Against Quarterbacks

First NFL game of the season tonight. I've thought things over and, damnit, if I'm going to live in DC the rest of my life (and I probably am), then it's time for me to become a Redskins fan. Conveniently, I can kick things off by defending Joe Gibbs against Bill Simmons' smears:

To the dumbest plan of the year: the Redskins investing in two free agent receivers (Antwan Randle-El and Brandon Lloyd) and an expensive offensive coordinator (Al Saunders) to go with their expensive gamebreakers (Clinton Portis and Santana Moss) … only they're going with a washed-up Mark Brunell at QB again. How does that make sense?

I like this plan. Quarterbacks are overemphasized. Obviously, a star quarterback is a wonderful thing to have. But saying your team could use one is kind of like saying your NBA team needs a dominant big man. Personally, I need a pony. The question is, what can you do about it? It's not like there was some no-brainer alternative available. Brunell, who's clearly not a great quarterback, nevertheless QBed the team to a winning season. Then the idea is to add some parts -- Randle-El, Lloyd, Saunders -- that count as clear upgrades over what the offense used to have, and you stand a very good shot of doing better next time. The only real alternative would have been some kind of crapshoot or else just doing nothing.