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No Brandon Lloyd bashing from me today

By Skin Patrol

I've been up and down on Lloyd from day one. Big time up on him in virtue of his refreshingly well-written training camp journal circa last season. And then long periods of disappointment for his failed on-field product, which I've come to accept as par for the course. But today, Brandon Lloyd gets praised:

During his stay in the Caribbean, Lloyd will be devoting his free time to work with "Stay-Focused," a unique non-profit organization that offers mobility-challenged persons the opportunity to become certified SCUBA divers. Lloyd will join this very special group of kids as they embrace the opportunity to leave behind their wheelchairs and explore the world beneath the ocean's surface.

"I am really looking forward to experiencing the strong will and determination of these kids," said Lloyd. "For them to be able to spend this time participating in an activity without concern for their disabilities is going to be extremely rewarding and I'm really excited to be doing this alongside them."

"I'm thrilled to have Brandon join us. To have him there will make this the dive of a lifetime for these kids," said the founder of Stay-Focused, Roger Muller, who established the organization because his own brother was left paralyzed by a spinal cord injury. "Water is the great equalizer which means Brandon will be able to witness, firsthand, how it levels the playing field for those with mobility issues. This is truly going to be something special."

Reader(s) know that I'm a sucker for such things because they are far more important than football, even if social priorities (typified in salaries of professional athletes compared to salaries of those who work with disabled children for a living paycheck) fail to reflect that fact.

So what's Brandon Lloyd doing in the Caribbean anyways? Extreme Skins tells us that the Cay Compass tells us that Lloyd, along with teammate Jason Campbell, were both invited to the  2007 DIRECTV NFL Quarterback Challenge. Emphasis mine:

Residents of the Cayman Islands and guests who are here to witness this historical event - the first time the Quarterback Challenge has ever been filmed in an international location - will see great quarterbacks such as Jason Campbell (Washington Redskins), Jake Delhomme (Carolina Panthers), Charlie Frye (Cleveland Browns), Tarvaris Jackson (Minnesota Vikings), Brad Johnson (Dallas Cowboys), Byron Leftwich (Jacksonville Jaguars), Alex Smith (San Francisco 49ers), and Michael Vick (Atlanta Falcons) competing. To add to the excitement they will be completing passes to show stopping wide receivers such as Braylon Edwards (Cleveland Browns), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (Cincinnati Bengals) and Chad Johnson (Cincinnati Bengals), and Brandon Lloyd (Washington Redskins).
By my count there's not a single "great" quarterback listed above. Not a knock on Campbell, I just think he's got a lot to prove towards "great"ness (which he no doubt will contribute to in the coming season). Michael Vick and Byron Leftwich are the two best on that list and I'd just as soon have our semi-proven Mustache Madman in their stead. But seriously? Alex Smith? Travaris Jackson? Charlie Frye? Great at what, exactly, besides throwing interceptions? 33 touchdowns on 54 interceptions among that trio of terror.

And "show stopping" applies to only Chad Johnson and perhaps Whosyourmama. If you combined Lloyd and Edwards 2006 production it would be comparable to Joey Galloway who, as far as I'm concerned, is a couple years removed from stopping shows.

At the risk of sounding too cynical, I am pleased to see the Redskins well repped at an event that will get repped well on ESPN and NFL Network to the tune of 8,000 someodd airings between now and the season. Campbell is already a favorite to win this thing, as far as I'm concerned. The more of Mustache Madman we see slinging bombs through hoops and into buckets, the better. And although it is probably ludicrous to presume that one's ability to successfully maneuver a passing obstacle course is clear evidence that a QB will succeed in the NFL, when JC wins the thing I'll do so anyways right here on the front page of Hogs Haven.

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