00:00In a linebacker, do you view that as a vote of confidence for you and Barry?
00:04I don't really pay much attention to it.
00:06I mean, they could have signed one.
00:07I mean, whether they were to start one, whether they were not to sign one,
00:11they're all just trying to make us better, and they're trying to get us to the
00:15pinnacle of what this league is, and that's to get to the Super Bowl.
00:17So whether they sign one, whether they don't, I believe it shows a level of trust.
00:21But it also kicks us in the rear a little bit more just to show them that, hey,
00:26they trust us even more going into year two.
00:28And it helped us out a ton to be able to get the job done up front.
00:32What impact does Dexter Lawrence have on you two guys?
00:36I mean, that's a guy that's going to take up a bunch of blocks for you,
00:42where we can play faster and more down with him, having a year under our bets.
00:45We can notch that up under a year and be more comfortable into a new system,
00:50learning different positions and things like that.
00:52So that allows us to play faster.
00:54But a guy that can fill up a McDonald's drive-thru also allows you to play
00:58a little bit faster as well.
01:00So him taking up two, even three blocks sometimes is going to make it a lot easier,
01:03not just for us, but also the guys in the secondary that may have to be getting
01:06into some gaps, play some 10 and Opie fits and things like that.
01:11So it's going to make it a lot easier for a lot of us.
01:14What's your view of the best way for you to take the next step, approaching this
01:20off-season program and things you're focusing on to be at that next level?
01:24Yeah, I would believe that if you're not working on everything, that you're going
01:27to be worse than you were.
01:29You don't want to be the guy that gets left behind.
01:32You want to be the guy that takes the jump.
01:35You want to be the guy that guys can look to to lead the team.
01:39People also know that this guy's going to do his 111, but also that this guy's coming
01:43with a different energy, a different passion, a different demeanor this year.
01:47And that's what this is all about.
01:48And I believe that it's being felt throughout the building with the moves that we've made
01:52the past couple of days.
01:54So it's a conscious thing for you to show you have a different energy a little bit
01:58right now?
01:59Absolutely.
01:59How different does it just feel just being in this room right now at this time of year
02:02compared to last year when you came in after the draft?
02:05No, not knowing exactly what you were getting yourself into.
02:07Yeah, it was a ton of uncertainty, just knowing that I'm playing for such a phenomenal
02:14and a great organization, but knowing how I was going to be used.
02:17Now I kind of know how I'm going to be used, knowing what they're asking me to do
02:21and what I am to focus on, which is being an even better linebacker, drawing in every
02:27facet, but also being able to bring everyone along with me.
02:31We're all in this together.
02:33No one's in it by themselves.
02:34Not one person is going to change teams, so it's going to be a buy-in from us as a
02:39whole.
02:39The fast we can go together in this offseason like we've been doing allows us to play better
02:43in this season.
02:44What did you think he did well last year, and what did you think he wanted to work on?
02:49When you kind of reviewed your rookie season.
02:51Yeah, I mean, I talked to TJ probably last week.
02:56I watched every game probably over and over again.
02:58But there isn't probably just one thing that I would say I was good at.
03:02For me, and Coach Hodges will tell you, I'm the hardest on myself, especially in the film
03:07room.
03:07I'll sit in the front and critique myself over and over again and write the same notes
03:11just so it's ingrained in my mind what needs to be focused on and what doesn't.
03:15But for me, I'm just focusing on everything.
03:19There were things that were okay in my mind, but there's incredible room for improvement.
03:25So the good things in my mind are I kind of pass those along and chalk those up and hang
03:31those on the coat rack, and I'm like, okay, where can I focus on, which is pretty much
03:35every way.
03:36So if you're not a complete linebacker, who are you really?
03:39So that's what I'm trying to work on.
03:41And you've got a lot of resources into improving the defensive line.
03:44All right, when you look at that group, what stands out to you?
03:47Yeah, I believe the meat that's up there, the meat and bones, the meat and potatoes
03:53is all up front.
03:54So you know what they say?
03:56They said at the beginning of the Super Bowl last year with the Seahawks, if you have a
04:01good bit of guys up front, that makes it easier.
04:04So it starts up front.
04:06A lot of people say it can start with the linebacker group, and it does.
04:09It for sure does.
04:10It's always going to come back to us, and we take that under the chin.
04:13But it's going to start up front, the same as it goes for offensive line.
04:18It starts up front, protecting Joe, making sure we move down the field.
04:21It starts up front with us, making sure we get knocked back, making sure guys eat up
04:25two blocks like we can now, and grow from there.
04:29Do you feel like you and Eric got the most approved out of everybody in the roster?
04:31There's a lot of talk about Joe.
04:33Yeah, there's a ton of talk, but we don't look at it just because it can be hit or miss.
04:38It can be comments out there that bring you up, and then two comments later,
04:42it brings you down, but that's what this sport is.
04:45People have their opinions, and bring them on.
04:48We don't read them for mental health reasons, but it's a building block.
04:54We know what we need to work on, so we're not really focusing on if we got better,
05:01got worse.
05:01We know that we're always in each other's ear.
05:03We're here for each other.
05:05We're growing together, and that's what it's always going to be.
05:08We're going to continue to stand on our faith, first and foremost, in Jesus,
05:12and then keep pressing on.
05:13How much are y'all talking about?
05:15We talk a good bit.
05:16We check in.
05:16That's my brother.
05:17Despite the Clemson-South Carolina thing, we become rivals again that time of the year.
05:24Other than that, we're brothers.
05:26We're inseparable.
05:27Check in on him just to make sure he's still alive on me, whatever he's doing.
05:31But he's definitely my brother for sure.
05:35Wasn't expected to be a Clemson Tiger to be my brother,
05:37but hopefully everybody in Carolina can forgive me for that one.
05:40Definitely my brother.
05:41I don't know if Demetrius, if you heard what your partner, Eric Carter, was talking about,
05:45but I said nobody works harder and studies harder than you do.
05:49What is it about the offseason, this time of year, that you need to do,
05:54you need to prepare to get ready for next year?
05:57I believe if you're not working in every area of your game,
06:00that you'll fall behind.
06:02I believe that if you ask Joe Burrow, the same person,
06:05he's going to probably bore you and say he's working on everything
06:08just because he's got to be at the best of his game,
06:10and he knows that he's trying to get done.
06:12So if you're a linebacker, if you're a quarterback,
06:14if you're an old lineman and you're already working on one section of your game,
06:17you're going to lag in a different way.
06:18So it's mandatory.
06:20As an NFL pro and an NFL player, they're trusting you a lot.
06:25They're trusting you by bringing you back in the building,
06:29by not doing things and by doing things.
06:32So it's only right to work on every aspect of your game
06:37in order to be better and in order to take that big jump.
06:40I was going to say, he ranked his interest in the draft as a 10 out of 10,
06:44said he was locked in on every pick.
06:45What was your weekend like?
06:46My weekend was the focus on being dad.
06:48I was not truly worried.
06:50I've got the Bengals out, so, of course, I'll see who we get and who we don't get.
06:54But, again, like I said earlier, they got him a linebacker.
06:57In their mind, we're just trying to get back to the Super Bowl.
07:00So have we gotten one?
07:01Bring him on.
07:02We're all on the same mission here.
07:04You're wearing the orange and black.
07:05We're family.
07:06We're going to push you on.
07:07Same thing if they didn't.
07:08That's going to push us even more.
07:10Just to show them, okay, they do trust us.
07:12They believe in us.
07:13And everyone else should, too.
07:14And if they don't, that's fine.
07:15But we're going to continue to keep working and keep pushing
07:18because that's the name of the game.
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