3 starts (3-0)
Completion % = 61.7% (79/128)
1032 yrds – 5 TD - 0 INT – 100.1 – 9 sacks
SweetDCSports is giving a little lesson in Meso-American mythology. Quetzalcoatl (pronounced "Ket-zal-quatl") was a deity that was represented by a feathered serpent and was worshiped as the bringer of civilization and protector of craftsman by the Aztecs. The story goes that Quetzlcoatl brought forth humans onto this earth by collecting their bones from the underworld, and gave them the knowledge to create calendars and books. The myth states that he left the lands, but some legends state that Quetzlcoatl would return from across the ocean because he was associated with the winds and the sea. This myth fits the story of Todd Collins' Redskins story perfectly because it almost seemed as if Collins was destined to become a starter of the Washington Redskins, and his accomplishments would give every Redskins fan hope that we could comeback from 5-7 every season after that. (Destiny Side Notes: Any bolded names or phrases mean to check the Side Notes at the end of this article. Collins had so many ties to the Redskins before he came here they require their own section.)
Collins went to Michigan from 1990-1994 where he would be the starter his last two years. Collins would set the Michigan record for career completion percentage (64.28%) that still stands today, and he is still one of the top 5 quarterbacks in Michigan history in many statistical categories including yards and passing efficiency. He would be drafted by the Bills in 1995, and he would replace Jim Kelly after Kelly retired in 1996. He spent the 1997 season as the Bills starter after beating out Alex Van Pelt and Billy Joe Hobert, but the Bills would replace Collins with Rob Johnson and Doug Flutie in 1998. Collins would be signed by the Chiefs where he would be third string behind Rich Gannon and Warren Moon. Collins would not take another snap in an NFL game until 2001 when he would be the backup to Trent Green. Collins would appear in 12 games for the Chiefs between 2001-2005, but never get to start until the Redskins came calling.
Even though the Redskins made the playoffs in 2005, their offense with Mark Brunell was anemic and Snyder thought they needed an offensive mind that had not taken a decade off from football to implement a more dynamic offense. Enter Al Saunders. Saunders was tagged as the new offensive guru, but the problem was that his playbook was apparently the equivalent of a "How to Build and Sustain Your Own Nuclear Reactor" manual. Saunders felt that he needed a quarterback who knew his system and could teach the other quarterbacks how to run it. Luckily, Saunders had come from Kansas City and Todd Collins was just the guy. Collins was signed by the Redskins in 2006, but he would not see any game action until his magical 2007 season.
Campbell was the unquestioned starter in 2007, and it looked like Collins would continue to be the career backup QB after he won the role from Mark Brunell in the offseason, especially after the Redskins began the season 5-3. The Redskins, though, would lose their next three games and on November 27 Sean Taylor died in Florida. Football took a backseat to real life at that point, but the Redskins played on and lost their subsequent home game to the Bills after Joe Gibbs called two timeouts in a row that moved the Bills' final field go from 51 yards to 36 yards. Jason Campbell would injure his knee in the next game against the Bears, and all seemed lost for the 5-7 Redskins. But little did they know that Quetzlcoatl would save them.
Todd Collins would finish that game and win the next three to lead the Redskins into the playoffs for the second time in three years. The stats listed above are from the four games he played that season, and everyone was in a frenzy about the unbelievable run the Redskins had to make the playoffs and how a big part of that was due to the play of Todd Collins. The Redskins, though, would once again lose to Seattle in the playoffs in a wild game that saw the Redskins come back from down 13-0 to go up 14-13. On the ensuing kickoff, the Seahawks let the ball hit the ground at the 10 yardline and the Redskins recovered it at the Seattle 14. The Redskins had all the momentum, but they failed to even get a field goal out of that drive, and Collins would throw two pick-sixes to seal the deal for the Seahawks. Collins would stay on the Redskins' roster for the next two seasons, but he would never get another start after the playoff game in Seattle, much to the dismay of a large part of the fan base. Collins would leave the Redskins after the 2009 season, and play one more year with the Bears before retiring at the end of the 2010 season.
Collins' magic gave every Redskins fan hope that we could do it again. Collins was only here for a brief time (like Quetzlcoatl) and when the Redskins would be below .500 with four or five games remaining at the end of the season they would say "Well, Todd Collins won four games in a row, so we can do it again". Redskins fans assumed that the spirit of Todd Collins would return (like Quetzlcoatl) but it would be another 5 years before the Redskins would make a run like that again. Still, every Redskins fan who is old enough will remember that Todd Collins run forever.
NFL Side Notes: When Collins made his first start with the Redskins on Dec. 16, 2007 against the Giants he made NFL History. Collins set the record for longest time between NFL starts (10 years and 2 days) with his last NFL start being on Dec. 14, 1997.
Destiny Side Notes: Collins was the starting quarterback for Michigan when Kordell Stewart threw his famous Hail Mary pass to beat the Wolverines. The man who caught that pass? Michael Westbrook, who would be the Redskins first round draft pick later that year. Billy Joe Hobert played alongside Mark Brunell at the University of Washington, and replaced Brunell for most of the 1991 season when Brunell was injured. Collins' last start for the Bills came against Mark Brunell and the Jaguars, which would be the last start he would have as a professional until he came to Washington. Rob Johnson would replace Collins on the Bills' roster after being Mark Brunell's backup in Jacksonville. Collins replaced Mark Brunell as the Redskins' backup in 2007. not take another snap in an NFL game until 2001: In fact, Collins would only appear in one game that season and throw 4 passes. That game was against Tony Banks and the Washington Redskins. Trent Green and Rich Gannon were starters in Washington at one point before being the starter in Kansas City. Collins would be the backup for both before coming to the Redskins.
SweetDCSports is giving a little lesson in Meso-American mythology. Quetzalcoatl (pronounced "Ket-zal-quatl") was a deity that was represented by a feathered serpent and was worshiped as the bringer of civilization and protector of craftsman by the Aztecs. The story goes that Quetzlcoatl brought forth humans onto this earth by collecting their bones from the underworld, and gave them the knowledge to create calendars and books. The myth states that he left the lands, but some legends state that Quetzlcoatl would return from across the ocean because he was associated with the winds and the sea. This myth fits the story of Todd Collins' Redskins story perfectly because it almost seemed as if Collins was destined to become a starter of the Washington Redskins, and his accomplishments would give every Redskins fan hope that we could comeback from 5-7 every season after that. (Destiny Side Notes: Any bolded names or phrases mean to check the Side Notes at the end of this article. Collins had so many ties to the Redskins before he came here they require their own section.)
Collins went to Michigan from 1990-1994 where he would be the starter his last two years. Collins would set the Michigan record for career completion percentage (64.28%) that still stands today, and he is still one of the top 5 quarterbacks in Michigan history in many statistical categories including yards and passing efficiency. He would be drafted by the Bills in 1995, and he would replace Jim Kelly after Kelly retired in 1996. He spent the 1997 season as the Bills starter after beating out Alex Van Pelt and Billy Joe Hobert, but the Bills would replace Collins with Rob Johnson and Doug Flutie in 1998. Collins would be signed by the Chiefs where he would be third string behind Rich Gannon and Warren Moon. Collins would not take another snap in an NFL game until 2001 when he would be the backup to Trent Green. Collins would appear in 12 games for the Chiefs between 2001-2005, but never get to start until the Redskins came calling.
Even though the Redskins made the playoffs in 2005, their offense with Mark Brunell was anemic and Snyder thought they needed an offensive mind that had not taken a decade off from football to implement a more dynamic offense. Enter Al Saunders. Saunders was tagged as the new offensive guru, but the problem was that his playbook was apparently the equivalent of a "How to Build and Sustain Your Own Nuclear Reactor" manual. Saunders felt that he needed a quarterback who knew his system and could teach the other quarterbacks how to run it. Luckily, Saunders had come from Kansas City and Todd Collins was just the guy. Collins was signed by the Redskins in 2006, but he would not see any game action until his magical 2007 season.
Campbell was the unquestioned starter in 2007, and it looked like Collins would continue to be the career backup QB after he won the role from Mark Brunell in the offseason, especially after the Redskins began the season 5-3. The Redskins, though, would lose their next three games and on November 27 Sean Taylor died in Florida. Football took a backseat to real life at that point, but the Redskins played on and lost their subsequent home game to the Bills after Joe Gibbs called two timeouts in a row that moved the Bills' final field go from 51 yards to 36 yards. Jason Campbell would injure his knee in the next game against the Bears, and all seemed lost for the 5-7 Redskins. But little did they know that Quetzlcoatl would save them.
Todd Collins would finish that game and win the next three to lead the Redskins into the playoffs for the second time in three years. The stats listed above are from the four games he played that season, and everyone was in a frenzy about the unbelievable run the Redskins had to make the playoffs and how a big part of that was due to the play of Todd Collins. The Redskins, though, would once again lose to Seattle in the playoffs in a wild game that saw the Redskins come back from down 13-0 to go up 14-13. On the ensuing kickoff, the Seahawks let the ball hit the ground at the 10 yardline and the Redskins recovered it at the Seattle 14. The Redskins had all the momentum, but they failed to even get a field goal out of that drive, and Collins would throw two pick-sixes to seal the deal for the Seahawks. Collins would stay on the Redskins' roster for the next two seasons, but he would never get another start after the playoff game in Seattle, much to the dismay of a large part of the fan base. Collins would leave the Redskins after the 2009 season, and play one more year with the Bears before retiring at the end of the 2010 season.
Collins' magic gave every Redskins fan hope that we could do it again. Collins was only here for a brief time (like Quetzlcoatl) and when the Redskins would be below .500 with four or five games remaining at the end of the season they would say "Well, Todd Collins won four games in a row, so we can do it again". Redskins fans assumed that the spirit of Todd Collins would return (like Quetzlcoatl) but it would be another 5 years before the Redskins would make a run like that again. Still, every Redskins fan who is old enough will remember that Todd Collins run forever.
NFL Side Notes: When Collins made his first start with the Redskins on Dec. 16, 2007 against the Giants he made NFL History. Collins set the record for longest time between NFL starts (10 years and 2 days) with his last NFL start being on Dec. 14, 1997.
Destiny Side Notes: Collins was the starting quarterback for Michigan when Kordell Stewart threw his famous Hail Mary pass to beat the Wolverines. The man who caught that pass? Michael Westbrook, who would be the Redskins first round draft pick later that year. Billy Joe Hobert played alongside Mark Brunell at the University of Washington, and replaced Brunell for most of the 1991 season when Brunell was injured. Collins' last start for the Bills came against Mark Brunell and the Jaguars, which would be the last start he would have as a professional until he came to Washington. Rob Johnson would replace Collins on the Bills' roster after being Mark Brunell's backup in Jacksonville. Collins replaced Mark Brunell as the Redskins' backup in 2007. not take another snap in an NFL game until 2001: In fact, Collins would only appear in one game that season and throw 4 passes. That game was against Tony Banks and the Washington Redskins. Trent Green and Rich Gannon were starters in Washington at one point before being the starter in Kansas City. Collins would be the backup for both before coming to the Redskins.
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