Jason Campbell
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 Jason Campbell prior to a home game at Auburn University, 2004. | |||||||
| Washington Redskins | |||||||
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| Career information | |||||||
| College: | Auburn | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 2005 / Round: 1 / Pick: 25 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2009 | |||||||
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Jason Campbell (born December 31, 1981 in Laurel, Mississippi) is a backup quarterback for the Washington Redskins in the American National Football League.
College career
A 2000 graduate of Taylorsville High School in Taylorsville, Mississippi, Campbell went on to play college football at Auburn. As a starter he had a different offensive coordinator every year, finally finding success in his senior year when he led the Tigers to an undefeated season in 2004 and was named the SEC Player of the Year and MVP of the SEC Championship Game. Campbell held the record for the longest touchdown completion in Auburn football history, an 87 yard pass to Silas Daniels in a 2004 matchup versus Louisiana Tech, until Auburn's 2009 game against LA Tech (93 yards by Chris Todd). Campbell graduated from Auburn with a degree in public administration.
Like so many college players, while he had some success in College, it did not transpire to his Professional Career.[1]
Professional career
Draft
Surprisingly, Campbell was drafted as the 25th pick in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins under General Manager Vinny Cerrato. Remarkably, the Redskins traded up in the draft to get Campbell. They surrendered a first, third, and fourth round pick to get the first round 25th pick.[2]
2006
On November 13, 2006 Campbell was made the starting quarterback, in lieu of an aging but more talented Mark Brunell.
On November 19, 2006, Campbell made his first career start, and lost as he has done many times since, 20–17 Redskins lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On November 26, 2006, Campbell had his first win of his pro career, leading the Redskins to a 17–13 victory over the Carolina Panthers. Campbell completed 11 passes on 23 attempts for only 118 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. Campbell threw a 66 yard touchdown pass to tight end Chris Cooley in the fourth quarter. It was the Redskins running game of over 130 yards and their defense and 2 Interceptions (one by Sean Taylor near the end of the game that secured the win) that was most effective in this win.
On December 10, 2006, Campbell again lost to the Philadelphia Eagles team. The game ended in a 21–19 Redskins loss, on yet another Campbell interception.
Redskins record was again a losing record for the year under Campbell, they ended up 5 wins and 11 loses.
2007
On August 18, 2007, Campbell was tackled at the knee by Pittsburgh Steelers' DE Brett Keisel in the second preseason game. Initially, the injury looked severe but Campbell eventually walked off the field on his own. Trainers said that Campbell's ligaments weren't torn and announced his injury as a "bruised knee."
On December 6, 2007 Campbell allegedly dislocated the patellar ligament of his left knee during a game against the Chicago Bears. The injury did not require surgery but Campbell did not play for the remainder of the season, due to Todd Collins success as the new starting QB (he went 4-0 under the same exact offense). [3]
Campbell ended yet another season with a losing record at 5 wins and 7 loses. However, the Redskins did improve to 9 wins and no additional loses under their BACKUP Quarterback Todd Collins, he also had an impressive QB Rating of over 106 for the 4-0 stint. He led the Redskins to the playoffs in a season that Campbell was on the way to losing.
Many questioned whether Joe Gibbs had actually pulled Campbell and had decided that after the 2007 season he would look to trade him or move him to backup. However, Gibbs retired after the 2007 season and that was never answer.
2008
When Joe Gibbs retired for a second time at the end of the 2007 season, the Redskins hired Jim Zorn, first as Offensive Coordinator and then naming him Head Coach. Zorn said at the time he would also serve as Quarterbacks Coach. Under Zorn, Campbell was given another chance as Zorn was not a coach that liked to make waves.
The Redskins started the season with 5 wins and 2 losses, prompting some observers to foolishly declare Campbell one of the NFL's elite quarterbacks. Campbell then went on to lose 6 of their last 8 games to end the season at 8-8 (another non-winning season for Campbell), missing the playoffs. At the end of the season, it was unclear if the Redskins were on the road to improvement or decline. Questions arose on the future of Campbell as the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins.[4]
2009
Despite pursuing other quarterbacks in the off season, the Redskins were unable to acquire Jay Cutler or Mark Sanchez, opting to start Campbell for the last year of his current contract. The often rocky relationship Campbell had with head coach Jim Zorn came to an end with Zorn's firing.[5]
New Washington head coach Mike Shanahan declared that the Redskins would tender Campbell an offer leading up to the 2010 free agent period. Ensuring that if Campbell signs with another team Washington will receive compensation in the form of draft picks.[6]
Campbell ended 2009 with a 4-12 record, one of the worst in Redskins history. It is doubtful he will return as the starter in 2010.
Career Win/Loss
As a starter Jason Campbell has a horrid record of 19 wins and 35 loses.[7] The worst in Redskins history that has started for 4 or more years.[8]
Career statistics
Passing
| Year | Team | G | GS | Cmp | Att | Yds | Cmp% | TD | Int | Rat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | WAS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2006 | WAS | 7 | 7 | 110 | 207 | 1,297 | 53.1 | 10 | 6 | 76.5 |
| 2007 | WAS | 13 | 13 | 250 | 417 | 2,700 | 60.0 | 12 | 11 | 77.6 |
| 2008 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 315 | 506 | 3,245 | 62.3 | 13 | 6 | 84.3 |
| 2009 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 327 | 507 | 3,618 | 64.5 | 20 | 15 | 86.4 |
| Total | WAS | 52 | 52 | 1002 | 1,637 | 10,860 | 61.2 | 55 | 38 | 82.3 |
References
- ^ "Jason_Campbell". 2007-12-07. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft05/news/story?id=2041490
- ^ "Redskins turn to Collins". Associated Press. 2007-12-07. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/30/AR2009123002532.html Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell prepares for season finale, and an uncertain future
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4794280 Zorn fired after 12-20 run with Redskins ESPN
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/26/AR2010022605604.html Mike Shanahan says Redskins will tender Jason Campbell an offer
- ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/7201/career
- ^ http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/washington/redskins.html Washington Redskins 1937-Present