Offensive Line Discussion 2024

KJ: OK, so I kind of wanted to start of, kind of like a rapid-fire, getting to know you questions. And I wanted to start off, I don’t know if you’ve heard these comments, but Wes Phillips has made comments about how he appreciates how large you are and how having a large guy inside at left guard kind of brings him great comfort. So I wanted to ask you, depending on where you look, you’re either 6’6” or 6’7”, listed at 315. Can you clarify the 6’6” versus 6’7” debate and also what’s your playing weight.

BB: Yeah, it’s probably 6’6” and a half, 6’6” and three quarters, so I think I’m technically 6’6”. I play, you know my weight fluctuates, but typically somewhere between 310-315 is kind of where I hover around, so yeah, it’s pretty spot on.

KJ: OK, fair enough. Now I was wondering, not to get like too tangled in the weeds or anything like that, I hear 6’6”, I hear 6’7”, it’s a bit more of a tackle’s build, it seems. And obviously you played left tackle in college. Are there ever any leverage issues going up against d-linemen?

BB: Yeah, I think that’s probably one of the first things you learn when you move inside. You’ve got typically shorter guys, stockier, more bigger guys, more powerful, so it is a leverage battle. But I think what I’ve learned is if you play low when you’re tall, it can really help. Standing guys up, kind of taking their power away, you’re able to get under guys that are maybe a little bit shorter than you, that’s always a challenge, but when you’re able to do it, I think it makes the position a little bit easier.

KJ: Yeah, OK. I wanted to ask you about your fellow offensive linemen because no offensive lineman exists in isolation. You kind of have to work with these other four dudes and if you don’t you’re going to kind of get in trouble in a hurry. So I was wondering if I could just list out your four starting offensive linemen beside you and if you could even give me a like one or two-word description for these guys. What do you think?

BB: OK, yeah, for sure. It may be a couple more or a few more than two, but I’ll try my best.

KJ: If you have to throw some hyphens in there to connect words, it’s all good. So let me just start you off on your left with Christian Darrisaw.

BB: Absolute beast. Freak. Monster. Also great guy.

KJ: Love it. Garrett Bradbury.

BB: Intelligent. Leader. Also I’d say a freak. And also a great guy.

KJ: Fair enough, OK. Ed Ingram.

BB: Ed we call the monster. Ed’s nickname is monster. Ed just absolutely can hound on people. Also a great guy, also smart.

KJ: Final one is going to be Brian O’Neill.

BB: Super technical. Great leader. Smart guy. Incredibly hard worker. Also an athletic freak.

KJ: So then final question during this rapid-fire, kind of getting-to-know-you thing, you kind of brought it up. You play on a team with Matt Daniels as the [special teams] coach, who’s kind of a nickname machine. Do you have a nickname?

BB: I do not have a nickname. Sometimes, my rookie year, I was called Beaver a lot ‘cause I went to Oregon State. The Oregon State Beavers. But, no, I typically just get called Blake or Brandel. No cool nicknames for me, unfortunately.

So I wanted to ask you a couple more questions here. Kevin O’Connell, [o-line coach] Chris Kuper, they take over in 2022. What’s kind of the initial meeting like? How are they kind of describing your role with the team?

BB: So I was a tackle when they got here, and that was kind of the plan all along, or at least to start, I should say. We went through OTAs and I took tackle reps. Year went on and I got some starts at tackle, it was my first time really getting on the field during the regular season, which was great.

As the year progressed, I started getting more reps inside. You take all those scout team reps, if you’re not a starter, you’re on the look team, and so just kind of continuing to progress. Like I was saying, I knew in order to stick around I was going to have to play multiple positions, so I started playing guard, started playing center. And just trying to show them that I was willing to kind of learn whatever it took in order for me to stick around and they were super helpful through that process, coaching me up and getting me better.

KJ: Can you maybe, again, not to get too tangled in the weeds, but can you maybe explain for the fans, it’s different footwork going from left to right. It’s different going against Dexter Lawrence as opposed to Danielle Hunter. So you’re prepping for maybe four and five positions, what kind of challenges go into that?

BB: Yeah, I mean, I think what you started with that might be the biggest challenge for most guys: playing more than one side. It sounds simple, but in reality it’s not like you’re just flipping your feet and saying OK everything is the same other than that.

I think most guys would agree that you’re a different player on one side than you are on the other. And that goes for any swing guy, any guy that’s had a ton of reps at both sides. I think that on the right side, there’s things I do better. Throwing my outside hand is a big thing in offensive line play and pass pro, I think I’m a better puncher with my outside hand on the right side whereas on the left I think it’s something I have to drill everyday. Things kind of come more naturally to you on each side. I thought that there were things I did better on the left side and there were things that I did better on the right side. It’s a constant challenge, you’re just constantly working on your craft.

And then, yeah, you’re also totally right in terms of it’s, you’re going against completely different body types. On the outside, you got these guys that are running 4.6 screaming off the edge, they’re quick, and they can spin inside, they can power you, they can dip around the edge. And then you work inside and you get more guys who are just trying to run straight down your face, they’ve got some quick twitch, too, but it’s a completely different body type and completely different type of player.

Yeah, with multiple positions you better do your studying and know what you’re going to get all throughout the line. Our coaches do a great job of communicating what we can expect from guys, but you’ve gotta watch a lot of film, you’ve gotta prepare.