01-12-2021, 04:24 PM
Frank Pollack shares his vision and priorities for the Bengals O-line with Jay Morrison:
“You’ve got to protect your quarterback. That’s what everyone is trying to always constantly get better at. We’ve got a good, young quarterback. We’ve got to do everything we can to protect him. That’s Line 1.”
“I had heard nothing but great things about (Taylor), and I liked what he had to say about where he is going with the offense,” Pollack said. “And obviously, the offensive line is a big part of that, what he wanted to do from that standpoint and what he needed help with and how I could be part of the solution to some of those problems he’s trying to solve.”
“We’re close,” he said. “Just based on our conversations there’s a lot there to keep and build on and continue and as I get into understanding a little bit more detail of what they’ve been doing and understanding verbiage and concepts and what they’re doing. What can I do to continue to promote it and build on it or modify on areas I find that need to be modified, but we’re close for sure.”
“They have to love football and part of that is the physicality of it,” he said. “They have to be smart, tough and not so much physically tough (but) mentally tough. It’s a grind to really do this the right way. You have to love the grind. You have to love everything about football. That’s getting up early and working your butt off all day. Especially the offensive linemen. If your mindset is not to be the hardest worker on the team, then this isn’t going to be the group or the team for you.”
“What guys always hear me harp on is that it’s the ultimate team game. You need all 11 guys to buy in, it’s not just the line, it’s not just the running back, it’s everyone involved — receivers to quarterback,” he said. “You need to have all 11 pieces clicking to have any success in the run game. Really that’s the entire facet of offense, passing game or running game. And two, the way I teach and my philosophy is you really have to master the mundane. You’ve got to find a few things, master them, own those and the adjustments off of those and not really be a jack of all trades.
“There are plenty of schemes out there and plenty of ways to skin a cat, but you can’t do them all,” he added. “What fits your players the best? What do you believe in? And where does that mirror up and you’re going to hang your hat on that? And you’ve got to drill and grind the shit out of it. You’ve got to have guys that can handle the monotony of going day in and day out and owning it. Not getting distracted with the new shiny thing that’s over there, that might be great for those guys over there, but it’s not for us. You’ve got to understand that to have success in the league.”
“You’ve got to protect your quarterback. That’s what everyone is trying to always constantly get better at. We’ve got a good, young quarterback. We’ve got to do everything we can to protect him. That’s Line 1.”
“I had heard nothing but great things about (Taylor), and I liked what he had to say about where he is going with the offense,” Pollack said. “And obviously, the offensive line is a big part of that, what he wanted to do from that standpoint and what he needed help with and how I could be part of the solution to some of those problems he’s trying to solve.”
“We’re close,” he said. “Just based on our conversations there’s a lot there to keep and build on and continue and as I get into understanding a little bit more detail of what they’ve been doing and understanding verbiage and concepts and what they’re doing. What can I do to continue to promote it and build on it or modify on areas I find that need to be modified, but we’re close for sure.”
“They have to love football and part of that is the physicality of it,” he said. “They have to be smart, tough and not so much physically tough (but) mentally tough. It’s a grind to really do this the right way. You have to love the grind. You have to love everything about football. That’s getting up early and working your butt off all day. Especially the offensive linemen. If your mindset is not to be the hardest worker on the team, then this isn’t going to be the group or the team for you.”
“What guys always hear me harp on is that it’s the ultimate team game. You need all 11 guys to buy in, it’s not just the line, it’s not just the running back, it’s everyone involved — receivers to quarterback,” he said. “You need to have all 11 pieces clicking to have any success in the run game. Really that’s the entire facet of offense, passing game or running game. And two, the way I teach and my philosophy is you really have to master the mundane. You’ve got to find a few things, master them, own those and the adjustments off of those and not really be a jack of all trades.
“There are plenty of schemes out there and plenty of ways to skin a cat, but you can’t do them all,” he added. “What fits your players the best? What do you believe in? And where does that mirror up and you’re going to hang your hat on that? And you’ve got to drill and grind the shit out of it. You’ve got to have guys that can handle the monotony of going day in and day out and owning it. Not getting distracted with the new shiny thing that’s over there, that might be great for those guys over there, but it’s not for us. You’ve got to understand that to have success in the league.”
