Well That's Over - Part Four

When dealmaking is subjective

Update Wed 8 April: another typo, this one caught by fellow Redskins blogger Anthony Brown over at Hog Heaven, I seemed to have some math problems with this post, Jason Campbell is actually 20-16 16-20 in 26 36 games as a starter. Thanks for the spot Tony, now readers head over to Hog Heaven and check the headlines.

Update Tue 7 April: helpful reader Anonymous points out in comments that I had Kyle Orton's win-loss totals exactly backwards, and I got Jason Campbell's inverted as well. Thanks for the spot, the post has been corrected, I appreciate observant readers.

Once the Broncos assessed their needs and figured out what they wanted in return, the decision to surgically remove Jay Cutler from Denver was made quickly. A big need was going to be of course, a football quarterback. Would they want ours? Curly R's five part series on the Jay Cutler deal continues.

Part One: Jay Does Not Get It
Part Two: Bad Advice
Part Three: We're Good Thanks
Part Four: We Already Have a QB
Part Five: Adult Time

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Now that Jay Cutler was off the board for 2009 the Broncos had to get someone that could chuck a ball, and Washington's Jason Campbell was a name linked in trade l

4. The Redskins already have a quarterback. And his name is Jason Campbell. All the way home Thursday I heard on Sirius NFL Radio on the simulcast of NFL Network's NFL Replay that Washington had a number of package offers out to Denver, and in the end Denver needed to get a quarterback in return and they liked Kyle Orton over Jason Campbell. Fine, that is a matter of taste, Kyle Orton is a good quarterback, a great example of hard work, talent and persistence.

Jason is a former first round pick and Kyle a former fourth round pick. Jason was the third overall quarterback, Kyle was picked seven QBs and 81 players after Jason. But that was four seasons ago, both players have had enough starts to make some evaluations, Kyle is 12-21 21-12 in 33 games as a starter averaging 27 throws per game, 161 yards passing per game, has thrown 30 touchdown passes against 27 interceptions and ten fumbles lost.

Jason by contrast has a 20-16 16-20 record in 26 36 games as a starter, is averaging 31 passes per game, 201 yards passing, has thrown 35 touchdowns against 23 interceptions and nine fumbles lost.

Again, let us look at this in tabular format:

	Kyle Orton	Jason Campbell
Games started	33	26 36
Win-loss	12-21 21-12	20-16 16-20
Passes per game	27	31
Yards per game	161	201
Touchdown passes	30	35
Interceptions	27	23
Fumbles, lost	20 total, 10 lost	21 total, 9 lost

Table 1, clearly Jason Campbell is the superior quarterback

WTF the Broncos wanted Kyle Orton over Jason Campbell? Well I did not want to see this deal happen but now I am kind of pissed that Jason Campbell was not good enough, check that line again, Jason is better and improved in most categories in 2008. (ed. note: with the wins and losses inverting for both QBs, the argument softens to a degree, I still look at those numbers and see a larger upside in Jason Campbell -Ben)

Then again I would not think Jason Campbell is necessarily a great fit out of the box for a Josh McDaniels offense. But then again I did not think Jason was going to be a great fit for Jim Zorn's west coast offense. I am still not certain he will be but I sure as hell know one thing, six interceptions in 2008 is a damn good improvement for Jason.

And I am willing to bet if Jason can show that much improvement, protecting the ball, moving in the pocket, making smart decisions before throwing, all in Jim Zorn's first year, then he can progress deeper into the offense in his second year.

Jason is obviously a learning machine and he is only going to get better, which is why this game of contract chicken the team is playing by not giving Jason a new deal is pissing me off, but more on that in another post.


Well That's Over concludes tomorrow with part five, Adult Time.



Jay Cutler: Getty Images from here.