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May 5--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 quarterback as you will find 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. "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 the point where everything is second nature. Once we get through minicamp and into our OTAs, I think we'll be OK."
Sportsfan138 
