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From Larry Geiger:
KP - in your opinion what's the hardest aspect of the CFL game that guys coming from down south have to deal with? and why was kelly campbell able to "break the learning curve" so to speak - having a pretty phenomenal rookie year?
Larry,
It really depends on the position. Offensive linemen will have to adjust to the undersized linemen that they're facing and the speed element that comes with that. Defensive linemen must adjust to the field size and the mobility of the Qb's up here. Linebackers will have to cover a more elusive and difficult athlete to track with the added motion factored in, Running backs have linebackers chasing them that have been Db's their whole lives, not to mention the added field size which plays into a runners style for sure. On the outsides, receivers once they get used to the motion have to adjust to the fact that the DB's can hit you all the way down the field which takes some guys a lifetime to get used too. While Db's may have the hardest adjustment to tracking such athletic players that have a full speed run at you behind the line of scrimmage as well as the field size to throw to them in.
As for Kelly, I think his curve was broken through a combination of his willingness to learn from the guys that were there having success already, his toughness, and his god given ability. You don't often see speed like that on a guy that's smart enough to learn from somebody else. That kind of ability unfortunately comes with ego more often than not it seems, and Kelly was as humble as they come from day one in training camp. You could tell that he was sitting back and taking in all that people were telling him about the motion and how to beat the physical play of the Db's, and he did the unthinkable...he listened. He didn't come in trying to re-invent the wheel, and was able to transfer those aspects into his game through his already tremendous speed.
Kp8
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