FanHouse JoeGibbs

In Mike Wise's Washington Post column from this morning, you'll find a story about Jim Zorn and Joe Gibbs hanging out and shooting the proverbial, uh, well, you know. In it, you'll find discussions ranging from charity work to Zorn's admiration about the legacy Gibbs left as a great coach for the Washington Redskins.

Invariably, the subject of the Redskins' polarizing quarterback came up. Gibbs was specifically asked about how Jason Campbell handled the situation this offseason where the Redskins tried to replace him, not once, but twice. Alas, Jay Cutler is in Chicago and Mark Sanchez is in New York. The Redskins are "stuck" with Campbell and his big arm.

The following excerpt, including Gibbs' quote after he was asked if Campbell was mistreated, grabbed my eye.

Although it's tough for some fans and media (looks in mirror) to turn the page on the Redskins' "Anybody But Jason" offseason tour, the guy caught in the middle, Jason Campbell, has done just that. Unlike Jay Cutler, who bellyached his way out of Denver, Campbell (save one moment of weakness) has said all the right things. He's moved on -- even if we haven't -- and is looking toward the 2009 season.

Detractors like to point out that Campbell isn't consistent (or smart) enough to be an NFL starter, but they often leave out an important little fact: he's played in three different offenses in five seasons.

Filling in for an injured Jason Campbell, Todd Collins started the final three games of the 2007 regular season, winning all of them, and helped lead the Redskins to the playoffs. Even though he was in his mid-30s and a career backup, there were suddenly questions as to who the team's starter should be heading into '08.

During a January preseason test session at Daytona International Speedway 15 years ago, I asked NASCAR Cup driver Mark Martin who he thought would win the Super Bowl, which was only a couple days away.

"Who's in the Super Bowl?'' was his reply.

And to be fair -- in those humble days well before NASCAR's growth spurt -- most NFL players probably couldn't name a race outside of NASCAR's Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 or a stock car driver other than Richard Petty.

But those times are long gone and it speaks as much to how far NASCAR has evolved as to how popular the Super Bowl has become.

NASCAR is no longer the forgotten Southern stepchild of professional sports. The redneck stereotype is outdated and short-sighted and some of stock car's best are sharing the weekend Super Bowl spotlight right alongside the biggest names in sports and entertainment.

Here's what everyone will be talking about as the NASCAR haulers roll into Daytona International Speedway next month for the start of one the most unpredictable seasons in recent memory.

For those of you that still don't see Tony Stewart as a "glass half full" kind of guy, look no farther than the most ambitious project of his diverse career: Stewart Haas Racing.

I honestly believe that most Redskins fans don't really know what they think about Jim Zorn. I know I don't. He was a total surprise as the hire for the head coaching position. His first NFL game was horrible, but he then led his team to a 6-2 mark. Since then, Washington has lost four of five and are spiraling out of control.

He can be blamed for the playcalling, blamed for being in over his head, blamed for his brash style and blamed for not being Joe Gibbs.

The recent tift with Clinton Portis has rubbed many the wrong way. This marks the second time that Portis has publicly complained about Zorn. Zorn needs to watch it. Portis is a fan favorite and the biggest Redskins fan there is just happens to own the team. Daniel Snyder loves Clinton Portis and Zorn needs to remember that.

Not to say that a coach can't do something that isn't popular to his team if they need it. But Zorn's "benching" of Portis was very troubling. I mean, this is a guy who was one of the favorites to win the MVP award this season. I say was because his production has gone down and he's dragged the team down with him.

This isn't to say that Zorn was wrong.

The Redskins honored the late Sean Taylor by placing him in their Ring of Fame prior to yesterday's loss to the Giants. Sean's dad, Pedro Taylor, spoke to the crowd. As did Joe Gibbs, who made his first appearance at FedEx Field since retiring last January. Sean's daughter, Jackie, was held in the arms of her mother Jackie Garcia as a video of Sean's days in high school, the University of Miami, and the Redskins played.

It all ended when Clinton Portis, one of Taylor's best friends, ran onto the field carrying a flag with Taylor's No. 21 on it.

After the jump, catch the second part of the ceremony.

Retired Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington emerged from obscurity this week when he called former head coach/local savior/Jesus' right-hand man Joe Gibbs a coward, and suggested the only reason the Hall of Famer returned to the sidelines was to promote his NASCAR hobby.

Predictably, Redskins fans were unimpressed, and running back Clinton Portis, Arrington's former teammate, appeared on Michael Irvin's radio show to support Gibbs. Yesterday, Arrington, restaurateur and local television personality, was a guest on The Best Damn Sports Show Period to clarify his Gibbs-related comments.

If you don't have two-and-a-half minutes to watch the YouTubes, here's the CliffsNotes: LaVar admits that calling Gibbs a "coward" might've been a bit much. "Coward-like" is probably more appropriate.

Whatever you think of Arrington, he makes a fine point: Gibbs came back to clean up Lil' Danny's mess, except that after he had "all the key components in place," Gibbs left, and his alleged successor, Gregg Williams, got canned, which, as the Sports Bog's Dan Steinberg writes, "undermined the whole 'stability' mantra of Gibbs II."

Of course, Williams is having is own troubles trying to coordinate up the Jaguars defense, and Jim Zorn has been a pleasant surprise over the first half of the season, so maybe stability is overrated.

via Le Bog Sportif

Last week, former Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington unloaded on Hall of Fame head coach, NASCAR sugar daddy, and all-round swell guy Joe Gibbs. Arrington called Gibbs a "coward" and suggested the only reason he returned to coaching in 2004 was to pimp his racing team.

Predictably, just about everybody sided with Gibbs, and now that list includes current Redskins running back and former Arrington teammate Clinton Portis.

Portis appeared on Michael Irvin's radio show and offered this (via the Sports Bog):

Special thanks to a collegiate official for sending along the NFL rules ... and I'll note here that it's maddening the NFL doesn't provide it's official rulebook anywhere online like the MLB does.

Anyway, remember the question about why the officials let the play clock run out on Eli Manning when he tried to call back-to-back timeouts?

People were wondering why Joe Gibbs was penalized 15 last year for doing the same thing?

Well, it's not the same thing at all. Gibbs was trying to "freeze the kicker." The NFL has a specific rule to deal with this ...


Just as I suspected ... and as usual ... the officials got the call correct in both cases.