Zach Sieler – August 31, 2021
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Tuesday, August 31, 2021
DT Zach Sieler
(Are you having withdrawals about the RV?) – “No man, it’s been great. I loved that thing. We still camp here and there, but we haven’t been (living in it). It’s all right. (laughter)”
(As someone who came to the Dolphins in the middle of the 2019 season kind of rebuilding and trying to get things together to see where the team is now, I guess what goes through your mind and what do you think has played a role in the team kind of turning things around from 5-11 to 10-6 and trying to take that next step?) – “I think a lot of what we preach here is building a culture, creating a group of guys that’s close together, family. They’re going to play hard for each other. No one is here playing for themselves and we’re all here to play as 11 on each side. So I think building that culture has been a huge importance for this team.”
(What’s the demeanor like in the d-line room? It seems like you’ve got DT Christian Wilkins in there who’s obviously a personality and DT Raekwon Davis. Can you take us into the D-line room and what looks like on a day-to-day?) – “Yeah, we’ve got some characters. (laughter) Adam Butler loves the anime stuff. Christian is just Christian. Raekwon is Raekwon. (Emmanuel) Ogbah is there. Yeah, it’s a bunch of characters in there. It’s definitely a learning (environment). We all feed off each other. Adam’s got great tips. Christian’s got tips. ‘Rae’ (Raekwon Davis), Ogbah; everybody’s got tips. (John) Jenkins has got lots of tips, too. I think that’s one of our biggest things we preach on is learning from each other. And we’re never too good to learn from another player, coach, anybody like that. There’s always room to improve.”
(What’s it like for that unit where you guys know you’re kind of package-based and there’s nobody who’s going to dominate the snaps in terms of sharing?) – “I think that kind of goes back to the whole we all play unselfish. We all know who’s going to be best in what situations and our coaches try to put us in those situations based on who’s best. And I think everyone – that’s part of the unselfishness and the culture that we’ve built here.”
(We saw LB Benardrick McKinney got released. What was your reaction to seeing a player like him?) – “Great player. I loved playing with him. I hope the best for him. I know Mr. Grier (General Manager Chris Grier), ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) – all of them are going to do what’s best for the team.”
(You sat in here. You listened to LB Sam Eguavoen. You kind of have a similar story. Small school, you finally got some security – not security, but you got a new deal. Tell me about that drive that you hear him and you’re probably thinking in your head, “Yeah, a lot of the same things.” Is there a type of team you want to have?) – “Yeah. Obviously I was cut twice in Baltimore. (I was a) seventh-round pick. I think to me, my biggest thing was relying on God. I know He’s got a plan and kind of like what Sam (Eguavoen) said, did you give your all every day? And you get cut and you get kicked out – not kicked out – but you’re done and no one picks you up. At least you can go to bed at night knowing hey, I gave my all. That’s always been my mentality. I’m going to give my all every play and if it happens, it happens.”
(Have you seen guys that you’re like, “damn, this guy is talented.” Like you beat out a guy who you’re like, “damn, how’s that guy not here?” You know what I mean?) – “It’s the nature of the business. This is the 0.03 percent of kids from high school make it to the league or something like that – 0.05? So you have an atmosphere that’s the best of the best around the world. And I think that’s what – especially here with Miami – we focus on getting the best competition. No one is safe. It’s the best of the best. You get to perform every day. That’s why I love it here because we’re always fighting, evolving I guess – growing as players. That’s a better way to put that.”
(How important is mental health for an NFL player? You’re talking about days of players getting cut. How important is having good mental health for being an NFL player?) – “Hugely. Hugely. I think mental health is a huge part of the game. If you have a bad day and you bring it outside the field and you bring it in the building and you’re not fully focused and there’s stuff – there’s checks, there’s four checks in one play; and if you’re not fully locked in, you’re not fully at your peak mental health, it’s going to be a hard day for you. So I think it’s a huge importance to have guys that have their stress relievers, have their ways to talk. They need a good family or foundation around them to vent to, to relay, just to open up and tell what they’re going through because it’s a stressful job.”
(You mentioned earlier in your career. You were cut obviously twice. How does this day feel to you now? You have a little bit more security and maybe not sweating as much, but you still probably think back to those days early in your career.) – “Yeah, every day is a blessing to be in the NFL. That’s how I’ve always looked at it. I take it one day at a time – one meeting, one practice, one game. That’s kind of like the motto here. So for me it’s just God’s got a plan and whatever happens, happens. That’s really something I’ve tried to learn and incorporate in my life over the last three or four years.”
(What was it like for you that first time you got cut and maybe you didn’t know if another chance was coming? I don’t know. What was going through your mind at that point? How’d you handle it?) – “Yeah, the first time, we were walking off the field. Got pulled out. ‘Hey, last day of camp. Hey, thank you for all you’ve done. You’re a good player, but we just need to go another route.’ I ended up signing back to Baltimore as a practice squad player, so at least I knew I was still around. Still got to put footage out there, tape out there. It was stressful, but it’s definitely like – practice squad isn’t – there’s great players all around the league on practice squad. It’s not just practice squad. Those guys are great players. That’s where I came from. That’s when I got cut. That’s when I ended up down here the second time. So just always believe and work your hardest, I guess. Hope that answers your question.”
(What would your message be to those guys who might wake up tomorrow and they’re suddenly on practice squad, not the 53?) – “I think I would say definitely just keep doing what you’re doing. Just keep trying to grow every day if you’re giving your all and giving your best effort. Stay in the book, stay in the film because you never know when you’re going to get called up and hey, someone goes down – ‘we need you to take a lot of snaps.’ If you haven’t looked in your playbook, you can’t learn all that in one week or one day. Someone could go down on a Friday. That’s just how it is. So always stay ready is what I would say.”
