Dave DeGuglielmo – October 1, 2019
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Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Offensive Line Coach Dave DeGuglielmo
(How fascinating and challenging was last week in terms of putting guys in different spots?) – “Like every other week. You put them out there. I’ve got to put five out there. I thought they did a good job of working hard all week long and preparing for the roles that they were going to be in. We had some success and then we had some things that were not too pretty, but that’s going to be the case every week as we’re building it. Our guys are going to stay focused and keep working. They don’t know any better.”
(We were kind of curious – T Isaiah Prince went from being inactive the first three games to not only playing, but being a starter. What was it that you saw from him in practice that made you confident that he could handle the assignment?) – “He’s got skills. As opposed to me playing right tackle? (laughter)”
(You could have had G Michael Deiter obviously play left tackle and T J’Marcus Webb on the right side…) – “I could’ve. I could have put (Evan) Boehm out there. I could have put (Daniel) Kilgore out there at right tackle. (laughter) There’s a lot of things you could do…”
(But had T Isaiah Prince shown progress to you that made you think maybe he can handle this?) – “I would be willing to bet that (Head) Coach (Brian) Flores wouldn’t have put him out there if he didn’t have some ability to do the job. We weren’t going to just throw him to the wolves, but with younger players – with rookies – sometimes it takes a couple weeks before they understand the speed of the game on game day and the level of – preseason is preseason. The regular season is something different. You don’t just throw those guys out there if you think that there might be a confidence issue. It was really the same with Shaq Calhoun. He played all preseason, but when it came time for the season, you don’t want to put him out there and put him in a situation where he may have to adapt to something and then lose confidence in his ability. You try to bring those guys along. Deiter’s case is a little different. (He is a) different level player with a different experience level. He was drafted for that purpose and that’s where he’s going to play. We had to use him at left tackle because he’s had experience there, but (J’Marcus) Webb has played left tackle in the National Football League. He has started inside. He has started outside. It’s not crazy to say we just found a guy that played tackle before and put him out there.”
(How did T Isaiah Prince play Sunday do you think?) – “He did some good things. He did some things that need to be worked on, like all of them. I don’t think he had the best game that he’ll have in his time in the NFL, but I think for the first time out there, he did an admirable job and he’s got a bright future. He’s an extremely talented young man. He’s just got to keep working like all the rest of the guys. When I say we have a long way to go, that’s an understatement, but we’ve got a long way to go. He’s part of that process. He’s part of the youth here and the more we can get him in there, the better.”
(And G Michael Deiter’s work at guard through four games – aside from the time he had to fill in at tackle – how has he done as a guard through four games?) – “Honestly, I really think he’s done a good job. He’s an experienced guy. He played a lot at Wisconsin, obviously in multiple spots. If we ever needed an emergency center, he’s going there, too. That’s great to have that on game day – to have a third center, if you will, at the ballgame. I think he’s making good progress. We just had a personnel meeting and we were talking about those young guys today. I think he’s got a bright future. He’s going to continue to work. One thing that (Michael) Deiter has – he has incredible field-savvy because he’s played a lot of games, so he can see some things. Now, he still has some of those rookie tendencies. He had one the other day when he set to (Chargers DE Joey) Bosa as a three-technique and Bosa gave him a one-two and ran right by him. The thing about being a rookie and having some talent is he’ll make the adjustments. He’ll understand not to overset a guy and know your opponent. It was odd to see Bosa in that spot. They did it deliberately to get the rookie to jump outside. Bravo to them. The ball got off, so that wasn’t the end of the world, but it’s part of the growth process and the experience. Until that happens, he’s never going to adjust to it. Now, he understands what has to happen in those situations, so I think he’s doing good.”
(How would you assess G/T Jesse Davis’ progress at left tackle?) – “He’s working really hard. I think he’s making progress. The transition whether it’s inside to outside, right to left, left to right; anytime you move a guy – even the smallest move to one position left or right – it takes an adjustment. I think he’s adjusted well. The thing about him is he’s a conceptual thinker. In terms of knowing what to do, I think he grasps that really easily to be able to flip from side to side. There is some change in being able to change your feet from a right to left-handed position because you’re used to powering down on your inside with a particular foot. Now you’ve got to change it around and do it in reverse. But he’s a good athlete and he’s very, very, very detailed in his work, so he continues to work on that. That’s all you can ask at this point. Nothing’s going to come easy in this game – not at the offensive line. Unless you’re an extremely, extremely gifted guy – and those guys come around once every few years at the most. He’s done a good job in adjusting. We’ll be excited to get him back at some point.”
