Jason Campbell
Last Friday, Jim Haslett was on the air on a St. Louis radio station for an hour. While he didn’t break any new ground when it comes to the Redskins defense—as one might expect, he spent most of the time talking about his time with the Rams as defensive coordinator and interim head coach—he did say something interesting when it came to the other side of the ball.
When asked about the Redskins’ quarterback situation, Haslett said, “I think they’ll keep Jason and maybe bring in another veteran to compete with him.”
Nothing was said about drafting a rookie.
Before proceeding here, I understand fully that this is not Haslett’s area here. Mike Shanahan will make that call with little if any input from the defensive staff.
But one has to assume that he and Mike Shanahan have had more than casual conversations about the shape of the team in 2010. This means that Shanahan is at least considering skipping the quarterback position altogether in the draft.
That, of course, flies in the face of all of the conventional wisdom floating around out there that says it it’s not a matter of if Shanahan takes a quarterback in April, it’s when. Most are predicting first round but, if not, he’ll snap up a signal caller in the second.
Or, if you listen to Haslett, maybe not.
So here is how this scenario could play out. The Redskins sign a veteran QB to a two-year deal and keep Campbell on a restricted free agent tender. From the first OTA’s the new quarterback and Campbell are in competition for the job. The Redskins address other needs in the draft.
If Campbell wins it, the team works to lock him down with a contract extension during the season or soon after it ends. You could then release the veteran or keep him as a reserve. If the newcomer wins the job they can draft a QB in the 2011 draft and groom him to take the job sometime in 2012.
This way the Redskins can use both of their first two picks on offensive linemen and still have a two-year plan to cover the critical quarterback position.
To be sure, there are holes in the scenario. The veteran could tank and Campbell could decide that he doesn’t want to sign with the Redskins, leaving nobody for 2011.
There are about a half dozen veteran quarterbacks who might fill the bill. They all have major flaws but it could be a case of one team’s trash being another team’s treasure.
And the assumption here is that Shanahan doesn’t think that Colt Brennan is going to be a part of the solution at quarterback. That may or may not be the case. Brennan fell out of favor with “the organization” last year but now we’re dealing with an entirely different organization. Shanahan has different thoughts about quarterbacks than do most and it’s possible that Brennan is in Shanahan’s plans.
In any case, it’s an alternative worthy of consideration. If he can beat out a veteran for the job, Campbell can earn a year in Shanahan’s offense to see what he can do. The team doesn’t commit a high draft pick before having a good idea whether or not Campbell will work out. If Campbell can’t get it done, the Redskins have a bridge quarterback to get them to their signal caller of the future.
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Seems perfectly reasonable to me. Fix the core of the offense first, then tweek the “skill” positions.
“This way the Redskins can use both of their first two picks on offensive linemen and still have a two-year plan to cover the critical quarterback position.”
I really hope they do address the line with the first two picks. Okung with the first and Charles Brown with the second. Wether Campbell is a franchise QB or not, noone QB can succeed with our O-line.
Besides, If Campbell doesn’t pan out, Jake Locker will be there next year for us to draft!
Other than retaining Collins, who are the other vetran QBs that they would be looking at???
PS: Is the Pic of cambell telling on your part? he has a look like “Oh Sh!t, where did that dB come from!!!”
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clearly, the O line has to be fixed.. but, based upon Shanahan’s history of never finishing with a worse record than 6-10, the odds are steep that we will not be picking this high again in a future draft for a long time to come.. that is significant, because franchise QB’s usually come off high in the first round.. is Bradford or Clausen that guy ? if so, i cannot see Shanahan passing on him. Locker next year ? not if he turns out to be the real deal.. we wont get close to him
Shally,
We have to fix our O-line with the draft as the Free Agency pool of Offensive Linemen is, shall we say, less than favorable!!
@Bear, take your pick of Culpepper, Feeley, Boller, Josh McCown. Certainly a flawed group but perhaps Shanny can salvage a few years out of one of them.
To Steve H
no question, we need to fix the offensive line.. but if you look how teams like the Giants, Ravens, Eagles, Cowboys, Pats and even the Broncos fixed theirs, seldom did they use more than a single high draft pick.. in the case of the Giants and Cowboys it was no higher than a second rounder.
in the entire history of his draft classes, only ONCE did Shanahan draft an Offensive lineman inthe first round (Clady) and only once did he use a second rounder (Lennie Friedman !!!).. he seldom uses premium picks for that purpose.
all the draft Tackles (our prime need) have some questions about them. i am not convinced there is that much difference between guys like Okung/Campbell/Davis/Black and some others.. some of those guys are going to drop into the second round. and the Cards got a whole season out of Jeremy Bridges whom we foolishly cast off (thank you Vinny) starting at LEFT Tackle.. gave up one sack on Warner all year..
But, if you have a chance to get a guy who is potentially a 10 year starter at the most important position on the field (Bradford), you simply dont pass on him to keep a journeyman or mediocre veteran at the position.. it comes down to how good you think Bradford is going to be once he is developed properly.. compare that with the endless litany of Boller, McCown, Orton, Feeley….. and, yes, Campbell.. keep Jason for 1 year until the O line is solid and Bradford is ready to take the reins..
between guys like Lichtensteiger, Dockery, perhaps Rabach or Rinehart, a second round pick of, say, Campbell, perhaps a 4th or 5th rounder on a guard or center who can move, and players like Neal, Boothe, Whimper
and maybe Hamilton or Kuper we can put an offensive line out there next year that wont get Campbell killed, and can open some holes for our running backs.. it will be more than a 1 offseason fix to completely overhaul the O line, but that doesnt mean we cant expect to see some results by next year.
but, if Bradford is the next, say, Rivers, how stupid would we be to pass on him ??
@Shally, excelent points all around. I should point out, however, that Shanahan never has faced the need to rebuild the offensive line to the extent that this one needs to be fixed. He never faced not having a single starting-caliber offensive tackle on the roster. And add to that the diminished free agency pool due to the CBA and you have some good reasons to think that Shanny might need to alter his customary draft practices.
Glad to see Colt Brennan mentioned in the mix. I’m no expert but he seems to have all the tools that other Shanahan QB’s have had and I like his intangibles. He certainly has the confidense, appears to be a good leader and handles himself very well with the media. He should be healthy this year after getting that nagging hip injury dealt with last year. He’s had time to adjust to life in the NFL as a QB and I think the game was starting to slow down for him last year, albeit in the midst of a rough preseason. I’d like to see him get a shot.
@rich,
i am convinced there will be reserve guys out there when the dust settles.. there always have been. the difference this year is the lack of a CBA (apparently). it will likely mean that free agency gets off to a slow and unsteady start as teams deal with the uncertainty of an un-capped year, and possibly punitive rules for those teams who do sign players this year.
it will be that older guys like Hamilton and Neal are the first guys out there available. true 6+ year guys who are UFA’s evenunder these rules.. that is fine with me. a guy like Neal or Hamilton would provide instant stability for the Right Guard position and that would mean the interior of the line is set out of a group consisting of (Dockery/Rabach/Lichtensteiger/Neal-Hamilton/Rinehart)
that leaves the key positions of Right and Left Tackle to deal with. Obviously, one of these guys has to come out of the first two rounds of the draft. without trading down, or using the first round pick for a Tackle, i am convinced that there will be guys who will be able to start from day one available in round Two. we are picking high in the round, and there are a lot of guys coming out. someone is going to fall to the top of round two who can do the job
the second guy ? i would have no problems starting a guy like Levi Jones at RIGHT tackle or trading a 5, 6 or 7th rounder for someone’s reserve free agent tackle (Whimper and Boothe BOTH started games for the Giants this year, and both wont be with the team because Beattie will be starting this year).. or perhaps even Tony Pashos, who will be the odd man out in Jax and who has a history with Foerster.. i think just this once, i have no problem with parting with a late round future pick for a guy who can step in immediately and play right tackle for a few years.. or… we could just wait until June when ALL those guys are probably on the street and available
the other option is that Maybe one of the younger guys on the Practice Squad can take a step up.. Guys like Oldenberg ? You never know..Did anyone notice who is the starting Right Guard for the Colts in the SuperBowl ? None other than Kyle DeVan, who was cut by the Redskins a couple of years ago after camp..Guys develop. You just have to have good coaches and be sharp in your assessments. that has been something in mighty short supply for years, and something that HAS to change
Again, there are ways that the Offensive line can be fixed over the next couple of years without using that 4th overall pick on a Tackle.. But IF BRADFORD LOOKS LIKE A FRANCHISE QB, you simply dont pass on an opportunity to draft a guy like that when you have the chance..Sure, there are busts and drafting a QB is no sure thing-ever..But, if you think you are going to find the next second-third-late round gem like Brees, Brady,Farve, Hasselbeck,Schaub, Romo, Warner etc…GOOD LUCK on that.. Peyton/Eli/Rodgers/BigBen/Flacco/Palmer/Rivers/Sanchez/Cutler/Ryan/McNabb/Stafford(no sure thing yet)/Freeman (ditto)/Leinart (ditto) were all first rounders and i think,overall, that is where a team has the best shot at finding a 10 year starter.. aside from Brees, what have the second -third rounds produced over the past 5-7 years ? Guys like Tarvaris Jackson !! You might as well look for a true late round gem at that point as waste a second rounder…
@Shally.
Excellent points. In business, managers formulate decisions based upon risk and opportunity. Due to the fact that very few ‘franchise’ QBs are available past mid-first round, one would expect to draft a QB. In contrast, such ‘franchise’ OL are as frequently found in the second round as they are in the first.
In the past 5 drafts 13 QBs were drafted in the first round. Of these, all are or have started. One is arguably a bust (J. Russell) and two are still questionable (Leinhart & Quinn). One could argue whether any QB will be all-pros or not. But the fact remains they are starters. Only 7 QBs were selected in the 2nd round over the past five drafts and only two have started (T Jackson & C Henne) but neither are considered permanent starters and both have very questionable stats.
Likewise, in the past five drafts, 25 OL are selected in the first and 26 OL in the 2nd. And all but 4 of the 51 players were starters.
So, if I’m in charge of the Redskins and I am presented with two choices: Draft 1st QB and 2nd OL OR draft 1st OL and 2nd QB. The choice is simple. You take the QB in the 1st. Why? I’m picking a QB because I feel very confident I’m picking a starter (~85%) for possibly the next 5 years. I then pick a OL in the 2nd for the same reason (~90%). But the reverse is not true. I have a 7.5% chance of selecting a starter-caliber QB in the 2nd yet an equal chance of a 1st round OL starter vs a 2nd rounder.
@Joejax
See now this is the kind of draft analysis our franchise has been lacking! Excellent break down of the past drafts, percentages and statistics. I just hope Allen/Shanahan share the same insight and knowledge of this subject as you do, but I’m sure they do!
So on that note I will be the 1st to welcome our so to be Redskin: Chester Taylor!
Good Bye Clinton Portis! And Good riddens to bad rubbish!
Hail!
bingo !!
i could not agree more.. i forgot about Henne, and i think the jury is still out on him.. he might end up being very good, or not.. but if you want a long term starter at QB, more likely than not, you are going to have to risk a first round pick on him.
coming back to Bradford (or Clausen, for that matter) the only questions that the front office should be asking themselves are if either of these guys are healthy enough (Bradford) or have the skills and temperment (Bradford and Clausen) to be long term, quality starters inthe NFL.. nobody can predict who will become an elite player, but you should not be afraid to predict whether they can become a starter with solid coaching and preparation.
after that, it is just dumb luck.. if Bradford is healthy (i think he was the better prospect before injury IMHO) it is a no brainer to pick him at 4. if not, try to trade down, and failing that, hope to find a 10 year fix at LT
….and that is exactly what i THINK the Redskins will do, regardless of what they do with Campbell in March..but, if they do trade Campbell, or allow him to walk after being tendered and offered a deal by another team, then their intentions are crystal clear– take a QB if one is available at #4..
So, let me get this straight. You heard a coach taking on a public airway about the teams drafting stradegy, in St louis, the only city in the country who may take a Q.B. ahead of the Redskins and you think you got a real response and your going with it. Really Rich? wow…….
@Jake, it was an offhand comment by Haslett that I thought was worthy of exploration. I’m not betting the ranch on it happening, just pointing it out as another way the team could go.
Hey, What about picking up a David Carr, he played good in preseason, he be good be steal. Then they go after OT, OG, Running back. I give Colt another chance, he will be healthy he leader ect.
David Carr? why not Ryan Leak?