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Redskins.com: Midway Through Camp, Campbell's Clicking


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http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=37251

Midway Through Camp, Campbell's Clicking

By Gary Fitzgerald

Redskins.com

July 31, 2008

It was a steamy Wednesday morning at Redskins training camp, and Jason Campbell was struggling.

He threw one pass that was tipped by a defensive lineman and fluttered incomplete. His next pass, to Rock Cartwright across the middle, was off target.

Campbell walked over and huddled with head coach Jim Zorn.

Later, Campbell was under center again. This time, he looked sharp. Every pass was crisp, on time and accurate.

He tossed passes to James Thrash and Santana Moss running out patterns. He connected with Fred Davis across the middle. He found Horace Gant running a slant downfield.

It's only practice, to be sure, but Campbell is showing progress in learning the Redskins' new offense.

On Tuesday, Zorn praised Campbell and indicated he had turned a corner in his decision-making.

"He turned a big play down that everybody got on him about, but what I saw was what I've been really looking for from him, and that's a confidence in making decisions to throw the ball even when the receiver is open just a little bit," Zorn said.

"It was the first time that he got it in his mind and said, 'I'm going for it.' He went with a lot of decisions that he might have turned down three or four days ago.

"He's working on trying to use new techniques and he's making progress. He made a big leap and now he has to string those together."

Zorn doesn't want Campbell making what he calls "vicinity throws," or basically passes that are in the general area of a receiver.

Zorn wants Campbell to be precise with his passes.

"One of the ways to be successful in this game is allowing the receivers to run after the catch, and the only way to do that is if the ball is thrown well," Zorn said.

He has had success in the West Coast system, though. During his senior year at Auburn, he excelled in the West Coast offense, leading the Tigers to a 13-0 record and a claim of the NCAA National Championship.

Not all West Coast offenses are the same, though. So Campbell still has a significant learning curve, from mastering new technique to understanding new pass routes.

"My approach every day is to come out here and find something to get better at," Campbell said. "You have to continue to keep working. My objective is to complete the passes that are routine, and if there's a hand play, try to make it a routine play, also."

He added: "You can't make things more stressful on yourself. You have to keep things on an even keel and go out and play."

Campbell said he is getting past over-thinking on the field and trusting his instincts more.

"A lot of the plays we put in early in camp, we're running them now and I'm not even thinking about it," he said. "I can just go out there and perform and play."

Campbell is expected to play at least one offensive series in Sunday night's Hall of Fame Game against the Indianapolis Colts in Canton, Ohio.

"It's a preseason game, so it's an opportunity for us to go out there and continue to build on what we're trying to accomplish this season," Campbell said. "Each week [of preseason] is going to be different. Everybody is going to have an opportunity to play and have fun. I think the guys are looking forward to it."

It is his first action since injuring his knee in Week 13 last year. He suffered a dislocated kneecap injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season.

Entering the 2008 campaign, Campbell is fully healthy.

Campbell makes his 21st NFL start when the Redskins take on the New York Giants in the NFL regular season opener on Sept. 4 at the Meadowlands. For his career, Campbell has completed 57.8 percent of his passes for 3,997 yards, 22 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. His QB rating is 77.3.

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Good stuff.

Even with the glowing reports I expect some jitters from Jason. The last time he lined up against an opposing defensive line his knee was injured.

Good luck Jason! (I see that Jason had a batted ball, you think Colt is teaching him a thing or two? ;))

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I read that article last night and got excited and pooped my pants.

I can't wait to see how JC does on Sunday in his limited action.

:laugh:

Good article. I think Jason Campbell has the tools to be a good QB for us. I just hope that all of this actually pays off and this good practice talk, manifests itself in real games. I think it can though. We saw last year what happened when the coaches just let Jason play. This year he's hopefully learned from his experiences and Zorn has brought him some new things to work with, and we see a much more improved Campbell.

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Zorn's comments on what he calls "vicinity throws" were interesting.

In previous posts, I have been critical of Jason in saying that he reminded me of a pitcher who can be "wild in the strike zone," meaning that his completion percentage didn't reflect the seriousness of his accuracy problems. Many of his passes last season were what Zorn here calls "vicinity throws." While they were completed, they didn't allow the receiver to gain YAC.

If Jim Zorn can iron out the kinks in his game and make him more consistently accurate, Jason will take a leap forward.

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Let's hope that all of this is true, and he is improving. JC defenetly needed some improvment from last year but he also played pretty good at times. He never has been too far off. I think Zorn will and is fixing the little things to make JC GREAT. The skins should have a reliable QB this year.

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It's encouraging to read this stuff but I still worry that it's all the regular hype. :( I've really been jaded over the past several years I guess. Either way, I really liked what I have seen of campbell last season. The Cowboys game was an excellent benchmark because that was a good team last year and he kept us in the game until the end. Also, the game vs. the Lions he played exceptionally well. I'm still cautiously optimistic.

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This is an obvious over-statement, but JC is the key to our success. Unlike the Raven's of 2000, who could win in spite of their QB because of their stellar D, I think that we'll only go as far as JC takes us (even though I do think we'll have a Top 10 D again this year).

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Zorn's comments on what he calls "vicinity throws" were interesting.

In previous posts, I have been critical of Jason in saying that he reminded me of a pitcher who can be "wild in the strike zone," meaning that his completion percentage didn't reflect the seriousness of his accuracy problems. Many of his passes last season were what Zorn here calls "vicinity throws." While they were completed, they didn't allow the receiver to gain YAC.

If Jim Zorn can iron out the kinks in his game and make him more consistently accurate, Jason will take a leap forward.

I would agree 100% on his comments being interesting. IMHO though "vicinity throws" is what was needed in Saunders' offense, and the QB had to "trust" the intended receiver to be where he was suppose to be in time to catch the ball.

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It's encouraging to read this stuff but I still worry that it's all the regular hype.

Agreed. Forgive me for not getting too excited when the Redskins official website states that the QB looks good in practice.

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