Coming off of a Pro Bowl season in 2012, Dolphins guard Richie Incognito is already quite excited about the 2013 season. Incognito sat down with Jesse Agler of the The Finsiders this week to share his thoughts on the beginning of OTA’s, the identity of the Dolphins offensive line and the maturation of quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Here are some of Incognito’s comments:
(On OTAs and being back on the field) – It’s nice. It’s nice to get back out on the field and get moving around. Most of what we’ve done is in the classroom and the weight room. So to get out there and move around, it’s like going to recess. You get to go out there and run around with your buddies and back to playing football. So it’s good.
(On if an identity is already being developed on the offensive line) – No question there is. I think the way we played last year, we played violent, we played physical. We got after teams. We were on some teams. I think that is going to be our brand of football. We’re tough upfront, we’re athletic, we can get after you in the run game and then we can sit back and protect the passer. You know that identity is formed throughout the offseason, in a training camp, and it’s one that me and Mike (Pouncey) have a huge part in it. We bring the energy and we bring the tempo, and we’re going to get after you.
(On how different Ryan Tannehill is now than his time last year) – It’s night and day. He came in last year, he came in with great composure, he was poised in the huddle, he really demanded a lot of respect, but now this year, like I said before we have the offense down. We’ve run through it for a whole season. So now it’s time to master little techniques and that’s what you see Ryan doing. He’s trying to master a lot of different things, improve on the negatives. I think now while were in this phase, I think it’s now just the time where he has really grown into a leader, not so much as offense, but as a team leader.
(On his goals during this time of the year) – You know, I think it’s, you always have change every year in the NFL and to play for the same head coach and the same offensive coordinator two years in a row it really gives you a chance to come into an offseason program like this and just focus on fundamentals. Really we installed a whole new offense last year and everybody was kind of thrown into it together. We were all learning together. Now this year, that we’ve played a season in this new offense, it’s all about polishing up technique, fundamentals. That’s what I’m looking forward to, having a whole offseason with knowing the offense and now just brushing everything up.
(On spending the offseason working on fundamentals) – Yeah, you know I think that’s the biggest thing. When you come from high school to college, college to pro, I think the most important thing is fundamentals. That’s what separates each individual’s level of playing. When you go from high school to college, you’re really learning how to play football at the college level. You’re learning technique; you’re learning all these different things. Then once you get to the pros, you’re learning that every step and every thing you do, cause the guys on the other side of the ball are such good athletes, everything you do will result negatively or positively for you. So that’s when you get to the professional level. That’s when every step, every inch, every hat placement, every placement of the hands, that’s when that comes into play and this is a great time of year to work on it.
(On what he attributes the excitement around this team to) – I think we had a strong offseason. I think on paper right now it’s exciting. You know we have a bunch of different new faces, we’ve got some playmakers, we’ve got some speed, and we’ve been kind of just churning and burning. We’ve got a great group of guys, we work really hard and now it’s nice to just get back on the football field and take all these new faces and really start working toward building something special.
Related: Watch Video Of Incognito’s Interview With The Finsiders
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