mnb123 Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?id=4045554 That mental rewiring can be foreign and brutal. But successful backups do it. Take Washington's Todd Collins. A second-round pick by the Bills in 1995, Collins was a one-time successor to Jim Kelly. He played 14 games in 1997, and when he hit free agency, considered himself a starter, like Dilfer did after leaving the Ravens in 2001, like Leftwich does now. "I thought I was ready," Collins says. The market said otherwise. Collins signed with the Chiefs and backed up Elvis Grbac. Then he backed up Rich Gannon. Then Trent Green. Then in Washington Mark Brunell, and now Jason Campbell. Along the way, Collins learned that a good No. 2 holds much more than a clipboard. First, he says, a backup has to be pure in his motives so that he earns the starter's trust. Only then does the No. 1 guy not feel threatened. For instance, last season Campbell, playing in his seventh offensive system in eight seasons going back to college, had a few questions about a pass-protection scheme, questions he was too embarrassed to ask. So Collins, being a friend first and a position rival second, asked the coaches for him. "It works much better when guys are working together on the same team," Collins says. Of course, it's not easy. Quarterbacks by nature are dominant personalities, and a team only has room for two: the passer and the coach. But good backups learn to be systematically subservient. That trait is always in demand, which is why the good ones always find work, and eventually get a chance to start. It happened in December 2007, when Campbell was lost for the season with a knee injury. Collins had gone 10 years between starts, an NFL record (since the 1970 merger). But he led the Redskins to four straight victories and got them into the playoffs. That earned him a three-year, $9 million contract. "Just because you're a backup doesn't mean you won't have a chance to play," he says. "The best way to show you can play is to prepare, have a positive attitude and play well when you have a chance." Collins knows he hasn't had a Hall of Fame career. But he's 37 and rich and still in the league, as more talented QBs have come and gone. And now Leftwich might be one of those guys. Pretty interesting article with a heavy focus on Collins, thought I would post it here.Also gives a little insight on Leftwich, and how he is looking for a shot to compete at starter, which may be why we havn't signed him yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsdude Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 A backup QB is only one injury away from being the starting QB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LightningBuggs Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 "For instance, last season Campbell, playing in his seventh offensive system in eight seasons going back to college, had a few questions about a pass-protection scheme, questions he was too embarrassed to ask." Hmmm....this kinda jumped out at me. Shouldn't the lines of communication between the starting QB and the coaching staff be wide open??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd421 Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 "For instance, last season Campbell, playing in his seventh offensive system in eight seasons going back to college, had a few questions about a pass-protection scheme, questions he was too embarrassed to ask."Hmmm....this kinda jumped out at me. Shouldn't the lines of communication between the starting QB and the coaching staff be wide open??? Yeah why the hell is JC to scared to ask the coach a question? That is JAKED UP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shilsu Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Jason Campbell was too embarassed to ask the coaches about a protection scheme? ... What the hell? I consider our line pretty crappy but I'm starting to give more credence to the other posters who claim that our line isn't as bad as it looked and that perhaps Jason Campbell is the reason it looked bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenegadeTK Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 interesting read. TC has been a professional his entire time here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brlawson Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 He's afraid because he don't wanna lose his starting posish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyron Biggums Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Jason Campbell was too embarassed to ask the coaches about a protection scheme?... What the hell? I consider our line pretty crappy but I'm starting to give more credence to the other posters who claim that our line isn't as bad as it looked and that perhaps Jason Campbell is the reason it looked bad. I am thinking it was a combination of both. We have all watched a molehill grow into a mountain on ES.:saber: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Sorry, I don't buy the premise of the article - that a guy can't have a burning desire to start and still be a good teammate and backup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califan007 The Constipated Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Yeah why the hell is JC to scared to ask the coach a question? That is JAKED UP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taylorcoreskin Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Jason Campbell was too embarassed to ask the coaches about a protection scheme?... What the hell? I consider our line pretty crappy but I'm starting to give more credence to the other posters who claim that our line isn't as bad as it looked and that perhaps Jason Campbell is the reason it looked bad. Ya that's pretty ****ed up that JC would be too embarassed to ask the coach about a protection scheme. Unless of course he had already asked that coach that very same question 20 times and it still didn't sink in, so he didn't want to make it 21 times for fear of coming across as a complete retard. Otherwise, I have no idea why he wouldn't ask his question about the protections scheme. Campbell's line of reasoning: "Well I prefer to not come across as stupid to my coach so I'll shup, not ask for clarification about protection schemes, and if I do get sacked because I didn't know the protection scheme, then the offensive line will take the fall for my sack anyways." Nice way for Campbell to shift responsibility from himself onto his lineman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xero21 Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Great, now everyone is going to bash Campbell because he was too embarrassed to ask a coach a question. Seriously, that probably happens all the time on every team. Get over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taylorcoreskin Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 I can't believe Campbell is such a ***** to prefer to leave protection schemes unclarified in his mind to asking his coach for clarification. What kind of leader is this guy? My God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califan007 The Constipated Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Ya that's pretty ****ed up that JC would be too embarassed to ask the coach about a protection scheme. Unless of course he had already asked that coach that very same question 20 times and it still didn't sink in, so he didn't want to make it 21 times for fear of coming across as a complete retard. Otherwise, I have no idea why he wouldn't ask his question about the protections scheme. Campbell's line of reasoning: "Well I prefer to not come across as stupid to my coach so I'll shup, not ask for clarification about protection schemes, and if I do get sacked because I didn't know the protection scheme, then the offensive line will take the fall for my sack anyways." Nice way for Campbell to shift responsibility from himself onto his lineman. Wow...you read all of that into a reporter's paraphrasing of Collin's paraphrasing of Campbell's comments, huh? I can't imagine what it must be like to be so astute as to be able to read someone's mind through not one but two different interpreters of that person's words... :applause: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califan007 The Constipated Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 I can't believe Campbell is such a ***** to prefer to leave protection schemes unclarified in his mind to asking his coach for clarification. What kind of leader is this guy? My God. They weren't left unclarified...and there is nothing in the article to suggest that Campbell would not have ended up asking anyway if Collins had not offered to do so for him. I've had numerous times in my life where people have offered to do things for me that I didn't want to do...but that doesn't mean I wouldn't have done them anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taylorcoreskin Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Wow...you read all of that into a reporter's paraphrasing of Collin's paraphrasing of Campbell's comments, huh? I can't imagine what it must be like to be so astute as to be able to read someone's mind through not one but two different interpreters of that person's words... :applause: Why would the man NOT ask his coach to clarify protection schemes he doesn't understand? Can you offer any alternative suggestions to why a starting QB in the NFL would do that? Unless of course he's trying to lock up his position, lock up his contract, and doesn't want his coach to see him for what he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taylorcoreskin Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 They weren't left unclarified...and there is nothing in the article to suggest that Campbell would not have ended up asking anyway if Collins had not offered to do so for him. I've had numerous times in my life where people have offered to do things for me that I didn't want to do...but that doesn't mean I wouldn't have done them anyway. Why would he not want to ask his coach to clarify the scheme? What's he trying to hide? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightbird Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 A. Folks should probably simmer down on the whole "WHAT KIND OF MORON IS CAMPBELL NOT TO ASK THE COACHES A QUESTION!?!?!?!?" Seriously. B. Todd Collins is a good guy to have around. C. Leftwhich has all the tools to be an elite qb, EXCEPT and agonizingly slow delivery. He makes Doug Williams look like Dan Marino with that hitch. He will never overcome it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taylorcoreskin Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 "For instance, last season Campbell, playing in his seventh offensive system in eight seasons going back to college, had a few questions about a pass-protection scheme, questions he was too embarrassed to ask." I just can't get over his quote. I really can't. TOO EMBARASSED TO ASK? What the hell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibrahim Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 "For instance, last season Campbell, playing in his seventh offensive system in eight seasons going back to college, had a few questions about a pass-protection scheme, questions he was too embarrassed to ask."I just can't get over his quote. I really can't. TOO EMBARASSED TO ASK? What the hell? Oh my God, dude. Could you just possibly be taking this too seriously? I cannot count how many times I sat in class, while in college, wondering what the heck the professor meant by what he just said. Sometimes I raised my hand, sometimes I waited till after class to ask one of my classmates because I thought what I wanted to ask my be considered stupid. Dude, it happens! Sure as heck did not stop me from being a very fine engineer that I happen to be today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
instinct21 Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 So we really do have a good Offensive Line? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnb123 Posted April 6, 2009 Author Share Posted April 6, 2009 Didn't really intend for this to be a Jason bashing thread... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laxpunk2006 Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Oh my God, dude. Could you just possibly be taking this too seriously? I cannot count how many times I sat in class, while in college, wondering what the heck the professor meant by what he just said. Sometimes I raised my hand, sometimes I waited till after class to ask one of my classmates because I thought what I wanted to ask my be considered stupid. Dude, it happens! Sure as heck did not stop me from being a very fine engineer that I happen to be today. There have been plenty of times I've been in the same situation. Ask the question and look like an idiot or ask a friend/figure it out myself. Plenty of times I chose the latter. People are taking that phrase (because it's not even a quote from JC or TC) way too seriously. For all we know it went like this. JC- "Man I'm gonna feel like an idiot asking Zorn about this play" TC- "Don't worry about it I'll ask him when I see him this evening." It in no way means Campbell said "Oh noes!! I don't understand this play so I'll sabotage my team's season rather than asking a simple question because someone might think I don't read good!!" Chill out guys. Stop trying so hard to find faults with Campbell. We get that you don't like him, but if this falls under your reasoning :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shilsu Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Oh my God, dude. Could you just possibly be taking this too seriously? I cannot count how many times I sat in class, while in college, wondering what the heck the professor meant by what he just said. Sometimes I raised my hand, sometimes I waited till after class to ask one of my classmates because I thought what I wanted to ask my be considered stupid. Dude, it happens! Sure as heck did not stop me from being a very fine engineer that I happen to be today. There's a difference. Whatever you may have missed in class probably is not of paramount importance. In the NFL, pass protection is of paramount importance. I don't know what field of engineering you're in, but if you're instructed on a fundamental issue of safety on a bridge or plane and you don't understand it, do you not ask about it because you're too embarassed? While it's obviously not lives at stake, it is about $150M (or whatever the salary cap is at now) of the owner's money at stake, the team's record at stake, and the teammates at stake. It's already been established that one of the biggest failures of the 2008 Washington Redskins was the breakdown in pass protection, and when you find out that the quarterback who is in charge of the pass protection was too embarassed to ask questions about a scheme he didn't understand, it's not "Who cares". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDawg Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Okay... He was nervous about asking his coach a protection scheme? So what? Yeah, he should have just went ahead and asked. He didn't, but the question still got answered. Had the question went unanswered, I'd expect to see a large uproar, but he figured it out. Campbell isn't an elite QB in the NFL, and yeah, we could absolutely benefit from having a guy that's better at the QB position, but some people here like to beat on Campbell for the sake of beating on him. If I'm a Redskin coach or a member of the office, I'm bringing this little article up to Coach Zorn and letting him know, and then Zorn should have a sit down with Campbell and tell him he can't be nervous to ask questions. They need to open the lines of communication. It's not okay that Campbell didn't ask. We need to find out why. That's all that should be taken from that excerpt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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