Speaker 1: How's it going today, Aaron Banks? Did he cramp up
Speaker 1: or have an injury yesterday and camp cramped up? Cramped up?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think he lost. The day before, he lost
Speaker 2: fourteen pounds and that was the day it was kind
Speaker 2: of like rainy and misty a little bit. Whatever we
Speaker 2: were getting the remnants of the hurricane or something, whatever
Speaker 2: we were getting up here. Definitely though, Yeah, he lost
Speaker 2: a lot of weight, so it doesn't surprise me. It's
Speaker 2: really hard to replenish all that weight and not and
Speaker 2: then the next day he cramped up mid practice and wasn't
Speaker 2: able to which for Aaron is a I mean man
Speaker 2: to make it all the way through camp. It's we
Speaker 2: always joke if he'd got drafted someplace where it was hot,
Speaker 2: I don't know how you'd have made it. The guys
Speaker 2: definitely sweats a lot.
Speaker 1: Yeah, how is his camp? Banks? A lot of scrutiny
Speaker 1: and stuff. It seems like this year it's more settled in.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Aaron's done a really nice job. Played well in
Speaker 2: the game on Sunday. He gave up one a little
Speaker 2: bit of pressure on one. I think that the quarterback
Speaker 2: scrambled to his right on But Aaron has had a
Speaker 2: really good camp, Aaron. Surprisingly, it's hard to say if
Speaker 2: he's a little bit better game day player than a
Speaker 2: practice player. I think some of that that, you know,
Speaker 2: the sweating that can. He's in great shape, he's he's
Speaker 2: his weight's been consistent now for gosh, over about a
Speaker 2: year and a half. The guy's in the weight room
Speaker 2: and nutrition departments kept him in great shape. But yet
Speaker 2: sometimes in practice he does get a little worn down,
Speaker 2: and sometimes in practice it isn't always as clean. But
Speaker 2: in the games he's always fresh, ready to go. And
Speaker 2: it's had some really good game reps put in there,
Speaker 2: and so I'm really happy with his performances camp and
Speaker 2: in the preseason so far.
Speaker 1: How would you assess the third tackle competition right now?
Speaker 2: It's a great competition, that really is. I really enjoyed
Speaker 2: Matt Pryor's really come on the last couple of weeks
Speaker 2: since the Raider game. Had a better game this week.
Speaker 2: Not not to be confused with perfect and but practice
Speaker 2: wise and stuff, he's been doing better his conditioning and
Speaker 2: his and his his weight management and things like that.
Speaker 2: For our system has been getting better all the time.
Speaker 3: UH.
Speaker 2: Jalen Moore uh start off camp an offseason. We had
Speaker 2: a really good offseason and a good camp, then had
Speaker 2: the bone bruise injury that he sustained during practice just
Speaker 2: prior to the week before we went to the Raiders,
Speaker 2: excuse me, and then and then it's kind of lingered
Speaker 2: a little bit. So he's he's been not maybe everything
Speaker 2: that we want him to be up to this point.
Speaker 2: So it's a really good competition between he and Matt
Speaker 2: at this point for that third tackle spot. And then
Speaker 2: don't count Leroy Watson out. Leroy is is a young
Speaker 2: developing player. He hasn't played a lot of offensive line,
Speaker 2: and that's really the he's got a steeper learning curve.
Speaker 2: While he's doing some he's got some really good talent
Speaker 2: and ability. He's still a ways away, but he's in
Speaker 2: the mix as well and competing with those guys that
Speaker 2: probably more for the fourth but but they're all in
Speaker 2: the mix doing well.
Speaker 1: That's the guy Kyle I think said.
Speaker 2: The hope is that he would be a guard at
Speaker 2: some point because venturies and things like that, he's just
Speaker 2: never had that opportunity.
Speaker 1: Is that still something that could be in the cards
Speaker 1: for him?
Speaker 2: You know what's funny is Jalen's body type a little bit.
Speaker 2: I'm really sorry, guys, I'm trying to shake this thing.
Speaker 2: The Jalen his body type looks a little bit more
Speaker 2: like a guard, but the quickness, the twitch, and the
Speaker 2: things that sometimes need to play a guard isn't there
Speaker 2: as much. So he's much more more of a tackle
Speaker 2: than a guard, even though I think that's what everybody
Speaker 2: in the draft. We kind of had him, you know,
Speaker 2: targeted in that direction, but I've always been my personal
Speaker 2: opinion has been if a guy can play tackle, let
Speaker 2: him see if he can play tackle. They're harder to
Speaker 2: find than guards, and so if he can, he can,
Speaker 2: and he's done a serviceable job. We still are looking
Speaker 2: for just a little bit more from Jalen and keep
Speaker 2: hoping that he continues to work.
Speaker 4: Mac's still gonna have to show that he could line
Speaker 4: up on the left side for the I know we
Speaker 4: talked about it a couple of weeks ago and you
Speaker 4: said maybe after the Raiders game.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we were still Now he's starting to get more
Speaker 2: comfortable in the system, So now I do think that
Speaker 2: at some point I thought it might be before this time,
Speaker 2: but it's not. But that's still again I'm not sure
Speaker 2: how the roster all shakes down, but if it had
Speaker 2: to be a right left back up a little bit
Speaker 2: like it was last year with mckivot's and Jalen, and
Speaker 2: then I think that it could be that way to
Speaker 2: start off. Maybe Matt overtime gets more comfortable back on
Speaker 2: the left side. So and again, it's nothing set in
Speaker 2: stone at all at this point. It's a very fluid
Speaker 2: depth chart at this point except for the starting left tackle.
Speaker 1: The next jet for watch and what does he need
Speaker 1: to kind of build.
Speaker 2: Well, you guys have heard me say it before again
Speaker 2: and again, just how much playing time means. He's so
Speaker 2: much better this week just having played two preseason games,
Speaker 2: the Raider game, obviously not neither game being good enough.
Speaker 2: He's got to play better. But the point of it
Speaker 2: is is that the guys improving by learning, by getting
Speaker 2: the experience. He had a little bit of playing time
Speaker 2: in Atlanta last year in the preseason, and then this
Speaker 2: year with us. He's getting the two games up to
Speaker 2: this point, So as much time as we can give him,
Speaker 2: that's what he has to get. And obviously there's only
Speaker 2: so many game reps. There's so many of these guys man.
Speaker 2: Back in the day, we would have set him to
Speaker 2: NFL Europe and they'd had a whole offseason of playing
Speaker 2: games over there and just had a chance to play
Speaker 2: a lot of football. And they come back to us,
Speaker 2: even though they're beat up and tired. When they would
Speaker 2: come back to us, they would have played and they
Speaker 2: get you kind of knock off. I don't know what
Speaker 2: it's not rust, but they get some playing time things
Speaker 2: that some guys didn't have a lot of in college,
Speaker 2: or they're changing positions and things like that, Leroy, they
Speaker 2: don't have that benefit. Offseason OTAs aren't the same as
Speaker 2: they used to be. Training ca not the same as
Speaker 2: it used to be. There's just not as many opportunities
Speaker 2: to get these guys reps to develop them other than
Speaker 2: practice reps, and they're just not quite the same.
Speaker 3: It's common to have players that are better game day
Speaker 3: players than practice players in your experience.
Speaker 2: Not really, I mean it's been it was Aaron kind
Speaker 2: of jumped off the screen at US when we got
Speaker 2: to the opening day and he's downfield celebrating the end zone.
Speaker 2: He's he's cleaning the pile off, he's leading screens downfield,
Speaker 2: he's he saw the other day he was out in
Speaker 2: front of Deebo's screen and was almost it was an
Speaker 2: almost block, but he was down there hustling his butt
Speaker 2: off to make a play. And it's not often with
Speaker 2: offensive lineman that you see that drastic It's a it's
Speaker 2: a big difference for Aaron.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's a.
Speaker 2: Good practice player, but it's a grinds a grind, and
Speaker 2: I can't explain it other than I think a little
Speaker 2: bit the sweat. I hate saying that. I mean, it
Speaker 2: sounds weird, but it's something about it. But on game
Speaker 2: day he does actually perform quite a bit better than
Speaker 2: practice and it's it's cool to watch.
Speaker 4: They got that first opportunity yesterday after Aaron cramped up.
Speaker 1: Have you been happy with his progress here the training camp?
Speaker 2: The same things I just mentioned with Leroy and probably
Speaker 2: Nick even more so because he's been an offensive lineman
Speaker 2: even though it was at Fordham. He uh nothing against
Speaker 2: for him, but just wasn't you know, not the highest
Speaker 2: competition and and and he really has taken advantage of
Speaker 2: these reps and through the reps of the first couple
Speaker 2: of games again not this last game was.
Speaker 1: A big step for him.
Speaker 2: The energy that he played with, the effort that he
Speaker 2: played with, the confidence he played with, and so yesterday
Speaker 2: when he stepped in, it was it was nice to
Speaker 2: see him in there and really not miss a beat.
Speaker 1: He did a nice job and competed well.
Speaker 2: And it was practice, obviously, but but I'm really happy
Speaker 2: with Nick's progress. Again, he could use a whole other
Speaker 2: preseason to get him ready to go, and and and
Speaker 2: and he's not gonna get that opportunity, but he's gonna
Speaker 2: get some more games game reps this week and and
Speaker 2: then if the time comes during the season and he
Speaker 2: has to to contribute, he'll be He'll be as ready
Speaker 2: as he can be at this point.
Speaker 3: Kind of wasn't ready to divulge playing time in stuff yesterday,
Speaker 3: but he did say after the Chargers game he expected
Speaker 3: the Ones to go at least little bit against the Chargers,
Speaker 3: and Jake Brandle said, guess his understanding that the Ones
Speaker 3: were going to play. So what do you think they
Speaker 3: actually get out of say ten to fifteen snaps in
Speaker 3: the last preseason game that it helps you going into Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2: I mentioned it last week talking about just the most
Speaker 2: tired I've ever seen players being at the end of
Speaker 2: that first drive of that first game, because that real
Speaker 2: true strain. They do get some close to live game reps.
Speaker 2: I mean they are live game reps. There's no question
Speaker 2: a preseason game is live. I'll just never forget my Sorry.
Speaker 2: I always tell stories and we have always had a
Speaker 2: time crunch.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry.
Speaker 2: But first, my first preseason game in the NFL in
Speaker 2: nineteen ninety three was the Dallas Cowboys and we were
Speaker 2: in Minnesota. We played the Cowboys hole in the stadium,
Speaker 2: the big star in the middle of the field and
Speaker 2: all that, man, and I thought it was a super Bowl,
Speaker 2: you know, I really did. I thought this game meant everything.
Speaker 2: And you go out and you realize, oh, this is
Speaker 2: a preseason game and a lot of guys that are
Speaker 2: on the team aren't going to make the team, that
Speaker 2: we're probably not going to have a winning and losing
Speaker 2: doesn't matter much. In the next regular season game, we
Speaker 2: played the Raiders in the in the LA Coliseum, how
Speaker 2: he long and and I went, wow, there was a
Speaker 2: huge step up in the level of competition. And then
Speaker 2: the third one he gets to the playoffs, obviously it
Speaker 2: steps up again, and I think that's what so there
Speaker 2: is that you're pushing him as far as you can
Speaker 2: push them to get them a couple of game reps
Speaker 2: so that they feel that that that strain, that stress
Speaker 2: that they're going to feel come opening day, and that's
Speaker 2: really what there is to benefit from it.
Speaker 4: A lot.
Speaker 2: He's taken a ton of work in his body, his
Speaker 2: He's remade himself. He looks like it looks like a
Speaker 2: different guy. When you watch the tapes from a year ago,
Speaker 2: you see him walking around now, he's just really worked
Speaker 2: very hard his nutrition, his diet. He takes seriously what
Speaker 2: he does his improvement mentally as far as understanding the offense. Uh,
Speaker 2: best guy I ever described it to him as a
Speaker 2: guy in Baltimore once said, what's year one? Year one?
Speaker 2: All I see in the world is what's right in
Speaker 2: front of me. That second year, man, those blinders start
Speaker 2: to come off and you start to see a whole
Speaker 2: lot more of the total game. Not to be fused
Speaker 2: with being there yet. He's still got a lot of
Speaker 2: work to do on that, but it's a it's a
Speaker 2: night and day difference in his physical maturation and then
Speaker 2: also his mental understanding of the game.
Speaker 3: If it's given you everything you wanted to see from
Speaker 3: the beginning of training camp to now to be ready.
Speaker 2: To step in and knocking on wood. Yes, he has,
Speaker 2: he's been. He's been everything is advertised. He's a very
Speaker 2: consistent pass blocker, he's consistent in the run game. He
Speaker 2: brings a level of toughness and physicality to our front,
Speaker 2: and we're very happy with what he's done so far.
Speaker 2: All good, Thanks guys, appreciate you.