As Jason Campbell stood in the pocket, he committed the ultimate quarterback sin: he didn’t protect the football. And for that he should be blamed. Campbell knows he must guard the ball with both hands as he slides out of the pocket. He knows he held the ball too low on another occasion, leading to a strip.
Those three fumbles proved costly.
But the Redskins also know something else. If the pass protection had been better, Campbell would not have fumbled. So, as Campbell works on his mistakes, the line and backs must work on theirs.
The New York Jets run a similar 3-4 scheme to New England and will blitz — especially after seeing the Pats’ success.
“Their personnel isn’t New England’s,” Redskins fullback Mike Sellers said, “but they’re still a force to be reckoned with.”
Not really; the Jets only have eight sacks this season and 4 1/2 have come from linebackers or safeties. That means they need to blitz. That means the Redskins must do better this week.
The Skins have already allowed 12 sacks, putting them on pace for 27 — eight more than last season.
“We have to protect that kid,” Redskins offensive coordinator/line coach Joe Bugel said of Campbell. “He can throw the ball 50, 60 yards downfield. You have to be able to hold someone for 2.5 seconds. Ican get Humpty Dumpty to do that. Keep your body in front of them; be a bump in the road. Make them run over you.”
Sellers had a tough time as did running back Clinton Portis on one occasion. For Portis, that time came down to basic math: the 205-pound Portis had to block the 250-pound Rosevelt Colvin.
Sellers is more comfortable serving as a lead blocker. But he’s not as comfortable when he goes from trying to attack defenders to reacting to them, as he must while picking up blitzers. Last week, he was beaten by safety Rodney Harrison because he put his head down. He also was whipped a couple times by linebacker Mike Vrabel.
“My feet were all wrong, my hands,” Sellers said. “I was in awkward situations blocking off the line. I could have been in better situations. It is what it is.”
Said Portis, “It was just mismatches. You put a standup end, a big guy on Mike and it was a mismatch. [Jets coach Eric Mangini] is from the same scheme. They’ll do the same thing.”
