The Pride of Walpole - Part Two

He knew you could do it but he was the only one

Please join me in congratulating Redskins quarterback Todd Collins for capturing the NFC Player of the Month award for December. Tomorrow Todd Collins leads the 9-7 Redskins against the 10-7 Seahawks in a first round playoff game in Seattle. The Curly R continues a three part series on the career of elevated backup and new Washington celebrity Todd Collins.

Part One: Where did Todd come from?
Part Two: Michigan J. Quarterback
Part Three: Playing with House Money

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Although Todd Collins was the Chiefs' third string quarterback, he does not appear in the Chiefs final season stats here or here, 1998 is the season Todd first became acquainted with Al Saunders.

In 1989 Al had come from the San Diego Chargers to join Marty Schottenheimers's staff as Assistant Head Coach - Receivers coach. Al had learned his offensive ways at the knee of Don Coryell, serving as Don's receivers coach. Although both Joe Gibbs and Al Saunders come from the Don Coryell coaching tree they never served together, Joe having left his position as Chargers offensive coordinator after the 1980 season to follow Jack Pardee as coach of the Washington Redskins.

When Don retired after the eighth game of the 1986 season Al was named interim coach and later head coach, a position he held for two full seasons, finishing with a 15-24 record. Al's tumultuous tenure in San Diego saw a changing of the guard as future Hall of Famers Dan Fouts, Charlie Joiner and Kellen Winslow all retired during this three season period.

Al stayed with Marty in Kansas City through the 1998 season when he left to join Dick Vermiel's staff as receivers coach in St. Louis. It was after this 1999 season that Al, Dick and future Redskins linebacker London Fletcher won Super Bowl 34.

After that Super Bowl season Dick retired for the second time and Al stayed on as part of new head coach Mike Martz' staff. When Dick came out of retirement before the 2001 season to become head coach of the Chiefs Al left the Rams to become Dick's offensive coordinator. Todd was still there, still in Kansas City.

After the 1998 season Marty had left the Chiefs and been replaced by defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham the man that once said the only thing that could stop him from leading the Chiefs was dying, Todd again did not throw a pass in 1999 as he sat behind Elvis Grbac and Warren Moon, and again behind the same quarterbacks in 2000.

Todd and Al Saunders were reunited in 2001, Dick Vermeil's first tough year as Chiefs head coach. Elvis and Warren Moon were out, Trent Green was in and Todd Collins was number two. The team went 6-10 and Todd threw four whole passes.

And so it went through 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Todd remained the backup to former Redskin Trent Green, never started and never threw more than 12 passes in any one season. Year after year there he was, working with Al Saunders to put the best Chiefs attack on the field.

Al Saunders left the Chiefs when Dick Vermiel retired for the third time after the 2005 season and joined Redskins coach Joe Gibbs' staff.

Joe had assumed his old job with the Redskins before the 2004 season after a 12 year layoff and as he had in his previous 12 year tenure, called his own plays. The 2004 Redskins team finished a disappointing 6-10 as the offense often played max protect with two tight ends, often sending one receiver downfield. Quarterback Patrick Ramsey did not have the skills to run Joe's offense and the team did not have a solid identity.

In 2005 the team started out 5-6 on the withering arm of Mark Brunell before winning five in a row mainly on the strong shoulders of Clinton Portis to make the playoffs. Washington won the first round playoff game at Tampa Bay on 120 total yards of offense before losing the second round to the eventual NFC champion Seahawks. The playoff rematch of this game is tomorrow.

When Al Saunders joined the Redskins staff it was thought that he was a kindred football spirit with Joe Gibbs, that their shared but separate history with Don Coryell and that particular style of offensive football would benefit the team, that Joe could delegate the offense to Al to concentrate on other things, including his role as President of Football Operations, a responsibility that included draft and free agent selections.

Todd was brought in as Al's first move, to compete for the starting job and as a QB mentor, one that could translate the offense of guru Al Saunders and his 700 page playbook into a language understood by mere mortal quarterbacks. I lampooned the choice and even predicted darkly that just as Danny Wuerffel found his way onto the field for Steve Spurrier despite having no measurable skills that Todd would find his way into the starting lineup despite Joe Gibbs' adoration of Mark Brunell and while Jason Campbell sat inactive.

From all observation there appears to have been an internal struggle over who was going to back up Mark with the final resolution being a triangulation by Joe Gibbs: if starter Mark were injured Todd would be the in game backup. If Mark were unable to go for the next game then Jason would be the starter. It was a way to make Al happy and get the franchise future Jason onto the field. Like the fabled Looney Tunes frog Todd had connected with Al, and Al alone.

Mark started the first nine games of the 2006 season then did not throw another pass. Jason became the starter in the tenth game and stayed there for the rest of the season. We all know how the 2006 season turned out.

When 2007 training camp opened there was no question it was Jason Campbell's team, the only question was who would back him up. Would it be Joe Gibbs' guy Mark Brunell, the starter in Washington for a season and a half? Or would it be Todd Collins, Al Saunders' guy, untested but also unspoiled by failure and negative fan opinion? To my surprise Joe chose Todd as the backup and Mark Brunell has not thrown a pass this season. Looks like I was way wrong about Todd, one more reason it's been so awsum that he's a winner.

Jason stayed as the Redskins starting quarterback until the Bears game on 6 December 2007. Todd's first pass of his Redskins tenure came in that game and he has not thrown an interception in 105 attempts.

Before the Bears game no one knew anything good about Todd. His biggest supporter was Al Saunders who although has said throughout the years that Todd could make Al's offense go was best known before this season as the guy with 695 blank pages in a 700 page playbook.

So when Todd came off the bench and then kept going and going and going it was the greatest feeling a football fan can have: the pleasant exceeding of low expectations. Hell, he even managed to attend the birth of his second child, future Redskins quarterback Jack Collins, between the Bears game and the Giants game.

Even as the team one the Bears game, then the Giants game, expectations of Todd never got higher. The team could have tanked. The Vikings game then the Cowboys game and suddenly the Redskins are in the playoffs and no one would have been let down if they had lost.

But they did not, have not trailed in 16 quarters and are now going to the playoffs.


The Pride of Walpole concludes tomorrow with part three, Playing with House Money.



Other references: Wikipedia San Diego Chargers, St. Louis Rams.

Todd Collins: Chris McGrath / Getty Images from here.