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Matt Applebaum – October 27, 2022 Download PDF version

Thursday, October 27, 2022

Offensive Line Coach Matt Applebaum

(Can you tell me about OL Connor Williams’ physical skillset and why it has translated well to the center position?) – “I think he’s a very well-rounded player for the position. There’s a lot of guys in the league (who) play that position that maybe have the lateral quickness that you need, or maybe they don’t have a lateral quickness, but they have the size and they play to their scheme, whatever scheme maybe their team is playing. I think Connor (Williams) has both. That would be the first thing physically, he’s just a very well-rounded player. He doesn’t have any obvious deficiencies or anything like that. Then he’s a really smart, articulate guy and he’s works really hard at it. So he’s able to handle all the mental part of it, too. I think he’s a really well-rounded player for the position.”

(What did T Terron Armstead do for the offensive line and what did he do for the team last week?) – “I mean, Terron (Armstead) brings an impact to the offensive line every single day. I don’t know if there’d be something specific other than his really good play. He’s a leader out there. He gets his job done at a very high level. I think he’s a guy that day-in and day-out brings a lot to the table. So whether that be leadership, his approach, just everything – he’s a very, very good player who knows how to handle the ups and downs of the season. He’s really good with the room and helping those guys along.”

(OL Brandon Shell, can you speak to how far he’s come along since he first came in and just how much more comfort did he show on the right side where he had played exclusively previously as opposed to when he played on the left?) – “Yeah, ‘B. Shell’ (Brandon Shell) has been awesome. The guy is a professional in his approach. I thought he had good tape at Seattle. So we were fortunate to be able to get him when we did. Obviously, when he first got here, he needed to get in shape and do some of those things. And, to his credit, he’s done everything we’ve asked. He got in shape rather quickly. He’s really smart and works at it and picked up our offense rather quickly. And then to your second question, certainly, the guy – sometimes people make it out to be way easier than it is to switch sides, especially for a guy who’s played way more on one side than the other (and) hasn’t been consistently switching sides over the course of his career. So he certainly was more comfortable playing right tackle than left tackle. But to me, for him to go out there and give us what he gave us at left tackle against New York Jets, that’s super impressive to me. Not just the production, but the willingness to go out there and lay it on the line at a position he’s not comfortable at and give us a chance to win. So, I’ve got nothing but good things to say about that guy.”

(Naturally, DE Aidan Hutchinson, a high draft pick, is going to get a lot of attention. What do you see out of him as a young player?) – “I think he’s a really good player amongst other really good players. I think Detroit has a really good defense. They’re aggressive. They’re physical. They try to get after you every single play. I’m really impressed with their tape and how hard they play, how physical they play. But he’s a really good player. I think he’s got a really bright future in the league. You can see for a young player that he’s rather advanced in terms of how he plays the game, and it’ll be a challenge for us.”

(Can you speak to where OL Liam Eichenberg is at this stage in his second season?) – “Again, just like other times, I’m not going to comment too much on previous before we all got here. I think Liam (Eichenberg) is getting better every day. I think Liam had honestly one of his better games last game against what I would consider a really, really good player in (Cam) Heyward. I know he had a couple plays that are going to stand out as negatives, and that’s the nature of our position that those plays get focused on, and he understands that some of that stuff can happen. But he comes to work every day. I think he’s gotten better and like I said, I thought he went out there and really competed against what I consider an excellent player in this league.”

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