Mike Pouncey – June 8, 2016
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Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Center Mike Pouncey
(On what makes the offensive line different compared to past years) – “I do think we’re going to have a really good (offensive) line, but obviously, we got a lot of work ahead of us. We still have to go out there and play games, still have to play good. I think we got a lot of talent across the board, but obviously, we have a long way to go.”
(On working with Offensive Line Coach Chris Foerster compared to former Offensive Line Coach John Benton) – “Techniques are different. They’re different personalities. We really like (Offensive Line Coach) Chris (Foerster) a lot. We liked Coach (John) Benton a lot, too, but we’ve moved on from that. We’re glad to have Chris here. We think that he’s going to really help us out going forward, and we’re excited to work with him.”
(On how the technique is different working with Offensive Line Coach Chris Foerster) – “Just coaching things, stuff you guys wouldn’t know anything about. (laughter) But aiming points and the way we use our hands and stuff like that.”
(On Offensive Quality Control Chris Kuper assisting the offensive line) – “He’s great to have on our line. (As) a guy that’s played in this league, he understands how tough it is. We talk to him, pick his brain about what he used while he was playing. I’m excited to have him in our offensive line group.”
(On the offensive line’s potential with G/T Laremy Tunsil) – “We like (Laremy) Tunsil a lot. Obviously, his feet are really good. We think he was the best player in this year’s draft. We’re lucky to have a guy like that. We’re excited to see what he can do. Obviously, everyone looks good without pads on. We’ll put on the pads, but we’re sure that he’s going to come in and do what we expect him to do.”
(On whether G/T Laremy Tunsil still has to earn the respect of the veteran offensive line) – “(He’s) definitely got to still earn it, but we’re bringing him along as fast as possible. We know we need the guy. Obviously our biggest thing right now is making sure he knows the plays – the playbook in and out –so that he can play at the potential we think he has. We’re excited to work with him, though. He’s a good player. Good guy too.”
(On the challenge for defense from the offensive line) – “I think for when we’re facing the Wide 9, especially in our pass protection, when the tight ends help out, we got to make sure we help those guy out because it puts our tight ends in a lot of one-on-one situations. But as far as running goes, we feel confident about it. They want to spread their defensive ends out. We’ll run inside of them.”
(On if the key to attacking a spread out defensive line is to run on them) – “Well, when they play a Wide 9, what they’re telling you is that they don’t want you to run outside. So you got to do everything that you can to run the ball on the inside; which the outside zone plays will still be called, but it’s more of cut-back kind of play.”
(On if it is crucial to work up to the second level against a Wide 9 defense) – “Of course, yeah. I mean when you play defenses like that, that means that they got really good linebackers that can run really fast and cover the field sideline to sideline. You need linemen that can really run and are athletic.”
(On what makes him think the offense will be better this year) – “Well, we’ll see. Obviously we got a long way to go. We still got a training camp to go through, we got preseason games to be played; but we just like the attitude that the coaches have brought forward. We love the playbook, the play calling. It’s been great so far. We’ll see how it goes as the season gets along.”
(On how he would describe the playbook and if it is complex) – “In my head, it’s simpler. I think we got a lot of our plays are going to be … we use the same thing but they’re different plays. We’re doing a lot of the same stuff when the play is called but I feel like it’s going to give us an advantage instead of being in a lot of one-on-one blocking to create double teams and move guys off the ball.”
(On how Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen is on the field) – “He’s great. We love him. He’s been great so far. We think he’s a really smart coach. We’re excited to have him on our staff and he brings it at practice every day. When a guy’s not feeling it, he makes sure the guys are ready to go.”
(On the tempo of the offense) – “Well the tempo that we want to have, obviously our offensive line has to be in really good shape. But to our advantage, when we go up there sometimes we’re going to snap it fast (and) sometimes we’re not. That gives us the advantage on the offensive line. That means the defense is going to be playing on their toes, ready to jump off the ball. We should get a lot of offside penalties from the defense and keep the chains moving. We’re excited about this offense. We feel like our offensive line is going to be in great shape by the time the season gets here. Obviously we still have a long way to go but we like standing on the ball and putting the defense on their toes and kind of putting them on their heels when we get a chance.”
(On what makes the up-tempo talk different with this offense) – “I think with this offense that up-tempo is really going to be there. Before in past seasons, we tried to run up-tempo but we huddled first and it’s kind of hard to go in the huddle, rush to the line and be up-tempo. I think with us just being on their line of scrimmage the whole time and pushing the pace like that, it’s going to get the ball snapped a lot faster instead of wasting those seconds inside the huddle and then trying to get up there and do a fast tempo.”
(On what differences he sees in QB Ryan Tannehill this year) – “I think he’s been a lot more vocal this year as a leader. Obviously, he’s a good football player on the football field and he’s always been a leader on this team; but this year I feel like he’s bringing more – more to the table. More than he ever has before as far as pushing guys and getting guys ready to go. We’re just glad that he’s our quarterback, honestly. He’s a guy that comes in every day (and) busts his butt every day. He’s the first one in the building (and the) last one out and that’s something you got to appreciate from a guy that’s at that position.”
(On if he feels QB Ryan Tannehill is ready for more responsibility this year) – “Oh, yeah. Heck yeah. He’s a smart kid. He’s very intelligent. I think this is what he’s been waiting for his whole career, is to go out there and be the guy to kind of call the show. We’ll see how it goes but we think he’s going to do really, really (well) here.”
(On if he thinks they have the personnel to create mismatches and push the tempo more than past years) – “At the end of the day, we can have the best players on the roster in the whole league; but if we don’t play together than it (isn’t) going to work. So I feel like we got to go out there and prove ourselves during training camp. I think we have to have a great preseason to go out there and prove to ourselves that we can do it, and then we’ll see how the season goes.”
(On if there’s something Head Coach Adam Gase has asked of him that no previous head coach had asked) – “No. Not at all. I mean just come out (and) be myself. Obviously I want to be a player that’s one of the best at my position in each year, so I push myself; but I’m more of a team kind of guy – a team-goal kind of guy. And we’ve yet to reach the playoffs in my six years so that’s our biggest goal this year is to get there, and then compete for a Super Bowl.”
