A Redskins Fan On Redskins Fans

Going into the 2009-10 season, there are innumerable questions surrounding the Washington Redskins. What will the offense do this year after a mediocre showing last season? Who is going to step up and produce from last year’s draft class? Will Albert Haynesworth play to his contract?

Invariably, with so many questions, fans have their own opinions on their team.

If there is one issue that seems to be on everyone’s mind it is the quarterback position. There is a splinter effect when it comes to the fan base on incumbent Jason Campbell. Some fans are behind him 100 percent. Some fans are calling for Todd Collins. Some fans are calling for Colt Brennan. To each his or her own.

What fans fail to realize is that pulling Jason Campbell from the starting position accomplishes nothing. Let’s go down a few different roads to see how each potential quarterback change might affect the team. Remember, this is all purely hypothetical.

There are the Todd Collins fans out there that recall when he stepped in for the injured Jason Campbell two seasons ago and lead the team to the playoffs. However, there is a fact that those same fans fail to identify. Todd Collins had been with then offensive coordinator Al Saunders for five years prior to his arrival in Washington, as a backup no less.

Collins entered the game with a substantial grasp on the offensive scheme Al Saunders ran and had simply had to step in and go through the motions he had been practicing for so long. Todd Collins is a perfect example of what time inside the same system can do for a player. But with Saunders gone, Collins is out of his comfort zone.

At 37 years of age, Collins is an example of trying to teach an old dog new tricks. He doesn’t have five years as a backup to absorb the offense. And based on reports from training camp, he looks completely out of his element in year two of the Zorn offense.

To all the fans who want Collins in the starting lineup, I ask you this. What good does having a near 40-year-old starting quarterback play in a new offense behind an aging and questionable offensive line do for a team that is still a ways away from being Super Bowl contenders? If future Hall of Famer Brett Favre can’t take a team to the Promised Land, how do you expect a career backup near the end of his career to do any better?

There are the Colt Brennan fans out there that recall what the young gun did in the preseason last year and think he would be the perfect man for the job should Jason Campbell prove he can’t be the starter. However, Brennan came out of the spread offense run at Hawaii, which is historically the worst system for a quarterback to come out and expect to be a starter in the NFL.

His predecessor, Timmy Chang, set most of the collegiate passing records that Brennan broke a short time after. Timmy Chang isn’t in the NFL. Brennan is lucky to have been drafted by the Redskins and Dan Snyder based off his status as a big name player coming out of college.

I will be honest; I like Colt Brennan. I have seen and heard plenty of interviews he has given and find him to be, at the very least, a really good guy. He has all the records and a resume coming out of college that is full of accolades and could potentially set the table for Brennan to be a solid quarterback in the NFL. But I won’t jump on the bandwagon and say he is better suited for the job than Campbell.

Brennan has zero game experience and has worked with and against second and third string players. His outstanding preseason performance came against defenders who were fighting for roster spots or a tryout with another team’s practice squad.

You can argue that we’ll never know what he is capable of until he gets the chance to showcase his talent on the field against real NFL defenses. But if you really want to see him have a chance at success with him, let him sit the year behind Campbell learning the offense. Let Campbell have the season, or the first eight games to cement his position or seal his fate and if the latter proves true, let Collins take the reins.

Colt Brennan’s best chance to start is next season. Barring a great season by Campbell and a trip to the playoffs, it would seem that Campbell is headed for the door in what is the last year of his contract. Brennan will have had last season and this coming season to learn and absorb the offense.

If Campbell is out and Collins is gone given his age, Brennan will then have the offseason to build on what he learned and absorbed over the last two seasons and translate it into timing with receivers and ultimately into a solid on field performance.

The common thread between the two quarterbacks behind Campbell is time. Collins’ time is short, and would be best spent on the final few games if the team is floundering behind Campbell. Brennan needs time to develop into the player everyone seems to believe he already is.

I am not saying Jason Campbell is untouchable. If he comes out in the first half of the season and is abysmal, by all means pull him out. That is only if it is his play that is responsible for the poor on field product.

What if Campbell has 1,700 yards and 12 touchdowns with four interceptions midway through the season, but the team is 2-6? If he is doing his job he can’t be held accountable for the team’s shortcomings, right?

I am not an expert; I do not claim to know everything. What I know is based on what I see on the field and based on statistics that do not lie. In that sense I call them as I see them and what I see is a whole lot of confusion among Redskins fans as to what it takes to be a successful NFL quarterback.

No one likes to hear the old “give Campbell time to prove his worth” line, but what do they think it would take for Brennan to succeed? Time.