# Is Jason Campbell the least effective starting QB in the NFL? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 13, 2009, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961 "2009-09-13T22:30:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/21 "2009-09-14T21:56:34Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > Jake Delhomme for the win on “Most Ineffective/Ineffectual Starting QB.” How much longer before Fox comes to his senses? What senses can he come to? McCown is hurt and the only other guy is a former undrafted rookie with no experience. Supposedly a trade has been completed in principle that sends AJ Feely to Carolina from the Eagles (who are bumping him in favor of Garcia) but it’s not like he can play next week and expect to improve on Delhomme. The biggest question is why in the hell would Garcia choose Philly over Carolina. In Philly he’s just a stop gap. McNabb will be back before too long, Vick was brought in as a potential franchise guy and Kevin Kolb is the young starter in waiting. Basically he’s ensuring that he’s out of a job at the end of the season if not much sooner. The Panthers have nothing. He could win the starting job in Carolina and end up handing off to Williams and Stewart for the next 2 or 3 seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/22 "2009-09-14T22:04:34Z")
If the Eagles had Feeley today, they wouldn’t be trading him to the Panthers; they’d be giving him first team reps. They released him before the season. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/23 "2009-09-14T22:51:42Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > If the Eagles had Feeley today, they wouldn’t be trading him to the Panthers; they’d be giving him first team reps. They released him before the season. I must have misunderstood what the ESPN report was, or they fucked up which wouldn’t be a shock. Though I’m not sure why you think the guy they cut would be getting the reps ahead of the guy they kept though, it’s not like Kolb is a rookie who they are still trying to protect and groom. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelQReilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@MichaelQReilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelQReilly)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/24 "2009-09-15T02:00:53Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Speaking as a Giants fan… > > I think Jason Campbell is a pretty good quarterback. Probably about as good as Eli Manning (which is not, in itself, a glowing recommendation). I know that taking a dump on Eli is always easy to do, but come on. When Jason Campbell wins a playoff game or leads a game winning drive in the 4th quarter of the Superbowl get back to me. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/25 "2009-09-15T02:09:40Z")
> [@MichaelQReilly](#): > > I know that taking a dump on Eli is always easy to do, but come on. When Jason Campbell wins a playoff game or leads a game winning drive in the 4th quarter of the Superbowl get back to me. I’m not taking a dump on Eli- I like him fine. I just don’t consider him an elite quarterback. He’s only the third best quarterback taken in the draft the year he came out, after all. He’s better than average, and plenty good enough for the Giants’ purposes. He just isn’t a Brady, a Brees, or a PEYTON Manning. He’s only slightly better than Jason Campbell, in my view. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/26 "2009-09-15T02:41:35Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Extrapolating stats from an overrated quarterback on a HIGHLY overrated team does not pay. What does it matter if he or the team are overrated? They’re _his_ stats. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/27 "2009-09-18T18:09:24Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > He’s better than average, and plenty good enough for the Giants’ purposes. He just isn’t a Brady, a Brees, or a PEYTON Manning. He’s only slightly better than Jason Campbell, in my view. I’m not going to claim that Eli is better than Roethlisberger, but people tend to look at the stat sheet and think Roethlisberger is clearly better: Eli (72 starts): 1296 of 2313 (56%) for 14879 yards, 99 TDs 75 Ints; 76.3 Rating Ben (72 starts): 1222 of 1948 (63%) for 15337 yards, 102 TDs 71 Ints; 89.4 Rating What people forget is that there is one more stat crucial to the success of an NFL quarterback: Eli: 121 sacks Ben: 196 sacks Finally, Eli is more durable. Once he started his first game, he has never missed a start. Ben, meanwhile, has started all 16 games in a season exactly once. Given that their passing numbers aren’t all _that_ different, Eli being more durable and surrendering vastly fewer sacks – no doubt contributing to his lower completion percentage when he throws the ball away instead of scrambling into a sack – the margin between them is nowhere near as large as most people think. Also, Eli led two go-ahead TD drives in the fourth quarter in the Superbowl. Against the undefeated Patriots, which IMO is a damn sight more impressive than if it were against the “worst playoff team in the history of the NFL” Arizona Cardinals. Or Seahawks, even. I’ll admit Ben is better than Eli, but not by much. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/28 "2009-09-18T19:18:11Z")
Well, if you were inclined to go by the stat sheet, you’d take Rivers over either of them. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/29 "2009-09-18T20:46:41Z")
Yes, but until ge gets a ring he’s got a big honking disclaimer just to get into the conversation. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/30 "2009-09-18T21:01:22Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Really? Zorn’s already outperformed Gibbs, Spurrier, and whatever poor sap was doing the job before them (Norv Turner?). We also had Schottenheimer in between Norv and Spurrier. Being a Redskins fan is painful these days. More so than in the mid-1960s when you kinda took futility for granted. And more so than in the mid-1990s when at least we’d recently had a generation’s worth of good teams. The organization is going in circles with its head up its ass, and that’s less fun to watch with each succeeding year. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/31 "2009-09-18T21:10:59Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Right now, I’d rather have him than Delhomme. Also, Campbell’s receivers are Moss and Randle El, who are both 5’ 10". These days in the NFL, you gotta have at least one tall receiver. The days of the Smurfs are over. Tell that to Steve Smith. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/32 "2009-11-09T20:53:22Z")
Just a bump, so that I can admit I was waaaaay wrong about Matt Schaub, who was been a superb quarterback this year for the Texans. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/33 "2009-11-09T21:05:18Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I’m not going to claim that Eli is better than Roethlisberger, but people tend to look at the stat sheet and think Roethlisberger is clearly better: > > Eli (72 starts): 1296 of 2313 (56%) for 14879 yards, 99 TDs 75 Ints; 76.3 Rating > Ben (72 starts): 1222 of 1948 (63%) for 15337 yards, 102 TDs 71 Ints; 89.4 Rating > > What people forget is that there is one more stat crucial to the success of an NFL quarterback: > > Eli: 121 sacks > Ben: 196 sacks So what? Let’s assume sacks account for an incomplete pass AND the loss of 5 yards each. Here are their new stats: Eli: 1296/2434 (53.2%), 14,274 yards (13,669 if we go with -10/sack) Ben: 1222/2144 (57.0%), 14,357 yards (13,377 for -10/sack) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/34 "2009-11-09T21:19:20Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Just a bump, so that I can admit I was waaaaay wrong about Matt Schaub, who was been a superb quarterback this year for the Texans. Yes. Yes you were. 😉 Takes a man to bump a thread to admit his own error, though. Anyway, it turns out the correct answer was JaDerek Anderussell. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/35 "2009-11-09T21:25:22Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Yes. Yes you were. 😉 Takes a man to bump a thread to admit his own error, though. Anyway, it turns out the correct answer was JaDerek Anderussell. He’s in that new Gillette body shower gel commercial right? Where he plays a QB who’s one part crappy and the other part worthless? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/36 "2009-11-09T21:49:41Z")
He’s like yin and yang, only both sides look suspiciously like turds with undigested sweetcorn floating around in it. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/37 "2009-11-10T13:28:16Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > I’d disagree with that. Jason Cambell is a pretty solid NFL quarterback, which is saying something because teams are loaded with sub-par NFL quarterbacks. > > He doesn’t really do anything wrong, but doesn’t do anything to win the game by himself. He’s a game manager, and if you have a solid supporting cast, that’s more than adequate. I would agree with this. Campbell isn’t a game breaker type of QB, it’s true. But he is a pretty good one. And if his damn coach would tailor things to his skill set things could be good. But the players around him can’t get the job done. And that means HE can’t get the job done. Look at Mark Rypien. He was another manager sort of QB. I once heard him described by a commentator as a ‘big, immobile player with nerves of steel, the ability to read the field, and an arm capable of throwing the ball to Nebraska’. And given that ability-level Gibbs was capable of getting the most out of him. Gibbs got him a strong line, so he wouldn’t have to scramble, two running backs per season, one capable of getting two yards at any time and one capable of breaking out for 8 occasionally, and give him some tall, sort-of-speedy receivers to throw to and you get the 1991 season in Washington. If Campbell had better coaching and some decent support players he’d look loads better. ---
**Author:** ![Roulette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8dc957/32.png) [@Roulette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roulette)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/38 "2009-11-10T13:54:11Z")
Campbell was fine last year for the first 8 weeks. Not great, but serviceable. Slow reads, but he was accurate and rarely threw risky passes. That resulted in less than stellar numbers, but with Portis racking up yards on the ground, it was enough to go 6-2. But fell apart the second half of the season. He looked bad. Suddenly and horrifically bad. The difference was the 5 people standing in front of him. The injuries on the o-line translated immediately into greater pressure on him in the pocket. It also resulted in the running game’s drop-off, which in turn meant the games rode on Campbell’s shoulders. This year, it’s even worse than last year on the o-line. And Campbell is running scared back there. He has no running game to help him. His receivers aren’t doing great things, but quite frankly I saw a 3 man rush get past the o-line, one blocking TE, and a chip by the RB and still managed to sack Campbell before he could set his feet on a 3 step drop. 3v6 and he still went down in under 4 seconds. Quite frankly, he’d have to be the second coming on Slingin’ Sammy Bough to have a hope of doing anything useful behind that line. He’s not a great QB. Mediocre to iffy, in my honest opinion. The redskins can probably do better with a new QB next year. The o-line absolutely has to be the priority though. We can survive another year of Campbell, but not another year with an aging injury prone, and depth free line. Joe Bugel can only do so much. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/39 "2009-11-10T14:18:36Z")
I think he might do rather well starting in San Francisco next year. Solid offensive line, terrific running game when Gore is healthy, and some potentially excellent downfield threats plus Vernon Davis. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961/40 "2009-11-10T15:38:20Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I think he might do rather well starting in San Francisco next year. Solid offensive line… The offensive line in San Francisco barely rises to the level of mediocre in their best games this season. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jason-campbell-the-least-effective-starting-qb-in-the-nfl/509961.md?page=3)