Five with J-5: Calais Campbell

JV- What's camp been like so far with the energy in practice's and the crowd's that have come out?
CC- It's been definetley alot better camp then last year for me, I know what to expect, I'm a lot more confident, a lot more support of the fans, we're a lot more confident as a team, I think we know what we can do now, plus last year I know we wanted something great, now we know we can get there as long as we work hard and continue to do the small things.

JV- What experiences have you taken from last year to make you a better player this season?
CC- When the offseason ended the first thing I did was relax a little bit, tried to clear up my mind, then I hit the offseson workout pretty tough. Coach Lott helped me out alot to get my upper body strength together, just tried to bulk up a lot, work on my technique and just get ready for camp. There's a vacancy when our good teammate Antonio Smith left and they told me that they want me to fill his position, or at least try to because it's big shoes to fill because he's a great player. I'm just hoping to work hard and do everything I can to fill the void.

JV- There's obviously the challenge of a young player working hard to get playing time on this team, now you also have the challenge of trying to replace a player that not only was popular in the lockerroom but made plays on the field as well?
CC- That's the same kind of player I am, me and him have a lot of similarities so hopefully I can do a decent job where the team can count on me and depend on me. Antonio Smith had a leadership role and lots of things he brought to the table, so it'll be hard to fill his shoes but I'll do what I can to work hard and give it my all and hopefully that's enough.

JV- Looking at your career at Miami the thing that stands out about your stats are the sacks, so the pass rushing skills are there. How would you say you are at stopping the run?
CC- Stopping the run, people don't usually think I can but at Miami I did a pretty good job against the run as I got a little older. That's one thing I really wanted to show people I could do because they say he's a pass rusher but he can't stop the run, it's the same kind of thing now. When I get down there in the trenches I have to play with great technique because I don't really have the strength that a lot of the guys have, but hopefully I'll get oppurtunities this year to show everybody I can do it.

JV- With the expectations you'll have on you this season how important will it be for you to lean on guys like Darnell(Dockett), Bertrand(Berry), Adrian(Wilson), Karlos(Dansby), and other veterans?
CC- Without a doubt, I lean on them a lot already, I leaned on them a lot during the summer as well. Last year I learned so much from them and it helps to have great leadership role guys who have been in the league a long time, guys that know how to stay in the league, know how to make plays, be prouctive. What I try to do is be a copy cat and do what they're doing, try and fit in, take everything I can from them and benefit from it.



(kstar.com)