Who Platoons The Backup QB's?

This may be the worse or at least the strangest QB situation that the NFL has seen in years. The Washington Redskins are struggling, not with finding a starting QB; it’s the backup QB that is posing a problem for the Skins. The veteran Todd Collins or the second year player Jason Campbell; both are fighting for the right to backup starting QB Mark Brunell.

Throughout the preseason Campbell and Collins have gone back in forth in attempting to earn the role of back up. Collins is offensive coordinators Al Saunders favorite pick for the job. Todd Collins has been a backup QB for the Kansas City Chiefs and Al Saunders for years now. He is the only player on the Redskins roster that understands the entire 700 page playbook that Saunders plans on utilizing this season. Great pick for a backup QB on paper. The problem with Collins, is when he took the field in the preseason, he was terrible. Continually he appeared to be lost in the pocket, and incapable of completing passes to any of his receivers on the deep or the shallow routes.

Enter Jason Campbell, the young gunslinger from Auburn, who led his team to an undefeated season as a senior in college. The Skins spent three picks, just to move up high enough into the draft to pick him up two years ago. So far, he has yet to see the field in anything more than a pre-season exhibition. Campbell is a big boy, with a live arm, and the ability to avoid pressure in the pocket, and make plays happen with his feet. Problem; as Al Saunders said, he is incapable of grasping the entire playbook that he wants to install, and therefore a poor pick as the backup.

This leaves head coach Joe Gibbs with a dilemma entering the regular season. Who does he go with? The seasoned veteran, who may not be physically able to execute the plays that he can call so deftly, and your offensive coordinator, loves, or the young gunslinger who may not understand the play call that but has the physical tools to get the job done.

Well, the Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs is in the Hall for a reason, and he found a way to fix this situation that would have made any D.C. politician proud. Gibbs has instituted what may be the first ever platoon backup QB. It goes something like this: If the starter Brunell goes down with an injury during the game, then Todd Collins will come in and take over at QB. However, if Brunell is hurt, and is slated to miss the entire week leading into a game, the Jason Campbell will take all the snap in practice, and he will be the starting QB the following weekend.

Now this situation leaves plenty of questions that need to be answered. In my years of following football, I have never seen anything like this, and think it may be one of the worse ideas ever. However, it is somehow fitting that the Washington Redskins. The skins have the largest coaching staff ever, with multiple assistant coaches, and head coaches of this and that. They have five RB’s on the roster. A platoon backup QB just shows the continual disarray the Skins have in trying to find a path for the future.