De'Vondre Campbell

[Upnorth]

We could get a pro bowler and if Barry sucks we have a bad year. I am worried more about our d than our o right now. Thank goidness our secondary has tremendous potential.

[run pMc]

Depth we had. 113 or 119 or whatever tackles a season plus a guy who is decent in coverage is something we didn't have. I'm still suspicious of why we got him so cheap, but it certainly seems like he will be an on-field upgrade from the young guys we had and probably will move each of them down a notch.

I was going to say most ILBs don't much money in FA, but then I look at Kirksey & what he signed for last year and this year. I'd take Campbell for $2M over Kirksey for the 4.5M HOU paid him (or the $13M deal GB signed him for last year). Krys Barnes was leaving the field with an injury twice a game by the end of the season; agree with Friday we can't have an 8th grader out there.

Also agree the new DC Barry will be one of if not the most important signing on the D this year. If he stinks even a 38 year old MVP QB won't get them to the SB.

APB: you're thinking of Jeff Saturday. IIRC they let ED-S walk in FA and didn't have anyone who could play center decently on the squad, but he was washed up and everyone knew it. They have like 4 guys who can play center now.

[RashanGary]

I hope Barnes first and Martin second make this signing unimportant. Barnes has a lot of potential to be a Blake Martinez level starter in there. He showed up right away. And a good offseason of training should help with durability and overall athleticism. He was a little chubby last year. His body isn’t maxed out at all.

[bobblehead]

I hope Barnes first and Martin second make this signing unimportant. Barnes has a lot of potential to be a Blake Martinez level starter in there. He showed up right away. And a good offseason of training should help with durability and overall athleticism. He was a little chubby last year. His body isn’t maxed out at all.

Agree. He is a football player. Good instincts. He is small and can't fix that, but he isn't tiny. Add to his physique, add to his understanding of this defense and he can be serviceable. He won't ever be really good though, nor will any ILB on this roster.

[texaspackerbacker]

Nothing against Barnes who played fairly decent given the limited expectations or Martin for that matter too, but I'd rather have our primary ILB be a highly durable over the years, supposedly good character (not that the others aren't), supposedly much more athletic guy who has been instinctive enough to average way over 100 tackles for several years, all of that and fairly cheap cost and only 27 yrs old too. My only worry is that he is too good to be true - that some unknown factor to us, the public anyway, will come up to make Campbell seem like less of the gem of a signing than he does seem like.

[smuggler]

Pretty low-risk signing. After the comp pick deadline. He's 6'4" and 235#. He can play three downs and has durability. Can't find a reason to complain.

[HarveyWallbangers]

No Badger fan is going to complain about the Packers having two ILBs from the University of Minnesota?

[Joemailman]

If Campbell's coverage ability means Packers can play less dime defense, he should help make the run defense tougher.

[red]

no complaints from me with this signing. could be a solid vet addition and if not, we aren't out a lot of money

[red]

joe was right on about how many of us wished TT had made more signings like this one

[Spaulding]

I wonder if this means that they keep only 10 corners and safeties this year on the starting roster unlike last year where they kept 11. Better competition at WR and OL combined with less usage of dime would possibly mean this is the case if Campbell is solid in coverage.

[Joemailman]

Larry McCarren breaks down some film on Campbell's coverage abilities. Granted, McCarren is a homer, so he's only picking plays that look good. But the film shows Campbell had length and fluidity Packers haven't seen in an ILB in a long time.

[smuggler]

Last play seems more like luck.

[bobblehead]

Also a good time to revisit. Most of us were cautious with our assessments. I would say he has outplayed any of our expectations. Being a 3 down guy has proven to be a boon for the entire defense.

[run pMc]

He has been a revelation -- I did NOT think he'd be this good. Wears the communication helmet, runs the D, is out there all game. Not perfect, but generally he makes the right reads, his footwork is decent, and it's fair to argue he's probably been their best ILB since Bishop.

$2M well spent... good signing by Gute so far.