Calais Campbell recently signed with the Dolphins. On Monday, he met with reporters for the first time.
One important question was this: Will he play inside or outside on the Miami defensive line?
“I’m going to play all over the place, yes,” Campbell said. “We haven’t really talked about like how they want to use me, but just knowing [defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver] and his mindset, we’re going to move around a little bit in different situations. There’s a lot of different things you can do in this defense as far as packages and different ways of lining up and doing things, but yes, I’d be very surprised if I don’t play literally position on the D-line at some point in time in the season in certain gaps.”
He nevertheless has a specific affinity for one spot on the line.
“[Wink Martindale] used to always tell me, ‘When God created the football game and he created the 5-technique position, he drew you up perfectly for it,’ all the time,” Campbell said. “I feel like I can play any position, right, like I can [play] left, right, 1-technique, 2i, 3, 4i, 5. I can play all through the 9[-technique]. I can play any position — I don’t like standing up, but hand in the dirt, I can play any position on the D-line and I take great pride in doing that at a high level. I think that’s probably what makes me unique, but where I feel the strongest and best at is in that 5[-technique].
“So I do think he’s right, and I still think I’m pretty dominant in that 5[-technique], especially in the run game. He told me to set the edge, like you’re not running that ball. I take great pride in making sure that you’re not going to run the ball in my gap or towards me at all. I also feel like especially when it comes to studying the game and understanding what tendencies are, what teams can do from different formations, it allows me to be a little more aggressive and take some chances and make some plays that I’m not supposed to make as well. But the plays I’m supposed to make in a 5-technique, yes, it’s 100 percent — you’re not running or something’s got to happen. Something was off, something happened. But it’s just I take great pride in being one of the best run-stopping 5-techniques to ever play this game, and I still think I’ve got a lot of juice in the pass rush role, too, so it’s kind of a good mix.”
Campbell brings a ton of experience to Miami, and he knows the defense that Weaver will be installing. Even though he’ll be 38 later this year, he still seems to have gas in the tank. And he’s hoping to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since his rookie year, in Arizona.
“That’s a big reason why I signed here, because I feel like there’s a really good opportunity here,” Campbell said. “Very talented team all over the field, both offense and defense. When you go through the roster of who you have and see so many people that I feel like we can play together and build that team chemistry you need — we’ll be a force to be reckoned with. I really like the coaching staff. I mean, Anthony Weaver is a guy I’m very familiar with, [have] a lot of respect for, and he’s a big reason I really believe in this team. I know the kind of work ethic he has and just the kind of man he is, and I really think this defense is going to be a top — I don’t want to go too crazy, but it’s going to be a really good defense.”
They already have a really good offense. If they can put both ends of it together, the Dolphins will be one of the most balanced teams in the league.
