Helen Moore has gotten a lot of opportunity beings between May and and now. Have you seen growth from him over that span?
Yeah, he's you know, Jalen has always been a consistent performer for us. He really has.
When he's filled in, he's done. I think it's been more so this year because now we're however many practices in and there's there's been no trend. So, uh, Jalen's gotten all the work and uh, he's always you know, Jalen. Jalen has a place in the NFL because he is a good pass blocker. He's competed well in pass blocking this year with with all the guys they have over their Russian run game is always something that he's challenged with.
Not that he doesn't like the run block or can it's just as how he's made up his body type.
He's not. He's not the it's explosive quick or it gets under people as well.
But but the guy's don't really He's always done a good job, always been proud of him, and yet he is he's gotten even better.
He is.
He's just he's a low burned guy and sometimes you think is he really getting it? But then all of a sudden you realize you see steady improvement in certain areas, and I've seen that continue.
Is that a challenge for both of your starting tackle right now? And we give its hand more the.
Run blocking Colton, Colton's a good run blocker. Colton's Colton's a better run blocker. Colton is a I won't put him quite in mcleinchy's categories a run blocker. Mike was the elite run blocker. Colton, Colton's not quite at that level, although he's getting there. He's really worked hard. Colton takes so much pride in everything he does. He gets better at everything.
The swing tackle.
If Jalen's the starting left tackle, if he had a game tonight.
Well still it's still up in the air.
I mean Hubbard and uh and uh Parker are the two guys competing for it.
So they're both working hard.
Well, we'll find out when we find out healthy.
What does he at, what does he bring his off the one you know John brings.
It's funny when John started playing more in the huddle, in the huddle of guys would come over and say, the guys didn't know johnas our first year with us. They're like, man, this guy, this guy's dog out there. This guy competes this guy if it's tough. This guy is good in the huddle, he's encouraging, he's gets fired up. I mean he's he's out there to win the game and plays really hard.
So he adds that level.
He adds a level of toughness from the line perspective, it's flex ability. I mean, that's the thing that you know, when we lost him on the field goal.
You know, when you're one week.
Last year, it's like, I remember the game since I remember, all of a sudden, we lost a guy that plays three spots on the inside. So he has flexibility, leadership, toughness, all the things that John Felician whiz. A guy that I remember when he came out of college, we had a local pro day and I was I was there working them out and every since, this guy's not gonna make it, and ten years later he is still going, and that that's kind of is a testament to the kind of guy he is.
McCaffrey Offensive Player of the Year. You know, he is the top of his position. So what do you look for, what do you work on with him to make him even better?
In the coming year.
Yeah, I mean he's like he came to me, he said, give me so many days and I'll stop missing some cuts. He misses cuts and h he you know, sometimes is in the sharp. Like we've said, I think I mentioned with all these players, you have to keep practicing, and football is a hard game to keep practicing because there's the hitting and the hitting and the heating. So you have to find line between getting ready and not beating
yourself up. It's it's there's always stuff to work on, and we add something to the offense, the defense presents something different. I mean, that's what I see from Christian is that you know, he's the common he's going to be.
He wants to be.
Perfect, so he's never he's never satisfied, and he's always hard on himself, and so he will just continue to work hard at everything he does and work and he'll make mistakes, you know, beat himself up and then do the best he can to fix it.
Trying to not let him get too down on when he does.
Yeah, his is not that because I've always said I don't like I've come around to not like coaching perfectionists because it's an imperfect game and I'm like, and you go in the tank because you're not perfect.
Yeah, get in line. Nobody.
None of us are coaches, played, none of us Christian. Christian is more. He's hard himself, but it isn't He's really really good. So when those hard plays come, there's not many of them. He probably overdes it, but it doesn't put him in a downward spile. It actually motivates him. Other guys, I'm not going to make names those. I'm like when they're reading a college report and they say this guy's a perfectionist, and I'm like, I almost want to cross him off my list.
In the offensive line.
World, John, do you envision a scenario like a couple of years ago where you're platooning him and one of the younger guys in a right guard.
You know it's not ideal, I I I I've said, but I do it.
I've done it. I've done a lot, and I've done it more with the idea like the old guy's in there, and then the young guy.
You put him in for a series.
You put him in for a series, and as the old guy goes to the season, he may start to descend because he is an aging veteran player, and as he descends, you're hoping that experience that you're giving a young guy in spurts help him get better. We did that with Spencer and Dan. We we reversed it. I think Spencer started and Dan Runsko gave him a rep. But you would hope that the off the young player would get better through the course. Enough they don't. The
old guy takes over. You try not to do it. You try to make a decision and say, hey, whoever that's starting right guard is or let whatever it is, whatever situation, that.
Guy's gonna be our starter, and you try to get that way.
But if you can't get it, if two guys are equal talent, it doesn't hurt to platoon him. I know the guys don't like it, cause I think they get they they feel like they get on a rhythm.
But as to say, do you think that Spencer Berger is still in the mix for a week one given his injury? Will you have enough?
We'll see when you get there. I mean I can't. I'm not gonna, you know, go there and try to figure out what what it looks like. At that point, we don't know.
Who will be up, you know, you're saying, if everybody says healthy and Spencer comes back, odds are the guys that have been there. But I'm not gonna rule Spencer out. You just don't know how it plays out. And and and you.
Know there is something too Monday night football, right is Monday right? Really?
Mona Yeah, and bright lights and Aaron Rod, you know the whole thing. And if you're a young player, you might hell, you never know, right, It's it's it's it's just it's tough things.
Williams will be available week one. Have you kept in touch with him at all? I haven't heard from Trent recently. No, No.
I heard from in the off season a little bit, and then, like I know, the off season was fairly normal until it got time to this the things start doing whatever it's doing, and I haven't heard from it.
Like with his with his game film, obviously, it is on such a different level than a lot of tackles. Is there is there still teachable stuff that he does because he is it's a different caliber tackle that guys can pick up on and try to replicate.
I mean, I'm sorry.
When you're just showing game film trends.
Oh yeah, yeah, no, yeah, no, it's yeah, there's stuff out there. I'm sorry, there's stuff both ways, pros and cons. I mean I go through the cutups now and Trend's not there. But you know, hey, if left tackle would have done this here would have been better for Look how this is a really good job by Trends. So like every other player, Trent just has some more elite plays and other guys, and as the years have gone on, maybe those have been a little less.
Still a very consistent performer and a great player.
Obviously won best in this generation, but but he definitely was a uh, you know, there's definitely stuff to point.
Out pro and con.
The center is in charge of setting the protections of the minuscrimmage on other teams that seem like the quarterback has that some other team.
Why do you like to give that responsibility to the Senate?
Well, the two things that we've eliminated, and this has always been a discussion in different systems to put the quarterback to point to Mike or let's center point the mic. It's always been age old. The teams that wanted the quarterback to do it or I don't know what they did because i've been I mean I was with Peyton, so he did everything. But the idea is to tell it the quarback to worry about playing quarterback, and you
know he'll understand the protection. I'll understands hostives and things like that. But to remike and do things like that. Those teams are very very you know, they're good at it, but it does take time away from other things. Doesn't mean they do won't be great quarterbacks. Tom Brady did and all those guys. So, but our system, I think one of the reasons that I bought one hundred percent believe it has to be the center is the moving pieces.
One of things that the way we set our protections up and Kyle did a great job of this, and we were doing it back in Washington and it kind of came that way from Houston. We move all the time, and it started on third downs, a little bit on first and second and it's just exploded over the last fifteen years. And all that movement. Think of doing all that double movement, triple movements and making a mic point.
Of course quarterback, you can't do all that. I mean, you just you can make one and then the picture changes. I made the comment the other day I was Jake Brendle had a you know, X number. I'm not gonna go into how many, but X number of mental areas, which is a lot higher, you know, than I'm used to it.
And then I went back and looked at Alex Mack.
Then I called a couple of the guys that coach in the system, and you realize they're gonna have more because you just can't, you know, and imagine the quarterback can't do it, there's too much going on, the wristband, everything else.
Imagine you're I'm gonna do it.
I mean, it's the center gets down, he's like a feet on the ground and we've got three guys in motion, and he's like he's crooking his neck out like a turtle, trying to see where the heck are these guys all lined up? Not an excuse, but they end up having a lot more a lot more mental layers because of that. It's easy now, you know, I'm stagnant. I'll tell you, sorry, Peyton. They were playing it. I wasn't there for this one, but they played the Jets. The playoffs was Rex Ryane.
It was a championship game. I remember which one was.
By the way, Rex was so blitzed everywhere. He goes, look, stop, don't I want to line up in one formation the whole game? And I want I've been.
Done too by whatever whatever he said it was, or the rest of the second half. He goes, I'll be able to see what they're doing and I'll be able to get us in the right play. But that's how, that's that's why. So then every step you could go beyond the one formation puts it more and more in the quarterback and this system and what we do.
It's just not it's really that feasible to make a quarterback.
Point experienced tight ends and Ross Dulla and Charlie Warner, how have you seen in these young tight ends going to get a customer to the blocking scheme?
They've been good, man, these guys.
I was telling the other day, I mean, everybody's talking about how how nine's doing so well and in the eighty two all these guys are they just all of them are doing a good job. And you stand out all the time. I'm looking up the guy's doing a good Guys do a good job. I'm not playing. They're doing a really really good job. They all the fact that George Kittle is embraces the run game and blocking.
You do it here or you're not here. And that's been the one thing that I really love about Kyle demands that the tight end coaches have that's the position, and we have a guy that lead dog that does it.
So I think, you know, Charlie was was a great player here.
And we'll miss Charlie and these guys have a lot of work to do to catch up to Charlie, but I think they're signs that will get there.
They have about seven different guys that can play center in this camp.
Wise, Brendel at the top of that depth chart.
Is is he the best run blocker, past blocker.
He's one of the or is there any area where the other guys are better or approach him. I made a comment the other day of the guys. I said, I said, here's I said, Jake.
I was coaching Jake and he did a great He did a great job on a plane and I said, I said, guys, take note of this. I've known Jake Brendle since two thousand and something. I've known him for a while, and I said, he does everything I asked him to do, and that's why he's been here for three years.
Right.
He does everything we asked him to do, and he does it well. He has really good measurables. If you held up his card, which have all the times and everything on it, right, you're like, how's this guy not is one of the top guys being drafted and he was undrafted free agent. One of the major indicators for center is arm length. He's had to overcome his arm length a little bit, which because he was below the line,
and that was like, it's a huge one for offensive center. Said, if you blow that line, most of those guys don't make it. He just seemed like a couple anyway. So whatever those little limitations are, he's learned how to overcome. He struggled on the second level when when I first got back with him here and he's fixed that. He's done an excellent job on a secondle we taught addressed
how he because think about it. You go in to block a guy, all of a sudden, Fred sticks out his long arm and you're like, you know, you're like a little brother trying to get to the big brother. Right, he holds you off and you're I can't get to him. That's what short arms do for you, and well, then Jake's figured out how to how to how to overcome that. He's he's very good in the run game, but his
past game has been really good. Teams now are putting you in a lot of five O situations, meaning that they put they try to somehow some way cover up all five guys. It used to be pressures and now it's not so much that there's replaces. They're pressuring once I drop, you know, they're doing different things, but they gets you in five guys blocking five guys. And now Jake and Joe uh, Joe Graves, one of my guys
works with me. He said, said, you know, you really go through Jake probably is one of the better five O centers that he holds up pretty good. So he's an athletic guy like that. He can hold up in five Oh, he's got again deal with He's not the biggest guy, so when they put their put their head here and try and drive him back, it is a challenge for him. So but he's he's learned to do it. And that's what I realize about it. We keep trump, you know, we troubleshoot it. And then he goes out
and he's able to do it. So that's why I would say the level of success, everybody has limitations. How do you become those limitations? Jake done a great job of it.
Dominant Pooty handled his first training campgn.
Awesome as good as is one of the better rookies. I'm not ready to crown him yet as far as one of the better rookies, but he is.
One of the better rookies.
And the day we drafted him, or right after we drafted him, the video guy said that he called right away when he got his iPad. They'd been sent him out as soon as we get the kids signed and or whenever, but they sent out to him. He said, where do I get all of coaches teaching mets? We
record everything, and he wanted every single meeting. He's by the time he showed up for rookie Minie Camp, which I think was the week two weeks after the draft, he'd watched all of my install meetings from phase one, phase two and everything we've done to that point.
He'd watched them all and he answers every question. Right.
He is a very very intelligent kid, doesn't say a word, very very smart, and very tough, strong and he's not you know, he doesn't sway or he just steady Eddy, but he works extremely hard and he's very diligent. And that's I don't think I've had an off. It's a lineman.
I know. I couldn't sit through all those meetings.
Okay, he grabbed him and ate him up, so good for him. Thank you guys,