Will the Real Jason Campbell Please Stand Up?

Which Jason Campbell will be the quarterback Washington football fans can check for this year? The quarterback who is maligned and halfway out of town? Or is he the second coming of Doug Williams, as Clinton Portis has so eloquently stated recently?

His performance is what this season is all about. Clinton Portis could finish this season with close to 11,000 yards rushing for his career, positioning himself for Hall of Fame consideration with about three or four good years remaining in his career.

It won’t matter.

Malcolm Kelly could prove to be one of the elite young receivers in the NFL this year, capable of drawing comparisons to Andre Johnson and Calvin Johnson by year’s end.

It won’t matter.

Brian Orakpo could be the second coming of Lawrence Taylor, wreaking havoc on the weak side of the entire NFC East.

It won’t matter.

All that matters is that Washington wins at least 10 games, and that Jason Campbell is the prominent figure in each of those anticipated 10 wins.

Never mind the fact that he went half a season in 2008 without an interception, it was all about the amazing Clinton Portis during that run. When the tide turned on the team, it wasn’t Clinton Portis who shouldered the blame.

It was Campbell, who wasn’t the only individual with scaled-back production during the swoon, but was the sole recipient of the talk-radio and print-media drama that followed.

Most people are in Jason Campbell’s corner, and no one heads up that corner’s cheers louder than me.

But from a place of objectivity, there is a fine line between success and failure for Campbell this upcoming season, and nothing else Washington can do or is capable of doing will overshadow the consistency he needs to bring from week one and beyond.

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