Om Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Jason Campbell, Speed, Defense & Hope October 9, 2009 Some general, getting-back-in-the-saddle thoughts, heading into the second quarter of a dispiriting start to the 2009 Redskins season: The game is still moving too fast for Redskins QB Jason Campbell. On the rare occasions he drops, reads and throws on rhythm, he’s pretty good—not Aikmanesque in accuracy, but certainly NFL caliber. Problem is, Jason doesn’t throw on rhythm very often. Whether the offensive line gives him time or not, he is pretty much always a beat late, or even worse, has developed a dangerous habit of pulling the ball back down, double-clutching and starting to drift in the pocket. The young quarterback’s distinct lack of progress—and, arguably, regression—in his second year in Jim Zorn’s offense has been the 2009 season’s biggest disappointment to date. * I had hoped to see more team speed on display this year, an area in which the Redskins have been sorely lacking for years. I haven’t seen it . Offensively, the Redskins look slow from the time they break the huddle to the time the whistle blows each play dead. WR Santana Moss has great speed but doesn’t get the ball in space often enough to show it. Sophomore WR’s Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas don’t get the ball at all. Pro Bowl TE Chris Cooley gets open, catches well and is a deceptively good open field runner, but couldn’t outrun a congressional health bill. Veteran RB’s Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts are efficient at best, plodding (by NFL standards) at worst. The “speed back” option the team entered the offseason looking to add turned out to be one RB Anthony Aldridge ... who has yet to see the ball. The starting offense is running in sand. On punt returns, the potentially dynamic three-headed monster of Antwaan Rangle El (4 returns, 8.8 avg., long of 15, NFL rank: 23), Santana Moss (2 returns, 2.5 avg., long of 4, NFL rank: 48) and DeAngelo Hall (no returns) has effectively pulled its own teeth, opting to use Randle El’s admittedly good hands to make safe fair catches, regardless of field position or game situation. While the result has limited negative plays, it has also bypassed a major opportunity to put pressure on the opposition and give Redskins playmakers, sorely missing in action, a few more chances a game to touch the ball and actually make plays. On an offensively challenged team, this strikes me as a serious oversight. Oh, and one of my favorite Redskins “character guys,” RB Rock Cartwright, bless his heart, continues to field kickoffs, run straight upfield into the pile, and fall down. Love ya Rock, but geez ... CLICK HERE to read more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideshow24 Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Why the shot at Cooley's speed? None of the top tight ends are really fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingGibbs Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 OM. Thank you for that read. I know it wasn't easy for you to write that, but you'll be respected for the fact that you did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
More Complete Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Good read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ntotoro Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I disagree about one thing. This isn't the Blache/Williams Defense. This is completely Blachetoast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LD0506 Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 YAY! An Om thread! It's about damn time.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botched Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Nice read Om. The team speed really gets me too. We are slow and robotic as an offense, there's no rythym at all. As you said, we have been this way for years now. Oh, and the part about us never having a blitzing linebacker go unblocked up the middle...that made me want to bang my head against the wall. We never ever see that from this defense. Every so often we'll have a DB run free around the edge...and 90% of the time they reach the QB a split second late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robotfire Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 We're 2-2. We lost *one* game that may possibly be blamed on Campbell, and that was against New York. I think our QB situation is not as bleak as you make it out to be. My biggest fear is our weak WR play. To have a shot, one of the new guys has to step up. Why hasn't that happened? Why have we never developed a single receiver in all the time Stan Hixon has been here? How is he able to keep his job???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingGibbs Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Nice read Om. The team speed really gets me too. We are slow and robotic as an offense, there's no rythym at all. As you said, we have been this way for years now.Oh, and the part about us never having a blitzing linebacker go unblocked up the middle...that made me want to bang my head against the wall. We never ever see that from this defense. Every so often we'll have a DB run free around the edge...and 90% of the time they reach the QB a split second late. I honestly believe that we are the only team that can't get an LB untouched for a free shot at the QB. I don't know if it's lack of lineman stunts, but tha's how LB's usually get free. The lack of creativity that Blache shows is beyond frustrating. Our defense is good, but I think Blache prevents it from being great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvtbred Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Nice read, a lot of sad but true in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macnoke03 Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Nice read Om. The team speed really gets me too. We are slow and robotic as an offense, there's no rythym at all. As you said, we have been this way for years now.Oh, and the part about us never having a blitzing linebacker go unblocked up the middle...that made me want to bang my head against the wall. We never ever see that from this defense. Every so often we'll have a DB run free around the edge...and 90% of the time they reach the QB a split second late. For me, this is one of the most frustrating things about wathcing this team every week. It takes an act of God for this team to get a sack. Sack's are such big momentum, and someties, game changing moments. Time and time again we will get so close, but somehow we still come up empty. It's so frustrating to see other teams send one or 2 guys charging up the middle to get a kill shot on the QB while we just send the same 4 down lineman who don't get the job done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALLWORLD Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Pretty much a summarized version of all the threads rolled up in one, other than calling Cooley slow... Seems just fine to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaskinsfan Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Good read, I usually enjoy your writing and this was no exception. I totally agree with the part about JC, can't throw on time or see the field. There's no telling how potent the offense could be with a good QB at the helm, we will continue to slowly die offensively until we get one. One thing about the Lewis hire, it must be a wake up call for Zorn that he is in trouble. Even though he is very reluctant to pull Jason, I think he may if JC struggles again because Zorn realizes that his HC job is on the line. Maybe with Blanche "retired" the defense will wake up. The skins are a better team personnel wise than they are playing, I hope something changes soon to get them going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoRUSupposed2Be Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Great to see you back OM, but it's still a little early in the season to throw out the whilte sheet. But unfortunately, I agree with everything you said about Campbell. He still has trouble with getting a "feel" for the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttr77 Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 It takes an act of God for this team to get a sack. Maybe He'll be available via free agency next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaskinsfan Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 We're 2-2. We lost *one* game that may possibly be blamed on Campbell, and that was against New York. I think our QB situation is not as bleak as you make it out to be. My biggest fear is our weak WR play. To have a shot, one of the new guys has to step up. Why hasn't that happened? Why have we never developed a single receiver in all the time Stan Hixon has been here? How is he able to keep his job???? It takes a good QB to recognize coverage, deliver the football on time and accurately, to open receivers. JC's struggles direct affect the WR performance. They can't throw the ball to themselves. JC has NEVER had big numbers throwing to WR, regardless of who they are. JC's the one with the problems, and I agree with the OP that he is probably regressing at this point. Its time to move on from JC! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselPwr44 Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Waiting for ThePreciating to come in here and revoke Om's fanhood............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLongshot Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I can't say I agree with you that Campbell hasn't shown improvement. I think he looks much better this year, making good read and getting the ball in stride with his receivers. Last Sunday was a regression of sorts before Campbell finally let it go and performed up to his capability. I do think you have a point about him being a hair late on some passes, and there may be a point that someone else had that he might be going through his progressions a bit too fast. I think on that first interception, maybe if he looked at ARE a couple seconds longer maybe he would have gotten the defender to stick on him rather than drop off and wait for Kelly to come across. I agree with you about team speed, and I'm not sure what the problem is. Moss has had a problem with disappearing in games this year and so far none of the other guys have been able to get open regularly. I'm hoping Devin gets in and finally shows us something, but I think that is more what is holding back this offense than Campbell. Other than Cooley, he isn't getting much help from his receivers. As for the pass rush, I think it is taking some time. The problem with Orakpo is that his ideal position is where Carter is playing right now, and you aren't going to take out Carter. As time has gone on, Orakpo is getting more opportunities to rush the passer. I expect that to continue as he gets comfortable. I actually think a key player will be the development of Jarmon. He's the guy who will eventually take snaps from Daniels. I expect that he probably will this weekend with Griffin looking unlikely to contribute much. I think what has hurt us the most defensively is the decline of the play of our secondary. They did a good job stepping up against Tampa, but then again they don't have a whole lot of talent there. Both Rogers and Hall have had some rough games and they need to continue to step it up so that the pass rush can get there. They also need to take advantage of mistakes when they happen. Also, Laron Landry needs to learn how to tackle. He's pissing me off right now because he always seem to be going for a big hit and forget he needs to wrap up. I think I'll scream if I see him bounce off another offensive player that allows him to pick up an extra 5 yards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Operations Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Be careful Om, you might be labelled one of the agenda-boyz or a hater now. Don't you know JC's QB rating is higher than Tom Brady's???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Grundle Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 We see this team through the same eyes. Thanks for putting it into words. I think a lot of people have given up on Campbell at the same time. Hoping this was the year it clicked, and realizing if it hasn't happened yet, it probably never will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Adama Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Om I always love your articles, but I just have to say making the measure of a good Quarterback as "Aikmanesque" is sorely disappointing. How about Montana-esque? Or Marino-esque? I just have a hard-time swallowing the bitter pill of Dallas having a good quarterback. Thanks as always Om! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttr77 Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Om I always love your articles, but I just have to say making the measure of a good Quarterback as "Aikmanesque" is sorely disappointing. How about Montana-esque? Or Marino-esque? I just have a hard-time swallowing the bitter pill of Dallas having a good quarterback. Thanks as always Om! At least he didn't say 'Shuler-esque'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califan007 The Constipated Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Oh, and one of my favorite Redskins “character guys,” RB Rock Cartwright, bless his heart, continues to field kickoffs, run straight upfield into the pile, and fall down. Love ya Rock, but geez ... :rotflmao: :applause: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePreciating Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I'm supposed to come in here and revoke your fan card Om, but I agree with almost everything you've said, except The reality through four weeks is that the team still cannot pressure the passer ... partly due to the bizarre decision to use the sole true speed rusher on the roster, rookie DE Brian Orakpo, as a run-stopping SAM linebacker, and the limited opportunities afforded promising rookie DE Jeremy Jarmon. Orakpo has actually performed pretty well, and our defense is creating turnovers. The biggest criticism of our defense was our inability to create turnovers. Against the best offensive line in football, we forced a fumble and a pick. Good analysis though as a whole. I'm supposed to come here and fight with you, but you seem like you're not ready to pull the plug on this season either. I guess we're on the same page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califan007 The Constipated Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 By the way, that was an excellent read :applause:... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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