Wednesday, August 26, 2009

A quick word on the man under center

Before I go any further, a disclaimer:

I pay very little attention to the NFL preseason. It's just what I do. Watching highlights to get updated on injuries and subsequent roster moves -- that's fine. Dissecting every play and analyzing performances post-game, however, is a waste of time.

With that out of the way, it's time to get ready for another NFL season in our nation's capital, one that will undoubtedly come with the freak-outs and head-hunting that has become standard during the Dan Snyder era. Unless you live outside the Beltway or don't pay any attention to professional football (or both), you've already witnessed public overreaction number one.

Jason Campbell, the incumbent starting quarterback for the burgundy and gold, went 1 for 7 on Saturday and there already exist writers calling for back-up Todd Collins to be the starter. Personally, I think that's bat-shit crazy.

First of all, like I mentioned in the disclaimer above, it's only preseason. I'm not a client of Elias Sports Bureau or rely heavily on any of these so-called historical trends, but how many teams have stunk up the joint in preseason and done well when the games actually matter? Quite a few, I'm sure.

During Joe Gibbs's second tenure in Washington, when the team went 0-4 in the preseason after winning a playoff game the year before, people kept saying "don't worry... the last time the Redskins won the Super Bowl, they went 1-3 in the preseason and looked awful."

You know what happened next? The Skins sucked. Went 5-11.

So yeah, I guess that's not a good example.

Point is, preseason games hardly matter. Starting units get very little playing time, players take chances they wouldn't normally take, and everyone walks away happy if they do so without the help of a team of trainers.

Jason Campbell will undoubtedly be the Redskins' starting quarterback this season, so he may try some different looks and techniques when he has the opportunity to do so at game-speed but without the pressure of a potential regular-season loss. I know that sentence is a bit confusing to read -- it was to write -- but the bottom line is that he'll be fine.

The good ol' boy from Mississippi -- the one with the support of an entire locker room -- still has some serious potential. I keep backing him and, frankly, will do so until further notice. Believe me, you'll know it when I jump the U.S.S. JC -- I'm going to do a jackknife from the lookout tower and make quite the splash.

Campbell may not be great this year -- only time will tell -- but he certainly won't stink like he did for a very brief spell against the Steelers. The former Auburn standout will be a slightly-above-average quarterback with a better supporting cast than he had last year, which will make the Redskins a better team than they were a year ago.

Like the always-eloquent Ron Burgundy says, "it's science."

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