Jason Campbell optimistic that he can play after bye

Cleveland Browns quarterback Jason Campbell (17) passes the ball in the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium. Cleveland won 24-18. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Browns second veteran quarterback formerly behind Brandon Weeden is Jason Campbell, and he’s been even more impressive than Brian Hoyer was in his first two starts. Hoyer was 2-0 and Campbell 1-1, but Campbell put up his numbers against better defenses. Campbell looked pretty good against the league’s top-ranked pass defense in the Kansas City Chiefs, and he looked great in yesterday’s victory over the Baltimore Ravens. He has yet to throw an interception this season and is clearly better than Weeden. He’s more poised and simply has better arm talent than Weeden. Hoyer gave the Browns organization hope earlier this season, and Campbell has restored that hope.

According to CBS Sports’s Jason La Canfora, Jason Campbell hopes that he can play following this week’s bye after suffering a rib injury yesterday, as the Browns face the rival Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11. It’s going to be a tough matchup for Campbell and the Browns, but he’s been up to the task over the past two weeks. His completion percentage is safely above 60%, and it’s been a joy watching Campbell get another opportunity to start in this league.

He had two successful stints with the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders earlier in his career, and his season-ending injury with the Raiders hurt both his career and the Raiders, until the Raiders decided to cut their losses on the ill-fated Carson Palmer acquisition and then wisely picked upside-filled QB Terrelle Pryor as the starter.

Anyway, Campbell’s injury occurred after Baltimore Ravens monstrous defensive lineman Haloti Ngata fell on top of Campbell, and it was simply a case of bad luck. Campbell showed a lot of toughness by playing through the pain, because that rib injury was no small stinger. He should be fine going forward, and I don’t anticipate him missing any games. He was able to play well through the pain, and the Browns aren’t about to go back to Weeden any time soon.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter for more NFL updates and analysis @SorianoJoe. Be sure to like us on Facebook here and follow our site on Twitter as well.

Topics: Cleveland Browns, Injury Report, Jason Campbell

freeme10

I am impressed by what Campbell can do when he is an offensive line in front of him. A luxury he didn’t have in Washington.
- http://www.musketfire.com/ Joe Soriano
  
  Thanks for dropping by, and I remember watching him scrambling for his life while with the Redskins. It seemed like he was hit hard or scrambling on every other play, whereas he has three plus players on the Browns line (Mack, Thomas, Schwartz). Campbell’s always been a solid player in my view.
Greg

Campbell looked great considering the browns offensive line. He had to scramble quite a bit. Something Weeden couldn’t do if he was on fire. If the offensive line stands up like everyone else has, the Browns could be a team to watch out for in second half of the season. Just keep Campbell safe. We can’t afford another
quarterback going down for the season with only Weeden as a option. Go Browns
- http://www.musketfire.com/ Joe Soriano
  
  Weeden is easily one of the worst QBs in the NFL under pressure, whereas Campbell is much better in that regard. I thought the Browns did a solid job of blocking Campbell on Sunday (particularly on the left side, mostly thanks to Thomas haha), but there have been some problem spots for this line this year. Schwartz has been a disappointment this season overall, and I think there have been some consistency issue with blitz pick-up in the backfield this year. The line hasn’t been bad, but it hasn’t been perfect. Still, they took plenty of steps in the right direction against the Ravens, which isn’t easy given the strength of the competition’s pass rush.
  - Greg
    
    I agree. But, the offensive line has a ways to go. Imagine what Campbell or even Hoyer could do with a little more time. And it would be nice to see some kind of running game. Which won’t happen without blocking. McGahee can’t open hole son his own