I have three Defensive Players of the Year. Only one other player has done that. But being a defensive lineman, it's hard to control the game.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
This is a physical game, and that's how you have to play. When you do that, the defense eventually gets tired of tackling you.
I think you always try to put the offense in the best position to make good plays, which usually requires us to move multiple people around and give them an opportunity to impact a game in a lot of different ways.
I think that's part of building your team is trying to anticipate where your team is going and to a certain extent where, especially defensively because you have to react to what they put on the field. Defensively you have to be able to defend those things.
When you let those defensive backs know that you're a physical player, they don't really want to tackle. That's it. That's why you see me get a hurdle every game. Those guys don't want to tackle me when I get to the second level.
When you play against different people from all walks of life you can't do the same thing against every player defensively or offensively. You have to change up the way you go at a player.
It takes a very tough man to play defensive line at any level of football, but to be able to do it on a Division 1 level, or a professional level, it takes that intensity, that aggression, and you have to be tough.
It's how I've been playing my whole life, guarding the best player on the other team.
My mental approach is totally different. My coach predicated everything on defense. He always talked about defense, defense, defense. I took it to heart that if you play defense, you can take the heart from an offensive player.
When it comes down to it, you're playing football regardless of what offense you're in.
Honestly, I always told my coaches my whole career - we'll practice two-minute drills in practice, like, once a week and everything - I'm just like, 'Those are my favorite time of football.' I'm out there in total control, just getting everything lined up, getting everybody on the same page, and obviously, usually it's pass after pass after pass.
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