Calais Campbell – August 6, 2024
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Tuesday, August 6, 2024
DT Calais Campbell
(What was that moment at the beginning of this joint practice? I know you were with the Falcons last year, you kind of brought the two teams together, right?) – “It’s a lot of friends on that side over there and a lot of good memories. Just connected with everybody but once we sat down with coaches and kind of what they expect, what the expectations are for practice about not fighting and really making it about the work and getting better, the opportunity in front of us – which is nice because when you do joint practices it kind of breaks up the monotony of going against the same guy, getting the same look over and over again and you get a different style. So it just kind of helps kind of getting better and figuring out what kind of football team we’re going to be. And so we just kind of had one of those moments where it’s like, ‘Yo, let’s just make sure it’s about the work, getting better. Let’s go out here and have some fun.’
(You guys had some real success in the run game, the run defense feeding on RB Tyler Allgeier and kept him to wraps. What was the key to that today?) – “That’s been what we’ve been working on every day. This defense that we’re in is built on stopping the run and then creating pressure through different blitzes and different things. I think ‘Weav’ (Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver) being a d-line at heart, playing d-line for all of his career, he lets us rush four a little bit so we can get a little more opportunity to hit the quarterback. But this defense, I think, is special. We’ve got Zach Sieler leading the way up front, he just sets the tone and we all kind of follow suit, and we go out there and we ball.”
(It feels like in joint practices everybody always feels like they win the day, or at least that’s what they say. In any point in your career have you left a joint practice and said, ‘We might not have gotten that one?’) – “I think honesty is real. If you want to get better, you’ve got to be honest with yourself. I think there’s always good plays and bad plays and plays you can learn from. Nobody just dominates completely all the way, it’s a lot more good than bad. But yeah, I’ve always been honest and keeping it real like, ‘Hey, we didn’t look good,’ – I’m not going to say it to the media but I’m definitely going to say it to my teammates. (laughter) But today I feel like we did a really good job. Of course, they made some plays because they got playmakers on their squad, but overall I feel like we just made it hard on them, we made it really hard on them. We always say if they beat us – if they make plays, they’ll have to make plays doing it at their best. We can’t just give them easy plays, they’ve got to earn every yard they get, but of course in the NFL they’re going to earn some yards.”
(There’s always going to be some mystery around a team’s run defense when you have new personnel in the front seven as this team does. What makes you feel hopeful that this team will be able to stop the run? Is it the combination of you and DT Zach Sieler, DT Benito Jones, LB David Long Jr.? What specifically would you point to?) – “I think we’ve got really good linebackers, really good edge setters. Signing (Emmanuel) Ogbah was huge, he’s just a force in the run game and pass game. I think up front we just got a bunch of big strong guys who take pride in stopping the run. I think we make a pledge all the time, they will not run the ball. That is a pledge you have to make. But it’s also a combination – I think the scheme, the way we put ourselves in position to do better against the run on early downs, and I think that’s a combination of a little bit of everything. I think we’re building something here. Obviously, I think this defense has had a lot of really good success stopping the run because of they way we play things and make it hard on teams, but at the same time it’s players that have to go out there and make the plays. I think we have a combination of both.”
(How do they look different? The personnel is the same, but new quarterbacks over there?) – “They do look a lot different. (laughter) Even some of the scheme, like just competing against the offense last year in training camp and then this year, they do a lot of different things. But Kirk Cousins is a legend in this game, he’s had a lot of success, and he made some beautiful throws today and then the Penix kid (Michael Penix Jr.) looks pretty good, too. He made a couple really, really nice throws and good reads so definitely a lot of respect for the team over there. I think they’ll be really good this year.”
(Were you on the field for the scrap, the little fight? Was that your rep, or no?) – “No, no I wasn’t on the play, but of course I try to play peacemaker and make sure that it doesn’t get out of hand. Of course, we’re emotional people and physicality is a part of the game. Sometimes it’s going to be intense like that, but the biggest thing is don’t let us stop practicing, because I have seen where you go out there and do joint practices and they’ve got to separate teams and you just practice on opposite fields and that doesn’t help anybody, you made a trip for no reason. So the biggest thing was just getting back on par with what we need to do.”
(Does CB Ethan Bonner have scrappiness that we may not know about?) – “I think we’ve got a whole bunch of guys that are scrappy. There’s a narrative that I think we’re trying to change. We want to be tough guys and that’s just part of it, just going out there and showing that we’re not going to take nothing, but overall though, it’s about the work.”
(When guys sign big money contracts on a team, how can that impact the rest of the locker room in either a negative or positive way?) – “I think guys are always going to be happy to see guys get paid. It’s always going to be positive as long as guys still work. You can’t let the money stop you from preparing and putting the work in like you would if you didn’t have the money yet. Because a lot of times when you’re waiting to get paid, you’re going to give your best effort. (laughter) But most of the times guys get paid they love ball, they’re going to continue to give their best effort. Now there has been a couple times over the history of the game where guys got paid and shut it down, so that’s the worst of it. But that’s not this guy – none of the guys on this team, these guys are special. Tua (Tagovailoa) got his money and nothing changed. He’s the same guy, coming to work every day, not that I’ve been around very long but from what I’ve see, he didn’t change from the little, short time, seeing how it goes. Tyreek (Hill) has been paid multiple times, so you know who he is, but I’m happy to see guys get paid always.”
(We’ve heard a lot about this culture of accountability and it’s being built here. Like you said, I know you haven’t been here very long, but is that something that you notice in your time in Miami, that guys are adept at holding each other accountable?) – “Oh yeah, without a doubt. I think that’s a big part of one of the reasons why I’m here. Just creating that expectation that we’re going to do things at a certain standard, a certain way and everybody has to be on that level of accountability. I take great pride in making sure that we got to play ball at a certain level. At the end of the day, win, lose or draw, you can’t control all of that. Sometimes the ball just isn’t going to bounce your way, but the way you play football is going to be a standard.”
(You guys have three potential and probable Hall of Famers in yourself, WR Tyreek Hill and CB Jalen Ramsey. How can that benefit this team on the field and off the field?) – “I think the best players got to be leaders, and I was really impressed with Jalen Ramsey, his development. Knowing him as a young buck and then seeing his development, he’s really kind of taken a lot more of a leadership role, going around and even today, bringing that energy, making sure the guys were locked in and playing physical and having fun. It’s good. Now he still definitely is a passionate guy, and sometimes he gets to a certain level where it’s like, ‘Alright, I better bring my A-game and bring everything I’ve got,’ so it’s good to see. And then I think everybody wants to win and I think there’s a certain level of let’s sacrifice and pay the price and do everything we can to give ourselves the best shot. Obviously, it’s going to be hard, but let’s give ourselves the best shot, and that’s by just doing the small things, over and over again, as hard as we can trying to inspire everybody else around us.”
(How do you change the culture of a team? You’ve been on so many different teams, how do you go about changing culture of a team? Is it through the leaders?) – “I think the first thing you have to do is you have to lead by example. You’ve got to come in and be a pro and do things the right way, and you get enough guys doing that and it starts building. Then you see guys who don’t want to buy in, they usually get out of here, new guys come in that want to be a part of cultures overall. I feel like that’s just a broad spectrum. Down here, from what I’ve heard and what I’ve seen it’s completely different. I feel like they were already brewing and already working to change the culture and I think Coach (Anthony Weaver) is a big part of that. I can’t speak for how it was before, but Anthony Weaver set a standard here on this defense that I think is contagious, that everybody has to buy into and believe. And when you do that, you start seeing the way he holds us to a standard, the way he holds us accountable and makes sure we’re running to the ball, playing physical, not letting running backs run through the gap, all that stuff, it builds. We’re saying, ‘This right there is not good enough.’ I think that it comes from multiple places, but the culture right now is a great culture. That’s all I can speak on; I don’t know how it was before, but I like where we’re at right now.”
(LB Quinton Bell, you saw him last year when he was in Atlanta. What growth have you seen from him this year?) – “He was there two years ago so I didn’t really know him. At least he was gone by the time I got there, but he’s been playing really good ball for us. I didn’t know much about him, but the guy I’m seeing out there right now, he’s flying around, running to the ball, playing physical. He’s been pass rushing great. He’s really showing he can play in this league. So we’ll see how it goes on Sundays, because obviously practice is only so much, you got to go out there on Sunday and ball and deliver, but he’s put himself in position to go out there and ball.”
