BY PAUL WOODY
Media General News Service
Published: May 7, 2008

ASHBURN - Jason Campbell has so many things running through his head that it is a wonder his helmet is not spinning when he stands behind the center.

Campbell, quarterback for the Washington Redskins, has a new offense to learn. That’s a major issue, but Campbell says it’s not a major problem.

“It’s similar to what we ran my last year at Auburn,” Campbell said.

Campbell is no stranger to learning new offenses. He had four offensive coordinators at Auburn. This is his fourth season with the Redskins, and this will be the third offense he has had to grasp.

But there’s more to Campbell’s adjustment than coming to grips with Jim Zorn’s version of the West Coast offense.

Zorn, the Redskins’ new head coach and former quarterbacks coach for the Seattle Seahawks, wants Campbell’s footwork to be smoother and more compact. And Zorn wants Campbell to “compress” his 6-5 frame when he steps away from the center.

“What I want him to do is go from here . . . “ and Zorn stands upright, pretending to hold a football in front of him, “to here . . . “ and Zorn bends his knees less than an inch.

Zorn believes that a quarterback who has his knees slightly flexed is better prepared to move laterally to avoid pass rushers.

“You will never hear me tell a quarterback to stand tall in the pocket,” Zorn said. “Jason is 6-5, so being able to see the field is not a problem.”

Campbell, 26, is as laid-back and easygoing a young man as you will find playing quarterback in the NFL. He smiles when he’s asked about all he has to sort through before and after each snap.

“There’s a lot going on,” he said after a minicamp practice this weekend. “You’re trying to think about plays, and at the same time, you’re trying to stay disciplined and think about your footwork and make sure you’re doing the right footwork.

“It’s going to be that way until we get the hang of it; until I get to point where everything is second nature. Once we get through minicamp and into our OTAs, I think we’ll be OK.”

“OTAs” are organized team activities, which are “voluntary” offseason practices. The Redskins have three this week, today through Wednesday, then take a break until June 2.

Campbell had some highlight film moments during minicamp. He also had some moments when he threw into coverage and his passes were intercepted.

“You can see him working, developing more confidence,” Zorn said. “Once he gets a route down, and he has a few of them down, everything is happening real natural.

“The ones he is not sure about, you can see him standing straight up or throwing it a little bit late. We talk about it, and it is going to get better. Once he gets something down, he is going to be good.”

Campbell was a first-round draft choice, the 25th player taken overall, in 2005. He spent a season watching Mark Brunell run Joe Gibbs’ offense. Then, in 2006, when Brunell was struggling, the offense was stagnant and the team was mired in a losing streak, Campbell took over.

Last season, the Redskins were 5-7 when Campbell suffered a hyperextended knee in the first half of a game against the Chicago Bears that ended his season.

Instead of picking up where he left off, Campbell has to make a new start, again.

“It’s a matter of repetition,” he said. “I think we’re going to be all right. We have a lot of weapons.

“We’ve got to try everything now to see what’s possible to put in there. This is the time to experiment with a lot of different plays to see what works. When the season starts, it’s business. You want to know what you can do best and what you can’t do.”

Campbell and Zorn would like the “can’t do” list to be extremely short.

Notes

Strong safety Reed Doughty was excused from yesterday morning’s practice to be with his wife and son. Doughty’s 20-month-old son Micah had a kidney transplant in March. Micah Doughty was hospitalized yesterday because of a fever.

Rookie tight end Fred Davis overslept and did not show up for practice, and once Zorn found out Davis was safe, Zorn expressed his “disappointment” in the second-round draft choice out of Southern California. Davis eventually arrived at Redskins Park and met with Zorn in his office.

Running back Clinton Portis and safety LaRon Landry engaged in a 40-yard race after practice to settle an argument that began during practice on who is faster. Landry won by a slim margin. Portis maintained they tied.

Contact Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444 or .