Seven games left

[RobH4413]

Since we've been blessed with the opportunity of being distracted from a 3-6 record... Let's talk more about tomorrow, and less about yesterday.

I'd love to hear some healthy logical thoughts/predictions about the remaining 28 quarters of football. Some huge questions need to be asked. What if Campbell bombs out, do we keep him on the roster? Where will the blame go if we keep losing? If we start winning? Finally, if anyone is interested; here's my two cents on two likely situations.

Scenario 1
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Campbell plays like crap, which in reality, makes alot of sense. He has no portis, and no defense to help him. We're throwing an inexperienced young Quarterback into a pit of sharks, with lazer beams on their foreheads. The season may shed little to no light on what is to come, and the juicy free agent QB's on Mr.Snyder's plate make their way to Washington.

Rob, full of offseason anxiety, sits in a corner after the season and knows JC will somehow be given away like Trent Green. Change appears to be the theme of the off-season once again, and Redskins reach the long awaited "offseason superbowl" with high expectations. With our top 5 pick, Redskins trade down, and bolster both lines and the secondary.

Scenario 2
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The offense has a resurgence and Campbell shows flashes of brilliance. Betts, while clutching his fate of becoming an elite NFL back, rises to the occasion. The depth of our backfield proves to be the deciding factor of the second half the season, with newcomer T.J. Duckett characteristically playing solid football.

The receivers break out in the dramatically changed gameplan. "Downfield passing" is no longer the phrase Redskins fans shudder when they hear. The defense still struggles early, but develops the Greg Williams swagger as the secondary gains some much needed experience. The reskins fall short of the playoffs, but still spoil an NFC teams' chance at the wild card.

Redskins take their 12th overall pick and draft a defensive end, and use what's left on the lines. We turn to the FA for secondary help. All in all, a more optimistic possibility, and IMO more likely.

[That Guy]

campbell tosses really really nice deep balls, so i think there will be more downfield... but probably more ints from forcing balls into coverage.

betts isn't an elite back and won't be. he's a solid starter, but he doesn't create many yards when they're not there (compared to guys like portis).

we bring in a 1st round pick at DE, clements through FA, brandon fields at punter (7th or UDFA), use our 5th pick on a CB, 6th on ANOTHER OL guy that'll probably be cut, and the 7th on some minor need (blocking TE, wedge buster, punter, etc).

the thing about campbell - alex smith threw 1 td and 11 ints, and had a million fumbles last year... and this year he's actually playing alright, so 7 games might not be enough to judge campbell fully. hopefully he shows flashes though.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by That Guy

the thing about campbell - alex smith threw 1 td and 11 ints, and had a million fumbles last year... and this year he's actually playing alright, so 7 games might not be enough to judge campbell fully. hopefully he shows flashes though.

I was going to make this point if you hadn't. You can't judge a QB on his first 7 NFL starts. So if Campbell completely sucks this season, I still would not worry about his development going foward. The JC you see vs. NYG week 17, and the one that plays opening day next season....it's gonna be night and day.

[RobH4413]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

I was going to make this point if you hadn't. You can't judge a QB on his first 7 NFL starts. So if Campbell completely sucks this season, I still would not worry about his development going foward. The JC you see vs. NYG week 17, and the one that plays opening day next season....it's gonna be night and day.

You can enough to flex the possibility of bringing in "competitive insurance".

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by RobH4413

You can enough to flex the possibility of bringing in "competitive insurance".

You want to bring in a vet (if you let MB go), but you don't want to make Campbell insecure for his job. That's not helpful to a young guy's development.

Of course, I could see something like that happening.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

I was going to make this point if you hadn't. You can't judge a QB on his first 7 NFL starts. So if Campbell completely sucks this season, I still would not worry about his development going foward. The JC you see vs. NYG week 17, and the one that plays opening day next season....it's gonna be night and day.

This is well put. Plus he is going to get all of the off season work and that is going to help a ton. Plus he will be in the same system for two straight years.

[RobH4413]

Originally Posted by That Guy

campbell tosses really really nice deep balls, so i think there will be more downfield... but probably more ints from forcing balls into coverage.

betts isn't an elite back and won't be. he's a solid starter, but he doesn't create many yards when they're not there (compared to guys like portis).

we bring in a 1st round pick at DE, clements through FA, brandon fields at punter (7th or UDFA), use our 5th pick on a CB, 6th on ANOTHER OL guy that'll probably be cut, and the 7th on some minor need (blocking TE, wedge buster, punter, etc).

the thing about campbell - alex smith threw 1 td and 11 ints, and had a million fumbles last year... and this year he's actually playing alright, so 7 games might not be enough to judge campbell fully. hopefully he shows flashes though.

I really really really want campbell to play well. If he plays mediocre or worse... there's going to be some drama. Will redskins stick by their faithful draft pick, or bring in another "veh-tran".

As far as Betts, I probably phrased it wrong with the possibility of him becoming an elite back... but he has the potential to be a "solid starter" like you suggested.

I don't see us keeping him either way. If he plays well, he gets a good offer by another team. If he sucks, we don't keep him around either.

[Eight in the Box]

Originally Posted by That Guy

campbell tosses really really nice deep balls, so i think there will be more downfield... but probably more ints from forcing balls into coverage.

I will gladly take a 60-yard INT on 3rd down over a 35-yard Derrick Frost punt on 4th.

[Jason72]

If I said they would go on a 1985-Jay-Schroeder-style win streak you would respond that I was an unrealistic fan. So I won't say that;-)

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by Jason72

If I said they would go on a 1985-Jay-Schroeder-style win streak you would respond that I was an unrealistic fan. So I won't say that;-)

I'll say it then

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Originally Posted by Eight in the Box

I will gladly take a 60-yard INT on 3rd down over a 35-yard Derrick Frost punt on 4th.

Right, I'd rather him throw an INT deep, and give us a chance to tackle, rather than a Brunell INT 3-4 yards down the field and have it taken to the house.

[724Skinsfan]

He's thrown picks before. in fact didn't he throw a pick in pre-season and then responded very well on his next series?

[70Chip]

I think that Campbell is probably a bust. I hope not, but that's what my gut tells me.

They will have to blow the team up. I hope in doing so, they begin to find a way out of the constant cap b.s and restructuring and robbing Peter to pay Paul, etc. If we have to suck for a few years thern so be it. We suck anyways.

[RedskinRat]

Originally Posted by 70Chip

I think that Campbell is probably a bust. I hope not, but that's what my gut tells me.

He hasn't played a game yet and that's what your gut is telling you?

Possibly further evidence for why people should use their brains rather than their entrails.

[Monkeydad]

Originally Posted by That Guy

the thing about campbell - alex smith threw 1 td and 11 ints, and had a million fumbles last year... and this year he's actually playing alright, so 7 games might not be enough to judge campbell fully. hopefully he shows flashes though.

I'd had that thought in my head since he was first named starter...that I hope the team or fans don't get impatient and give up on him right away. He has the body, the brains, the skills (from what we've seen) and the desire to be a sucessful NFL QB. All he needs is the experience and we can't ignore that. Even Peyton Manning threw 8 INTs in his first 7 games, so we can't expect the world from him at first. Favre threw 37 TDs and 37 INTs in his first 2 years. Elway's rookie season had 7 TDs and 14 INTs and 47 TD/42 INT in his first 3 years!

We need to give him at LEAST 2 full seasons in my opinion. If by then, he still looks like a rookie, we'll need to get a "new" QB of the future. We've invested a LOT in Campbell...timewise and otherwise, so we can't give up if we don't like what we see immediately.