Hogs Haven
Editor’s note: Each day, Hogs Haven compiles a collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East, the NFL and sports in general, with a sprinkling of other stuff. Enjoy!
Commanders.com
“I see myself,” Tunsil said of Conerly. “I don’t wanna sound cliche. I see a dog. I see somebody who wants it. He wants to be great.”
Conerly, who entered the NFL at just 21 years old, looks stronger and more confident heading into his second season. His arms have more definition, and his face is a bit thinner. He dropped his body fat percentage and replaced it with muscle, mostly by dieting, eating cleaner and eating less. Conerly joked that it’s now easier to sit on a bull rush, but it’s allowed him to play with more comfort on the field.
Tunsil said all that progress is the result of him and Conerly “working our a** off” in Alabama, where Tunsil goes to train during the offseason. It’s long been a yearly tradition for Tunsil to work with his own trainers in the offseason instead of attending the team’s voluntary workouts, and it’s hard to argue with the results. Tunsil is one of the best left tackles in the league who holds his own against the likes of Myles Garrett and prides himself on the improvements he has made as a run blocker.
Conerly has already shown improvement from his rookie season, which started uneven with him going against some of the NFL’s top pass-rushers in consecutive weeks but did improve near the end. He’s using his athleticism to make blocks in the Commanders’ new offense, which he believes will cater to him and the rest of Washington’s offensive linemen. It allows them to “go out there and just be the athletes that we are,” which was one of Conerly’s strengths in college at Oregon.
Bullock’s Film Room
Allegretti is replacing Biadasz at C, can he be an upgrade in the mental side of the position?
The story we’re told from reporters and those around the team is that the Commanders feel comfortable with Allegretti as their center. Their belief is that while he might not necessarily have the same physical attributes that Biadasz has, he could make up for that with the mental side of the game. Center is a unique position because it’s one of the more cerebral positions on the field outside of quarterback. They have to set targeting in the run game to ensure each blocker is going to the correct defenders, while also helping the quarterback set the pass protections to pick up blitzes and give the quarterback time to throw.
We hear the teams “setting the protection” and “targeting” a lot with the center position, but what does...
