Big DE Campbell off to good start as newest member of Cardinals defensive line

Towering Campbell off to good start on Arizona DL

TEMPE, Ariz. — The biggest question mark on the Arizona defense entering the season was how new starting defensive end Calais Campbell would do. So far the answer would be just fine.

“I’m doing a decent job. I’m not too hard on myself,” Campbell said after practice on Thursday. “I’m comfortable, feeling confident. I give myself around a ‘B.’ I just want to continue to get better, continue learning.”

The 6-foot-8, 290-pound second-year pro from Miami is hard to miss on the field. Just ask kickers Josh Scobee of Jacksonville and Kris Brown of Houston. Campbell blocked field goal tries by both.

He also got a hand on Olindo Mare’s 28-yarder in Sunday’s 27-3 victory in Seattle, but the ball still made it through the uprights to prevent a shutout loss at home for the Seahawks.

“It grazed my hand a little bit,” Campbell said. “If I could have had just a little more effort it might have been a nice little block.”

Usually lining up alongside nose tackle Bryan Robinson in a 3-4 formation, with Darnell Dockett on Robinson’s other side, Campbell has 17 tackles — 12 unassisted — including two tackles for loss. He has 1½ sacks — both against Seattle — two pass deflections and a team-high three quarterback hits.

“I think he’s done better in the run game than we thought he might this early,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “He’s done a nice job with that, and certainly he’s created pressure at times on the quarterback. Athletically as far as running down the guy on the punt return a couple of weeks ago and then what he does defensively, I’m very pleased with his progress.”

The defensive end job became vacant when Antonio Smith left to sign a big free agent contract with the Houston Texans. Campbell, a second-round draft pick who left Miami after his junior season, was the leading candidate from the start.

“Calais is coming along well,” linebacker Karlos Dansby said. “He’s stepping in and making plays and playing hard, just trying to be a sponge right now. He’s still young.”

Campbell has benefited greatly from the attention defenses are giving to Dockett, the Cardinals’ most disruptive force up front.

“Teams have to plan for him, so when they start protection his way, it gives me a lot of one-on-one opportunities,” Campbell said. “He keeps waiting for me to start making more plays so things kind of even out a little bit.”

Dockett, who is a good friend of Smith and hated to see him leave, has become Campbell’s mentor.

“He really wants to see me do well,” Campbell said. “He definitely works with me a lot and is pretty tough on me if I don’t go hard in practice or I’m not explosive enough or doing a drill hard enough. He makes sure I treat it just as if it was a game.”

Campbell has set his goals as high as they get. He wants to be one of the best defensive linemen of all time, “a Reggie White, Michael Strahan kind of guy.”

There’s a long way to go, but barely 23 years old, he’s happy now to be a big part of what the Cardinals are doing.

“Earlier today we were watching film and stuff and I had to really think to myself ‘Wow, this is crazy. I remember just wishing I could be here. Now it’s actually here. This is like unbelievable. This is like a dream come true.’”