Anthony Campanile – August 27, 2020
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Thursday, August 27, 2020
Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile
(Could you please – one-by-one on the two guys, rather than lumping them together – talk about the skillsets of LB Elandon Roberts and the skillsets of LB Kamu Grugier-Hill? What do they do well?) – “I think both of those guys have added a bunch to our team. They both have great leadership qualities. Kamu is really a great athlete, a physical guy, and gives you an opportunity to do a lot of things with his physical ability. Elandon is the same thing. (He’s) a tremendous leader and (brings) great physicality in the run game. He’s a lot of fun in the meeting rooms too – both guys are. We’ve enjoyed having them here. They both bring a lot of great leadership qualities and they’ve developed as a unit by bringing all of those things into our room. I’ve enjoyed coaching them and they bring a lot to this football team.”
(I had a question also about LB Elandon Roberts. You talk about the leadership he brings – we see him communicating all of the time on the practice field. We also watch him down there and to be perfectly honest, he looks the part of a very mean dude on the field to me. That’s what I see from the press box up there. What can you say about his energy and temperament that he brings to the practice field?) – “It’s a physical game – I don’t think that will ever change – and he’s a physical player. I could see that it maybe seems like that but I’ll tell you this: as a person, he’s one of the greatest guys you could ever meet. He’s a jovial guy off the field and to be honest with you, I think that’s where he loves being is inside the white lines and making physical contact. Just in drill work and in team periods, he’s an awesome guy to be around; but has a great demeanor like you’ve already alluded to, certainly in the meeting rooms, off the field and within the lines of the football field.”
(I know the linebacker coaching situation – outside linebackers and inside – how do you guys work without LB Kyle Van Noy with this point right now?) – “I think in football, things roll on. Kyle has been doing a great job for us right now with everything that he’s doing. That’s just kind of status quo. We just keep rolling and working our tail off out in the field and continue to develop. We’re right here in the midst of camp so every day is important, every meeting is important. I think guys have done a great job. I’ve been so impressed with our players – the linebacker unit – from the standpoint of the effort they’re giving to every little thing, whether it’s a walkthrough, meetings, individual work. Every little drill that we’re doing, there’s been a laser focus. They all just kind of rally around each other and push each other to get the best out of each other every day, and have created a really good standard in that room. Every guy has held true to that, which is great.”
(I wanted to ask you about coaching the linebacker position, especially as the NFL sort of evolves to more of this nickel – how does your view of that position and what you seek for it change?) – “I just think at that position in this league, you’ve got to be able to run and hit, and you’ve really got to be a smart guy because as the game has evolved at every level, linebackers are being asked to do more things. There’s a lot more asked of linebackers in coverage than certainly there was 15-20 years ago when I was playing. It’s always evolving, but you’re always looking for that out of your players. You want guys that can run and hit and are great communicators, and obviously that takes a really good football IQ to do that at this level. I think that our room has done a great job with all of those things and we’ve got a room full of guys that can do that.”
(I’d like to ask you about LB Raekwon McMillan. Where is he in his development and what does he have to do to see significant playing time?) – “I think he’s done a great job. (He’s) a guy that you love to coach about all of the right things. (He’s a) physical guy that I think has continued to develop all through camp, like all of the other players. Really, Raekwon has consistently gotten better every day and guys are getting reps with everybody, just kind of in and out with different groupings of people. I think he’s done a great job with all of the reps he’s had in camp. He’s another guy with great leadership qualities and takes every little inch of coaching he can get. It’s all so important to him. He loves football. He’s been a joy to coach and I think he’s gotten better every day that I’ve been here. I really, really believe that.”
(My intention is not to stereotype you here but I have a feeling that Sunday dinner may be really great at your house.) – “(laughter) Forget it. It’s like they start at two o’clock and end at 10 o’clock. Forget it. Absolutely. (laughter) I’ve had a couple of those since I’ve been in Florida, which is nice. The food is really good in this area. I feel like I’m back home so it’s nice. (Head) Coach (Brian) Flores is a Brooklyn guy and (Assistant to the Head Coach) Lance Bennett is a Brooklyn guy too, so those guys know how to eat.”
(What’s on the menu?) – “We could go any which way right here right now. It’s a good thing I’m not home, because this could be like an eight hour dinner. There’s always something with red sauce on Sundays. (laughter)”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Andrew Van Ginkel. How well do you think he’s played? We saw him have two bat-downs a couple of days ago. Who else at the edge position has stood out to you so far?) – “I think everybody at that position has done a tremendous job and that’s really – first of all, it’s a credit to the guys playing the position, because I see development from last year or earlier on this summer until now in all of those players. I think that’s a really cool position to play obviously because it takes a certain skillset to do that and just like every other linebacker position, you’re asked to do some things that require some multiplicity to your game to be good at that spot. I think all of our coaches have done a great job with that in pass rush, in pass coverage and helping to develop those guys. ‘Gink’ is a guy that like you said, he just shows up every day and seems to get better and better. Vince Biegel, when he was going, he was getting better and better. Every one of those guys at that position, I feel, has developed. I’m really impressed with – being here, I’m impressed with all of our coaches here and what they’ve done in terms of developing those guys – (Outside Linebackers) Coach (Austin) Clark), Coach Boyer (Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer), (Defensive Line) Coach (Marion) Hobby and ‘GA’ (Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander) and (Coaching Assistant Charles) ‘Chuck’ Burks. I like to sit in there and watch team (drills) every day because I feel like guys are developing. It’s been a lot of fun being here. It’s a great group of guys.”
