The Upside of Being Patient
How many Redskins fans can recall the plight of the New Orleans Saints QB, Drew Brees?
Drew Brees came in to the league as a second round draft pick of the San Diego Chargers, after having played college ball at Purdue University. While in college, Brees enjoyed significant success by setting a number of Big 10 Conference records, bowl games, the Maxwell Award for the nations most outstanding player, and a two-time finalist for the Heisman Trophy. But, his entry to the NFL game was not smooth, to say the least.
In his rookie season, Brees stepped on the field one time. After a coaching change to Marty Schottenheimer, Brees became the starter. Yet, by his third year, Brees found himself sharing the position with Doug Flutie. In his third season, he was named the starter. But, the team went 4-12 that season and thus earned the top pick in the following draft, in which they acquired Philip Rivers. But a funny thing happened along the way of on the road of public sentiment to run Brees out of town. Philip Rivers held out of training camp over a contract dispute and thus, wasn’t ready to replace Brees as the starter when the season began.
Ooops!
What happened next is truly the upside of being patient. In his fourth season, and one that he really wasn’t supposed to have, Drew Brees achieved the third best QB rating of 104.8, was elected to the Pro Bowl, and was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year. At the end of the following season, and another strong performance, he was traded to the New Orleans Saints to make room for Rivers.
In his first season with the Saints, Brees threw for more 4,000 yards and once again earned a position in the Pro Bowl. He has continued to grow as a QB and has led the Saints to the playoffs, and even the NFC Championship game against the Chicago Bears on January 21, 2007.
Redskins fans might want to sit up and take notice of the upside of being patient with Jason Campbell. Drew Brees, as well as other QBs, have had at least two or more years in the same offense before they began to have real success. Matt Hasselbeck needed almost five years before the light came on; before he understood what he was supposed to be doing. Jason Campbell, by comparison, has had seven months! That’s it.
Now, I realize that I could capture a great deal of attention if I bash the Redskins, Jason Campbell, Jim Zorn, and especially the front office. But, I’m not going there. I fully believe that Mr. Daniel Snyder has grown tremendously as an owner and is beginning to figure it all out. It only took him about 9 years, coupled with one-on-one tutoring from Joe Gibbs.
Imagine what the Skins offense will look like once the light comes on in JC and the entire offense. Let’s be patient and allow him time to grow. The current chatter in the media, and fan comments on other blogs, about bringing in Todd Collins, and prepping Colt Brennan for next year is only going to hinder the process.
So, I’m calling all Redskins fans: Let’s remember the journey of Drew Brees and remember, there is an upside to being patient.
