Campbell's Shortcoming

Jason Campbell's had a lot of good games for us, and makes a lot of great throws. But I think this highlights the fact that we're still talking about a young QB who needs time to develop.

I took NFL QB stats, and added together INTs and Fumbles Lost. Campbell leads the NFL in fumbles lost at the QB position. This combined total, essentially amounting to turnovers, was then calculated on a per-game basis.

Here's where Campbell ranks:

Name ,Team, TO PG
Trent Dilfer ,SFO, 2.17
Brian Griese ,CHI, 1.83
Eli Manning ,NYG, 1.75
Damon Huard ,KAN, 1.6
Jason Campbell ,WAS, 1.58
Drew Brees ,NOR, 1.5
Jon Kitna ,DET, 1.5
Philip Rivers ,SDG, 1.5
Vince Young ,TEN, 1.45
Rex Grossman ,CHI, 1.43
Kurt Warner ,ARI, 1.4
Tony Romo ,DAL, 1.33
Carson Palmer ,CIN, 1.33
Marc Bulger ,STL, 1.33
Derek Anderson ,CLE, 1.25
Jay Cutler ,DEN, 1.25
Peyton Manning ,IND, 1.17
Ben Roethlisberger ,PIT, 1.17
Daunte Culpepper ,OAK, 1.14
Kellen Clemens ,NYJ, 1.14
Matt Schaub ,HOU, 1.09
Brett Favre ,GNB, 1.08
Matt Hasselbeck ,SEA, 1.08
Donovan McNabb ,PHI, 1
Chad Pennington ,NYJ, 1
J.P. Losman ,BUF, 1
Kyle Boller ,BAL, 0.9
Tom Brady ,NWE, 0.67
Joey Harrington ,ATL, 0.67
Jeff Garcia ,TAM, 0.45
David Garrard ,JAC, 0.33

Fumbles lost, at least with QBs, is an indicator of line play as much as the QB play. But one of my frustrations with Campbell is that he should be feeling the rush and doing a better job of securing the ball when someone's bearing down on him. That's definitely the part of his game that needs the most improvement.

I think he'll improve over time and be a good one for sure, but this is just kind of a reality check to anyone who thinks JC is our savior today or even next season.

Jason Campbell's had a lot of good games for us, and makes a lot of great throws. But I think this highlights the fact that we're still talking about a young QB who needs time to develop.

I took NFL QB stats, and added together INTs and Fumbles Lost. Campbell leads the NFL in fumbles lost at the QB position. This combined total, essentially amounting to turnovers, was then calculated on a per-game basis.

Here's where Campbell ranks:

Name ,Team, TO PG
Trent Dilfer ,SFO, 2.17
Brian Griese ,CHI, 1.83
Eli Manning ,NYG, 1.75
Damon Huard ,KAN, 1.6
Jason Campbell ,WAS, 1.58
Drew Brees ,NOR, 1.5
Jon Kitna ,DET, 1.5
Philip Rivers ,SDG, 1.5
Vince Young ,TEN, 1.45
Rex Grossman ,CHI, 1.43
Kurt Warner ,ARI, 1.4
Tony Romo ,DAL, 1.33
Carson Palmer ,CIN, 1.33
Marc Bulger ,STL, 1.33
Derek Anderson ,CLE, 1.25
Jay Cutler ,DEN, 1.25
Peyton Manning ,IND, 1.17
Ben Roethlisberger ,PIT, 1.17
Daunte Culpepper ,OAK, 1.14
Kellen Clemens ,NYJ, 1.14
Matt Schaub ,HOU, 1.09
Brett Favre ,GNB, 1.08
Matt Hasselbeck ,SEA, 1.08
Donovan McNabb ,PHI, 1
Chad Pennington ,NYJ, 1
J.P. Losman ,BUF, 1
Kyle Boller ,BAL, 0.9
Tom Brady ,NWE, 0.67
Joey Harrington ,ATL, 0.67
Jeff Garcia ,TAM, 0.45
David Garrard ,JAC, 0.33

Fumbles lost, at least with QBs, is an indicator of line play as much as the QB play. But one of my frustrations with Campbell is that he should be feeling the rush and doing a better job of securing the ball when someone's bearing down on him. That's definitely the part of his game that needs the most improvement.

I think he'll improve over time and be a good one for sure, but this is just kind of a reality check to anyone who thinks JC is our savior today or even next season.

Stats tell us everything and nothing.. He ranks behind such luminary QB as Joey Harrington, JP Losman, Kyle Boller, Kellen Clemens and Rex Grossman.. Ball security is an issue as are his red zone decisions, but that's not enough to serve as a 'reality check' for those of us who think he's the best (present and future) we've had under center in well over 20 years..

JC has to work on securing the ball and I'm sure he knows that.

Good info. I knew he was at the top in fumbles, but I don't feel scared w/him the way I did when Rypien was fumbling everywhere back in the day. You can tell he's trying to tow that line between patience & holding it too long. It can only come w/experience. On the filp side, he still sometimes rushes passes, e.g. the 2 in the tampa game.

He'll clean the fumble thing up. That's really a function of him trying to make plays down the field right up until the last second which is a good thing. He'll learn when he needs to secure the ball better over time.

What is a concern for me is his propensity to decide which receiver he's going to throw to before the snap and then not come off that guy. The ability to get to second and third reads is the difference between Joe Montana and Tony Banks. It is the single most impoprtant attribute an NFL QB can have. Its' more important than arm strength, mobility, or even accuracy. You have to be able to see the entire field. Sometimes it seems like Campbell has this intangible and other times it seems he doesn't. I guess the jury is still out.

Gibbs has always understood that this quality is a rare one and that is one reason he emphasizes the running game so much. A team that can run the ball can put it's QB in situations where the reads are simpler and his chances for failure are greatly reduced. The offensive line and the running game have done a lousy job (with a few exceptions like the Jets game) of helping the young guy out.

Yea it's a combination of his feel in the pocket and our horrendous offensive line play. But he's got to learn to step up in the pocket a little. I think he will get better at it and our line is going to get better as well. There's only one way to go and thats up.

Yea it's a combination of his feel in the pocket and our horrendous offensive line play. But he's got to learn to step up in the pocket a little. I think he will get better at it and our line is going to get better as well. There's only one way to go and thats up.


I agree, the offensive line has a lot to do with the fumbling issue. Sometimes Campbell almost seems too calm in the pocket, maybe its just me but he doesnt seem to have that sense of urgency when it really counts. He has also been making very poor decisions late in games for us, sometimes multiple times in one game.

With the way Gibbs likes to play games i dont see us winning a lot of close ones unless Campbell learns how to finish. On another note you said "there's only one way to go and thats up" dude, ive been saying that for years though, when the hell is it going to go up for us.

Stats tell us everything and nothing.. He ranks behind such luminary QB as Joey Harrington, JP Losman, Kyle Boller, Kellen Clemens and Rex Grossman.. Ball security is an issue as are his red zone decisions, but that's not enough to serve as a 'reality check' for those of us who think he's the best (present and future) we've had under center in well over 20 years..

Yes, but is it any coincidence that the Jags look so good with Garrard, who is taking care of the ball better than anybody in the league?

Campbell will be fine. Give him experience and a better O-line, and you'll see him take the next step.

A good offensive line cures ALL woes (including defense).
- running the ball would've given us options in the red zone for these close games instead of having JC try to throw it in.
- it would have given him more time to go through his progressions and see the field better
- it would have allowed for him to work on timing...prevented dropped balls and INT's
- it would have cut down the fumbles and sacks due to a collapsing pocket.
- it would have kept our defense fresher when we controlled TOP

If you really think about it, thats the BEST thing that new england has going for them. Tom brady has as much time as he wants and he throws it 40-50 times a game. The games when teams have gotten through to him is when the pats have looked VERY human. Brady isn't immune to making bad decisions when he is pressured. Their defense is good but not dominant. Their running game is nothing spectacular.