Tony Wragge: “We’re looking at the guy in the mirror every day.”

SANTA CLARA — Backup tackle Tony Wragge sat at his locker this afternoon and spoke earnestly on the offensive’s line performance on Saturday and their current state of mind.

Here’s everything he said.

Q: The offensive line is under a lot of scrutiny. What’s the mood with you guys?

WRAGGE: The mood is just to get back to work. Alignment, assignment technique, and execution – that’s what the coaches have stressed, and went over the finer points of the game, and for the most part make the corrections and perform.

Q: But what has the mood been out there

WRAGGE: There’s no panic. It’s a deal of execution. We’re obviously still going over the offense, or getting it revved up for the regular season, and thing are going to happen here or there on the offensive line. It’s just our point that once it’s happened to us, we try not to repeat it. We just stress the finer points and the details of execution. The things that happened to us the other night, we learned from it, we lived through it, and we move forward. We can’t dwindle on the past.

Q: How have the quarterbacks reacted in the huddle afterwards?

WRAGGE: With encouragement. There’s always encouragement. We’re a team, you know, the team, the team, the team, and that’s what Coach Harbaugh stresses and that’s how we perform as on offensive line and an offensive unit and a team for that matter. Guys are there to support each other. It’s our job as an offensive line to give Alex and any quarterback that’s back there the opportunity to do make his throws and get big plays down field, and we’re going to do that. He’s going to support us any way he can. If we have one bad play or something doesn’t go the way you want it to, you turn around and make good on the next play. Stack ‘em up.

Q: It must be tough being an offensive lineman and only getting attention when it’s over something negative.

WRAGGE: Yeah, absolutely. It’s work, work, work, and most of the pats on the back are from the guys that are in the pads, you know, it’s just the way it is. It’s not a high-glory position, but at the same time our job satisfaction as offensive linemen comes from our teammates. Fans of the game, true fans of the game who know the game within the game between the offensive and defensive lines, defensive fronts, that when you win that battle you’re going to have success, and that’s what we’re trying to do every day.

Q: You guys are probably your toughest critics, right?

WRAGGE: Absolutely. A half step here, or a half position there. Timing. It’s just as important between any quarterback or any receiver, the timing in their routes to connect up, as it is offensive linemen. Our timing, our position, everything that we do we scrutinize ourselves. We’re looking at the guy in the mirror every day and saying, “What can I do to make us better?” And that’s the way it is. We have to evaluate ourselves every day.

 

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