Anthony Campanile – September 29, 2020
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Tuesday, September 29, 2020
Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile
(I have a non-Italian food question if it’s okay.) – “I’ll let it slide. All right, yeah. (laughter)”
(LB Kamu Grugier-Hill – certainly he had a splash play last week. He’s a guy who seems to have his role increased by the week. What has he done to earn that playing time?) – “I think he’s just done a very good job in a couple of different facets. I think he’s done a really good job open-field tackling. I think that was evident the other night. I thought he did a good job in that element of the defense for us. He’s got pass rush ability, and like I said earlier last time we had talked in the summer, he’s just got a pretty diverse skillset. He has some coverage ability. Tough guy and has some pass rush ability. To be honest with you, I love coaching him and he can do a lot of things for us. We’ve been really happy with him.”
(We just Defensive Line Coach Marion Hobby on talking about LB Jerome Baker’s work calling out plays and helping communicate the defense. Now that you’ve been in the meeting room with him for a few months and three regular season games now, and being around him every day, what can you say about the way he approaches the film study and the way he communicates what he sees on tape to the rest of the guys in that room?) – “’Bake’ (Jerome Baker) is a very cerebral guy. Very high football IQ. I think he sees things pretty well. I think he’s done a very good job communicating through the summer and through the beginning of the season, so in that room – honestly it’s a great room to be in because there’s a lot of dialogue and the players are always asking good questions, giving good insight. And that’s fun to watch, the guys communicate with each other. Whether that’s Kyle (Van Noy), Elandon (Roberts), ‘Bake,’ Kamu (Grugier-Hill), Calvin Munson, Sam Eguavoen; everybody kind of contributes to that conversation and ‘Bake’ is just another one of those guys who I think does a very good job of that. I think Elandon Roberts does a great job of that, too.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Andrew Van Ginkel. What is it about his skillset and his physical attributes that lend him as maybe turning into a pretty effective pass rusher?) – “He’s a worker bee. He works at it. Works at his craft every day. Always trying to do extra. Another guy who I think has a very good knowledge. He’s up in this facility as much as he can be and he has some really good length and he’s got toughness. He’s got pride. I think those things are essential for any football player, and I don’t mean them as blanket statements. I think he does possess those qualities and that’s why he’s been able to develop and made himself a better player. I think he’s playing off the guys he’s on the field with pretty well.”
(In two of the three games, LB Kyle Van Noy has played the majority of the game but not all of the game. Is that because A) you want to conserve his energy because he’s rushing the passer so much? Is it B) you have other linebackers you want to play? A combination of both or neither?) – “I think it’s always a combination you’re trying to get. We feel good about the guys we have in the room and guys are capable of doing a bunch of different things, so it’s also how the game is going each week. How much he’s pass rushing? How much he’s playing off the ball throughout the course of the game? So I think there’s a lot of factors involved in that, but he’s in tremendous shape. He’s another guy who takes a ton of pride in being in great shape, so it’s never been for ‘hey, I’m gassed.’ You know what I mean? It’s really just more so cycling guys in and that’s part of the rotation.”
(What do you see as the role of the linebackers in containing Seahawks QB Russell Wilson? What do you tell your guys as far as the most important things they need to do to make sure he’s not running all over the field?) – “I think that’s a team effort every week, whoever plays against Russell Wilson. I think he’s a great player and that’s one of his great abilities is to extend plays and make plays down the field with his arm, and keeping those situations alive with his feet. So I think he’s – we have a ton of respect for him as a football player. I think he’s done a great job of that and that’s really just kind of game plan specific in terms of what you’re going to do, what you’re planning in order to keep the guy contained, I would say.”
(You know what time it is. How are you doing today? All right, give it to me. I need your best ingredients for a cold cut sandwich. What was the best one you ever had? Where did you get it? Tell me the best ingredients that go into it.) – “Oh, that’s a tough question because my buddy used to own a great place in Jersey and then the cold cut sandwich is a little tough because you could go to Fiore’s in Hoboken and get the roast beef mozzarella with the hot peppers on a Thursday, and it would probably just change your life. You’re going to have some different feelings about the world after you have that sandwich. That’ll really make an impact on you for the rest of your life. That’s a great one. Then there’s another great place up on Arthur Avenue – one of my favorite places – that’s up my dad’s old neighborhood. So you’ve got to go a little prosciutto, mozzarella and then the roasted red peppers with some balsamic on the top. That’s phenomenal. That’s the Calabria Pork Store. That’s a great place up there.”
(That sounds amazing.) – “Yeah, it is amazing. You just ruined my day, honestly, because I wish I could go get one of those right now. But you know, whatever. (laughter) I’ll bear it. I found a couple good spots down here, though. There’s a lot of Northeast transplants, so it’s been good. I’ve been lucky. I’ve been lucky.”
(Hopefully you can Uber Eats or Door Dash something into the building.) – “No question. Forget it. I was at the Italian market on Saturday. No question.”
