Today’s Washington Post has an article complaining about the left side of the line and how it’s continued to put Jason Campbell in danger. This is an overreaction to the dirty hit laid on Campbell in the Pittsburgh game by class act Brett Keisel.
Did Stephon Heyer completely whiff on that play? Obviously, but he wasn’t the one landing the low hit. Every tackle gets beat now and again; as a UDFA Heyer isn’t going to go in there and shut everyone down. We also must remember that play ending with a long pass completion, so Campbell had some time to look down field and hit Cooley with a pass.
Lastly, it’s not like the Redskins have a bunch of alternatives to turn to. Todd Wade is still trying to learn the guard position. Having him slide over to tackle to play a couple of halves of football and then sit on the bench all year isn’t the solution. If you think Terrell Suggs is going to destroy Heyer (a statement I disagree with – Heyer will be fine), then play it safe and sit out Campbell this week and play Brunell who will at least be able to see Suggs coming.
The Redskins aren’t known for their great depth (although it has improved a lot over last year), but there aren’t many teams that can survive the loss of their starting left tackle without a huge decline in performance. Think of the Giants last year play Bob Whitfield and his penalty bonaza or the Cowboys a couple of years ago after Flozell Adams went down (Philip Daniels had 4 sacks against his replacement). Losing a star player hurts and this rookie is no Chris Samuels. But don’t blame Heyer for the dirty actions of Brett Keisel.
Also Weighing in: Curly R on the Hapless Left;