Upon Further Review: Defense vs Delaware State

I have to say that was fantastic. I didn't take kindly to being denied a chart so forcefully, though.

I also think any Campbell evaluation is premature at this point.

Campbell is a true frosh playing on the defensive line. He lost a considerable amount of extra fat in the short time he's been here and because of that hasn't had much time to add a lot of muscle and strength. All the while adjusting to college football. And we're concerned he might be a bust? Maybe we should give him just a liiiitttllleee more rope than that.

Baby seal = club-tastic

Brian - I watched the play you claimed Campbell is primarily responsible for screwing up on at least 10 times.

First off, he's getting double teamed.

Second off, whoever is lined up in the purported MLB position (it's either Leach or Kovacs, I cannot tell), flows right into the O-line, diving at the RB's feet, and cutting off Campbell if he HAD any intention of moving to the tackle at the line.

Third off, Campbell was busting ass trying to make the tackle.

Fourth off, Emilien got crack blocked to the ground by the WR, which is the real reason (along with purported MLB player) the play went for yardage....

....unless you also looked for Fifth Off, which was the whiffed tackle by whoever the LCB was (Anderson? Jones?)

All in all, that definitely was not the play by which to jump to the conclusion that Campbell is not going to be a very good player. You had some problematic evidence in the Iowa game. This play was NOT it.

Further, 18 years old, first year with proper training, strength, positioning, technique, is not the time to be concerned about his development. If the case though, based on that play, we should throw Emilien in there too.

geez. hope he doesn't actually read this blog.

If you think Campbell is a bust...what about all the other freshmen who aren't even good enough to see the field?!?!?!

OMG this 2009 class is a waste!

Not that I'm defending the general sentiment, but I still fail to see where Brian used the word "bust."

Saying a guy might not have been worthy of that coveted 5th star is hardly the most damning thing that can be said, no?

He was in toward the very end, I recall.

5 star earth-crushing DTs - even the "raw types" - get dual hype. Hype 1: will leave their school with various accolades, etc. Hype 2: will make an immediate impact.

Maybe I'm wrong to give BC the benefit of the doubt, but I read his disappointment to mean that Hype 2 was unwarranted. Chitown - you're right that WC has been described as "raw" for awhile now, but it doesn't change that some (well, a lot) of people expected (more than hoped) he'd make an early impact. He won't. But as you suggest, that's OK. It'd be nice if he could work himself into being a viable backup this year given the thinness of the interior line, but it looks doubtful so far. That's all I read Brian to be saying.

Seems a bit harsh to lay all the blame on him for this one.

I'm not going to even try with names other than Campbell but here's what I see on that play. Campbell doesn't get off the ball very well, allowing the Center to execute a reach block. The end doesn't do too much to hold the end of the line, opening up a huge hole. The LB tries unsuccessfully to shoot up the hole, allowing himself to get cut by the Guard. The safety, who had crept up towards the line is waaaaay too passive and eventually allows DSU's runt of a WR to blindside him off his feet (head on a swivel young man), and the CB comes up and completely whiffs on the tackle. I'd argue that of all the elements that turn this from a 2 yard gain into a 21 yard gain, Campbell's sin is the least offensive.

Admittedly, not a good play from Campbell, he's too slow and too high. But in the end, he occupies two blockers one yard deep in the backfield, and busts it after the ball carrier down the field. With his raw skills, effort, and a year of development, he'll be fine.

Teric Jones got torn up by DSU, which isn't a surprise since he's a true freshman who was a tailback in high school and never saw a snap on defense.

I think he played linebacker in high school too. But yeah, kind of surprised he is not redshirting.

Brian, we need to get you out of your sometimes pessimistic rut, my man.

Yeah, we have not seen much out of Campbell and its too bad he could not have the immediate impact Martin did last year.

But, you know, any production immediately out of any freshmen is just gravy or icing or whatever analogy.

Think positively......yeah, Campbell has not showed us much this season.....but isnt getting the plays and serviceable productivity from Sagesse a good thing and negates that negative in your mind.

Meanning because of RS's development this fall, we dont need to Campbell to come through asap on his guru bonafides.

I'm quoting the Dead on you: BE PATIENT, LET IT GROW

Brandon Smith didn't see the field on defense, but he did block that punt.

I don't think the concern is that he's not contributing so much as it looks like he has no idea how to play defense at all. It takes a while to learn things like leverage. At this point, he's got size and athleticism going for him, and that's about it.

Not saying he doesn't have potential. I am saying he has a long way to go and there is absolutely no guarantee he will get there. There haven't even really been signs, frankly.

Seriously, what is up with the shoulder pads used by a bunch of the DSU guys? Watching these replays reminded me of how we were laughing the whole game at how sad they looked.

Finally the whining about the coaches not playing Campbell will stop. He has size and power, but he has poor leverage and bad technique. He needs time to refine his technique. I expect Campbell will make a massive leap next year. Very rare for true freshmen DTs to impress and dominate.

Demens was definitely on the field for the last series. I saw him in there on first down and on second down made a tackle. His name was also called over the PA system at this point for doing so.

What happened to results based scoring? He got the stop, they punted.

I'm going on MGoStrike until I get my Defensive chart and offensive UFR.

Where's my Burrito!
Where's my Burrito!

There is a big difference between Martin and Campbell.

Martin was a physical freak who had already spent hours and hours in the weight room. He was decent last year but really hasn't shown much improvement this year.

Meanwhile, Campbell was just a big, fairly fast guy who had the equivalent of zero coaching in inner city Detroit.

For a similar story, let's look at Brandon Graham and Craig Roh.

Graham: Undisciplined kid from downtown Detroit who ate his way out of being a MLB or even a DE and found himself playing rare minutes at defensive tackle as a freshman. He has improved significantly since his sad days as a chubby freshman.

Roh: A technically sound kid with a strong work ethic who came into college in good shape, needing only to add size and bulk. He has had a productive freshman season so far, and we'll see how his career arc goes from here...

Dude, wow. I am in no way giving up on Campbell, but I am revising expectations downward after seeing him in sporadic action so far. Not that far down, but I don't think he's going to push for a starting job and probably should have been redshirted, which means he probably didn't deserve the recruiting hype.

I will note that the last time I got jumped on like this for being negative about a player, it was Cissoko*.

*(Not intended to compare the two.)