It's one of the most significant plays in Bengals history…but it did not occur in one of their games.
On October 16, 2011, Oakland Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell broke his collarbone while being tackled by Cleveland's Chris Gocong and Scott Fujita. The Raiders won the game to improve to 4-2 and Hue Jackson's team was just a half game out of first place in the AFC West. So instead of turning to journeyman backup QB Kyle Boller to replace Campbell, the Raiders made a bold move and sent two high draft picks to the Bengals for Carson Palmer.
The trade certainly worked out well for Cincinnati as the "Carson Cloud" was lifted from the franchise, the extra picks became Dre Kirkpatrick and Giovani Bernard, and the team has gone 26-16 with three straight playoff appearances. Oakland finished that year 8-8 and the Raiders have gone 4-12 in each of the two seasons since.
But what if Campbell was never injured?
"I believe that the Raiders would have made the playoffs and it would have been a different story for me and Hue," Campbell told me. "We would have probably still been there. But things happen and you move on. You count the blessings that you've had in this league and understand that sometimes the ball doesn't bounce your way.
"A lot of things happened that year. I got hurt, Darren McFadden got hurt, Jacoby Ford got hurt, and we lost some lineman and defense players as well. If things like that didn't happen, we were a playoff team. Hue probably would have been there for another five years and I probably would have been there for another five. But those things happen."
Jackson and Campbell were finished in Oakland at the end of the 2011 season and three years later they have been reunited in Cincinnati as offensive coordinator and second-team quarterback.
"Jason did a great job for me there," said Jackson. "I know who he is and I know what he can do. He still has some improving to do because he's still learning our system, but I think he'll be fine."
"Hue's a competitor," said Campbell. "He's not going to let anybody get pushed around. He's a guy that wants to take the fight to the opposing team and he's going to motivate guys really well to get the best out of them."
The 32-year-old Campbell has 79 NFL starts under his belt and gives the Bengals an experienced backup quarterback if – God forbid – Andy Dalton got injured. But he also gives Dalton an extra set of eyes.
"I think he brings a veteran's presence," said Jackson. "He's been around the league, he's been with different teams, and he's seen a lot of different defenses. I think he has a calming effect on most people. He'll be good in the quarterbacks room with Andy and he'll do a good job that way."
"He's been around for a long time and came in with a good understanding of the game," said Dalton. "This is year ten for him – we always joke around about how old he is – but he's had a good career. He's a cool, easy-going guy and we have a great relationship."
"Andy's got a lot of games under his belt," said Campbell. "He's won a lot of games and he's been to the playoffs three years in a row. So it's not a mentor-type thing. It's more a matter of helping him see things from afar that he might not notice at the time. I just want to do everything that I can to help him and at the same time stay prepared and do the best that I can do."
After several weeks of practices, Campbell says he's impressed by Dalton and his new team.
"I like him a lot," Jason told me. "He's taken that leadership step and is really on top of his game. He's one of the promising young quarterbacks in this league and I'm excited for the opportunity that he has. I told him that it's not every day that you get a great defense, running backs, and receivers and can use your knowledge to play the game. Some guys get drafted to teams that aren't even half-way there yet.
"Andy asked me how we compare to some of the teams that I've seen and I told him that we have a great opportunity. We have a lot of guys that are in that four-to-seven year range where they have a lot of experience and are about to burst into their primes. We also have some guys that have been around the game for a while that are still moving around and making plays. I really like what I see. There's a lot of talent on this team, but talent doesn't get you anywhere unless you put it all together. Guys have been working their butts off in practice. It's been really intense which is going to bring out the best in this team in the regular season."
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