By Ron Bahr
Q: How did your knee hold up over the course of the season last year?
A: It hampered me. I didn’t notice how much it hampered me until later in the season when it began to strengthen and noticeably improve. I was being beaten on which tended to keep me from focusing on my knee but it felt best in last few games. The surgery helped but I didn’t fully recover until after the season. Now it feels as good as it ever did.
Q: Isn’t getting “beaten on” a major part of your job description?
A: It is definitely part of it, but it is always worse when you have a specific joint, like an aching knee, to go along with the overall physical abuse. But I played through it, I prepared, I never missed practice, and I played every week.
Q: Have your responsibilities changed much in the new defensive scheme?
A: They haven’t changed much, they are very similar to what they had been under the previous system. The tackles will be concentrating on stopping the run, with the ends applying outside pressure. We will be back to being a very good defense. I am playing both left and right tackle in this scheme but I have played both positions before so it’s not a problem for me. It’s up to the tackles to keep the linebackers clean so they can stop the run. I won’t be entirely two gap, more like one and a half
Q: How do coaches Nunn and Fewell differ from coaches Waufle and Sheridan in their approach to defense?
A: Coach Waufle is an ex-Marine, a high intensity guy; Coach Nunn is intense but in a different way, he and Coach Fewell are just different guys.
Q: Coach Fewell seems to have a different plan for managing the defensive line rotation. How will that work?
A: I don’t really know, we haven’t really ironed that out. I think the starters may play more reps than in years past, but I’m not positive. We will just have to see how it goes once the season starts. As a professional you have a responsibility to the team to take yourself out when you need a blow. You have guys behind you who work hard and, when you are not at you’re best, you should come out. You should not be on the field if you can’t go hard.
Q: Commissioner Goodell has suggested that the three point stance be eliminated from the NFL game to reduce the incidence of concussion. How do you see this?
A: You would be lined up helmet to helmet with your hand on the ground or standing up, but you can’t generate as much power standing up so it would cut down on the impact of the collision. Since this is a matter of a player’s health, if it becomes a proven thing, I would be all for it. But it seems to me that concussions usually occur when two guys are running at one another full speed, safeties and wide receivers, linebackers and running backs, not offensive and defensive linemen.
