G Wyatt Teller (10.7.20)
G Wyatt Teller:
On the Browns’ success on plays where he pulls to the left:
“There are a lot of plays where I am pulling to the left, (G) Joel (Bitonio) is pulling to the right, I am pulling to the right or Joel is pulling to the left. I guess the key to it is plugging in our guards and guys who have been playing well in Joel and I and just trying to get the scheme right. Eye candy, but at the same time, we are running downhill and we are having a good time.”
On how impressed he is with RB Kareem Hunt this year:
“Kareem has been amazing. He is a great guy to run in front of because he usually makes you right, which you are thankful for. The (RB) Nick (Chubb) [injury] play, it was tough, and that is the way it works. I know that he is going to rehab himself better and be back stronger than ever – my heart and prayers go out to him. We are not hurting. That is what is so beautiful about the backfield that we have is, even look at (RB) D’Ernest (Johnson) and all of those guys, we have great running backs who when you distribute the ball, they can run for some yards, too.”
On how much confidence it gives him that the Browns RBs enjoy running behind him:
“That is a good thing, but I am at right guard so it is kind of what you would hope is that they embrace you as their running guard. The beautiful thing is I know there is so much more I can improve on. There is so much that I leave out on the field. I am thankful that there have been good things that are happening, we are playing at a high level and we have been winning – first quarter of the season 3-1 in a city that wants to win, right? We have not had the success that we want. Back in the hay day, but recently, we have not had the success that we want. I know that this is big for the fans. I know this is big for the community, as well. Really, I am just happy that we are winning and we are playing well, and if I am a part of that, I am a part of that and I am happy I am.”
On where he can improve:
“There is a lot. I know my finish and my effort has been good and I know that I can even improve on that, but when I look at my play, some people would say, ‘Wow, he is being a mauler. Wow, everything looks good.’ I just know that I can play at such a high level with my feet, with my hands and with my hat placement where sometimes I am behind the block, and luckily my strength gets the job done. That does not always work when you are going against people like (Colts DT DeForest) Buckner and guys like that. You have to be you got to be perfect because they are perfect, they play hard and they have the same effort you have, but now they are just as strong if not faster, if not stronger. There are a lot of a lot of things that I know when I see I’m like, ‘That is good. That is a good finish,’ But I know that my footwork can be better and I can make it look easier.”
On his confidence level and comfort in the scheme and learning from offensive line coach Bill Callahan:
“Coach never really lets you stay comfortable. He stayed on my butt. He has made sure that I know that I have a lot to work at and a lot to improve. Finding those plays and that consistency level is where I want to keep on improving as you see it done amazing one play and then subpar the next play. I need to limit those subpar plays and start playing at that high level 100 percent of the time. Of course, we are playing against the best in the world so it is easy to say that and it is harder to do it. I think with the group around us the scheme that we have, it has definitely been helping me.”
On what makes Callahan such a talented coach:
“His attention to detail. Someone would say, ‘Wow, that is the perfect block,’ and he would be like, ‘Ah, but his toe was 45 degrees the wrong way.’ I am telling you, that is the biggest thing. ‘Alright, Coach, I got you. Alright. Yeah.’ There is a little bit of that. I know that Coach, he just wants the best and he wants his guys to succeed. If you are playing for Coach Callahan, he wants you to do well, and that is something that some coaches are like, ‘You know, we are kind of back against the wall. You know, I hope he does well, but I just do not know.’ He is the kind of guy who he is going to put in 18 hours before the game to make sure that you are on the right page and that you are working well and that you get the idea and even if the technique is a little bit behind that you understand the fundamentals.”
On how motivated he was prior to training camp and how gratifying it has been to have success to start the season:
“I still want to start with it is still early. I know that I can play at a high level, but I know that I can still get better. That is one thing that a lot of people have been patting me on the back, telling me ‘Oh, you are amazing. You are amazing. Your stuff don’t stink.’ I am like, ‘Hey, let me tell you, there is always something you can improve on. There is always something you can get better at.’ I can see it in almost every play. Even if it is plus-plus and Pro Football Focus puts it as a crazy play, I am still like, ‘Wow, I could have fit my backside hand underneath and gotten more lift and even more push.’ That is always the mindset. You are always trying to get better. I have been thankful with Coach Callahan. He has been a stickler about it. He has been watching me and making sure that the bad plays you put on film are mitigated. You put less and less and less and you are a more consistent all-around stud. That is the mindset that I want to get into because when you see, Joel, you see (C) JC (Tretter), you see (T) Jack (Conklin) a you see these guys, and even (T) Jed (Jedrick Wills) has it, he is a young – the same with me – you see guys who have done it year in and year out, and they have done it a high level. Whenever I see them, I am like, ‘That is what I want to do and I want to be.’ It is kind of cool, you have Jack and Joel are the smart ones and I am the mauler so they tell me what to do and I go maul them. It is a pretty good deal.”
On if he is surprised on his own performance or if it is just natural development from getting an opportunity:
“I think that is a lot to it. Not having the offseason here last year and coming in learning a new scheme, yeah, there are so many ways you can skin a cat but the technique and fundamentals behind each play can change drastically. When I first came here, it was slowly learning and I am learning during the season when we are playing and everything is changing, it is nice to know the base rules and the base fundamentals, and then when plays change throughout the year I can make those adjustments. It is nice to have not only smart guys around me, like I was saying, but this offseason I trained as hard as I have and as hard as I could. I think I maybe missed two weeks of strength training the entire offseason. It was definitely a lot of work. I came in early and I made sure that I got with Joel (Bitonio) and JC (Tretter) where they were training up here in Cleveland. We just ran and did drills and stuff like that. I feel like that helped. That was good for my growth but also camaraderie with the group because we did not have the spring together. I think that was rough, but we worked through it and everybody did. I am thankful for the guys around me and coach and everything like that and the detail we put into everything. If you take it to heart and you really work at it, you are going to improve. It is good to have successful people around you, too.”
On if he felt it was fair that Callahan told the media in training camp that the RG position was open:
“You have to be humble at the same time. You know your own worth, right? I knew that I could play, but I did not expect to be handed a job and I did not expect to be handed anything. I knew that I was going to work. I have been working the past three years that I have been in the league. I knew that it would be beneficial for the whole team to have a competition and not a ‘He is our guy. An unproven guy, he is our guy.’ I kind of understood that I knew that I had to take lots of steps, but in my mind, it was mine, it was job, I wanted it and I was going to do whatever it took to get it. That is why work so hard, I put on the weight and I gained strength. I still have to get in shape (laughter) because we cannot run as much and it is a little different when you are not playing ball, but it is the only thing that really gets you into shape is ball. It was good, and I felt like preparation was big this year.”
On satisfaction when getting the first big block of a game and if helping spring a big run is an OL equivalent to scoring a TD:
“You always get the touchdown blocks, and those are basically the offensive line equivalent [of scoring a touchdown]. I would say the biggest thing is trying to…It took a couple of series last game to really get into it, and when it is a slow start or whatever it is, you just have to be consistent and continue on. That is one thing, like that first play I remember the Cincinnati game, the first play, I knocked my guy down, it was a fake and I run over to hit someone else. You are just having fun flying around, and then all of a sudden your guy sees it and they are like ‘Alright, we can do this, too. Let’s fly around and hit each other.’ It is contagious. Sometimes – it is a bad word – being a prick is a good thing. I have to be smarter with my hands and no personal fouls or holding calls, but I think that that helps in the long run is having that little bit of edge, that chip on your shoulder to where guys are not just thinking about the block; they are thinking about the guy trying to take their head off. I think that that helps the whole offensive line and we see it and it is working and it is good.”
On what makes Colts DT DeForest Buckner so good and challenge presented by the Colts DL:
“The scheme fits the players. When you have a scheme that first the players, you have 11 guys who play all out, all game for 60 minutes. They are tougher than nails. He is 6-7, 300 pounds and very fast. He is good with his hands. He is fast. He is smart. He sees tells. He sees stuff. Like I said, for this scheme he is perfect. Slight movements to where you are missing off blocking combos and stuff like that, and that is what he lives for and I think that he is a good player to do it. I think that he talented and a smart guy, as well as a talented guy. I am not even talking about just No. 99. I am talking about that whole front, that whole d-line, as well as the linebackers. You have a talented front and a talented back core, and you are going to have a good defense. There are reasons why that they have been given the accolades that they have been given, but it does not make us afraid or that does not make us scared. That just makes us understanding of the preparation it takes to take down a giant like them.”
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