Will Campbell Watch

[Patsfan1645]

So does anyone still think he should switch to LG?

I can’t see the team doing that anyway unless there are elite LT prospects declaring for next April with a ceiling higher than WC and I’m not aware of any.

Was Campbell not the top of the list this year (not considered generational like Alt but still graded high)? Many said just because he was good at the college level doesn't mean he will translate to the pros as a LT and then the arms/wingspan conversations took place. So lets assume Campbell continues playing the rest of the year as he has in the first 4 games. You would be willing to move him to try to let a prospect see if he could be a little better? Personally, I am not inclined to fix something that's not broken. This team has more pressing needs all over, but on the line we will need a right tackle and either a center or left guard next year depending on what they do with Wilson. That would be my focus for the line.

 

[signbabybrady]

Many of them actually want him to have a bad game so they can toot their own horn about how right they were.

Like you with Belichick

 

[sb1]

Campbell is not a "generational" prospect (man I dislike that label). I'm sure he'll have his struggles lining up against great opponents. Like with Maye he should get even better.

 

[scott99]

The thing is that they have to have all of the mental and emotional attributes to become great and sustain it. Campbell is playing really well, but he's going to have his bad moments and days, however instead of turtling and going to **** when they happen he's going to learn from them and get better. And he's got that bit of nasty that all great OL have. I loved it when Edelman and Gronk went to camp and came out of it saying that his mentality reminded them of Mankins, which is exactly what you want, an OL who wants to finish the guy in front of them on every play. I guess you could say that the Patriots " got the steal of the draft!"

Yeah, overall, EXTREMELY pleased with Campbell. Love the Mankins like nastiness.

 

[The Gr8est]

It’s sad that’s it’s not just Sam. Many people, far too many, would rather be right than have things go better than they expected.

It’s reminiscent of the old saying “I’m not happy til you’re not happy.”

People really don’t know how to be happy.

If the thing that makes you happy is other people being unhappy you are not a good person.

100%

And where are all the Chad Ryland haters now?

Many were outraged that BB traded up to draft a kicker in the 4th round.

The 4th round!!!

All while these naysayers could have done a better job.

Obviously.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

Campbell is not a "generational" prospect (man I dislike that label). I'm sure he'll have his struggles lining up against great opponents. Like with Maye he should get even better.

From what I've seen, Campbell seems to have extraordinary quickness and power, moves really well. He's also smart, very coachable, and is a little nasty. So far he's been close to perfect, and he could become an all-time Pats left tackle.

 

[Mike the Brit]

It's tough to answer because overall they've been below average, but the first 2 games were bad to below average and last 2 overall above average. Josh is also getting creative in the run game which has helped things.

They were Bad vs Raiders, outside of Campbell, Mixed but more on the bad side vs Dolphins but solid to good vs Steelers but really good vs Panthers. The trendline is definitely up on the run blocking. Are they getting better or are they facing bad Run defenses?

The last game I thought Onwenu had his best game of the year so maybe he's finally in shape. He's always looked sluggish, he's power over speed, guys like Wilson and Campbell are more athletic but as a guard Onwenu's strength is more important.

I thought Brown was a drop off from Wilson in the run game but Wilson struggled in game 1, was ok in game 2 and really good in game 3. Is he game 3 Wilson or Game 1-2 Wilson?

Campbell, to me, is pretty damn good run blocker, best on the team and better than anyone last year by quite a bit, that alone makes the run blocking much better. Moses has been solid, he's not spectacular but he doesn't hurt you much where Jacobs was probably the worst tackle in the NFL so big upgrades at both tackle spots.

Bradbury has limits, he's not moving guys off the ball but he's playing about as well as he can which, at best, is an average run blocker.

They have the makings of a solid run blocking line. Really comes down to Wilson's development because Campbell is great at it, if Wilson can play like he did in game 3 regularly it would be huge. Middle of the pack overall is the upside but pretty good since they are running top 10 in pass protection.

Couple plays where it is hard to judge run blocking:

1-Mack Hollins, as much as I think he's not a great receiver, is an excellent run blocking WR. Though he also whiffed on a block vs Panthers where Drake moved him onto the DB at the line and then he just let the DB run by him for the tackle because he took a bad angle. On the play Onwenu's guy got in on the tackle, but Onwenu dominated the rep and moved his guy out of the hole, Hollins guy forced Rham away from the hole. Many people would rate that a loss for Onwenu because his guy was in on the tackle.

2-First run play in the 3rd Q. Onwenu has a guy across from him, he pushes him toward the center and picks up the blitzing LB that showed the blitz just before the snap. Bradbury hikes it and for some reason goes forward and left 2 steps. He looks like he's triple teaming the guy in front of Brown which Campbell is double teaming. I THINK he was just chipping and going after the DB at the second level, but he stumbled so never got him. The guy Onwenu let go was in free and clear one on one vs Rham, who made him miss and got 5 yards. He then had to make the DB miss that Bradbury never blocked and then ran inside the Onwenu block.

I'm sure many gave Onwenu a whiff on that block that put his guy 1 on 1 with Rham in the backfield but it was Bradbury that should have taken the hand off of his guy, bad read by him. Bradbury then did nothing on the play, at all to help.

Just an example of how hard it is to diagnose a play and why PFF is so wrong so often.

Great post, thank you very much.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

100%

And where are all the Chad Ryland haters now?

Many were outraged that BB traded up to draft a kicker in the 4th round.

The 4th round!!!

All while these naysayers could have done a better job.

Obviously.

There's now several of these draftees that we gave up on and have succeeded elsewhere. The fact that they're now productive players means that they were good draft choices, their success improves the draft record of BB and Wolf. We just either couldn't develop them or we gave up too soon.

To your larger point about the outrage: the thing I don't get is how quickly these posters form a hard opinion and then stick to it. Just give things time before you proclaim from the hilltop that this guy sucks or this team sucks. The Will Campbell controversy about a half inch of arm length was insane, that's just being a freakin' moron.

 

[sb1]

There's now several of these draftees that we gave up on and have succeeded elsewhere. The fact that they're now productive players means that they were good draft choices, their success improves the draft record of BB and Wolf. We just either couldn't develop them or we gave up too soon.

Does it though? We're picking players for the Patriots not for the rest of the league. The team should have a good sense of who is a good fit here and who can be coached up - and who isn't or can't before their name is called on draft day. If they can't be developed then the pick is a waste.

To your larger point about the outrage: the thing I don't get is how quickly these posters form a hard opinion and then stick to it. Just give things time before you proclaim from the hilltop that this guy sucks or this team sucks. The Will Campbell controversy about a half inch of arm length was insane, that's just being a freakin' moron.

Yeah. Boston radio hawt taeks don't help either.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

Does it though? We're picking players for the Patriots not for the rest of the league. The team should have a good sense of who is a good fit here and who can be coached up - and who isn't or can't before their name is called on draft day. If they can't be developed then the pick is a waste.

Yeah. Boston radio hawt taeks don't help either.

Agree with this.
Some could argue their success elsewhere proves they weren’t bad choices.
If that is the case, one could easily argue BB is even more to blame for not having the right coaching staff in place to develop them.
As far as I’m concerned it’s a fail by BB any way you slice it.

 

[sb1]

Agree with this.
Some could argue their success elsewhere proves they weren’t bad choices.
If that is the case, one could easily argue BB is even more to blame for not having the right coaching staff in place to develop them.
As far as I’m concerned it’s a fail by BB any way you slice it.

100%. Like why on earth would we draft someone whose ceiling is limited here for whatever reason?

The Bill cult uses that as a flex which is funny. Seems that they believe we're drafting for the rest of the league not for the Patriots. Lol

 

[PatsFan2]

Agree with this.
Some could argue their success elsewhere proves they weren’t bad choices.
If that is the case, one could easily argue BB is even more to blame for not having the right coaching staff in place to develop them.
As far as I’m concerned it’s a fail by BB any way you slice it.

Because he wants to use 10 dollar Coaches to Coach up professional football players. All the while collection a hefty 20 MIll per: You get what you pay for.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Agree with this.
Some could argue their success elsewhere proves they weren’t bad choices.
If that is the case, one could easily argue BB is even more to blame for not having the right coaching staff in place to develop them.
As far as I’m concerned it’s a fail by BB any way you slice it.

Chad Ryland was released by Mayo. Jake Andrews was released by Vrabel. BB made a bunch of mistakes towards the end, but giving BB a fail based on the coaches actions after he left is crazy.

 

[patfanken]

Campbell is not a "generational" prospect (man I dislike that label). I'm sure he'll have his struggles lining up against great opponents. Like with Maye he should get even better.

He WILL get better. Once again, this INSANE idea that what a player is when he first shows up will be what he will be forever rears its ugly head. The really good players figure out ways to improve all through their careers.

Idiots will always use "recency bias" in their arguments. Think about it. 2 weeks ago, Pennix was considered a lock franchise QB who was a better pick than Maye. One week ago he was a bust of massive proportions and the everyone was trying to figure out what the Falcons were going to do LT at QB. TODAY, he is a lock Franchise QB again and all is well in Atlanta, my head is spinning

 

[signbabybrady]

Because he wants to use 10 dollar Coaches to Coach up professional football players. All the while collection a hefty 20 MIll per: You get what you pay for.

Josh was a ten dollar coach? And it's Kraft that would set that budget there is no cap on how much you can spend on coaches.

Our coaches were constantly getting poached I'm sure Bill would have gladly paid to keep some of them but people want advancement.

 

[Water Boy]

Many of them actually want him to have a bad game so they can toot their own horn about how right they were.

Pretty interesting that a lot of this year's Tackle draft class is panning out.

 

[DaBruinz]

Lowes bigger issue was that he was a really bad run blocker where Campbell is pretty dominate there.
Lowe was adequate in Pass Pro.
PFF is kind of all over the place in accuracy but they had 66.9 Pass Block and 45.8 Run block
PFF run block grading on Campbell is too low, He was dominate vs Miami and they gave him a 50. That's a joke as is the Pitt run block grade. He has 3 games in 4 with over 70 Pass Block, Lowe had 5 in 14 games last year.

Campbell is a huge upgrade; it is night and day in run blocking. Like all pro vs practice squad level of difference in run blocking.

I don't bother with PFF and their ratings. I look at the stats. I copied the stats with Campbell's name to avoid people throwing a giant hissy..

I agree that Campbell has been an upgrade all around.

 

[mayoclinic]

My top 5 Will Campbell watches:

1. Richard Mille RM 50-03

2. MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual Evo

3. Armin Strom Pure Resonance

4. A. Lange and Sohne 1815 Rattepante perpetual calendar

5. Ulysse Nardin Astrolabium Gallileo Gallilei

All would distract attention from his short arms.

 

[The Gr8est]

He WILL get better. Once again, this INSANE idea that what a player is when he first shows up will be what he will be forever rears its ugly head. The really good players figure out ways to improve all through their careers.

Idiots will always use "recency bias" in their arguments. Think about it. 2 weeks ago, Pennix was considered a lock franchise QB who was a better pick than Maye. One week ago he was a bust of massive proportions and the everyone was trying to figure out what the Falcons were going to do LT at QB. TODAY, he is a lock Franchise QB again and all is well in Atlanta, my head is spinning

Campbell WILL get better for sure, but the best players tend to pop early, and Campbell has definitely popped.

 

[The Gr8est]

Josh was a ten dollar coach? And it's Kraft that would set that budget there is no cap on how much you can spend on coaches.

Our coaches were constantly getting poached I'm sure Bill would have gladly paid to keep some of them but people want advancement.

Again, I think teams should be compensated for losing coaches that they developed, just like they get compensated for losing FA pksyers.

There would need to be some way to evaluate the worth of a coach of front office person since they are not equal.

What should the Pats have gotten for losing Tom Dimitroff, for example?