Commanders quarterback Sam Howell, in his second season in the NFL and with just four starts under his belt, is being asked to learn on the job. How hard is that for a QB to do? To get that answer, Craig Hoffman turned to somebody who once was a young passer in Washington being asked to learn on the job Jason Campbell, the 25th overall pick in the first round by the then-Redskins in 2005.
The best thing for a young quarterback is a great defense and a really good run game," Campbell told Hoffman, adding that you want the young quarterback to settle in and take pressure off his shoulders.
"The more that you can kinda bring a young quarterback along and not ask him to throw 35, 40 times if you can run the ball really well and play to the strength of your defense until he starts to build a little stronger," Campbell continued. "It's the same thing when it comes to Sam. The thing about a young quarterback is you don't want to get into a situation to where you feel like you're forcing the ball because you gotta try to do certain things outside the norm to try to get a victory.
"And that's when the next thing you know you start creating turnovers, you start creating bad habits, and then you don't wanna become turnover-prone because you're doing things out of the norm."
Campbell said this is a "popcorn society" where there is less room for patience and development and that is no different to the pressure young quarterbacks face from external and internal forces. The quarterback wants teammates to believe in them, the fan base to rally around them and to show you are the right person for the job, he added.
"There's gonna be some growing pains along the way, but sometimes you do feel like in the back of your head, 'OK, I don't have time to get through that process because I need them to start believing in me ASAP. So I need to start to force things and show things that I am the right man for this job," Campbell told Hoffman. "And then that's when bad things start happening, turnovers, and you start playing behind the sticks rather than staying on schedule because you feel like 'Oh the check-downs not good enough, let me try to throw the ball down the field' when it's double coverage instead of just taking the check-down that's right in front of you, taking the tight end that's right there in front of you."
Campbell said sometimes you have to just hold onto the football, that after every play keeping possession is the first goal, and that also protects your defense at the same time. But that is harder for younger quarterbacks to understand that taking the check-down is a huge advantage for young quarterbacks to help move the defense up and open up lanes down the field.
For Campbell, who came into the league as a big-armed quarterback, he had to learn how the defense was playing him and take advantage of the short options that were available before forcing them to play closer and open up throws on the second level to tight end Chris Cooley and deeper routes to wide receiver Santana Moss.
