Zach Sieler – April 30, 2024
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Tuesday, April 30, 2024
DT Zach Sieler
(So what were your emotions this offseason, just seeing Christian Wilkins leave? Obviously you guys are so close; A., from a personal standpoint and then B., how it impacts you as a player in terms of what kind of attention you think you might get now for opposing teams without Christian next to you?) – “Yeah, obviously, it’s one of those bittersweets. It’s awesome, I loved playing with the guy, but I’ll tell you, it’s great seeing him get paid and go somewhere else and make an impact over there. But in reality, this defense and this d-line isn’t built off of just him or him and I or whoever inside. It takes a whole rotational front. It takes everybody up front. So it’s been really cool getting to know these, getting to play with these new guys coming in and learning their techniques and habits and how we can play off each other this year.”
(Speaking of DT Jonathan Harris and DT Neville Gallimore?) – “Yeah, Harris, Tartt, Benito (Jones) is coming back. ‘D. Hand’ (Da’Shawn Hand) from last year, (Brandon) Pili, seeing him grow. It’s been really cool.”
(With Christian, was it something you saw coming the whole way? Were you surprised by it? What?) – “Honestly, I had no idea. I was along for the ride. Would I love if he was here, would I love if he’s gone; it doesn’t matter. It’s just it is what it is. It’s the business and hopefully he has a great impact over there.”
(And you mentioned some of the new defensive tackles. What are your impressions from all those guys? Anything stand out from any of them?) – “It’s been great getting to know them. Some of those guys are really twitchy, active with their feet and really kind of watching that and it’s going to be really cool as we go through OTAs with Coach Weaver, (Austin) Clark and all these guys kind of learning how we grow together and build a really good defense this year.”
(So any of them standing out as applicants to be pepper to your salt?) – “I think there’s a few, yes. (laughter)”
(What’s it like for you being a guy who seventh-round pick, joining an organization after being waived and now being viewed as sort of a cornerstone for defensive line?) – “I really take pride in that. Obviously there’s a lot of guys that that’s happened to, but to be in this position that I’m at now is kind of just – it’s a blessing and it’s really something that I don’t take lightly. Make sure I set a good example and lead accordingly with the guys and just telling them, ‘Hey, look, anyone can get there. Trust me.’ I looked bad coming down here. My feet weren’t right, my hands weren’t right. Me and (Austin) Clark talk about it all the time and it was during COVID. We weren’t in the building so he couldn’t correct me, we couldn’t get things done as fast or as productively as we’d like. So just kind of working through those phases just kind of really helps – looking back on those times helps me just kind of realize, ‘Hey look, it doesn’t matter what it is. If you work hard, you can make it.’”
(And how is the baby, sir?) – “He’s doing great. Him and Mom are doing awesome. Everyone is healthy. It’s been a blessing, getting these schedules down and getting into OTAs again is awesome. Family is coming down to help so it’s been a real blessing.”
(What’s your shift?) – “I take the four to six window. Mom is taking the one to three. I’ve been doing the four to six so I’ll wake up, kind of get him, get the dogs out and then head into work. So it works out good. Been great.”
(Your statistics are very similar to Christian Wilkins’ over the last four years in the areas of tackles, sacks, quarterback hits and tackles for loss. Now that Christian has moved on, do you believe that you can do some of the things that Christian did that you can elevate your game to some next step or next level?) – “I think with or without Christian, no matter what, that’s the goal every year. So that’s my plan. I don’t care who’s next to me; I’m going to find a way to make it work and we’re going to make it right.”
(From a leadership perspective are you now the leader of the defensive front?) – “I’d say there’s a few guys. We’ve got (Bradley) Chubb, Jaelan (Phillips), myself and I think it’s something that we’ve built as a culture here especially in our room as a d-line, is if you know the technique even if you’re not a starter, you’re a leader. Like if you can help teach other guys technique, help view each other’s plays; we’re all in it together. We’re all trying to make a living for our families so it’s kind of something we all work on together.”
(It’s funny we don’t lump LB Bradley Chubb and LB Jaelan Phillips with you guys. We call them edges. Do you guys look at it differently? Do guys actually lump yourselves together?) – “How many of us rush the passer together? How many of us stop the run together? It takes the whole front. So we do lump all of us together on the d-line. Yeah, Jaelan (Phillips) and (Bradley) Chubb might be a little more athletic than us, (laughter) but we’re still d-linemen.”
(Who was more upset about Christian leaving? You or Hannah?) – “She was super heartbroken, too. (laughter) Just a great friend there and it’s going to be – it’s been a good few weeks kind of learning the new guys, working with (Austin) Clark and just growing together. It’s going to be awesome.”
(Related question, I guess and unrelated in a way. Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver – We haven’t really gotten a chance to see his defense. Well certainly we saw it in Baltimore and Houston, but not in Miami. Your understanding is how he uses defensive linemen? How is it different than maybe some guys in the past?) – “We’re still learning. It’s early. It’s been really cool to learn these couple weeks, three weeks now. Learning the system and kind of how we work through things and his vision on how offenses will attack us in his defense. It’s been – the last three years – it’s been kind of different guys and now it’s just kind of growing as another step in the process and it’s been really incredible to see how he grows and just how he approaches the game from an ex-player and coaching for so long and where he did. It’s been really interesting.”
(Do you prefer playing one-gap or two-gap?) – “Depends. I like both. It depends on the style of offense we’re going against and it depends on the players we’re going against. I think one thing that we always pride ourselves on is being multiple here, so if I can set the edge and play really good one-gap or if I can kind of rack the tack and play both A and B gap, it’s both a valuable asset either way.”
(I’m doing something on the mental pressures that players could be under, especially lower-round draftees. Right now OTAs and during training camp, there’s income differences between making it and not making it. You might have an ankle injury – the reps against the best, learning a new system. What’s going through your mind? How do you keep your mind clear and focused on achieving your NFL dream?) – “Obviously it’s a hard path. Not a lot of us make it and it takes a long time – I mean, it took me six, seven years to get to where I’m at. It’s staying determined and it’s staying right as in knowing, ‘Hey, look, I’m here for a reason. It might be hard, I might not be having the best plays, I might be getting confused on there, the speed of the game is going crazy.’ It’s just taking those times, watching those reps, watching the plays, watching the older guys and just learning off of their techniques and habits. Especially coming as a rookie, a lot of guys think they might have been – they were probably the best player in their college. Most of those guys are and you come into a place where you’re now one of the lowest on the totem pole. And it’s humbling. You’ve kind of got to re-establish yourself and learn the game in a whole new light because a lot of these guys have been playing. When I came to Baltimore as a rookie, I was playing next to Terrell Suggs, Brandon Williams, Michael Pierce. Guys that had been playing, six, seven, 16 years and kind of learning how they view the game.”
(And then let me ask you from a different perspective if you’re a vet, if you’ve been in the league seven or eight years, you’re bouncing around, you’ve got a family that you’ve got to put food on the table for; are the pressures any different? Talk from that perspective?) – “There are absolutely different pressures no matter where you are at in life. Obviously if you have kids and a wife and a family, there is a whole other level of stress there. I think one of my blessings as a rookie was that I didn’t have kids at the point. So it was kind of just me. It was just, ‘hey, what can I focus on myself?’ And a lot of those vets have all that extra pressure and it’s finding a way to work through those pressures and make sure that you can perform on Sundays and do the best you can every day.”
(We talked a lot about DT Christian Wilkins leaving and you guys played so many reps on the interior together that you guys had such a good feel for what each other was going to do. I’m curious what your process is for trying to learn how to execute rush games with so many new guys?) – “It’s a matter of kind of what I hit on, is learning the new players. How does he like to rush, what does he like to do? Is here a twitchy guy, a power guy, whatever. And learning how to play off of each other and adapting to that. That’s what it is. That’s the NFL. Players go places. It’s awesome to see him go and get paid where he’s at. All the blessings to him, love him. Just hoping he can strive – I know he’ll kill it out there – but now it’s getting right over here in Miami.”
(I know you’ve gotten about 40 questions about Christian. I’m not going to ask about Christian, but he’s not the only guy that is no longer on the team. There’s been a lot of turnover defensively and a new defensive coordinator. I’m curious what is the process of I guess learning a new system like that? Like at what point, what checkpoints do you expect things to be clicking for your team as a whole?) – “I think as we go through the install, as we go through, okay, I got these guys behind me, I got these guys next to me, I got this guy with me here, learning how they play. Who’s the talkers, who’s the guys that quiets down, who’s just kind of sitting there listening, or who’s trying to actively talk before each play and make the right checks and corrections. And then learning how to play off of that, learning how – and then also I think a big part of it and that’s what we pride ourselves on upfront is trying to somewhat anticipate what the coach is going to call, what Coach (Anthony) Weaver is going to call. Like, ‘Okay, he’s probably going to go this front or this package against these guys. We’ve doing this this week. Let’s look at this so you can anticipate and play with and edge instead of trying to respond.’”
(Is it hard to learn new systems in back-to-back years like you guys are having to, or is it almost easier in a sense that you only had one year in that system, it’s not like it’s been a four-year thing you’re having to have to unlearn?) – “There are pros and cons to everything. Yeah, if you keep playing the same system, you might be able to learn more intricate details. With this new system you’re going to learn how to play in things and shed a new light on how offenses can work. You’ll know, ‘Hey, look, we’ve called something similar to that. Okay, I’ve played that before. I know what that technique is like so you have that (unintelligible). So there are benefits to both ways obviously.”
(My question deals with workload. Both you and DT Christian Wilkins last year were in about the 85 percent range in terms of defensive snaps. How much do you think you might benefit from perhaps a slightly lesser workload? Or do you think it makes no difference whatsoever?) – “I think it just depends on how we’re feeling. Playing some offenses, it might benefit to play less; some offenses it might benefit to stay out there. Being out there and taking those kind of snaps, you get in a nice groove. You get a feel for the offense, feel for the players you’re going against and kind of how the game is flowing and you’re a part of it actively the whole time. And then obviously the flip side is, you take more plays off, you’re more fresh, all that kind of stuff. But I think what I’ve always prided myself on is making sure that if I’m needed, I’m there and ready to play. And I think that’s the whole goal of the NFL, is your availability is your best ability.”
(As a quick follow-up would you anticipate more of a rotational situation on the interior of the defensive line this season?) – “It’s still early. I don’t know how we’re calling things yet or what it’s going to look like. But like I said. I’m ready for anything.”
(With the addition of Anthony Weaver at defensive coordinator and his primary focus is mostly on the defensive line. How beneficial is it to have him come in this year especially after these last two shortcomings in the postseason?) – “It’s been really cool seeing him come in, obviously him being a player and then him coaching now and being such an upfront mind. Is seeing how he views everything. What he likes in the run game, what he likes in the pass game, how he like to attack things, or what his approach is. And then learning from him and kind of just seeing how it can make our game go to the next level.”
