Offensive Tackle Matt Peart
Q: How do you feel like you've done so far at left tackle?
A: I feel like I've (done) what I needed to do, come out here on the practice field and working every single day. Just working the technique and the skills that I need on the field at practice and showing up on game day and doing it.
Q: The week is not over yet, but in theory this should be the first week of the season where you guys have the same starting offensive line two weeks in a row. Is that just crazy to think about how many injuries you guys have been dealing with up front?
A: Like I've said prior, it's the next man up mentality. I always have the mindset of being ready, so if something were to happen the guy that steps up is just ready and it's all seamless from the top down.
Q: Do you mind the flip-flopping from right side one week to left side the next?
A: Not at all. Like I said, we come out here in practice and we work at it every single day, so once you put it in it's seamless.
Q: Where do you think you've made in particular the biggest strides from last year with your technique? If you could just single out a few things where are you a better player now?
A: Just overall being a better student of the game, just working with (Offensive Line) Coach (Rob) Sale and (Assistant Offensive Line) Coach (Ben) Wilk (Wilkerson), even Coach (Pat) Flats (Flaherty), some of vets, like (Center) Billy (Price), (Tackle) Nate (Solder), just understanding how they see the game and incorporating it into how I approach the game as well, and especially game planning. I feel like I've made huge strides in that regard. Bigger, faster, stronger. Even more than that, just working on my overall technique.
Q: When (Chiefs Defensive Coordinator) Steve Spagnuolo was here, he was a pressure coach. He brought linebackers and multiple people. Have you seen that from the Chiefs this year?
A: Schematically with the Chiefs, they kind of stick to their roots, they're going to do what they're going to do. Based on our scheme, we just have to make sure that we're ready to step on the field and get after them.
Q: What are some of the challenges for offensive linemen on screen passes when an offensive lineman gets out there and has to catch up and match the speed of a little defensive back? Seems like it's a mismatch for their speed and your size. How do you handle that?
A: In regard to screens, you're just making sure you're relying on each coaching technique, having that mentality and you understand the timing of each screen is different. Not every screen is going to look the same when you get out there. Just going out there and playing football.
Q: Are they calling the illegal linemen down the field more this year? There were two last game.
A: You're talking about the one on me? I was already down the field. That was just a lapse on my part. I got on the sideline, made the corrections and I promise you that will never happen to me ever again. But yeah, that was completely on me. (It) cost us a first down, but the guys that we have right here picked me up, staying on the next play mentality, and just having that mentality of just going back out there and just keep going. But yeah, that was just completely on me.
Q: What was that like watching on film? I'm sure the guys were getting on you a little bit. You were pretty far down there.
A: I was just really hard on myself. Like come on, I just cost my guys a first down. It's just one of those things where it's like you have to be keyed into the call and just understand that we can't have that happen.
Q: You were open though if they wanted to throw it to you.
A: I wasn't eligible (laughs), so I can't do anything with that.
Q: What's the approach you take when you know that you have to protect your quarterback's blindside? That's your job right now, right? You need to make sure that you keep (Quarterback) Daniel (Jones) upright, and you keep him safe. How do you approach that knowing that that is basically your primary responsibility?
A: Just take it a play at a time, just playing within myself. Just understanding when he calls a play knowing what my responsibility is to do in that specific moment, run or pass. Just having the mentality of you've got to compete, beat your one-on-one matchup. You're playing the blindside, so you have to keep the quarterback clean.
Q: Do you think there's something to the quarterback getting comfortable with the left tackle and the way you set, the way he drops and all that kind of working together?
A: I don't think it's just the left tackle, I think it's across the board. I'm just one of five. Having that relationship with the quarterback and understand that we keep the width of the pocket as tackles and keep the depth with the front three, and just making sure he's able to step up in the pocket when he needs to.
