Updated: Discuss our Backup QB Situation (formerly Byron Leftwich)

I would never say start Brennan NEXT season. But given a couple of years, it is possible he could turn out to be a very good QB. I don't know how anyone could say with any certainty he won't.I think he could be a pretty good NFL QB, but there's not the known quantity factor that you get in the high round draft picks. It's more than possible that the scouts were simply right on Brennan, that he's a guy you never want to see the field. Optimistically, I think he'll probably start somewhere in the NFL someday. Probably not here though.

A little clip on Brennan from the draft last year. Kiper and co. make the same Brennan / Chang comparison. I agree 100% with Jaws, who is a very good analyst, especially on QBs......as we digress into yet another CB discussion.....can the guy at least win or start a game before he is considered to be "the future"????

YouTube - Colt Brennan Drafted by Washington (1 of 2)

YouTube - Colt Brennan Drafted by Washington (2 of 2)

Madden's just hyping a pre-season game, Clinton Portis has zero credibility in evaluating a QB prospect, Zorn used a 6th round pick on a project QB. Didn't Gibbs take Jordan Palmer with a 5th, where is Palmer now.

Didn't Pioli take Brady with a 6th? Where is Brady now?!! Sorry, just wanted to get that out there before it was inevitably brought up. Anyhow, I must admit that Colt has grown on me (maybe because his ugly release reminds me of one of my favorite QBS, Rernie Kosar), though I don't think he's quite ready. I think, from all I've seen and discussed with others, he does have potential to be a pretty good NFL QB.

I think it's a bit unfair to just compare him to Chang simply because they went to the same school. It's like comparing Cushing to Sartz or Peyton Manning to Tee Martin (not exactly, I know).

All kidding aside, Colt is solid with (wait for it Dirtbag) Upside. Still, the focus should be on Campbell who is, and probably always will be, a better NFL QB.

If we could get more for campbell, i would be happy. As i stated earlier, I dont think leftwich is the best move for the skins, but I think hes a better move for us than sticking with campbell. In the end, I dont think leftwich would be any worse, and trading Campbell could yield us much needed draft picks, which we could use to address our lines. The more picks we have, the more line positions we can address, the sooner we can get this franchise back on track.It's also a very, very rough analysis to assume that Leftwich and Campbell are equals, and I've been okay with that assumption, but I think I should clear up that we're talking about a 27 year old vs. a 29 year old, which is a significant difference in terms of QB play. That's a guy with his best years ahead of him vs a guy already in his prime basically.

Then there's the point that you can't really invest massive millions into Leftwich because of injury concerns, but you can in Campbell because he's got a signifcantly nicer injury history.

Byron Leftwich Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LeftBy00.htm)

Jason Campbell Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CampJa00.htm)

I think we are in agreement though that a Leftwich-caliber QB is the best the FA market will offer in any given year.

In a vacuum, it's probably close enough to justify the proposal, but taken outside of the vacuum, Campbell is simply more promising at this point than Leftwich. And I like em both. But Leftwich's development has been screwed up by poor judgements to the point where he's someone's QB of the now, and he's no one's QB of the future. When he got cut from Jacksonville, he was still a promising if flawed prospect. Sort of like Campbell would be if we cut him outright today (but significantly less flawed).

So, that's the other side of this equation. I agree that this team needs draft picks, but this is a pretty significant cost, trading in your franchise QB for a similiar QB already at his potential. I know you don't see Campbell like I do and that's not going to change, but your position neccessarily requires an inherent (and arguably unsupported) lack of faith in Jason Campbell. Without that, it simply doesn't make sense to the rest of us.

JLC also thinks Campbell is the answer at QB, as long as we're talking about his blog.

I think it's a bit unfair to just compare him to Chang simply because they went to the same school. It's like comparing Cushing to Sartz or Peyton Manning to Tee Martin (not exactly, I know).
I'm comparing him to Chang because they are (IMO) both system QBs with poor fundamentals who don't have NFL level arms or skills.

Still, the focus should be on Campbell who is, and probably always will be, a better NFL QB.
Agree 1000%. Getting rid of Campbell and bringing in Leftwich as a stop-gap, with the thought that Brennan will be "the man" would be extremely foolish and set the Skins back a minimum of 3-4 years. If by some miracle, Brennan develops and due to injury or whatever gets his chance (ala Brady) he's costing next to nothing and we won't have to pay him a large contract until he's brought a significant amount of wins to DC.

But when i think about it, theres a FAR greater chance Campbell will fail than that he will succeed. He's too tall, too slow, too indecisive, and too innaccurate on his short throws. (i'll give up the stare down argument because i know it theres no way to prove his percentage of stare-downs vs other QBs).See, I found something in this part that may give me some insight into why you don't think Campbell will work. You said he was "too tall", and maybe I'm reading way to far into this, but I don't know of any QB who has failed because of a surplus of height.

Perhaps the fallacy here is that Campbell doesn't look the part of a West Coast QB, but I don't believe there's a specific skill set that favors a west coast player over a non west coast player.

Moreover, I think you are just reading too much into what the WCO really is. It's a buzzword. I'm not going to base any of my opinions off the term because it doesn't carry any meaning to me. It represents a passing philosophy, where the coach claims to value high percentage passing over a vertical attack, but you are still going to see a steady diet of both.

I would agree with your criticism of Campbell's inaccuracies on shorter passes, argubly more critical to the Zorn offense than others, but a college QB by the name of Brady Quinn came out with the same issue after putting together the most impressive passing resume in the history of his school in an offense that was considered to be "pure" west cost. My point is, short range inaccuracies are not a dehabilitating weakness for a quarterback. They are still going to complete 75% of passes in the 0-5 yd range, even with the occasional ugly ball. That weakness will not make or break a QB.

I think he could be a pretty good NFL QB, but there's not the known quantity factor that you get in the high round draft picks. It's more than possible that the scouts were simply right on Brennan, that he's a guy you never want to see the field. Optimistically, I think he'll probably start somewhere in the NFL someday. Probably not here though.
I don't know if Brennan will ever be what some here hope for, but I'm not willing to put a ceiling on his career just yet as some seem to want to. I've always backed Campbell but that does not take away from Colt IMO. I guess I don't see it as a battle between Jason and Colt where one has to be bad and one good. I think Colt has potential just as Zorn must have. There have been so many disappointments at QB with high draft picks, Leaf..Alex Smith..Shuler...Couch..Rick whatever his name is from ND a few years back..Carr, etc. the list goes on and on. And yet some QB's whose stock dropped for some reason, Marino..Aaron Rodgers are two that come to mind right away, went on to play pretty well. So I'm not completely sold on what the scouts say. At least I don't take it for gospel. We all make mistakes. I hope Colt does well and I think he also has some qualities that may serve him well. And this in no way has anything to do with Jason who I expect to have a very good year next season.

There have been so many disappointments at QB with high draft picks, Leaf..Alex Smith..Shuler...Couch..Rick whatever his name is from ND a few years back..Carr, etc. the list goes on and on. Right, but those guys get onto the field immediately because of the monetary investment, and they are a known quantity very early.

We already know Jason Campbell is an NFL competent starter. We had a good idea of that when he was drafted. We didn't and don't have the same idea about Brennan, although all the evidence since the draft surrounding him has been positive.

If Brennan amounts to nothing, we can't throw him in with the Mirer's, Smiths' and Leaf's of the world. He would be more like the Spergon Wynn of 2008.

He's too tall, too slow, too indecisive, and too innaccurate on his short throws. JC 6' 5", Matt Hasselbeck 6' 4". I was always under the impression that a taller QB can see over the lines and find passing lanes easier than a shorter QB.
Jason Campbell had 258 yds rushing and 5.5 yds/carry. Better than Cutler, Garcia, McNabb, T. Jackson. His Yds/carry was better than Matt Cassel & David Garrard. The too slow argument doesn't hold water.
We've gone over the other two arguments already.

The WCO doesnt take advantage of his strengths (primarily his preference to longer step drops, big arm, and pretty accurate deep ball) JC's deep ball isn't particularly accurate. He was ranked 27th in the NFL in passes over 40 yards.

Right, but those guys get onto the field immediately because of the monetary investment, and they are a known quantity very early.

We already know Jason Campbell is an NFL competent starter. We had a good idea of that when he was drafted. We didn't and don't have the same idea about Brennan, although all the evidence since the draft surrounding him has been positive.

If Brennan amounts to nothing, we can't throw him in with the Mirer's, Smiths' and Leaf's of the world. He would be more like the Spergon Wynn of 2008.

Now there's a guy with potential! :)