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 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.

[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.

[RobH4413]

I think it will happen regardless of Campbells play.

I don't see us holding on to Brunell (cap reasons), so I'm assuming we'll hold on to Collins and either draft a late round QB, or pick up a veteran via FA.

[vaoutlaws2006]

scenario 2 appeals more to me that anything else.

[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.

[BrunellMVP?]

I truly think its gonna be more of a 1 senario- that said, i praying for 2.

if you are a realist, 1 is most likely.

[RiggoRules]

The NFL is a 3rd down league. #8 has been absolutely horrific on 3rd down this year.

If JC comes in and just does okay on 3rd down, the Skins will show a very significant improvement during these next 7 games. Many things he brings to the table lead me to suspect that he will do well on 3rd down. This is why I am optimistic about what we will see the rest of the season.

Converting 3rd downs will help all offensive categories as well as help the defense.

Once again, one very obvious and signifcant difference is that JC throws right not left (like #8). This will impact both pass selection and protection.

The big question is JCs ability to not give away the ball.

[#56fanatic]

call me crazy, but I think we will be a better team. over the next 7 games, we will be over 500 in them. I think teams will have to respect the athletic ability of Campbell, his strong arm and ability to move around. that said, he will face a lot of blitzes sunday, if he can hit a couple of deep balls early that will be great. With Campbell i think we will be forced to run the ball more, 25 to 30 times a game. Duckett is going to be huge. Hopefully we can play Redskin football the last 7 games. I think this will energize our Defense and they play better also!!. Run the ball, punch somebody in the mouth, hit em deep with play action. When the 4th quarter comes around, all the O-lineman will be telling the D-line whats coming and daring them to stop us!!


BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZz,,,,

man I just had the craziest dream!

[TheMalcolmConnection]

If we end up over .500 as you say, in all likelihood we make the playoffs. That's a scenario that would be like World Orgasm Day coming early!

[VTSkins897]

i do think that campbell will struggle a bit. it shudn't be surprise. i just want us to get our struggles out of the way now that this season's playoff chancing are dim.

i sure hope he shows those signs of brilliance though.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

It's actually kind of depressing we only have seven games to watch this year.

I remember last year, our first playoff birth in years, all the hype surrounding it. MAN, here's hoping Campbell can bring us back come next year.