Mike McDaniel – August 2, 2022
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Tuesday, August 2, 2022
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(I had a two-part question. First thing was with OL Michael Deiter, do we know if he’ll be ready for the regular season or is it a long-term thing? My second question, one thing we don’t yet know about you as a head coach, we saw something last night that made me think of this. You’re probably aware WR Preston Williams tweeted “Just want an opportunity, shaking my head.” When a player who wants more chances at practice does something like that, do you say something to the player? Do you let it slide? Do you throw him more passes? Do you bake him a cake? What’s your reaction in general when a guy says something like that?) – “Wait, so those are two separate questions, right?”
(They are, so I’m going to pay more in the piggy bank.) – “Alright, so can we go back to the first question? OK, here. To best organize this efficiently, you have two questions. First question.”
(OL Michael Deiter, is he out long term, or will he be ready…) – “I don’t have concern right now with the information that we have about the regular season. So we’ll just let the week play out and see where he’s at at the beginning of next week. Next question was?”
(On WR Preston Williams with his tweet about just wanting an opportunity. What’s your philosophy as a head coach? Do you say something to him and say this is not a good idea? Or do you just let it slide? Does it affect how many passes you throw him?) – “There are – the most pressing needs of the football team – I don’t necessarily see within social media. So I don’t prioritize that necessarily. I do, however, prioritize opportunities for players to follow their dreams. One of the things that (Wide Receivers Coach) Wes Welker and I strongly connect on from our journeys, which were the exact same – we were the same athlete by the way (laughter) – is that we hold with a lot of esteem and responsibility preparing people and giving them opportunities. It’s also the – really looking to the players, too, to understand that every time they’re on the field, the way we do things, it’s a tremendous opportunity for them as well as their teammates who they’re depending on to execute and operate at a high standard. I wouldn’t – people care. People want to do good, so I get that and I don’t really hold much weight to all of that.”
(There was a lot of talk around the league this weekend about guardian caps and the usefulness and if they’re so important, why they do we only wear them for a couple of weeks and are they leading to bad habits. Do you have any stance on it? What do you see from the usage of them? Are guys using them the right way? Do you see the value from…?) – “Once things become mandate, I try not to let things occupy my brain space, whether or not it’s the value of it. It makes sense – it makes sense to me in preparation why it became a mandate, so I don’t really operate outside of that debate just because that’s kind of a wasted brain space for me and for the players. So it’s rule, you’re going to wear them, so I don’t really have a feeling pro or against because of that.”
(How is WR Erik Ezukanma doing?) – “The rookie – the strife of a rookie in the National Football League is so often underestimated and understated. You have to realize that grown men who have been playing NFL seasons for an extended period of time that have been making a living for their family and doing so within the confines of a certain scheme, that is a lot of ground to make up when you enter the league as a rookie. So I’ll start by saying all players, really, by and large, the biggest thing is getting better all the time. You’re not staying stagnant. It’s not if but when you make mistakes, how do you correct them? Rookies especially, I try not to get ahead of myself and look at, ‘Well, he can do X, Y or Z in a month when the regular season starts.’ It’s specifically and it’s no more truer than for rookies, are they improving on things? Are they making the same mistake twice? That’s one exciting thing about Erik, is that he is learning a completely new language at a different speed and temp. The rookie trials are hilarious, I don’t know why it’s not talked about more. The speed of the game, the pass rush, you don’t have much time – the quarterback doesn’t have that much time to operate in the NFL game and nine times out of 10, every rookie receiver that starts minicamp, every single year lines up like four yards off the ball when they’re off the ball. It’s like, that shows you how far they have to come, so it is a tough thing to accomplish, to be able to, in a short period of time. But I’ve been very encouraged with how he’s handled himself and corrected things. The mistakes are changing, they’re not the same ones and that’s what you want. So I’m, happy about that.”
(Pads come on today, how much does that give you a real sense of the run games with more physical blocking in practice?) – “So pads are obviously a big deal, it’s a big part of football. But one thing that I stress to the team this offseason that I truly believe is that if you practice the right way without pads, it’s less significant when they come on. That doesn’t mean they’re not significant; it minimizes how significant it is. I’m very happy with how we practiced without pads, because we deliberately approach it as though we would have it. You put yourself in position to either block or tackle, obviously, it’s not the same and you can’t deliver on the force as much. So it is a very valuable thing. I would have been disappointed if I would have really been eager for the pads to come on. Like ‘Wow, we really can get a look at this.’ I would have been disappointed. The players have really owned how they’ve practiced without pads, so I’m excited but it’s just another step in the process. There are some valuable run-game trench stuff that comes from the backs being able to brace contact. That’s super valuable. So yes, it does help evaluate the run game from blocking stuff. I don’t expect it to change drastically because of the way that we’ve approached and attacked technique on both sides of the ball.”
(Yesterday when we were talking with DT Raekwon Davis, he was mentioning how much better he feels having slimmed down and his quickness and so forth. I’m wondering what you see from him in that regard? Also last week, OL Austin Jackson was saying some of the same things. Were there many players that were asked to slim down for this training camp?) – “It was kind of a concerted effort by the coaching staff, both starting with (Offensive Coordinator) Frank Smith and (Defensive Coordinator) Josh Boyer, but trickling down to each and every position coach and their assistants that the idea is to show them a vision of what we want to be. On both sides of the ball in both retrospects, it behooves a player to be at the maximum athleticism – their maximum explosion, their maximum speed with flexibility, all of those things. We did, I think, a good job in the offseason kind of really painting that picture for them, and it’s to the player’s credit that they’ve said, ‘You know what? I’m all into this. I’m all in for this. My career does mean something to me, and I don’t want to have regrets after my career, saying what if I was X, Y or Z?’ So that’s the thing – it wasn’t like a straight mandate you have to go and be this that or whatever. It was kind of a play on my firm belief that players, just like coaches, just like people, they want to be their best. So if you show them without a shadow of a doubt that X gets them to that spot, if they’re the right type of people that you’d want to have on the team, they will respond and get to that point that best fits their physical prowess.”
(The team announced it was going to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the undefeated 1972 team and obviously Larry Csonka spoke to you guys. I’m just curious as you kind of were growing up in the game just what did you know about the 1972 team, and now that you’re a member of the organization, what have you learned about that team?) – “I remember vividly 11 years before I was in the womb. (laughter) No, who doesn’t – you’re talking every single year of my life, like clockwork. Chris Berman, ESPN, graphics – they evolved over time, but the champagne bottles pop – it’s kind of in the narrative and that’s what’s unique about that team, is that it carries annual credence when everyone fails to duplicate what they did. So I think it also goes to show that particular team; one thing that I think is something that each and every player in the league and every team – but most importantly this team – understands is what one year and one team can do, the ramifications that can have for the rest of your life. That’s the thing that’s really overwhelming to me is these people are bonded forever. I was talking to Larry (Csonka) about some of his nonverbal communication with some of the people he played with on that team, how that’s still present today. It’s like the wife look like – or whatever. You can talk without talking. And how powerful and cool is that to ever be present in the moment in your life knowing that it’s going to have residuals for the rest of it. I think that’s something that we should be proud of as a team, that we understand and are proud to be coaching this team when we’re celebrating it and to be able to be connected with them in one way, shape or form is a privilege to us that we do not take lightly.”
(I did not mean to insinuate that you were born or alive during that time, by the way. Just making sure.) – “Yeah, I mean I thought I’d been aging all right, but… (laughter)”
(Along those lines, did you ever cross paths with Coach Shula?) – “I did not unfortunately, no. Obviously I wish I would have. It would have been an honor, but really there were a lot of years that I was a Broncos fan and I was like, ‘wow, they’re better than us.’ (laughter) There were a lot of years that was occurring. But no I unfortunately did not.”
(WR Tyreek Hill said earlier that him and WR Jaylen Waddle are the fastest duo in the NFL. First of all, obviously that’s seen as a luxury having that much speed, but can you talk – are there any difficulties in scheming that up, having that much speed on the field?) – “It’s kind of like the difficulties – the guy who has three yachts has deciding which yacht to pick. No, there’s not difficulties with that. It’s very desirable. We’re very fortunate and whether – I think competitive players that are willing to go out and say, ‘yeah, we’re the fastest in the league,’ – those are guys that are competitive that are willing and want to prove it. And regardless of skillset, you have players like that on your team and you feel pretty good about it. There’s no – you don’t need a shed a tear for our problems with our speed decisions, but to me I think – they talk about their speed a lot which is cool, but they’re also fast football players that block, that do the things that teammates need to do. When they’re called upon to be a fast electric decoy, they do that. I think that they’re not fast guys, they’re fast football players and that’s the coolest part about them and why we don’t really have issues.”
(Speaking of Tyreek, do you agree that they’re the fastest duo in NFL history?) – “I agree that I’m excited to see them prove one way or the other that being the case. (laughter) I’m definitely not going to say that they’re not, but I’m definitely not going to say they are either. That’s for them to prove, which they know and they’re excited about, but that’s for them to prove on Sundays.”
(What was your reaction on QB Tua Tagovailoa’s bomb to WR Tyreek Hill?) – “What was my reaction? My reaction was they did exactly what I told them to do. (laughter) No, that’s not the first time and it won’t be the last that they’ll connect like that. I was pumped because the exciting part to me was that Tua did it at the appropriate time. He wasn’t just throwing a long ball. He read the defense and that’s what he felt and he did it with conviction. If you guys watch it, he did it in one-hitch timing which is kind of how we want the quarterback to do it, but the reaction was what’s the next play because I think everyone would be disappointed if we were satisfied with that. That’s what we’re supposed to do when it’s there and let’s go execute the next play.”
(Who has the fastest timed speed in training camp so far?) – “It’s funny because every time that Tyreek (Hill) isn’t the fastest guy on the practice field, I make a huge deal with the team. I build it up like, ‘Tyreek, congratulations, man. You’ve been working so hard. You got third.’ (laughter) ‘Like, we’re all so happy for you.’ And he gets… but I did it enough where it pushed him to – Tyreek entered into the 23s (miles per hour) which you don’t really see that often at practice and all this speed talk is just making him go faster, so write what you will.”
(You’ve talked a lot about how you see your job as maximizing the dreams of everyone in the building. You’re in the building, too. I’m curious what conditions do you feel help you to best maximize your dreams?) – “Honestly, I don’t talk about it much, but the people that hired me – I’m talking about the owner Steve Ross, Chris Grier, Brandon Shore, Tom Garfinkel – and this atmosphere with everyone in this building provided the perfect atmosphere for me to be who I was. It was what kind of what was described to me they kind of needed and they knew when they were hiring me that they were hiring me and not some version copycat of somebody else, so I think this place more so than I’ve ever felt really in my career; I feel most at home, most myself, which is for anyone kind of speaks to the type of culture we’re hoping to perpetuate. There’s an attachment to that and there’s a feeling that you can be your best self and get the most out of you in those types of situations.”
(What’s been the biggest adjustment for you personally going from offensive coordinator to head coach in training camp?) – “I mean, there’s been no adjustment. (laughter) The biggest adjustment – I’m very conscientious of the people that I don’t get to have heavy discourse with on a day-to-day basis, but who still their days are affected by how I treat them. So as an offensive coordinator, I think you can get a little more cerebral and focused and introverted with conceptual things, football X’s and O’s. And as a head coach, I think it’s very important that you don’t lose yourself within yourself in that way because somebody passes your office in the hallway and you are thinking about something, you just give them a little nod and that’s out of character of how you usually address them, now you’ve just negatively impacted their day for the rest of it which isn’t – to me, that’s not me doing a good job. My job is to maximize, not to ever inhibit. So that is a change. I’ve been fortunate to see a lot of people do that at a high level and have been on the other end of it, but it is something that I have to be mindful of every day. Otherwise I’ll be mad at myself and none of us want that.”
Zach Sieler and Raekwon Davis – August 1, 2022
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Monday, August 1, 2022
DT Zach Sieler and DT Raekwon Davis
Zach Sieler:
(We got a chance to talk to Defensive Line Coach Austin Clark and I asked him a little bit about you and DT Christian Wilkins getting extra work in. He talked about you guys kind of recognizing when something doesn’t go right in practice and you come over off to the side afterwards and work on it. Just wanted to get your perspective on kind of that mindset – you and Christian working after practice.) – “Yeah, I think being with (Austin) Clark and just the d-line in general for so many – two or three years now – it’s one of those things that as soon as it happens, you kind of know, ‘oh shoot, my hand wasn’t right in that play or I had a bad step.’ So we kind of both will sit there and he’ll run off and I’ll tell him something and I’ll run off and tell him, ‘hey man, you messed that up.’ And we’ll make sure we focus on that after to really try and hone-in on that.”
(How long do you feel like it took you to get to that place where you could recognize it that quickly and apply it later?) – “I think we’re still getting there. We’re still improving, but just the Austin (Clark) and the Pete Jenkins stuff has really been integral in our progress, I think, in teaching us kind of what we’re looking for.”
(They don’t the put the contact lenses on the really, really fast guys like you?) – “No. Yeah, apparently we don’t need to see like the receivers. (laughter)”
(When the fans were out here on Saturday it was crazy and you sent the two rookies out here to practice the pump-up. You guys are having fun, aren’t you?) – “Yeah, I think it’s a mentality that Coach McDaniel is installing where it’s we’re here to work and get better every play, but we’re having fun when we do it. And making sure we improve and learn every time, but you’re not just here just grinding and upset. So just trying to make the atmosphere a good work environment and everyone wants to get better.”
(Would you say it’s beneficial the way you guys do shorter reps but more efficient reps? Do you sense at the end of the day it’s different or…) – “I think it’s definitely – my legs sense it. (laughter) The quick turnaround, I think it’s really good for us, especially down here getting the conditioning in and getting the extra reps in quicker really helps us with our wind.”
(What do you think about getting pads on next practice?) – “Oh, we’re excited. It’ll be nice to get out here and really kind of start going and see what everyone’s made of.”
(Do you like that, I assume, as defensive linemen and the physical…?) – “Oh yeah, we’re in the trenches every day. It’s why you play football.”
(Has DT Raekwon Davis gone back out to the gator farm yet since his last appearance out there?) – “I don’t think so. I think he’s still trying to stay away from that.”
(There he is.)
Raekwon Davis: “Hey, buddy.”
Sieler: “Hey, bud.”
(How is he progressing here in Year 3?) – “He’s doing great. He’s seeing blocks. He’s seeing his reads. He’s looking slim, feeling good, yeah. I think it’s been going really well.”
(Do you want to go back out to the farm and get some more gator action? Some hog hunting maybe?)
Davis: “Yeah, if he invites me. I’ve never been. (laughter) I’ve never been yet.”
(What was the episode of Fish Out of Water this summer?) – Davis: “That was like the Everglades.”
(Did you see it, Zach?) – Sieler: “Oh yeah, I did. Oh yeah. He was driving the boat.”
(Was he a pretty good gladesman?) – Sieler: “Oh yeah, it looked like it. (laughter)”
Davis: “That was my first time driving an airboat. You know how to drive one of those?”
Sieler: “Oh yeah.”
Davis: “It’s crazy.”
Davis: “Go ahead. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Sieler: “No, you’re good, bro. They probably want to talk to you anyways.”
Davis: “No, they want to talk to you. (laughter) Superstar right here, baby.”
Raekwon Davis:
(We talked to Defensive Line Coach Austin Clark today. He said this is the best shape the best shape you’ve been in. He said you lost significant body fat and weight. Are you able to share with us, is it 10 pounds you lost, 3 percent body fat, what range?) – “I’ll start off by saying I started like, a meal prep. I got my diet better first. I started with that. I started more cardio. Even after practice, I do my cardio, stay on top of my shape. Because I’m a big guy so it’s so easy for me to like, consume weight, to put on that weight, so I just try to do my best to maintain it throughout the camp and try to have it right there to have it at for the season.”
(Where are you now?) – “I’m a great weight. How about that? (laughter) I’m at a great weight. I’m at a real, real great weight, you know. I ain’t going to say, but…”
(Lightest since – without giving a number which is fine, of course – lightest you’ve been since when?) – “I’d say, like, my sophomore year at Alabama. Yeah, sophomore year. I’m going towards that, to that weight. I’m not going to say I’m fully there, but I’m close to being that weight.”
(What difference do you feel on the field playing at this new weight?) – “Man, I ain’t going to lie to y’all. It feels like having – you ever have like, a weight vest? Like running with a weight vest on? It feels like that – like you just took that weight vest off. I feel loose. I feel like I can really move now.”
(Did you cut anything out of your diet that you miss?) – “I never ate bad. I was just like a big snacker. I just like to snack because my kids like to – I see my kids eating snacks and I feel like, ‘gimme some!’ (laughter) Like I want some of that, too, you know what I’m saying? But yeah, I just had to relax on that.”
(Do you feel faster because this offense…?) – “Yeah, so when I came in OTAs, you know how he just put the new zone, like the real quick zone in. I got in there and I was like, ‘wow, I’ve got to really come back to camp prepared. Be quicker, because them guys are quick.’ Connor’s quick. Connor Williams is quick. He’s a fast guy, strong guy. He’s quick.”
(Are you looking forward to seeing how quick they really are when you put pads on tomorrow?) – “Yeah, I mean, yeah. You put your hands on them and that’s a different story. (laughter)”
(Is that – the first day of pads – you guys on the line, do you look forward to it more than anybody else?) – “Just looking forward to both sides of the ball just making plays. Just making big plays. I know they’re going to get a couple good plays. I know I’m going to get a couple good plays. Just making each other better. Just getting better.”
(Do you feel that buildup leading to the first day of pads? Is that something you guys are itching to kind of start having more contact?) – “Yeah, we’ve been in the locker room, we’ve been talking about it. We’re itching for it. Tomorrow’s that day. It’s here.”
(You talked about the weight difference in terms of speed. How is it affecting you in terms of power?) – “Nothing at all. I’m just a naturally strong guy. That’s just me. That’s just like my second nature. I’m always strong.”
(Him, too.) – “Yeah, powerful guy. Just God gave me that tool.”
(You want to arm wrestle.) – “You might beat me though. You might beat me, so I don’t want to arm wrestle. You look kind of big. (laughter)”
(You mentioned OL Connor Williams with the speed at center. Does he look to you yet like an NFL center even though he hasn’t done it a ton in his life?) – “Bro, listen. When Connor first got here – because I felt like zone, quick zoning was something I really struggled with – and when Connor got here, he really made me better as a player, quick zoning, the type of blocks they do. I’ve been so much better ever since he’s been here. But yeah, he’s a great center. He’s great, bro. He’s very good. He’s been good ever since he’s been here.”
(You mentioned weight at the top. Does training camp, sweating out here, do you ever change your meal plan or how you manage your weight at all given how much you guys are losing weight-wise, probably?) – “I’m still doing my meal preps. I still do my meal preps when I’m in camp. I still do them. I eat a little bit like, here, but I’m still on my meal prep.”
Myles Gaskin – August 1, 2022
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Monday, August 1, 2022
RB Myles Gaskin
(On the difference in speed on offense this year) – “Yes, you said it, man. Just everything is moving fast. A faster pace. Guys are coming together, obviously. It was a big offseason for us as the Dolphins. I think it’s finally coming together. Obviously we were just all excited to get back in here for camp and everything. Being here has just been a lot of fun, learning this playbook, getting out here and running these plays, seeing these new guys, getting to see ‘Cheetah’ (Tyreek Hill) out here. Man, it’s a lot of fun and a lot of excitement for us.”
(What is the speed like? You see it firsthand. We only see it from far away?) – “What’s the speed like? I’ve never been in an offense that moves like this. The o-linemen are going. We’re racing every day. Everybody wants to be the fastest guy out there, every single day. It’s a competition. I mean, that’s what you want in the league. Compete every single day with your teammates and it’s going to translate to Sunday.”
(Almost every offense you’ve kind of been in, you’ve been the fastest guy, right? What’s that kind of like to have other guys like this here?) – “That’s the competition part of it. Bringing in the guys that we brought in, just real fast guys and guys that have been in this system before. It’s just excited being able to learn from these guys. It’s exciting. I can’t elaborate that enough, but it’s been fun. It’s fun.”
(For you personally, how does this system fit your skillset compared to last year’s system?) – “I think it fits my skillset. I think – it is what it is. At the end of the day, you get a playbook, you learn how to run how they want you to run, but at the same time, you continue to be yourself. All of us are here for a reason. So you take the coaching points and then try to translate them to your game and how you can excel like that. Every system is always a little bit different. Coaches want a little bit something (different) from others, but at the end of the day, it’s football. I think this one, a lot of outside zone and that type of stuff, it’s been good for me.”
(RB Chase Edmonds about transitioning from inside to outside and some of the thought process and some of the difficulties there. I’m curious with your experience how you’ve kind of evolved switching to the outside zone scheme?) – “Every year I’ve been in the league, I’ve had a different ‘OC’ (offensive coordinator), a different system. So I guess it’s just the new one this year. I know I do like this one the most. Just getting guys out there running, we have athletic guys up front, and that’s what we want to do. Everybody on the team has bought into that as an offense. Once everybody is kind of pointing and facing the same direction, that’s what you want. It’s going to make it easier for everybody.”
(You mentioned the fun you’re having. It was kind of a fun moment before practice where you had guys coming over and pumping the non-existent crowd. Moments like that, is it as fun as it seems from the outside? Does it feel like that?) – “(laughter) The rookies. Definitely, definitely. I think being an older guy now, you get to see the rookies come in. You see how they’re a little bit nervous the first day and they loosen up and then you get to see their personality. Coach (McDaniel) definitely brings a type of vibe. The whole coaching staff brings a different type of vibe than honestly I’m used to in kind of all the years I’ve played football, but it’s exciting. It’s exciting. He’s a young dude, and he kind of speaks our language. It’s exciting – he relates. He relates to us. I think when you have that, guys just want to play for him. Guys want to make plays for themselves, obviously, and for this team, but also for the coach.”
(WR Jaylen Waddle talked of tinted contact lenses. Are you wearing those?) – “Yes, that’s why my eyes are red. I don’t know if y’all can see it. It’s just my eyes have just gotten a little bit sensitive to light, moving from Seattle. It was always grey all the time, and then I got out here and the last couple years and I’ve been sensitive to light. It’s been helping for me.”
(How does it help?) – “It just kind of dims it down. It just kind of dims how bright it is down, just kind of like having a tinted visor but just contacts.”
(How did the rookies do in the fake pump-up?) – “We’ve got some work to do. They’ve got some work to do. (laughter) Good thing we didn’t have anybody out there today. So that was the practice for practice tomorrow, you know?”
(How does it feel knowing that this offseason, they added RB Raheem Mostert, RB Sony Michel, RB Chase Edmonds? How does that feel? How does that impact you?) – “I’m always excited about competition, and I’m always excited about learning from other guys. I think me and Chase (Edmonds) are kind of built the same. Smaller guys, run the ball kind of similar, so I like kind of watching him play and see how he plays. When we talk and when we come outside, how he talks to me and how I’m talking to him. Raheem (Mostert), he’s been in the system before, and he’s excelled before. Sony (Michel) has won Super Bowls. So I think that we brought in good guys that I can learn from and everybody can learn from in the room. I think those guys learn from each other and that’s what you want. You want a room that everybody wants to get better, everybody wants to compete but is not selfish. That’s football.”
Connor Williams – August 1, 2022
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Monday, August 1, 2022
OL Connor Williams
(Through five practice and all of OTAs, how would you assess where you stand in the move to center? Are you pleased with what you put on tape? Are you pleased with how it’s going?) – “It’s training camp. It’s one day at a time. It’s a day at a time getting better, working on your craft, fine-tuning your craft. We’re in day five and we’re grinding right now. It’s all about the grind.”
(What did you do between minicamp and training camp to kind of acclimate to playing center?) – “Really, just stayed in the building, worked with the strength staff, worked with the people in the building to get close to everybody and just get used to this heat. That’s probably the biggest transition. Just getting comfortable with the spot, with the snaps and everything, and getting snaps in with Tua (Tagovailoa). Just getting comfortable with it.”
(When people think about playing center, obviously your mind goes to getting used to snapping the ball. But what else goes into that people may not think about?) – “I’d say it’s a completely different game. You’re having to help both sides of the line. You’re not just stuck on (one) side anymore. It’s a more full game, but at the same time, you have to conceptualize the defense and everything to be able to make the right calls. Just playing that new head game and everything. Then like you said with the snaps, once you get the snaps down, it’s just a second-hand motion.”
(With snapping, are you happy with how you’ve done? Are you where you want to be with the placement of the snaps?) – “It’s definitely progressed. It becomes second-hand where you’re not thinking about it and you’re throwing it back there and it hits the money.”
(How many snaps are you doing per day out of shotgun?) – “I don’t count them but a good handful. And then definitely some after practice, so just getting that repetition down.”
(The first time the Dolphins told you that they wanted to give you a good look at center was when?) – “They signed me and I was happy to be here, and they said we picked you to play o-line so I came here. Then they called me a couple of weeks later and said ‘we think we’re going to give you a good tryout at center.’ Wherever they need me, I’ve always said from day one that I’d go. I’m happy with where I’m at now.”
(On the snaps that haven’t been exactly where you want them, have they been more too high or too low?) – “It’s just in the heat of the moment having to adjust to the defensive calls and everything and they just get off a little bit. Just having to readjust it. Just fine-tuning.”
(The last couple of practices we finally got some one-on-one pass rush o-line drills. How much do you guys love getting after it in those drills?) – “That fine-tunes the craft. Definitely an environment like that where it’s just completely one-on-one and no sideboards or anything. It comes down to technique. That’s where you become a technician with the person you’re going against and it’s good looks for both sides.”
(Has anybody stood out on defense in those drills?) – “You know, Raekwon (Davis) is pretty big so he’s a good hand to handle. He’s done a great job and we’ve been battling it out.”
(This really starts tomorrow right? You guys put the pads on.) – “The d-line can grab and hold on the jerseys, but once the pads come on, it’s a different game. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow.”
(Obviously fine-tuning the snap and then center is also different with pads on, right?) – “It’s a little bit different, but at the same time, it’s the same game. It’s the same sport.”
(As a youngster or in high school, have you played center?) – “I’ve been in QC since I’ve gotten into the league just as backup and whatnot in case of an emergency. So just doing that. But at the end of the day, snapping is not too bad. It’s second-hand nature once you get used to it.”
(Can you talk about what is going to be new to you now is making the calls when you walk up. That is a new responsibility that you’ve inherited by playing center. Can you talk about the responsibility of that now? Now you’re in charge of making the calls.) – “That’s definitely been a transition and I’ve enjoyed it. Playing four years in the league and seeing all of these different defenses, you kind of accumulate the knowledge of it. That’s probably the big thing about it, but I’ve really enjoyed that process of seeing the defense and seeing the plays come together.”
(Do you feel like that will help you transition to making the calls yourself?) – “Most definitely.”
(Has there ever been a day going back to May, June or the first five days of camp where you walked off the field and said ‘I wish I was at left guard?’ Or has that never happened? Has it been fun and enjoyable every day?) – “You come out here and you give it your best every day, no matter where you are. We’re all competitors and we’re all athletes. Whatever our craft is we’re working on, that’s the goal. There is no time to sit there and look back or look at other spots or whatnot. It’s about being present in the moment.”
(This has still been fun for you, this adjustment?) – “Most definitely. I love it.”
(We were talking to DT Raekwon Davis about weight. I’m curious how you’ve gone about that process? We know you lose a lot of weight out here. How do you get to your ideal weight?) – “I’ve stayed about the same weight. It’s mostly about rehydrating, about getting those waters in afterwards, maybe an IV or whatnot. But you have to keep the hydration up and keep the salt in so when you come out here, you (may) lose eight pounds. Just keeping it up.”
(Some guys said they come in heavier or lighter knowing they have to get to a certain weight. Do you have any strategy coming in like you know you’ll lose a certain amount of weight?) – “The salt helps you retain a lot of water. You’ll be up three or four pounds in the morning just from retaining all of that water that you lose by the end of the day.”
(What do you think they saw in you to move you to center? What in your skillset said he’s a center?) – “I think inside it’s more about being able to help both sides. Mobility, flexibility, being able to get to the blocks, and at the same time, get to the second levels and be able to move quickly on the second level. I think it’s been a good transition.”
