Dual Q&A with Mike Johnson & Joe Tresey, ctd.

Who are you going to be leaning on most this year, not just in terms of production, but in terms of being the ultimate player?

Mike Johnson: “That’s one guy you can say, ‘Here is our starting running back,’ Johnathan Franklin. He’s done a good job. He’s a good running back, has a great work ethic. I think he’s the model of what we want to be from a football team. He’s one of those guys that has to be in the huddle, who pushes us to next level. He’s a guy who’s going to get touches on a consistent basis. But there are other guys who haven’t realized it yet that I think will get there. There are guys who show flashes, but they have no idea how good they can be. I see that. Those are the guys I’m going to try to push, get them there before September. We need those guys to make plays. I need those guys to step up and be the players, to play up to their potential level so we can be the team we want to be this year.”

Joe Tresey: “It’s very natural and normal to lean on Tony Dye and Sean Westgate because they have most the experience. But I’m leaning on them for those guys to have accountability within their rooms. That they’re making their peers accountable. In order to do that, they have to be very accountable. To me, if I’m making you accountable, I’m going to be upset if the guy next to me isn’t accountable. It’s like passing the accountability around. In the D-line room, I’m trying to figure out who that guy is.”