Campbell must avoid the claws of Panthers

November 26, 2006 12:50 am

JASON CAMPBELL'S first NFL test has come and gone. The good news is that the second-year quarterback passed his inaugural exam last weekend in a first-game loss at Tampa Bay. The bad news is that today's test will be tougher.

Unlike a week ago, the Washington Redskins aren't playing a bad football team today. Their opposition is a current division leader looking for its third consecutive win. The Carolina Panthers, one of six NFC teams with a winning record, were a game away from the Super Bowl last winter.

Despite a slow start in 2006, Carolina has righted itself enough at the season's midpoint to be atop arguably the NFL's toughest division.

These Panthers are no domesticated housecats. Don't let the whiskers on the team's emblem fool you. They are ferocious and fierce. They get after the quarterback and play as physical a brand of football as Washington will see this season.

These ravenous Panthers must be salivating at the thought of playing Campbell. Sure, the kid looked swell last weekend, but he has four quarters of NFL experience.

Everyone at Redskins Park was impressed by Campbell's performance last weekend. The 2005 first-round draft pick out of Auburn protected the ball, made plays with his feet, and even led the team on a successful fourth-quarter drive.

But that was last weekend, and what he did then couldn't matter less now. Today is a new day, and he'll face the NFL's 10th-ranked defense and will have to find a way to elude a pass rush responsible for more sacks (27) than all but nine other defenses. Just for comparison's sake, the Redskins have registered 13 sacks this season.

The Panthers, like every other in football right now, have their flaws. But one thing Carolina does very well is play defense, and the main reason for that is the team's ability to pressure the passer.

If Campbell is going to pass his second-straight test, he's going to have to protect the football as well this week as he did last week. That means no turnovers--something that against this defense is easier said than done. Carolina's defense has hauled in 10 interceptions in the season, seven more than Washington's (for comparison's sake, of course).

Campbell also should be concerned with the timing of today's test, as Carolina is coming off of its most dominant defensive performance of the season. The Panthers harassed and abused the St. Louis Rams all afternoon last Sunday, allowing a season-low 111-yards in the process. The Panthers forced five fumbles and registered seven sacks, while intercepting a pass and tallying a safety.

Campbell may have only a day's worth under his belt, but it doesn't take any more than that to know that a day's work like that makes a defense feel awfully good about itself.

A second-straight impressive performance for Washington's most prized possession, and Campbell, albeit with just two games to his name, won't have too many more questions to answer.

GRANT PAULSEN is an 18-year-old sportswriter who grew up in King George County and now attends George Mason University. He hosts a talk show each Saturday on XM radio. He can be reached at The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia Street, Fredericksburg, Va. 22401, or by fax at 373-8455.