With a 7-4 start the Washington Redskins find themselves in second place in the tough NFC east and in prime position as the NFL playoffs near. The season for the Redskins began with several questions, including how the Redskins would transition from Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs to the relatively unknown Seattle quarterback coach in Jim Zorn.
And to the surprise of many outsiders, the transition between coaches has been somewhat smooth. Much of this season’s success can be attested to the on and off the field leadership of players like middle linebacker London Fletcher and running back Clinton Portis. But, one factor in the season’s success that tends to be over looked by many has been the stellar play of young quarterback Jason Campbell.
Jason Campbell is entering his fourth season in the NFL and his third as a full-time starter in Washington. Under the leadership of new coach Jim Zorn, Jason in many ways is having his most successful season as a NFL quarterback. A lot of his success can be credited to Zorn’s hand on approach.
Zorn, a former NFL quarterback in his own right is also credited with developing Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck during the time he spent in Seattle. This offseason, Zorn implemented an entire new pass game which became Campbell’s eighth offensive system in as many years.
But, while many coaches in the league would have tied the hands of their young quarterback in a new offensive system, (e.g. Al Saunders when he was offensive coordinator for the Redskins in 2006-'07) Jim Zorn allowed for Jason’s growth with trust in his quarterbacks judgment and a rare assortment of drills.
During camp, Campbell could be seen dodging tackling dummies, as well as tennis balls to simulate how to avoid pressure. He would then be asked to deliver the pass to a receiver stationed downfield to simulate a receiver breaking open during a scramble. On many occasions, this drill has paid off in full for the Redskins.
With the development of Jason Campbell, the Redskins offense has also been much more consistent this season. Clinton Portis is having his best season as a Washington Redskins as he leads the NFL in rushing yards with 1,206.
Clinton’s success can be pointed to the fact that teams can no longer stack the box with seven and eight players to shut down the run. In previous years, teams did not respect the Redskins' downfield attack in the pass game and were able to load up the box on Portis.
Last season, when Todd Collins took over for the injured Campbell the Redskins surprised teams. Collins was very effect finding the underneath routes but never effectively stretched the defense with down the field passes.
The Redskins’ luck ran out in the postseason however. The Seattle Seahawks took away the underneath routes from the offense and the offense became stagnant.
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