Campbell Brings Youthful Enthusiasm

In 2004, Mark Brunell began the season as the Redskins’ starting quarterback, but nine games into the season, Patrick Ramsey replaced him. Nine games into the 2006 season, Brunell will be riding the pine once again, this time in favor of second year man Jason Campbell.

Brunell is not the only reason for the Skins problems, and benching him in favor of Campbell will not solve those problems and may not even make the Skins a better team this season. However, this should provide the team with a much-needed spark.

Campbell said that when Head Coach Joe Gibbs told him that he would be the number one QB, he felt like he had just won the lottery. The Skins will be able to benefit from his youthful enthusiasm. The whole team has been buzzing with excitement about Jason Campbell taking over the starting spot.

Campbell has a lot of talent. He is young, tough, and not injury prone. Mobility is a big part of his playing style, and that should help out in pass protection. At 6’4” 228 pounds, Campbell has a big, powerful, and athletic frame. He has a very accurate and strong arm. The former Auburn QB has been very successful in High School and College.

It’s good that they have made the switch now so Campbell can use the rest of this season to gain experience. He should be concerned only with learning how to play QB in the NFL and not even contemplate the finer points of playing in the NFL until the off-season. Consistent winning won’t come this season, but thanks to this decision, Campbell will be a much more polished NFL quarterback next season.

We can’t expect Jason Campbell to be the Redskins’ savior right now. If he stinks it up this weekend, lets not bash him too much and remember that he is playing in the NFL for the very first time in his life. We should not be too optimistic or too pessimistic about this weekend. Campbell is a complete unknown and it is going to take a while to learn enough about him to determine his NFL talent.

The Redskins’ roster has gone through many more changes this week than just at the QB spot. As we all know, RB Clinton Portis has been placed on IR, ending his season. His roster spot will be taken by newly resigned TE Brian Kozlowski, who played for the Redskins last season. “Koz,” as he is known as, will replace TE Christian Fauria who was also put on IR this week (I didn’t know that the inability to block was an injury). Rookie WR Mike Espy, who was signed from the practice squad and had a great preseason, will take Fauria’s spot on the roster. Lastly, WR Santana Moss is listed on the injury report as doubtful for Sunday’s game at Tampa Bay and will be a game time decision.

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Back to RFK?

On the ride home from work yesterday, I heard on the radio, a story regarding "talk" about the Redskins possibly moving back to D.C. and building a new stadium in place of the old RFK stadium. Below is the excerpt of the story.

WASHINGTON -- There's been some talk around town of a plan to bring the Redskins back to RFK Stadium, and D.C. Mayor-elect Adrian Fenty said he'd like to see Washington's football team playing again in the city instead of the suburbs.On Wednesday, News4 first reported that both current D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and Council Finance Chairman Jack Evans have talked to team owners about building a new, domed stadium on the site of RFK.On Thursday, Fenty agreed the idea was worth pursuing. Officials have said the plans are not specific, but the vision is of a new stadium with a dome. "People love the Redskins. I think people would love to have the Redskins back in the District. The accessibility of the RFK site versus FedEx Field is unquestioned," said D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans. Evans said officials have talked informally to Redskins owner Dan Snyder and associates about building a new stadium on the RFK site when the Nationals move to a new stadium in 2008.Officials also said that with a year-round dome, a new football stadium would be eligible for the Super Bowl event that Snyder dreams of.

Personally, I think it's an interesting idea. It would be a really good thing for D.C. if they'd land the Super Bowl someday in the future. Just imagine the REVENUE the city would get! We all know how revenue-hungry governments are.

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The Season is Over for Portis & Redskins

Big news out of Redskins Park! Starting running back Clinton Portis has been placed on injured reserve, ending his 2006 season. Portis was originally expected to miss 3 to 4 weeks with a broken right hand, but team officials have decided to put him on IR so he can have the shoulder surgery that he would have under gone after this season was over.

This is the correct thing for the team to do because, for the Redskins, the season is over. At 3-6, it would have taken a miracle for them to make the playoffs. Portis has not been himself since injuring his shoulder while tackling a defensive back after an interception in the first preseason game of the year.

Having the surgery now means that Portis will have much more time to recover and may even be ready for off season workouts and conditioning. Therefore, the effects on his 2007 season will be minimized, if not eliminated.

Portis played in 8 of 9 games this season, and started 7 of those games. He will finish the season with 127 carries for 523 yards, a 4.1 yards-per-carry average, and seven touchdowns. He also caught 17 passes for 170 yards. His previous career low for rushing yards over an entire season was more than 1,300 yards in 2004, his first year in Washington. This will be the first time in his career that he will be out of action for an extended period, and his first time on IR.

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QB Campbell to Start; RB Portis Sidelined

The Washington Redskins will look different come this weekend because of two key roster moves. Both were made due to necessity, but were necessary for different reasons. One change is for the long term, but the other is, hopefully, for as short as possible.

The Redskins 2nd pick in the 1st round of the 2005 NFL Draft will finally get on the field in this weekend’s game at Tampa Bay. Quarterback Jason Campbell, 24 years old, will make his first NFL appearance and start. The coaches have been preparing the former Auburn standout since the bye week, three weeks ago. He has had increased practice time and has helped with play calling in practices. Joe Gibbs has called Campbell a “hard worker.” The head coach has also said that Campbell has a “good feel” for the playbook and that it will be tailored to what they think he does best.

Was Mark Brunell’s average play, at best, the only reason why the Skins have been so second-rate? Hell no, but ya gotta start somewhere, right? The Skins’ defense is non-existent, and the team is one of the most heavily penalized teams in the league. There are plenty more problems with this team then just the QB, so keep that in mind this weekend.

Another one of those problems is the absence of running back Clinton Portis, who broke his hand in Sunday’s game. He will be out for 3 to 4 weeks at best! Remember the first two games of the season? Portis played in the first game but was still hurting, then he sat out the second game. In those two games, the Redskins offense was even worse then it is now.

Second string RB Ladell Betts will now be the starter. He has been doing a real good job this season as the back up to Portis. Betts will now have to carry the full load of the running game. Hopefully, he will get some help from the other two Redskins running backs. T.J. Duckett has seen hardly any action in this, his first – and probably last – season as a Redskin. Rock Cartwright is also available to run the ball. Rock has carried the ball even less this season, but has had a pro-bowl caliber year in returning kick offs.

In my next post, I will explore how these changes to the Redskins’ roster will impact the Skins in this season and beyond! So, check back soon!

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