As I thought about the evolution of Jason Campbell I started to see both parallels and differences between him and the Redskins era of Mark Rypien. Mark Rypien was vilified in Washington until he broke out in the 1991 Season.  Jason Campbell is just like Mark Rypien in many ways. He is smart, he has a rocket arm and he is not a rah-rah guy. In 1991 then Owner, Jack Kent Cooke called Mark Rypien a bloody idiot for holding out. Rypien was on the hot seat because many believed he was the weakest link on a potential super bowl team.  We all watched as Jason Campbell was put through the ringer while the Skins front office tried to get Jay Cutler. We also heard the rumored love affair of Dan Snyder for Mark Sanchez. As bad as some people think the current Redskins are they are pretty close to contending. They have a championship caliber defense that got better and a consistent running game which gives any team a legit title shot. A good QB is what gets you over the top.

The Redskins defense in Mark Rypien’s era was about the same as the Redskins defense is now. The Skins defense of Rypien’s era had a hall of famer at corner (Darrell Green) and a consistent pass rush with Charles Mann and Fred Stokes. The Achilles heel of the Redskins defense now is the lack of a consistent pass rush which produces more turnovers.  The good news is with the addition of Albert Haynesworth makes an already very good defense better. The Redskins offensive line in 1991 was very good while the current cast of characters on the o-line are pretty good but not great. The biggest difference between the QBs is that Mark Rypien had two hall of fame caliber wide receivers in Gary Clark and Art Monk with a really good Ricky Saunders as a third WR.  By comparison Jason Campbell has Malcolm Kelly, Devin Thomas and Santana Moss. In a perfect world Moss would be a 3^rd receiver but he is the best we have until Kelly and Thomas start to contribute consistently. In 1991 the Skins had everything but a QB and in 2009 they have everything but Wrs. Funny how those things work.

Jason Campbell got a lot of blame for the 2-6 end of season slide but his offensive line was tragic, his wide outs were either hurt or inexperienced and the Redskins defense rarely gave the offense turnovers. Rypien took a lot of blame for the team failures during his era but Rypien had much more to work with. If Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas and highly touted Fred Davis can contribute Jason Campbell’s stock is going to rise pretty quickly in the NFL. Add to that the fact that Campbell will be in the same offense for a 2^nd year for the first time in 8 years is a plus.  So when I watch the Redskins this year I will be paying particular attention to Campbell and his wide outs. As they go, the Redskins will go.