Jason Campbell Leads After Week 1

Time to lighten things up around here. Matt “Monty” Montgomery, is an unabashed lover of all things LSU. We know that, and we love him for it. As many of you may have noticed, I wrote two very similar articles about both Jason Campbell and JaMarcus Russell. While Campbell’s outlook was a bit more positive, Russell’s was not so rosy. Remember, that Russell went to the fabled Louisiana State University. Monty, obviously, took exception to the fact that I implied Russell might not be a very good NFL quarterback. Therefore…The Bet was made.

Throughout the season, we will be monitoring both Russell and Campbell in a few key statistics. Whichever quarterback outplays the other in those stats will be the winner. The loser will be buying dinner for the winner. Pictures can be taken, good times can be had. I, of course, will be taking Jason Campbell. Monty, as expected, will be taking JaMarcus Russell. The stats we will be monitoring are as follows:

• Touchdowns
• Interceptions
• Completion Percentage
• Passing Yardage
• Quarterback Rating

Let’s analyze how each of our boys did in Week 1.

Taking a look at the numbers, Campbell leads Russell early on. However, the numbers are fairly close. If you look at Campbell’s overall numbers, he actually had a pretty decent game. In the small sample of plays that Monty and I watched him in this weekend, things didn’t look promising. Campbell had a crucial fumble that was returned by the Giants for a touchdown. While the Redskins only lost by 6 points, the game never seemed all that close. Campbell did throw a late touchdown to Chris Cooley, but the Redskins failed to recover the on-side kick and the Giants ran out the clock.

Russell Fell Behind Early, But It's Still Close

Russell, on the other hand, did have a chance at a game winning drive. As a matter of fact, Russell threw a long touchdown to Louis Murphy with only 2:34 left in the 4th quarter. However, the Chargers came back and defeated the Raiders. One of the reasons I am down on Russell is his poor completion percentage, which continued to show in this game. While the Raiders were able to move the ball in the first half, the offense completely collapsed in the second half. Russell threw 2 INTs in the game, one of them was legit and the other was fluky. With the Raiders down 4 and the clock running out, Russell heaved up a desperate pass that was picked by the Chargers.

Week 1 of The Bet is in the books. Campbell leads as of right now, but it’s close. Who do you like to win The Bet? Let us know in the comments.