A week from the first live snap and already Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell is the center of sports talk.
Campbell told Sports Illustrated that “there were a couple of times in the offseason I felt like a piece of tissue they were flushing down the toilet.” That’s funny because last season went down the same way despite a 6-2 start.
“Who’s the quarterback in 2010” is the second-hottest topic among fans, trailing only “Who’s the next coach?” Campbell has backers, but they aren’t in the front office. Owner Dan Snyder tried to trade for Jay Cutler and draft Mark Sanchez over the offseason despite having a 27-year-old passer with an 80.4 rating over 36 starts who should be entering his prime. The Redskins paid heavily for Campbell’s maturity and now seem willing to toss him aside.
Hence, we see the biggest problem with this franchise over Snyder’s 10-year tenure — impatience. Change coaches, flip passers — the place is a revolving door that leads to nowhere. Despite saying he wants Campbell to succeed, Snyder’s actions have instead undermined the quarterback. Certainly, Snyder has the right, even the obligation, to upgrade any position, but Cutler is still a questionable star and Sanchez could be another college phenom turned pro bust.
Snyder’s moves weren’t personal — Campbell doesn’t have an enemy in the locker room. Indeed, as tight end Chris Cooley told SI, teammates would love Campbell to force Snyder into a megabucks deal through a big season. To be fair, so would Snyder.
This feels much like 2001, when Snyder essentially ran quarterback Brad Johnson out of Washington for his favorite — backup Jeff George. Johnson led the Redskins to the 1999 playoffs and remains the team’s best quarterback since Mark Rypien was named MVP of Super Bowl XXVI. Snyder wanted George, a golden-arm passer who always looked like a Hall of Famer in practice, but who also was despised by teammates — they didn’t even defend him when dragged by a Dallas Cowboy following a sack.
Johnson departed and George didn’t make it to week three before being released by coach Marty Schottenheimer. Indeed, George has never played again. Meanwhile, the Redskins can’t seem to settle on a signal-caller.
The Redskins need a big season from Campbell to make the playoffs. That means leave him alone and worry about next year come next year. Otherwise, get out the tissues for a tearful farewell.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or e-mail [email protected].
