Quarterback Controversy

When Washingtonians are not busy discussing politics, the one other topic that is near and dear to their hearts is the quarterback of the Redskins. Since the last time the team visited the Super Bowl way back in 1991 (I'm sure some readers weren't even born at the time), there have been a dearth of starting quarterbacks and some able backups, but to no avail. The team never seems to find a happy medium and part of that is due to the fact that we fans are so Hell bent on winning that we often fail to exercise a bit of patience. Now some may say that we've been more than patient in waiting for a Super Bowl. To put it in perspective, I was not even in high school when they last won a Super Bowl. I am currently doing my Masters. I think I've waited long enough.

The Redskins have had some good quarterbacks in their time. Sonny Jurgenson, Joe Theisman, Doug Williams, and Mark Rypien to name a few. We've also had some great backups who went on to bigger and better things. Trent Green and Stan Humphries are among them. A couple of years back we had a good one in town in the form of Brad Johnson. Things were beginning to progress with him when we reached the playoffs. The very next year we got a new coach who had a new style of offense in which Brad Johnson didn't fit. We got Jeff George in play and things seemed to be going better but it still wasn't good enough.

The fans in Washington are impatient for a win and when it seems that the team is starting to head in the right direction but something or the other falls through. It doesn't help when the team owner, Dany Snyder, makes decisions like a fan as well. Ask a casual fan of any sport and they'll more than likely name for you the most well known players in the sport. Even more typically is the fact is that most of these players are good at what they do. A few years ago, that choice was parlayed into getting a team made up of some of the best names in the game. It was assumed (rightly or wrongly) that with a line up of such talented and well-known players that the team would be unstoppable. Unfortunately no one considered whether these players would play well together. And there is where again the quarterback comes in.

A leader is someone who commands authority and leads by example. Some of the greatest leaders have been those who have led from the front and a quarterback is no exception. When a coach believes in his quarterback, that quarterback will give his all to make sure that the team succeeds. One of the problems in Washington over the past so many years is that the team and the fans have demanded immediate results. We rarely give time for our quarterbacks to develop or become comfortable in their roles on offense and as a result, they go before they can make a difference. The Redskins decided this week to put backup Jason Campbell into the starting spot replacing veteran Mark Brunell.

Now this may be a good or bad decision. Part of me believes that it will be good because Campbell knows the offense but he also is an unknown quantity. Opposing teams will not be familiar with all his styles of play so he may experience some moments of brilliance. In the past that has meant a good performance and a victory or two or three. If this is what happens over the next few games, we fans will have visions of the Super Bowl but it may only be a flash in the pan. We fans have got to be patient and understand that making a winning team takes time. The eventual victory will be worth it. The Democrats are one team in Washington that will agree to that!