Chris Foerster – August 4, 2016
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Thursday, August 4, 2016
Offensive Line Coach Chris Foerster
(On how long he thinks it will take the offensive line unit to develop chemistry) – “It will be going on all season long. We are in our first year of the offense. A lot of these guys here… we are mixing and matching right now trying to give our guys a chance to compete and see what our best lineup is. It will be going on the whole season. It could gel early, it could gel mid-season and it could gel late. It’s a process. Guys are working really, really hard and we are hoping for sooner than later.”
(On if he is pleased with G/T Laremy Tunsil’s development) – “Every player on the team has something to work on. He (Tunsil) is not alone in that. He is really doing a great job – having him in two positons, he is studying, having him learn two spots technique-wise, all the things that go with it. He has done a really, really fine job to this point. (I) couldn’t be any happier with his progress.”
(On G Dallas Thomas taking the majority of the first-team snaps) – “The depth chart hasn’t been set yet, so guys that have been here, guys that are doing better in drill work and guys that understand the offense better (are getting more first-team snaps). Obviously there is a learning curve for everybody. Everybody’s doing well at this point. We are just letting Dallas (Thomas) roll (and) I think (Laremy) Tunsil’s taking some (first-team snaps). A lot of it has to do with how we are trying to get Laremy reps in other positons. It doesn’t always work out that he can go first (and) second (team). It’s just how we are trying to rep everybody, so if it’s a day that we are trying to get Billy Turner reps at right guard, that affects everybody else in the rotation. If it’s a day we are trying to get Tunsil more (reps) at left tackle, that affects everybody in the rotation. It’s really all about how the rotation is going during the day. A little bit is that Dallas has been here and understands it a little better, but it’s not that much different.
(On the transition from left tackle in college to left guard in the NFL) – “It’s just how quick (everything is). Everything happens a lot quicker at guard. The guys are lined up closer to you. You don’t have to deal with space as much. They’re a different type of player. You look at the difference between how Mario Williams looks as opposed to (Ndamukong) Suh. (Cam) Wake as opposed to No. 90 (Earl Mitchell). The body types inside are usually stockier, shorter, you have to bend, you have to get underneath. It’s just a whole different game inside. Things happen quicker inside than outside. As you take reps, you get better at it.”
(On G Billy Turner having an edge at the starting right guard position) – “As far as lining them up, that’s what I’m trying to say, there really, really is no edge. We are going to rep guys as we kind of see (how things go but) nothing is set in stone. Billy (Turner) is doing a great job. Jermon (Bushrod) is going through the same thing as (Laremy) Tunsil is, he is moving… he is even going from the left to the right side and moving inside. So (Bushrod didn’t have) all the OTA’s with us, except for at the end when he got some individual – he never got any team work. It’s a process for him. It’s all different. If you think about it, if any of you have ever broken your wrist or hand and you’re right handed, and now everything you have done with your right hand you have to do with your left, it’s somewhat the same with the offensive line. That’s why we mix and match so much. The sooner they do it, the more natural you get at it. You can almost become ambidextrous with it and that’s what ‘Bush’ (Bushrod) is having to do now. He’s having to go through a little bit of an awkward stage of what’s going on, on the right side. They all have their pluses and minuses and we all have things to work on.”
(On his expectations for the preseason games and knowing when the offensive line is heading in the right direction) – “It’s day-to-day in practice, day-to-day in the meeting room. Those are dress rehearsals of a sort. We will just see how the guys play. I don’t know what it’s going to take. As we go through the process of how much everyone is going to play, what positions, it usually clears itself up pretty well and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes you have guys that are equal and sometimes you rotate people into the season. I’ve done that a lot where you’ve rotated guys in the lineup during the year. A guy takes two series and another guy takes one until somebody establishes themselves. Sometimes that means that neither guy is doing well and you’re trying to find a guy to rise above. Sometimes it means that both guys are doing well and they both deserve to play. We are a long way away from it. We are five to six practices into this camp and we will see how it goes.”
(On the areas he told G Dallas Thomas that he needed to improve) – “Dallas needs to work on … he’s got so much. It’s a different style of offense now. He needs to work on being strong and anchoring in the pocket. That’s a big part of his game because he is a very athletic guy. He has done a really nice job of that all offseason and has done a good job of that again. Just playing fast… Our offense is about tempo being on the line of scrimmage (and) being able to play fast with no hesitation. (He needs to) really be in the book and study it and knowing what he has to do; but that’s really universal, that’s every guy. Every guy has strengths and weaknesses. He had a couple little things that we’ve tweaked, but really at the end of the day I’ve just started coaching him from scratch and say ‘Hey, this is me, this is what we are doing and this is what I expect from you.’ Whatever that has happened in the past is the past.”
(On if he is running a zone blocking scheme) “We are doing a little bit of everything. We’ve got everything in the package. What we will end up leaning on, that is part of this process. Seeing what our guys do well. There (are) certain things in the game today that will lend itself to zone blocking, like practicing in shorts all the time. At the end of the day, we are going to do whatever it takes to beat the defense. If we’re a gap scheme… if we have to run 25 gap schemes to win the game, then we will do it. If it’s zone, it’s zone. Our identity will establish itself with time, with our runner and our linemen. I hope our identity is whatever we’re the best at. We will figure that out.”
(On his thoughts on G/T Laremy Tunsil’s adjustment to guard) “He has done a great job and the challenges are kind of what I stated already, it’s just the adjustment from the space that he has at tackle to guard.”
(On his thoughts on being back with the Miami Dolphins) – “It’s great to be back, I don’t want to talk about last time. It wasn’t a great stop; but it was a great experience for me from that standpoint. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to coordinate in a real catastrophic year. It was awful. All the hurricanes hit the state. I was in this building more when the power was off than when it was on during that year. It was crazy with the hurricanes and then the season with (Head Coach Dave) Wannstedt in the middle of the season being out. But coming back with (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase – he’s a very, very close friend of mine and a guy that I’ve always respected and admired. I’m really excited about the opportunity, I love this football team, love the field, the building – it’s all different. The team was under different ownership at the time. It was great back then but it’s just different now and I really like the way it feels and it’s really cool to be back.”
(On how he feels the athleticism at guard helps the team) – “It lends itself to – one of the guys asked earlier about zone blocking – and obviously (with) zone blocking, when you are trying to have guys that can run and be athletic, that helps. Pulling your linemen, you can pull them more. And you hope in pass protection being athletic gives you a chance to keep up with athletic defensive linemen. So that should be something we are good at.”
(On how the defense lining up in the Wide 9 helps unit get more seasoned) – “It’s just a different style. That’s the one thing about training camp, no matter what your defense does, you get challenged. You see the same thing every day, so you kind of get better at that. And over a period of time, you have kind of slowly pecked away at attacking this defense. The problem is, you go to New York (Giants) in the preseason or Tennessee (Titans), Dallas (Cowboys) – it’s a different style and you have to adjust to that. So it’s all good. It’s all a part of the process. This has been a great challenge.”
