Campbell's Soup

Buzz comes and goes with certain players. Hype also comes and goes with certain players. Joseph Addai has a strong buzz right now. Mark Clayton is nothing but hype. Where is the median? Is it Jason Campbell? Campbell's hype as the future in Washington dominated airwaves in the capitol after the NFL Draft in 2005. Campbell's buzz see-sawed with Mark Brunell's inconsistent play the last two years, but two weeks ago, Jason Campbell made his first start as the Redskins' leading signal caller.

In a general fantasy scoring system (1 point per 20 yards passing, 6 points per touchdown), Campbell has been effective the in both of his starts. He accumulated 22.90 fantasy points week 11 in Tampa Bay and 16.80 fantasy points versus Carolina. Those are good numbers, especially if you own Matt Hasselbeck, Jake Delhomme, or Eli Manning.

With three of his next four match-ups against very vulnerable pass defenses (Atlanta, Philadelphia, at New Orleans, at St. Louis, Campbell could emerge as one of those late season heroes that helps win fantasy championships. Guys like Billy Volek, Kyle Boller, and Lee Suggs come to mind.

Atlanta is currently ranked 30th against the pass. They have a very overrated secondary that seems to make the highlight reel week in and week out. Philadelphia is ranked 4th against the pass in a very misleading manner. They can easily get burned but the secondary doesn't have to play as physical because opponents have run all over their front seven. New Orleans is ranked 6th in pass defense but have given up 20 passing touchdowns compared to just 5 interceptions in 11 games. The Rams are ranked 9th in pass defense but have allowed 16 touchdowns in 11 games.

Santana Moss has been hobbled with a hamstring injury since October, but he should start regaining his stamina and return to form this week against the Falcons. This will bode well for Campbell.

Campbell has no buzz whatsoever right now. With that said, there is also no hype surrounding him, so in no way can you claim him as an overrated quarterback. Campbell is only a hop, skip, and a jump away from being a "Silent but Deadly" call in my Game Day Wonders column.

I can't explain the silence surrounding Campbell.

The only thing I can explain and recommend is that if he is a free agent on your waiver wire, scoop him up now. He will win your fantasy team some playoff games, especially if you are stuck with Hasselbeck, Delhomme, Eli Manning, or own Trent Green, Rex Grossman, Charlie Frye, Michael Vick, or David Garrard.

Jason Campbell may have just reversed the curse of Campbell's Soup. Too bad it's too late for Donovan McNabb or the Pittsburgh Steelers.