From the day that Jason Campbell was drafted out of Auburn, the sky has been the limit for the former #17 from Washington.
After being bounced around from coordinator to coordinator and subsequently being traded to the Oakland Raiders, Campbell was seen as a solid person and a bit of an underachiever.
All of that started to change last season, when, after being booed off of the field and replaced by journeyman, Bruce Gradkowski, he came back to lead an Oakland Raider victory in San Diego with three consecutive scoring plays to start the game.
For the last five games of the season, Jason Campbell’s stats were impressive (1,065 yards, 6 TD, 2 INT, 1 rushing TD), but, not as impressive as the never say die attitude that he instilled in his teammates. The team went 3-2 during that span and could have very easily been 5-0 with their only losses being a game that they threw away at the end against Jacksonville and a five point loss to the Colts.
In training camp, his former teammate Rock Catrwright has mentioned Jason’s growth, as has his former Offensive Lineman, Stephon Heyer:
“Jason has gotten better over time. His pocket presence and his huddle presence is definitely better than it used to be. It looks like he’s more of a leader, he’s comfortable and I can see that more now than ever”
When asked about taking a leadership role with young Denarius Moore, Jason commented:
“I want to make sure that everyone understands how this offense can be successful this year if we put our whole mindset into it and we understand what we’re doing. We understand that we’ve got a lot of young guys on this team, but, I told them, I said ’You’re a bunch of young talented guys that can make a lot of things happen’.
“Each day, It seems like our passing game is getting better and better. It was exciting to see that today because a lot of the guys who were running routes and making plays weren’t even our starters, so, that means that they are picking it up, so if someone does go down during the year, someone can step in there and get the job done”
If Jason Campbell continues this progression, he may soon prove to be the franchise quarterback that Oakland has been missing since Rich Gannon retired. Time will tell.