Jason Campbell
Word is that Washington QB Jason Campbell will request a trade if the Redskins acquire a quarterback in the draft. If the Skins do draft Mark Sanchez, I'm pretty sure Campbell will get his wish.
It is a shame. Around Week 8 of last year, some people were throwing "MVP" at Campbell. He had a very effective first half of the season and led his team to a 6-2 start. It all came crashing down in the second half of the year and there were fans yelling that Campbell isn't the answer.
There is the issue. Is he the answer? Can he be a QB that can lead his team into the playoffs and, ultimately, the Super Bowl? Most Redskins fans aren't so sure about that and it seems that neither are the Redskins power players.
So now we are at the major crossroads. Campbell has one year remaining on his deal and it is obvious that the Redskins aren't convinced that he is the answer. They've already tried to bring in Jay Cutler and now are the buzz team to trade up for Sanchez. All this isn't sitting well with the man who Washington traded up for to be the franchise quarterback several years ago.
It shouldn't sit very well. Campbell has been completely disrespected and undermined. Your QB has to be a leader on the team and what player will fully follow a guy that the people upstairs don't trust. Campbell has been under three different offensive systems since he's arrived in D.C. and he hasn't been given the chance to grow in any of them. If there is one thing we've seen from the successful teams in the NFL it is that there is a bond between the quarterback and the offensive coordinator and/or quarterbacks coach. That hasn't happened here.
I feel bad for Campbell since I'm one of the Redskins fans who think he can be a nice QB in this league. I don't see him being an elite guy, but I think he can be solid enough that the Redskins can win a lot of games.
Cutler may already be an elite guy, so I was cool with the Redskins expressing their interest in him. But Sanchez? There is so much debate about the kind of career this kid will have. Even his coach at USC, Pete Carroll, didn't support Sanchez coming into the draft. Hard to change horses midstream.
And why would I believe Daniel Snyder about Sanchez? Didn't the Redskins trade up to get Campbell? Didn't the Redskins trade back to get Patrick Ramsey?
