De'Vondre Campbell will not enter the 2015 NFL draft

[Costa Rican Gopher]

I didn't say run support or tackling period. I said outside run support and open field tackling. I agree that Lynn is better at inside run support and holding the edge. He has shown a couple flashes of ability breakdown one on one in the open field, square up and make the tackle. I don't know if you have replay access to the games but two times that stand out are at 13:26 in the third against Wisconsin this year. He was pretty much completely one on one with Gordon in the flats and no player was within 5 yards of either of them and he forced him 3 yards back for a loss. At 11:55 in the first against Wisconsin is another good example. Pretty much the exact same play as before except it was against James White, arguably the best player laterally in the Big Ten that year. In the third quarter against Mizzou it was third and 7 I believe, Mauk took running off on the outside and Campbell was able to accelerate across the field and stop him one yard shot. Those are plays that I just don't know if Lynn would be able to make.

They're different players for sure, but I see nothing about Campbell's open field tackling that I like and imo one of his biggest weaknesses was losing contain. The play with Mauk, (which I actually mentioned in my earlier post) was a great example of his sideline to sideline speed. The problem with that play is, how did Mauk get outside of him in the first place? He's just not a real heady football player yet and is easily tricked into leaving his assignment.

 

[die hard gopher]

The other two plays I was talking about.

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[Enzoman]

No. Campbell is a better open field tackler, better in outside run support and forcing the guy back inwards, better in pursuit, better pass rusher and is better in coverage than those two IMO. The guy had 75 tackles this year, nearly 20 more than Lynn. And I believe he will make a bigger jump in improvement than Lynn too. Some of you don't realize how much better he got from two years ago to this year, and the guy still has nowhere to go but up. If Poock is healthy, I'll expect him to be about the same as Lynn next year as he was starting over him before the injury but I don't expect either to be as good as Campbell.

I regret starting this thread.

As we're probably all aware, stats can be misleading. For instance, Lynn does not start when the Gophers use the nickel formation, which the Gophers seem love. Therefore, he may be on the field for only half or fewer (four plays at TCU) of defensive plays. If tackles were expressed as a percentage of appearances, you'd find Lynn ahead of even Wilson in almost every game. Little lies, big lies and statistics.

 

[HopherGole]

As we're probably all aware, stats can be misleading. For instance, Lynn does not start when the Gophers use the nickel formation, which the Gophers seem love. Therefore, he may be on the field for only half or fewer (four plays at TCU) of defensive plays. If tackles were expressed as a percentage of appearances, you'd find Lynn ahead of even Wilson in almost every game. Little lies, big lies and statistics.

I don't think you can use the amount of tackles a player has as an ratio to playing time. It varies by position. If the front 7 have a great game then very few secondary players will have many tackles. By the same token, if you're giving up passing plays then your secondary is making the majority of tackles.

 

[Enzoman]

I don't think you can use the amount of tackles a player has as an ratio to playing time. It varies by position. If the front 7 have a great game then very few secondary players will have many tackles. By the same token, if you're giving up passing plays then your secondary is making the majority of tackles.

Precisely. It seems inaccurate to draw strict comparisons based solely on a count. It appears to be the only yardstick in use at this time, however.