THE WORST OF THE WORST – NFL WEEK 2

TONY ROMO – There is no better way to completely ruin the opening night of a new billion dollar stadium than throwing three interceptions and basically giving the Giants 21 points. On the night that Jerry Jones’ enormous spectacle finally opened, quarterback Tony Romo showed why he is the most overrated player in the NFL.

Take your time and just try to think of someone more overrated… Did you think of anyone yet? It’s just not possible.

If it wasn’t for running backs Marion Barber and Felix Jones, the Cowboys would have been blown out. Romo made some terrible passes throughout the night, including three picks that looked like they were thrown right to the New York secondary. He might be able to throw all over the Tampa Bay defense, but the NFC East defenses are going to make his life miserable.

JEFF REED – It’s hard to place blame entirely on a kicker, but in this case it is kind of hard not to. In a hard-hitting typical Pittsburgh game, the Steelers had a couple opportunities to get ahead in the fourth quarter. But kicker Jeff Reed missed two (that’s right… two) field goals in the final 15 minutes from 38 and 43 yards out, respectively.

With less than 12 minutes to play, the Steelers faced a fourth-and-17 on Chicago’s 20 yard line when Jeff Reed went in for the field goal attempt. He could have put Pittsburgh up 17-7, but the ball went wide left. After a Bears touchdown, Reed had another opportunity to put the Steelers ahead, but the 43-yarder went wide left again. It is unacceptable for the defending champions to squander opportunities like that.

JIM ZORN – Zorn’s offense made five trips to the red zone and only came out with three field goals. Yes, Mike Sellers and Devin Thomas dropped easy touchdown passes, but other than that Zorn showed he has no confidence in his quarterback when he is within 20 yards from the end zone.

Zorn’s red zone play calling was horrendous to say the least. On the seven-yard line, Zorn called two running plays to Clinton Portis and gained a total of two yard, and then called a half-back pass to tight end Chris Cooley. Why is he so afraid of Jason Campbell in the red zone? He rarely throws interceptions and if it wasn’t for two dropped balls, Campbell would have two touchdown passes.

And to top that off, Zorn had the offense go for it on fourth-and-inches on the two-yard line. Washington could have just kicked a field goal, making the score 12-7 and forcing the Rams to have to score a touchdown to win with less than two minutes left (the reasonable and just plain smart call), but Zorn was too desperate. And of course, he called a horrible running play to the outside (a play that never worked throughout the game) and Portis lost two yards. Fortunately for Zorn and the Redskins, they were playing the Rams. - Michael Klopman

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Campbell Confusion

Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell just can’t get any love. The fans aren’t cutting him any slack. Analysts and writers are close to giving up on him all together. The Washington organization has even implied that it may have had enough of him already.

But the question that nobody has answered yet is… why?

The 27-year-old has started in 36 games since 2006 and has played in a different system each season. Campbell’s completion percentage, passer rating and touchdown passes have improved every year. Though he only threw 13 touchdown passes last season and only averaged 6.4 yards per pass, he only threw six interceptions and started to use his legs as a weapon. Yes, there has been a lack of the “big play,” but Campbell is still improving.

But after he makes a bad throw, fans immediately call for backup quarterbacks Colt Brennan and Chase Daniel. When owner Dan Snyder and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Vinny Cerrato had the chance to acquire quarterbacks Jay Cutler and Mark Sanchez, they pounced on the opportunity but came up short.

This season will be his fifth in the league and the third as starting quarterback at the beginning of the season – and it seems like he is playing for his job this year.

The Redskins 2008 story is simple.

- A new coach implemented a new system and it worked for the first half of the season.

- The offensive line was healthy and that opened up holes for Clinton Portis, who was an MVP candidate during the first eight games (including a five-game streak which he rushed for 120 yards or more).

- The healthy o-line and Portis helped open up the passing game, allowing Campbell to throw zero picks during half of the season and lead the Redskins to a 6-2 start.

- THEN, the offensive line fell apart. Portis was no longer a real threat as he collided with Coach Zorn and the media. And Campbell was sacked 22 times in the second half of the season, making it nearly impossible for the offense to score more than two touchdowns in a game (that only happened once in the second half of the season against San Francisco).

Everyone needs to realize that Jason Campbell is not the problem. The problem is the offensive linemen protecting the former Auburn Tiger. As his passing statistics improved each year, the number of sacks drastically increased too. Campbell was sacked a career-high 38 times in 2008. The blame shouldn’t go to the quarterback if he is lying on his back for the majority of the game. If the offensive line can stay healthy and keep Campbell on his feet, then the Redskins will be able to put up plenty of points. But that is a very big “if.” - Michael Klopman