FOXBOROUGH — To really appreciate what goes on in the corner of the practice field roughly halfway through each training camp session, you’d need the whole thing to unroll in slow motion, set it to Sam Spence/NFL Films music, and bring back John Facenda provide narration. It's that dramatic.
While the rest of the team runs through a series of different drills, the offensive and defensive linemen gather for what is probably the most bottom-line element to anything that’s done over the course of an NFL training camp: one-on-ones.
So what happens when the big fellas get down to business? It can be a defining moment for players on both sides of the ball.
First, some context: the one-on-ones have been a mainstay at camp for many years. (The occasional one-on-ones between Vince Wilfork and Logan Mankins were absolutely epic struggles.) Currently overseen by line coaches Brendan Daly and Dante Scarnecchia, it’s pretty simple — one defensive guy against one offensive guy, surrounded by teammates. The edge guys going against tackles, and guards and centers against the defensive tackles. The offensive lineman’s job is to hold off the rusher, while the defensive lineman is looking to get around him by any means necessary.
You blow the whistle, and it’s like something out of Thunderdome. Two men enter. One man leaves. A few seconds later, the whistle blows again, and it’s done. The winner? Whoever did the best job either advancing or defending his piece of land.
It’s tough, nasty work, compounded by the fact that it’s being done in 80- to 90-degree heat in full pads. In an era where padded practice time is at a premium, it’s become a very simple way to measure line play. (There’s a reason Greg keeps detailed charts on the winners and losers in each of the head-to-head matchups. It’s a good way to see how individual linemen are doing.)
While offensive line play can be considered a collective effort, you can be exposed in one-on-ones, both literally and figuratively. For guys who are at the end of their careers -- like when veteran Robert Gallery made an appearance in Foxborough in the summer of 2012 -- it's the sort of thing that can accelerate you into retirement. For younger guys getting their first taste of the NFL, it can be enough to make you ponder tapping out. If you get beat here, there’s nowhere to hide. And if you win, it’s another plus in your column in the race to land a roster spot.
In an unforgiving game, it's the most unforgiving drill an NFL lineman can endure.
“We’re in the trenches, and it’s all about warfare in the trenches,” explained defensive lineman Lawrence Guy.
On Thursday, while most of the rest of the training camp crowd “oohed" and "aahed” at Cordarrelle Patterson making a one-handed grab over Jason McCourty, the linemen were going through their paces on the other field. There were two hellacious battles between defensive end Deatrich Wise and left tackle Trent Brown that appeared (in our experience) to end both in a draw. Brown’s performance Thursday against the rapidly ascending Wise is simply another chapter in the growing legend of New England’s new left tackle.
“He’s a big man,” marveled offensive lineman Teddy Karras at Brown.
“Oooh. I’m glad he’s on our team,” added Guy.
The other things that stood out? Adrian Clayborn easily handled rookie Isaiah Wynn when the two squared off on the edge. And on one sequence, defensive lineman Trey Flowers — who has spent the majority of his time as a defensive end — lined up over at nose tackle against James Ferentz, and Ferentz looked like he got the better of him.
Karras — who went 1-2 in our estimation, with a win over defensive lineman Vincent Valentine — said that when you get right down to the essence of what they do and what they want to get accomplished, the one-on-one sessions are at the heart of the game.
“I take it as a chance to work on my technique — to work on the drills that we’ve done in individual sessions prior to that point,” he said. “It’s cool. Its a thing I’ve done since I’ve been in football. You have one-on-ones and it’s a chance for you to be really good with your technique. It’s as hard as it will get.”
Multiple linemen insist their isn’t any trash-talking that goes on. (“Too tired to say anything,” said one lineman with a smile when he was asked if there was a lot of barking between the two sides in the one-on-ones.) Instead, the drill becomes a teachable exercise for both offensive and defensive linemen.
“It’s competitive,” explained Guy. “We go against each other every day. It’s not a case of ‘Who does better? Who does this? It’s ‘How do we improve ourselves?’ I’m going against Ted, he’s going to beat me the best he can. I’ll try to beat him. If he beats me, it’s about ‘OK, how did he do it?’ I can learn from that. Same way on the other side. It’s about improving each other. That’s the whole point of going one on one.”
“Last year when I was with Lawrence, I’d bounce some ideas off of Guy, a guy who has been in the league for eight years,” Karras said. “Obviously, he knows how to do it. He’s been around a bunch of guards. I asked him about different technique. You bounce ideas off each other. The whole point of training camp is to make each other better going into the season.”
Ultimately, any real estate won in one-on-ones isn’t going to solely determine that players’ future in Foxborough. But the daily skirmishes between the linemen can offer an early peek into not only the physical state of a team, but also a willingness to share secrets, and help the rest of the roster improve as a whole.
“When we’re over there in the one-on-ones, or competing against teach other in any other drill, really, it’s about improving each other for the next day. The next play. The next rep,” said Guy. “That’s the whole goal in the trenches. Going against the offensive line every day, the offensive line going against us, it’s about how can you beat me? How can I figure out how to stop you from beating me? It’s about improving each others’ game. That’s the whole point of trench warfare.”