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April 25, 2005
Redskins blown away by the draft
Auburn went 13-0, winning the best conference in football. The Washington Redskins used their two first round draft picks Saturday on good players, from a great team. Problem is, especially in the case of their second pick, QB Jason Campbell, the pick makes no sense at all.
So what's the quarterback situation now? Joe Gibbs said last winter that Patrick Ramsey was "his guy," and we know that Gibbs is loyal to his "guys," after he stuck with Mark Brunell for ten weeks even though a quadriplegic could have put up better numbers.
And if Ramsey is "his guy," then why in the world does taking a quarterback make sense? Campbell very well could be a great quarterback someday, but the coaching staff is old. Offensive coordinator Joe Bugel's Social Security number is 4, with Joe Gibbs and two of the Marx brothers ahead of him.
Drafting Campbell seems like a pick for a rebuilding team. But ever since Daniel Snyder bought the team, rebuilding has stopped being an option, and certainly this year. So it appears Ramsey will start.
Then why did it make any sense to take a potential project over a wide receiver, of which the `Skins have none? UAB receiver/amazing Afro model Roddy White was still on the board. And while he may not turn out tot be as good in the long term as Campbell, he filled a pressing need.
Yes, wide reciever is a pressing need. Santana Moss can be a number one reciever, but he's no Laveranues Coles. And among Darnerian McCants, Taylor Jacobs and James Thrash, none of them appears to be a serviceable second reciver. At least White would have given them some immediate return for their pick.
Remember, Aaron Rodgers went one pick ahead of Campbell. There's definitely a wider gap in talent between those two than one lousy pick.
I can't understand why Joe Gibbs would give up three lower picks for the 25th to get Campbell, a guy who probably could have fallen into the beginning of the second round. They blew up whatever was left of their draft to get Campbell. Either he's the best clipboard holder in the world, or the Redskins really messed up.
Actually, instead of White, the Redskins shouldn't have traded with Denver to get the pick in the first place. They gave up a third and fourth round pick this draft and a number one pick next year. They gave up a pick likely to be in the mid-20s at best to the teens at worst, plus two more picks to get the 25th pick. Unless Campbell is Doug Williams, that trade in itself is unbelieveable.
Their first auburn pick was a little better, Carlos Rogers. He was an All-American, and a shutdown cornerback that the Redskins needed. He was the top CB in the best and certainly most pressure-filled conference in football in 2004, and he appears like he can be Sean Taylor minus the crazy.
The Redskins didn't fill their largest void at wide receiver. Washington finished 30th in offense last year, mostly because nobody could catch the football. Now they have no choice but to keep disgruntled WR Rod Gardner, or I'll be expecting a call to be the team's fourth receiver.
I still have faith that Washington will pull some string somewhere and be able to win nine games this year. But I have no clue why the `Skins wasted their best chance to upgrade their Achilles heel. And I am pretty much out of ways to justify picking the Redskins to win 11 games next year.
Joe Gibbs is old, people. Many of the Redskins coaches don't have much more time to get back to the Super Bowl. And even though it's April, they may have just blown their shot to get there in 2005.
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Also, you misquoted what Gibbs said. Gibbs said that Ramsey was "his guy" for 2005, not past then. He obviously doesn't like Ramsey, so don't expect Ramsey on the team in 2006.
However, the real reason that it was a mistake to draft him was that they have three quarterbacks under long-term deals, including Hasselback, who they signed earlier in the week. If they really wanted to sign Campbell, why would they sign Hasselback? They're just screwing themselves over in the long run.
Our needs were on Defense, we lost Smoot and replaced him with Rogers, we lost Antonio Pierce and Marshall will move or Barrows will play but we get Levar Back (+++)! If I had been calling the shots, a solid D-Lineman would have been pick #25. Apparently Joe and the boyz saw something they could NOT pass up! It may take him three years to get ready and if Ramsey plays well, he may never play. While I like Ramsey a lot, he have proven nothing to date. A little competition never hurts! And we all Know Mark Brunnell is no competition.
Hang in there and keep the faith!
Keith
Greencastle, PA
As it stands, the Redskins traded away a 3rd-round pick, and next year's #1 and #4, to effectively waste 2002's first-round pick. We've now invested 3 of our last 5 first round draft picks in the quarterback positions. Please explain how that makes sense. Mike, the article was great, despite what these clueless fools who read it may say.
Share it with me will you?
Two words: Michael Westbrook.
Who is to say that we won't have a 1st round pick next year? Must be your crystal ball again. The Raiders traded their 1st round pick for Randy Moss. They got a 1st round pick back by trading TE Jolly to the Jets. In this day of free agency, draft picks don't mean as much as they used to. Philly just drafted 13 players. Do you think that all 13 will be signed? The answer is no. At last check, the Seahawks were only $100,000 below the cap and might not be able to sign their picks. Before the Raiders traded DB Buchanan, they were $15 million over the cap and can't sign anyone until they release other players. There are too many variables to consider before declaring that Campbell is not worth it. Hang tight my friend, it will get interesting. Any by the way, the only reason that the "general consensus" of some, Mr. Willmott, that he would be selected in the late 1st or early 2nd round, was based not on talent level, but more on team needs. Should I mention at what pick Aaron Rodgers was selected by Green Bay?
Speaking of first-round picks Brad, you're right, the Raiders did trade back in to the first round. But they gave up Doug Jolley, as well as a second round pick (which you failed to mention, very surprising for someone like yourself who stresses getting facts straight). So what are we going to give up for a first-rounder next year? More draft picks? You mention that one trade, but don't mention teams who were looking to move down (Miami) or up (Seattle), but couldn't, because nobody wanted to trade picks. And even if we do trade in to the first round, we'll still have to pay a fair price. It cost three draft picks to move to #25 this year. What will it cost to move any higher than that?
THis year, who did the draft? Gibbs. Who helped him? His other coaches and probably Snyder as well. Second guessing Spurrier is more appropriate since he has never had a track record of success in the NFL, but Gibbs has done quite well in previous years. It's true the leauge has changed over the past decade, but they can still scout talent.
I'm not saying Campbell IS the next great qb, but he could be. If the Redskins really believed he is, why risk letting him get picked up by the Browns in the 2nd round right before them? If Campbell becomes the next Peyton Manning, then will the trades have been bad? I don't think anyone would be complaining then.
A lot of writers have mentioned how much the Redskins have put into the QB position over the past few years, but who was it that did a lot of that work? That's right, Steve Spurrier. Gibbs defintiely did not draft Ramsey in the first round 3 years ago, and it looks like if he had been the coach back then, he would not have. THat is why you can not say "the Redskins wasted a 1st round pick on Ramsey 3 years ago and can't use another one today." The coaching staff is completely different, so Gibbs has no reason to commit to Ramsey.
The big thing is, though, I don't care how good or bad Campbell is supposed to be. This pick makes even less sense than the Lions drafting Mike Williams, because drafting Campbell was not even "picking the best available." Maybe to the Redskins he was, but I, for one, am going to question their ability to draft well, and I see no reason why drafting Campbell over Roddy White (although now that Gardner is staying, there isn't an immediate need, maybe they'll draft a WR with the 13th overall pick [or worse] next year), Khalif Barnes (yes, they need a backup offensive lineman other than Ray Brown) or even Brodney Pool (the guy opposite Sean Taylor whose name slips my mind at the moment is a liability in coverage) helps the Skins at all.
As for fully understanding or appreciating who Joe Gibbs is, I think there's something to be said for the perspective taken by the "fella's [who] are little too young." Instead of being blinded by his accomplishments in the past, where he was one of the best coaches in the game of yesteryear, I can definitely see the problems with Gibbs' coaching. Want one? How about this. There is one player. One player. That absolutely mauled Gibbs every single time. He's a Hall of Famer now, but Lawrence Taylor shredded him. Guess what? There're more Lawrence Taylors in the league now. You can't max protect because you've got three Taylors rushing at you every single play, and seeing as how people have trouble blocking the Dwight Freeneys and Terrell Suggs that a lot of teams have, it just doesn't work. For all the talk of how Gibbs is a master at adjusting, it certainly doesn't look very great, seeing as how his inflexibility shooed away one of the best receivers in the league (Coles, if you remember, left, because Gibbs was absolutely adamant about not opening up the passing, even late in the season when Gibbs should have been trying out new things).
Maybe the Skins will get a first round pick next season by trading Lavar Arrington or something. That would be the first good trade I've ever seen them do. Get rid a load of mouth and money baggage. Then again, they'd probably waste the first rounder anyways.
A lot of people thought that Mark Brunell still had a little left in the tank and could help our team. Gibbs did and so did I. Unfortunately, it did not pan out that way. I will bet that Gibbs understands that now and would admit the mistake in private, although... publicly evident in the drafting of Campbell. And by the way, I like Tim Hasselbeck a great deal. But even he would agree that his physical attributes don't compare to Campbells. I never said that Gibbs was perfect. I was merely wondering what your qualifications are? How many hours of game film did you study? How many schools did you visit? How many players did you interview? How many players did you work out?
The NFL is NOT a democracy. We as fans do not have any rights to the direction of a team. The only right you have is whether or not to purchase a ticket. Do you hack on your schools teams publicly? If so, I can't imagine they would like you very much. Hindsight is always 20/20. I just don't think that you a taking a rational, logical or philosophical view to this. There are two kinds of people in this world, optimist and pessimist. As you go through life and get older, you will learn that those who are predominately optimistic become leaders and those who are predominately pessimistic become followers. You seem to fall into the latter category. Many of the arguments you make are just regurgitated bias statements already said by some of the bias media. I haven't yet seen or heard a thought of your own on the matter.
John, what are the teams “pressing needs” in your opinion? We lost Champ Bailey and Fred Smoot in consecutive years. Who was slated to cover Terrell Owens, Plexico Burress, Randy Moss, Muhsin Muhammad, Tony Gonzales, Tory Holt, Isaac Bruce etc., all of whom we will be playing against this year, and some twice. I would say that we addressed that need at the #9 selection. Did anyone consider that? As Gibbs said earlier this week, we are fearless at safety. That player opposite of Sean Taylor was Matt Bowen, who was on his way to the Pro Bowl before he got hurt. Andre Lott and Ryan Clark stepped in and were more than adequate. We had a patched together o-line due to a lot of injuries. Now they are all back and healthy. On the d-line, no one can argue the play we got from Cornelius Griffin last year and Phillip Daniels should be healthy and ready to go this year. We re-signed tackle Joe Salave’a because Gregg Williams likes him so much. So where’s the void? Linebacker? Running back? Where?
Listen, we will not know the outcome of drafted players on any team for 3 to 4 years. My faith lies with the current and foremost expert, and for now that’s Joe Gibbs and staff. If Ramsey goes down, would you be satisfied with Brunell stepping in? I hardly think so. Redemption is fundamental principal in life and I believe that Gibbs will redeem himself with respect to the signing of Brunell. I believe that he knows Brunell was a miserable failure and he will correct that, once again, evident in the selection of Campbell.
Why do the Redskins keep letting top talent go then have to use high draft picks to replace them. Other teams don't let Smoot leave for free...but we do, then our 1st round draft pick is wasted to replace the guy we already had....that's not forward progress, at best it's staying even, and the Redskins can't afford to stay even....because they suck
They should have kept Smoot, drafted the Williams kid, cut Brunnel and signed Garcia or picked up Bledsoe or picked Campbell LATER IN THE DRAFT....other teams can do it....why not us. Why are we the only team that goes decades without a quarterback.
If Campbell doesn't make an immediate impact the Redskins draft was a bad joke.