Skins' Campbell won't go quietly

[brandies]

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/18436/skins-campbell-wont-go-quietly

Try as he might, there's no way Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell can tune out the talk radio or even the random folks who recognize him at the movies. He's once again involved in a familiar storyline in which his team's fanbase (and perhaps the front office) yearn for the next franchise quarterback.

Never mind the fact that Campbell somehow put up respectable numbers during a season in which he lined up behind arguably the worst offensive line in the league. Campbell was set up to fail by an administration that neglected the offensive line for the better part of a decade.

No quarterback in the league took more of a beating than Campbell, but even when given the opportunity to tap out, he kept showing up in the huddle. And given the way owner Dan Snyder and his former henchman Vinny Cerrato treated him, I'm sure Campbell thought taking a play or two off might lead to a full-time demotion. For the record, Campbell actually enjoyed his time with interim play-caller Sherman Lewis, who was plucked from a bingo-calling assignment by Cerrato.

The Redskins played themselves into the No. 4 overall pick in this April's draft, so all the speculation is that new head coach Mike Shanahan will select either Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford or Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen. But until further notice, Campbell remains the starting quarterback of this team. He'll be an unrestricted free agent, which means he'll likely receive the highest contract tender of roughly $3.1 million. And if the Redskins are shopping Campbell, they're doing a pretty nice job of keeping it a secret this offseason.

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[Bulldog]

Campbell will be an unrestricted free agent? That's not true. He hasn't completed 6 years of service. So unless the .01% chance that a new agreement is made comes to pass Jason won't be on the market.

Of course if another team wants to give Shanahan a #1 pick for Campbell, I am sure he will discuss it with them

 

[Elephant]

Campbell will be an unrestricted free agent? That's not true. He hasn't completed 6 years of service. So unless the .01% chance that a new agreement is made comes to pass Jason won't be on the market.

Of course if another team wants to give Shanahan a #1 pick for Campbell, I am sure he will discuss it with them

I would be happy with a 2nd and 3rd giving us the chance to stack up on O-line and perhaps grab Lefevour. Only problem would be who to start if Campbell is gone? Collins? Brennan?

 

[Neophyte]

You can knock Campbell's play but that kid is better than this team deserves in terms of maturity and handling himself. Solid gold.

 

[Elephant]

You can knock Campbell's play but that kid is better than this team deserves in terms of maturity and handling himself. Solid gold.

You are correct, he has shown great maturity. I would agree he would deserve more if Vinny were still here. The kid deserves much more than he got from the previous regime. I feel confident that he will get a fair shake with Allen and Shanahan here.

I would still take 2nd and 3rd round picks for him.

 

[Bulldog]

So who is offering up #2 and #3 picks for Campbell.

Last year Denver preferred to take a guy in Orton over Campbell in trade even though Orton has questionable arm strength as shown by his 2009 finish with the Broncos.
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[Sarge]

Wonder if the idea was to put so much compensation on Campbell that no one would try, thus keeping him around and saving danny face for trying to get rid of him last off season

 

[Elephant]

So who is offering up #2 and #3 picks for Campbell.

Last year Denver preferred to take a guy in Orton over Campbell in trade even though Orton has questionable arm strength as shown by his 2009 finish with the Broncos.
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I am not saying there is BT. I think we are going to tender him and I do not feel another team would spend a 1st and 3rd on him, but there may be a few teams more willing to give a 2nd and 3rd. I was simply putting forth a hypothetical.

At the end of the year, I think it could be argued that Jason Campbell outperformed Orton in light of the offensive line play of the Redskins and the rest of Campbell's supporting cast. Their stats were pretty close with Orton slightly better, 86.8 passer rating opposed to Jason's 86.4. Now I won't put too much stock in those numbers except for the fact that Campbell did it with an offensive line that was in shambles and Orton had an all-pro Tackle protecting his blind side in Clady.

 

[Sassy Gretsch]

I am a huge Campbell fan (apologist?) and would love to have him back. I don't know that he's ultimately the guy that can lead us all the way, but in terms of loyalty, class, and professionalism, he is one of the best in the league.

What bothers me is seeing (on other messageboards) the vitriol and low-rent invective that is leveled at him. He may not be a great QB, but he has tried his best to help this team win and under very unfavorable conditions.

 

[The Burgundy Ghost]

Last year,
The rumor via some comments on Skinscast was that Campbell's name was floated around for picks only and the highest offered was a 6th rounder.

Only time will tell how much other teams value him this year.

 

[Bulldog]

of course that was VINNY that was doing the asking

teams were looking to cheat the Redskins as Vinny was a guy that could be had.

I don't see Shanahan and Allen viewed as being dupes by other teams.

I am not saying the Redskins would get a first round offer for Campbell with Shanahan doing the shopping but we would get better offers than what Cerrato came up with last summer.

 

[Boone]

Nothing unique to offer here. I think Redskins fans have sometimes made the mistake of letting their fondness for players color their ability to assess their potential. Patrick Ramsey was a perfect example. Ramsey wasn't awful, but rarely was he able to put together really solid games, and forget about stringing a bunch of them together. He wasn't a 'difference-maker', never was going to be that kind of QB, and that's proven to be true as he's hopped around the league post-Redskins stint. Yet when Joe Gibbs used a minor concussion during the season opener against the Bears in 2005 as an excuse to hand the team over to Mark Brunell, fans howled bloody murder. Me? I figured a Hall of Fame Super Bowl winning coach probably knew what it took at the QB position and wasn't drinking the Koolaid on Ramsey. And say what you will about Mark Brunell - bottom line is he got us more than a few memorable wins, lead us to the playoffs and took us to within a couple of plays of making a playoff run.

Campbell is better than Ramsey ever was. Like Ramsey, he's had to deal with a lot of turmoil and turnover. But he's navigated those challenges more successfully than Ramsey could. I have a lot of mixed feelings about JC - he is capable of playing very well, and I don't know how you fairly assess a QB under the circumstances he had to play under this past season. My gut feeling is that we'd be better off moving on, give him the chance to start fresh elsewhere, and wipe the slate clean. But ultimately, as I did Gibbs, I'm going to trust that Shanahan will make the best call he can on our QB situation.

 

[servumtuum]

This topic opens a veritable Pandora's Box of questions, the majority of tham leaving me even more in the dark about what's going to happen with Campbell.

I'm one of those whose opinion of Jason changed during the season-partly due to performance improvements in the latter part of the season-in oarticular his noithing-short-of-spectacular job against the Saints. This put a severe question mark in front of my previous assessment that getting rid of him was a must-suddenly I wasn't so sure, given the proper set of circumstances he can play well-and now with a change of organizational direction, the nature of which is still unknown, the question now becomes much more difficult to answer. What are Shanahan's intentions? What about all the mock drafts all but assuming a QB pick at #4? (I did run across one yesterday showing the Redskins grabbing Okung...interesting.) Some mocks are saying the Rams will nab Bradford and thusly have connected the Redskins with Claussen, but that raised yet another question-wasn't the whole attraction to Claussen a Snyder/Cerrato/Notre Dame fixation thing? Is that still operative? Does the Allen/Shanahan regime have any effect on that? The silence from Ashburn-and the virtual disappearance of Snyder-makes me stand back and wonder just what the hell are they going to do? Positive interviews with Shanny, an interview with Mel Kiper with Campbell sounding as though he expects to be the starting QB next season? I'm at the point where I hesitate to even offer a guess-looks like the best move will be wait until after the combine, after March 5th and there may be something available that will give me some idea of what to expect....maybe. Or we could all be surprised.

One more thing, though, I have to agree with Neo-if you want to see absolute class when it comes to handling uncertain times as a pro football player, or a pro anything when you get right down to it, you're not going to find much better than Jason Campbell.