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(photo by Brian Murphy)

Last week was like no other for Homer McFanboy.

After attempting to take an in-depth look at the first 21 starts of Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell’s career, I was called a “hater” and accused of having some sort of anti-Redskins agenda.

Even though I started off the entry by reminding folks that I’ve been called a “Campbell apologist” for years, cranky fans automatically assumed I was lobbying for a gig at the Washington Post, where negativity is always encouraged. Next thing I know, Larry Michael accused me of using unnamed sources. The Todd Collins Fan Club and “Cult Brennan” started sending me Evites to their weekly support groups. All because I had the audacity to suggest this was a make-or-break season for Campbell.

So it’s with great pleasure that I remind everyone exactly where my loyalties lie, as I gladly recount the events leading up to JC’s first step towards becoming The Franchise.

With 3:38 left to play in the game and his team trailing the New Orleans Saints 24-22, Campbell headed onto the field for what very well might have been the ‘Redskins final chance at victory Sunday.

Campbell stepped up to the Redskins 33-yard line, immediately recognized that the Saints were planning to “send the house” with a blitz and changed his pass protection at the line of scrimmage. What came next was easily the biggest play of Campbell’s young career – a 67-yard touchdown strike to speedy receiver Santana Moss, who caught the ball in stride for the game-winning score.

“They showed a blitz look, and we’d been working on it all week,” said offensive tackle Chris Samuels, as he walked off the field moments after the win. “Jason made the right check – Jason did it. Jason made the right throw – Jason did it. And Santana made a big play.”

Anyone within earshot could easily hear Samuels’ emphasis on Campbell deserving all the credit for the play of the day. But he wasn’t alone in his praise for the fourth-year quarterback out of Auburn.

“We didn’t do that a year ago,” said center Casey Rabach of Campbell’s change at the line. “This is all new to him in the West Coast offense. For him to make that call it shows his maturity and evolution in this offense.”

While Samuels points to last week’s practice as a large reason for the offense’s preparation in this scenario, others took a broader view.

“There was a subtle thing on the play to Santana Moss, where he stepped up into the pocket,” said middle linebacker London Fletcher of Campbell. “I don’t know if many people saw it, where he was able to avoid the outside rush and buy himself some more time and hit Santana deep. That was something I saw Coach Zorn, him and the quarterbacks working on early in the offseason. It’s something you don’t realize how important it is back during OTA’s and things like that, and that was the difference in the game.”

The game-winning touchdown pass might be the most memorable, but it wasn’t Campbell’s only big play of the game, according to head coach Jim Zorn.

“I think he grew this whole week,” said Zorn of Campbell. “He just continued what he was doing from the first half into the second. He didn’t hit every throw that was there, and I was frustrated because I want him to hit 100 percent of his throws, right?”

Campbell might not have completed 100 percent of his passes against the Saints, but he did complete 24 of 36 for 321 yards. The heat index at FedEx Field was 105, and Campbell responded with a QB rating of 104.1. But most importantly, Campbell was perfect in the fourth quarter – going seven for seven for 160 yards and the previously mentioned touchdown. Here’s what Campbell had to say about the play:

“Santana was the second option on the play,” Campbell told Peter King after the game. “[Antwaan] Randle El was the first. But at the beginning of the play, I saw they had no middle safety over the top, so I knew Santana would probably be open deep if he could get a step on his guy. I knew I was running out of time and I was going to get hit, but I also knew Santana was going to get it if I laid it out for him.”

While one play during week two of the regular season doesn’t automatically launch Campbell into Joe Montana territory, it does show that the guy who was been called everything from “not smart enough” to “ill-equipped to play in the West Coast offense” shouldn’t be discarded just yet.

Sure, there will be growing pains along the way, but if everyone within the Redskins locker room is convinced Campbell’s the best man for the job, shouldn’t ‘Skins fans give him the same benefit of the doubt?

(photo by Brian Murphy)

You’d be hard pressed to find another eight-year veteran as underrated as Redskins receiver Santana Moss. Even though he’s been a Pro Bowl receiver and possesses game-changing abilities, critics call him injury-prone or a one-hit wonder. Since Moss doesn’t care what the critics think, I’ll gladly speak up on his behalf and remind folks exactly what he’s brought to the table since moving to Washington.

Sept. 19, 2005 – The Redskins seemed overmatched and were outplayed for the first 56 minutes of this Monday night affair against their rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. Down 13-0 on the road with less than four minutes to play, there was little reason to think the ‘Skins would make a game out of it until Moss shocked the world. With a 39-yard touchdown and a 70-yarder just over a minute apart, the Redskins stole the game, 14-13, in what Joe Gibbs called one of the biggest wins of his Hall of Fame coaching career. Moss finished the day with five catches for 159 yards and two scores.

Dec. 24, 2005 – On Christmas Eve, plain and simply “Santana Claus” stole the show. Touchdowns of 17, 59 and 72 yards by Moss put the Redskins in the holiday spirit as they defeated the New York Giants 35-20. Moss finished the day with five catches for 160 yards and three scores.

Oct. 1, 2006 – The Redskins surprisingly find themselves in a shootout with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who came into the game with the number-one ranked defense in the NFL. Both offenses traded blows throughout and fans get the sense that whoever got the ball last would walk away victorious. Whenever the Redskins need a play they turn to Moss, who hauled in touchdowns of 55, 8 and 68 yards. The final strike, that 68-yarder, was in overtime, sending the FedEx Field faithful into a frenzy as the good guys were victorious 36-30. Moss finished the day with four catches for 138 yards and three scores.

Dec. 30, 2007 – Needing a victory to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, the Redskins once again turned to Moss against the Dallas Cowboys. While the ageless wonder known as Todd Collins was still working into a rhythm after finding himself on the field again for the first time in ages, he increased his chances for success by going to Moss early and often. The knockout punch came early in the fourth quarter when Collins and Moss connected for a 42-yard touchdown and the ‘Skins cruised to a 27-6 win. Moss finished the day with eight catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.

Sept. 14, 2008 – With a rookie head coach and an unproven quarterback, the Redskins found themselves perilously close to an 0-2 start, trailing the Saints by nine points with just over six minutes to play. Instead of panicking went to old reliable, and Moss didn’t disappoint. A 67-yard strike by Jason Campbell to Moss with 3:29 left to play in the game propelled the Redskins to their first win of the Jim Zorn Era and hushed critics for at least a day or two. Moss finished the day with seven catches for 164 yards and a touchdown.

In these five games, touchdowns were thrown by a slew of different quarterbacks – Mark Brunell, Patrick Ramsey, Todd Collins and Jason Campbell. The one constant? Santana Moss. When healthy, there isn’t much room for debate – Moss is clearly one of the elite receivers in the game.

Heading into week three, Moss finds himself fifth in the NFL in receiving yards with 201, but anyone who has ever talked with Santana knows he doesn’t concern himself with stats or personal accomplishments. Wins are what matter first and foremost to the diminutive wideout. History shows that if the Redskins continues to call Moss’ number when the game is on the line, chances are they’ll be victorious more times than not.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

During the Skinscast taping last night, I said that in my humble opinion fans will give more leeway to rookie head coach Jim Zorn than to quarterback Jason Campbell.

Even though I have been labeled a “Campbell apologist,” I realize that this is clearly a make-or-break season for the fourth year signal caller out of Auburn. It’s safe to say the only reason Zorn got the job was because management felt he was the best-case scenario to help Campbell realize his untapped potential. What’s more, the ‘Skins focused their 2008 draft almost exclusively on adding weapons to surround Campbell with as much support as possible – using their top three picks to add pass catchers Devin Thomas, Fred “Sleepy” Davis and Malcolm Kelly to the mix.

It was at that exact moment the fanbase realized management’s decision to live and die with Jason Campbell. If he grasps Zorn’s West Coast offense, then brighter days are ahead. If not, well … that’s a subject many ‘Skins fans don’t even want to contemplate. With these thoughts fresh in my mind, I decided to take a closer look at Campbell’s career in hopes of seeing what he’s brought to the table thus far and try to figure out how this story may play out.

After holding a clipboard his rookie season, Campbell found his way onto the field in 2006, starting seven games for the Redskins. The team went 2-5 in games Campbell started in 2006. That year he completed 53 percent of his passes, with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions and a QB rating of 76.5.

The following season, Campbell started 13 games before his season was ended prematurely due to a knee injury.

The ‘Skins went 6-7 in games Campbell started in 2007, which doesn’t take into consideration that Todd Collins came into the Chicago Bears game and led the team to victory after Campbell’s injury. For the season, Campbell completed 60 percent of his passes, with 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and a QB rating of 77.6.

When you add in this week’s loss to the Giants, the Redskins are 8-13 with Campbell running the show. Here’s what Campbell has done over his 21-game NFL career: a 57.6 completion percentage, with 23 touchdowns and 17 interceptions and a QB rating of 77.4.

For what it’s worth, Mark Brunell has a career passer rating of 84.2. Sonny Jurgensen finished his career with a QB rating of 82.6. Joe Theismann had an identical QB rating of 77.4. Outside of our nation’s capital, Campbell’s rating is good for 22nd best out of active quarterbacks, and compares to the career ratings of Charlie Batch (77.9), Jon Kitna (76.8) and the ageless wonder Vinny Testeverde (75.0), who may very well end up back in New England after Tom Brady’s season was cut short.

Redskins fans aren’t going to want to hear this, but Campbell’s completion percentage of 57.6 actually puts him below the career marks of Jeff Hostetler (58.0), Jeff George (57.9) and even Ty Detmer (57.7). Campbell’s completion percentage is good enough to rank 24th on the active players’ list, which is just above Kyle Boller’s 56.9 percentage. Any time you’re in the same category as Boller, you can’t feel good about yourself.

So where does all of this leave us?

Although there have been flashes, nothing on Campbell resume says that he is without a doubt, The Franchise. If he gets it together and leads the Redskins offense to glory, then great. But if, for one reason or another, he simply can’t get it together between now and the season finale at San Francisco, then there’s a very real chance we’ll reach a “Matt Leinart situation,” where a change of scenery is probably best for everyone involved.

While several questions remain unanswered at this point, one thing is for sure – when the 2008 season comes to a close we’ll be able to say once and for all whether Jason Campbell is the answer.

Update: A reader politely asked me to compare Jason Campbell’s first 21 games to Peyton Manning. Not sure what someone should take from this information, because I’m a nice guy, here you go:

Jason Campbell’s first 21 games:
8-13 record
375 completions
651 attempts
4,130 passing yards
57.6 completion percentage
23 touchdowns and 17 interceptions
77.4 QB rating

Peyton Manning’s first 21 games:
6-15 record
432 completions
751 attempts
5,134 passing yards
57.5 completion percentage
37 touchdowns and 35 interceptions
75.5 QB rating

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Anyone who has spent time in this town knew as soon as the Washington Redskins opened the season with a less-than-stellar 16-7 loss to the New York Giants that the sky would inevitably begin to fall.

No one cared to remember that the 2007 Redskins needed to win four straight games down the stretch just to finish with a winning record and earn a place in the playoffs. And that was a team with a Hall of Fame head coach calling the shots. This year, everything’s back to square one as a first-time coach tries to install a brand-new offense with a still unproven quarterback.

“This is a veteran team that’s made the playoffs two out of the last three years.”

No one wanted to hear that Jim Zorn hadn’t even called his own plays before, let alone been an offensive coordinator or anything resembling a head coach at any level.

“There’s too much talent on this roster to not win now.”

No one remembers that the starting quarterback, top two receivers and two key offensive linemen all missed significant chunks of time last season due to injury.

“This is the high-powered offense that Zorn and the Seahawks used to beat us twice in the playoffs.”

Well, this ain’t Madden ’09. You can’t just switch your offense from a ridiculously-conservative 700-page playbook to a precise timing-based offense with the click of a button and not expect a hiccup or two along the way. Whether anyone at Redskins Park is willing to admit it or not, they’ve basically torn everything down and are rebuilding from the ground up – especially on the offensive side of the ball.

And who was the first opponent of the Jim Zorn Era? The Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

This was the fifth time that the Super Bowl champion opened up the season with a Thursday night homer opener. In the previous four games, the champs won by an average of two touchdowns. The sellout crowd at the Meadowlands was so loud and so ridiculously passionate when they started playing a highlight package of the Giants’ 2007 post-season run you would have thought New Yorkers were watching those plays for the very first time. Celebrating three Super Bowl victories with such greats as Harry Carson, Mark Bavaro and Michael Strahan made it easy for the Giants franchise and their already-rabid fanbase to be jacked up by the time kickoff rolled around.

It wouldn’t have mattered if Tom Brady and the New England Patriots showed up for a rematch – the Giants were going to fly out of the gates and dominate whoever dared to line up against them. And if you’re a rookie coach with an offense featuring more question marks than answers? Sorry about your luck.

The Giants marched down the field and scored an easy touchdown on their opening drive to take an early 7-0 lead. Things didn’t get any better early on for the Redskins either. Three more drives, and three more scores for New York. Midway through the second quarter, the Giants had 16 points on the board and the ‘Skins had 16 yards of total offense.

“They outplayed us, there’s no way around it,” said running back Ladell Betts. “We decided to play Redskins football, so to speak, a little bit in the second half, but it was almost a little bit too late. They came out and jumped on us. They showed why they were the Super Bowl champs.”

But all was not lost in week one. The defense started slow – failing early to find a way to slow down the one-two punch of running back Brandon Jacobs and wide out Plaxico Burress – but looked better as the game went on, thanks largely to some in-game adjustments made by defensive coordinator Greg Blache.

“We settled down in the second half,” said middle linebacker London Fletcher, who leads the league after week one with 17 tackles. “We were able to really see how they were attacking us. We had great calls to defend the plays they made on us, it was just a matter of settling in and getting rid of all the first-game jitters.”

The Redskins players, to their credit, are confident that their mistake-filled debut is correctable. They believe the defense will return to the top 10 ranking they’ve had three out of the previous four seasons as players like defensive end Jason Taylor, linebacker Marcus Washington, linebacker Rocky McIntosh and defensive back Carlos Rogers all get healthy on defense. They also believe that as the season continues, the offense will show progress learning Zorn’s West Coast philosophy.

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” Washington said. “I definitely think we’ve got some things we can learn from. I know we’ll get better. I know the type of players we have. We’ll get better.

“This is a resilient team,” said Washington. “We’ve shown that time and time again. We’ve had our backs against the wall a lot of times since I’ve been here and we come out swinging. There’s no quitters on this team.”