While much of the attention has rightfully gone to the left side of the offensive line with new addition Matt Kalil signing a five-year, $55 million contract that isn’t quite as large as it looks, his counterpart on the right side is quietly having his best season as a pro after being able to crack the starting lineup last season. Daryl Williams, selected in the third round from Oklahoma, has played well and has been a big part of a Panthers running game that has rushed for over 100 yards in eight of their eleven games.
With Ryan Kalil missing most of the season thus far, Tyler Larsen has been the one snapping the football to Cam Newton for almost ten games and the more that the five guys up front play together, the better they become. It’s no surprise that the Panthers have rushed for over 200 yards in two of their past three games, and a lot of that success has to do with the continuity along the offensive line the Panthers have been able to enjoy this season.
We spoke to both players this week ahead of their huge divisional matchup with New Orleans about how the offensive line is coming together as a group, how Larsen’s body is holding up after the most playing time he’s had as a pro, and how a Ryan Kalil return would affect the team going forward.
Daryl Williams
Going into New Orleans this week, how do you think the group has been gelling as an offensive line?
As an offensive line, I think we’ve been gelling great; we’ve all been together, me, [left guard Andrew] Norwell, Tyler [Larsen], Ryan [Kalil]; two to three years, Matt [Kalil]’s come in well and gelled well with us. I think we’ve just been playing great as a unit, that’s what matters the most.
How important is having consistency on the offensive line, you’ve played every game along with Matt, Andrew, and Trai this year.
It’s very important, you know, we take it personal; we want to lead the team as a group in practice, and especially in games; it’s definitely important for us to be healthy, that’s another fortunate thing, so it’s been great.
How do you think Tyler’s been developing over the course of the season?
Tyler’s Tyler. I don’t think he’s been developing, he had experience last year; he’s been playing great. That’s what we all expected out of him, just like me, I got my chance to start last year, and I played ten games; Tyler played, I think, eight. So we both have experience, we know how to play the game now, so with Tyler, it’s not surprising. He’s a hard worker and a great player.
It must be a luxury having a guy like Tyler behind Ryan, so if Ryan goes down, Tyler can just step in.
Definitely, Ryan’s a great player, a great leader, but with Tyler, we don’t lose a beat. It’s something we’re fortunate to have with Tyler.
Tyler Larsen
With the Saints coming up this week, how important do you think it is for an offensive line to have continuity from game to game?
Especially with how our rhythm is going, I think it’s very important. Obviously, they’ve got a pretty solid front and so if we’re all on the same page, I think we’re going to be successful against these guys; I think we can expose some of their weaknesses, so having the continuity that we have going on right now, I think it’s pretty good.
The last time you played the Saints, it was your second week “starting”, but you had just jumped in before the start of the game the week before for Ryan, is it a little easier now that you’ve had a couple of months playing next to these guys?
Yeah, we’re getting to know each other; you know, how we play, what we do; I think, like I said, we’re in a rhythm right now and with the running game and passing game, I think we’ve done a really good job so I think we’re going to keep driving on what we’ve got going on.
How’s your body holding up, basically ten games into the season?
Great. I mean, obviously, you’re going to get a little bit of dings and bruises, but overall, this is kind of a new experience for me going through an actual season, I’ve never really had a full season of playing game after game, so it’s a little bit different. I’m still learning how to take care of myself, but overall I think my body’s going really well.
Do you feel like you’re at 90%? 100%?
Yeah, I feel like I’m 100%.
You said it was a new thing for you because you’ve never played sixteen games. How different is it from playing a full season in college?
Such a big difference. Everyone’s at their highest level of competition, you’re going against the best guys in the world and your body, you feel it after a game, so you’ve just got to be smart with how you take care of yourself afterwards, getting massages, cold tubs, whatever you can do. You just keep it going for the next week.
It feels like the offensive line and the run game is trending upward, do you feel that way as we head towards the end of the season?
Absolutely. The more looks you get and the more experience, the more things are going to click for us. I mean, we really are in a rhythm and we want to stay that way; so we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing what we do in practice, and keep bringing it on the field.
Obviously, you’re close with Ryan, but do you think it would it would mess up the rhythm if Ryan jumped back in right now?
No. Absolutely not. Ryan, he’s our leader out there and he know’s everything he’s doing and people thrive off him when he gets in there, so we wouldn’t miss a beat if he came back.
