By Benjamin Cohn
In the NFL today, the caliber of player on teams is unbelievably spectacular. The farming of football players from high school to college and finally, professional drafting, has led to a crop of players that is superb. But talent is not all it takes to win in today’s National Football League.
Now I have no doubt Jason Campbell has the skills to be an excellent quarterback. I’ve seen times where facets of his player are next to perfect. I question myself every week when he throws a single pass that looks like it’s out of the arm of Tom Brady while scrambling out of the pocket like Brett Favre. But a quarterback in today’s NFL is more than just a sum of his parts, or individual feats of success.
Today’s NFL needs a quarterback to do more than put the ball in the arms of the receivers. In such a quarterback driven game, the QB is there to lead the team, on the field and off. The quarterback needs be the emotional leader of the team. The quarterback needs to be more honest than the head coach, in lockstep with the wide outs, with emotion more focused and precise than explosive linemen.
The New York Jets have a QB that fits this archetype. QB Mark Sanchez, the Jets first NFL Draft pick, is this type of emotional leader. Being on the team for less than 6 months, there’s no way he knows the plays, the run style, the organization of the team like a more experienced quarterback. But unlike Jason Campbell, everyone knows he cares. He jumps for joy like no other when wide receiver Chansi Stuckey catches a touchdown pass. On Sunday, October 4, when the New Orleans Saints stripped Sanchez of the ball in the end zone for a touchdown, the drain of emotion from his face was obvious.
Jason Campbell shows no such reaction. Walking off the field, immediately after losing to the then-winless Detroit Lions, I couldn’t tell if he was experience a crushing loss for the franchise, or if he was just melancholy. I don’t see Campbell filled with ecstasy after a huge touchdown. I don’t see Campbell hyping up his teammates, and energizing the offense for the next play. I don’t see Campbell being the emotional leader of the Redskins.
I hope Jim Zorn sees this. I’m afraid Coach Zorn sees too much of himself in Campbell to do the right thing, and replace Campbell as the franchise quarterback. I want the Redskins to want to win, for the team, and the city. For the players themselves and for the coaching staff who runs them. But if Jason Campbell continues to be the absent leader he currently is, the Redskins will continue to be the same, disregarded team from Washington, which the rest of sports media sees them as. If only I could be a Jets fan…
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