Why James Campen must leave

TJV

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Here’s what Campen has to work with this season:

LT: Fourth round pick rookie
LG: Fourth round pick
OC: UDFA
RG: Fourth round pick
RT: Either an UDFA going into his second season or a 5th round pick.

Reserves: One seventh rounder (Datko) and the rest UFDAs: Gerhart, Van Roten, Hughes, Lewis, and Taylor.
Missing of course are two first round pick OTs and a fourth round rookie.

Is anyone here foolish enough to blame Campen for that? Is anyone here foolish enough to blame Campen for installing and sticking with the ZBS? As Cheesehead625 posted, does Campen get any credit for Sitton’s success and Bakhtiari’s rapid progress?

Having posted all that I am not saying Campen is a great, or even good OL coach. What I am saying is believing just replacing him fixes the problems or thinking the team can’t win a Super Bowl with him as OL coach is in the first instance naive at best and in the second, demonstrably false.
 
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12theTruth

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Here’s what Campen has to work with this season:

LT: Fourth round pick rookie
LG: Fourth round pick
OC: UDFA
RG: Fourth round pick
RT: Either an UDFA going into his second season or a 5th round pick.

Reserves: One seventh rounder (Datko) and the rest UFDAs: Gerhart, Van Roten, Hughes, Lewis, and Taylor.
Missing of course are two first round pick OTs and a fourth round rookie.

Is anyone here foolish enough to blame Campen for that? Is anyone here foolish enough to blame Campen for installing and sticking with the ZBS? As Cheesehead625 posted, does Campen get any credit for Sitton’s success and Bakhtiari’s rapid progress?

Having posted all that I am not saying Campen is a great, or even good OL coach. What I am saying is believing just replacing him fixes the problems or thinking the team can’t win a Super Bowl with him as OL coach is in the first instance naive at best and in the second, demonstrably false.

Its just not this year its his pedigree. Even before the talent on this years team, we can't coach up the line to effectively block in short yardage situations. He has had his time, I for one believe its time to get a BETTER candidate to lead the offensive line. After the season is over of course. Other teams DO have injuries too.
 

ExpatPacker

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Here’s what Campen has to work with this season:

LT: Fourth round pick rookie
LG: Fourth round pick
OC: UDFA
RG: Fourth round pick
RT: Either an UDFA going into his second season or a 5th round pick.

Reserves: One seventh rounder (Datko) and the rest UFDAs: Gerhart, Van Roten, Hughes, Lewis, and Taylor.
Missing of course are two first round pick OTs and a fourth round rookie.

We can amend that slightly by pointing out that even though he's a 4th rounder, Sitton was the 1st alternate to the Pro-Bowl last year. But the rest? What I take away from this is that a) the unfortunate injury to Sherrod, our only 1st round OL draft pick in a while, has set this OL back a lot, and b) over the last 2 years TT has not drafted an OL in rounds 1-3 if I'm correct, and it shows. Assuming that somewhere between Bulaga/Sherrod/Bakhtiari we will have 2 legitimate OTs, I see a definite lack at OG and OC. Sitton is solid, but Lang is not, and EDS is average. We need to spend at least one high draft pick on one of those positions. Doesn't have to be a 1st rounder, but fact is that our OL continues to be one of the weakest links in this team.
 

SpartaChris

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Here's how we can go from being poor to great in one year.

Trade Clay Matthews for Joe Thomas ;) Move Bakhtiari to right tackle. Either combine the top 2 draft picks next year or use them separately on interior line picks preferably a center. Move Buluga to right guard.

From left to right Joe Thomas- Josh Sitton - High Draft Pick - Buluga, Bakhtiari

Then I woke up not to mention we would still have the bum Campen coaching these guys....

Glad you're not the GM.
 
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12theTruth

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No claiming I would. Also not trying to be an armchair GM who's looking to trade our best pass rusher.

Actually in case you weren't aware Joe Thomas is regarded as the best left tackle in football. Left Tackle by many is considered the most important position after the QB on the football field. I didn't think this should have to be explained to a football aficionado such as yourself. Clay is amazing no doubt but in order to get something you'd have to give something.

Joe Thomas is only a year older than Clay and would provide good protection for our franchise for the next 5+ seasons.

Since big trades don't happen in the NFL anymore its just fantasy but for a fantasy I believe it would be a net positive in the whole scheme of things especially in regard to the well being of the GREATEST player in the NFL Aaron Rodgers!

The left tackle position becomes even more critical if we can't afford to sign Finley to a long term contract after this season.
 
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Dan115

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Didn't the Packers just sign Clay to a big contract? And now they would trade him?
 

FrankRizzo

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Here’s what Campen has to work with this season:

LT: Fourth round pick rookie
LG: Fourth round pick
OC: UDFA
RG: Fourth round pick
RT: Either an UDFA going into his second season or a 5th round pick.
And here's the Houston Texans starting OL:

RT: Derek Newton, 7th Rd pick 2011
RG: Brandon Brooks, 3rd Rd pick 2012
C: Chris Myers, 6th Rd pick 2005 by Denver, traded to Houston for 6th Rd pick in 2008
LG: Wade Smith, in his 11th season and 6th team, was a 3rd Rd pick in 2003
RT: Duane Brown, 26th pick in 2008

The Texans run-blocking has been the best in football.
If I am not mistaken, they also utilize the zone-blocking scheme.

I think our success would be a lot better within the OL had we had Alex Gibbs, who really knows the ZBS.
Gibbs & Kubiak know the ZBS inside-out. Not so for Campen.

Thompson shouldn't be blamed here as he invested heavily at OT with Bulaga and Sherrod.
 
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12theTruth

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Perhaps your "hypothetical situation" can finagle a way for us to trade for Adrian Peterson, Megatron, and Patrick Willis too.

Nope, this thread is about Campen and the line. If we anyone we need offensive lineman. After all Rodgers is basically the farm. But if you think that you could swing one of those deals. Go for it. LOL
 

SpartaChris

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Sorry, perhaps I should have used a sarcasm font, or typed slower so you'd get it was a joke.
 

Sunshinepacker

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If our oline coach was the problem then the players we let go would be getting better in other teams....that hasn't happened (and please nobody mention Giocamini, he's terrible, the Seahawks version of Newhouse)
 
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HardRightEdge

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I think our pass blocking has looked decent this preseason; opponents don't seem to be blowing out the interior line and collapsing the pocket like last season. The run blocking was not terrible in the first two preseason game and after Rodgers left the game Seattle's front 7 was running all downhill against Harrell.

I'd give it another game to see what's what, but without Rodgers in there it's an uphill climb.

This is not going to be a good run blocking line...what we need is adequate.

Some of the second team guys are pretty bad...Van Roten at center couldn't block anybody...snap, whiff.
 

PackerFlatLander

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Campen was a mediocre player and is obviously not a good o-line coach. I miss Larry Bechtol - the o-line coach under Sherman. In my opinion, he's the best o-line coach we've had, in the past 30-some years. That screen game with Ahman Green was some serious bread-n-butter stuff. It was awesome. Bechtol should get the credit for that. Campen and his ZBS nonsense is crap.
 

Einstein McFly

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And here's the Houston Texans starting OL:

RT: Derek Newton, 7th Rd pick 2011
RG: Brandon Brooks, 3rd Rd pick 2012
C: Chris Myers, 6th Rd pick 2005 by Denver, traded to Houston for 6th Rd pick in 2008
LG: Wade Smith, in his 11th season and 6th team, was a 3rd Rd pick in 2003
RT: Duane Brown, 26th pick in 2008

The Texans run-blocking has been the best in football.
If I am not mistaken, they also utilize the zone-blocking scheme.

I think our success would be a lot better within the OL had we had Alex Gibbs, who really knows the ZBS.
Gibbs & Kubiak know the ZBS inside-out. Not so for Campen.

Thompson shouldn't be blamed here as he invested heavily at OT with Bulaga and Sherrod.


Good post. McGinn had a great article a week or so ago listing the left tackles for the last half dozen super bowl winners, and they're nothing special. On the other hand, San Fran has built its line out of first rounders and they seem to be reaping the benefits, so while it can work, it certainly doesn't have to be that way to have a good running game. And yeah, it's not like anyone can be blamed for Sherrod and Bulaga being hurt.
 

HyponGrey

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I think our pass blocking has looked decent this preseason; opponents don't seem to be blowing out the interior line and collapsing the pocket like last season. The run blocking was not terrible in the first two preseason game and after Rodgers left the game Seattle's front 7 was running all downhill against Harrell.

I'd give it another game to see what's what, but without Rodgers in there it's an uphill climb.

This is not going to be a good run blocking line...what we need is adequate.

Some of the second team guys are pretty bad...Van Roten at center couldn't block anybody...snap, whiff.
EDS has been manhandled all PS long, hate to tell you. Lang's hand speed dropped, and it's caused his game to slip a bit, but he and Sitton are still good. Barclay is going to get straight up beat by a lot of guys this year. If only Newhouse wasn't useless.
 

HyponGrey

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I think fans need to learn move about what a ZBS does. You will never see a ZBS push. It's just the way the system works. We try to push sometimes because we employ some drive elements, usually on short downs. The one thing that separates our ZBS from every other ZBS in the league is that we don't cut block.
 

TJV

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It was awesome. Bechtol should get the credit for that. Campen and his ZBS nonsense is crap.
I agree Beightol was great but anyone paying even a little attention knows the ZBS wasn't ever Campen's idea.
 

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