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Thursday Media Transcript: G Kevin Zeitler

Eric from BBI : Admin : 8/1/2019 3:08 pm
G Kevin Zeitler -- August 1, 2019

A: Different theories here and there, but we understand. It’s speed of reaction, understanding the basic rules, and then that stuff comes really quick.
Q: (Coach) Hal (Hunter) was talking about your group, and he said there’s this veteran attitude, and there’s a maturity. Do you sense that? I think he used the word ‘old-school.’
A: Oh absolutely. I think you look down the line of the main guys, the guys who have been here, and I think we have a lot of years in the room, which is great. We have a lot of football under our belts, and we all have the same focus. I think we all want to be good, I think we owe it, the oline, owes it to Eli (Manning) and to Saquon (Barkley). It’s up to us to make them the best they can be, just like they’re going to make us the best we can be. So we owe it to make sure we get everything down, learn everything we can, and help this team be the best it can (be).

Q; Obviously you’re working with two guys. You have Mike (Remmers) on one side and on the inside you have Spencer (Pulley) and you have Pio (Jon Halapio). Have you picked up easily with them?
A: Absolutely, like I said, Pio has been in the league for a while, he can play. Spencer got to play last year, so it’s working well. They are smart, they know how to start everything off as a center, and it just goes out from there.

Q: Coach was talking about the no-nonsense sort of serious approach that you bring. Do you see that rubbing off in the room, or was that already there?
A: I think it was already there. Nate (Solder) came in last year, he came from the Patriots, he knows how to focus in, how to work, and how to set the tone in the room, and then you’ve gotten that already from Pio and Spencer. It’s just part of the room, we know how to have fun, but we really want to take advantage of the time we have on the field and in the meeting rooms and then we’ll have our fun off of it.

Q: Eli has been kind of a quiet, practical joker over the years. Has he gotten you guys yet?
A: I don’t believe he has, but thanks for the warning (laughter).

Q: There is always the blue ink in the socks that wouldn’t wash off for a week, or don’t leave your phone hanging around, because he’ll change the language…
A: (laughter)

Q: When you have a (running) back like Saquon, are you sitting there going ‘all we got to do is give him a crack?’
A: I think that’s definitely part of it. He’s that type of special back. There are so many great running backs throughout the league, but then there are those backs that it is kind of wild what they can do, so I think it gives us an extra “umph,” to just finish. Even if it isn’t perfect or pretty, just keep running because you just never know what could suddenly break. I think it just gives us a little extra energy every time you know you’re going to run the ball.

Q: How would you describe how you and Remmers’ personality mix? Hal said he’s a little bit more lowkey out on the field.
A: I think we balance each other out nice. I’m very hyper-focused, a ‘let’s get this done’ type, and he takes a little lighter focus. He likes to joke around and have a good time out there, so I think it’s a nice balance and keeps us both kind of level.

Q: Is that easier to do when it’s two veteran guys who have been through it?
A: Absolutely. Like I was saying earlier, there’s a lot of football under our belts. We each know the game, and now we are learning how to work together.

Q: Both Mike Remmers and Nate Solder have played in the Super Bowl and some conference championship games. Having that kind of experience, how does that help the room to formulate your identity and grow the o-line?
A: It’s big, they have been there. They have gone far in the playoffs, they have that experience, they know those slight characteristics of the o-line that help them get that far. They know the feeling, and how to manage going that long, and that’s invaluable. When we get to that point, to have that information will be very good for us.

Q: Eli was put down 47 times last year. Is that something in the room where everybody is saying that can’t happen again?
A: The way we look at it is last year is last year. As an o-line, we know the things we need to do, everything we can to protect, and we need to do everything to run block. We’re going to have to take it this whole camp. We just got to keep getting better, keep running, keep learning our reaction times, levels, and all sorts of things. If we do our job, Eli will be able to do his job better, it’s just a simple fact right there.
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