- previous
- 1
- 2
- | single page
"The rest of the game, their defense understands that a little bit, so they were backing off a little bit and not giving us the deep ball. I had to throw it down. Then if I throw it up and get it intercepted, everybody's like, 'Why didn't you take the checkdown?' "
Campbell completed 11 of 19 passes for 94 yards against the Texans, including a 45-yard hookup with Marshall. The rain and wind also contributed to his decision not to take chances.
"You can't really listen to what (outsiders) say on how you do this or how you do that,'' Campbell said. "I was on the sideline for eight weeks. Any time you come in against a top defense like that, you have to execute. It wasn't easy with those conditions.
"For the most part, we did pretty well. Would we have liked to have done some things differently later in the game? Yes, absolutely. But you just move on from that week, and this week you just keep progressing.''
The right-handed Campbell insisted his throwing hasn't been affected by the broken right collarbone he suffered last October in Oakland, an injury that led to the Raiders going in a different direction with Carson Palmer.
"I thought I got my motion back really about June,'' Campbell said. "When I first got here in Chicago, we started off throwing and I had to miss two weeks of practice because the muscle wasn't there yet to go full speed with a lot of reps.
"I'm good now. The old arm machine is gassed up now.''
Short-time Bear Devin Thomas, who played with Campbell on the Redskins, saw the old Campbell during training camp before Thomas decided to retire.
"Jason, he can just sling it,'' Thomas said. "He has that deep bomb that's so pretty. Even Brandon Marshall talks about how pretty that deep ball is. 'J' just puts it over your shoulder and you can catch it in stride.''
Commanding respect
Thomas gained a better appreciation for Campbell each time he stepped in the huddle with the Redskins.
He vividly remembers how Campbell used to address each member of the offense, no matter the situation.
"Pretty much Jason's style is, he caters to the individual,'' Thomas said. "He doesn't treat everybody the same.''
That's not to say Campbell will coddle Marshall and elbow left tackle J'Marcus Webb. But he gets his point across.
Just ask Thomas, who recalled the soft-spoken Campbell berating him after he dropped a ball on a hot route against the Rams one season.
"I was one of the guys he had to treat differently because he had to jump me about being a bonehead sometimes,'' Thomas said. "The thing about Jason is he always kept it real.
"Our relationship was great because we understood each other. He knew when to get on me when I was acting too silly. And I knew when to get on him when I felt like he needed to step it up. So we fed off each other that way.''
Campbell, with just one week of practice as the starter under his belt, is still in the process of figuring out the best way to address his current group of offensive players.
"I'm learning already,'' he said. "There's a certain way you deal with B (Marshall). There's a certain way you deal with (Devin) Hester. There's a certain way you deal with Earl (Bennett) and Alshon (Jeffery). Everybody's personality is different. You can't treat every guy the same because everyone adapts differently.
"But like I said, it's about unity. We have to get to that next level in our offense. A lot of it is a sense of urgency and just playing with a little more emotion. And we have to stop listening to what people are saying, and just start playing.''
Spoken like a true leader.
vxmcclure@tribune.com
Twitter @vxmcclure23
Campbell completed 11 of 19 passes for 94 yards against the Texans, including a 45-yard hookup with Marshall. The rain and wind also contributed to his decision not to take chances.
"For the most part, we did pretty well. Would we have liked to have done some things differently later in the game? Yes, absolutely. But you just move on from that week, and this week you just keep progressing.''
The right-handed Campbell insisted his throwing hasn't been affected by the broken right collarbone he suffered last October in Oakland, an injury that led to the Raiders going in a different direction with Carson Palmer.
"I thought I got my motion back really about June,'' Campbell said. "When I first got here in Chicago, we started off throwing and I had to miss two weeks of practice because the muscle wasn't there yet to go full speed with a lot of reps.
"I'm good now. The old arm machine is gassed up now.''
Short-time Bear Devin Thomas, who played with Campbell on the Redskins, saw the old Campbell during training camp before Thomas decided to retire.
"Jason, he can just sling it,'' Thomas said. "He has that deep bomb that's so pretty. Even Brandon Marshall talks about how pretty that deep ball is. 'J' just puts it over your shoulder and you can catch it in stride.''
Commanding respect
Thomas gained a better appreciation for Campbell each time he stepped in the huddle with the Redskins.
He vividly remembers how Campbell used to address each member of the offense, no matter the situation.
"Pretty much Jason's style is, he caters to the individual,'' Thomas said. "He doesn't treat everybody the same.''
That's not to say Campbell will coddle Marshall and elbow left tackle J'Marcus Webb. But he gets his point across.
Just ask Thomas, who recalled the soft-spoken Campbell berating him after he dropped a ball on a hot route against the Rams one season.
"I was one of the guys he had to treat differently because he had to jump me about being a bonehead sometimes,'' Thomas said. "The thing about Jason is he always kept it real.
"Our relationship was great because we understood each other. He knew when to get on me when I was acting too silly. And I knew when to get on him when I felt like he needed to step it up. So we fed off each other that way.''
Campbell, with just one week of practice as the starter under his belt, is still in the process of figuring out the best way to address his current group of offensive players.
"I'm learning already,'' he said. "There's a certain way you deal with B (Marshall). There's a certain way you deal with (Devin) Hester. There's a certain way you deal with Earl (Bennett) and Alshon (Jeffery). Everybody's personality is different. You can't treat every guy the same because everyone adapts differently.
"But like I said, it's about unity. We have to get to that next level in our offense. A lot of it is a sense of urgency and just playing with a little more emotion. And we have to stop listening to what people are saying, and just start playing.''
Spoken like a true leader.
vxmcclure@tribune.com
Twitter @vxmcclure23