Enough, Brett!

by mmford10 on Jul 12, 2008 12:15 PM EDT Comment 11 comments

Promoted from fanposts. This is an important discussion and Redskins fans need to have it. I have an argument for the team exploring Brett's needs, I'll post up later. - Ben

Alright. I'm breaking my long silence on this blog to say express my seething frustration with this Brett Favre debacle.

The only thing I'm more tired of hearing about than Brett Favre's "surprising" unretirement is the idea that he would play for the Washington Redskins next season.

First of all, why any team would want Brett Favre -- who is clearly going to use a team for his own gain, form no relationship with the city, simply for his own benefit -- for ONE season is a mystery to me. He's turning 39 this season. Yes, he'll be effective, and yes, he'll probably be in the top half of quarterbacks in the NFL this season. But scarce few teams can afford to put Favre on a one-year lease -- and get stuck with his contract and his off-season shenanigans -- in favor of a younger quarterback.

Since this is a Redskins blog, let's talk about the Redskins.

Say Brett Favre came to the Washington Redskins. There would be enormous fanfare and Favre would be welcomed with open arms (because we're good fans). He would barely play in the preseason and come out in a new offense, in a new city, with a new set of receivers. Would he succeed? He's a great quarterback, but who knows if he needs time to adjust to a new team. Who knows how good his wide receivers actually were last season -- were they more responsible for GB's top-5 offense than Favre was? That's the big question -- WHO KNOWS.

As for the Redskins, we're sitting comfortably with a quarterback group I can't say is the best in the NFL, but is certainly one of the most deep and promising. Jason Campbell is on his way to being an NFL star. He's got the arm, the brain, the feet, the line (if healthy), the running game, and now, certainly, the receivers. He's turning 26 this season, which means he has at least 5 years in his prime at QB for the Redskins. Why waste a year of Campbell's prime -- and the Redskins obviously believe he's worth the investment -- for a year when Brett Favre probably gets the team to around an 8-8 record, builds no chemistry with the team because he is a rental, and we don't contend for a championship?

Jason Campbell is the Redskins' quarterback. He is everything a coach wants in this day and age. We drafted him a whole lot of pass-catchers, opened up the offense, and named him the starter instantly over the effective and impassioned Todd Collins. This is our guy. No one -- NO ONE -- who wants the best for the Redskins wants Brett Favre on our team.

As an aside, our neighbors in Baltimore shouldn't want him either (they're not a quarterback away from contention -- they should groom Flacco and Smith and take their lumps as a mediocre/rebuilding team this year). Neither should Green Bay, who has committed to Aaron Rodgers and not being jerked around by Favre anymore (good for them). The best team for Favre is Minnesota, who are honestly a QB away from the Super Bowl contention.

Bottom line -- Redskins fans and ownership, please pass on Favre.

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DITTO

by CptChaosSidekick on Jul 12, 2008 4:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Double Ditto

I got to watch Farve when I spent 4 years in Vikings land, it was enjoyable as was the Vikings with “the fun bunch”. But I want nothing and I say that with all respect but I do not want to see Farve ever as a Redskin.
Done
Bottom line

by dr WNC on Jul 12, 2008 5:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Amen

by matthiasstephan on Jul 12, 2008 8:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Can't say I disagree...

I think mmford’s take is pretty money, as was Ben’s promoting the story.

What does Brett do for us next year? The answer is: No one knows. Favre is a strange beast who somehow posts his best completion % and his best Yards Per Attempt in, amazingly, his 17th season.

As incredible a feat as that may be, he can’t have much juice left in the tank. And with the news that the Packers won’t release him for free, he won’t come on the cheap, either. Even if he did, for all the reasons mmford stated, I don’t know if I want to stunt JC’s growth just ot have a shot at a Favre led semi-successful season.

What is certain: I can’t wait for Ben’s take on the situation, and I hope he posts it here. If he won’t, readers are STRONGLY encouraged to read the best damn Redskins blog around here: The Curly R.

Go register. Or else.

by Skin Patrol on Jul 13, 2008 8:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Let's get real

First and foremost….I’m the biggest skins fan. I’ve bled burgandy and gold since I was a baby. So please take some time to hear what I’m about to say and not just jump to conclusions.

Jason Campbell is not the answer. We won’t win any championships with him. We want him to be “the future” so bad that we blindly ignore the truth. His career is halfway over (average QB plays in the nfl less than 8 years….this is his 4th). He wouldn’t be our starter if we didn’t waste, and I do mean waste, a 1st round pick on him. You can make any excuse you want but the numbers don’t lie.

Check out 2006…Campbell vs. Brunell…they basically split the year at QB (7 vs. 9 starts respectively) and guess who had a higher QB rating, better completion percentage, more yards per pass, and the better TD to int ratio. You’d be right if you said Brunell

2007 – We are 5 and 7 going into the Chicago game…losing record and our offense has been letting us down all year. We don’t scare anyone and Campbell unfortunetly gets hurt (I never want to see any of my skins go down)....insert Collins and our offense “magically” changes…I say magically because Campbell is the greatest thing since sliced bread yet this other guy comes in with the same beat up O-line, same wr’s, same rb’s, same good old Cooley and now our offense is starting to scare teams…Everything is the same except for the QB….again guess which QB had the better QB rating, yards per pass, TD to int ratio, and completion percentage…..IT was Collins

We can make all of the excuses we want…he’s had differnt coordinators, he had differnt coaches, he had to learn different systems…..THAT IS PART OF THE GAME!!! He is the next great redskin QB the same way Ramsey was the next great redskin QB….We need to face the music and realize that we wasted a 1st round pick and not keep believing that he is the answer. I really hope that I’m wrong and this is his break out year because being a die-hard fan I’d rather be wrong and see our team get a ring this year than see all the “experts” get paid big bucks and we are sitting at home in January…..I just don’t get why our great Campbell gets outperformed by all of his competition….Just check the stats and tell me I’m wrong

by Allskins on Jul 13, 2008 9:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

True

his stats were worse. However, he had some “moments of brilliance” midway through the season. He was nominated NFC player of the week (not the hugest of accolades, but he did go 23 for 29 for 248, 2 tds and no ints) after something like 14 starts. Overall, for a quarterback who started 20 games, I feel like JC has done a fine job. His td to int ratio is positive. For a bit there, he was pumping out 200+ yard games. He did it under an offensive scheme where the reins were pulled in real tight (that could be taken as a knock against JC, but there is simply no doubt that when TC came in he was running under much looser play calling, and that made differences). He had two viable receiving targets (sans cooley) in Santana and Randel El. Both were injured throughout his season (it’s important to note that santana was finally healthy when JC went down). By the time TC got in the O line had solidified considerably from when Janson/Thomas went down. Plus, while Brunell’s numbers may have been better, he was declining something fierce, and from what I remember he was putting those numbers up by engineering long drives late in the fourth when we needed more than one TD. JC on the other hand, was engineering late fourth quarter comeback drives, and kept making bad decisions and throwing game ending INTs. A bit more experience, those int’s turn into td’s, and we’re winning and not loosing, since the vast majority of our losses were by a td or less. As far as I’m concerned benching Brunell was a sound move, regardless of what the numbers say.

Bottom line, I don’t think you can realistically expect a qb of JC’s experience to show more than the “flashes of brilliance” that he did last year. From what I saw, JC’s outperformed most other qb’s of his playing experience. I ain’t saying he’s the golden child. Not by a long shot. But I’d wait until next year to throw him under the bus, especially if the methodology is by comparing his stats to Brunell’s and to Collins’. Such an analysis assumes that JC won’t get any better with playing time. The opposite is true.

Incidentially, if you want to know what other teams’ fans felt about JC’s performance, this thread is a good place to peruse.

http://extremeskins.com/forums/showthread.php?t=239041

by Ach on Jul 13, 2008 10:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't think

anyone can really deny that Campbell has struggled relative to the competition. As you said, the stats speak for themselves. Having said that, I don’t believe he’s a lost cause just yet and am willing to let him go at it for one more season before I definitively shut the book on the Campbell era. Changing quarterbacks (as you’ve illustrated) is a dangerous game that is just as likely to slow down or retard progress as it is to result in improvement.

There is no doubt in my mind that this year Campbell must succeed or we’ll move in a different direction.

Go register. Or else.

by Skin Patrol on Jul 14, 2008 7:46 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Also...

let’s not forget that Campbell has just 20 starts in his career. There are a lot of great quarterbacks who needed more than 20 starts to hit their stride.

I’m not saying that as an excuse, but merely to remind that he’s still very green, despite being in the league for some time.

Go register. Or else.

by Skin Patrol on Jul 14, 2008 7:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It is this year

Campbell, needs to perform this year and from all indications the Redskins Front office understand that as well.
Numerous theorys can be made as to why the Redskins have not resigned Campbell but the truth is that he has not shown he can be the “franchise Quarterback” for the Redskins. As stated the stats do not lie, and performance is about wins and losses.
This year with a new coaching staff, a new offense built around an experienced team will be the decision maker of the Redskins signing him or not.
Almost everyone who looks at the Redskins and how they’ll perform this year with…

1. Jason Campbell must step-up his game. The heaviest load will fall upon young quarterback Jason Campbell. He must make the transition to the West Coast offense, which I feel suits his abilities well. He has plenty of weapons at his disposal and now is time for him to become more than a game manager. He now must become a game winner. Too many times last year Campbell let victory slip away and this is the year he has to make the throws he failed to make in key situations last year.

Not only will the 2008 Redskins depend on Jason Campbells performance but so does Jason’s career with the Washington Redskins…A lot of pressure means the year will be exciting or…

by dr WNC on Jul 14, 2008 9:03 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

HarryHogFootball - I Agree

We talked about this extensively on our podcast last week. In my opinion, bringing in Farve would be a crushing blow to Jason Campbell’s career, any way you slice it.

If you are not sick of this topic and want to hear us gab about this and other Redskins related news, download the Podcast episode #129.

Josh of HarryHogFootball.com

for iPhone users:

by harryhog on Jul 14, 2008 12:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs