MIKE SOLARI – OFFENSIVE LINE COACH
OTA #7
June 4, 2018
(On the group of linemen he’s working with) “Great group. The guys are working hard and competing, and in the classroom also they’re really working hard. They’re really getting after it.”
(On coming back to Seattle) “It’s just a great opportunity. I really thank Pete (Carroll) and John (Schneider) for giving me a chance to come back. It’s just awesome. The opportunity came up, and I was excited about the possibility. This is great, it’s great to be back. A great organization, great people, excellent.”
(On his blocking philosophy) “The key thing on the blocking philosophy of Mike Solari, it’s the Seattle Seahawks. It’s fundamentals and technique. So we work hard in our individual drills to develop our technique and develop our fundamentals. We want to control the line of scrimmage, and we believe you control the line of scrimmage with fundamentals and techniques. The guys are working hard and it’s kind of coming together. I don’t want to over-exaggerate, because we’re not in pads, and that’s really ascend as an offensive line.”
(On his preferred scheme) “It’s always a combination of things. You always want to take advantage of their fundamentals and technique, so we just want to implement the thing that we’re going to add. So it’s just a matter of having a little bit more variety. But again, you still want those fundamentals and techniques. It’s still about leverage, it’s still about aiming points, it’s still about hand placement.”
(On what Duane Brown brings to the group) “Duane Brown’s awesome. Duane Brown is a pro, and when I say he’s a pro, the way he goes about his business off the field also is a great example. He’s a great guy to emulate in the sense of his fundamentals. It’s exciting to work with him. Any time you have chance to work with a player at a high level, it’s exciting as a coach. You can lean on him as an example of how to do things properly.”
(On if it’s fair to say he relies more on man blocking than the team did in the past) “No, I don’t believe that is so. It’ll be a variation. We’re going to this a lot more, we’re going to do that—we don’t know yet as we develop this offense, as the offensive linemen develop. Who are the starting five? Who are the starting 11? That’s the great thing about the Seattle Seahawks and Pete’s system, it’s all about competition, you compete. So that’s exciting, it keeps everybody sharp and it keeps everybody hungry, ascending as a football player.”
(On D.J. Fluker) “Physical. Tough, physical football player. D.J. is a very good football player. When I say good football player, what he brings off the field, his leadership qualities, how he goes about his business. He has an unbelievable passion for the game, he loves the game. It’s great for the young guys to see a guy who has been in the league how much he loves the game.”
(On the Giants running the ball better with Fluker in the lineup last season) “D.J. did help. Obviously it’s more than just D.J., but D.J. gives you a physical presence in there. The whole thing again is that he’s got to compete for the spot, so we’re looking forward to getting him on the field to compete for the spot, showing the guys how to be physical—physical in a sense of getting the pads down, driving the backside knee, fundamentals, aiming points, hand placement, and then critical just to keep those feet moving.”
(On Germain Ifedi) “Germain, he’s working his way back. He’s a big, physical guy. It’s exciting when you have somebody like that to work with. He’s working and he’s competing, and he’s trying to get the technique and fundamentals down. A big man like that, the key thing is leverage, being able to bend your knees. Sometimes as a big offensive linemen, you get a little bit sloppy and rely on strength, and you don’t bend and play with leverage. This game’s about leverage. Guys are so quick, you have to have your knees bent so you can react and adjust off of movement, and things you need to do at the second level.”
(On having been in Seattle before Pete Carroll was here) “The Seahawk organization is a great organization, from Mr. Allen all the way down. Pete does a great job, it’s a great environment. The way he has set up the staff and the way he has set up the system is outstanding. Mike Holmgren is a great coach, I learned so much from Mike. I knew it was only a one-year thing with Mike, but I wanted to coach with Mike because he was so unique in what he could bring to the table as a head football coach. I wanted to learn from Mike, it was awesome. Pete’s done a great job here, the staff has done a great job here, the players have done a great job here in the way they work. Pete does a great job the way they come to work, the way they compete, the way they work, the way they prepare is outstanding. As a position coach, you job is to just be a good teacher. You do a great job of getting your material across to the guys, what you want from them so they can ascend at their position.”
