I really like to play inside. I really like being able to go one-on-one with an offensive lineman every play. At defensive end, you're more running up the field and containing more than you are just against an offensive lineman.
I love offensive physicality.
I'm not a huge offensive lineman.
I like to compare the two to a quarterback and a lineman. Being a brakeman is very physical and success is mostly determined by how fast you can push a sled for about 30 meters. Your position is won or lost by the hundredths of seconds you are faster than another individual. It's like the lineman who is there mostly for their athleticism and physicality. The driver, like the quarterback, possesses a unique skill that takes a lot longer to learn.
Defensive and offensive lineman control the game and true sports fans know that.
I think each guy, whether you're an offensive lineman, receiver, running back, you're focused on your job.
A great defensive lineman causes problems all day long for an offensive line - problems that don't have a way of getting into the official stats.
Being an offensive lineman, you always have the mindset of being an unsung hero - a lot of the people who look at the game follow the ball.
The kind of role I play is like an offensive lineman; doing a good job but not being noticed. I feel sorry for myself sometimes. But as long as the end result is there, I can dig it.
As an offensive lineman, having spatial awareness is key: understanding where the quarterback is going to be and understanding what the defensive end might do depending on the play we're running.
In college, my best friends were an offensive lineman, a wide receiver and defensive back. In the pros, when you leave the practice field, players go their separate ways because they are married.
Tight end is one of the hardest positions to play in football. It's right up there with quarterback and cornerback. You have to have the skills of a wide receiver and the strength of an offensive lineman, and it's not easy to balance those two.
Like any offensive lineman worth his shoulder pads, I'm a mudder. Football's just not football without a healthy dose of slipping, sliding, snow, or rain.
Hitting the sled is something a lineman can do to get ready for the season. A running back can't practice, carrying the ball by himself but a lineman can work on his blocking.
For me, I was always just a down-to-earth guy. From Day 1 my rookie year, I've been the same. As an offensive lineman, we just want to be under-the-radar, humble guys, just like to do our work and not be noticed.
If I could start with anybody, I would initially draft Tom Brady. Then I would go get Ray Lewis, and then maybe an offensive lineman, or somebody like Adrian Peterson.