Campbell's development curve

[Paintrain]

At the risk of this devolving into another 'conservative playcalling' thread, has the way the offense been called and executed accelerated Campbell's development curve or do you think he's been held back too much??

From JLa's blog today, the Skins now rank 28th in total offense. 25th in yards per rush (3.5) and 25th in passing yards per game. They are 28th in first downs and 22nd in points per game (18). The offense has 13 touchdowns through 7 games.

I am going to agree ahead of time that the offensive line issues have an impact on the offense and the rankings.. With the exception of yesterday and the 2nd half of the Packers game however, they have done a very good job of protecting Campbell.. Since pass protection seems to be what they do better than pushing the pile, should we put the ball in Campbell's hands more, open up the offense and let playmakers make plays in the 2nd half of the season and let him put us into the playoffs or keep doing what we've been doing and hope for better results?

It seems like Campbell is so handcuffed (and Moss alluded to that overall in a postgame interview yesterday) that he's trying not to lose games rather than trying to win them.

[The Zimmermans]

Of course....look what Derek Anderson has done on a horrible horrible team. I think Jason could become our most threatening offensive player. Cannot truly learn at practice. He needs game experience throwing the ball.

[dgack]

If the receivers don't do their part, it doesn't matter how many times Jason throws.

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by The Zimmermans

Of course....look what Derek Anderson has done on a horrible horrible team. I think Jason could become our most threatening offensive player. Cannot truly learn at practice. He needs game experience throwing the ball.

Anderson, Jay Cutler, Schaub & Romo are who come to mind as inexperienced QB who are allowed to 'play to win the game' to paraphrase Herm and are improving weekly.. With the exception of Romo, I don't think any of them have the playmakers to rival what we (allegedly) have..

[JWsleep]

No run game, beat up o-line, hamstrung WRs with dropitis, and some tough Ds--don't know how much sending JC into a deep shot-gun drop will help. But we'll see. He's got to improve his reads and his accuracy, but that will come, IMO.

I've liked him all year in 2-minute--maybe we'll start to see a bit more of that, some no huddle and such. But it's a long-term growth process. Asking him to win it all by himslef now won't do it, I think. But as the coaches get more confidence in him, he'll get more plays.

[Twilbert07]

Jason has started to regress a little, if you look at the Patriots and Cardinals games. He's overthrown wide-open receivers in each of the past three games, and his three fumbles yesterday were sloppy. Of course the weakened offensive line came into play there.

He needs to shrug off the past two games, and Saunders needs to call a more wide-open game against the Jets. Our offense is very bad and hard to watch right now. Campbell will be a very good QB, but right now, we're stuck in neutral.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

At the risk of this devolving into another 'conservative playcalling' thread, has the way the offense been called and executed accelerated Campbell's development curve or do you think he's been held back too much??

From JLa's blog today, the Skins now rank 28th in total offense. 25th in yards per rush (3.5) and 25th in passing yards per game. They are 28th in first downs and 22nd in points per game (18). The offense has 13 touchdowns through 7 games.

I am going to agree ahead of time that the offensive line issues have an impact on the offense and the rankings.. With the exception of yesterday and the 2nd half of the Packers game however, they have done a very good job of protecting Campbell.. Since pass protection seems to be what they do better than pushing the pile, should we put the ball in Campbell's hands more, open up the offense and let playmakers make plays in the 2nd half of the season and let him put us into the playoffs or keep doing what we've been doing and hope for better results?

It seems like Campbell is so handcuffed (and Moss alluded to that overall in a postgame interview yesterday) that he's trying not to lose games rather than trying to win them.

I think this is a great thread.

I've studied QB progression very extensively, and I can tell you that what goes on in games is such a miniscule factor of a QB's development that it's basically a variable that you can just write off.

A lot more of how a QB develops has to do with how many practice reps he gets, and how often he gets those reps.

Campbell has made significant improvement over last season. You can see it in his completion percentage, even in games when he fails. He's now a consistent 60% passer even when the shit hits the fan around him.

His teammates have major control over his declining yards per attempt, specifically the blocking. I believe that will improve as soon as the blocking does. He can go off any week now.

Campbell has shown signs of inexperience, but most of his failures seem to be ones that are directly tied to the guys around him. When their play improves, you'll see Campbell's TD/INT numbers jump through the roof.

And it's all because of the specific personal improvement he has dedicated to getting his completion % up.

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by JWsleep

No run game, beat up o-line, hamstrung WRs with dropitis, and some tough Ds--don't know how much sending JC into a deep shot-gun drop will help. But we'll see. He's got to improve his reads and his accuracy, but that will come, IMO.

I've liked him all year in 2-minute--maybe we'll start to see a bit more of that, some no huddle and such. But it's a long-term growth process. Asking him to win it all by himslef now won't do it, I think. But as the coaches get more confidence in him, he'll get more plays.

Why do people equate opening up the offense to 'deep shotgun drop' or 'throwing bombs every play'? Yes, there is a significant vertical aspect to that but opening up the offense also means-
-Running the no huddle in non 2 minute drill situations
-Throwing the ball intermediately rather than 4 yard outs
-Designed roll outs
-Being unpredictable on 1st and 2nd down

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by The Zimmermans

Of course....look what Derek Anderson has done on a horrible horrible team. I think Jason could become our most threatening offensive player. Cannot truly learn at practice. He needs game experience throwing the ball.

I would hardly call Clev. terrible. On offense they are quite good. Right now I would take Braylon Edwards over any WR on our roster. Winslow is also playing like a top TE. Joe J. has always been a good 2nd wr. Plus they have invested quite heavily on the O-line.

Say what you want about D. Anderson but he was a very very productive QB at Ore. State and played in a pro style offense. He has a big time NFL arm. He was well coached in college. I can't remember the coaches name at Ore State but the guy was the head coach at SD. for a few years. Sometimes all a guy needs is a little time and a chance to prove himself. The result is they are starting to really score some points this year and he is keeping Brady Quinn on the bench.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

I would hardly call Clev. terrible. On offense they are quite good. Right now I would take Braylon Edwards over any WR on our roster. Winslow is also playing like a top TE. Joe J. has always been a good 2nd wr. Plus they have invested quite heavily on the O-line.

Say what you want about D. Anderson but he was a very very productive QB at Ore. State and played in a pro style offense. He has a big time NFL arm. He was well coached in college. I can't remember the coaches name at Ore State but the guy was the head coach at SD. for a few years. Sometimes all a guy needs is a little time and a chance to prove himself. The result is they are starting to really score some points this year and he is keeping Brady Quinn on the bench.

Yeah I agree, if Cleveland had a defense they would be dangerous right now.

As for Anderson, I think the Browns might have a situation on their hands similar to the Chargers a few years ago with Brees/Rivers.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

I would hardly call Clev. terrible. On offense they are quite good. Right now I would take Braylon Edwards over any WR on our roster. Winslow is also playing like a top TE. Joe J. has always been a good 2nd wr. Plus they have invested quite heavily on the O-line.

Say what you want about D. Anderson but he was a very very productive QB at Ore. State and played in a pro style offense. He has a big time NFL arm. He was well coached in college. I can't remember the coaches name at Ore State but the guy was the head coach at SD. for a few years. Sometimes all a guy needs is a little time and a chance to prove himself. The result is they are starting to really score some points this year and he is keeping Brady Quinn on the bench.

Mike Riley?

A lot of people were high on Derek Anderson coming out of the draft. He has good (not great) periphrials (comp % and games started) but he's proven to be a good (not great) NFL caliber starter.

Now, scouts that liked him I guess were higher on guys like Aaron Rogers, Alex Smith and Charlie Frye. They of course overlooked the two biggest prospects of that draft: Jason Campbell and Derek Anderson.

The question is, will Derek Anderson go the Jon Kitna route or the Drew Brees/Matt Schaub route? Will he stay as Quinn's backup until his contract expires, or will he get traded and/or walk to another team?

Anderson is for real, as long as you temper the expectations for him. He is a top 32 QB in this league and a legit starter, but I doubt he will ever be in a pro bowl.


Anderson's year has been overrated to this point, as his play has been filled more with potential than with consistency, but the important stuff is there, and he will continue to improve.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Yeah I agree, if Cleveland had a defense they would be dangerous right now.

As for Anderson, I think the Browns might have a situation on their hands similar to the Chargers a few years ago with Brees/Rivers.

I think Cleveland will make the playoffs. They just have to beat out Tennessee (who has a great defense, but no offense, much like us) for that 6th seed, and win about 10 games.

[SmootSmack]

Bet the Ravens wish they had kept Anderson now...or maybe not.

A healthy Braylon Edwards has been huge though

[The Zimmermans]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

I would hardly call Clev. terrible. On offense they are quite good. Right now I would take Braylon Edwards over any WR on our roster. Winslow is also playing like a top TE. Joe J. has always been a good 2nd wr. Plus they have invested quite heavily on the O-line.

Say what you want about D. Anderson but he was a very very productive QB at Ore. State and played in a pro style offense. He has a big time NFL arm. He was well coached in college. I can't remember the coaches name at Ore State but the guy was the head coach at SD. for a few years. Sometimes all a guy needs is a little time and a chance to prove himself. The result is they are starting to really score some points this year and he is keeping Brady Quinn on the bench.

Didn't cleveland have the #3 pick in the draft? how were they not terrible? Wasnt ROMEO about to get fired? Don't they still have zero running game and a bad defense?

Don't give me running game numbers please....jamal lewis has been horrible despite one game and in garbage time

[The Zimmermans]

Braylon is sick, he was in the heisman talk for a while