Jason Campbell and the Washington Redskins: One Split Second Away

Have you seen this man?

(Photo by Brian Schurman)

If you have seen him—sometimes brilliant, sometimes frustrating, ever the work-in-progress—the Redskins will remain what they have been for years...a team capable of beating the best in the NFL one week, and losing to the worst the next.

A team that will, ultimately, fall short of expectation.

If you have not seen him, however, and the man wearing "17" in burgundy and gold jogging onto the field at Giants Stadium on September 13 turns out to be the guy they were talking about in Ashburn just a week ago...hold on to your hats.

The notion that Jason Campbell is the key to their season is hardly novel—you can’t find a Redskins piece these days that doesn’t cover that angle. Not many drill down just how close the Redskins might be to breaking out, how dependent that possibility is on Campbell, and just how close Campbell might be to making that jump.

Let’s take it macro to micro.

Ownership is in place. For all the fits, starts, learning curve, and unresolved philosophical cranial flatulence concerning the offensive line, Dan Snyder is serious about procuring the pieces. If you can find a lifelong Lions, Bengals or Cardinals fan, see if they can say the same with a straight face.

The coaching staff is in place. Head Coach Jim Zorn enters his second year under the big headset with all the attendant advantages—familiarity with his players, coaching staff, rhythms of the job, and a full year to adapt and refine his roster and offense to fit one another. He has acquired one invaluable thing that can only be gained one way...experience. And with solid assistant coaching up and down the line (DC Greg Blache, OL Coach Joe Bugel, DB Coach Jerry Gray, et al), Zorn will not go to battle alone.

He'll be flanked by battle-hardened lieutenants.

The defense is in place. Last year's fourth-ranked overall unit (seventh passing; eighth rushing) didn’t stand pat and didn’t tinker, it upgraded—big time. The Redskins added DT Albert Haynesworth, the consensus “Best Available Free Agent” and arguably most dominant defensive lineman in football.

They also added rookie DE/LB Brian Orakpo, on the short list of best pass-rushing prospects in the 2008 NFL Draft, and early training camp surprise DE Jeremy Jarmon from Kentucky.

Factor in another year of maturity for young veterans S LaRon Landry, CB DeAngelo Hall, S Chris Horton, DT’s Anthony Montgomery and Kedric Golston, and LB Rocky McIntosh. Furthermore, add the solid leadership from players such as LB London Fletcher, DT Cornelius Griffin, and returning DE’s Phillip Daniels and Renaldo Wynn.

Stir them together under the steady hand of Greg Blache, and it is hard to envision a dropoff. Logic suggests, instead, that the Redskins defense will be better, maybe even dominant.

Offensively, things are less clear, but perhaps not as dire as many would have you believe. Last year at this time, criticism came from many quarters about how the Redskins had badly neglected the defense by using their top three draft selections on offensive players. Specifically, the criticism was of skill players brought in to do something all agreed was a serious concern—upgrading the passing game.

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