Jason Campbell’s passing numbers are fluctuating right around the league average this year, which anyone would take knowing how deep the problems run on the offense. The problem is that Campbell’s numbers have not translating to an acceptable amount of points.

It’s ESPN Monday Night Football’s Ron Jaworski who always remarks that “points come out of the passing game.” For the Redskins, the points don’t come from anywhere, least of all the passing game. And it’s not like you can blame anything that is happening in the pocket for this…the pocket is a completely relative term with this team.

My question here is whether or not the Redskins would benefit from getting an outside-the-pocket passing game. That probably involves changing around the skill position talent, since if Jason Campbell/the passing offense has a primary failing, it’s that nothing good happens when they break the pocket.

The Redskins would have to undergo a great change in philosophy, but are there guys who can make plays outside the pocket on the market, and should the Redskins get one?

First, let’s examine what I am talking about when I mean “making plays outside the pocket.” I am specifically not talking about run-first players. I am not suggesting the Redskins start running the veer. Our team is not going to trade in Jason Campbell for someone who can’t see over the five guys trying to protect him. You think that’s going to improve the sack rate?

At this point, the question is: are you willing to trade in a small amount of competency from the pocket, for a passer who still provides a threat outside the tackles. Think along the lines of Carson Palmer. When Palmer’s line was falling apart the last two seasons, he wasn’t as good in the pocket as Campbell has been the last two seasons. But the Bengals still scored more points with him in the lineup than with Ryan Fitzpatrick not because of the play from the pocket, but because of the completions made after extending the play.

I admire Jason Campbell’s play within the pocket, but the Redskins don’t have good route running receivers. If the Redskins could extend the play, perhaps they could get production from the receivers.

There’s two problems here.

Problem #1: The Redskins OL isn’t competent enough to support play extension

Ah, the offensive line. Destroyer of all hopes.

It would not take a record-setting improvement for the offensive line to reach a point where it could support an outside the pocket passing game. Note that I’m not talking about calling plays that move the pocket. That’s something that every OL can support. I’m suggesting that the type of lineman that the Redskins employ simply are not aggressive enough in their pass blocking style to open the edge for an outside the pocket passing game.

On passing plays, the Redskins don’t win the battle at the LOS because they simply never try to. They’ll give your defensive ends a free release, and they will try to use their momentum to run them out of the play. This is, stylistically, a west coast blocking game. By giving up the ability to stone elite rushers at a line, it opens up throwing lanes for a quarterback to make quick decisions and pick match-ups. The trade-off is this finesse approach to pass blocking allows defensive lines to systematically collapse the pocket and pin the quarterback in there. If the defense wins at coverage initially, the offense has lost. The west coast emphasizes receiver route running as a pass protection of sorts. The Redskins receivers are notoriously horrible route runners.

Stephon Heyer is good for this blocking system, but ironically, he’s the only lineman I feel is aggressive enough to support a different blocking scheme aimed at winning at the line. Players like Derrick Dockery, Mike Williams, Will Montgomery, and Casey Rabach are simply too passive to properly attack a quick defensive line and beat them up front, getting them out of their lanes.

Problem #2: If you want an outside the pocket passing game, you’ll pay for it…

…with the things that the Redskins can most ill-afford: draft choices.

If you’re looking to change your offensive philosophy from a passive style to an aggressive style, it’s going to cost you. That running back who offers excellent pass blocking, but little route running ability and rushing aggressive-ness: he’s not helpful to you. To get production out of a pocket player like Jason Campbell, you need to fortify the system you already have. To get production out of a player who can get outside the pocket while looking downfield, you first have to acquire him, and then the players who will help him extend the play.

How do you get a new RB, a new QB, two new tackles, and a new threat on the interior OL with just two picks in the first three rounds and three in the first four? You either go halfway and end up like Michigan in 2008, or you spend some money or dangle some 2011 draft choices in a trade to get the personnel.

The biggest issue is that proven players who make plays outside the pocket simply aren’t available on the market. Names like Garrard, Bulger, Hasselbeck, Pennington: these are all guys who make all their plays from the pocket, albeit with varying degrees of mobility. I’d put Jason Campbell’s mobility up against any of them and would probably win, but that doesn’t fix the issue that these guys are not out-of-pocket players.

If you want to acquire that quarterback who will make plays on the run, you have to draft him. And that limitation disqualifies potential draft values such as Cincinnati’s Tony Pike, or the injured Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford. How much do you want to pay to get Jimmy Clausen’s out of pocket accuracy, or Colt McCoy’s dual-threat ability, or the athleticism of Dan Lefevour? And how to you evaluate the spread offense players of the group? Do you reach on Zac Robinson or Jake Locker because they offer a skill you want to value? Is that not the same mistake the Redskins just made with Devin Thomas?

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Getting an outside-the-pocket threat sounds great in theory, and some would argue it’s the answer to the Redskins’ problems. After all, if you’re going to rebuild, why not go with the times and get the quarterback who can work from the pocket as well as getting on the edge and making plays down the field?

No, it’s not the right plan for the Redskins because it offers too many chances to screw up in the building of this offense. The last thing you want to do is eliminate potential draftees because they don’t fit with the type of team you want to be. That’s not how you rebuild. The Redskins need to add the talent first, then scheme around it secondly. Right now, the Redskins are ill-equipped to score points by getting outside the pocket in the passing game.

When you consider that the Redskins will either need to rebuild their receiving corps on the cheap, or rebuild their offense on the cheap to get production out of their receivers, it’s hard to argue that the Redskins should be targeting strong route runners, as well as aggressive lineman, late in the draft rather than spending high picks on specific offensive backs, and just hoping they get it right on the rest of the offense.