemen AND WRs - Campbell still would not have been an effective QB

McNabb is a winning QB AND a good team leader - Campbell is neither

SkinsJock wrote:I'll agree that Campbell was not the cause of anything but there is no way I can agree that we are not a lot better offensively with McNabb as our QB than Campbell - NO WAY

one is a winning QB the other has not been close to showing the same capabilities - Shanahan could not take a chance on the most important player on the team, sorry

I hopeCampbell has a fantastic season/career - there is NO WAY that he could have done that here - NO WAY

VetSkinsFan wrote:

SkinsJock wrote:I'll agree that Campbell was not the cause of anything but there is no way I can agree that we are not a lot better offensively with McNabb as our QB than Campbell - NO WAY

one is a winning QB the other has not been close to showing the same capabilities - Shanahan could not take a chance on the most important player on the team, sorry

I hopeCampbell has a fantastic season/career - there is NO WAY that he could have done that here - NO WAY

The only caveat here is that we'll not be able to compare the two under equal situations (hopefully). We have a MUCH better o line than we had last year and we'll have MUCH better playcalling this year than last, so the comparison is going to be purely speculatory.