Campbell Breakdown On ESPN Insider

I'll post it for those who don't have Insider

Campbell much better than his numbers show


By Jeremy Green

After watching Washington QB Jason Campbell over the past few weeks I wanted to go back into the film room and really break him down. What I saw after looking at tapes is that he is rapidly developing into one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL.

That statement is tough to back up statistically because Campbell has just 198 completions in 357 attempts (55 percent completion percentage) in his career. He's thrown 15 TD passes, 10 interceptions and posted a QB rating of 78.5 in less than a year as a full-time starter. This season, he has thrown five touchdowns to four interceptions, which are not exactly numbers that make you say "wow." But consider he plays in a run-first offense and head coach Joe Gibbs would like to run the ball 35 or more times per game. That does not lend itself to gaudy numbers from the QB position.

Link: http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insider/columns/story?columnist=green_jeremy&id=3057642

He's been absolutely victimized by his receivers this year, but he also tends to try to make the most difficult play on the most crucial downs. He's often athletic enough to have success, but compare him against the league average in given situations and he ranks right in the middle of the pack despite all that skill and work ethic.

He's going to have his successes and his failures, in and out of crunch time. Since we have no running game, we are just going to have to deal with his shortcomings and enjoy the fruits of his progress.

One thing I'd like to see him work on is getting rid of the ball quicker rather than relying on his athleticism to extend the play. Not that being athletic and extending the play is a bad thing, but it can kill you if you run into a defensive line who can match your athleticism. If he gets good at getting the ball out quickly, hes going to be undefendable.

as long as he protects the ball, extending plays is crucial to success in this league. all the great quarterbacks in the NFL always move and slide just enough to get that pass off. the longer you can wait, the more open the receivers will be

Thanks for putting it up.

Does anyone else think that this article is poorly written? I just feel like he needs a thesaurus or something. It doesn't flow very well.

I don't know... maybe I'm being to harsh. Time to go to differential equations until 10:20... sweet.

as long as he protects the ball, extending plays is crucial to success in this league. all the great quarterbacks in the NFL always move and slide just enough to get that pass off. the longer you can wait, the more open the receivers will be

My observation is that he holds the ball a little too long. Sliding to avoid the rush is ok, but with our depleted O line, he needs to go thru his reads and progressions very quickly. The O coordinator needs to realize this and loosen the reins to allow JC to shorten the number of reads.

The ESPN Insider breakdown was good, but nothing that most here didn't already know.

Does anyone else think that this article is poorly written? I just feel like he needs a thesaurus or something. It doesn't flow very well.

I don't know... maybe I'm being to harsh. Time to go to differential equations until 10:20... sweet.

HA!!! I thought the exact same thing. Get a thesaurus, and maybe throw in a contraction or two for fluidity. But the facts were solid...

Many thanks for the thread Posse. Love Campbell win or lose, and even if he goes elsewhere I'll always follow his career closely.

My observation is that he holds the ball a little too long. Sliding to avoid the rush is ok, but with our depleted O line, he needs to go thru his reads and progressions very quickly. The O coordinator needs to realize this and loosen the reins to allow JC to shorten the number of reads.

The ESPN Insider breakdown was good, but nothing that most here didn't already know.I agree that this assessment isn't new news for Skins fans, but it's good that somebody outside DC recognizes Campbell's rapid improvement. The stats don't show it yet, but I really believe that Campbell can be an elite NFL QB (top 5) by next season.

This guy could have cut this article in half. Not to be too harsh, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did some cut and pasting. Pretty much what we've known from day one though.