BGO.C.D.: The Franchise Miss

[Boone]

It was April 24th, 2004, my birthday, and day 1 of that year’s NFL draft. For Redskins fans, it was a memorable and fateful draft, for it was that...

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[Elephant]

Homer!

In all seriousness, I am not gonna get myself worked about what coulda been anymore. We coulda had Schaub, we coulda had Desean Jackson 2 and a half years ago...I think you get my point.

I believe we finally have a standard in place that will breed winning. Unfortunately, we had to go through Hades to get here, but it appears Dan Snyder had to walk this path to understand his own limitations.

I agree, Schaub is a quality QB, but who is to say he would have survived the beating that JC took once he got on the field after the Brunnell experiment was over or that he would have been able to accomplish anything with our receiving corp.

I think the key now is to find the next Matt Schaub and I can tell you that John Beck is not him!

 

[Boone]

Well, all conjecture to a certain extent is pointless. But pointless discussions are what make us NFL fans. And of course, you're exactly right - we'll never know. But Schaub survived 3 years as an understudy to an undisciplined QB who played by the seat of his pants, and from whom he learned nothing from in Atlanta. He survived his own pummellings in Houston early on. And as soon as he got his chance to be 'the guy' has shown he can more than handle being 'the guy'.

Redskins fans are in denial. Big-time. We haven't had a QB worth a damn since Trent Green. And we sent him packing. Brunell was the closest thing to talented we've had in the past 5 or 6 years, and he was in the final death throes of his career. So I guess my response to 'who's to say it would have made a difference?' would be to say 'I'm saying it'

I think we've all been major apologists for some pretty average to below-average QBs for a long time. We want to believe so badly, we inevitably see promise that's just not there. All this entry is about is acknowledging one that I think got away.

 

[Elephant]

I hear ya. I like the kid too. I have been paying attention to him since he landed in Houston and have been impressed with his abilities there. I wish we could have made a move for him when it became apparent he had the skills to make it at this level filling in for Vick while we were trudging through the discovery of how ill-equipped Jason Campbell was to be the answer to our QB woes.

I am just happy we seem to be headed in the right direction now and hope we find a diamond in the rough like him.

Also, I hope the Matt Schaub that you have seen since college and I have watched since his arrival in Houston doesn't show up on Sunday!

 

[Boone]

I think we're going to put more pressure on him than the Colts were able to. Most interesting aspect of this Sunday's game is that we're both coming off of mega-wins. Biggest things we have going for us is another home game, and that they can't help but come in a little cocky after a huge win (we beat Dallas fairly routinely, but their shellacking of the Colts was franchise-turning). I also think we can play much better, even early this year, than we showed last week. McNabb wasn't at his best, and our WRs had subpar performances. I also want to see Fred Davis get some balls this time around. We'll see, but yeah, lets hope the Texans look more like the Texans.

 

[Jugband McGillicuddy]

It's not possible to ban site owners, is it?

 

[Neophyte]

It's not possible to ban site owners, is it?

No, no it's not.

 

[Boone]

If I posted this over on the other place, I think I'd probably get death threats or cause a riot. Nobody loves a heretic

 

[Burgundy Burner]

As much as I would like to think of Schaub being a member of the Redskins, it was never going to happen with Coach Gibbs. Coach had a thing for QBs who had real game experience and was proven in the NFL. I was very surprised when Campbell landed on our team - it was un-Gibbs like.

I would love for UVA to have a huge pipeline to Redskins Park, but the realist in me says it isn't possible. Over the years, cheering for Redskins who came from various ACC schools was difficult at first. However, it was time to put those differences aside and accept them into the new family. Kelvin Bryant (UNC alum) became an all time favorite and so did Chris Hanburger (same school).

Right now the choice is Schaub or Cooley. Well, I'll take that Utah St. dude. Matt Schaub will always have a special place in my heart. My daughter was at UVA for most of his career and had a BIG crush on him. She's over it and is still VERY loyal to her beloved Redskins. Proud to wear that #47 jersey.

 

[CounterTrey]

I think we're going to put more pressure on him than the Colts were able to. Most interesting aspect of this Sunday's game is that we're both coming off of mega-wins. Biggest things we have going for us is another home game, and that they can't help but come in a little cocky after a huge win (we beat Dallas fairly routinely, but their shellacking of the Colts was franchise-turning). I also think we can play much better, even early this year, than we showed last week. McNabb wasn't at his best, and our WRs had subpar performances. I also want to see Fred Davis get some balls this time around. We'll see, but yeah, lets hope the Texans look more like the Texans.

I think one of the things that gets overlooked a bit when critiquing the Dallas game is just how good Dallas' D is. Granted not many points but they(Redskins O) did move the ball and they did look like an offense using a new system for the first game of the year, but that d contributed mightily to that. I wholeheartedly think the O is going to look a LOT better in the weeks to come...not many teams have Dallas ability to pressure the QB and cramp down on the run. FWIW I never had this feeling when JC was at the wheel.

 

[Yusuf06]

Great OP Boone.

I liked Schaub coming out of college and was hoping we'd draft him. IIRC the consensus on him was that he was the most NFL ready of all the QBs that year but didn't have quite enough arm. Atlanta was/is mostly full of Vick homers. Most laughed outright when I'd tell them the guy that needed to be their starting QB was carrying the clipboard. Lucky for them they slipped into Ryan. If only one of our high first round picks had come during a year with a great QB prospect. Sigh.

For now, McNabb is a good consolation prize though.
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[Jimbo]

Nice job Boone. Oddly enough, I never even considered Schaub and never realized we could have had him until you mentioned him. Once again, I have to blame Vinny. He missed on a LOT of guys.

 

[Yusuf06]

how could you NOT love this guy?

he is the second coming of Riggo and there isnt a person that doesnt like him.

I'm a Cooley fan too. However in the third round there's no reason we couldn't have made it happen given the relatively small number of picks it would've required to move up. Two caveats though. First, it is hindsight. Second, I'm a cheapo value investor at heart and it wouldn't have always served me/us well were I in Snyderatto's place.
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[Boone]

If nothing else, I think today showed how big an impact a guy like Schaub can have on a team's fortunes.