Kampman "hesitant" about move to OLB

[Captain Erv]

Hesitant Kampman again refuses to talk
By Greg A. Bedard of the Journal Sentinel
May. 28, 2009 2:45 p.m.

Green Bay - It might be time to start worrying about Aaron Kampman.

The Packers' seven-year veteran again declined to speak to the media today about his move from defensive end to outside linebacker in the team's new 3-4 scheme.

According to a team spokesman, Kampman had agreed to speak but later changed his mind.

At FanFest in March, Kampman was also scheduled to speak to the media, and the public. He later canceled his appearance.

Kampman has also declined numerous interview requests since Dom Capers was hired as defensive coordinator in January.

The latest episode came after Kampman was told it would be in his best interest to be heard on the subject.

Now there can be no doubt Kampman is uneasy about his transition to a new position after seven standout seasons.

Coach Mike McCarthy admitted as much after practice.

"I think there's always hesitancy when you're asked to do something different," McCarthy said. "Aaron was very comfortable in the old scheme."

During the first public practice since the scheme switch, Kampman stood up in a two-point stance most of the time and was asked primarily to rush up the field.

The few drops into coverage Kampman was asked to do, he looked very awkward and stiff.

Just like at the rookie camp, McCarthy again tried to publicly sell Kampman on the switch.

"I don't want to be redundant but I think this defense is going to help Aaron Kampman," McCarthy said. "I think this is going to create more opportunity for him, the diversity of the scheme. First and second downs are clearly different for him. The sub packages, there's some multiplicity there that I think will also help him. I think he moves well in space. He's spent a lot of time with (outside linebackers coach) Kevin Greene. I know Dom and Kevin feel very good about where Aaron is today and he's only going to get better."

Kampman's refusal to talk means his teammates are being asked about him, which puts them in a tough spot. Most don't want to talk about the situation.

"I'm not Kampman's spokesman, so I can't comment for him," said fellow outside linebacker Brady Poppinga. "If you want a comment from him, you're going to have to go talk to him. I have nothing to say for 'Kampy'. If you want to talk about me, we can do that. I can't speak for anybody else. I'm not a spokesman."

Poppinga knows firsthand how frustrating the transition from end to linebacker can be. He was an end at BYU.

"Anybody who moves from defensive end to linebacker, as I experienced in college, the biggest change is having to see the whole picture and having to be able to see the formations, because that dictates a lot of what you’re going to do," Poppinga said. "Most of the time when you’re a defensive end, you just sort of get in your three-point stance and your basic read is the guy over you. Whereas when you’re a linebacker now, you’re taking in the whole 11 guys on the offense. Just being able to see the big picture, and obviously being able to drop in space. Just two different worlds from a defensive end.

[ReasonablySober]

I think we might look back on this offseason and regret not moving him. There's always the franchise tag next season, I suppose.

[MickeyDavis]

Having our best defensive lineman change positions is certainly a risk. Especially if he's not down with making the move. Here is one take on it, from Scouts, Inc...

It drives me crazy when teams make a drastic switch in scheme because that is what the cool kids are doing.

In this case, the cool kids are Baltimore, Pittsburgh, New England and other successful 3-4 teams. Of course, I understand many teams are now led by men who come from flourishing teams that ran the 3-4, but that doesn't make it the right decision. I can see -- to some degree -- why Denver would make this switch, as its defense hasn't been successful in recent memory and the defensive players on its roster were inadequate for either an odd or even front.

But the Green Bay switch really gets under my skin. Two years ago, the Packers had an upper-tier defense while running the 4-3. The strength of that team was a very deep, talented and versatile defensive line. The Packers rotated big men in, stayed fresh up front and put an awful lot of pressure on opposing offenses for four quarters. Last year, the defensive front was hit hard by injuries, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila was released and Corey Williams was dealt to the Browns before the season. Why not just bring in one or two more 4-3 linemen and stick with what worked?

Turning Aaron Kampman, Green Bay's best front-seven player, into an outside linebacker is criminal. He was one of the better defensive ends in the league, and those guys don't grow on trees. Surely Kampman will not do it often, but dropping him into coverage with any regularity is a mistake. Although Cullen Jenkins, another very talented defensive lineman, is versatile enough to play end or tackle in the 4-3, he is a penetrator and asking him to hold the point as a 3-4 end could be a waste of what he does best.

I am also not fond of A.J. Hawk, a prototypical 4-3 weakside linebacker, and Nick Barnett, a very successful run-and-hit middle linebacker in the old scheme, being the starting two inside guys in the new 3-4. Neither player is equipped to take on massive guards at the point of attack. I expect to see these two getting swallowed up far too often.

I must admit that I expected the Packers' front seven to be even more ill-equipped to make this change at this point of the year than they are right now. I was shocked that B.J. Raji fell to Green Bay in the first round, and I feel Clay Matthews Jr. should fit the scheme well. Matthews is more linebacker than defensive end, while Kampman is the exact opposite. Those two could complement each other at outside linebacker rather well.

That being said, rookies rarely adapt quickly to the 3-4, and although Matthews did play some of the scheme last year at USC, neither player has extensive experience running it.

It should be noted that Dom Capers will be the one coordinating the change. Capers knows what will make the transformation more palatable.

I still contend that the Packers would have been better off sticking with the 4-3 and still drafting Raji. Without making the change, Green Bay would not have had to uncharacteristically jump back into the first round to fill a position of need, and could have used the resources that it took to get Matthews to add to other areas of the team, such as offensive tackle or another 4-3 defensive end. Expect some growing pains on defense.

[ReasonablySober]

I've read the exact opposite from either the NFLPost (or SI.com...I forget) that say it was a great move and the scheme fits the personnel. And that was before we added two starters in the draft.

Basically I think nobody knows how the switch will do this year until we see it come September.

[MickeyDavis]

It will be interesting to be sure. I think most agree we had a pretty good defense two years ago (under Sanders) and last year were decimated with injuries plus the loss of Williams.

But regardless of the scheme there is little doubt Capers is a huge upgrade over Sanders.

[Ayt]

I think once Kampman realizes he's going to have to drop into a short curl or a zone covering the flat less than 5 times per game he'll come around.

[aaprigs311]

I don't have tolerance for this type of behavior anymore. Green Bay as a community is really struggling to keep afloat. Unemployment is sky high, families are losing houses, and everyone else is worried about their job security. All we've got up here are the Packers. I lost a lot of respect for Kampman when I read this today, and it's not going to go over well with the rest of this community or Wisconsin in general. We're talking about an established player who is crying about a position change. This is a guy that's making close to 10 mill a year to play football. Shut the **** up, put on your helmet, and get your ass on that field. No one wants f'n hear it anymore. What a f'n pussy. He was probably one of my top 5 favorite players until I read that today. Grow up, @$$hole.

[Ill-yasova]

I'm sick of people calling the 3-4 a trendy choice. It's a smart choice. Mario Williams type 4-3 DEs come around once in a blue moon now a days where as the best pass rushers are 250 lb linebackers who are bred through college to rush QBs. There's no Reggie White or Bruce Smiths out there to plug into a 4-3 that can rush the passer and stand up to the run. A 3-4 defense give you considerable size up front to occupy blockers across the line and four athletic LBs to plug the gaps.


Eighteen years ago GMs saw an incredible player named Lawrence Taylor and said "Man, I want one of those". College and High School coaches obliged and started molding these players and here we are today, a generation in the mold of LT style rush LBs. Perfect for the 3-4.

[Wade-A-Holic]

I've read the exact opposite from either the NFLPost (or SI.com...I forget) that say it was a great move and the scheme fits the personnel. And that was before we added two starters in the draft.

Basically I think nobody knows how the switch will do this year until we see it come September.

Exactly. Not all 3-4 schemes are built the same way, and I'm sure that behind closed doors our own staff doesn't know for sure how well this is going to work. I remember when Capers was hired, I probably read every article ever written about him, and in the articles written after Jacksonville hired him, he said numerous times that he wouldn't know until a few weeks into training camp whether or not he had the personnel to run his zone blitz schemes, so it's not like he's married to a scheme and is going to force square pegs into round holes.

I also agree with Ill-yasova in that I'm sick of people saying that this is just another case of playing copy-cat in a copy-cat league. However, I wonder why more college teams don't run 3-4's.

[El_Lobo_3]

I'm sick of people calling the 3-4 a trendy choice. It's a smart choice. Mario Williams type 4-3 DEs come around once in a blue moon now a days where as the best pass rushers are 250 lb linebackers who are bred through college to rush QBs. There's no Reggie White or Bruce Smiths out there to plug into a 4-3 that can rush the passer and stand up to the run. A 3-4 defense give you considerable size up front to occupy blockers across the line and four athletic LBs to plug the gaps.


Eighteen years ago GMs saw an incredible player named Lawrence Taylor and said "Man, I want one of those". College and High School coaches obliged and started molding these players and here we are today, a generation in the mold of LT style rush LBs. Perfect for the 3-4.

Couldn't agree more. Granted we had one of them in Kampman, but I am one of the guys who thinks this change will help him. He won't have to drop back as much as ppl are making a big deal out of him having to do...Capers has said the packers 3-4 will be molded to what we have, he isn't stupid...it will give him more elaborate blitz schemes and Matthews/Kampman could be one hell of a duo in this system once we get it down.

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

If Kampman is really this upset about the scheme change, we should take a look at trading for Peppers. Peppers wants to play OLB in a 3-4 and Kampman wants to play DE in a 4-3. Everyone gets what they want.

I know Peppers didn't list us in his teams he wanted to be traded to and I know he'd cost a lot of money. Assuming we can take care of our own guys we should still have ample room to sign peppers. We could front load the contract and not really have to worry about it...assuming he plays well, which I think he would. He has all the athleticism needed to play OLB.

[automatic44]

I have a hard time being too upset with Kampman about this. We all know he's an outstanding individual that has worked his butt off here, and has always been loyal to the franchise. If I were him, I'd be hesitant as well, especially in a contract year. The fact that he isn't saying anything to the media makes me a bit uneasy, but considering that most players would most likely complain to the media, demand a trade, be no-shows throughout every team activity, etc. etc. I give him credit for showing up and actually working with the new staff at trying to learn this position. I think over time he'll start to warm up to reporters and fans once again.

[humanrefutation]

I don't have tolerance for this type of behavior anymore. Green Bay as a community is really struggling to keep afloat. Unemployment is sky high, families are losing houses, and everyone else is worried about their job security. All we've got up here are the Packers. I lost a lot of respect for Kampman when I read this today, and it's not going to go over well with the rest of this community or Wisconsin in general. We're talking about an established player who is crying about a position change. This is a guy that's making close to 10 mill a year to play football. Shut the **** up, put on your helmet, and get your ass on that field. No one wants f'n hear it anymore. What a f'n pussy. He was probably one of my top 5 favorite players until I read that today. Grow up, @$$hole.

Talk about an overreaction. I realize that the economy is suffering (everywhere, by the way), but that doesn't preclude Kampman from justifiably being uncomfortable about a position switch. The guy has a right to feel that way, especially in a contract year. He has a right to be worried about the future of his playing career and his financial stability, as anyone else would. Just because he makes a couple extra zeroes on his paycheck doesn't mean he has to be a mindless lackey for the organization, which, by the way, makes millions and millions off of his performance. He has a right to feel uncomfortable about a position switch.

The guy is a hard worker. Do I think he should hold out over this? No. Do I think he needs to give to trust his coordinator and make the switch? Yes. But that doesn't mean he can't feel "hesitation" about making a position switch that may affect his future career.

[Bucksfans1and2]

Eighteen years ago GMs saw an incredible player named Lawrence Taylor and said "Man, I want one of those". College and High School coaches obliged and started molding these players and here we are today, a generation in the mold of LT style rush LBs. Perfect for the 3-4.[/quote]

Blind Side: Evolution of a Game is either where you got this or echos your sentiments exactly. Great book if your looking for something NFL related to read.

BF2

[Reddeye]

Kampman speaks:

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/packers.html

Andrew Brandt on Kampman.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009/06/tuesday-thoughts-17/

[blueedwards]

Im not worried. Packers are use to unhappy players. Either they dont like there contract now they dont want a different position. lol Its always something every offseason for us. I know other teams are going through holdouts or players not happy and want to get traded. I see Denver has that WR thats wants a trade now. Players just need to grow up and play the game.

[Bucksfans1and2]

Intesting and positive read from the idiot NFC North Blogger (Who by the way is a complete viking homer)
Said Aaron looked very good in passing drills Here's the articlehttp://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfcnorth/0-12-90/No-train-wrecks-here.html