G Kevin Zeitler
January 1, 2021
Q: I guess the whole season has been a season of adjustments and changes to coaches and things like that. What’s the last 12 hours been like for your group?
A: Obviously a big surprise. Obviously, we wish Guge to get healthy quick and it doesn’t affect him much. This team, we’ve been prepared. It’s been a crazy year with COVID. We knew anything could happen at any time. I think we have a resilient group here and we’re ready to keep moving and getting better and get ready for Sunday.
Q: I know Ben (Wilkerson) wasn’t with you guys today. Were you working with Freddie (Kitchens) or somebody else?
A: We’ve had a bunch of guys rolling through right now. Whoever (Joe) Judge decides to stick out there with us, we know it’s going to be good. We know the coaches here are very well versed in protections no matter what they officially coach. Anyone can come in and work with us.
Q: How much do you work on a normal week with Freddie or Jerry (Schuplinski) or any of those other coaches? How much input do they actually have when you’re actual offensive line coach is around?
A: I think what a cool thing here is kind of like what I was trying to mention. All the coaches really do work together. We get together a lot here. There’s a lot of back and forth about different ideas and things. The players are together. Everyone does have a very good understanding of O-line here. We do get to work with everyone throughout the week.
Q: How much in a game is just on the players? You’re a veteran guy. Do you almost have to be a coach on the field? Especially if Ben is not around?
A: Absolutely. The players are the ones out there that have to figure it out on the fly. You can come off and the coaches can help you, but when you’re out there the players have to be able to figure it out on the fly.
Q: Joe Judge mentioned earlier during walk through that they kind of had an iPad up and Guge was coaching you guys from the iPad? Could to hear him back there? Was he giving you coaching points from the iPad?
A: Of course.
Q: What was that like? That was probably 2020 in a nutshell, right?
A: Exactly, it’s just how you move forward and deal with the challenges. After this, we’re going to be use to everything.
Q: How do you feel like the offensive line has played the last few weeks? I know there was a stretch during the winning streak especially where you guys were playing your best football. How do you feel like you guys have played the last three games?
A: I think we’re a resilient group. Obviously, we’ve had some challenges. Nothing has left this building. Everyone is integrated, everyone is trying to get better. We want to finish this out right. We’re just working to get better every day. I love the group of guys. We’re doing what we need to do.
Q: What does your position coach actually do on game days? I know it’s kind of an obvious question. We see come over the sidelines and huddle up between series. What would you be missing without Guge there?
A: You come to the sideline, they tell you what you did wrong and they fix it. Obviously, it sucks. He is the guy in charge. He has the full thing and what not. Like I have been saying, whoever is out there helping this Sunday, we’re going to be able to work with them, they are going to work with us. We’re going to get everything done we need to get done.
Q: Just to bring it back to the actual play Kevin. How has this season gone? How would you describe the arc of this offensive line? Obviously, Week 1 was a struggle. To where you are now, how has this season gone?
A: I think given everything, it goes like with a normal O-line. A normal O-line development for a season. Had a lot of young guys to start. Came to work every day. It started how it started and we kept getting better every week. We’re definitely better than where we started, and we just want to keep that continuing trend going.
Q: Offensive linemen are sort of notorious for having off the field gatherings. Dinners and things like that. You weren’t able to do any of those things this year. Did that hurt? Did that slow down the comradery?
A: It’s unfortunate. Looking back over my past couple seasons. Being able to get together in the offseason or for dinners, that’s some of the most memorable times of your NFL career. Obviously, this year the O-line was diligent. We wanted to follow rules. We always wanted to be available for the team this year. We had to put it to the side. God willing, next year when we get to OTA’s, we can do that stuff again.
