Throughout the past decade, the Redskins have been mediocre at best. Therefore, it is important for the team to identify and fix a losing constant. Most fans would quickly label owner Dan Snyder as that constant, but no matter how disliked he is, he isn’t going anywhere. Attention should be shifted toward what is within the front office’s control. When going through the depth charts of the last 10 years, one can find a pro-bowl running back (Clinton Portis), receiver (Santana Moss), tight end (Chris Cooley), lineman (Chris Samuels), linebacker (London Fletcher) and defensive back (Sean Taylor), but no quarterback. In fact, the closest the Redskins have gotten to a franchise quarterback is Jason Campbell, who is no longer a starter in the league.
Based on this information, it is fair to say that a losing constant for this franchise is the quarterback position. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insane. It’s imperative the Redskins change this trend. Recently, Redskins general manager Bruce Allen and head coach Mike Shanahan made a fantastic move to fix the losing constant. They traded their 2012, 2013 and 2014 first round picks plus a 2012 second round pick to the St. Louis Rams for the second overall pick in this years’ draft. Available at that second overall pick will most likely be Robert Griffin III out of Baylor or possibly Stanford’s Andrew Luck.
Both of these players are not only the franchise quarterbacks the Redskins need, but they are superstars as well. Both dominated the college level while displaying pro-style skill sets. Both are tremendous leaders with few character issues. The fact the Redskins gave up so much in the trade is irrelevant. As shown by Peyton Manning with the Colts, Tom Brady with the Patriots and Eli Manning with the Giants, a price tag cannot be placed on a long term, high caliber quarterback.
Looking ahead, in addition to vastly improving performance on the field, Griffin or Luck will create a buzz that has been non-existent for a long time in Washington. Free agents will come out of desire to be a Redskin and not just to collect fat pay checks from Snyder. Visiting fans at Fedex field will be completely drowned out by Redskins fans. Redskins’ jersey sales will spike. Griffin III or Luck could finally put the Redskins on the map.
