Post by The President on Aug 23, 2007 8:57:37 GMT -5
cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10303350
HERNDON, Va. -- So Washington's Jason Campbell is the most inexperienced quarterback in the NFC East. So he lost five of his seven NFL starts. It doesn't matter.
But this might: For the first time in the last seven years -- for the first time since he was a teenager -- he'll play consecutive seasons for the same offensive coordinator.
Jason Campbell has courage, great vision and a feel for the game, Al Saunders says.
"It makes a huge difference," said Campbell. "I'm not trying to relearn a whole new playbook and trying to play at the same time. Now I can just go out there and play because I know more than I did last season.
"And you know the coordinator. So you have an opportunity to build something with him and build chemistry together. And that's huge."
It could be. The Redskins will lean on Campbell this season, with offensive coordinator Al Saunders saying he wants a 10 percent improvement in his passing game. I'm not sure what that means, either, but I know Saunders likes his chances.
The reason is Campbell. Saunders knows his quarterback and what to expect from him. More important, his quarterback knows Saunders.
"It's a big deal," said Campbell. "People don't understand how difficult it is to learn a different offense every year."
Saunders' offense is not easy to absorb in one season, let alone seven games. It takes time. And time is what Washington will give Jason Campbell.
The Redskins are content to grow with their former first-round draft pick, hoping he can point them to where Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb and the Giants' Eli Manning went in their second seasons as starters.
That would be the playoffs, and, no, it won't be easy. I'm not sure what Campbell does for outside targets when Santana Moss is covered. I worry about the left-guard position. And I don't know what the status of star running back Clinton Portis is or will be.
"Joe Gibbs has three Super Bowls and certainly no one should question that man trying to get the job done."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
wahoolakeshow: "Since we're flying under the radar we have a chance, like 2 years ago, to make a big push. Hail!"
But they're not the immediate concerns. Campbell is because, as the joke goes, he holds the second most-important position in Washington. So there will be pressure -- lots of it -- as he tries to do something nobody since 1999 has in Washington.
Start and finish the season as the Redskins' quarterback.
"He has the qualities you look for in a quarterback in this league," said Saunders. "Generally, when you look at the quarterbacks who've been successful they have great courage, they have a great feel for the game and they have a great vision for what they see when things in a game are played at game speed. And he has all those qualities.
"He will stand in the face of the rush and throw the football. He's oblivious to pressure. And he has unbelievable presence. I also see great leadership skills because a leader to me is someone who makes the people around him play at a higher level. And I believe he does that."
Saunders couldn't have made that statement a year ago. Now, of course, he relies on what he learned with Campbell at quarterback last season. And what he learned is that he has the poise, the courage and the smarts to play the position.
Rewind the videotape to Campbell's first victory, a 17-13 defeat of Carolina last November -- with the game won on a 66-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chris Cooley. Campbell made the call on his own after the headset in his helmet malfunctioned.
That's not the point. Campbell was forced to improvise, and he came through in the clutch with all the pressure of the world on his shoulders. That should tell you something about his ability to handle what's ahead of him.
"Nothing bothers this guy," said Saunders. "He has the makeup to be a very, very successful quarterback in this league. And you can't manufacture that. You either have it or you don't."
But he has that all-important experience of starting, too, and don't undersell that. When Saunders and Campbell studied tapes of the quarterback position a year ago, they would dissect Kurt Warner or Trent Green or Mark Brunell in Saunders' offense.
Now they look at Jason Campbell.
"He was learning from other people," said Saunders. "Having an opportunity to experience it in those seven games ... all summer we were looking at Jason Campbell -- his technique, his footwork and his decision-making.
"Now it was reality versus perception. It was: 'This is what we need to do to get you to the next level.' So he was studying himself, and now we had a comparison."
That could be critical. Remember, McNabb was 2-4 in Philadelphia in his rookie season, then took the Eagles to the playoffs the following year. Manning was 1-6 his rookie season with the Giants, including one forgettable start against Baltimore where he produced a passer rating of zilch. He was in the playoffs the next year, too.
I'm not saying that happens with Campbell. What I am saying is that there should be substantial progress this fall, if for no other reason than once he became the starter, he never stepped out of the job.
He stuck around all offseason, working with coaches and teammates to make himself into the quarterback the Redskins envisioned when they spent a first-round draft pick on him.
Fantasy Focus QB Jason Campbell
Dave Richard's take: All eyes are on Campbell, who finally has been given time to learn an offense without it changing on him. He spent the offseason working out in Washington and studying with offensive guru Al Saunders and is poised to have a good year. The Redskins don't boast a superstar receiver, but have a lot of athleticism in Santana Moss, Antwaan Randle El and tight end Chris Cooley. Once he began starting games, Campbell went on an admirable TD streak (10 in seven games) and should continue to find the end zone while passing for decent yardage, making him a No. 2 Fantasy quarterback with sleeper potential.
More Fantasy football news
"He was non-stop," said coach Joe Gibbs of Campbell's offseason. "I don't think we could've asked for more. He's a young quarterback, and we think he has what we're looking for. But now we have to see him grow and step up."
While the results won't be known for another month, Saunders is so confident in his quarterback he no longer restricts game plans to seven- and eight-man protections when Campbell is under center.
Follow the crumbs, people. Expanding the playbook means sending more receivers into patterns. Sending out more receivers means Washington can expand its offensive capabilities. And more offense can mean more wins.
"Jason is a young quarterback learning a very complex system and developing his mechanics and skills so he can be consistent every day, every week, every game, every year," said Saunders.
"Without having an opportunity to run the same offense two years in a row you always revert to what you know in times of stress, and there was no consistency of mechanics or fundamentals from one year to the next to the next that allowed him to be grounded in what he did.
"Until now."
Look, I don't know how good Campbell is or how good he can be. I know he's mature. He's resilient. He's confident. And he has a live and accurate arm.
I also know he has one of the best plugs out there on NFL.com, with Campbell ricocheting one football off another that is airborne, with the two falling perfectly to a pair of receivers.
"Pick me," Campbell says in the video. "The choice is clear."
It is now. And for all the right reasons.
HERNDON, Va. -- So Washington's Jason Campbell is the most inexperienced quarterback in the NFC East. So he lost five of his seven NFL starts. It doesn't matter.
But this might: For the first time in the last seven years -- for the first time since he was a teenager -- he'll play consecutive seasons for the same offensive coordinator.
Jason Campbell has courage, great vision and a feel for the game, Al Saunders says.
"It makes a huge difference," said Campbell. "I'm not trying to relearn a whole new playbook and trying to play at the same time. Now I can just go out there and play because I know more than I did last season.
"And you know the coordinator. So you have an opportunity to build something with him and build chemistry together. And that's huge."
It could be. The Redskins will lean on Campbell this season, with offensive coordinator Al Saunders saying he wants a 10 percent improvement in his passing game. I'm not sure what that means, either, but I know Saunders likes his chances.
The reason is Campbell. Saunders knows his quarterback and what to expect from him. More important, his quarterback knows Saunders.
"It's a big deal," said Campbell. "People don't understand how difficult it is to learn a different offense every year."
Saunders' offense is not easy to absorb in one season, let alone seven games. It takes time. And time is what Washington will give Jason Campbell.
The Redskins are content to grow with their former first-round draft pick, hoping he can point them to where Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb and the Giants' Eli Manning went in their second seasons as starters.
That would be the playoffs, and, no, it won't be easy. I'm not sure what Campbell does for outside targets when Santana Moss is covered. I worry about the left-guard position. And I don't know what the status of star running back Clinton Portis is or will be.
"Joe Gibbs has three Super Bowls and certainly no one should question that man trying to get the job done."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
wahoolakeshow: "Since we're flying under the radar we have a chance, like 2 years ago, to make a big push. Hail!"
But they're not the immediate concerns. Campbell is because, as the joke goes, he holds the second most-important position in Washington. So there will be pressure -- lots of it -- as he tries to do something nobody since 1999 has in Washington.
Start and finish the season as the Redskins' quarterback.
"He has the qualities you look for in a quarterback in this league," said Saunders. "Generally, when you look at the quarterbacks who've been successful they have great courage, they have a great feel for the game and they have a great vision for what they see when things in a game are played at game speed. And he has all those qualities.
"He will stand in the face of the rush and throw the football. He's oblivious to pressure. And he has unbelievable presence. I also see great leadership skills because a leader to me is someone who makes the people around him play at a higher level. And I believe he does that."
Saunders couldn't have made that statement a year ago. Now, of course, he relies on what he learned with Campbell at quarterback last season. And what he learned is that he has the poise, the courage and the smarts to play the position.
Rewind the videotape to Campbell's first victory, a 17-13 defeat of Carolina last November -- with the game won on a 66-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chris Cooley. Campbell made the call on his own after the headset in his helmet malfunctioned.
That's not the point. Campbell was forced to improvise, and he came through in the clutch with all the pressure of the world on his shoulders. That should tell you something about his ability to handle what's ahead of him.
"Nothing bothers this guy," said Saunders. "He has the makeup to be a very, very successful quarterback in this league. And you can't manufacture that. You either have it or you don't."
But he has that all-important experience of starting, too, and don't undersell that. When Saunders and Campbell studied tapes of the quarterback position a year ago, they would dissect Kurt Warner or Trent Green or Mark Brunell in Saunders' offense.
Now they look at Jason Campbell.
"He was learning from other people," said Saunders. "Having an opportunity to experience it in those seven games ... all summer we were looking at Jason Campbell -- his technique, his footwork and his decision-making.
"Now it was reality versus perception. It was: 'This is what we need to do to get you to the next level.' So he was studying himself, and now we had a comparison."
That could be critical. Remember, McNabb was 2-4 in Philadelphia in his rookie season, then took the Eagles to the playoffs the following year. Manning was 1-6 his rookie season with the Giants, including one forgettable start against Baltimore where he produced a passer rating of zilch. He was in the playoffs the next year, too.
I'm not saying that happens with Campbell. What I am saying is that there should be substantial progress this fall, if for no other reason than once he became the starter, he never stepped out of the job.
He stuck around all offseason, working with coaches and teammates to make himself into the quarterback the Redskins envisioned when they spent a first-round draft pick on him.
Fantasy Focus QB Jason Campbell
Dave Richard's take: All eyes are on Campbell, who finally has been given time to learn an offense without it changing on him. He spent the offseason working out in Washington and studying with offensive guru Al Saunders and is poised to have a good year. The Redskins don't boast a superstar receiver, but have a lot of athleticism in Santana Moss, Antwaan Randle El and tight end Chris Cooley. Once he began starting games, Campbell went on an admirable TD streak (10 in seven games) and should continue to find the end zone while passing for decent yardage, making him a No. 2 Fantasy quarterback with sleeper potential.
More Fantasy football news
"He was non-stop," said coach Joe Gibbs of Campbell's offseason. "I don't think we could've asked for more. He's a young quarterback, and we think he has what we're looking for. But now we have to see him grow and step up."
While the results won't be known for another month, Saunders is so confident in his quarterback he no longer restricts game plans to seven- and eight-man protections when Campbell is under center.
Follow the crumbs, people. Expanding the playbook means sending more receivers into patterns. Sending out more receivers means Washington can expand its offensive capabilities. And more offense can mean more wins.
"Jason is a young quarterback learning a very complex system and developing his mechanics and skills so he can be consistent every day, every week, every game, every year," said Saunders.
"Without having an opportunity to run the same offense two years in a row you always revert to what you know in times of stress, and there was no consistency of mechanics or fundamentals from one year to the next to the next that allowed him to be grounded in what he did.
"Until now."
Look, I don't know how good Campbell is or how good he can be. I know he's mature. He's resilient. He's confident. And he has a live and accurate arm.
I also know he has one of the best plugs out there on NFL.com, with Campbell ricocheting one football off another that is airborne, with the two falling perfectly to a pair of receivers.
"Pick me," Campbell says in the video. "The choice is clear."
It is now. And for all the right reasons.