52 starts (20-32)
Completion % = 61.2% (1002/1637)
10860 yrds – 55 TD - 38 INT – 82.3 – 109 sacks
7 Game Winning Drives
The second hand picked apprentice to Palpatine was Count Dooku, whom he gave the title of Darth Tyranus when he turned to the Dark Side. Jason Campbell was the second first round quarterback the Redskins drafted in the Dan Snyder era, and just like Count Dooku he came into his job with an impressive resume. Campbell was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2004 as he led the Auburn Tigers to an undefeated regular season. Campbell would lead the SEC that year in yards per attempt, completion percentage, and in number of first round NFL running back talent playing behind him in Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams. Unfortunately for Campbell, Auburn did not have as high of a pedigree at that time as USC or Oklahoma, both of whom also went undefeated in the regular season, and the BCS being what it was gave Oklahoma another chance to lose in the national championship game. Auburn was relegated to the Sugar Bowl where they beat Virginia Tech and Campbell was named MVP. Despite missing his chance to be a National Champion, Campbell entered the 2005 NFL Draft as a three year starting quarterback who had played in 48 games in his college career and had not lost a game in over a year. Still, no one could have predicted what was going to happen to him in the Draft.
Gibbs and Snyder decided that Patrick Ramsey (Darth Maul) was not cutting the mustard and Snyder needed a new dark apprentice. And hey, why not trade away three draft picks to get him because that is kind of the Redskins' thing. You may have forgotten that after taking Carlos Rogers with the ninth pick the Redskins traded up to the 25th pick to acquire Campbell, for which they gave up their third round pick in 2005 and their first and fourth round pick in 2006 (The Alex Smith deal is not looking so bad now, is it?). A hefty price for a quarterback that was efficient but who had two of the best running backs in the nation helping him to that undefeated season, and a quarterback who had a different offensive coordinator every year at Auburn. Still, Campbell had upside to him and Snyder trusted that Joe Gibbs could get it out of him. The problem for Campbell, though, was that he would have to wait his turn.
The 2005 season was the pinnacle of the Brunell vs. Ramsey controversy, so Campbell would not see any playing time that year as Brunell short-armed his way to the playoffs. The next year saw the end of Brunell's tenure as the starter, and Campbell would take over as starter for the last seven games of the season going 2-5. Campbell showed promise that Snyder had finally made a wise choice in his quarterbacking decision, and it gave the fan base hope that 2007 would be a banner year for the Redskins. For Campbell, it almost was over before it started when he injured his knee in the preseason. Campbell would be able to start the regular season, and he led the team to an impressive 5-3 record. The Redskins would lose their next four games, and the season looked over when Campbell went down again with a knee injury against the Bears that would keep him out the rest of the season. The Redskins, though, would win that game and the next three games to once again miraculously make the playoffs on the back of Todd Collins, but the Seattle Seahawks would send the Redskins home yet again in the first round. Things looked bleak for Jason Campbell, especially when Joe Gibbs called it quits after the 2007 season, but an unexpected coaching choice led to some unexpected short term results for Campbell and the Redskins.
Jim Zorn came on as the Redskins' new offensive coordinator after turning Matt Hasselbeck into one of the premier passers in the league in Seattle, and Snyder figured he could do the same with Jason Campbell. What Snyder did not expect was that no one wanted to be head coach for that Redskins team, so he promoted Zorn before he even took the field. Skepticism ran wild in that offseason, but all of that was put to rest when the Redskins began the season 6-2 and Campbell was being touted as one of the better passers in the league. Campbell would not throw one interception in those eight games, and Zorn's version of the West Coast offense was sending HTTR Nation into a frenzy. What goes up must come down, though, and Zorn was unable to adapt his offensive play calling once defenses made adjustments to stop it. The Redskins would go 2-6 in their last eight games with Campbell only managing to throw 5 TD's in those eight games. He still managed to throw for over 3,000 yards in 2008, but the Redskins would miss the playoffs after an unbelievable start to the season. The depressing end of the 2008 season would bleed over into the 2009 season as the Redskins actively looked to sign Jay Cutler and Mark Sanchez to replace Jason Campbell, but the Redskins were unsuccessful in that arena and they rolled with Campbell for a second straight year. While Campbell would have the best statistical season of his career in 2009 starting all 16 games and throwing for over 3,600 yards and 20 TD's, the Redskins would finish a lowly 4-12 with Zorn being stripped of all meaningful authority after it was clear that the players were not responding to pretty much anything Zorn said. The Redskins would do something that season that will live on forever, but it would not be Jim Zorn or Jason Campbell. Zorn was fired in favor of Mike Shanahan, and Campbell was traded after the Redskins finally found a replacement for him in Donovan McNabb.
Campbell became the starter in Oakland in 2010, and he would stay there for one more season before becoming a journeyman backup. The next three seasons saw Campbell in Chicago, Cleveland (where he would start eight games), and Cincinnati before retiring after the 2014 season. Campbell will go down as getting somewhat of a raw deal in Washington. Aside from that miraculous first half of 2008, his teams were not very good and he could never find consistency within the organization or any luck with being able to prove himself a winner in the NFL. He was on both teams that made the playoffs in the mid 2000's, but he did not take a snap in either of those appearances. Campbell threw for the 6th most passing yards in Redskins history, but two of his seasons were ones where the head coach left or was fired at the end of the season due to poor performances. The only consistency Campbell could find was in his starting role. Campbell started every game for the Redskins between 2008-2009, making him one of only six Redskin quarterbacks in 83 years who started every game for two or more consecutive seasons. The others are Mark Rypien, Joe Theismann, Sonny Jurgensen, Norm Snead, and Kirk Cousins. Jason Campbell carried the franchise for the four seasons that he was a starter, and he will be remembered for his consistency and that magical first half of the 2008 season.
Coincidental Side Notes: Denver would turn the 2006 fourth round pick they got from the Redskins in the trade up to get Jason Campbell into Brandon Marshall. It was Mike Shanahan who made that trade, and he would ultimately execute the trade that sent Jason Campbell to Oakland once he became the head coach in Washington.
Green Bay selected Aaron Rodgers one spot ahead of Washington selecting Jason Campbell in the 2005 Draft. I'll let George Costanza speak for everyone on that one.
Jason Campbell is one of five quarterbacks to start for the Redskins who were also named SEC player of the year while in college. The others are Shane Matthews, Heath Shuler, Danny Wuerffel, and Rex Grossman.
Once Campbell left Washington he would go on a reunion tour. He would play for three former Redskin coaches; Al Saunders who was the OC in Oakland, Norv Turner who was his OC in Cleveland, and Marvin Lewis who was the head coach in Cincinnati. In Chicago he backed up Jay Cutler whom he beat twice in 2002 and 2003 when Cutler played for Vanderbilt.
7 Game Winning Drives
The second hand picked apprentice to Palpatine was Count Dooku, whom he gave the title of Darth Tyranus when he turned to the Dark Side. Jason Campbell was the second first round quarterback the Redskins drafted in the Dan Snyder era, and just like Count Dooku he came into his job with an impressive resume. Campbell was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2004 as he led the Auburn Tigers to an undefeated regular season. Campbell would lead the SEC that year in yards per attempt, completion percentage, and in number of first round NFL running back talent playing behind him in Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams. Unfortunately for Campbell, Auburn did not have as high of a pedigree at that time as USC or Oklahoma, both of whom also went undefeated in the regular season, and the BCS being what it was gave Oklahoma another chance to lose in the national championship game. Auburn was relegated to the Sugar Bowl where they beat Virginia Tech and Campbell was named MVP. Despite missing his chance to be a National Champion, Campbell entered the 2005 NFL Draft as a three year starting quarterback who had played in 48 games in his college career and had not lost a game in over a year. Still, no one could have predicted what was going to happen to him in the Draft.
Gibbs and Snyder decided that Patrick Ramsey (Darth Maul) was not cutting the mustard and Snyder needed a new dark apprentice. And hey, why not trade away three draft picks to get him because that is kind of the Redskins' thing. You may have forgotten that after taking Carlos Rogers with the ninth pick the Redskins traded up to the 25th pick to acquire Campbell, for which they gave up their third round pick in 2005 and their first and fourth round pick in 2006 (The Alex Smith deal is not looking so bad now, is it?). A hefty price for a quarterback that was efficient but who had two of the best running backs in the nation helping him to that undefeated season, and a quarterback who had a different offensive coordinator every year at Auburn. Still, Campbell had upside to him and Snyder trusted that Joe Gibbs could get it out of him. The problem for Campbell, though, was that he would have to wait his turn.
The 2005 season was the pinnacle of the Brunell vs. Ramsey controversy, so Campbell would not see any playing time that year as Brunell short-armed his way to the playoffs. The next year saw the end of Brunell's tenure as the starter, and Campbell would take over as starter for the last seven games of the season going 2-5. Campbell showed promise that Snyder had finally made a wise choice in his quarterbacking decision, and it gave the fan base hope that 2007 would be a banner year for the Redskins. For Campbell, it almost was over before it started when he injured his knee in the preseason. Campbell would be able to start the regular season, and he led the team to an impressive 5-3 record. The Redskins would lose their next four games, and the season looked over when Campbell went down again with a knee injury against the Bears that would keep him out the rest of the season. The Redskins, though, would win that game and the next three games to once again miraculously make the playoffs on the back of Todd Collins, but the Seattle Seahawks would send the Redskins home yet again in the first round. Things looked bleak for Jason Campbell, especially when Joe Gibbs called it quits after the 2007 season, but an unexpected coaching choice led to some unexpected short term results for Campbell and the Redskins.
Jim Zorn came on as the Redskins' new offensive coordinator after turning Matt Hasselbeck into one of the premier passers in the league in Seattle, and Snyder figured he could do the same with Jason Campbell. What Snyder did not expect was that no one wanted to be head coach for that Redskins team, so he promoted Zorn before he even took the field. Skepticism ran wild in that offseason, but all of that was put to rest when the Redskins began the season 6-2 and Campbell was being touted as one of the better passers in the league. Campbell would not throw one interception in those eight games, and Zorn's version of the West Coast offense was sending HTTR Nation into a frenzy. What goes up must come down, though, and Zorn was unable to adapt his offensive play calling once defenses made adjustments to stop it. The Redskins would go 2-6 in their last eight games with Campbell only managing to throw 5 TD's in those eight games. He still managed to throw for over 3,000 yards in 2008, but the Redskins would miss the playoffs after an unbelievable start to the season. The depressing end of the 2008 season would bleed over into the 2009 season as the Redskins actively looked to sign Jay Cutler and Mark Sanchez to replace Jason Campbell, but the Redskins were unsuccessful in that arena and they rolled with Campbell for a second straight year. While Campbell would have the best statistical season of his career in 2009 starting all 16 games and throwing for over 3,600 yards and 20 TD's, the Redskins would finish a lowly 4-12 with Zorn being stripped of all meaningful authority after it was clear that the players were not responding to pretty much anything Zorn said. The Redskins would do something that season that will live on forever, but it would not be Jim Zorn or Jason Campbell. Zorn was fired in favor of Mike Shanahan, and Campbell was traded after the Redskins finally found a replacement for him in Donovan McNabb.
Campbell became the starter in Oakland in 2010, and he would stay there for one more season before becoming a journeyman backup. The next three seasons saw Campbell in Chicago, Cleveland (where he would start eight games), and Cincinnati before retiring after the 2014 season. Campbell will go down as getting somewhat of a raw deal in Washington. Aside from that miraculous first half of 2008, his teams were not very good and he could never find consistency within the organization or any luck with being able to prove himself a winner in the NFL. He was on both teams that made the playoffs in the mid 2000's, but he did not take a snap in either of those appearances. Campbell threw for the 6th most passing yards in Redskins history, but two of his seasons were ones where the head coach left or was fired at the end of the season due to poor performances. The only consistency Campbell could find was in his starting role. Campbell started every game for the Redskins between 2008-2009, making him one of only six Redskin quarterbacks in 83 years who started every game for two or more consecutive seasons. The others are Mark Rypien, Joe Theismann, Sonny Jurgensen, Norm Snead, and Kirk Cousins. Jason Campbell carried the franchise for the four seasons that he was a starter, and he will be remembered for his consistency and that magical first half of the 2008 season.
Coincidental Side Notes: Denver would turn the 2006 fourth round pick they got from the Redskins in the trade up to get Jason Campbell into Brandon Marshall. It was Mike Shanahan who made that trade, and he would ultimately execute the trade that sent Jason Campbell to Oakland once he became the head coach in Washington.
Green Bay selected Aaron Rodgers one spot ahead of Washington selecting Jason Campbell in the 2005 Draft. I'll let George Costanza speak for everyone on that one.
Jason Campbell is one of five quarterbacks to start for the Redskins who were also named SEC player of the year while in college. The others are Shane Matthews, Heath Shuler, Danny Wuerffel, and Rex Grossman.
Once Campbell left Washington he would go on a reunion tour. He would play for three former Redskin coaches; Al Saunders who was the OC in Oakland, Norv Turner who was his OC in Cleveland, and Marvin Lewis who was the head coach in Cincinnati. In Chicago he backed up Jay Cutler whom he beat twice in 2002 and 2003 when Cutler played for Vanderbilt.
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