All-Access with Cole Toner — Aug. 15: One-on-ones can be stressful
Aug 15, 2017, 10:37 AM
During training camp, Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Cole Toner will join Doug and Wolf every morning on 98.7 FM, Arizona’s Sports Station, to give an inside look at the daily grind of camp and a personal view of how his 2017 preparation is coming along.
The Arizona Cardinals are into preparation for their third of five preseason games. Bruce Arians’ team will host the Chicago Bears at University of Phoenix Stadium Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.
Part of that preparation included some on-one-one drills Monday afternoon in Glendale, drills that second-year offensive lineman Cole Toner finds a bit stressful.
“It is,” Toner said Tuesday morning. “We had two, kind of, yesterday. We did a run-game one-on-one with the D-linemen — it kind of ended up being two O-linemen versus one D-lineman and you do a lot of different chip blocks and double-teams, that kind of stuff.
“It’s a pretty stressful part of practice. Honestly, I don’t know how productive it is, because all they’re trying to do is kill us and it’s tough to work your actual technique there. Things happen so much faster than they will in practice and definitely a game, as far as getting your footwork down.”
That wasn’t the only mano-a-mano action Toner and his offensive line mates saw in Monday’s session.
“There was another drill, just a one-on-one pass rush drill, which we do almost every day.”
Toner said while that particular pass rush drill can be difficult, it’s something players on both sides anticipate.
“We do those so often, it’s just another part of practice, but it’s a part you’re almost looking forward to,” he said. “You hear you have it that day and you have to get your mind right for that period in particular.”
