Elite? I Do Not Think That Word Means What You Think It Means

So, Mary Kay Cabot is among the Cleveland.com / Plain Dealer writers who spent the last few weeks blatantly building up Jason Campbell. She called him “Elite” ( link ) and offered a glowing review of Campbell’s early career with nothing in the way of critical thought applied ( link ).
                So, having now watched Campbell implode on the big stage of “The Battle of Ohio”. I want to take a minute to introduce Jason Campbell through his actual play:

·         He has never lead a team to the play-offs

o   The Redskins did make the play-offs in 2007, but that was achieved by ending the season on a four game winning streak after an injured Campbell was replaced by Todd Collins

·         On 10/17/2010 with Oakland: he posted a QB Rating of 10.7 ( recap )

·         Lead the Raiders to a 4-2 start in 2011 before losing his job to injury. He threw for more than 200 yds twice in that stretch – the two losses.

·         Played 16 games in two seasons: 2008 and 2009, going 12-24 in his last 2 years with the Redskins

·         Is a career 32-42 starter

·         Has been paired with a premium running back during his periods of success: Clinton Portis and Darren McFadden principally.

I don’t get too worried when I see fans excited about a new quarterback. Though, I still don’t see anything in Campbell’s Kansas City start that should have earned praise beyond, “You sucked less in the second half”. When the media decides to go along for the ride, apparently because they feel the Browns’ fans deserve hope more than they deserve legitimate sports journalism I have an issue.

Jason Campbell is a known quantity. He is what he is. Cabot correctly points out that he has been in an Air Coryell offense before and that he should be familiar with its nuances. She writes, “Saunders knew Campbell would flourish in Turner's offense, because it's basically the same one he excelled in under Saunders in Washington and Oakland.” Remember, this is Cabot writing, this is not a direct quote. The problem is Campbell never excelled; he was serviceable, he managed games well at times when supported by an excellent running game. In fact, relying on Campbell’s arm was a recipe for a loss in his final year in Oakland. (0-2 when he threw for 200+,  4-0 when he didn’t)

But this is not analysis the Cleveland media is willing to perform. They refuse to look at this situation and wonder how a quarterback who has always needed a strong running game to succeed will do in a team that has no great back, maybe not even an average back. The Browns are a team who has declared itself a pass first team over and over.

Do you go back to Weeden at this point? The short answer is “yes”. Not because he will necessarily do better, but because there continues to be the chance that he will get better, Jason Campbell is a known quantity, he is not the key to the Browns getting to the play-offs no matter how many good Browns fans clap their hands and no matter how tightly they close their eyes and chant “I do believe in journeymen quarterbacks with a penchant for coming up short over the course of a season” Jason Campbell cannot direct them to the post-season. Weeden could become a stop-gap / third qb for next year if he is given some experience. 

Maybe you keep the Campbell experiment going one more week, if you think the Browns team that played this week against Cincinnati will be the key to beating a Pittsburgh team that has gone 4-2 in the last six weeks. Campbell had 2 weeks to prepare for the Bengals, and he looked a lot like Jason Campbell.

Either way, I will be watching and I will root on the team and I will believe that that QB will lead the Browns to a win and the play-offs. I just take the time to know what it is I saw.