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Q&A With Coach Lett
http://www.ukcowboysfans.com/#!QA-With-Coach-Lett/c1167/55a7d4bf0cf25b8bf7eadc3a
July 16, 2015
Lauren Draper-Wood
NFL UK launched the build up to 2015's International Series this week by hosting their Media Day alongside their Play 360 School Event. Former Cowboys player and current defensive tackle coach Leon Lett was over in the UK assisting in a few training sessions but insisted on hanging around a few days longer to be able to join in with the kids at this event. Neil Reynolds from Sky Sports kindly arranged for UK Cowboys Fans to catch up with Leon for an interview.
Who was the most passionate player you played with?
It'd probably have to be Michael Irvin. He would just work, work, work. We had several guys on the team like that- that's what made us a great team. But Michael was one of the guys that led the hard work and no frills on the football field. When we in between the green it was work, work, work- it was contagious.
Do you remember your first regular season huddle?
It was against the Washington Commanders, I think it was Week 11. It was my very first game. I came into the huddle and the call was base which was just a base defense. And on my very first play in the NFL I made a tackle! It was against Earnest Byner, he was a running back.
How does that huddle compare to the one in your first Super Bowl?
It was a little different because the one in the Super Bowl I had so much energy and I just had to keep telling myself 'it's just a regular season game, it's a regular season game. Calm down, calm down!'.
I was lot more nervous in my first ever huddle in the NFL. I didn't know if I could still do it yet, by the Super Bowl I knew I could. I had a lot more confidence playing on the defensive line.
Which opponent did you respect the most?
I always have to say Brett Favre. As a quarterback he was tough, he had no fear. He was a competitor. There were times when I would try and intimidate Brett just by staring at him, but the beautiful part of that was he would just stare back and say “Hey, what do you want? What's up?”. I respect him a lot as a competitor.
Would you still enjoy playing in the NFL today?
Yes most definitely! I would enjoy playing in the NFL in any era! But to have the opportunity to play in the 1990's against some of the greatest players in the history of the game- the Jerry Rice's of the world, the Brett Farve's. And in my own conference, being on the field against Lawrence Taylor and with my own teammates- the Troy Aikman's, Emmitt Smith's, Michael Irvin's of the world. And now a great friend of mine and a guy that I played right next to who is going to the Hall of Fame this year- Charles Haley. It was an awesome experience.
Is it hard standing on the sidelines now?
I tell my players all the time I'm living vicariously through them. At times it's a little bit difficult, but it's different. I know as a coach we can juts give them the game plan, work hard and on Sundays the game that goes on is pretty much out of our hands. Our job then is to try and motivate the players, give them my insight from the sidelines and make adjustments. The energy is different but I'm still jacked up pretty high!
Who's going to be the Cowboys breakout player this year?
Ooo that's a good one. I'm going to have to say DeMarcus Lawrence. He came back with such a great demeanour. His mentality was right on. He's worked hard and he's trying to be a leader on the defensive line in his second year. It's really important to him, that's why I think he's going to be the breakout player.
How do you feel about the Cowboys defensive tackle depth this year?
I'm confident. I feel really good about our depth there. One of the reasons for that is because of one of your local guys- Jack Crawford. Playing at Penn State I watched him coming out and was impressed with his play. I was really excited we got a chance to get him at the end of Pre Season last year. All he's done is improve. He's a hard worker. He can play inside and out.
We've got pretty good depth at defensive tackle. Tyrone Crawford is a guy we moved from defensive end in the first game and ended up at defensive tackle. He had a really solid season and we're looking for him to improve.
At the nose tackle position we've got Nick Hayden. He's one of the leaders on our defensive line. He's the heart and soul of our defensive unit. He hustles on every play. He's tough, intelligent and we're so blessed to have him. He's under appreciated, but it doesn't matter. He comes to work every day with that same mentality and it's contagious again to our room. Guys look to him because he does it right.
Talking of Jack Crawford, how is our other English player Efe Obada getting on?
Efe is coming along very well. We put a lot of pressure on him. We crammed a lot of defense on him, mentally and physically in one month. He had to get the whole game plan down and then there's the whole physical part. There's stuff that we do that he hasn't done before. The last two days we had a pass rush 11 on 11 and Efe was doing some really good things. The entire defense was rooting him on and celebrating him. We all love him!
The coaching staff know he works hard. You can see it's important to him. I work him hard and the whole time he's going “thank you coach thank you.” and I'm laughing at him saying “don't thank me! I'm trying to beat you up!”. He just keeps coming back for more, I love his work ethic.
If you were to play James Bond, who would be your Bond girl?
Oh my goodness! You're not going to tell my girlfriend are you?! Well I know she's already been a Bond girl, but I'd take Halle Berry!
------
At the end of the interview, Leon stopped me and wanted me to make everyone aware just how appreciative he is of the support. That he grew up a Cowboys fan and knows how much the Star means. He said he gets fan mail from across the world and he and the organisation are truly thankful for all the support.
http://www.ukcowboysfans.com/#!QA-With-Coach-Lett/c1167/55a7d4bf0cf25b8bf7eadc3a
July 16, 2015
Lauren Draper-Wood
NFL UK launched the build up to 2015's International Series this week by hosting their Media Day alongside their Play 360 School Event. Former Cowboys player and current defensive tackle coach Leon Lett was over in the UK assisting in a few training sessions but insisted on hanging around a few days longer to be able to join in with the kids at this event. Neil Reynolds from Sky Sports kindly arranged for UK Cowboys Fans to catch up with Leon for an interview.
Who was the most passionate player you played with?
It'd probably have to be Michael Irvin. He would just work, work, work. We had several guys on the team like that- that's what made us a great team. But Michael was one of the guys that led the hard work and no frills on the football field. When we in between the green it was work, work, work- it was contagious.
Do you remember your first regular season huddle?
It was against the Washington Commanders, I think it was Week 11. It was my very first game. I came into the huddle and the call was base which was just a base defense. And on my very first play in the NFL I made a tackle! It was against Earnest Byner, he was a running back.
How does that huddle compare to the one in your first Super Bowl?
It was a little different because the one in the Super Bowl I had so much energy and I just had to keep telling myself 'it's just a regular season game, it's a regular season game. Calm down, calm down!'.
I was lot more nervous in my first ever huddle in the NFL. I didn't know if I could still do it yet, by the Super Bowl I knew I could. I had a lot more confidence playing on the defensive line.
Which opponent did you respect the most?
I always have to say Brett Favre. As a quarterback he was tough, he had no fear. He was a competitor. There were times when I would try and intimidate Brett just by staring at him, but the beautiful part of that was he would just stare back and say “Hey, what do you want? What's up?”. I respect him a lot as a competitor.
Would you still enjoy playing in the NFL today?
Yes most definitely! I would enjoy playing in the NFL in any era! But to have the opportunity to play in the 1990's against some of the greatest players in the history of the game- the Jerry Rice's of the world, the Brett Farve's. And in my own conference, being on the field against Lawrence Taylor and with my own teammates- the Troy Aikman's, Emmitt Smith's, Michael Irvin's of the world. And now a great friend of mine and a guy that I played right next to who is going to the Hall of Fame this year- Charles Haley. It was an awesome experience.
Is it hard standing on the sidelines now?
I tell my players all the time I'm living vicariously through them. At times it's a little bit difficult, but it's different. I know as a coach we can juts give them the game plan, work hard and on Sundays the game that goes on is pretty much out of our hands. Our job then is to try and motivate the players, give them my insight from the sidelines and make adjustments. The energy is different but I'm still jacked up pretty high!
Who's going to be the Cowboys breakout player this year?
Ooo that's a good one. I'm going to have to say DeMarcus Lawrence. He came back with such a great demeanour. His mentality was right on. He's worked hard and he's trying to be a leader on the defensive line in his second year. It's really important to him, that's why I think he's going to be the breakout player.
How do you feel about the Cowboys defensive tackle depth this year?
I'm confident. I feel really good about our depth there. One of the reasons for that is because of one of your local guys- Jack Crawford. Playing at Penn State I watched him coming out and was impressed with his play. I was really excited we got a chance to get him at the end of Pre Season last year. All he's done is improve. He's a hard worker. He can play inside and out.
We've got pretty good depth at defensive tackle. Tyrone Crawford is a guy we moved from defensive end in the first game and ended up at defensive tackle. He had a really solid season and we're looking for him to improve.
At the nose tackle position we've got Nick Hayden. He's one of the leaders on our defensive line. He's the heart and soul of our defensive unit. He hustles on every play. He's tough, intelligent and we're so blessed to have him. He's under appreciated, but it doesn't matter. He comes to work every day with that same mentality and it's contagious again to our room. Guys look to him because he does it right.
Talking of Jack Crawford, how is our other English player Efe Obada getting on?
Efe is coming along very well. We put a lot of pressure on him. We crammed a lot of defense on him, mentally and physically in one month. He had to get the whole game plan down and then there's the whole physical part. There's stuff that we do that he hasn't done before. The last two days we had a pass rush 11 on 11 and Efe was doing some really good things. The entire defense was rooting him on and celebrating him. We all love him!
The coaching staff know he works hard. You can see it's important to him. I work him hard and the whole time he's going “thank you coach thank you.” and I'm laughing at him saying “don't thank me! I'm trying to beat you up!”. He just keeps coming back for more, I love his work ethic.
If you were to play James Bond, who would be your Bond girl?
Oh my goodness! You're not going to tell my girlfriend are you?! Well I know she's already been a Bond girl, but I'd take Halle Berry!
------
At the end of the interview, Leon stopped me and wanted me to make everyone aware just how appreciative he is of the support. That he grew up a Cowboys fan and knows how much the Star means. He said he gets fan mail from across the world and he and the organisation are truly thankful for all the support.
