I learned from different guys I played with, too. The key was probably three people: The good Lord, the offensive linemen I played with and great fullbacks that could block very well.
I don't talk much to offensive linemen in general.
Offensive linemen don't get looked at. Nobody is paying attention to the offensive line. But me? I'm getting watched for everything. I know what type of player I am. Everybody else that I know knows what type of player I am.
Pass-rushers with boxing or kickboxing go hand-in-hand. You've got to have fast, sharp hands and be straight down the middle, because linemen are coming off and you have to be able to pop their hands down.
When you can get o-linemen guessing about what you're going to do, that means you're already winning before you start.
You continue to build and work on new things, and continue to beat offensive linemen, week in and week out.
As a running back, it takes five offensive linemen, a tight end, a fullback and possibly two wide receivers, in order to make my job successful.
Defensive lineman in the 3-4 isn't a glory position. He is supposed to tie up as many linemen as possible in order to free the linebackers.
Being an offensive lineman, you always have the mindset of being an unsung hero - a lot of the people who look at the game follow the ball.
Whatever you want to call it, they have all these names for these coverages, I've seen them. Like those linemen coming out to jam me on the line of scrimmage. A lot of crazy stuff.
Now that I'm retired, I want to say that all defensive linemen are sissies.
I had pro offers from the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, who were pretty hard up for linemen in those days. If I had gone into professional football the name Jerry Ford might have been a household word today.
When you hang with a bunch of 300-pound linemen, you tend to find the places that are the greasiest and serve the most food.
