Olivier Vernon: “Cohesiveness” of OL noticeable

The Giants got their first win of the preseason on Friday night, taking down the Detroit Lions 30-17. Following the win, at Monday’s practice, linebacker Olivier Vernon spoke with the media. Here are some takeaways.

On finding rhythm during the preseason ...

“I know what you mean but come preseason time, you have to start fast,” Vernon said. “You have to kind of get the feel of it early even though you’re not going to get the rest later throughout the game. For myself, it’s basically getting down my technique, working on my technique, making sure everything is solid as far as knowing the playbook and not having any mental errors. That’s one of the biggest things when it comes to the preseason, it’s all mental.”

On the front 7 vs. the run ...

“That’s going to be a telltale sign when we get out there (during) game one against Jacksonville,” Vernon said. “Like I always say, ‘We’re only as good as we’ll make ourselves be’, it’s just a work in progress.”

On how good he thinks the run game will be ...

“We have a lot of depth,” Vernon said. “We have a lot of guys who have been working hard during this offseason. From what I’ve seen out there on the field with those guys, we’ve got a lot of talent, those guys are working hard and they’re hungry. So, add that with depth, we’re going to see how it goes, but I’m excited to see (what happens) with the type of work they’ve been putting in in practice and then going out on game day and trying to show it out there. I feel like they’re doing it, we’re going to have to see game one.”

On what he has seen from the offensive line ...

“I see the cohesiveness amongst them – and that’s on the field and off,” Vernon said. “Those guys are always together. That’s what you expect from the offensive line group. Those guys are all like brothers. They go everywhere with each other. That translates well on the field when it comes down to it. I think their attitude is one of the things that I’ve noticed, especially going against them in practice and since OTAs. They got depth in that group, too, as well. They have a lot of guys that are working. They’re working, they’re building that chemistry. That’s one thing you like to see in the offensive line group.”

On the new defense ...

“The whole process of (defensive coordinator James Bettcher) Coach “Bettch” bringing his scheme in, for myself and I feel like for the guys, it’s been fun,” Vernon said. “Being able to translate that to real time, to a game day, I think everybody is excited. It’s kind of like a fresh start. It’s going to be fun for a lot of guys, especially being put in different positions and just a way of attacking on defense. I think it’s going to be a lot more fun for some of the guys, for all of us basically.”