Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Former Vikings Jeremiah Sirles and Alex Boone break down the Vikings' offensive line

Episode Date: September 8, 2021

Matthew Coller is joined by two former Viking offensive linemen to discuss whether they think the Vikings' offensive line will be good this year. They discuss Oli Udoh and Ezra Cleveland moving from tackle to guard, which linemen has to take a leadership role and why young players struggle in the NFL. Plus Alex and Jeremiah talk about the things they're most excited about for the NFL season this year, including the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns having Super Bowl chances and the young QBs around the league. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, welcome to another episode of Purple Insider. Matthew Collar here, and guess what, folks? Tuesday morning left guard. It is back, former Minnesota Viking Jeremiah Searles coming off of his new sideline work at Nebraska, which, you know, is a team that plays college football. That's all I got for the analysis of Nebraska football. They're definitely a team. So, Jeremiah.

They are a team that plays football. They are definitely a team. You know, I know that we want to go a lot of different directions with this to preview the season with you. And then you have your hunting trip. So you're going to be away after week one, but then come back after week two. So that's how it's going to be. But I just feel like we have to jump right into this. On draft night, you jumped in on a very similar stream just like this

one and you said the offensive line is fixed man we're good Christian D'Arcy's beast he's gonna lock down that left tackle right guard Wyatt Davis I gave it an A plus of a pick on draft night whoops uh and you were like oh yeah big 10 football guard. Those two players aren't playing. So what's your feeling now on the offensive line? You know, it was addition by subtraction. So we did lose. We did lose. Oh, my gosh.

We lost our Winnebago. He's gone. He's out. He's still on the practice squad. But he's around. He cannot hurt. He can't hurt us there for still on the practice squad, but Dakota Dozier is around. He cannot hurt anybody. He can't hurt us there. He can't hurt anybody from the practice squad.

It's parked around the corner. Dakota Dozier is no longer fearful for Kirk Cousins. Or Kirk Cousins is no longer fearful for Dakota Dozier, I should say. But yeah, I agree. Draft night, I was pumped. I thought Darisaw, one of the best left tackles coming out this year. I watched Davis. I mean, the dude played in the Big Ten for a long time and was a road grader and now to hear that they're

not going to pan out is okay i won't that that's that might be a bit of a stretch so they won't pan out they haven't panned out yet is is a tad concerning for this group moving forward because i really think they were banking on those two guys to step in and be day one starters well the issue with Wyatt Davis seems to be uh his physical shape which I think is a little concerning after practice they have him like run gassers it's embarrassing I mean that's embarrassing it's not a great sign man no if you're gonna be a professional offensive if you're just gonna be a professional in general you can't show up like that's like showing up to your accounting job and being like, I can't count that. Like you can't just show up to your job, not be able to physically do what you're being asked to do. And it's really unfortunate because I've seen it happen to a lot of guys that come in and they're so regimented in their training before the draft. They're so regimented through college that when

they finally get kind of past that draft and they go into OTAs and then they get that six-week break between OTAs and fall camp, that's their first taste of freedom since like the summer before their senior year in college. And so those guys sometimes think, man, it's summer break when that's the complete opposite. That is not summer break. That's the time to lock in and grind and get ready to come into camp at the best shape you could possibly be in. Because once you fall behind, it's impossible to catch back up, especially in training camp. You're not going to get into shape during training camp. You have to try and maintain the shape that you've already built throughout that six week stretch to stay. And so to hear that he showed up like that, very unfortunate.

I hope that he can get himself turned around because the Vikings are really going to need him. And I think he's a good player. I mean, from what I've seen in spurts, but in the last preseason game, he played a lot. And by the fourth quarter, it was very clear that he was out of gas. And Mike Zimmer even commented on it after the game. He said, some of our players wink wink uh were out of shape and they need to work out after practice or something and then there's one

guy running gassers after practice so i think we know who he was talking about uh but the other thing about this is so rashad hill starting at left tackle we're very familiar with rashad everyone likes rashad and sort of wants him to succeed. But he's the last man standing. He is last man standing from the 2017 season. Yeah, yeah. There's like nobody left besides him. And if you would have said to me, hey, Rashad Hill's going to be the last one standing for the rest of the season, you're crazy.

But look at that guy go. I know, right? And Rashad has, by the way, talk about transforming your body. Yes. He was a bit on the flabby side when he first got here, but he's worked with Duke Manyweather, who I'm sure you're familiar with, the offensive line trainer, and he is quite trimmed down. And I think that they're impressed with that. And they think he's got a chance to be decent at left tackle here. And I do too. I don't think it's going to

be a complete disaster. However, you drafted Ezra Cleveland in 2020 as a left tackle out of Boise State, and nobody had him as a guard, not any draft analyst who watched him. And he gets put in at right guard. Okay, fine. I get it because their weakness was there. But then you draft another left tackle and move Ezra Cleveland to left guard. And then that left tackle is hurt, and you still don't try him at left tackle. I am flummoxed by the usage of ezra cleveland and i like what i've seen from him in training camp and preseason i think he could be a good player but i just won't ever really understand this and we've never gotten an answer on it yeah i mean the only logical explanation is they've seen something in practice that just scares them to put him out

at left tackle and i don't know usually it's pass protection usually it's like this dude and i mean i can thoroughly see something happening where like they tried to throw him in last year and everson just lived rent free in his head because everson does that to players i mean and to where like it might have just shot his confidence level as a left tackle you know what i mean like not i mean daniel hunter even i mean it doesn't matter like if there's a left if there if you're a tackle and you're practicing it's a guy every single day and whether it's Everson whether it's Daniil whether it's Fletcher Cox it doesn't matter like who you're going up against they can destroy your confidence I've seen it happen to players a lot to where they never get it back and I mean I've seen it happen to where players go to other teams and are like

all pros and then they play that guy and they look like rookies and so maybe something happened in that regard of this guy just couldn't keep it all together for whatever reason up front and now he moved to guard and maybe he's starting to build that confidence back but again I thought for sure I was on the same page of you when Derrissaw got nicked up I thought for sure like okay we're gonna see what everson cleveland can finally do at left tackle and he never he just never went out there i think they do have a lot of trust in rashad hill i think they understand that he knows the system really well the one thing about rashad hill that's a big question mark is his run blocking i think he's a much better pass blocker than he is as a run blocker but i mean this is a running football

team as we all know mike z Zimmer is going to run the football. And so that's kind of the big question. But I do like what I saw from Ezra Cleveland in the preseason. I think he took a step forward. The question is now, can he do it week in and week out? Like we saw a spurt of it last year. The question is, can he be a consistent 16 game starter, stay available, stay playing the very high level?

Because he's going to be tested out the gate here pretty quick. I have a surprise for you, Jeremiah. Did you know I was going to do this? I have a surprise. Do you know what it is? Can you see what it is on your screen? No, I don't think you can. Okay.

Here is your surprise. Welcome in former Vikings lineman Alex Boone. The prodigal son returns. Alex Boone, my original offensive line partner. You're leaning in your chair and it's very loud, so don't do that. But Alex, what is going on, my friend? How are you? I'm doing fabulous, guys.

How are you? Jerm, how are you? I'm good, buddy. I'm good. I'm just hanging out here chasing kiddos trying to catch you. You have that gaggle of kids over there at the Boone household. Bro, you know how it is. You already know. You'm good. I'm just hanging out here chasing kiddos trying to catch you. You have that gaggle of kids over there at the Boone household. Bro, you know how it is. You already know. You already know. No, I was going to say

you're lucky you're not in the room right now because I'd fine you for that beard for sure. Okay. So there's the guy with the suave haircut. Looks like he's modeling for GQ over here. What do you want me to say, dude? I got to do what I got to do. I'm a dad now, man. I'm a dad of four. It's crazy.

So, Jeremiah, we planned this behind your back for Alex to surprise you. So you're talking about Ezra Cleveland moving to tackle. And I'm like, okay, come on in, Alex. Yeah, sure. I like this talk right now. Ezra Cleveland to tackle. Why don't they trust him out there? I wonder if it's because there's $35 million behind him.

Well, I mean, we played the experiment when we had like five tackles get hurt and they tried to put you out there, and that was not a good thing. First of all, they didn't put me out there. I asked them to, and no, I said, listen, instead of making this musical chairs, why don't you just move me out and put germ where i'm at and they were like we don't need anything from you and i was like okay well then i guess we'll just keep roll the bodies out there here we go well i mean tell me if you i mean you could correct me grumban you watch them too but i thought that i mean i thought that ezra was

a capable guard i don't know if he's going to be the road grader what they want him to be but i think he's capable especially if you've got a guy in wyatt davis who's just fat and out of shape and can't make it i mean you've got to have someone that's capable in there and it's so funny you say that because i was just listening to baldinger talk about all these guys these guys come in the league they're so ready nowadays dude it's the exact opposite these guys have no idea where to stand in a huddle i'm in arizona the kid goes hey uh where do i stand in the huddle that's the dumbest question i've ever heard in my life like you got to be an idiot he was like dude we never huddled from high school on and i'm looking at this picture and i'm

like i get it now i get like i get why the league's mad at the ncaa i get why the ncaa is like we're gonna do whatever we want, that you're going to like it. They play fake football down there. And it drives me nuts because everyone's like, well, how come you don't like college ball? Because throwing it up there 50% of the time to see who's going to catch it's not football to me. That's just not fun. And then you talk about the kids that they're putting in this league right now, and they don't even understand simple things like power, zone, slant. All these things are like, what is this? And you're like, are you an idiot?

Could you seriously ask any dumber question than that? They're like, we just never did this. And you're like, wow, I guess you never did. That's actually not a dumb question anymore. I think you're absolutely right in the fact that there's no development in college football anymore. The good guys show up to college football and they're good. And then as they transition to the league, they're no longer top dogs and there's's no development there which is why i think you're seeing less and less offensive linemen that get drafted early play early i mean even first and second round picks go out there and really

struggle because guess what you have to listen to a formation you have to listen to what the defense is you have to understand checks and there's no longer like you look to the sideline and there's a giant poster board of like a poop a frog and and a donkey. And like, you know, which like, you know, which plays being run, like you actually have to analyze football. And when you look at especially from the offensive line position, there's none of that in college football. And I think that that's really bleeding pressures in the NFL now than there was even five years ago. And last year, the NFL leader in sacks allowed was the top draft pick, Andrew Thomas, who really struggled for the New York Giants. And tell me your opinion on this, guys. But I think it was a flawed approach to begin with, with the Vikings drafting two guys to fill those spots immediately. And now they've had to scramble with Rashad and playing Ole Udo, a former tackle at guard. You know, I think you're right. But I think the biggest one was we couldn't afford to go out and get big name starters in free agency.

I mean, if we spent money on Tomlinson, we spent money on guys on the defensive side. But as we've talked about for two years, Matt, we just kicked the can of offensive line like we'll fix it down the road and when you say that you're banking on the draft to fix your problems which is essentially just a crap shoot because some guys are gonna pan out like Justin Jefferson superstar out the gate right you got Ezra Cleveland okay he needs some development but now you draft two guys that you're like we need to plug and play right now and they're not really gonna be ready to go by the start of the season and you're kind of just stuck between a rock and a hard place of now what do we go sign a guy off a street that's played before or do we just kind of ride it out with these guys but to be fair i mean a lot of it

a lot of it does fall in the player like you have to learn really fast in the nfl like what's important and what's not because there's a million things that you're constantly looking at what they don't teach you right away is like, there are some things you don't have to understand. So you throw this book at these kids that have never had to understand anything. And you're like, you have to understand all this. And not only this, but you have to be confident in your calls. And you have to know the calls as soon as they happen.

Like how many times you get into a game with a young player and he just kind of shits down his leg and you're like, dude, what's the call? And he's like, bro, did we go over this? And you're like, oh my the call he's like bro did we go over this and you're like oh my is he for real with this like yes we went over it all week and you're like they're just mentally they're not ready and they go out there and they get thrown to the wolves and it's so hard because people are like well justin jefferson did great yeah a receiver is different than an offensive lineman the minute you get thrown into combat everything starts changing in your mind when you start playing grown men that are feasting on your quarterback and that's how they make a

living like you can't imagine the intensity and jerk you know how many times did we play guys that they just hated us to hate us and they were like i am going to just wipe the floor and you were like let's go and like these young kids are like are you gonna egg him on you'd be like yeah dude you want him as pissed off as you can. You want the slobbery dog getting even sloppier because that's when they're going to start making mistakes or you're going to start beating the living hell out of them. And that's when it's going to become fun. They don't understand that you've got to raise the bar every single day.

That's another thing. The learning process for an offensive lineman has to continuously be gradual. You have to start understanding safeties because they start asking you more questions and they start expecting you to develop the young guys at a rapid rate because they can't develop them fast enough. They need your help too because if they have somebody in their ear who's constantly like, hey, out there in 9-on-9 today, you didn't get the safety. What the hell are you doing, dude?

You need to know that when safety comes down, they're constantly expecting you to be able to know more and teach more and know these things. And these young kids that are coming in are just – they're different than the older guys. They see football differently and they, like, they don't want to understand it the way we do. And they're like, well, dude, it's just power. And you're like, yeah, but it changes if one guy moves out of place. Like, it becomes a whole different play. And they're like, whatever, dude.

It's power is power. It is what – you're like, oh, my God. It doesn't work like that. You can't just And they're like, whatever, dude, it's powers power. It is what you're like. Oh my God. It doesn't work like that. You can't just, this isn't Northwestern dude. We're not, we're not just going out here for fun. Like I got to get paid, bro. Like we don't have fun. When you lose in this league, it's not fun.

And they don't understand that until they start losing. Well, here's the problem. As I look at this Vikings offensive line room, who's that guy? You know what I mean? Like I'm wondering who is the vet that's in that room. That's going to stand up. Here's how we do it. Like I love Rashad Hill to death,

but like I remember when he was a young guy, but he's also just, some guys aren't built like that. Like that's just not how they're built to lead or built to teach or do those things. And so as I'm looking in the room, I'm like, it has to fall as weird as it is.

I think it falls on Mason it is i think it falls on mason cole and i think it falls on garrett bradbury those are the two guys that i think have to take control of that room from the player's standpoint and say hey here's how we do things here's how we do things the right way but when you only have two of those guys that makes it really really hard to develop from a peer-to-peer standpoint i'll be fair with you though i think to be honest with you i think. I think, to be honest with you, I think O'Neal needs to be one of those guys, too. You're a guy that's been talked about for a while now. You're a guy that's supposed to have this repertoire of you know how

to be a pro. You show up week in and week out. You're kind of like the tough guy. I think as much as a center, and a center will always help you being the leader because he's the guy that makes the calls. So if he's the one that's like vocally being verbal all week, in the game it just kind of comes second nature. Like in San Fran, I had Goody. Here we had Berger. Like those guys had been around for a while, so it was easy for them, and they were confident enough. But then you throw a guy like Nick Easton in, right?

And then all of a sudden some things would get a little funky and things would change. You'd kind of be like, wait, wait, what's going on with this? We didn't talk about that on Thursday's walkthrough. I'm almost – like, dude, I remember, and you might have been there in Jacksonville when he made a call. We all looked at him like, wait a minute. That doesn't exist.

That doesn't exist. That call doesn't exist. Remember, he wanted to go – he wanted to take zone out to the corner, and we were like, dude, that's the corner. You can't run out there. He was like, just go. We were like, Tony's going to kill us. us yeah and he dang near did in the meeting room dude didn't he he was like okay wise guys which one of you idiots which one of you guys went out to the corner and i'm like

oh my god he's gonna well the best was the best was nick tried to justify it so nick not only mind you guys nick easton would he's from Harvard, right? So the dude's just built to argue. And he automatically thinks he's right. And so him and Tony would go rounds and rounds and rounds. And you could see it building. And so I used to just sit back and be like, oh, well, here goes 20 minutes. I'm going to go get a cup of coffee.

Because the two of them would just try and justify it. And Tony would just sit there like, no, no, no. And and then nick would be like but if this guy were to do this and if that right right and that's what i thought i saw because he kind of moved this way but he didn't really go that way so i pushed it to the corner no yeah it was always the little things like i could have swore i saw him leaning you'd be like now what kind of a stupid answer is that like you're gonna get us all in trouble now like it was like the big brothers yelling at the little brother we and it was funny because on film you could see all of us looking at the same time like wait what he was like now i know who i think it was he's circling nick in this you know he always did that he always

circled the guy he was talking about you'd be like oh yeah he's coming but that's the problem now and like if you don't have a leader in that room someone that number one's gonna take all the lickings when they come down because we always said at the bottom of the hill and that's just how old line play was like you it's been like that especially zimmer was coming downhill and we were waiting at the bottom every day and it was like oh boy here we go but then all of a sudden you turn around it was like well who is everyone gonna lean on who's gonna get yelled at the most if you don't have a rock in that room that's like hey guys it's okay we're going to be okay like we just got to figure a few things out like always trying to pull

you back together everything goes sideways quickly and we see this football players like people be like i don't know why that offense just can't get going you're like i know exactly why there's too much miscommunication up front guys are looking around all the time like they don't know where they're going there's too much pointing they're just not on the same page when you get those young guys into a room with a lot of vets like i came into a room with a ton of vets it was just me and the next guy was like year four so i was like you had to learn quickly like hey why are you screwing this up in scout team or why are you screwing this up against the one defense you don't have time to mess around dude like this is your spot if you want it but you can't have it if you're not ready and i was like man this is now it's like okay honey now

here we go this is what we're going to learn today this is cover two why do we call it two and you're like i am really not sitting in a meeting about cover two am i really they're like just just listen just sit and listen i'm like oh my gosh because they don't know this this stuff and they can't handle it when you try to force feed it to them. Let me ask you, fellas, a question about moving from tackle to guard because, Alex, you played tackle in college, right, and then moved to guard in the NFL. And, Jeremiah, you've played everything. So this is a thing that two guys are having to do on this offensive line,

Ole Udo and Ezra Cleveland, what are the differences, the challenges, and is this a good idea to be moving tackles to guard? I'll let you go first. Yeah. So I think the biggest thing is you're looking at an NFL that for whatever reason, and I want to say Zach Martin's the guy that started it. Zach Martin was an all pro or all American left tackle at Notre Dame, right? Dude was an absolute stud. They bring him to the NFL in Dallas and they move him to guard. And all of a sudden he's an all pro.

And everyone's like, oh, this is the formula, right? You take these really good tackles and you put them at guard in the NFL. And now we have like this all world offensive line. So I think that started the trend and you started to see more and more people do it. I also think that the reason that people want to put tackles to guard is that the three techniques are developing at a rapid rate in the NFL to become legitimate pass rushers. And people automatically think if you play tackle, you're a better pass rusher than or better pass protector than if you just play guard. Now, the problem with that is your footwork and everything is

completely different from guard to tackle, especially in the run game. I was just watching a guy from North Dakota State who plays tackle and he started playing guard and he was playing really good at tackle. So he guard his footworks getting caught in the air because these dudes are into him quicker. And everything just happens so much faster at guard that it takes a long time to get the timing down. I mean, it does. It's not just like, hey, you play tackle. Hey, go play guard. I mean, it takes an entire offseason, entire training camp, some preseason games to start understanding the speed of a new position just because it's on the offensive line doesn't mean it's all the same and so for me the biggest difference especially so take that whole conversation Alex and I just had about development

right that whole conversation about the mental development the physical development and then you throw on top of that hey learn a new position it is too much for a lot of guys to handle, especially near one in two of their careers. I agree. And I think that the biggest thing that people don't hit on is how, like Jerm said, it's such a different atmosphere when you put your hand on and someone's like an inch away from you, as opposed to like those wide nines you used to see, especially like in college and like in the NFL at times. He's right when he says that, but I think the biggest problem

that people don't understand is that it's more of a fight. Like you have to be tougher on the inside. On the outside, you can get away with a lot of like grappling with just your hands. Like a lot of those defensive ends don't want to touch you. They want to get away from you. Whereas defensive tackles, on the other hand, are being taught to be more like Aaron Donald. Like Aaron Donald's kind of setting this bar where they're kind of like,

who's going to be the next one, right? And we saw who was it, Grady Jarrett down in Atlanta. Everybody was like, oh, he's going to be the next one, right? He hasn't really ascended to an even close level to Aaron Donald. But when Jerm talks about these three techniques getting better, what they're doing too is they're putting defensive ends now at three techniques. And they're like, you get into these third down situations, and they're like, these guards are so short,

they don't understand how to use their length. and so they like get caught trying to turn open and these defensive ends are just prying dudes open and you're like what is all this pressure from the inside and it's because they don't teach them all these things like hey listen man you're short so you got to go start the fight sooner like you got to get on these dudes as opposed to like when they start taking these tackles that are like six foot five and above and moving the guard they're not doing it right they don't understand like the reason a lot of guys want to move you in like number one is because you're one of the best five and they got to find a spot for you and they're not going to just move a dude into center like you're never just going to be like hey go snap the ball like you got that's a different level position you got to really have a sack on

you to be like i'm going to snap this ball and make all these calls like i know what i'm doing i've always had a respect for those guys. But when you move a tackle to guard, these guys, they don't understand like, hey, man, you're so much longer than everybody else. Why don't you get off the ball? Why don't you use your hands more? Why don't you give these D tackles something to fight with? They're just going to continue to run through you until you show them that you can stop

that. And when I got moved in, it was the day before camp. Thank God Joe Staley called me. He was like, hey, man, I'm just giving you a heads up. I ran into Harbaugh. He's going to move you into right guard. He's like, I know that it was going to be you and Anthony for the right tackle. He's like, but he'd rather just move you to right guard and leave Anthony at tackle.

He's like, you better practice a little bit before you get out here. This is like the day before. I'm like, dude, are you kidding me? Thank God my mentor at the time was one of the best guards ever and so he was like five minutes he was like bro listen fight in the phone booth don't take a big set and use your hands and i was like anything else he was like fight in the phone booth just get ready for it because it all happens so quickly and you have no space to maneuver which is it's great because you're kind of like sealed in there but at the same time when you mess up everyone sees it a lot worse like if a tackle messes up there's a good chance the

quarterback can step up guard screws up quarterback's running for his life because you can't step up into it you gotta start running around guys so you're like dude at some point these guys that they keep moving in you have to understand like what are my advantages of being longer than everybody else well i should probably start the fight sooner because I can have more recovery time. Like these are all things you had to learn really quickly. And I played when I got out there, they had just signed Leonard Davis the day of camp and seeing him at like six foot nine, 400 pounds. I was like, dude, this guy's a monster. And he was like, bro, use your arms. I remember he was like, Hey man, you better use them arms you better use them or

they're gonna use them against you i was like what he was like bro throw them hands son i was like all right and and i started doing it and then like he was like bro that's exactly what you need to do and you see these guys and it goes back to the development these coaches don't understand what they have listen you might not have a guard but you're gonna have to throw this kid in there teach him everything he needs to know. What's going to make him good? What's going to make you bad? Like standing up tall, getting run back into the quarterback, that's bad.

But being able to use your length and keep guys away from you, send twists sooner, being able to recognize these things, like these are part of the development that I feel like coaches at times are just slack and lack because they don't want to have to sit out there all day and coach these things and be like, dude, let's do it again. Throw your hands. Let's do it again. Throw your hands.

Like I get why they're pissed off and they're like, we don't have all day for this. But at the same time, these kids that are so long, you just see them get steamrolled all day. And you're like, where's someone to help this kid? Good God. Hey, everybody. The season is on the way.

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all out at sodastick.com that is s-o-t-a-s-t-i-c-k.com everything is screen printed here in minnesota and i can tell you that the shirts are comfortable and they last because half of my S-T-I-C-K dot com. Everything is screen printed here in Minnesota. And I can tell you that the shirts are comfortable and they last because half of my closet is now soda stick at this point. Again, that's soda stick dot com. Minnesota sports inspired goods. And keep your eye out for our soda stick giveaways. I mean, I think another piece, too, is sometimes I think coaches take for granted the fact that these guys don't understand that. And that, again, goes back to the development piece in college, that they think that some of these old school coaches, right, that have been in the league a long time,

they still think it's the old school way of coaching in college, of the way the guys are developed and the way the game is developed. But the way the game's gone in college and NFL have taken completely different paths. So they get these kids and like everything that Alex is saying is true. But I think a lot of times coaches think like, well, he knows he needs to throw his hands. He knows he's longer than these guys in there, so he'll just figure it out. But that's just not true because they just don't understand that. And then the other thing, too, in the middle is when you're a tackle, 90% of the time, it's you one-on-one versus that defensive end.

I mean, whether it's run game or whether it's the pass game you go inside you're not talking combination blocks with your tackle combination blocks with your center inside twist stunts and now you have to pay attention to these little things called linebackers that move all around inside like that your eye discipline and everything is so different when you move from tackle to guard because you can find some of the dumbest players that are most athletically gifted and say go play tackle block the defensive end 90 of the time you're gonna be right but you start moving guys inside that's where you really start to see the mental development of

hey you have to understand like if that mic pushes two feet to the left and that safety on the back side drops down in we have to make a new count that dude's no longer the mic he's now the will and you now push it all back and mind you this is all going set hot like right it's so quickly it's funny though how fast you see that once you move in because germs right like when you're a tackle you're an idiot like who are you blocking the end well we're going the other way okay then i'm blocking the three technique yeah zone one take a step the way you're going someone's gonna be there right you're gonna you'll's going to be there. Right. You're going to fit into somebody. And if you don't, just keep going on that track because you'll find somebody. Like, it's so easy.

But when you move in, especially, like, when I was in San Fran and Giro's offense, Goody couldn't bend over. So, he'd say, hey, you've got to look back to Cap. So, I'd have to be looking back, having these conversations, and he'd be like, he's screaming in Kansas City. You think the safety's down? I'm like, I don't know, dude. I don't know. He's like, look. I'm looking.

I'm like, no. Okay. We'll keep it on. I'm like, dude, are we really doing this right now? But these are all the things when you move in, you have to know these. Like why is the safety down important? Because like Jerm said, you have to re-mic it now. Now all of a sudden everybody's angles change.

Everything becomes – because eventually teams will be smart enough to bring safeties down to stretch you way out to the corner as opposed to you saying okay well we're gonna let that dude dangle the ball's gonna cut back anyways we're just gonna straighten everybody up like that's when i was like wow you guys really do do a lot in here don't you and they were like yeah we do i was like dude as a tackle you're like are you coming with me you are great we're good like no worries i just like you know we're talking about like, yeah, we do. I was like, dude, as a tackle, you're like, are you coming with me? You are great. We're good. Like, no worries. I just,

I can remember talking about like how much football we're talking about in football. Yeah. I was just, I'm all trying not to scream football, which is tremendous. We're talking to the deep X's and O's of re-mic and safeties and zones and twists and stunts.

And we haven't even seen a full game played in the NFL yet. No, I, yeah. And I know I don't want to stop the hardcore X's and O's, but I do want to ask you guys, since Jeremiah, you and I have only talked just like on the phone and same with you, Alex, like, do you guys think this is going to work out?

Like not just the offensive line, but this year for the Vikings. I mean, I have not asked you this question, Jeremiah. You know, I'm willing, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. They're professionals, even if they're young. I'm willing to give this offensive line the benefit of the doubt until they prove me wrong, because it's hard to say last year wasn't more of a rock bottom moment for this offensive line. So they put some new pieces in. They brought some new guys in. There's still some familiar faces. So I'm willing to give this offensive line the benefit of the doubt until they prove me wrong or prove me right

they might be good i mean we don't know udah could go out there and play really well he's developed he's spent a couple years in the nfl he might be able to go out there brian o'neill can make a huge jump and be an all-pro right tackle right and then you start rotating some of these young guys in and getting them reps and they can develop too but i think it's going to be really tough sledding i think that there's gonna be a lot of lumps because when you play young guys you take a lot of lumps with the young guys as they learn so it's gonna be really really hard for this team to really come out the gate and I think it's gonna be even a step back from where they ended the season last year but I think the ceiling potential for this offensive line is much higher than it was

last year I would agree with that but i would say here's going to be the best thing for them is going to be dalvin cook their whole offense is basically designed around one guy listen we're gonna throw this guy at him 35 times a game if you guys can just barrel down for 35 times the other pass plays will be as simple as possible i mean how much play action do you get out i mean realistically when you think about it if you're in a run first offense like they're in, or like somebody like Arthur Smith on in Atlanta, right? You're really only drop back passing like what maybe 12 times a game because you have 12 third downs. That's about it. Other than that, everything is a play action and

RPO or something off the run. Like, when you get into this offense as an offensive line, whether you're developed or not, you should be licking your chops. Like you should be looking around like this is all we have to do. We just got to unleash this guy 35 times a game and we're going to everything's going to work out. This is fabulous. Guys, how could we screw this up? Like this is how you want to come into the NFL. You want to do it your way. You want to do it mauling people first and then you learn the technique side later. Because if this is like the one caveat to

not being developed enough you just say hey listen let's throw them in a run first offense and they'll trial by fire they'll figure it out half the time there's gonna be a nine-man box anyways they'll be able to see the blitzes coming from a mile away third down people are probably gonna try and get exotic but at the same time if we can keep those third and manageable we'll be fine like it turns into a really simple style offense that's based on you just being a badass and going out and kicking people around. That's super fun. And as a rookie and someone who's – you're probably not as developed as you want to be,

but in your mind you think you are. You're like, man, this really is not that difficult. We're really just kind of miking a few people, and after that, we're just going out and running through people and letting Dalvin do what he does best. Yeah, I mean, a running back will always – a good running back will always make you right as an offensive line. liking a few people. And after that, we're just going out and running through people and letting Dalvin do what he does best. Yeah. I mean, a running back will always, a good running back will always make you right as an offensive line.

And I think the biggest thing too, is as long as all five guys, I'll call it six guys, sick included tight end are doing the same thing. It doesn't necessarily have to be the right thing. Just make sure they're all doing the same thing. And you have a good enough back that can usually make you right, which what killed them at times last year you saw three guys doing one thing four guys doing another and then the mic standing in the hole unblocked and it's a tfl and then to

alex's point it's no longer third and four it's now third and 11 third and 12 and then your odds just plummet of getting that right right we did see one particular offensive lineman not know which direction right or left to go at times so that that person won't hurt you now you can't hurt me you can't hurt me anymore matt i'm safe oh uh well drew samia was one of them but dakota dozier drove jeremiah really insane so drew samia dakota dozer i i would do these last year like matt would call me and we'd open thing he'd be like you looked angry yeah i am angry because i'm sitting at home watching this going i can know my lefts from my rights i can know to step this way or step that way like it's the simplest things killed us at guard last year it was painful to watch and this is why people are

like sometimes people are like dude you're a hater i'm like dude i'm not a hater i just know when i'm seeing good football and it's not hard you're either a badass or you're not and it's these dudes that come out and pretend to be that drive me nuts because i'm like listen man all you got to do is fist fight this guy for five seconds like you just got to be real quick with your feet and real smooth with your hands and you'll be fine but they're not and matt when Matt, when we talk, I told you about Udo. Why was I worried? Because the Mike linebacker ran right through the A gap and the dude had no wherewithal

to be like, maybe I'll just throw a hand. We've talked about that. We've talked about that numerous. They ran under center scat protection like four times last year and they were like, Mike in the A gap, not my problem. Yes, it is your problem. Step in there. It is your problem. See, this goes back to 2020.

We can't live in 2020. I'll get angry. I cannot live in 2020. No, because we're living there now because they haven't shown us anything better yet. Like, dude, you guys didn't come out and this is another thing, and this is my biggest gripe right now with the NFL is that these people have the audacity to come out and be like, well, we're not going to play our starters in the preseason because we don't want them to get hurt

you're right you'd rather them get hurt in the regular season I totally understand that that makes total sense you're like how can you seriously throw out an offense that has not been together at all in a live situation and say good luck for 17 games like Jerm you and I both know that sometimes this game is a catch-22 and the things that make you great will wear you down. And that's how you've got to get tough. And that's another thing. These guys are like, oh, my toe hurts. I'm out.

My finger hurts. I'm out. Like, Jerm, we know what real injuries are. We saw a room filled with them, and guys were like, listen, shut your mouth right now. Like, don't come over here bringing that finger in my face because i'll show you a leg and an arm that's not hanging on properly like you have to sometimes at some point bite down and be like if i want to be a champion i have to fight through it and too many teams tap out now too early and

they don't know what's going on because they're not playing in the preseason they're not together and they're not starting properly and they're like well it's just one game what's one game one game is huge in this league that's a game that you just lost because you weren't prepared and they're not starting properly and they're like, well, it's just one game. What's one game? One game is huge in this league. That's a game that you just lost because you weren't prepared. And then you look at Tampa and I think about a guy like Bruce Arians and how tough he was and how much he doesn't give a shit about anything. Sitting in this guy's meeting made me laugh so much. But at the same time, I was so afraid because I didn't know if he was talking to me directly or someone around me.

But, like like he just goes off and I'm like this is how football should be like it brought fun back to football and he's like listen you're gonna work for every inch and you're gonna work for every yard and you got to get out there you got to get up and he's throwing Tom Brady on the preseason and I'm looking over here at the Vikings and they're not throwing anybody out there and I'm like wait a minute did I just see Patrick Mahomes playing against you? The, like, number one player in the world just went out in the preseason, played, like, three series, and you're not going to throw anybody out there?

Like, at what point are you like, hey, man, we got to make sure we're good when we go live? I mean, Jer, maybe you don't agree with me, but I feel like this league is just getting more watered down every year. And it's like, well, we got to be prepared for this. We got to take into account for this. You're thinking about too much instead of just being like, listen, go play football. Let's make sure we got this

right because when game one comes, we don't want to go in at halftime going, boy, guys, that was a bad idea. I mean, I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't necessarily think you're wrong. I think that the NFL has grown more cautious because the half-life of coaches has just plummeted. If you're a coach and you

imagine, okay, Patrick Mahomes goes out there coach and you – I mean, imagine, okay, Patrick Mahomes goes out there, right, and gets hurt. I mean, heaven forbid. The dude who's going to fall on the sword is the head coach. And then also now say that's the team that's not the defending Super Bowl runner-up, right? Now say it's Mike Zimmer. When Mike Zimmer throws Kirk Cousins out there and Dalvin Cook and –

I mean, I'm not wishing this on anyone, but they get an injury that might put them out for six, eight weeks or the season. Now they're like, man, I'm probably fired. Like I probably don't have a job. And I think people are looking at it like that from a self-preservation standpoint. We look at it from players' self-preservation standpoints all the time. I think that the coaching of the win now mentality plays a lot of factor into that but i also agree with the fact that i think kids are coming into the nfl now

coming from a college system that's like they live in the training room recover getting there you do if you don't feel 100 don't play like that's you never feel 100 and i talk to trainers i mean that i have buddies all over that are ted trainers, Big Ten, SEC, whatever. And they're like, kids just they don't play if they don't feel 100 percent. So they get to the NFL and they think if I'm not 100 percent, I can't play. Well, the problem is you don't have one hundred five kids on your team where you got fifty three and only forty seven dress like you got to play. Well, the other thing now about the preseason, I've always been in favor of not playing the guys that I don't think need it. Like Justin Jefferson, I don't think needs to play through being banged up with his AC joint, putting him at any risk.

But only Udo not getting a ton of reps in the in the preseason is to me bizarre. He sat out the first preseason game. The guy has never played guard before. So some of these decisions cannot be made like unilaterally. It needs to be made, I think, player by player. And then, yeah, I tweeted when that sack happened, like, you know what I've learned from doing the show with Jeremiah? You should block the guy right in front of the quarterback. It's really, really detailed stuff we do here on the show. It's crazy. If someone coming right down the middle, you should probably do something about that. I just want to know how the meeting went the next day when that play came on.

Do you think he went like this? Do you think he was probably like, oh, my God, here it comes? That's the one where two plays before it, you go, hey, I got to go to the bathroom. And you just kind of hide in the stall, and you hope they just brush by it. And you're like, oh, we'll get it. I got piss test? Piss test? Piss test? I got to take was that? We'll get it. So I got pissed ass, pissed ass, pissed ass.

I got to take a piss. I'll be back. I'm a shy Pierce. It might be a while. Now I want to hear a little bit more about Alex before we wrap up and your experience from last year, but how I would love to just go back and forth because it's football starting.

And the way that this came about was Alex called me and said, I want to talk about football. So here we are. I would love to just go back and forth with you guys. Tell me things you're excited about with the football season, because it's been a long time. It feels like it's the longest offseason and now we're ready. So maybe, Jeremiah, you can start. We could just go back and forth a little bit on just anything you want, what you're excited about 2021 NFL season.

You know, I'm really excited about the rookie quarterbacks this year. I think that there's a good class of them. You got Fields, you got Trey Lance, you got Trevor Lawrence, I mean, Zach Wilson, you got a bunch of these guys. And it's always fun to be like, who's going to be the guy that emerges and who's going to be the guy that you just never hear from again. And personally, I know this is not what NFC North fans want to hear. I think Fields is the best out of the class.

I think he's the guy that can have the highest ceiling ceiling i also think he's gonna find the field pretty early because i mean yes the whole andy dalton's our starter thing's gonna last for a week or two before he's out there but i like field so first of all i'm excited to see the rookie quarterback class because it's always fun to see who lights it up and who just can't handle it i like that i just don't know if i agree with you that Justin Fields let me do it. With what we saw from Trey Lance. Why would you agree with me for anything? I wouldn't because there's something about that X factor, right, of Trey Lance being able to escape and just the way that we saw him running around.

As an offensive lineman, you get excited. And I think that the problem is Justin Fields is too refined for his own good. And whatever they're doing in Chicago is dumb. Because to not throw him out there makes me think this. Either you're not confident enough in your run game that he can support you in the pass game, or you can't protect him standing back in the pocket. So you're basically like, listen, we're not going to ruin the franchise. We're going to throw this other kid out there who we think is the first quarterback,

but is really not because there we go again. Here was another guy who barely played. Andy Dalton barely played in the preseason. Like, dude, if you're a number one starter and you're a guy who's an all-pro every year, I get it. Like, Aaron Rodgers, you don't have to do anything. Like, we're just trying to make you happy. You don't screw up our teams that we like.

Like, we're just like, hey, man, be cool. Just be just be chill we're all friends but you throw out there guys like andy dalton who haven't played all preseason you're like what do you you honestly think you're going to go into the north a division that is so tough on itself and you're just going to come out victorious because andy dalton somehow miraculously turned into a phenomenal quarterback like i just don't believe that and as a team and as players, I'm not believing that either. I'm like, oh, man, we're in for it. And this is going to be a cluster until they throw Justin in. And then depending on how that goes, that could be another cluster.

It's just you're running into situation into situation. I think the rookie quarterbacks are super intriguing. I think the number one thing I'm really excited for is to see how Zach Wilson and the Jets do. And I don't know why. I'm a huge Robert Sala fan I got a chance to meet him when they played the Packers and the NFC championship I went out to that game and I got to go out and in the locker room and talk to some of the guys as we game and I ran into Robert Sala and I was like just talking to him and just the way he talks his energy and like his enthusiasm for the game. And he was like, did you see Fred Warner?

Did you see that stick he made? Just the way you're like, this guy is pure football. It's oozing from his pores. You're like, I want to play for a guy like this. And I see what he has down in New York. And he's got this new quarterback. And you're like, dude, that could be really fun. Especially because I think that whole division is interesting.

You have the Bills who have just been dominant and look like they're going to be dominant because of your boy Stefan Diggs, which by the way, can anyone explain to me why we would get rid of that kid? Don't go there. Don't even start that. You know me. I love rabbit holes. Don't even start it. I used to pull everybody down the rabbit hole with me every day like, listen,

follow me. They'd be like, shut up, dude. Alright, so anyways. But then you have this thing in the Patriots and people are still surprised like can you believe you cut cam newton can you believe that you're an idiot and don't understand bill belichick yet like he's been doing this for 60 years like seriously i'm doing a show on serious the day the day before the cuts and they're like what do you think's gonna happen i'm like dude a total bill belichick move would be to start mac jones like no question the ready. Clearly, everyone's saying he's ready. Then everyone's like, can you believe?

And I'm like, dude, what are you talking about? But then you go down to, like, Miami and think about Tua and how, like, the owner really wants to hold the Sean Watson. Like, this whole NFC East is going to be so fun to watch just because it's either going to be a dumpster fire or it's going to rise to the top. Okay, I'll give you one, and you guys react to it or give you more. And then we'll get Alex's life story quickly. Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills are good. Like think about this,

man. I, when I grew up, it was Bernie Kosar and Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas and Leroy Horde came on the show one time, Eric Metcalf. They haven't freaking been good since then. I mean, these two teams at the same time, they played in the divisional round of the 1989 AFC playoffs. And I swear they haven't been that competitive since the early 90s. I think it's just awesome. Chiefs, Bills, Browns, those three teams being favorites. I mean, we are throwing it way back to have that happen. I'm super excited for the guys up in Buffalo. So, I mean, I was there in 18 when like Josh first got there and we were six and ten.

We were bad. And like to watch McDermott and Bean and understand how they wanted to build that team and how they wanted that team to build. And they've literally I mean, they've turned down talented players like you don't fit our culture and you don't see that very much in the NFL. Like so much in thefl is we want the best player available that you hear it all the time like the bills are very much willing to be like interview guy bring i'm like i don't think you fit well in our locker room we got a good thing going so we're gonna pass i think that's really important there and then you flip it to the browns like you said i mean i love watching that offensive line play that offensive line is

just dominant and i mean they got two backs that could be starting in any place i mean cream hunt and chubb could literally be starters anywhere else in the nfl but they're together on the same team that's scary that's just scary and i think everyone a couple years back when the bill when the browns got all that talent we're like oh man and then it didn't work out so they kind of wrote them off i think they're finally starting to put the pieces together because of our guy Stefanski. I think Stefanski's done a phenomenal job out there, and I'm excited.

Again, those two teams I think will meet in the playoffs in one way or another. I mean, it's probably going to happen. Now, the other thing I'm excited about is the continuing quarterback carousel dumpster fire in the AFC West with the Denver Broncos. So I think that you're going to be like, okay, Teddy, but maybe Drew Locke. But Drew Locke, but maybe Teddy or somebody else.

I think that whole saga that's been there of like, they weren't going to name a starter, and then they come out the next day and they're like, Teddy's our starter. And then everyone loses their mind because he has a decent preseason game. I think that's going to be something to watch over the course of the year because as soon as something goes wrong there, you're gonna hear is well they passed on fields like i just think that that's gonna be an interesting storyline mostly because i am from denver my dad talks about all the time and he just talks about how it's literally all they

talk about 24 7 out in denver i think it's hilarious dude i love the fact that you brought up the bronze especially because john Dorsey does not get enough credit for what that guy did for that team. Like the way that he brought in talent originally, like everyone forgets about how he was like the guy that was like, nah, dude, like we got to bring in talent. We got to spend money. Then he left, and I feel like Andrew Barry and Stefanski

just inherited this fabulous team, and now they're turning it into like this, hey, what else can we do? And Jerm's right. They have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL today. No question. The best running backs. They have a system built around two guys who are super special. But defensively, can they be better in the back end?

That's one of their biggest points right now, especially when you play like a Lamar Jackson, who you're going to have to stop his run game first. But then he's going to go up top. And the one thing about Jero is he loves to air it out. And even Big Ben, he can take hit after hit after hit and still deliver the ball. Now he's getting older and he hasn't been able to do it so well,

but consider him on his comeback tour because he's got to do something this year fabulous. But the Browns are no question going to be in the playoffs this year. And what Stefanski's done is great because he's built this team around the ideology of family and we're all here together. We all do this together. But look what Brandon Bean's done with the Bills. And like Jerm said, the way that he brings people in and he's like, hey, listen, do you fit our scheme?

I don't know. Do you? Let's keep them around for a couple days. We'll see. We'll watch them. And the way that they kick guys out, like, we're good. We don't really need you. And you're like, did they really just release that?

Like, wow. These guys are doing it in their own fashion. And it's like this gritty, tough, we don't really need you. And you're like, did they really just release that? Like, wow. These guys are doing it in their own fashion. And it's like this gritty, tough, we don't care, we're going to knock you around, let our defense build up on you a little bit. Our offense is just going to have this star power, this quarterback that can do a lot of things. But at the same time, you never really know what he's doing. Like, you've got to love what McDermott's doing up in Buffalo just because, like you said, they haven't been good since the early 90s.

And for Cleveland and Buffalo, if they were to meet in the playoffs, dude, that would be some serious football. Talk about the fan fights. Could you imagine the Dogtown versus the Mafia? Dude, the Dogtown versus the Mafia. Dogtown would win a hundred times. Get out of here with your Ohio nonsense, dude.

I'm with Bill's Mafia all day. All right, Alex, why don't, before we wrap up, you give us a little life update. I mean, I'm not asking for any announcements here, but you're doing some XM stuff. You made a comeback last year after retiring, or not retiring, but not being in the NFL.

And then you make a comeback. It was like a semi-retired, and you did a radio show with me and then decided that was too boring for you and needed to try to make the NFL again. You you did and were signed with the Seahawks so your life's kind of been a little crazy over the last two years dude it's been so fun especially going to Seattle getting to play with Pete Carroll like playing against a guy that you hate for so long but you still love him and respect the living shit out of him and then you meet him and you're like this dude is so much cooler than I could have ever imagined like the way he breaks football down and the way

that he's just like football needs to be fun all day long because if it's not you're not learning you're not getting better like the music was always cranked up everybody was oh it was like a hundred thousand me's in one room like i couldn't believe it i got there and they were like dude just be you and i walked into this room and they were blaring Metallica. It was the team room. And everyone's going crazy. And I'm like, this is insane. Like this is what it's supposed to be.

And just how everybody was always so happy and like, dude, let's go practice. Let's go have fun. And you're like, I never really called it fun. But I guess it was always like, all right, here we go. Here we go. It's time to go lace them up and get yelled at for a couple hours. Like they were like, no, dude, we don't yell here. If we yell, we're yelling in excitement.

Everybody's always wearing wigs and just doing these awesome things to make you laugh all the time. And they're constantly like, dude, we've got to win. Winning's number one. Winning's key. And when you get into these team rooms and you see these guys and how they truly believe it, that comes into this development thing where I might not be developed all the way, but my coach believes in me enough that I'll figure it out.

And they start having this confidence. And that's what Pete is pushing on all his players. And every time there's a big hit, we have to watch it. And every time someone gets beat, we have to watch it because we have to learn from it. And they're laughing at you and they're pulling up old pictures of me. And I'm like, dude, who is finding all these? There's matchups of the day. They're like oh it's you versus monet and then monet stands up and like does the haka and you're like what is going on they're like oh it's gonna be a royal rumble

you're like we're not even wearing pads like who cares you're like okay like everything about it was just awesome and then to get to talk to pete and like break football down with him and how he talks about it like the people that he knows and the people that I know. And I'm like, I didn't realize that you were at Ohio State for a while. And he made me like try to sing the fight song and then yelled at me because I couldn't do it. And I was like, oh, like letting you down already.

And you know how it is, dude, football. It's so fun. Like that was what I wanted to do and just, you know. And I told you why I obviously couldn't come back. I mean, knees are old and bad. But they laughed at me when I told them I wanted to do and just you know and I told you why I obviously couldn't come back I mean knees are old and bad but they laughed at me when I told him I wanted to play 10 more years they were like bro your uh your knees don't look very good I was like yeah I know so well you will be popping into this show from time to time and you're doing stuff on XM you are an incredibly talented radio personality beyond just what you've had for a very good all pro NFL career.

So I was super excited for you last year. I know I was texting you along the way, but super excited to see you do something totally insane and come back to the NFL. So I appreciate this. This has been amazing. And the most I mean, we set the bar high for football-y football. We did. I think this is the highest it's ever gone with two offensive linemen breaking down Mike linebackers and changing it to the will and all that stuff. So I appreciate your time, man. This was super fun.

And we'll be doing this Tuesday morning left guard thing pretty regularly. So you're always welcome to pop in. Hell yeah, dude. I appreciate it, guys. I love it. Thanks so much for having me. Jeremy, you know I love you. You're the best, best bro we got a lot of stories to tell yeah we got to catch up soon buddy it's good seeing you and i i will say i'm thoroughly impressed of how you've

been able to put a muzzle on your cuss words as you've gone on air it's it's been a sight to see i don't know if they're ready for this podcast bro i mean i i was told to be a little calmer today so i was like you were you were good a little calmer today. You were good. You were good. I was proud of you. I told him to put it on 6 out of 10. This is like a 4. This is not a 4. I think this is a solid 4.

We're not ready for anything higher than that. That will be as the season goes along. Yeah, right. We'll see how it goes. Alright, thank you guys and thank you all for listening to this football event here on Purple