The safety sped through the middle, untouched and intent on making a play. Not that it mattered to Jason Campbell. He slid to his left, kept his eyes downfield, ignored the little pest tugging at his jersey and zipped a 15-yard strike to receiver James Thrash.
Later, one play after a near-costly interception, Campbell ran a bootleg to the right. Seeing Chris Cooley covered in the flat, Campbell stopped, threw back slightly across his body to Todd Yoder in the back of the end zone. Six points. The play combined savvy and arm strength.
“He made two outstanding plays,” Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said.
Both provided the Redskins something they need: hope.
Certainly, Washington (3-7) is not getting that from too many places, starting with a collapsing defense — one in which players are now questioning effort. But after a 20-17 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday, the Redskins’ season is largely reduced to the development of one player, albeit one at the most important position.
“If there were any positives in this game, it was [Campbell’s] play,” Redskins guard Randy Thomas said. “It was his overall decision on things. They tried to pressure him a lot and give him different looks. If we do a better job of making plays for him, we’d be in a better mood today. You did not see a first-year starter guy.”
Campbell completed 19 of 34 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns, finishing with a passer rating of 92.3. Though he threw deep on his first snap — receiver Brandon Lloyd dropped the 60-yard heave — Campbell did not go downfield often.
He had two completions of at least 20 yards, but both came on underneath throws to Cooley, who turned them into long gainers.
Campbell, playing without injured top receiver Santana Moss, admitted his timing was rusty with the receivers.
“On a couple plays I might have been a tad late because of the timing and that chemistry,” Campbell said. “In the OTA’s and training camp, those guys are going with Mark [Brunell] the whole time. Now in the middle of the season they’re going with me so we have to adjust.”
Another concern, his ability to run the huddle, was alleviated also.
“Jason had a good even temper,” Gibbs said. “His personality fits into that; he is laid back and he doesn’t get uptight about things. He reminds me a lot of Doug [Williams].
“The players felt he handled it well and that’s good for us. It’s only one game, but it’s a start.”
Week 11 notes
» The Redskins’ run defense continues to struggle, helping keep the defense ranked 30th overall. Tampa Bay now has the NFL’s 28th-best rush offense after Sunday’s 181-yard effort.
And more good news for the Redskins’ run defense: Carolina rushed for a team-record 244 yards in a win over St. Louis on Sunday.
Tampa had three series of 10 plays or more.
“That’s something that really concerns us,” Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said.
» Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell looks around the league and knows what matters most: stability.
“You can’t continue to change guys up and move around make different changes all the time,” Campbell said. “The teams that win Super Bowls are the teams that stay together. The more you work together and build together, that’s what helps you get to that next level.
“I want to help this team build things. I don’t want to go through interacting and changes. It seems like if you’re always changing, but not going up. We want to go up.”
Campbell is the 17th starting quarterback since the first Joe Gibbs era.
» Gibbs is hopeful receiver Santana Moss (hamstring) will be able to play against Carolina on Sunday. Moss missed his second game in three weeks because of the injury. Gibbs said there is no consideration to shutting him down for the season, allowing the hamstring to fully heal.
Also, Gibbs said safety Troy Vincent (hamstring) is day-to-day. Vincent left Sunday’s game and was replaced by Vernon Fox rather than expensive free-agent acquisition Adam Archuleta.
» For the second time in three weeks, Gibbs had a rambling monologue to begin his press conference. Two weeks ago, he defended the organizational structure. He talked about reviewing the entire team to see “where we are. … What’s important if this is where we are, we know what we can do and what we would like to be. This is what we are, this is what we want to be and how do we get there.”
