Tackle Nate Solder
August 12, 2018
Q: How was your first game as a Giant?
A: It was great, it has been a while since we have all played so it took a while to get in the rhythm of the game. We hit it right off the bat there, but we have a lot to improve on after the first game.
Q: What do you expect out of the practices with the Lions? what are you telling some of your teammates who have never done it before?
A: My experience has always been positive with it, they (the practices) have been very competitive. Usually it’s a very professional atmosphere where guys play hard between the whistles. I think that’s the way you have to keep it, because tensions can rise when you’re that competitive at times. That’s always a good thing as long as guys are doing it in the spirit of competition.
Q: Is it the scrappiness that you really have to get a grip on because that can happen too easily?
A: No, I think all that’s good. I think scrappiness and high level of competition is all really good. I think it all starts to break down when guys are taking cheap shots and doing things that are outside the whistle which are not conducive to a good working relationship with the other team.
Q: What are your thoughts on Will Hernandez’s aggression as we get deeper into camp?
A: Will has been excellent. Him, like all of us, we have a lot to work on. He’s come along fast, he’s doing everything he can. He’s a really smart guy and he’s aggressive, like you said, and makes my job easier. I feel very fortunate to have a guy like Will next to me.
Q: You said you weren’t exactly happy with your play Thursday. What is it you are trying to improve on for this week?
A: I think those are two separate things. You always have to have the mindset of needing to improve, I wasn’t happy with the way I kind of slowly oozed into that game. I thought that you have to come out firing, ready to go first snap. I wasn’t happy with my preparation, I think I need to do better preparing for the game coming up. I think that with every year, you have to get yourself in the mindset of playing four quarters. Your condition, your footwork, your fundamentals, all those things need to continue to ratchet up as the (season) comes closer.
Q: Is part of that being on a new line and trying to mesh with new guys?
A: Every year is a new year. Every year that I have played, there has been some different person on the line with us. That’s really just part of the game, part of the business. That’s not different than any other year.
Q: Have you always been a slow starter out of the gate?
A: I guess I could take that two different ways. One way I take it is you have to constantly improve from week to week. I have done that in the past where I have gotten better because you work at it. You try hard every single week to improve on the things you didn’t do well and keep doing the things you are doing well. That’s kind of my mentality about everything.
Q: I assume you will be ready for Matt Patricia’s defense?
A: Yeah, Matt Patricia is a great coach, I’ve had the great opportunity to play against his defenses in practice for years. I have the utmost respect for everything they do. I’m looking forward to it, I think they will expose some things we need to work on, it will show some of the areas we are strong in. That’s always good. It’s a refining process that we all have to go through.
Q: Does he have the book on you on what to exploit?
A: He knows me very well and I’m sure if he was wanting to, he would be able to do that.
Q: Do you need more snaps as a line in these games, or is a few enough?
A: I don’t make the decision on that. My whole philosophy on that is whatever the team needs me to do, I’ll do. If it’s the entire game, I’ll play the entire game. If it’s a couple series, I’ll be in a couple series. I like getting a lot of reps, I like getting a lot of reps in practice, we do a lot of that. The more time we can work together, the better, is the way I see it.
