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Campbell's growth key in Skins' streak

By Ryan O'Halloran | Friday, October 3, 2008

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After a meeting with coach Jim Zorn and an assistant Monday afternoon, Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell had two options for the next two days: Go home to relax and enjoy two rare days off or bury himself in a meeting room.

As usual, he chose the latter.

Instead of celebrating the biggest win of his career, Campbell stayed at work, watching three Philadelphia Eagles game tapes for nearly four hours, the first stage of preparation for the next opponent.

Unflappable in the face of criticism after a season-opening loss to the New York Giants, Campbell didn't change.

And during a three-game winning streak that has raised respect and expectations for the Redskins, Campbell hasn't changed.

His demeanor remains the opposite of a roller coaster, his confidence level never teeter-tottering.

And Redskins fans should take that as a good sign: Their team is 3-1, and the player most responsible for that still sees himself as a quarterback in a new system who must quickly forget about last weekend's huge win over Dallas and focus on the next challenge.

"That's who he is," said Chris Meidt, a Redskins offensive assistant who works exclusively with the quarterbacks. "When I was just starting to work with him, everybody said he wasn't emotional enough and he wasn't fiery enough. There's good and bad with that. The highly emotional and fiery guys, when things aren't going well, they go the other way. Jason's not that way. He's very even. Coach Zorn talks about staying medium about how you act, and Jason epitomizes it."

Campbell's even-keel attitude has rubbed off on the Redskins as they prepare for Sunday's game in Philadelphia. The Redskins are one of the NFL's biggest surprises, and it's in large measure because of Campbell's development within Zorn's West Coast passing offense.