Content Post Why does Wingspan matter for Tackles?

[pazrul72]

With all the discussion on Campbell's arm length and wingspan I've seen a bunch of people question how important it is, with respected opinions like Scar and Joe Thomas saying not at all, while the rest of the media world turned it into, well the media circus they are so enamored with creating.

So who the hell am I, and why does my opinion matter? I'm a 6'4 320 guy who used to wrestle 100 lbs dogs for a living. I played tackle both offensive and defensive in high school on a state championship team that dominated in the trenches running a wing T variant. I can still hear coach Beef (Don't ask) screaming at us "stay low, low man wins" "fire out" "get under his pads" So while I'm not a pro, and I'm sure the NFL is a whole nother level of technique and mastery, it is something I worked on for hours a day for a couple years. I was never very good for reasons I will get into later but good line play is always the first thing I want to watch on Sundays.


So what does a good O line stance look like?


or



You will note in both of these pictures the offensive lineman has a wide base, with his legs spread, so he can change direction as quickly as the Dlineman can. Also bent and low with their shoulder pads under where the defender's pads are, and while they don't play like Davinci's Vitruvian Man the arms are out to the sides making them as wide as possible. Low and wide with your shoulders over your knees to keep your balance is the ideal position you want to be in as much as possible.


So if low is so good why do we hear about the 6'7 LT being a monster and a huge recruit? Tall guys tend to come with big wingspans and the other part of the saying is look at the way he bends. Tall guys can be like springs, the more you bunch up, the more explosion you can generate when you snap out of your low stance.

It's less about gym strength and more about your ability to fire out and hit him lower then he hits you. That's why bench press means almost nothing to me but their vertical and long jump? Oh yeah that shows powerful legs that can explode out of their stance.

Oh and the ass, you'd be amazed how much of your power comes from your ass, Jason Kelce had a hilarious segment on New Heights talking about scouting ass, bigger and wider the better. Reminds me of Big Vince, dude was only 6'1 which actually was an advantage, I don't think I've ever seen anyone as good at getting under a guys pads and then jacking him up off his feet. Sometimes to two guys at once!



Now onto Will Campbell


Most NFL lineman have a wingspan over 80 inches, Will's is 77. Three or Four inches? Really? What's the difference in 3 inches especially if the arms aren't spread all the way out?

I know it doesn't sound like much but this is the NFL where the difference between a 6'1 receiver and a 5'10 DB gets talked about for weeks at a time. Being 3 inches wider as a lineman can be the difference between pushing a guy too far up field to get the sack versus having him "bend around the edge" and knock your QB out.

Being wider you can engage earlier, sustain longer, and push him further, it all adds up. I'm not an engineer so I don't know the exact math but I'm sure someone has done it. 3 inches of reach adds up to like a yard of blocking.

Now none of this would matter if the tape showed it wasn't an issue. I love the pick, I'm rooting for him to prove me wrong, but the tape doesn't lie. Look at his stance, too tall, no bend, and his arms look like chicken wings. College guys get their hands on him all the time and move him off his spot. If you put on the film expecting to see a dominant pass blocker that stonewalls his guy.... yeah its not that. The good thing is he is top 1% all time in lineman athleticism, his torque and movement skills to get back in front of the guy that just beat him is *chef kiss*



Getting back to why I'm not a very good player despite ideal size, weight, and strength. I have about a 6 inch vertical and my accelerator is broken. I can get up to 20 MPH but it takes me 10 seconds to do it and it takes everything I have. A small breeze would knock me over. Picture a 97 Honda Accord, it can get to 120 but its shaking and making weird noises when it does it. I can lift a small car but moving while doing it isn't happening. If you had a score of 100 for strength and 100 for speed I can hit both of those... as long as you don't need me to do the other thing at the same time. So if you just watched me lifting you'd be like wow he's huge, or just saw me running wow he's fast for his size. Thing is NFL lineman need to be able to do both at the same time.


@BaconGrundleCandy uses the term convert speed to power all the time and this is what he's talking about. You have to be able to be going 100 speed, and then in the time it takes to turn on a lightbulb have it be 50 speed and 100 power. Nobody is capable of 200 all the time, what separates good lineman from poor lineman is how close to 200 you can get. One of the things that concerns me with Campbell based on the film I watched is his speed is absolutely 100, his power 100 too, his ability to do both at the same time? For such a big strong powerful guy he just doesn't pancake people as often as he should.



To be a good pass blocker you have to understand what the pass rusher is doing


I wish I could find the picture I found when I first thought of this topic a couple weeks ago that showed how far out Judon lines up in a wide 9 pass rush set. To get to a guy 50 lbs lighter then you who is trying to beat you with speed it takes every ounce of your weight flowing to the outside.

Look at Dawkins feet, he is off balance and has zero capability to use any of his power. Judon has him right where he wants him cuz the next thing he did was a double chop to the arms and cut back inside to hurry the QB.

Every single pass rush move besides a power bull rush is trying to get a lineman moving one way, and then cutting across and going the other. Spin move, rip, swim, hump, they all have the same goal just a different way of accomplishing it. For Dawkins to win this rep he needs to have his feet under him, spread out making him wider, and his arms engaging Judon before Judon engages him.

THAT is why wingspan matters, it increases your chance to engage early, and makes a cut back against the grain harder to do. 1/8 of an inch arm length...meh, 3 inches of wingspan now that does make a difference at the NFL level.


The best analogy I could come up with is old Atari Pong. The wider the paddle the easier it is to send the ball back the other way. But if your wide paddle can't move, especially if the ball can grab you and throw you the other direction, then you are better off with a small paddle that can fly. Campbell despite being 6'6 320 is the small paddle that can fly and I hope it works.

 

[signbabybrady]

@Ring 6

 

[WhatJustHappened]

Holy Fkn Novel Batman.

WTFLDR

 

[TheRainMaker]

 

[maust]

There's a concern with Campbell having a short wingspan?

 

[Ring 6]

With all the discussion on Campbell's arm length and wingspan I've seen a bunch of people question how important it is, with respected opinions like Scar and Joe Thomas saying not at all, while the rest of the media world turned it into, well the media circus they are so enamored with creating. So who the hell am I, and why does my opinion matter? I'm a 6'4 320 guy who used to wrestle 100 lbs dogs for a living. I played tackle both offensive and defensive in high school on a state championship team that dominated in the trenches running a wing T variant. I can still hear coach Beef (Don't ask) screaming at us "stay low, low man wins" "fire out" "get under his pads" So while I'm not a pro, and I'm sure the NFL is a whole nother level of technique and mastery, it is something I worked on for hours a day for a couple years. I was never very good for reasons I will get into later but good line play is always the first thing I want to watch on Sundays.

So what does a good O line stance look like?


or


You will note in both of these pictures the offensive lineman has a wide base, with his legs spread, so he can change direction as quickly as the Dlineman can. Also bent and low with their shoulder pads under where the defender's pads are, and while they don't play like Davinci's Vitruvian Man the arms are out to the sides making them as wide as possible. Low and wide with your shoulders over your knees to keep your balance is the ideal position you want to be in as much as possible. So if low is so good why do we hear about the 6'7 LT being a monster and a huge recruit? Tall guys tend to come with big wingspans and the other part of the saying is look at the way he bends. Tall guys can be like springs, the more you bunch up, the more explosion you can generate when you snap out of your low stance. Its less about gym strength and more about your ability to fire out and hit him lower then he hits you. That's why bench press means almost nothing to me but their vertical and long jump? Oh yeah that shows powerful legs that can explode out of their stance. Oh and the ass, you'd be amazed how much of your power comes from your ass, Jason Kelce had a hilarious segment on New Heights talking about scouting ass, bigger and wider the better. Reminds me of Big Vince, dude was only 6'1 which actually was an advantage, I don't think I've ever seen anyone as good at getting under a guys pads and then jacking him up off his feet. Sometimes to two guys at once!

Now onto Will Campbell

Most NFL lineman have a wingspan over 80 inches, Will's is 77. Three or Four inches? Really? What's the difference in 3 inches especially if the arms aren't spread all the way out? I know it doesn't sound like much but this is the NFL where the difference between a 6'1 receiver and a 5'10 DB gets talked about for weeks at a time. Being 3 inches wider as a lineman can be the difference between pushing a guy too far up field to get the sack versus having him "bend around the edge" and knock your QB out. Being wider you can engage earlier, sustain longer, and push him further, it all adds up. I'm not an engineer so I don't know the exact math but I'm sure someone has done it. 3 inches of reach adds up to like a yard of blocking. Now none of this would matter if the tape showed it wasn't an issue. I love the pick, I'm rooting for him to prove me wrong, but the tape doesn't lie. Look at his stance, too tall, no bend, and his arms look like chicken wings. College guys get their hands on him all the time and move him off his spot. If you put on the film expecting to see a dominant pass blocker that stonewalls his guy.... yeah its not that. The good thing is he is top 1% all time in lineman athleticism, his torque and movement skills to get back in front of the guy that just beat him is *chef kiss*

Getting back to why I'm not a very good player despite ideal size, weight, and strength. I have about a 6 inch vertical and my accelerator is broken. I can get up to 20 MPH but it takes me 10 seconds to do it and it takes everything I have. A small breeze would knock me over. Picture a 97 Honda Accord, it can get to 120 but its shaking and making weird noises when it does it. I can lift a small car but moving while doing it isn't happening. If you had a score of 100 for strength and 100 for speed I can hit both of those... as long as you don't need me to do the other thing at the same time. So if you just watched me lifting you'd be like wow he's huge, or just saw me running wow he's fast for his size. Thing is NFL lineman need to be able to do both at the same time. @BaconGrundleCandy uses the term convert speed to power all the time and this is what he's talking about. You have to be able to be going 100 speed, and then in the time it takes to turn on a lightbulb have it be 50 speed and 100 power. Nobody is capable of 200 all the time, what separates good lineman from poor lineman is how close to 200 you can get. One of the things that concerns me with Campbell based on the film I watched is his speed is absolutely 100, his power 100 too, his ability to do both at the same time? For such a big strong powerful guy he just doesn't pancake people as often as he should.

To be a good pass blocker you have to understand what the pass rusher is doing

I wish I could find the picture I found when I first thought of this topic a couple weeks ago that showed how far out Judon lines up in a wide 9 pass rush set. To get to a guy 50 lbs lighter then you who is trying to beat you with speed it takes every ounce of your weight flowing to the outside. Look at Dawkins feet, he is off balance and has zero capability to use any of his power. Judon has him right where he wants him cuz the next thing he did was a double chop to the arms and cut back inside to hurry the QB. Every single pass rush move besides a power bull rush is trying to get a lineman moving one way, and then cutting across and going the other. Spin move, rip, swim, hump, they all have the same goal just a different way of accomplishing it. For Dawkins to win this rep he needs to have his feet under him, spread out making him wider, and his arms engaging Judon before Judon engages him. THAT is why wingspan matters, it increases your chance to engage early, and makes a cut back against the grain harder to do. 1/8 of an inch arm length...meh, 3 inches of wingspan now that does make a difference at the NFL level.

The best analogy I could come up with is old Atari Pong. The wider the paddle the easier it is to send the ball back the other way. But if your wide paddle can't move, especially if the ball can grab you and throw you the other direction, then you are better off with a small paddle that can fly. Campbell despite being 6'6 320 is the small paddle that can fly and I hope it works.

Show me the plays where an OT blocks with his arms outstretch to their limit horizontally. It doesn’t happen. Blocking is done properly by using proper technique and MOVING. If you have the reach your arm out horizontally and need an extra inch and a half longer fingers you aren’t making the block with 85 inch wingspan

 

[Pape]

omfg that is hilarious... Congrats you win the internets today

 

[Pape]

With all the discussion on Campbell's arm length and wingspan I've seen a bunch of people question how important it is, with respected opinions like Scar and Joe Thomas saying not at all, while the rest of the media world turned it into, well the media circus they are so enamored with creating.

So who the hell am I, and why does my opinion matter? I'm a 6'4 320 guy who used to wrestle 100 lbs dogs for a living. I played tackle both offensive and defensive in high school on a state championship team that dominated in the trenches running a wing T variant. I can still hear coach Beef (Don't ask) screaming at us "stay low, low man wins" "fire out" "get under his pads" So while I'm not a pro, and I'm sure the NFL is a whole nother level of technique and mastery, it is something I worked on for hours a day for a couple years. I was never very good for reasons I will get into later but good line play is always the first thing I want to watch on Sundays.


So what does a good O line stance look like?


or



You will note in both of these pictures the offensive lineman has a wide base, with his legs spread, so he can change direction as quickly as the Dlineman can. Also bent and low with their shoulder pads under where the defender's pads are, and while they don't play like Davinci's Vitruvian Man the arms are out to the sides making them as wide as possible. Low and wide with your shoulders over your knees to keep your balance is the ideal position you want to be in as much as possible.


So if low is so good why do we hear about the 6'7 LT being a monster and a huge recruit? Tall guys tend to come with big wingspans and the other part of the saying is look at the way he bends. Tall guys can be like springs, the more you bunch up, the more explosion you can generate when you snap out of your low stance.

It's less about gym strength and more about your ability to fire out and hit him lower then he hits you. That's why bench press means almost nothing to me but their vertical and long jump? Oh yeah that shows powerful legs that can explode out of their stance.

Oh and the ass, you'd be amazed how much of your power comes from your ass, Jason Kelce had a hilarious segment on New Heights talking about scouting ass, bigger and wider the better. Reminds me of Big Vince, dude was only 6'1 which actually was an advantage, I don't think I've ever seen anyone as good at getting under a guys pads and then jacking him up off his feet. Sometimes to two guys at once!



Now onto Will Campbell


Most NFL lineman have a wingspan over 80 inches, Will's is 77. Three or Four inches? Really? What's the difference in 3 inches especially if the arms aren't spread all the way out?

I know it doesn't sound like much but this is the NFL where the difference between a 6'1 receiver and a 5'10 DB gets talked about for weeks at a time. Being 3 inches wider as a lineman can be the difference between pushing a guy too far up field to get the sack versus having him "bend around the edge" and knock your QB out.

Being wider you can engage earlier, sustain longer, and push him further, it all adds up. I'm not an engineer so I don't know the exact math but I'm sure someone has done it. 3 inches of reach adds up to like a yard of blocking.

Now none of this would matter if the tape showed it wasn't an issue. I love the pick, I'm rooting for him to prove me wrong, but the tape doesn't lie. Look at his stance, too tall, no bend, and his arms look like chicken wings. College guys get their hands on him all the time and move him off his spot. If you put on the film expecting to see a dominant pass blocker that stonewalls his guy.... yeah its not that. The good thing is he is top 1% all time in lineman athleticism, his torque and movement skills to get back in front of the guy that just beat him is *chef kiss*



Getting back to why I'm not a very good player despite ideal size, weight, and strength. I have about a 6 inch vertical and my accelerator is broken. I can get up to 20 MPH but it takes me 10 seconds to do it and it takes everything I have. A small breeze would knock me over. Picture a 97 Honda Accord, it can get to 120 but its shaking and making weird noises when it does it. I can lift a small car but moving while doing it isn't happening. If you had a score of 100 for strength and 100 for speed I can hit both of those... as long as you don't need me to do the other thing at the same time. So if you just watched me lifting you'd be like wow he's huge, or just saw me running wow he's fast for his size. Thing is NFL lineman need to be able to do both at the same time.


@BaconGrundleCandy uses the term convert speed to power all the time and this is what he's talking about. You have to be able to be going 100 speed, and then in the time it takes to turn on a lightbulb have it be 50 speed and 100 power. Nobody is capable of 200 all the time, what separates good lineman from poor lineman is how close to 200 you can get. One of the things that concerns me with Campbell based on the film I watched is his speed is absolutely 100, his power 100 too, his ability to do both at the same time? For such a big strong powerful guy he just doesn't pancake people as often as he should.



To be a good pass blocker you have to understand what the pass rusher is doing


I wish I could find the picture I found when I first thought of this topic a couple weeks ago that showed how far out Judon lines up in a wide 9 pass rush set. To get to a guy 50 lbs lighter then you who is trying to beat you with speed it takes every ounce of your weight flowing to the outside.

Look at Dawkins feet, he is off balance and has zero capability to use any of his power. Judon has him right where he wants him cuz the next thing he did was a double chop to the arms and cut back inside to hurry the QB.

Every single pass rush move besides a power bull rush is trying to get a lineman moving one way, and then cutting across and going the other. Spin move, rip, swim, hump, they all have the same goal just a different way of accomplishing it. For Dawkins to win this rep he needs to have his feet under him, spread out making him wider, and his arms engaging Judon before Judon engages him.

THAT is why wingspan matters, it increases your chance to engage early, and makes a cut back against the grain harder to do. 1/8 of an inch arm length...meh, 3 inches of wingspan now that does make a difference at the NFL level.


The best analogy I could come up with is old Atari Pong. The wider the paddle the easier it is to send the ball back the other way. But if your wide paddle can't move, especially if the ball can grab you and throw you the other direction, then you are better off with a small paddle that can fly. Campbell despite being 6'6 320 is the small paddle that can fly and I hope it works.

that pic of the titan player? his legs are spread too far apart, and he is quite literally not in an optimal position to move in a lateral direction... his feet are spread too wide beyond his shoulders and his center of gravity it too far forward... maybe he is just getting ready to absorb a bull rush, who knows... hard to tell from a static image

compare that to the stance of the packers player... his feet are more in line with his shoulders, not spread far apart... that guy is ready to move...

as for the campbell pic, its the same type of thing... we can see the leading pad from a defensive edge rusher, and campbell has started moving to intercept him... there are others photos out there that show this... regardless, like every rookie lineman, he will get a trial by fire... he will have to figure it out as he goes... and if he can't we draft another LT next year and the year after that till we get it right

 

[BTTA]

who used to wrestle 100 lbs dogs for a living.
This is where you lost me. I'm scared to ask.

 

[farn]

who used to wrestle 100 lbs dogs for a living.
This is where you lost me. I'm scared to ask.

I will allow it. Carry on, sir.

 

[pazrul72]

that pic of the titan player? his legs are spread too far apart, and he is quite literally not in an optimal position to move in a lateral direction... his feet are spread too wide beyond his shoulders and his center of gravity it too far forward... maybe he is just getting ready to absorb a bull rush, who knows... hard to tell from a static image

compare that to the stance of the packers player... his feet are more in line with his shoulders, not spread far apart... that guy is ready to move...

as for the campbell pic, its the same type of thing... we can see the leading pad from a defensive edge rusher, and campbell has started moving to intercept him... there are others photos out there that show this... regardless, like every rookie lineman, he will get a trial by fire... he will have to figure it out as he goes... and if he can't we draft another LT next year and the year after that till we get it right

Fair enough. I used it to show my overall point which is low and wide is what you want from an Olineman. The titan player still has a chance where as Dawkins is beat because he is too high and his feet together.

I agree and hope he figures it out. He's a likable kid that I am rooting hard for. I will be shocked if he isn't at least a decent starter somewhere on the line for the next decade. It just might not be at LT because guys do get hands on him all the time. I wouldn't care about wingspan if the tape didn't show that, but it does, and that's the number that explains what the tape shows.

 

[pazrul72]

who used to wrestle 100 lbs dogs for a living.
This is where you lost me. I'm scared to ask.

Spent 5 years as a vet tech at a 23 Dr emergency hospital. It was my job to make sure they didn't move or bite while getting vaccines, blood draws, X-rays etc. Also pick them up and put them on the exam table. One of my favorite things was the owner being like "oh no he's really hea" as the dog is up on the table "vy....oh." the look on the owners face was always great cuz I lifted their big ass dog like he weighed nothing.

 

[pazrul72]

Show me the plays where an OT blocks with his arms outstretch to their limit horizontally. It doesn’t happen. Blocking is done properly by using proper technique and MOVING. If you have the reach your arm out horizontally and need an extra inch and a half longer fingers you aren’t making the block with 85 inch wingspan

Proper technique is to be low and WIDE, you keep ignoring that part. Of course moving is important it's literally why Campbell is in the NFL and I'm not. I shared my own personal short comings to highlight that very point. I showed you the pictures Dawkins is beat because his feet are together and he is standing up. If he was lower and WIDER he would have a better chance of not having Judon chop his arms and cut back inside. Seriously Andy this isn't complicated but you have your head in the sand singing la la la la la im not listening. I'm done. Feel free to have the last word.

 

[Ring 6]

Proper technique is to be low and WIDE, you keep ignoring that part. Of course moving is important it's literally why Campbell is in the NFL and I'm not. I shared my own personal short comings to highlight that very point. I showed you the pictures Dawkins is beat because his feet are together and he is standing up. If he was lower and WIDER he would have a better chance of not having Judon chop his arms and cut back inside. Seriously Andy this isn't complicated but you have your head in the sand singing la la la la la im not listening. I'm done. Feel free to have the last word.

Wider doesn’t mean extend your arms horizontally. Nothing in any of your post explains why wingspan matters.
I’ll ask again, because you keep avoiding the question: what does a LT do on a football field that involves horizontally extending his arms to there maximum length?
You seem to want to list techniques that have nothing to do with wingspan and think you’ve explained why it matters.
Being WIDER doesn’t mean extending your arms vertically and blocking with your finger tips.

 

[Triumph]

Seems like long wingspans would be beneficial against bigger DE;s and LBs to keep them from running over the OT. To me It all boils down to getting to the QB in a few seconds and not going toe to toe with the OT.

Some of the most prolific pass rushers are smaller and quicker players.

Von Miller - 6 - 3 250
Aaron Donald - 6 - 1 280
Dwight Freeney - 6 - 1 268

Yes, there are bigger pass rushers, but its not exclusively about size. If it was then Safety blitzes wouldn't be so effective.

The majority of these players are smaller and lighter than Campbell.

Myles Garrett 6 - 4 272
Micah Parsons 6 - 3 245
TJ Watt 6 - 3 252
Nick Bosa 6 - 4 266
Aiden Hutchinson 6 - 7 268
Max Crosby 6 - 5 255
Trey Hendrickson 6 - 4 270
Jared Verse 6 - 4 260

To me, quickness for an OT is the most sought after attribute because it would not allow the small pass rusher to leave you in the dust and it would keep your body in front of the bigger pass rusher saving precious seconds for the QB to get the ball away.

 

[Triumph]

who used to wrestle 100 lbs dogs for a living.
This is where you lost me. I'm scared to ask.

 

[pazrul72]

Wider doesn’t mean extend your arms horizontally. Nothing in any of your post explains why wingspan matters.
I’ll ask again, because you keep avoiding the question: what does a LT do on a football field that involves horizontally extending his arms to there maximum length?
You seem to want to list techniques that have nothing to do with wingspan and think you’ve explained why it matters.
Being WIDER doesn’t mean extending your arms vertically and blocking with your finger tips.

Yes I wrote this huge "WTFLDR" post because I am avoiding the question. At no point do they play fully extended like that, you're just begging for a broken arm or torn elbow tendons if you do, but they do have them out to the side a quarter bent. So if you have a wider wingspan then bent or not your arms go out further on the sides making you harder to get around. It also lets you engage quicker, punch further out away from your body. I know 3-6 inches doesn't sound like much, it's not, but in the NFL at the speed they play, well it's called a game of inches for a reason. At LT you do block with your finger tips when you are riding a DE deep behind the pocket,make them rush past the QB. Just before they leave your range you want to give them as hard a shove as you can, gives your QB an extra half second. You can do the same thing in reverse when they cut back inside. Extra arm length means extra distance you can shove them.

As Scar and Joe Thomas said arm length, wingspan numbers are not the be all end all, the tape and the way a guy plays is way more important. If Campbell played like an all pro, like Alt the year before, there would have been no question about taking him top 5. The problem is small wingspan does explain what I see on film. Guys get hands on Campbell and move him off his spot alot. It's a concern based on NFL standards that he is historically below. Now he is way more athletic then most of the previous guys so could it work? Sure and I hope it does, but until we see it in NFL action all we have to go off of is his college film where he got beat a bunch.

 

[Ring 6]

Yes I wrote this huge "WTFLDR" post because I am avoiding the question. At no point do they play fully extended like that, you're just begging for a broken arm or torn elbow tendons if you do, but they do have them out to the side a quarter bent. So if you have a wider wingspan then bent or not your arms go out further on the sides making you harder to get around. It also lets you engage quicker, punch further out away from your body. I know 3-6 inches doesn't sound like much, it's not, but in the NFL at the speed they play, well it's called a game of inches for a reason. At LT you do block with your finger tips when you are riding a DE deep behind the pocket,make them rush past the QB. Just before they leave your range you want to give them as hard a shove as you can, gives your QB an extra half second. You can do the same thing in reverse when they cut back inside. Extra arm length means extra distance you can shove them.

As Scar and Joe Thomas said arm length, wingspan numbers are not the be all end all, the tape and the way a guy plays is way more important. If Campbell played like an all pro, like Alt the year before, there would have been no question about taking him top 5. The problem is small wingspan does explain what I see on film. Guys get hands on Campbell and move him off his spot alot. It's a concern based on NFL standards that he is historically below. Now he is way more athletic then most of the previous guys so could it work? Sure and I hope it does, but until we see it in NFL action all we have to go off of is his college film where he got beat a bunch.

Writing a long post that doesn’t address the question certainly is avoiding it. Your post was about wrestling dogs and footwork not the reason wingspan matters.
Fully extended wingspan of 3” difference is 1.5 inches per arm, barely a knuckle and that’s fully extended. it’s not 3-6 inches, it a fraction of an inch.
No, you never block with your outstretched fingertips.

We are talking about a fraction of an inch. It means nothing but if it did, footwork, foot speed and technique would make it irrelevant.
“Guys get hands on” is not a wingspan dynamic. An extra knuckle isn’t changing that, good technique, strength a solid punch, and good footwork addresses that.
His college film was outstanding. He allowed 2 sacks in his entire college career.
I get it, you made a comment, and now you have to find a way to back it up, but this is getting silly now.

 

[PancakeBlockPaul]

Holy awesome post/breakdown! Pretty much same info that I remember from HS/College. Keep a low center of gravity, don't lean, bend at the hips...etc...

 

[Wozzy]

You can’t look at wingspan alone. Athleticism, strength and smarts (technique) matter just as much if not more.

Why is it important… walk around a ten foot fence, then a 100 yard fence… which was easier?