Calais Campbell plans to take game up a notch in second half

As the Arizona Cardinals prepare to start the second half of the season, defensive tackle Calais Campbell is ready to heed his coach's advice.

A lackluster performance by Campbell against the Cleveland Browns prior to last week's bye prompted a critique from Cardinals coach Bruce Arians, who told an Arizona radio station that the massive tackle "needs to be dominating the game."

Campbell, who was limited to three tackles versus the Browns, addressed Arians' comments days later and admitted he couldn't disagree with the assessment.

“I have high standards for myself, and there are a lot of plays out there — especially in the first half of the season — that I feel I’ve missed out on,” Campbell said. “Each week, you just want to play your best game and, you know, (Arians) is right. I could play better. He wants to see me play better."

Slow starts to the season have become somewhat commonplace for the 6-foor-8, 300-pound Campbell. He registered six of his seven sacks over the final eight games last season and notched five sacks over the last seven games in 2013.

“There is definitely another level there, and I’m ready to hit it,” Campbell said. “The second half of the season is really when you want to play your best football. Some guys peak too soon, they’ll start playing too well, too early and they’ll fizzle out at the end of the season.

“I’m expecting to play my best football moving forward and hopefully deep into the playoffs.”


(foxsports.com)