Why Everyone Should Love Jason Campbell

by BigOLinemen on Jul 29, 2009 10:34 AM EDT

There has been a lot of talk this offseason about getting another quarterback. First Jay Cutler, then Mark Sanchez, then everyone at ESPN seems to think we are going to go after Vick, even though Cerrato has said no. Many people believe Todd Collins is a better choice, and of course there is Colt Brennan's cult following that wants him to start. There are even a few people who believe Chase Daniel may turn out like Colt. But has everyone forgotten the good of Jason Campbell? He lead Auburn to an undefeated season, he is a proven winner. I think there are a couple good points that everyone forgets, why we all should love Jason Campbell.

One: The PHYSICAL Adjustment to a New System. Jason Campbell is known for being faster then average, and having a very strong arm. He is not inaccurate, but he is not known as an accurate quarterback. His decision making is normally smart, but still makes a number of mistakes. Sure, he may now know the West Coast system, but his athletic talent is not built for the West Coast system, and he has to adjust his body to it too. Take Matt Hasselbeck as a typical West Coast quarterback. Doesn't have a super strong arm, very accurate, almost never scrambles, does not make many mistakes. The West Coast system is a big adjustment for Campbell, if we give him the time to adjust, he may just bring some of his impressive Auburn seasons to Washington.

Two: The 2010 Quarterback Battle (Without Campbell). The 2010 quarterback battle could be horrible mystery that leaves all Redskin fans wondering what is going on. At first glance, it would Colt Brennan versus Todd Collins, which would be okay, but that is unlikely. If Chase Daniel made the team, there would only be 3 quarterbacks on the roster, and very little experience. I am unaware of what 2010's free agency brings, quarterback wise, but I know Micheal Vick might be looked at. If he gets signed this year, it will probably be a one year contract. The Redskins might look for a veteran talent, and Micheal Vick could get picked up. The draft would also add to the chaotic quarterback battle. A guy like Sam Bradford would probably get drafted too early, so a person like Tim Tebow, who I could easily imagine Snyder falling in love with, would probably get picked. Now, a quarterback battle involving Colt Brennan, Todd Collins, Micheal Vick, Tim Tebow, and Chase Daniel is unlikely, but remember, this is the Redskins. If Snyder wants to find the best quarterback he can get, he'll bring every quarterback he can get into camp.

Maybe this hasn't convinced you, but I definitely trust Campbell over any other quarterback that we could get right now. He has not proved himself as a winning NFL quarterback, but those first 8 games last year he played mistake free football. He may not have won any games by throwing 4 touchdown passes, or 400 yards passing, but he didn't lose games. Look to see him play more mistake free football this year, but add some more touchdowns, and not an end season collapse. I see consitancy this year, he may throw some picks, but I doubt to see a lot, and I bet he'll average at least 2 touchdowns a game, and less then 1 interception a game.

So, do you agree with me that Campbell should be our QB of the Future? Or do you believe the Redskins need to pick someone else?

Poll

Jason Campbell. What does the future hold for him?

Good season with the Skins. Resigned to a good contract.

129 votes

Bad season with the Skins. Not resigned. Becomes a bust.

26 votes

Bad season with the Skins. Not resigned. Becomes great elsewhere.

20 votes

Great season with the Skins. Does not resign because of hurt feelings.

31 votes

Skins resign him no matter what.

9 votes

215 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

I agree, but...

So, do you agree with me that Campbell should be our QB of the Future? Or do you believe the Redskins need to pick someone else?

I think that Campbell should be the quarterback of our future and has the skill to be, but he won’t be coming back next year. If he has a career season like a lot of us think he will, then he’s going to sign with another team that needs a quarterback. If he has a bad season, likely because the second year receivers don’t pan out and the line isn’t giving him time, then he’ll be a back up on another team next year.

I would love to be wrong and see Campbell stay in Washington, but I just don’t see it happening.

by TheLastStraw05 on Jul 29, 2009 10:52 AM EDT reply actions

Not a homer

But i like Campbell, give me some consistency that everybody says we need, then lets judge the man. I’m behind, but also will be behind whoever under center. ’Skins!

I'm to young to Die Danny...don't make me do it tomorrow....

by Rekka on Jul 29, 2009 10:52 AM EDT reply actions

My 2 cents

Campbell no doubt will improve this year. The big question is SnyderratoZorn content enough with letting him continue his build and not being a homerun hitter out of the gates.

What stats are enough? Man..can you imagine if Drew Brees was a free agent this off-season???

by Kevin Ewoldt on Jul 29, 2009 1:51 PM EDT reply actions

Disagree Completely

I’ve watched this guy get pass after pass from media outlets, coaches, fans and the team… It’s one of those “I can’t bash my QB or I’m considered a cancer” for the players.

The guy averages approx. 200 yds passing per game for his career. and 13 touchdowns on the SEASON, that’s terrible. The guy did basically everything possible to NOT FAIL and still only had an 87 QB Rating.

Watch the games from last season…and seasons prior. It doesn’t take a “west coast QB” to hit a receiver IN THE CHEST on 7 yd out or crossing pattern, but Campbell consistantly throws the ball too far behind (negating advancement of play) or too high (same result and potentially getting his boys killed across the middle) and sometimes in the dirt.

His “strong arm” argument stinks when most vertical passes are short…

His progression thru his receivers is a disgrace. it’s either A) primary receiver only, B) Primary then immedately to checkdown or C) changes the call at the line instantly to his checkdown. Not to mention his coverage reading / blitz reads leaves much to be desired. He’s so afraid to fail, he doesn’t have a chance to be good.

you’ll notice that during the 6-2 start from last season, Portis carried the offense, as teams respected the redskins and the passing game (for some unknown reason) and as soon as they realized that Campbell can’t hit the big pass and you only have to key on Portis, they started doubling Moss and stacking the box. poof! 2-6 finish. No team is going to respect the redskins passing game with JC at the helm.

Joe Gibbs gave up on the guy when he was drafted… sticking with Brunell (and obviously over-the-hill veteran) than giving campbell a chance. Then when he couldn’t avoid it anymore, Campbell had 1/2 a season to prove he was decent, and the skins did NOTHING until he was hurt and Collins took over. Gibby knew he had a sinking ship with no captain to run it… so he retired. He knew better… and in his interview on redskins.com is STILL non-commital that JC can take the redskins to a superbowl and be the franchise QB he’s touted to be. “he has the physical tools” “he’s done well mentally handling things” but never once did he say “yes, he can do it” … becuase he knows better. As should the fans that watch the team.

Maybe there’s not a better option this season. Collins is a system QB. There’s a reason he was a career backup w/ KC… Colt is an unknown, and smaller/sidearm QB’s don’t make it too often in the NFL (minus doug flutie and maybe bernie kosar). but mark my words… campbell will be done after this season w/ the redskins. and we’ll be lucky to get 8 wins this season … the wins we get will be based on defense and portis, just like last season.

if anyone can give me a reason to trust in JC… a REAL reason, legitimally backed up with stats and facts, i’d love to see it.

I want to see the redskins win, i bleed burgandy and gold… it’s painful to be able to write off another season, before it even begins. we’re not getting better keeping JC as the starter, we’re treading water at best.

by Scofield on Jul 29, 2009 3:36 PM EDT reply actions

Whats wrong with an 87 QB rating

The past two SB champs QB ratings were 73.9 (Eli) and Rapist (80.1). Yea it doesn’t take a West Coast QB but it doesn’t help that you smurf WR running west coast routes. Furthermore, I wouldn’t put the collapse after going 6-2 on JC, it was Zorns inability to adapt his gameplan/playcalling.

Gibbs gave up on Campbell for Brunell?? Come on dude, seriously? Brunell went 3-6 and then JC had his shot. And who is to say that Campbell wouldn’t have done the same thing as Collins, yea Collins played effciently, but how do you know it wasn’t the team playing with a purpose after Sean’s death? The games that Collins won the Giants played one of the worst games I have ever seen them play on a night with horrible weather, and then the Vikings and Cowboys didn’t show up to play both teams were terrible.

And Gibbs retired b/c of his family and grandchildren, not b/c this was a team with no leaders. In terms of NFL teams I think the Skins have a core group of guys that act as if they were family and look after each other more than any other franchise and I attribute a lot of that to Gibbs and Snyder learning from Gibbs.

You want a real reason to trust JC? Look at his offseaon work ethic and watch the results of his ’09 season!

by Parks Smith on Jul 29, 2009 4:02 PM EDT up reply actions

I adhere your point on an 87 QB rating… being better than the last 2 SB winners. Good call.

Smurf receivers can catch and run just like others. and in a west coast system… the routes are designed to get the receivers max space. there really isn’t any “threading the needle” on a 5 yard in. and short receivers are still trying to catch balls behind them. (ps… Cooley may not be the tallest guy, but he’s a big boy and creates plenty of seperation that’s not being exploited)

Brunell went 3-6

Exactly… Brunell went 3-6, was terrible, and Gibbs still wouldn’t turn to Campbell until the next season when he HAD to.

And who is to say that Campbell wouldn’t have done the same thing as Collins, yea Collins played effciently, but how do you know it wasn’t the team playing with a purpose after Sean’s death? The games that Collins won the Giants played one of the worst games I have ever seen them play on a night with horrible weather, and then the Vikings and Cowboys didn’t show up to play both teams were terrible.

These all seem like strange coincidences… Collins knew the system and ran it effectively. Campbell could not do that, and it showed. The Vikings, Giants, and Cowboys all got beat by Collins and the Skins… “Whose to say” and “What if’s” don’t constitute as reasons/facts. The fact is Jason Campbell couldn’t run the team better than Collins did. I’m not a Collins fan, but he played better.

Also, JC played in the Bills game (which the skins lost) and Started the Bears game (4 days later) after Sean’s death… and still wasn’t doing the job. Todd came in and took the reigns that JC couldn’t carry.

Don’t you find it coincidental that Gibbs left after this season with 2 years left on his contact and not much coming thru the pipeline to help??

Yes… I want to trust in something that isn’t gonna happen. That’s not a real reason (2009 season) for trust… that’s a hope. I’d love to be proven wrong, 100% hope that’s the case… but I’m 99.9% sure I’m calling it like it is.

by Scofield on Jul 29, 2009 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions

When Brunell went 3-6 Gibbs didn’t turn to Campbell? Who started the last 7 games?

And just for the record against the Bears JC was 10/16 and had thrown for over 100 yds in about 1 quarter of play.

And no I don’t find it coincidental that Gibbs left b/c there was “nothing” in the pipeline but I do find it coincidental that he retired when his grand son was diagnosed with leukimia…

by Parks Smith on Jul 29, 2009 4:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Do you really think

That all of the problems with the offense last season can be attributed to poor decision-making and poor accuracy on Campbell’s part?

So that would mean that …

A new offensive system being implemented by a novice playcaller was a non-factor?

Significant injuries to starters on the offensive line in Samuels (knee and tricep, required surgery), Thomas (neck, required surgery) and Heyer (Shoulder) were non-factors?

A knee injury to Portis against Pittsburgh that he played through for the rest of the season with a crumbling O-line was a non-factor?

Wide receivers that couldn’t get open, ran the wrong routes, dropped passes, and drew penalties were non-factors?

A game-changing QB like a Brady, Peyton, and Rapisberger might have overcome some of those issues. I wouldn’t argue that Campbell is at that level, or that he has given any indication that his potential is at that level. I will argue that he was downright impressive in the first half of the season, going through his progressions and breaking out some long runs for first downs when we needed them.

And I think that its not foolish to believe that the factors I listed above will be improved upon drastically this season.

by Boo. on Jul 29, 2009 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

jc sucks

guys who are u fooling im a die hard skins fan but jc sucks he is a another heath shuler at qb we need to put colt in at least he can get the ball down field and score points as long as jc is in there we are not going to score many points at all and yes if we have jc playing qb we will be lucky if we go 8-8 if we are lucky jc has been givin chances after chances and he still cant score points you can make all the excuses you want about jc has had to learn different offenses every year but thats bullshit look at matt ryan or flacco whats there excuses there arent any is there stop making excuses for jc and open your eyes he is not our QB for the future he is nothing more than a HUGE DRAFT BUST AGAIN LIKE HEATH SHULER try colt this year and you wont be SORRY at least he will score points

by washingtonwin on Jul 29, 2009 5:38 PM EDT reply actions

u suck

look at Heath Schuler highlight/stats and compare him to Jason Campbell’s. You dont know anything about football if you think that moving a 190 pound second year third string unproven quarterback who has never played a regular season game to replace a monster 2.5 year starter like JC.

The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer. ~ John Madden

by campbell4prez on Jul 29, 2009 7:27 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

If Campbell fails

it will be because the FO failed him. Underwhelming recievers with injury problems, unispired predictable playcalling, changing the system on him every year, cruddy O-line the last 2 years, Bringing in Al Saunders and Zorn becuase they were hot names even though their systems did not play to his strengths at all, a coaching staff the runs down ths starting rb so bad every season he limps through the second half. Is that how you develop a young QB? Campbell has been one of the classiest hardest working redskins in recent memory and has bounced back from some horrific hits that would have put other qb’s out for the season.

by BayAreaBullet on Jul 29, 2009 11:06 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

right on

You hit the nail right on the head which is why the next QB would fail just as JC did. At this point I think JC is playing to look good enough to get a shot somewhere else – somewhere without all the FO and coaching problems.

by ZakInOmaha on Jul 30, 2009 9:13 AM EDT up reply actions

Boo are you kidding me with the accuracy?

like i said in another post i listened to the guys on redskins.com today and they were thinking and not playing. and just for the record i think most of the true redskin fans would take an incompletion over and interception. boy i hope jc doesnt read this stuff because its just down right horrible. way to have the back of your hometown quarterback. i love the guy because he put up with so much crap this off season that i hope the redskins do trade him or release and he goes somewhere else and wins a superbowl. i bleed burgundy and gold but the treatment this man is getting is pathetic. GO JASON if no one else has faith in you I DO.

by caps, skins, terps on Aug 1, 2009 8:31 AM EDT reply actions

i meant an interception. and if you watch this guy in his interviews he remains a redskin the entire interview and never disgruntled. boy i dont know if i should even read or come in here anymore. redskins fan for 39 years i was born in 70. right around the corner from RFK in southeast washington dc. i have just never seen impatience on the part of redskin fans like i do today. i know most of you were around when the skins won it all in 88 and again in the early 90’s. i enjoy watching football but for the redskins to win again we have to have a fanbase the supports our entire team not rip the quarterback who had nothing to with portis slacking later in the season and the offensive line falling apart. if anything we need a fresh set of legs at running back and portis situational. no body talks about that. and truthfully moss is really getting old, hes good but old.

by caps, skins, terps on Aug 1, 2009 8:40 AM EDT up reply actions

Good write up

but being around that long you should know that that’s the nature of the beast in D.C. The truth is, we’ve NEVER had a GREAT QB here. And everyone’s always pining for the next guy. I remember people screaming for Stan Humphries to play over Rypien in ’90, then Rypien wins the Superbowl the following year. DC fans love the backup QB, until he becomes the starter.

That said, I agree. We need to see what Campbell can do under normal circumstances for once. He hasn’t had normal circumstances one time in his career. Whether it be new system after new system, makeshift O-line, 1 quality receiver, an offensive coordinator with one philosophy and a head coach with another, or a rookie head coach who decides midway through the season to ditch his aggressive play calling. No, Campbell is not a great QB. May never be. But as Washington fans we should know more than anyone that you don’t need a great QB to win it all. But just saying Campbell “sucks he sucks JC sucks Campbell sucks he can’t score he sucks his shoes are ugly he sucks he puts ketchup on his eggs he sucks he sucks he sucks” – it gets old. And tiring. Especially reading a whole pararaph without punctuation. But let me ask you this, if JC sucks so bad, how did he get his tight end AND his #1 receiver into the Pro Bowl?

by CJHutch on Aug 3, 2009 8:53 AM EDT up reply actions

wait and see

As for JC- This guy has had a different system each year he has been under center. Name 1 good, or decent, qb that has had a dxifferent system to learn each year he is in the league! Then think of the great QBs. Start at the top, brady probably the best, the rapist, farve, Marino, Montana… All these QBs had a system they could grow onto. They had 1 philosophy, the same termanology, and with time they knew the playbook so well, they were playing and reacting- rather than thinking. Rather than blasting JC, we as fans should commend him, and offer him the confidence, hope and faith we have in him becoming an upper tear QB. He really has not had a chance to get comfortable with a playbook, or coach for that matter, so we havent truley seen him on a level scale in order to evaluate his talent. Hdere is what i do know- This dude has got poise. All the BS he went through thiss offseason, all the coaching changes, playbook changes, and press breathing down his neck, he has stayed calm cool and collected. He has never caused a distraction, or complained. He accepted his critics thoughts and took it as a challenge. Mentally, this is a guy I want running my offense. Calm cool and collected.
Another thing JC has is a monster arm. The accuracy will come as he gets more comfortable with the system. He can move around in the pocket, and run for good yards when needed. , but thankfully, he is a passer first, not one of those running QBs that cant throw.
JC will become a leader on and off the field for this team, provided that he gets the time to establish himself in a system he can master. I imagine its gotta be hard to tell the WRs and TEs what or how to do a play- when system wise everyone is a rookie when a new coach and system comes in to power. JC has the tools, the brains, and the personality of a great QB. Give him the confidence and mastery of a system and we will once again have a great QB in the burgundy and gold! PS IF THEY GET VICK I WILL UNLEASH MY PITBULLS ON HIM CERRATO AND SNYDER! GO JC I BELIEVE IN YOU!!!! ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE GREAT # 17

I HATE THE EAGLES, despise the GIANTS, and ABHORE the DALLAS COWBOYS, and wish them only persistant injuries, and continued chokes! It makes me ill when they are referred to as Americas team. How they were given that title escapes me.... BUT, please remember it is those teams that I do not like. I have no ill will to their fans. So hopefully we can have interesting and well thought out discussions on the upcoming season. Looking forward to getting started.

by skinsfan4life75 on Aug 2, 2009 5:47 PM EDT reply actions

JC's the man!

How can you not like him? Smart but still learning, great arm, tall, stays healthy and stays out of trouble. Better QB rating than last 2 Super Bowl winners. Has had a horrible, injured O-Line almost the whole time and has had to learn a new system every year. Everyone around the league was salivating when the rumors were going around we were shopping him. This guy is a winner who seeks out advice from other winners like Brett Favre. If we can put a good team around him, we’ll see it.

by GeoFly on Aug 7, 2009 11:56 AM EDT reply actions

the problem is no one will wait and see

i dont mean to make this a racial issue but we DA SKINS were the first team to win a superbowl with a black quarterback. and i stil think we will be the only team to win with a black qb. now saying that this is my take. big al told vince young he needs to leave tennessee so that means that if JC fails this which i think he wont the redskins are going after vince young because albert said so. but i still think jason is the greatest personality at qb in the nfl taking all the stuff he took this off season and answering all the questions like a champ. mc nabb wont win a superbowl, tavaris wont, that guy who played with pitt last year and beat us LEFTWICH, and vince wont win one unless hes in DC. the truth is dc is a city that loves it football team. and a poll to consider which isnt fair because of bias is who supports JC more the whites or the blacks. this doesnt make sense but i support him with time and not because hes black. so my question makes no sense. but i think it would be interesting to see who supports him when the dying opinion is to start colt brennan which i love like my best friend. any answers or comments on this?

by caps, skins, terps on Aug 8, 2009 11:54 AM EDT reply actions