ROY LOPEZ: I feel good. I'm blessed to be here, happy to be here and keep growing with these guys. Our D-line room is very fun to be in, and when you've got vets like Maliek Collins, Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison, it's something that you can lean on, and Jon Greenard going into his third year, so I guess we can call him a vet now, too. We're excited.
Q. What was it (indiscernible).
ROY LOPEZ: Just my knowledge of the game. I watched a lot of film. Just to learn from other guys and train with other guys and kind of pick their brain, what works. So pretty much what it comes down to and then you sit back, okay, outside of football, you change your nutrition, you change the way you're training. Just being able to grow as a person, to be able to sit back and breathe, okay, you watch film, how do you want to look on film next year, what differences do you want to make and how can you improve this defense.
Q. Have you seen that play out on the field?
ROY LOPEZ: Yeah, I mean, I'm excited. We're all excited. Just because we've been talking about it and training and drilling together since the end of last year, so being able to see it out here in fall camp and work where we smile at each other, okay, that's what we talked about in February. It's nice.
Q. How much did your off-season play into coming into training camp? You did a lot of working out, dropped some weight, got a little quicker. Maliek said he wasn't impressed because that's your job.
ROY LOPEZ: No, it's big. It's probably the biggest thing that's helped me so far is just being able to understand it is our job. We're a professional. You've got to look like one, you've got to act like one. That was the biggest thing. Last off-season you're training for a 40, so this year I was able to train to take on double teams and stop run plays and get after the quarterback.
But yeah, it's good. It's good.
Q. (Indiscernible) different vibe this year. (Indiscernible).
ROY LOPEZ: Yeah, I mean, the thing about Lovie is he's very straightforward. You know what he wants and you know how he wants it, so it's our job to get that done. From the moment he stepped foot in the building last year, that was something he instilled in our room. Now that he's the head coach, it's the same thing. Now the whole team understands what we want.
That's the biggest thing is I'm very blessed to play for Lovie. He's got a lot of guys, ex-NFL players, so they talk to us and reach out, so it's awesome to be able to be a part of his system and now part of his tree.
Q. Did you see in him (indiscernible) to become a head coach again?
ROY LOPEZ: I'm just blessed to be here, man. I'm blessed to play for Lovie. He's a guru.
Q. What was that like, that first off-season meeting that set the tone?
ROY LOPEZ: That's something that he says (indiscernible) show out. That's the biggest thing you can be here. You've got to show out on film, you've got to show up, and that's something that we hold to our heart. We're excited that we're going to get after it, and our D-line is ready to go, and we're just trying to do our 111th.
Q. In your off-season you got together with some of the D-linemen. How did that help you?
ROY LOPEZ: Yeah, it was awesome. We were able to train in Michigan, Arizona, out here, but we were able to meet up a few different places. We're thankful we have enough good trainers to be able to craft with each other and lean on one another, okay, when we get this, we're doing this. We're going to play this off of you, and just kind of pick brains. When you talk about a guy like Maliek Collins, he's very respected around this league. Media might not cover him the way they need to, but when you watch film, Maliek Collins is one of the best 3 techniques in this game, and I don't think anybody can dispute that or argue with that. That's something that I'm very lucky to play with and be able to just pick his brain and learn from him.
Q. Have you told him that he's the best 3 technique in the game?
ROY LOPEZ: I've told him, but he knows it, too, so sometimes I try not to -- I try to tell him otherwise.
Q. What have you seen from your defensive rookies as far as them wanting to get better? I've seen them stabilize and do extra work on the practice field, but what have you seen from them?
ROY LOPEZ: Yeah, it comes with -- they all have the chip on their shoulder. They all want to get after it. They're all hungry. They're ready to go. They feel disrespected because they were undrafted or drafted late, so that's something that we all share in common, that we were drafted late, and we just -- there's something that drives you a little more than others. They're blessed to be here, and I try to talk with them and be able to be a vet for them and just to have something to lean on. That's the biggest thing, being able to bounce ideas off and share thoughts outside of football.
Q. Especially players who play with a chip on their shoulder?
ROY LOPEZ: Right, I drafted late, so that's something that we share in common.
Q. (Indiscernible).
ROY LOPEZ: Probably the biggest one was we were at Michigan State for B.T. Jordan D-line camp. That was pretty cool to see because you're out there with guys across the league and you watch their film and then you see them in person and be able to see how they work and their work ethic and you understand why they are who they are and why they got the name they have.
Q. (Indiscernible).
ROY LOPEZ: That's a good question. You might have to ask B.T. I'd say probably 30 plus, 40 plus. There was a lot.
Q. What do you see in Davis from last year to this year as far as your expectations?
ROY LOPEZ: Davis is calm, cool, collected, so that's something that he's came in since day one, and he's not going to change for anybody. He's ready. He's excited. I feel like everybody should be excited to watch him play. We all are. I've seen some of the throws he makes, and they're just like -- you get mad, but at the same time you're like, I like that one. I like that.
Q. What are the conversations like with Adedayo? That's got to be kind of fun for you guys to have a guy like that.
ROY LOPEZ: Yeah, we love Dayo, man. The energy he brings to our team is something that can't be replaced. We're very blessed to have Dayo on this team and the D-line, and he embraces it, man. He loves being where he's from, and he tries to express and tell us how it is. The biggest thing is he's always got a smile on his face. So whoever got a smile on their face, I can get along with them. I'm very happy we've got Dayo.
Q. Would you want to see him on a rugby field?
ROY LOPEZ: Oh, yeah, Dayo is tough. I'm sure he's a beast on the rugby field. I'm sure.
Q. (Indiscernible).
ROY LOPEZ: Yeah, the way he lives his music and just the energy he brings, he doesn't change because he's here. Like I said, he's always got a smile on his face, so whoever has got a smile on their face I can get along with good.
DraftScripts by ASAP Sports
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports