Anthony Campanile – October 13, 2022
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Thursday, October 13, 2022
Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile
(We heard LB Channing Tindall has been making some progress. What can you say about it? What’s your progress report for him?) – “I think Channing is on course for where we were hoping he’d be. I think he’s doing a good job progressing. He got in the game a little bit the other day. I think he was excited about that and I think he did a good job when he was in there. So yeah, I think he’s progressing. Like any rookie, just kind of taking it all in and trying to get better every day.”
(How tough has it been to be patient? The defense isn’t – we don’t see the I guess the metrics, the sacks and the strip-sacks that we saw last year or even earlier this year. How tough is it to remain patient and keep faith in what you’re doing?) – “I think that’s football. You’re just constantly staying at it, staying the course. You believe in the guys that you’re coaching. I know we have great players and guys that care so much and great coaches around them. So it’s just staying the course, doing the work every day, and knowing that those results will come. So yeah, that’s why you’re out there every day, obviously, practicing and hopefully getting better every day, which I think we’re doing. But you got to go at it like a maniac every day. That’s just the way the game is. The NFL is a great league because obviously every Sunday you’re going to play a great opponent, and you got to get up and get ready to go for next Sunday and you can’t dwell on anything where you didn’t get the results that you wanted.”
(Obviously, a big topic of conversation around the league this week was the roughing the passer calls. Has there been anything different you’ve been trying to emphasize the guys with the way they take down quarterback on those types of plays or anything like that?) – “No, just the way the league conveys that message and trying to get them to play within the rules and making sure they’re doing a good job of that. They’re doing their very best to do that.”
(What will make Nunzio Campanile a great college football offensive coordinator?) – “Oh, man. I think ‘Nuns’ (Nunzio Campanile) will do a great job. He’s a passionate guy and loves his players; loves the place he’s working at. I don’t think you could be more New Jersey than Nunzio Campanile. Yeah, I was going to name my son Nunzio, and my wife was like – at the time we’re living in Michigan and she said he’s certainly going to be the only Nunzio in Michigan, so you might want to rethink that. (laughter) He ended up Anthony Nunzio. But yeah, I mean, I think he’ll do a great job. He’s a sharp football coach, he cares, he’s crazy passionate, and I’m certainly rooting for him. I love him. I’d jump on a grenade for my brothers, so I’m excited for him.”
(What kind of intangibles does LB Elandon Roberts bring to the defense?) – “I don’t think you could coach – we were talking about passion for football. I don’t think you could coach a more passionate guy than that guy. I mean I definitely talk to him more than I talk to my wife. (laughter) But I mean that in the context of like, even when he’s not in the building, talking about football or texting each other. I don’t know if anyone outside of this building could ever understand how much that guy cares and how hard he prepares. That’s one of the great things about coaching. You’re coaching a guy that’s a pro. Watching him do his job every day is really cool. And how passionate he is about just the littlest things. It might be short yardage, it might be whatever it is that week. Can you get a little bit of an edge with this alignment? Is there any tells? I mean, he goes out there on Sunday and he’s definitely expended all of his energy in the week, to the best of his ability, to try and get ready for the game on Sunday. I love coaching the guy, as a human being and as a player. I’m very fortunate to coach him.”
(Do you see that what he does and what he brings trickles down to the other guys?) – “For sure. I think that room has a very good culture of it’s just good people. It’s guys that care about each other. They’re not afraid to talk that way. And I talk about that a lot but I mean that like – I think anybody that’s in that room, you couldn’t be in a more proactive environment. As a coach, you enjoy it every day. You are around great people, they care and that definitely trickles down I think to the other guys in the room, for sure. Especially the young guys, seeing that, that’s a great way to come up in this profession, being around guys that do things the right way and care about each other. But yeah, for sure.”
(What kind of challenges does the Vikings running game and in particular RB Dalvin Cook present your group?) – “Just an explosive back. I mean I coached against Dalvin when he was in college, and having coached against him before, if you’re not where you’re supposed to be, if your eyes aren’t where they’re supposed to be, then he’s going to make you pay for it. So he’s an explosive, explosive athlete. He’s a hard, physical runner too, and a tough kid. So that to me, he’s definitely one of the better backs in the NFL, in my opinion. I just think he definitely challenges you to be where you’re supposed to be each snap and forces discipline and communication to be correct across the front.”
(How did that college matchup workout?) – “I think the year he was playing, he might still be running from that game. (laughter) I was at Boston College one year they beat us. I want to say it might have been maybe his last year there; and then the next year, we got them pretty good up in Boston. So that was, yeah. I don’t think he was there anymore though.”
