Jason Campbell..What's his time table?

[MTK]

Originally Posted by munny

Like the goober I am, I spent quite a bit of time reviewing and grading Campbells performance against the Eagles. I wanted to do it to really look at what his issues were, and not get caught up in my own general opinions that can be influenced by the overall success of the team. I graded him based on the quality of his throws, the quality of his decisions, the type of defensive set, the quality of the line protection, and whether or not the reciever helped or hurt his cause.

What I expected to find was that the line was a major source of his problems, but the line protected amazingly well on Sunday, in fact, I only graded them poor on two of the pass plays(plays where a pass was actually thrown). What I ended up learning, and you guys have probably talked about it to death here, was pretty interesting.

#1 He has got to stop taking such big drops.
He has a big problem with this. He takes 5-7 step drops on most every play and it is hurting him. He often finds himself dropping so far back that he backs out of the pocket and then has to scramble. He needs to stop and step up, not keep falling back. This is not be design either. You can see that it breaks up the rhythm of the play and is not a design element. More importantly, it adds distance to every throw and disrupts timing. It reminds me of watching a newbie play Madden. They just keep backing up so it will take longer for the line to get to them and they can read the receivers longer, but it really is hurting them.

#2 He stares down receivers badly.
This is obvious to everyone, but he really does an awful job of this. The second interception Sunday was a good example. He was staring at Cooley from the snap and never looked anywhere else. On top of that, it was a slant and the ball placement was bad(he did not lead him over the middle, but rather put it on his shoulder to close to the break). The combination of too factors like that mean that your recievers have to make great catches just to avoid disasters.

#3 He fails to pull the trigger.
They can say what they want about him shaking off mistakes, but he didn't on Sunday. Those two picks rattled him, and it got worse throughout the game. In the NFL, you have got to deliver the ball before the break. You cannot wait to see the break and see if your receiver is open. If you do that, then the guy will be coming into a new coverage zone by the time you get the ball there. The ball must be delivered on time so that the break creates the separation you need. You have just got to trust your receivers and make an accurate throw. In the second half it got worse. He would wait to see guys open by several steps before making a throw. Now, he was smart enough to often realize that he had waited too long and that it would be unwise to throw it, and so he had to pull it down and run or look for the dump off, but that doesn't cut it. Those recievers weren't blanketed, the plays were there, he just lacked the heart to make the throws.

Conclusions
There were some other small problems too, but these are the major issues. When you put all three of those things together, you aren't going to get very many games where you play four good quarters. The good news is, every one of those mistakes is correctable. The bad news is, they are the kind of mistakes that become habits, and those habits will keep you from becoming the kind of QB you can be. I hope he can correct some of these problems. His ability to move around can be a nice asset if he can get the rest of his game worked out.

#1) I really find it hard to believe he's going against the play design in his dropbacks. With his level of inexperience I think they are having him drop back further so he has more time to go through his reads. He simply doesn't have the experience level yet in this offense to take a short drop, make a quick read and get the ball out.

#2) Yes he stares down his WRs and so does pretty much any QB with the limited experience level he has.

#3) I don't think he was rattled after the 2 picks at all, in fact he played a great second half going 7 of 12 for 100 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT.

[munny]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

#1) I really find it hard to believe he's going against the play design in his dropbacks. With his level of inexperience I think they are having him drop back further so he has more time to go through his reads. He simply doesn't have the experience level yet in this offense to take a short drop, make a quick read and get the ball out.

#2) Yes he stares down his WRs and so does pretty much any QB with the limited experience level he has.

#3) I don't think he was rattled after the 2 picks at all, in fact he played a great second half going 7 of 12 for 100 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT.

#1 - Believe it. A buddy of mine rooms with one of the Redskin scouts. So, we have a few beers last night and I asked him about this stuff. I was thrilled to find out that I hit this one dead on the head. He said they have been working with him every week to break the habit of taking two many steps on the drop. They want him to set up in the pocket, and he works it in practice, but reverts during the games.

#2 - Well, not all of them do it, but I certainly agree that this does not make him unique. But, this was a critique, and you can't leave that out, even if it is a common flaw against young qb's.

#3 - He made some good plays in the second half, but he made even more slow reads. You can't mistake good plays as an excuse for poor ones. My buddy also confirmed this point. The thing you love is that he does have the potential to make some nice plays. He just doesn't have the confidence to deliver the ball on time, every time. That is his toughest challenge I think.

[redsk1]

Originally Posted by munny

#1 - Believe it. A buddy of mine rooms with one of the Redskin scouts. So, we have a few beers last night and I asked him about this stuff. I was thrilled to find out that I hit this one dead on the head. He said they have been working with him every week to break the habit of taking two many steps on the drop. They want him to set up in the pocket, and he works it in practice, but reverts during the games.

#2 - Well, not all of them do it, but I certainly agree that this does not make him unique. But, this was a critique, and you can't leave that out, even if it is a common flaw against young qb's.

#3 - He made some good plays in the second half, but he made even more slow reads. You can't mistake good plays as an excuse for poor ones. My buddy also confirmed this point. The thing you love is that he does have the potential to make some nice plays. He just doesn't have the confidence to deliver the ball on time, every time. That is his toughest challenge I think.

There is an article out today (i'll try to find it) that AS's sais the exact same thing. He drops back to far. There are other flaws that will have to be worked out in the offseason. They want to start w/ his feet and work their way up.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by redsk1

There is an article out today (i'll try to find it) that AS's sais the exact same thing. He drops back to far. There are other flaws that will have to be worked out in the offseason. They want to start w/ his feet and work their way up.

Yeah it's in the Washington Post. Basically saying Campbell needs to speed up everything

[redsk1]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

#1) I really find it hard to believe he's going against the play design in his dropbacks. With his level of inexperience I think they are having him drop back further so he has more time to go through his reads. He simply doesn't have the experience level yet in this offense to take a short drop, make a quick read and get the ball out.

#2) Yes he stares down his WRs and so does pretty much any QB with the limited experience level he has.

#3) I don't think he was rattled after the 2 picks at all, in fact he played a great second half going 7 of 12 for 100 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT.

Al Saunder's qoute in today's Post...

"You start with his feet and we've said that since training camp, and move up," said Saunders, who oversees the Redskins' offense. "His drops have got to be quicker, his rhythm has got to be quicker, his release has got to be more compact, his decision-making process has got to speed up. He's a victim of his own great physical ability. In high school, he could stand back and wait for a receiver to get open and the velocity of the ball would get there before a little guy who just came from chemistry class could go and break it up. And he played against Vanderbilt [in college], and he's flushed out of the pocket and throws downfield and the ball gets there before the nuclear physicist two years down the road can get there.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by redsk1

Al Saunder's qoute in today's Post...

"You start with his feet and we've said that since training camp, and move up," said Saunders, who oversees the Redskins' offense. "His drops have got to be quicker, his rhythm has got to be quicker, his release has got to be more compact, his decision-making process has got to speed up. He's a victim of his own great physical ability. In high school, he could stand back and wait for a receiver to get open and the velocity of the ball would get there before a little guy who just came from chemistry class could go and break it up. And he played against Vanderbilt [in college], and he's flushed out of the pocket and throws downfield and the ball gets there before the nuclear physicist two years down the road can get there.

I don't see anything about him taking deep drops, it just says that he needs to speed everything up.

[redsk1]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I don't see anything about him taking deep drops, it just says that he needs to speed everything up.

Maybe i was reading b/n the lines a little w/ Al S's saying he needs to be quicker and later in the article, it eludes to him taking as many as 9 steps back. Maybe its not the # just the speed, either way he has a little work to be done in the offseason.


Campbell can make plays others cannot, but the Redskins want him to be sound fundamentally as well. Sometimes he has taken as many as nine steps back before getting rid of the ball, and coaches spent one week harping on his first step out from under center. Campbell's looping delivery, which can allow a defender an extra split second to reach him, is something the coaches will look at as well.