(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Today's news that Michael Vick will be reinstated to the NFL next week will flush out all the teams who've been laying in the weeds on the issue.
Will the Washington Redskins cast their net for Vick? Should they?
Anyone not named Snyder or Cerrato who answers the first question is speculating.
That's standard operating procedure when it comes to the Skins. Snyder's reputation for collecting big name players and his recent dalliance with Jay Cutler and Mark Sanchez means everyone just has to link Snyder to Michael Vick.
Whether or not Washington should take Vick is the trickier question.
DC Landing Strip published a tongue-in-cheek case for Vick last May. They intended it as a jab at Snyder, but they did raise legitimate issues. To wit: Michael Vick is a gifted athlete who could help an offense in need of punch.
Those advantages are all the more urgent with what we saw of the Redskin offense in the second half of 2008.
Are the receivers up to snuff? Can an aging line hold a block long enough for someone to score?
If, as the owner and many fans believe, Jason Campbell is not the answer and the passing game will suffer anyway, why not take a guy who won't pass any better, yet scares the bejezus out of defensive coordinators?
Because Vick doesn't address Washington's problem with winning championships. That's why.
Quick fixes don't work for the Redskins. (See Duckett, T.J.; Taylor, Jason; Wright, Kenny.)
Washington needs improvement that sustains winning. Most urgently, they need the youngsters on the offensive line and receiver corps to step it up.
A team doesn't need a super quarterback to win a Super Bowl. Mark Rypien proved that. Jay Cutler never won a Super Bowl. Neither has Sonny Jurgensen nor Dan Marino. And they are Hall of Fame guys.
Eli Manning is not a super quarterback, but he won a Super Bowl in a year when he completed just 56 percent of his passes and achieved a modest 73.9 QB rating.
The Giants won because they were a good team in the 2007 season with typical Beastly snot-knocking blocking, decent receivers, and an excellent defense.
Check the stats and you will find that Jason Campbell is ahead of Eli Manning at the same point in Manning's career.
On the verge of training camp, Jim Zorn knows what he's been working on in the offseason. He's seen how much, or if, Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly have developed. Joe Bugel has whispered in his ear whether the O-line will get younger and better this season.
If Vick shows up at Redskin Park, you will know that those things are not working out and that Washington, as always, is applying another quick fix.
Can it work?
Vick has been away from the game for two seasons. He can't possibly be in pro football shape. That, and a possible four-game suspension, are reason enough to keep Jason Campbell around for a while longer. But that gives our NFC Beast cousins, all with excellent defenses, time to figure this out.
As Hog Heaven's Greg Trippiedi put it, "any team that can't win with Jason Campbell has bigger problems than Jason Campbell."
But with news that Vick may, or may not, be in play when training camp opens, the guessing games will ramp up.
It's the only certainty in the affair.
This story also appears on redskinshogheaven.com.
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