 Is an old lineman, hot and sweaty, physical? Yeah, we need these. You got to push through. Football's not supposed to be easy. You got to grind through days, and that was one of those days. We've been blessed with good weather, and you find out guys who want to work, guys who want to compete in days like this when it's not easy. How much do you pay attention to the competition at the other spots on the old line? And you curse yourself just to have some of that plays out? Yeah, you see guys competing. And as a leader of this group, I'm just trying to help guys and help them do their best out there and make them be at their best when they're out there when it's called. Because it's not easy. We have good players on the other side of the ball. So you've got to know, hey, you're blocking Jeff, you're blocking Harold, you're blocking Tart inside. You have guys that you've got to go out and you've got to man up on. And we have guys out there busting it every day. And you know you don't want to get a certain amount of opportunities to show what you can do. And when your opportunity is called, you've got to answer. You, when they go from a big guy like Roger, besides you at left guard, to a smaller guy like Aaron at left guard. I'm comfortable with it, anybody. Brewer played a lot of games with me on both sides last year with Nate and Roger being out for a handful of games. So Brewer's played well, Jamarco. All those guys that came in and done well for us. And they've really, you can tell how hard they're working over there and what it means to them, because they want to earn that spot. And to be a part of something, you want to be able to block for a guy like Tutu in the back field, and they know the opportunity we have before them. Can it be orange offensive line, defensive line, one-on-one? Pass rush. Yeah, got to make Gain a little ground, but it's not necessarily moving a quarter back off the spot. Definitely. As an interior guy, you're trying to hold the depth of the pocket edge. Guys, you're trying to widthen them, widen them, and hey, have an edge, so Ten Hill can step up. So we have techniques and stuff. But yeah, you're working out there. That's going to be the hardest block for you, because they know it's passed. So it makes third down and stuff like that easier, because they don't know the scheme. So it's definitely hard for us. And they got to work, too. Do they declare winner and loser when you're watching film or housing? Yeah, when we're watching film. They're definitely going to critique you, hey, you need to replace your hands. You need to work on your punch here. Hey, this guy beats you. You can tell, if you're being in the league for this long, as an older guy, I know when I win and lose a rel. But a young guy, you can be like, hey, you need to get a little more depth on this guy. You need to hold the anchor quicker. So they definitely, you're getting coached up on all those reps. Ten, we talked yesterday about your relationship with him and how lucky you guys are to be on the same O-line and in the same unit for so long. What is your relationship with him? How do you bring to that group and the cohesiveness in your eyes? Yeah, I know what Taylor's going to bring, his energy, what he brings to the field and his demeanor. He's a guy who loves playing this game. He's a guy who's going to be high effort. He's going to play hard. And we've been together. So I know when his highs and his lows are, and he knows when I need a little bump and when I need to say, hey, chill, he's a guy I can push. He's a guy, no matter how the game's going, I can look out there and tell him how I need to pick it up or how we got to keep this going. And no matter if I holler at him or praise him, he's going to keep that same attitude with me. Has he learned to take your input that way? Like maybe early in his career, was he not as open to it? I think it was learned. He sees what I put in the thing, how much it means for me to win and be a part of this unit. And it took time. And he's a guy I trust. He's a guy that, hey, he knows I'm going to be out there on Sundays. He knows I'm going to try to be the leader and try to, because it comes down to him, I want to win. And no matter what it takes, no matter how pretty it is, I'm going to do what it takes to get that win for us. This whole new season, is there any bleed over that you guys can maybe help as you guys go into this season? Yeah, you had guys like Dylan get an opportunity to play last year as a rookie. You had Brewer stepped in a lot for us and played. So you had guys not just coming in their first year and not playing their first snap. But yeah, you're playing with the multiple guys. And that's what our group does. You see how we rotate in with different guys throughout practice. And during the season, you never and walk throughs and everything. They're putting different guys beside me at all times. So on Sundays, I'm comfortable. Do you dream of maybe having a season where the same five guys start and finish everything? That would be great. But I enjoy it. I love seeing guys get their opportunity. That's how I got my opportunity. Guys get hurt. Guys get banged up. You want to see guys' chairs, those opportunities. And when they get them, you want to see their dreams come true. This league's not easy. And guys earn a great living doing this. And you want to see guys be able to take care of their families and make it. Yeah. Camp is about earning it every day. If you come out the first day whooping everybody, it's hard to come out every day and do that. So it's little things. You're working on the details each day. But Roger is a great run blocker. He's a guy who's a physical guy who's done it. He's played in Super Bowl. He's a guy you could lead on. He always had great energy. But we have other guys. You never know this could be my last snap out there on the field. Somebody beside you said the next guy's got to be ready. But Roger was a great guy, a great teammate. And I love Roger to death. Serious on Thursday, just to get a feel for it, or are you good? Whatever they want. I trust Ray will and his decision. And he's done a heck of a job through the years of preparing us. And he knows when we're ready and when we're not. And he knows how to put his foot down when he needs us to, hey, we got to have a good day. He's a great leader. And he's a guy that we trust. And he's a guy we want to work for. What was it like the pre-season games that you guys don't play, play a little bit? Yeah. Put the ball cap on watching. What's game day like in the pre-season watching some of these guys, your teammates with play? Anytime you're on that field, it's got to be special to you. Because anytime you're putting something on tape, all 31 other teams are watching. It's your resume. So if you're out there and you're not taking the series, you're not going out there and putting your best. Other teams see that. So if I'm on that field, I'm going to give you my best. And that's what it's about. If you're not out there fully locked in, no matter if it's a series, two series, a half, when you're out there, you've got to be totally locked in. Because that's when guys earn spots. And that's when you make the team. Joy, watching the young guys play when you guys are out and the young guys in there competing? Absolutely. I remember my first couple of years in the league when I had to play every snap in those pre-season games from the first series to the last. Seeing the vets, how in tune they were to help you. Hey, bringing guys along, cheering for you because they're getting excited for guys who's earning their spot. And you can see guys edging forward at the end of the third game back then, third and fourth game back in the old days. And it's fun seeing guys make an opportunity and seeing it click forms like, hey, guys, I'm kind of figuring it out because no matter if it's a pre-season game or a regular season game, you're playing in an NFL special. You've earned it. You've worked here. And it's an opportunity guys will remember for their life. Ben, as an offensive line unit, you guys struggled a little bit out of the gate last year. What do you think the key is to starting quicker this year and getting off on the right foot? Yeah, we got to come together. And we were banged up early. We didn't get to work a lot together. No matter when our bell is called, we got to answer. And definitely that first week we were not ready. When our bell was called, we didn't answer last year. Hopefully this year we check a box. And it's not just going out there. And we got to be focused in every game special in this league. And anybody can whoop you. The sense of urgency within the room of, you know, we got to get Derek Yards now. We got to protect Ryan now. What does that look like when you guys are in the film room, when you guys are on the field? How do you feel that sense of urgency among the group? Yeah, we have a guy, we're trying to, every day, our job is to be able to run the ball good. We know any team that are coming in and trying to stop their own. We got Derek in the backfield. And a guy like Tanner Hill, we got him hit too many times last year. And we know when we protect him and give him time, he makes plays for us. He's a guy that's our leader and executes and puts us in the right play. So we don't want him. We want to do everything we can to protect that guy. What's the competition been like with the receivers on a day-to-day basis? And how much do you guys improve maybe from what takes place in the practice field? I mean, the competition is great. We got different receivers, as far as that got size. You got something that got some speed, quicks. So I feel like we're getting some great work from them guys. They're making plays. We're making plays. I feel like we're heading in the right direction with both the receivers and the DBs. Conditioning, it probably helps you down the line? Yeah, definitely. The harder it is out there for us, the conditions, the better it's going to make us in the long run. That's how we look at it. So it was a tough day. We had to fight mentally with the heat, full pass. Show your audiences all that running through your mind. But it all makes you tougher for the game situation, game-like situations. And there, how does that feel to see your teammates and how do you celebrate them when that happens? We love to close the game out. It's a great feeling. And that's how we want to have it. We want to make sure that we as a defense close the game out and get a ball back to the offense so they can just really get victory formation. So it's big for us. We want to be perfect in those situations, two-minute situations. Like I said, it's the end of the game. So it was big to see that. It's very encouraging. And we just got to build off that. What are you guys discussing to try to maybe help each other get better? What we're seeing on the field, obviously, I'm studying him. While I'm on the field, as the players going on, he's studying me. He's trying to learn my tendencies. So we just talk about those things, ways that he can defeat if I'm pressed or if I'm off. I kind of give him pointers. Not that I want him to use it on me, but just for him to keep it in the back of his mind to help him out in the long run. How much have you seen him improve and maybe take another step in year two? I feel like you always are going to take that next step. Heading to year two, you got the NFL under your belt. You have the feel of it. So you're comfortable. You know the offense. So once you got that locked in, you're just playing football, really. And he's worked on his techniques and small details of his routes that helped him improve for this season. He's competing. Like I said, we want to have a competitive room. It's very encouraging to see that he can come in and make those plays coming from the SEC. You're going against the top guys already, but you got to take the next step. And it's encouraging to see him take that step so early. And we just want to keep pushing him and seeing him improve through the preseason into the season. It's a season here. I really don't care if it's preseason or regular season. We're out there as a defense. Like I said, our mentality is to shut everybody down. We want to do our job. And we want to make a good impression on our first impression out there, come Thursday when we're out there. No matter who's out there, we know what our mentality is as a defense. Robert, what's the saying that to win it, if you're competing and you're keeping score, you feel the same way? Yeah, for sure. 100%. If you're a competitor, you always going to win. That's our job out here to win. I said, we're going to go out there and compete. No matter who's out there, everybody's fighting for a job. So no matter where you end up, you got to put good stuff on tape. And that should be everybody's mindset. How much are more interceptions for you personally a goal this year? I mean, for right or wrong, DBs get those numbers attract attention, right? Yeah, for sure. It's all about just doing my job. I do my job. Those plays will come. I'm not trying to force it. I just got to make sure I'm on point with all my keys. And once I'm on point with my keys, we just playing football. And we just have to make the play. You're kind of proving yourself to the league a little bit for what you're expecting of yourself this year? Yeah, definitely. Like I said, you coming to the NFL, you're looking to figure it out. And like I said, we're racing. Once you come into year two, you kind of have a feel for the offense, how the organization works, and how everything is running around here. And then once you get a feel, game time experience, you know what you can do. And it's all about taking that next step, elevating how can you get better? Because the guys are watching you too. So you know they're going to study you. So it's all about knowing yourself and knowing the guy you're going against. That's how you take that next step. How much off season, maybe spare time do you spend studying up on what you're going to face this fall? Receivers, teams, has that been full go since the season ended? Yeah. Like I said, I study other DBs too, not just receivers. Just to learn from them, guys who are proving in this league and just find new techniques and study receivers, and what routes they like to run, what they're lining up. That's all key. Pound yourself up after, but kind of have watched their technique, how they play, and try to put it into your game? Just to name a few, you know, I watched a couple. Xavier Howard, Derrick Slay, Jair. Just to name a few of those guys, I feel like those guys have proven in this league to be dominant DBs. And they have a long career that they've played so far. So I just try to watch those guys and see what I can take from their game. Obviously, as a positive, we're going to turn everything to a positive. Some guys may not have experience, but that's what we're out here for. We're going to treat every day like a game. You know, you treat every day like a game, you're going to be prepared for the game. And that's our mindset going forward. A lot of receivers changed teams this year. Do you worry about monitoring, looking at some of those guys that you'll face, or you just leave that until game week? Yeah, I mean, I still studied those receivers, but they'll change teams, and they're not going to change their route crowd for nothing like that. So you still got to study the receiver, to see what route is he like, how he's attacking the ball, all those things. But you also got to watch the office coordinator who's a team he's on now to understand the offense and what they might want to use them, things like that. It's a little weird, I mean, I know you're just going into your third year, but to see this many receivers, it's almost like they spun the room and scattered all over the league almost. Yeah, I mean, it's part of the business. Guys are going to move around, and they're just part of it. I'm not really worried about where whoever is, but I just got to be focusing on who I'm seeing that week. With a guy like Jeff, big Jeff, going into his fourth year, is the challenge trying to improve across the entire board, maybe just hone in on certain aspects of a defensive tackles game? And what are you expecting, hoping for, out of him in his fourth year? Well, I mean, I think some of those things are good to probably ask him. I'm sure he's thinking about some things that he'd like to work on. And from a coaching perspective, I think that when you look at D. Lyman and Jeff specifically just looking at recognition, I think as he continues to study more and understand what offenses are going to do and the different blocks that he's going to face and how they may try to take him out of games if he's disruptive. You sure? Yeah, you can sit down. Go ahead and tear him up a little bit. You know, how he's going to have to handle those things, how he functions with the guys around him and how he works with them. I think, you know, pass rush and how he can affect the quarterback is something that will always continue to try to work on. How did you feel about the durability to start creating a few more turnovers and live reps and win some of the 101? Well, I mean, I think, you know, when you affect the part of affecting the quarterback is, you know, tipping passes and, you know, one was tipped there. And, you know, it's just funny that, you know, the DBs were working that drill and ball disruption was working the tip ball drill where it kind of gets redirected and it changes its path. And, you know, sometimes you have to adjust to them. And it was just kind of funny that that's the one we got today was one of them in that situation. So those are good that we're being able to translate that work that we had in some of the individual drills that carry over, you know, it's going to be the same thing. There's going to be some good plays and bad plays and hopefully the ones that we can eliminate, the ones that get us beat. You know, we came back and gave up a shot. So, you know, we got an interception on one play and then gave up a big play on the next. So, you know, that's why we're out here practicing. Is that a clear winner in past rush one on one? How do you kind of judge your snap there? Yeah, I mean, I think that just, you know, offensive linemen staying inside out, whether they're punching and not get overextended, you know, where are they at the top of the pocket? You know, are they still able to stay square and not give up, you know, a late rush back inside, you know, trying to run them by the pocket? Is the defensive linemen, you know, staying relatively in his rush lane and see trying to collapse the pocket if he's not winning quickly, you know? And then we ask him to sprint through the line. That's kind of how it is in the just one-on-one pass rush. With this being, you know, yeah, the Thursday game, does it kind of switch as far as like some game planning or like how do you go about getting your guys in the best position to make the plays that you want them to make? Those will be opportunity for somebody young guys to go out and play, you know, try to earn some more reps. I think we're at that point now. I told them that, you know, everybody's going to have an opportunity to play in the game, but then going forward, we got to make sure that, you know, we're earning everything that we get and we're not just handing things out. So, you know, we'll use that as an evaluation. We'll try to give them, you know, somewhat of a scouting report, but we're still in training camp and, you know, we'll just give them some information before the game and try to, you know, make sure that they're able to go out and function. A lot of red zone periods of last week or so, how do you feel like those are going from a competitive? Well, I mean, it's competitive. I think it can be better. There's some things that, you know, offense wins the snap, you know, somebody's going to probably have a better play than somebody else, either the offense or the defense. So, just making sure that we're sound and we're staying up and, you know, some of these are new plays offensively. Some things that we're trying out, you know, defensively, we'll have to, we'll certainly have to be great when you get the ball down in there inside the five yard line. What it used to be in this league, but how important is Tori Carter to what you're planning to do on offense this year? Well, I mean, you know, Tori's, we're trying to find different roles for him and, you know, see where he can fit offensively, whether that's in the backfield, you know, on the line of scrimmage, special team. So, there's, he's trying to define a role here as we work our way through training camp. He got sort of an old school mindset, though, in terms of playing that game. Well, he certainly has a physical nature to him that I appreciate. He has an energy and certainly loves football. Robert Woods was saying that, you know, these preseason games to support the try and win him, I mean, it's obviously important to ball the ball in one like 20-some in a row. Do you share that philosophy in terms of? Well, we just try to do anything that, you know, we feel like is best for the football team. I think, you know, we, be guys that play in the game, there'll be guys that don't. We're gonna coach to win and play to win, but, you know, I don't know how much we'll run, and I mean, I don't know. You know, I mean, I just think, you know, we'll make sure we'll go out there and it's a great opportunity for evaluation. We're always gonna try to win. But, you know, if the rotation calls for somebody else to go in or somebody who's got certain number of snaps that I want them to play, you know, they're gonna come out of the game. At that point. Jack Gibbons is a guy that had an interception the other day, made a goal line, stopped down here. How's he done as far as being around the football and kind of showing up as an undrafted guy? Well, I mean, Dr. Gibbons is smart. He's picked up the defense extremely well. He's, you know, gonna be fun to watch playing the game. He just gets everybody lined up. He knows exactly what to do. Can help other guys. You know, it's always around the football and that's kind of what we saw, you know, last year watching them at Minnesota. Nicholas, little inside helping him with his hands. Can you tell us anything about what that entailed? Well, that's a product that, you know, when coaching at Ohio State, you know, you only get to work with the guys so much, I guess, whenever the rules were back in, you know, 2010 or 11. So we tried to come up with something. Anthony Schlegel came up with something that you could put on a weight room rack for blow delivery and, you know, it's been a product that we've used since, you know, he came up with it and we had talked about trying to put something together and he's really made it a passion to try to promote that. And we think it's important. It's just, you know, it's an apparatus they can use in a weight room, you know, with a pad and a spring-loaded device that allows players to punch and use their hands and, you know, make sure that they're inside and they're tight. How quickly did he earn that nickname, Dr. Gibby, and how quickly did he earn it? Quickly, you know what I mean? He's smart, he answered all the questions and he said, coach, I wasn't in pre-med. I said, I know it's a joke. Nick, you said earlier how you think he's progressing this game goes on. Good, good. I mean, he's over there competing and, you know, doing some things well or some things, you know, that he needs to correct and, you know, see for a second or third time and, you know, I know he's working hard. He's been out there every day. He's been grinding and pushing through like a lot of these guys. Coach, Racing McMath is a guy who seems to have taken some steps forward this year. Do you see him as a guy that could be a true vertical threat for this offense, something that they struggled to find a guy to do last year? Yeah, I mean, Racing's working hard. He's having some good days. He's caught some balls down the field for us and certainly just want to try to create X plays wherever we can, whether it's a catch-and-run or being able to throw the ball downfield. But, you know, he's a developing and he's certainly an approving player.