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QB Jason Campbell, Washington Redskins

HT: 6-5, WT: 228, Born: 12-31-1981, College: Auburn, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 25

2009 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of June 29th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: S Smith (149), Jason Campbell (151), M Austin (153)
Position: J Delhomme (132-QB20), J Flacco (137-QB21), Jason Campbell (151 - QB22), C Pennington (157-QB23), S Hill (177-QB24)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

Best Case

After seven offensive playbooks in nine seasons, Jason Campbell has to be happy to enter the 2009 season with the same coaches, supporting cast and playbook as last year. After completing a career-best 62.3 percent of his passes and throwing the fewest interceptions per pass in the league, Campbell has something to build upon. If he can shake off the team's overtures to replace him and show a willingness to take more chances downfield, this year, Campbell could surprise and be a fringe Top 12 passer. His athleticism and mobility (258 yards rushing in 2008) add upside beyond what should be solid but not spectacular passing stats.

Worst Case

Campbell must have felt like persona non grata at times this offseason, as the Redskins were linked to Jay Cutler rumors and then were allegedly interested in drafting Mark Sanchez. It's hard to believe the Redskins view Campbell as the long-term answer anymore. If Campbell lets that fact affect his confidence all bets are off. If the team's young receivers fail to improve in their second year, or Campbell continues to play ultra-conservatively, he could be among the least compelling fantasy options.

Outlook

Campbell is a difficult player to project this year. Realistically, neither Todd Collins nor Colt Brennan should threaten his playing time. But then again, coaches can make surprising decisions particularly if management doesn't feel Campbell has a long-term future in Washington. The real key for Campbell will be whether his supporting cast develops.

Relevant Articles

Latest News

Redskins | GM thinks Campbell hasn't proven that he is a franchise QB (Thu Jul 2, 09:55 PM) - Thomas George, of NFL.com reports that Redskins GM Vinny Cerrato is unsure that starting QB Jason Campbell is franchise quality. Cerrato said, "(It's) yet to be determined. Hopefully he is. We have talked honestly. It's past and we are looking forward. We hope he can play 16 games like he played the first eight last year. Consistency throughout.

Our View: Campbell talks about how he was troubled by the Redskins interest in Jay Cutler and Mark Sanchez during the offseason. The Redskins have set themselves up in quite a pickle - if Campbell uses the lack of respect as motivation and plays like a franchise QB this year, he'll break the bank as a free agent, and he might not return to Washington. If he has another choppy campaign, the Redskins are unlikely to re-sign him. Either way, it looks like the team will have to find a new signalcaller in 2010.
link to story   

2009 Schedule

2008 Game Summaries

Week 1 - New Head Coach Jim Zorn brought his West Coast offense with him from Seattle, which will be a change from former coach Joe Gibbs' more traditional offense that Campbell ran last year. The transition to this new offense did not get off to a good start as Campbell did not complete a pass until there was one minute and ten seconds left in the first half. But Campbell's second completion of the game was a 12 yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss who was wide open over the middle of the field with 13 seconds left in the first half. It would be the only points Washington would score in the game. Campbell completed only two of six passes for 25 yards in the first half. Campbell really seemed to struggle throughout the game and had trouble converting third downs. The Redskins' offense often found themselves in third and long situations, and Campbell would throw to the receiver underneath the coverage, instead of going down the field, completing the pass well short of the first down. This seemed to be a recurring theme for him during the game, and more reason to believe that Campbell is not completely comfortable in the new offense yet. Campbell only had 40 yards passing after three quarters, and most of his 93 yards passing in the fourth quarter came late in the game as Washington desperately tried to move the ball down the field.

Week 2 - Campbell and his team outplayed the Saints in the first half but could not convert any of their first five drives into touchdowns, instead settling for field goal attempts in all cases. Campbell was moved around quite a bit during the game. He started the game doing some shot gun formations which was not part of the offense in week one. Coach Jim Zorn also called many plays that had Campbell rolling out to move the pocket and slow the Saints rush attack.

Campbell threw for over 300 yards and progressively got better as the pressure increased. He displayed a great rapport with both Chris Cooley and Santana Moss. He did an excellent job of leading his receivers which led to some impressive after catch results. Quicker reads and decisive throws were seen this week as Campbell reduced his poor decision making and increased his accuracy. Campbell really took charge of this offense leading them to back-to-back scores in the fourth quarter. All in all it was an excellent outing.

Week 3 - Campbell had a highly efficient stat line throwing for an overall completion rate of 73%. His 22 of 30 went for a total of 187 yards and two scores. He also had another would be touchdown to Devin Thomas called back due to an undisciplined penalty from his offensive line. Although the offense struggled some during the second and third quarters, Campbell was very good when he needed to be. His opening drive was impressive as he went four for four on the way to a Clinton Portis score. He displayed good arm strength and continued improved decision making with no interceptions on the day. In the fourth quarter, Campbell got the offense rolling again with frequent hook ups to TE Cooley and his big play guy Santana Moss.

Week 4 - Campbell certainly looked sharp right out of the gate completing four out of his first five passes. The game plan was clear, Campbell was completing short passes on slants, screens and outs. This really seemed to help him with his confidence and touch on the ball. Throughout the game he hung in the pocket and ran for positive yards when needed. On one particular play, Campbell was able to avoid stud pass rusher Demarcus Ware by stepping up into the pocket to hit a wide open Santana Moss. Campbell went for 231 yards passing and threw for two scores. Of note, an illegal man down field penalty nullified another would be Campbell score.

Week 5 - As he has done all season, Campbell played a mistake free game. Campbell started slowly; his first five attempts fell incomplete. Afterwards, he began to focus the passing attack on tight end Chris Cooley. Most of Campbell's passes were of the intermediate variety. His longest completion was a 26 yarder to Cooley.

Campbell took advantage of Philadelphia's two deep man to man coverage on one play and ran for a 15 yard gain.

Week 6 - Campbell had a very promising day on Sunday despite the loss. He completed just under 70% of his passes for 208 yards and most importantly, no interceptions. He appears to be adjusting very well to the newly installed West Coast offense and looked comfortable while avoiding many a strong pass rush by the Rams. It appears that Campbell has finally found himself in a new system in which he can both learn quickly and excel while doing so.

Week 7 - Campbell did a good enough job of managing the game by relying on his strong running game and focusing on the short passing game to complement the running attack. Campbell was decisive in terms of whom to throw the ball to and was very accurate with his passes. He was not asked to take many chances in this game, but showed very good decision making and poise throughout. Although he focused on shorter passes, he threw a variety of passes and was comfortable with all of them, which helped keep the defense from keying on particular pass plays.

Week 8 - Any QB who has the Detroit Lions on their schedule has probably circled that date on their calendar. Sunday, it was Campbell's turn and he did not disappoint. Despite dropping back to pass 31 times (that's including those plays called back due to penalty), Campbell finished the day with only five incompletions. Three of those came on a single second quarter drive, but even two of those would have been complete to WR Santana Moss along the left sideline if Moss had been more careful with his feet on the first, and wasn't forced out on the second. The rest of the day Campbell seemed unstoppable as he fired passes all over the field. He always seemed to find the open man and place the ball exactly where it needed to be. His longest single pass was also his single TD throw of the day. It came late in the third quarter as he hit a streaking Moss along the right sideline for a 50 yard score. If there was a downside to Campbell's day, it was his inability to hold onto the ball when hit in the backfield. Two out of the three times that Campbell was sacked, he lost control of the ball, losing it to the Detroit defense on one occasion.

Week 9 - Under constant pressure throughout the game, Campbell struggled to throw the ball down the field as his 24 completions averaged just over nine yards. Having a hard time completing passes to his wide receivers, Campbell threw a lot of short passes to TE Chris Cooley and RB Clinton Portis. Campbell did come close to scoring a touchdown, but he was stopped at the one yard line on a fourth quarter rush.

Week 11 - Campbell was under constant pressure when he dropped back to pass and he also had a couple of his passed deflected. Many of his passing plays were designed roll outs to the right to avoid Ware. These plays almost always went to tight end Chris Cooley. Campbell had an excellent gain on a third and long draw that went 23 yards before he ran over Pat Watkins of the Cowboys. He and receiver Santana Moss never really got untracked and were bogged down. Most of the success the Redskins had was with dump offs and screens.

Week 12 - Campbell struggled early to get anything going outside the hash marks with his receivers. He had some success with check downs and shorter routes with his running backs and tight ends. The Washington offensive line continued to struggle with speed pass rushers on the edge and this caused Campbell to have to throw primarily on three step drops and roll out to avoid constant pressure. Campbell utilized his play action fakes very effectively in this game as Portis ensured that the Seattle linebackers respected the run threat. His lone touch down pass was caught by Antwaan Randle El, although Mike Sellers dropped what would have been a sure touch down later in the game. Overall, it was a somewhat disappointing stat line from Campbell.

Week 13 - Campbell had a poor outing against the dominating defense of the Giants. With virtually not time in the pocket, Campbell was pressured and rushed for four full quarters, failing to toss a touchdown while throwing his fourth interception of the season. He took what the defense gave him, finding nine different targets to move the ball, however was pressured all day and was unable to sustain any sort of offensive production.

Week 14 - QB Jason Campbell was under constant pressure from the tough Ravens' defense. He was often hit as he was throwing the ball and had many passes deflected away from his receivers. His first interception came on a ball that was thrown as he was hit in the arm. It floated in the air and DB Ed Reed snatched it out of the air just before it hit the ground. His second interception to Reed came in the final minutes of the fourth quarter and iced the game for the Ravens.

Campbell also nearly fumbled the ball but the referees had ruled the play dead by forward progress before the ball came lose. The Ravens attempted to challenge the play but could not.

Week 15 - In a must win game against one of the league's worst teams, Campbell came out of the gates ice cold. Through the first quarter of action he completed only two of his passes for a measly 23 yards. The second quarter didn't start much better, but then, with just under five minutes remaining in the first half, Campbell finally managed to generate some offense and hit WR Santana Moss on a ten yard dart for his only TD toss of the game. The remainder of the game was up and down for Campbell. He never seemed to find a rhythm and while he didn't go through a cold stretch to equal that in the first quarter, he never really got hot either.

Week 16 - Campbell had a solid but unspectacular game. He didn't make any huge mistakes nor did he make any big plays. Many of his yards came from screens, dump offs and short hitch routes. This conservative style was effective at moving his team and eating the clock. Campbell also struggled with his control like McNabb did and perhaps the wind was a factor for both. He led a couple of nice long drives were it looked like he and the team was finding a rhythm, only to have the drives stall out.

Week 17 - A combination of his being off target early and a successful running attack kept Campbell from doing much in the first quarter. Come the second quarter, however, the Redskins passing game started to click even though the ground game was still the primary focus. Campbell efficiently managed the offense, mixing short to intermediate completions in amongst the rushes as he orchestrated a 17 play, nine-plus minute drive that culminated in a play-action toss to WR Antwaan Randle El for an eight yard score. That drive would be the high point of the day as far as passing performance for Campbell, as, while he didn't make any huge mistakes in the second half, he also didn't light the world on fire. It was actually with his feet that Campbell contributed the most impressive plays in the second half as he rushed for some key first downs and then tied the game at 1:09 to go with a two yard scoring scramble.