I flip my calendar every day hoping to learn something interesting about the Packers. Most times, I know the fact or the answer to the trivia question. This morning, I learned something new, and something that could be very important to the Packers defensive success in 2009. Aaron Kampman's move from defensive end to outside lineback might not be as big of a transition as most people think. He was a linebacker for his first two seasons at Iowa before being switched to end for his last two. This came as a surprise to me; I thought that I would have read it somewhere else a long time ago when the switch to the 3-4, and Kampman's move to OLB, was announced back in January. As far as my memory can recall, I don't think that anyone has talked about this or brought it up. So I did a little bit of searching of the internet to try to find some statistics of Kampman's first two years at Iowa. Unfortunately, the only thing I could come up with was on wikipedia. So, while we cannot trust that it is true, this is what is said about his first two seasons as a Hawkeye:
"Kampman played nine games as a true freshman in 1998, recording 49 tackles... As a sophomore, Kampman started all 11 games for Iowa at linebacker, and he finished second on the team with 103 tackles. He had five games with ten or more tackles in 1999."Those are some pretty good years for a kid playing as a freshman and sophomore in the Big Ten. While he has been lined up with his hand down for the last nine years of his football career, I find it hard to believe that an athlete of his ability, and who has made it to his level, has forgotten how to play a position that he has played in the past. Especially if he played it well enough to attain the numbers stated above. Ah, now if only Ted Thompson can find a some quality helps on the market who he won't be forced to overpay for, things can definitely be looking up in 2009.
