Smoke Signals: Redskins no longer a joke!

Good news: The Redskins are no longer a national joke! Read it. Yes, there are a few rays of hope in Washington. Read it, too. Seriously, they don’t stink anymore! Yes, read this, as well.

DC Pro Sports Report readers will know how long I have championed Jason Campbell, insisting he is better than the alternatives, improving all the time and destined to be a fine quarterback if he ever receives decent help from the rest of the offense. Well, he’s still not getting decent help from the offensive line, but a few other players are stepping up to help and the result is the Redskins averaging 28 points per game over the last 3 games. This makes life more complicated for the front office pinheads [Snyderrato] who want to replace boring old Campbell with some shiny new toy from college who will probably never develop into half the player Campbell is, but will cost a high first round pick and a helluva lot of money.

Will Campbell’s play force the front office to at least try to keep him around for another year or more?

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Campbell’s free-agent classification will be a critical determining factor. If the NFL and the players’ union extend their collective bargaining agreement by the March 1 deadline, Campbell would be an unrestricted free agent. He could sign with any team, and the Redskins would receive no compensation. He’d be more likely to leave in this improbable scenario.

But if the CBA is not extended (the likelier scenario), Campbell would be a restricted free agent. Then things would become tricky.

If Campbell is restricted, the Redskins could easily protect his rights. They could offer him a 1-year tender worth little more than $3 million to ensure that they could either match another team’s offer to Campbell or receive first- and third-round 2010 draft picks as compensation for his departure.

Campbell is currently the highest-rated passer of any in the NFL whose contract is scheduled to expire, so protecting his rights might be the team’s wisest course of action.

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* My emphasis.

Want more on the improvement of Jason Campbell in 2009? Read it.

Is failed former Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis coming to Washington? Rumors abound. Read it.

Leave it to Brian Mitchell, who knows a thing or two about returning punts, to sum up the Antwaan Randle El disaster:

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“See, I have to go to Jim Zorn,” B-Mitch said on Comcast SportsNet’s Postgame Live. ” “Because Jim Zorn has stated many times, Randle El is back there because of his sure hands. We’ve watched him drop one off the face mask, one off the chest, and he let numerous balls hit the ground. The first sin as a punt returner is to let the ball hit the ground. Pete Rodriguez–one of the greatest [coaches] I’ve ever had, Wayne Sevier, all those guys would lose their minds.”

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Big Stein provides highlights from the radio booth last Sunday. Sam Huff was in rare form and Sonny Jurgensen was having fun. Whatshisface was there, too. Read it.

Will the Redskins play in London next year? Read it.

John Keim lists his studs and duds for the Raiders game. As you’d expect, there were more studs than duds. Read it.

More from Keim, about what we learned from the Raiders game. In short, we learned that Laron Landry needs to play close to the line, the offensive tackles are a mess, Rock Cartwright has 3 more games in a Redskins uniform and Brian Orakpo can get it done from all over the field. Read it.

If you can’t go to the playoffs, at least you can ruin the season for someone else. After all, misery loves company. That’s what the Redskins will use to motivate themselves for games against the Giants on Monday night and the Cowboys the Sunday after that. Read it.

RB Coach Stump Mitchell has interviewed with Southern University for their head coaching job. We wish him better luck with that than he’s had with his running backs this year. Read it.

New PK Graham Gano is in the record books. Big Stein has the deets. Read it.

Read more

http://dcprosportsreport.com/2009/12/15/smoke-signals-redskins-no-longer-a-joke.html