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Liam Eichenberg – May 17, 2022 Download PDF version

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

T Liam Eichenberg

(We were talking to Head Coach Mike McDaniel earlier today and he made a big emphasis with the offensive line about – he said OTAs are built for you guys. That was interesting to begin with. But then he said with the offensive line, it’s important to wipe away what happened in the past. How have you been able to do that?) – “I mean it’s a completely different offense, as you guys can probably tell from watching San Fran’s film. It’s just different. New coaches, new style, new scheme. I’m kind of just focusing on now, focusing on the present and trying to improve every day, trying to learn the offense the best that I can.”

(Are you exclusively on one side? Obviously you’re working some tackle and some guard but are you exclusively on one side?) – “It’s more about understanding the offense right now. Guys are moving around. It just depends on the day. I’m just trying to understand everything from the whole scheme standpoint and just understand the playbook as best I can.”

(Your comfort level at left guard, if that happens to be where you end up?) – “I feel good. This offense does well for offensive linemen. My buddy (Mike) McGlinchey on San Fran loves it. I’m just happy with what’s happening here. We’ve got a lot of guys that showed up for OTAs and are working hard.”

(How do you feel your skillset meshes with the new scheme?) – “I think it’s good. I think it’s a lot about technique and I pride myself on that, so I think it’s good for us. A lot of guys are getting the hang of it and improving. Just one day at a time.”

(A quick follow-up on 49ers OL Mike McGlinchey. What kind of things might he have told you after the Dolphins hired Mike McDaniel?) – “You’ve just got to run off the ball is what he said. That was his biggest emphasis was running off the ball.”

(How much do you guys, as offensive linemen, like that attacking style?) – “It’s great. It’s not about guessing or hesitating. It’s just kind of run off the ball and then whatever happens, happens. You’ve just got to kind of deal with the outcome and make changes on the go.”

(General Manager Chris Grier said this new coaching staff liked a lot of the offensive linemen on your team coming out of the draft. Has Head Coach Mike McDaniel expressed that to you and G/T Austin Jackson and G/T Robert Hunt and the young guys that he liked you guys coming out of the draft or something like that?) – “All I know is he says he believes in us, and that’s all I can ask for. Him giving us an opportunity to compete and play and believing in us is the most important thing. It’s good having a coach that – he’s a good dude and he obviously believes in us, so it’s nice.”

(How dramatically different is the approach as far as technique that Offensive Line Coach Matt Applebaum is teaching compared to Lemuel Jeanpierre, who is obviously still here? Is it a major change beyond obviously a zone blocking scheme is different?) – “No, I don’t think it’s a big change in technique. I think it’s more about the scheme is different. Obviously we didn’t do a lot of wide zone last year. It was mainly inside zone. Lem is still there and still coaching hard. I’m happy he’s still here. He’s going to be a big part of this club going forward.”

(You’re so even-keeled. You dealt with switching positions a lot in your first year-plus in the league. Is that still easy for you not knowing necessarily where you’re going to play and getting practice snaps at a lot of different spots?) – “Yeah, I think it’s just about understanding the offense as a whole. It doesn’t matter where you’re at as long as you understand the Mike point, understand the scheme and what’s happening, you should be able to play any position. So wherever they need me.”

(One thing that Offensive Line Coach Matt Applebaum talked about when we had a chance to talk to him is that he goes back last year and looks at the individual offensive linemen, not the scheme necessarily. When you go back and watch, is there more benefit for you to watch the tape in that way or does it change at all?) – “I think it’s just kind of – I go back now and I watch San Fran because it’s just different. Obviously I know what I need to improve on from last year but as of right now, it’s more about seeing guys – guards, tackles – that have done well in this offense and understand the scheme and understand how to run it. I’m just looking at those guys for experience.”

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