Patriots coaching legend puts final dagger in Will Campbell debate but it won’t stop people from wanting a change
Expect Will Campbell to be a topic of conversation all offseason.
Mike Vrabel tried to end the debate around Will Campbell’s future at left tackle when he spoke with reporters earlier in the week, but people are still discussing their desire to see him move to left guard.
Now, New England Patriots coaching legend Dante Scarnecchia is taking a swing at quieting the noise.
MassLive’s Karen Guregian asked the former Patriots offensive line coach of 34 years what he’d do with Campbell after the horrid Super Bowl LX performance and his response was simple.
“I’ll tell you what. I’m not firing this guy,” said Scarnecchia. “I’m putting him right back where he was… I would submit, in the first 12 games, there wasn’t really a whole lot of bad things there relative to Will Campbell. So what’s the difference here? Did he suddenly get bad? I don’t know.
“But I know that the quality of players he was going against was really good. You can’t discount that when considering if this is something to be concerned about. Or, is this guy physically a lesser player at this point for whatever reason?”
It’s clear Will Campbell’s knee affected his play
Players aren’t going to make excuses for their play, especially when it comes to injuries. Campbell did admit on Tuesday that he wasn’t 100% in the Super Bowl and now, Scarnecchia is pointing to the injury without actually pointing to it.
As we all know, Campbell suffered a Grade 3 MCL sprain, which is also a tear, in Week 12 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
It’s not a coincidence Scarnecchia pinpoints Week 12 as the “changing point” for Campbell’s rookie season. Per Pro Football Focus, he allowed 25 total pressures and 5.0 sacks over the first 11 games and then allowed 20 pressures and 4.0 sacks over the five games from Week 18 through the Super Bowl.
Yes, to Scar’s point, Campbell faced off against the Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, and Seattle Seahawks during the span, which are not only three of the toughest pass rushes in the NFL, but three of the league’s best defenses, as a whole. That part is totally true.
However, Campbell’s knee is also a major factor. The ol’ ball coach won’t make that excuse for a player, just like Campbell wouldn’t, either.
With a full offseason to get healthy, we should see Campbell bounce back and be hungrier than ever to prove Super Bowl LX was a fluke.
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