azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Chemistry is inevitable for Grimm's group
By DARREN URBAN
Cardinals' offensive linemen (from left to right) Al Johnson, Reggie Wells and Mike Gandy have been part of a group that has meshed well this season.
Tucked in the corner of the locker room, their stalls look no different than the rest of their teammates’.
But it isn’t the lockers that define this patch of the roster. It’s the men who dwell there.
“This,” right guard Deuce Lutui said, “is our own world.”
It’s the world of the Cardinals’ offensive line, a group that by definition must stick together.
An offensive line naturally bonds. All five players must work in concert to have success; eventually, chemistry becomes inevitable.
“You can’t really have tension because you don’t have a choice,” center Al Johnson said. “If I don’t like Deuce, or I don’t like Reggie (Wells), I still have to work with them.”
There’s no problem about not liking each other, however. Just venture into their world.
The five starters, coincidentally, all have lockers next to each other: left tackle Mike Gandy is next to Lutui, who is next to Johnson, who is next to the left guard Wells, who is next to rookie right tackle Levi Brown.
Going down the line toward the exit are guys like center Lyle Sendlein and guard/tackle Elton Brown, each of whom have made important fill-in contributions this season.
Often, many of them will forgo eating in the lunch area and bring a plate of food to their stalls after practice while they sit around and banter. Insults are a given – sometimes for each other, sometimes for any trespassers.
“Naturally, offensive linemen are the cool group,” Lutui said. “They are cooler than the quarterbacks. Quarterbacks may be on TV, but we are cooler.”
The quarterbacks don’t necessarily see the need to argue the point.
“Offensive linemen are definitely their own kind,” injured QB Matt Leinart said. “From high school they hang out together, college they hang out together, NFL they hang out together. I guess that’s their position, but it’s like where you see one, you see them all. It’s like cattle, almost.”
GRIMM’S REALITY
The quest to find an offensive line that was consistently successful has been a difficult path for the franchise. New players were constantly brought in, as were new coaches.
Offensive line coach Russ Grimm is willing to have some fun with his charges -- but when it is time to work, it is time to work.
Then Russ Grimm arrived this season. And everything seemed to change.
Blocking assignments were simplified, and so was the focus. Grimm told his players if they made a mistake once, he would help them correct it. After that, errors were on them.
In the meantime, Grimm coached like he wanted to be coached during his Pro Bowl-laden career as an offensive lineman.
“Every minute doesn’t have to be to the grindstone,” Johnson said. “When it is time to work we work. But we have a good time, too.”
Some of that is designed by Grimm to build that chemistry and that personality that oozes out of their corner of the locker room. Grimm might start off an offensive line meeting by going around the room and asking each guy what was the worst job he ever had. Or maybe to have each guy recount the best fight he had ever been involved in.
It breaks up the monotony and it gives the linemen little windows into their teammates.
Some guys don’t need to be loosened up. Lutui and Johnson are as outgoing as anyone. Gandy tends to be quiet, Johnson said. Levi Brown is the starter who isn’t going to get away from his rookie duties (like getting breakfast once in a while). Lutui joked that Wells is “the tough guy,” a notion that drew a smile to Wells’ face.
“I don’t know what I am,” Wells said. “They always say I might come in like I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. But we have a good time with it.”
Up to a point, that is.
“I always tell them, I want to be friends with all of you,” Grimm said. “But there is a certain working relationship you have. When we are on the field and it is time to work, we’re going to work.”
The recipe has generated solid results this season. The Cardinals have not only become a solid running team but also have given up among the fewest sacks in the league.
“We are getting better,” Grimm said. “The win column is the biggest thing. That comes first.
“As a group, it won’t be, ‘We have a good offensive line.’ It’ll be ‘We have a good offensive line if we do the right things consistently, day in and day out, week in and week out.’ ”
THE WORLD
Here are some of the things heard in the O-line’s “world”:
The line must work in concert every play for the Cardinals to have a chance at success.
While Elton Brown (who has lost some 40 pounds since last season) tries to explain to reporters that his achy knee is a meniscus problem that had been bothering him for a while, Levi Brown pipes up in the background, “It’s because you were fat.”
Lutui, sitting behind Johnson while Johnson is being interviewed, takes a glance at one of Johnson’s multi-colored tattoos and tells a bystander, “He looks like an everlasting gobstopper.”
Johnson, good-naturedly irritated at Lutui’s interruptions, says “I’ve never seen a guy talk so much and say nothing. It’s remarkable.”
Nobody is sensitive in the group, Johnson said, “and that’s a good thing.”
“At some point,” Johnson said, “everybody gets picked on.”
Certainly, it’s enter at your own risk on that side of the locker room. As for who is allowed in, that can become a serious matter.
“There is some gray area there,” Wells said, mulling the question. “Edge. The quarterbacks. Q. Certain older guys. You have to earn it. You can’t just come over.”
There is a serious side to the line. Wells has been around long enough to tire of the criticisms leveled at the unit. With Johnson and Gandy arriving as free agents this season and Levi Brown picked No. 5 overall in the draft – along with Grimm’s impact – improvement was expected immediately.
That tends to put some pressure on a group.
So too does the idea that the line is the engine that makes an offense go.
“A lot of guys depend on you,” Levi Brown said. “I am doing this for them more than myself. There is a lot more that goes into it – a pride.”
That’s just another reason why it is so easy for these linemen to grow close.
“It’s not really a position of glory,” Wells said. “When you have guys you can bond with like this, it’s amazing.”
This is the world the offensive line lives in – a little off the beaten path, and sometimes, just a little off.
“We are all different in our own ways, but as far as attitude, it comes with the package as an offensive lineman that you have to be mean and nasty to play in the trenches,” Lutui said.
Lutui pauses.
“At the same time, we are mama’s boys. Or at least I am. I love my mother.”
Contact Darren Urban at [email protected]. Posted 11/3/07
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/detail.php?PRKey=2038
By DARREN URBAN
You must be registered for see images
Cardinals' offensive linemen (from left to right) Al Johnson, Reggie Wells and Mike Gandy have been part of a group that has meshed well this season.
Tucked in the corner of the locker room, their stalls look no different than the rest of their teammates’.
But it isn’t the lockers that define this patch of the roster. It’s the men who dwell there.
“This,” right guard Deuce Lutui said, “is our own world.”
It’s the world of the Cardinals’ offensive line, a group that by definition must stick together.
An offensive line naturally bonds. All five players must work in concert to have success; eventually, chemistry becomes inevitable.
“You can’t really have tension because you don’t have a choice,” center Al Johnson said. “If I don’t like Deuce, or I don’t like Reggie (Wells), I still have to work with them.”
There’s no problem about not liking each other, however. Just venture into their world.
The five starters, coincidentally, all have lockers next to each other: left tackle Mike Gandy is next to Lutui, who is next to Johnson, who is next to the left guard Wells, who is next to rookie right tackle Levi Brown.
Going down the line toward the exit are guys like center Lyle Sendlein and guard/tackle Elton Brown, each of whom have made important fill-in contributions this season.
Often, many of them will forgo eating in the lunch area and bring a plate of food to their stalls after practice while they sit around and banter. Insults are a given – sometimes for each other, sometimes for any trespassers.
“Naturally, offensive linemen are the cool group,” Lutui said. “They are cooler than the quarterbacks. Quarterbacks may be on TV, but we are cooler.”
The quarterbacks don’t necessarily see the need to argue the point.
“Offensive linemen are definitely their own kind,” injured QB Matt Leinart said. “From high school they hang out together, college they hang out together, NFL they hang out together. I guess that’s their position, but it’s like where you see one, you see them all. It’s like cattle, almost.”
GRIMM’S REALITY
The quest to find an offensive line that was consistently successful has been a difficult path for the franchise. New players were constantly brought in, as were new coaches.
You must be registered for see images
Offensive line coach Russ Grimm is willing to have some fun with his charges -- but when it is time to work, it is time to work.
Then Russ Grimm arrived this season. And everything seemed to change.
Blocking assignments were simplified, and so was the focus. Grimm told his players if they made a mistake once, he would help them correct it. After that, errors were on them.
In the meantime, Grimm coached like he wanted to be coached during his Pro Bowl-laden career as an offensive lineman.
“Every minute doesn’t have to be to the grindstone,” Johnson said. “When it is time to work we work. But we have a good time, too.”
Some of that is designed by Grimm to build that chemistry and that personality that oozes out of their corner of the locker room. Grimm might start off an offensive line meeting by going around the room and asking each guy what was the worst job he ever had. Or maybe to have each guy recount the best fight he had ever been involved in.
It breaks up the monotony and it gives the linemen little windows into their teammates.
Some guys don’t need to be loosened up. Lutui and Johnson are as outgoing as anyone. Gandy tends to be quiet, Johnson said. Levi Brown is the starter who isn’t going to get away from his rookie duties (like getting breakfast once in a while). Lutui joked that Wells is “the tough guy,” a notion that drew a smile to Wells’ face.
“I don’t know what I am,” Wells said. “They always say I might come in like I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. But we have a good time with it.”
Up to a point, that is.
“I always tell them, I want to be friends with all of you,” Grimm said. “But there is a certain working relationship you have. When we are on the field and it is time to work, we’re going to work.”
The recipe has generated solid results this season. The Cardinals have not only become a solid running team but also have given up among the fewest sacks in the league.
“We are getting better,” Grimm said. “The win column is the biggest thing. That comes first.
“As a group, it won’t be, ‘We have a good offensive line.’ It’ll be ‘We have a good offensive line if we do the right things consistently, day in and day out, week in and week out.’ ”
THE WORLD
Here are some of the things heard in the O-line’s “world”:
You must be registered for see images
The line must work in concert every play for the Cardinals to have a chance at success.
While Elton Brown (who has lost some 40 pounds since last season) tries to explain to reporters that his achy knee is a meniscus problem that had been bothering him for a while, Levi Brown pipes up in the background, “It’s because you were fat.”
Lutui, sitting behind Johnson while Johnson is being interviewed, takes a glance at one of Johnson’s multi-colored tattoos and tells a bystander, “He looks like an everlasting gobstopper.”
Johnson, good-naturedly irritated at Lutui’s interruptions, says “I’ve never seen a guy talk so much and say nothing. It’s remarkable.”
Nobody is sensitive in the group, Johnson said, “and that’s a good thing.”
“At some point,” Johnson said, “everybody gets picked on.”
Certainly, it’s enter at your own risk on that side of the locker room. As for who is allowed in, that can become a serious matter.
“There is some gray area there,” Wells said, mulling the question. “Edge. The quarterbacks. Q. Certain older guys. You have to earn it. You can’t just come over.”
There is a serious side to the line. Wells has been around long enough to tire of the criticisms leveled at the unit. With Johnson and Gandy arriving as free agents this season and Levi Brown picked No. 5 overall in the draft – along with Grimm’s impact – improvement was expected immediately.
That tends to put some pressure on a group.
So too does the idea that the line is the engine that makes an offense go.
“A lot of guys depend on you,” Levi Brown said. “I am doing this for them more than myself. There is a lot more that goes into it – a pride.”
That’s just another reason why it is so easy for these linemen to grow close.
“It’s not really a position of glory,” Wells said. “When you have guys you can bond with like this, it’s amazing.”
This is the world the offensive line lives in – a little off the beaten path, and sometimes, just a little off.
“We are all different in our own ways, but as far as attitude, it comes with the package as an offensive lineman that you have to be mean and nasty to play in the trenches,” Lutui said.
Lutui pauses.
“At the same time, we are mama’s boys. Or at least I am. I love my mother.”
Contact Darren Urban at [email protected]. Posted 11/3/07
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/detail.php?PRKey=2038
