30 days, 30 questions/Washington Redskins

(The first of an ongoing series)

Question 1: Can Jason Campbell take the Redskins to the playoffs?

The answer, as far as the front office appears to be concerned, is no--but they'd sure as hell better hope they're wrong, because he's the best they've got for 2009.

The Redskins spent most of the offseason trying to get rid of Campbell, or at least bring in his replacement. First, they tried and failed to get Jay Cutler; then they tried and failed to get Mark Sanchez in the draft. So, two "we're sorry"s and "you're our guy"s later, Jason Campbell is still the starter in D.C. and probably feels like a doormat.

I'm not the biggest Jason Campbell fan--he's slightly above average, IMHO--but the Redskins screwed him royally this past offseason. And that may just be the impetus he needs to become more than average.

He's working for the second consecutive year in the same offensive system, something he hasn't had the opportunity to do much of...well, ever. That may help cut down on his hesitation in the pocket and the repeated pump-fakes that helped lead to some nasty sacks last year. Having Devin Thomas with a clue and Malcom Kelly with two knees might help, also. He's still going to need an improved offensive line, though.

It's five years in to the Jason Campbell experiment and this is it. Fish or cut bait. He's going to have to step it up, or the Redskins will certainly cut his line and let him float away after the offseason, becasuse no playoffs=no extension. No playoffs also = big problems for a lot of other folks, too.