Packers' defense has an X-factor who can neutralize 49ers' most dangerous weapon
GREEN BAY, Wisc. – Every scouting report done on the San Francisco 49ers’ offense will have receiver Deebo Samuel’s name on every page highlighted in yellow.
He is the X-factor.
Samuel lines up at split end, flanker, slot, halfback and any other position 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan can dream up.
Reading such reports may have been what led Green Bay Packers inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell to warn that his team has an X-factor as well.
It’s him.
“You know, with as many looks as they give us, it's going to be kind of hard for them to figure out where I'll be as well,” Campbell said. “Disguising is a huge part of playing defense. If you just line up and play, teams can pick you apart.
“Some of the things I feel like I'm really good at it, it makes it hard for teams to kind of isolate me or put me in compromising positions because I can guard wide receivers, I can guard tight ends and I can guard running backs. So, it's kind of hard to create mismatches.”
Campbell, who was voted to the AP All-Pro team last week, is the defensive equivalent of Samuel.
He plays inside linebacker in coordinator Joe Barry’s scheme, but really he plays everywhere.
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Among his 920 snaps (he missed one game due to COVID-19 and was rested in the season finale), there are times he has lined up over a receiver in the slot or out wide, at left and right outside linebacker, over the nose tackle and over the guard.
He has been the single inside linebacker 342 times, but he also has played next to Krys Barnes, Darnell Savage, Oren Burks, Adrian Amos, Jaylon Smith, Henry Black, Kevin King, Preston Smith and Chandon Sullivan in nickel and dime situations.
He has had plays where his coverage responsibility has been receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown, JuJu Smith Schuster, Tee Higgins, Tyler Lockett, Darnell Mooney, Marquise Brown and Justin Jefferson. He also has had to cover tight ends George Kittle, Zach Ertz and Travis Kelce and running backs Dalvin Cook and Nick Chubb.
Despite all that, he has been good against the run as well. He led the team with 145 tackles (seventh in the NFL), including six for loss, had two sacks and six quarterback hits, two interceptions, five pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
“He’s been a star for us,” Barry said.
In the first meeting between the Packers and 49ers in Week 3, Barry plunked Campbell at the line of scrimmage to the outside of the rush linebacker a half dozen times on early downs to defend against the 49ers’ perimeter-oriented run game.
On the four plays he was lined up to the right, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was sacked once, and three runs gained 8 yards. On the two he lined up to the left, Garoppolo was intercepted by Jaire Alexander and completed an 8-yard pass to Kittle.
A betting person would say Barry will use Campbell more that way Saturday night when the two teams meet in an NFC divisional round playoff game at Lambeau Field, especially given Samuel’s recent success on running plays.
But the beauty of having someone who can cover receivers, running backs and tight ends as well as play the run is that Barry can switch things up and make the 49ers adjust to something else.
“We put a lot of hats on him and have a bunch of different roles for him and, you know, he's been able not only to handle it and do it, he's done it at a high level,” Barry said. “We as coaches, and then obviously Dre individually, takes a lot of pride in the different things that we asked him to do.
“And we'll continue to have him wear a bunch of different hats for us.”
When Barry says that Campbell has done it all at a high level, he’s not exaggerating.
In coverage, Campbell has allowed only two receptions of 20 or more yards when the main person responsible for coverage, the longest a 28-yard catch by Seattle tight end Will Dissly. He has had partial responsibility on two touchdowns.
Incredibly, he’s had two missed tackles the entire season.
What makes him so effective is that he knows where he’s supposed to be and uses his knowledge of the game and instincts to adjust to what an offense is throwing at him.
“You could just tell he's a guy that studies the game,” nose tackle Kenny Clark said. “I'm big on guys that do that kind of stuff. And when you see that, and you see how guys react on the field, and how they just prepare and then they let their instincts just take over, it's great to see.
“He’s an amazing talent.”
Samuel isn’t the only running threat the 49ers have. Rookie running back Elijah Mitchell returned from a knee injury three weeks ago and has gained 300 yards on 69 carries (4.35 average) in the last three games and carried 27 times for 96 yards in the 49ers’ victory over Dallas in the wild-card round.
Together, he and Samuel rushed 37 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
“Really good offensive play callers like Kyle, they keep you guessing,” Barry said. “And I don't want to say that every single game is a brand-new game plan, but defending him, that's the way he makes it feel.
“And I think that's what makes him so good and so special at what he does.”
Campbell said the challenge in facing the 49ers is keeping your focus on your assignment and not letting a lot of the bells and whistles the scheme uses distract you. The ability to line up Samuel all over the field allows Shanahan to create confusion in coverage and when he throws motion into the equation it can be even more challenging.
“They have a lot of what we like to call eye candy,” Campbell said. “So, a lot of jet motions, a lot of shifts, a lot of pre-snap stuff to basically get your eyes in the wrong position. Like it's not a complicated scheme. But it's more predicated on, ‘We're going to try to make you mess up.’
“So, I feel like as long as you play with great eyes, and you read your keys, it's not a super hard scheme to stop.”
Barry’s challenge, though, is not only to stop the run game, but also defend against Kittle, who has 18 catches for 270 yards (15.0 average) and a touchdown in four career games against the Packers. He had seven catches for 92 yards in the Week 3 meeting, including a clutch 39-yard catch late in the game.
Throw in receivers Brandon Aiyuk, who has 15 catches for 267 yards in the last three games, and Jauan Jennings and the 49ers can make teams pay if they devote too much attention to the run game.
The X-factor for the Packers in dealing with it all is Campbell. How Barry uses him will be known come game time but expect him to be everywhere Saturday night. It’s what he does.