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Vincent Taylor – August 3, 2018 Download PDF version

Friday, August 3, 2018

DT Vincent Taylor

(How happy are you with your start of camp so far?) – “It’s going pretty good. We are out here working. The offense is doing their thing; we’re doing our thing. We’re just out here trying to compete.”

(For you personally, what have you noticed is the big difference from last year?) – “I’m not thinking as much. Last year I was afraid to make a mistake. Now, when I make a mistake, I just forget about it. I’m not thinking as much as I did last year. Last year I was trying to work on my footwork. This year I think it’s where it needs to be but it can always get better. I think this year I’m not thinking as much as I was last year.”

(Defensive Line Coach Kris Kocurek was talking about your upper-body strength yesterday and how you’re able to control guys and shed them. Tell me how you use that. How does that turn itself into a tackle for a loss?) – “It helps me out a lot. I’m a d-tackle but I don’t have a bigger lower body like most d-tackles. So, I use my power in my upper body to my advantage and it helps me out a lot.”

(What does that entail? Do you have to get your hands on the offensive lineman first? Can you take me through some technical stuff?) – “I think Coach Kris (Kocurek), before each practice we work with the snatching drill and I think once we get in 11 vs. 11, you can see how it helps us out what we do in individual. I just take what I learn in individual to 11-on-11.”

(What does it take to shed a block? Is that strong hands, is that some knowledge of the play, is that all upper-body strength?) – “No, it’s technique. Like I said, we do it in individual and I just take it from individual to 11-on-11. Most of the older guys have been telling me, ‘football you’ve been playing it your whole life, go out there and make plays.’ Really, it’s 11 vs. 11, man on man.”

(What does DT Akeem Spence bring to the d-tackle room?) – “Spence, he’s an older guy so he’s been there. He knows what it takes to make plays. He knows how to lead and he was with Coach Kris (Kocurek) in Detroit. Everything he’s learned in Detroit he’s telling us young guys (what) Coach Kris expects.”

(When you watch yourself on tape, how much further along are you now this year compared to where you were last year?) – “I think this year I’m playing faster. Like I mentioned earlier, last year I was afraid to make mistakes; but now, if I make a mistake, I just keep going. I don’t worry about it anymore.”

(Is it because your focus is different on what you’re trying to improve on?) – “That’s one of them, but last year I was a rookie, so I was trying to do everything right to make sure the coaches don’t get on me. But now I understand it’s football and I’m going to make mistakes, so I just learn to get over it.”

(How much do you bring every day to practice because of Defensive Line Coach Kris Kocurek and the way he coaches you guys? It’s every rep.) – “It starts in individual, like I mentioned. Coach Kris (Kocurek), if we give him our all, he’s going to do the same with us. Playing for a guy like that, he just makes you want to come out here and get the job done.”

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