Updated: Discuss our Backup QB Situation (formerly Byron Leftwich)

[BigHairedAristocrat]

Lotta Campbell-lovers in here apparently. To clarify my remark about Campbell being too tall, Zorn worked with him all offseason to stand shorter in the pocket because Zorn felt he was too tall.... so Campbell is always crouched down a little bit - that cant be comfortable for him. Someone also said something about JLC thinking Campbell is our franchise QB, and thats not accurate. JLC has said he thinks we should stick with Campbell because he's not THE probelm. O-line is our biggest and we still dont have good receivers. JLC thinks Campbell hasnt done enough either way to show if he can be THE GUY for us or not.

Here is an article I found after our first loss this season:

Trying to Get Up to Speed - washingtonpost.com

He's so big, and I just want him to move faster," Zorn said of the 6-foot-5 Campbell, who completed 15 of 27 passes Thursday night for 133 yards with a touchdown and an 81.2 passer rating. "And we'll continue to work on it. I'm not discouraged with a lot of the things he did. I just want him to get better."


Zorn lauded Campbell for protecting the football and not turning it over but was concerned by his tendency to lock onto a particular receiver, which contributed to a sack on the first offensive play of the game. Campbell also neglected to attempt to find a primary receiver downfield too often -- opting for "check-downs" to secondary options instead -- and Zorn is still waiting for a vertical component of his attack take shape.

Some scouts and executives believe Campbell is a poor fit for the West Coast offense, with his size and skills favoring seven-step drops and more deep throws, instead of the three-step drops and quick, rhythmic cadence of Zorn's style. "When I watch that team, I think something's going to have to give," said one NFL executive who has studied Campbell closely and believes he could succeed as a drop-back passer. "Is it the scheme or the quarterback? At some point either the coach is going to have to change what he does to fit the quarterback, or they're going to need a different quarterback."

Did Campbell improve in some areas of his play between 07 and 08? Sure. His passer rating went up a little bit (as it should for any QB in a WCO) and he stopped fumbling every game... thats good. But the fundamental flaws in Campbells game mentioned in the article - holding on to the ball too long and locking onto a receiver - have plagued campbell his entire career. They were a problem in college. They were a problem under Gibbs. They were a problem under Saunders. They were a problem at the beginning fo the season with Zorn. They were still a problem at the end of the season. In the WCO, you simply can't have a QB who holds on to the ball to long. Arguably, that would apply to any offense, but in a Coreyll style offense like the one we ran before, 5 and 7 step drops are more common than they are in a WCO. In that type of offense, Campbells tendancy to hold onto the ball can be covered over a little bit. but not here. the WCO (and one with a weak offensive line), where the majority of the passing plays involve 3 step drops, its KILLER.

If Campbell had shown some improvement in getting rid of the ball quicker and not locking in on his receivers as the season went on, i might feel differently. but he didnt. we're wasting our time with Campbell and the WCO. Either he needs to go, or the system does. However, if the system went (and Zorn was fired), and Campbell had to learn another new offense - theres no way he'd want to resign here, so we'd lose him anyways as a free agent. Holding onto campbell now does nothing but delay the inevitable. One way or another, chances are, he wont be our starting QB in 2011. We can keep him another year or two, and get nothing for him when he leaves, or we can get something for him in a trade and start developing a plan B.

Alot of you have made good arguments for Campbell, and I understand in your opinions, he is the undisputed savior of our franchise. I felt that way about Ramsey. I used to feel that way about Campbell. Maybe i just havent done a good job of expressing my argument convincingly, but i just dont have much hope for Campbell in a skins uniform.