Ravens veteran DE Calais Campbell seeks to have a career year in sacks

Ever since the Baltimore Ravens acquired five-time Pro Bowl defensive end, Calais Campbell, from the Jacksonville Jaguars just before free agency opened up for the measly price of a fifth-round pick, a lot of the talk has been about how the presence of the 12-year vet and fellow veteran newcomer Derek Wolfe will give the interior pass rush a boost but lately, most of it has centered around how it will create more one on one opportunities for the edge rushers to take advantage of.

Outside linebackers Matthew Judon, Tyus Bowser, and Jaylon Ferguson have been circled as prime candidates to see big booms in their sack production thanks to all the double teams Campbell and Wolfe are expected to command in the interior. However, Campbell and his new coaches expect him to have the best year of his career as well.

“The coaches told me they want (me) to have my best year of my career,” Campbell said. “I guess I got to strive for at least 15 (sacks) You got to shut down the run, make teams one-dimensional. Then you get to rush the passer.”

If Campbell is grading his best years from a pass rush standpoint, he’d have to best current career-high single-season total of 14.5 that he recorded in 2017 during his first year in Jacksonville. That year he quickly became the face of the ferocious ‘Sacksonville’ defense that carried a Blake Bortles-led offense to the doorstep of the Superbowl before the Jaguars lost in the divisional round to the New England Patriots.

The Ravens and Campbell are hoping that he can have the same instantaneous impact in his first year in Baltimore. In addition to being one of the most skilled and versatile pass rushers in the league, Campbell is just as proficient and prides himself in being one of the best run defenders as well. His understanding and mastery of gaining and exploiting leverage make him just as dangerous when it comes to shedding blocks to stuff the run as it does help him get to the quarterback.

He believes that playing alongside Wolfe and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Brandon ‘Big Baby’ Williams will give the Ravens great foundational pieces to continue the tradition of stout run defense which has been one of the first commandments in Baltimore dating back to the days of the great Hall of Fame middle linebackers Ray Lewis.

The best overall defenses feature units that have a harmonious relationship between the front seven and the secondary. The pass rush and pass coverage go hand and hand, so when one is doing its job well it makes the work for the other that much easier.

The more time the secondary plasters potential targets in the passing game, the more time the boys in the trenches have to get home for the sack. The quicker the guys upfront get to the quarterback, the less time that corners, safeties, and non-blitzing linebackers have to keep up with their man or responsibilities in zone coverage.

The Ravens have arguably the best secondary in the league and certainly the deepest with all of their quality depth. Yards through the air will be hard to come by with a trio of Pro Bowlers—corners Marcus Peters and Marlon Humphrey and safety Earl Thomas—and some proven commodities—corners Jimmy Smith and Tavon Young and safety Chuck Clark—patrolling the skies in the Charm City.

“When you have a secondary like we have, you see a lot more stats,” said Campbell, who has 88 career sacks. “I’ve always appreciated playing the game the right way. I’ve never cared about the stats. They come, they come, they don’t, they don’t. You beat the guy in front of you over and over again.

“But when have a secondary like this, the stats usually come with it. I’m excited to see what happens this year. They’re incredible. Watching the tape, studying last year, even just seeing the way they prepare in practice, let me make sure my game’s on point. You get an extra split second to rush the passer.”

If everything goes according to plan and all the pieces on defense both new and retuning mesh together well, the Ravens maligned pass rush that only churned out 37 sacks in 2019 will be much more potent this year and Campbell will be one of the main reasons why. Don’t be surprised if he not only surpasses his previous single-season high in sacks but shatters it in his first year with Baltimore.

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