Growing up, I learned much about Lombardi's Packers from my Dad, Grandpa, and Uncles. My Dad's favorite player growing up was none other than linebacker, Ray Nitschke. He told me about Nitschke's mean, fiery, and aggressive nature on the field. He taught me how Nitschke would knock the daylights out of an opposing player whenever he had the chance. As a result, I viewed the linebacker position as the "punishers," they were the guys that were supposed to make the ball carrier wish they weren't even on the field. In my lifetime though, the Packers have had a few good linebackers, but only a small handful would I place in the "fiery and aggressive" category.
The first one that comes to mind that I'd put in that column is Clay Matthews III. During the peak of his career, Matthews was a force to be reckoned with, relentlessly trying to get to the Quarterback on every single down. After Clay, there have been a few punishing and aggressive linebackers, Wayne Simmons, Nick Barnett, and Desmond Bishop all come to mind from the last 30 years, but I wouldn't quite put them over the top. However, when I look at the Packers' current crop of linebackers, I see two that could come over the top, and they now have the coach to help them get there.
When I first read about the hiring of Anthony Campanile as the Packers' linebackers coach and run game coordinator, the main thing that stuck out to me, was his intensity. As I mentioned before, I view the linebacker position as the "punishers." To fit that punisher mold, you have to be intense, aggressive, and hard-hitting, Campanile said in a past speech, "Don't stop throwing punches, don't stop attacking the ball, don't stop finishing blocks, and let's see what happens." Of the four linebackers to wear a Packers jersey previously mentioned from the last 30 years, 3/4 of them won Super Bowls, One of the similarities between these three is that they had a fiery and intense defensive coach in their corner. Wayne Simmons had Fritz Shurmur, while Clay Matthews and Desmond Bishop had Kevin Green.
The Packers' two promising young linebackers, Quay Walker and Edgerrin Cooper have a lot of natural talent and athleticism. And with the hiring of Anthony Campanile, they now have a fiery and intense defensive coach of their own to hopefully take them over the top.
Making Walker and Cooper the Best in the League
An emphasis of new defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley's system, is putting players in a position to succeed, without them having to think about it. That means almost exactly as it sounds. The less they have to think about, the better. That's not to say Hafley will be running a "defense for dummies" but more of a defense where adjustments on the fly won't be needed as often. Defensive players will have assignments that cater to their strengths and they won't be placed in a position where a pass rusher is asked to cover a top receiver as was a common occurrence with the Packers' past regime. Versatility will be welcome, but with the new system, when a player lines up, they know what their assignment is, and they know that they can succeed at it with minimal adjustment.
This should bode well for Quay Walker and Edgerrin Cooper. Both players are very athletic running sideline to sideline. They both are capable of blowing up plays in the backfield as well as tracking any ball carrier and being the first to get there. Letting them focus on their assignment and not having to worry about something else so that they can use that athleticism, will help them focus on stopping the play or even creating a turnover.
When you give a skilled player a little bit of lee-way as to what they can do, their feeling of trust and inclusion will skyrocket. That is when teaching aggression will come in handy as now the player is more able to attack the play.
Anthony Campanile will bring the fire and the aggression back into Walker and Cooper's game. Imagine #7 and #56 leading the league as the best linebacker tandem. That would greatly turn around the woes that have plagued the Packers' defense. Early on in OTA's, it was widely noted that Campanile is very involved and occasionally grabs the tackle dummies or blockers to get physically involved and ingrain that intensity in his players' heads. It's been some time since the Packers have had a punishing defense, with Hafley and Campanile at the helm though, those days could be back.
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