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How Jeff Saturday is preparing Bernhard Raimann to face T.J. Watt, Micah Parsons and
How Jeff Saturday is preparing Bernhard Raimann to face T.J. Watt, Micah Parsons and the NFL's elite
Nate Atkins
https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...l/69665729007/
Warning: requires a lot of scrolling
Quote:
INDIANAPOLIS — The tests are coming for Bernhard Raimann.
On Monday night, the Colts rookie left tackle will face the Steelers' T.J. Watt, who has only led the NFL in sacks in two straight seasons, with a combined 37.5.
Next Sunday, he'll see the Cowboys' Micah Parsons, who already has 25 career sacks, even though he's still just 23 years old.
After that, he'll face the Vikings' Danielle Hunter, the Chargers' Joey Bosa and the Giants' Kayvon Thibodeaux -- two Pro Bowlers and this year's No. 5 pick in the draft.
The Colts say they want to get experience for and an evaluation of their third-round rookie left tackle. They're about to get that in spades against some of the biggest game wreckers in the NFL.
Indianapolis Colts rookie left tackle Bernhard Raimann is ready to make his sixth career start on Monday night against All-Pro T.J. Watt and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
They're planning to stick with Raimann through the inevitable growing pains.
"I think it was (Tony) Dungy or (Jim) Caldwell who used to say, ‘It’s always easier to fire guys, but who are you hiring?’" Colts interim coach Jeff Saturday said. "So, if guys are having a hard time, our job is to coach them to be better and to be the players that we know they can be."
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The Colts will do their best to help Raimann out, with the aide of All-Pro left guard Quenton Nelson, a primary blocking tight end in Mo Alie-Cox and a veteran quarterback in Matt Ryan.
But ultimately, Raimann is going to have to prove that he has what it takes to hang in against the best edge rushers in the NFL. If he can make the proper strides in the final six games, the Colts could check off a critical position of need as they look to rebuild the league's last-ranked offense by Football Outsiders' DVOA metric and set up to potentially draft a quarterback of the future.
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It's the audition Raimann wants, too. That's why Saturday's promise to let him start means so much.
"It instills confidence in myself to hear that from Coach," Raimann said. "That's what drives you to get better each day, to live up to those expectations."
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Raimann grew up in Austria and did not play offensive line until the 2020 season at Central Michigan. He learned one of the most detail-oriented positions in a pandemic and tested it on players in the Mid-American Conference, making the jump to the pro level a sizeable one.
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That's why he fell to the third round. The Colts initially started Matt Pryor at left tackle, hoping they could buy Raimann time. They started him in a rotation, where he'd steal a couple series in the second and third quarters in order to find live game reps that are crucial to such a physical position. Pryor became a liability in pass protection, though, and Raimann got to start earlier than planned in Week 6 at Denver.
Raimann's play has been up and down this season, as to be expected for a rookie. In 10 games and five starts, he's allowed six sacks in 183 pass snaps, a rate of 3.3%, according to Sports Info Solutions. He's also been called for three holding penalties. The Colts benched him once, when 11th-year veteran Dennis Kelly stepped in against the Jaguars and provided some stability, but an injury opened the door for Raimann to regain the position.
He has shown some improvement from the Denver game, particularly as a run blocker. As he grows more comfortable, he allows Nelson to play more aggressively in space.
One area where the Colts hope to see a boost with Raimann is through Saturday. The interim coach started at center for 202 games over 14 seasons, including 13 with the Colts, and reached six Pro Bowls. He's delegating heavily to the rest of his staff to serve as a third coach for the offensive line, joining Chris Strausser and Hall-of-Famer Kevin Mawae.
"His coaching points are unique based on his playing experience with how he went about certain blocking schemes and certain details of the game," Raimann said of Saturday. "Having him as a head coach, all eyes are going to be on the O-Line. During practice, he's going to make sure each block is correct, with the right leverage and everything. If he doesn't like it, he's going to restart the whole period."
It's all part of a plan to elevate a struggling offensive line as a whole and to prepare Raimann for the murderers' row of pass rushers he's about to endure.
“You feel more and more comfortable out there each time you play," Raimann said. "You get a little bit more used to the game speed and everything. Then, you build more chemistry with the guys on the line, the communication gets better and yeah. So it definitely gets easier.”
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