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New Saints guard Larry Warford working hard to replicate relationship Zach Strief, Jahri Evans had on right side



BY JOEL A. ERICKSON | JERICKSON@THEADVOCATE.COM JUN 23, 2017 - 11:30 AM

Larry Warford has always wanted what Zach Strief and Jahri Evans had together.

Drafted in the same class in 2006, Strief and Evans spent so much time playing next to each other that they no longer had to talk when a defense did something unexpected. A look might do the trick; other times they simply knew exactly what the other person would do.

Now, it's up to Warford to build a kind of camaraderie similar to the one Strief and Evans enjoyed, part of the massive responsibility he inherits after signing a four-year, $34 million deal to replace Evans in the offseason.

The process of getting to know each other has become all too familiar for Warford.

"I've played next to, I think, eight different offensive tackles now in five years," Warford said. "That's always a building process. When you play next to somebody for a certain amount of time, you know what they're going to do, you know how they see it, you start seeing defenses the same way and you don't really have to talk anymore."

Building that kind of relationship isn't as simple as a quarterback and receiver staying after practice to work on routes.

An offensive line tandem's chemistry matters most in the heat of battle, when defenses are moving around pre-snap and setting up to bring pressure from different angles.

Without a defense on the other side of the field, trying to simulate those conditions is virtually impossible.

"Team periods together are where that's going to happen for us," Strief said. "We can't stay after practice and take snaps, it's just too unrealistic."

The good news is that in Strief, Warford has been paired with the kind of right tackle he didn't always get a chance to play with in Detroit.

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“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill