[img_r]http://media.jsonline.com/images/199*173/kampman112708.jpg[/img_r]Green Bay - Each week the Green Bay Packers fail to adequately rush the passer, the pressure on defensive end Aaron Kampman to get a sack increases exponentially.
Since 2006, hardly anyone has been as good at coming up with one than him. His 35 sacks over that span rank second in the National Football League behind Dallas linebacker DeMarcus Ware's 36 1/2, and going into the Packers' must-win game against Carolina on Sunday, Kampman has 7, which ranks him 13th in the league this season.
Kampman has been remarkably good at fending off external forces such as the pressure to rescue a pass rush that didn't get the job done against New Orleans on Monday night and appears to be fading the same way it did at the end of last season. When it comes to such things, Kampman just plays.
"You have to develop certain mechanisms in this profession," Kampman said. "It's a tremendous profession and I'm not saying I have it figured out, but I'm learning more and more that you have to continue not to let that kind of stuff get to you and bother you. Those are things that will burn you out."
Kampman didn't have a sack against the Saints, but he hit quarterback Drew Brees five times, which on any occasion is a good night's work. You would think that in games Kampman is playing so well the coaches would increase his number of snaps and keep him on the field, but the truth is they can't.
He's already playing as many snaps as humanely possible, and actually the coaches are trying to reduce that number so he doesn't fade at the end of the year. Over the last two seasons, Kampman's second half of the season has not been as productive in sacks as his first half, which could be the result of his body wearing down.
In '06, when he broke out with 15 sacks, he had six of them in the final eight games. In '07, when he followed up with 12, he had just three in his final nine games, including two playoff games (he was rested in the season finale against Detroit).
Kampman never lets on whether he's battling an injury, so it's hard to tell if he was affected physically either of those seasons. He doesn't necessarily see a correlation between the number of snaps he plays and his sack totals, but rather sees it as a marathon in which he expects to outlast the competition.
"So much of it is mental," Kampman said. "Yes, there's a physical component to it, but I think much of it is your mentality and then it is health. There are times in Week 4 I haven't felt great. By Week 12 I'm feeling good. And other times it's flipped. It's really dictated by what's going on and how your body responds."
This season, Kampman is playing about 94% of the defensive snaps, which is a phenomenal number for someone who plays as hard as he does. It's not that different from recent years, though, so he can continue doing it the rest of the season without fear that he'll completely fall apart.
The trick for defensive ends coach Carl Hairston is to figure out a way to maximize Kampman's output without sacrificing the performance of the entire defensive line. Even Kampman at 70 or 80% offers more pass rush than what veteran Mike Montgomery or youngsters Jeremy Thompson, Kenny Pettway and Jason Hunter can at this stage of their careers.
Previously, when Kampman came off the field, the Packers still had a threat with Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila or Cullen Jenkins in the lineup, but since KGB's release and Jenkins' season-ending injury nobody has filled that void. So when Kampman gets a breather, the odds the Packers are going to get a sack diminish greatly.
And so, Hairston faces the difficult proposition of keeping Kampman fresh so he's more effective and avoiding a series in which the opposing quarterback has all day to throw.
"What we're trying to do is keep him fresh down the stretch," Hairston said. "I think we had 57 plays Monday and he may have played 42 or 43. He probably doesn't want to come out. He probably could play the whole game, that's how in shape he is.
"We're trying to do it early in the game instead of late in case it's a real tight ball game. I try to do it early, usually the first or second quarter in case he has to play the whole third or fourth quarter."
The Packers currently rank tied for 24th in sacks per pass play, down six spots from just three weeks ago. That was the last time a defensive lineman had a sack.
If things were working the way they should, Kampman would be setting up sacks for other players by either driving the quarterback out of the pocket or drawing multiple blockers so others have one-on-ones. Before Jenkins got hurt, the Packers had nine sacks in their first three games.
Hairston's only hope now is that someone other than Kampman starts to provide some consistent pass rush. Thompson was getting better but suffered a setback with a groin injury, Pettway has not done much despite his speed and Montgomery is a hustle player who is limited in ability.
"We're not getting it done," Hairston said of the group that remains. "They know it and we know it and I'm going to push harder to get it done this weekend and the last five weeks of the season. We just have to keep working on it."