鈥?Josh McDaniels didn’t know what he didn’t know.In 2009 Tre'Davious White Jersey Youth , he was the baby-faced 32-year-old prodigy plucked out of Bill Belichick’s roost and Tom Brady’s shadow to serve as Mike Shanahan’s replacement in Denver, holding down two jobs he’d never had: head coach and de facto general manager.He’d trade away his starting quarterback, draft Tim Tebow and win his first six games, including one against his mentor. But he was fired halfway through his four-year contract, losing 17 of his next 22 games and presiding over his very own videotape scandal.The Broncos blamed themselves for giving McDaniels too much power with so little experience. Denver then embarked on a renaissance under general manager John Elway and Peyton Manning.McDaniels spent a year with the Rams before returning for a highly successful second stint with Brady and Belichick, preparing him for his second NFL head coaching gig with the Indianapolis Colts , which will become official after the Super Bowl.Now 41, McDaniels still doesn’t look his age, but he says he is a much wiser than the brash coach who wore the gray hoodie in Denver eight years ago.McDaniels said he was a much better trainee and tutor in his return to New England, much more appreciative of the breadth of Belichick’s artistry and the depth of Brady’s genius .“It’s a unique perspective,” seeing things a second time after getting a firsthand look behind the coaching curtain, McDaniels said Wednesday, as he helped Brady and Belichick prepare for their eighth Super Bowl.“Bill does a tremendous job of understanding the pulse of his team. He relates to everyone very well and I’ve been able to see that and look at that through a different lens. When we need a push, he pushes us. When we need love, he loves us. When we need a pat on the back, he does that. When we need to run hills Jordan Howard Bears Jersey , we run hills,” McDaniels said.“He just has a tremendous ability to understand when to do what as a head coach. And he serves us in so many ways to make us better coaches, to make the players better players. He’s there to help us, he doesn’t take it away from us. Believe me, I make tons of mistakes in my role and he’s there to help.”McDaniels didn’t think it was possible, but he now holds Belichick in even higher regard than he did during his first stint from 2006-08, because he now realizes all the juggling head coaches have to do.“Before you leave and you do that, it’s hard to say that you know what he’s going through because you really don’t,” McDaniels said. “I’m very happy for the experiences that I’ve gone through. A lot of the failings in my career have been some of the best teachers that I’ve had. I’ve really learned a lot from them, I think I’m a better person, a better coach, a better communicator, a lot of things because of the things that I haven’t done well.”One thing he’s done exceptionally well is working with Brady, who’s going for his sixth Super Bowl ring Sunday when the Patriots play the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles .McDaniels has long held that working with Brady made him a better coach, because he always had to be prepared to answer the quarterback’s incessant questions, to justify the smallest of his decisions Davante Adams Jersey Elite , to explain what everyone’s role was on every single play.“We haven’t treated each other any differently. He treats me with the respect of a coach and I treat him like I need to make him a better player,” McDaniels said. “And I think that’s the only way to do it. I know his experience and his understanding is above all others as a player. But I don’t really focus a whole lot on that. I focus on the next team, the next week, the next practice, our scheme, what we’re trying to do and he’s very respectful of that. And we listen and learn from each other.“We have a tremendous relationship and it’s been an honor of my lifetime in coaching to have an opportunity to work with a guy like that as long as I have.” A crowd of reporters around his locker, Robert Nkemdiche was asked what he learned the first two years in the NFL.

”I learned I was terrible,” he said.

He was joking. Everyone laughed.

But, with a new coaching staff giving the big defensive tackle a clean slate, this is a big season for the former first-round draft pick to prove to the Cardinals that they were right to select him 29th overall out of Mississippi in 2017.

There have been no breakout performances, just a big play here and there – he returned an Eli Manning fumble for a TD last season – and there have been too many mistakes, including way too many offside penalties. In 17 career games, he has 12 tackles, four of them solo, and zero sacks.

He knows it is time to show he’s better than that or risk forever being saddled as a ”draft bust.”

If the mammoth player – 6-foot-4, 296 pounds – harnesses his raw skills and attends to the little things John Ross Youth Jersey , maybe he’ll even find himself starting up front.

”I try to stay away from the analogies of guys who are busts because everybody has their own projection of how they see guys,” Cardinals first-year head coach Steve Wilks said after Monday’s practice, the team’s first in pads. ”In a short period of time of being around Robert, I think he’s a tremendous player. I think he’s locked in, he’s focused. I think he’s doing well and I think he’s going to be a good player for us this year.”

Nkemdiche won’t call this a make-or-break season, but he has learned a lot about what it takes to succeed in the trenches at the game’s highest level.

”It’s a big step,” he said of this coming season. ”It’s not really technically pressure. It’s just me wanting to be good, me wanting to give back to these guys, and all the guys who put in work for me, and give back to the coaches, people who believe in me and really just resting that case and being the player I know I can be.

”There’s really no pressure, just `come on, take a step forward.”’

Nkemdiche has his quirks, including colorfully braided hair and a nose ring. He likes shopping at Goodwill.

Nkemdiche is not that stereotypical growling monster of a human that people believe play defensive tackle in this violent game. But he wants to be good and insists he is a severe critic of himself.

He blames his two unproductive seasons on injuries and ”some things I could have did better.”

”Just being a more polished player, as in the whole perspective and really just growing as a dude, as a person Ronald Jones II Buccaneers Jersey ,” he said. ”It’s cool. Things have slowed down a little bit and it’s fun. I can actually see what’s going on. It’s not like a blur.”

He should take some solace in the case of Arizona teammate D.J. Humphries. The Cardinals drafted the big tackle out of Florida in the first round (24th overall) in 2015 but he didn’t even suit up for a game as a rookie- the Cardinals coaches were convinced he didn’t have the maturity yet to play in the league. But the next season he was the starter at right tackle and eventually was moved to the left side. Injuries limited him to five games last year, but he has evolved into the Cardinals’ best offensive lineman and anchors that unit at left tackle this year.

Wilks has said he doesn’t mind players with a few quirks, that he would ”let Robert be Robert” as long as he continues to work hard to get better. So far, so good.

The coach said after Monday’s workout that he’s encouraged.

”His commitment,” Wilks said. ”He’s trying to do it our way. Change sometimes is hard for everyone and I think he’s embraced that. He meets a lot with coach (Don) Johnson. His energy on the football field is phenomenal and he’s trying to pay attention to details. You just got to make sure he’s consistent and concentrates and doesn’t jump offside. That’s one of the concerns.”

So it’s details, details, details for Nkemdiche, and, most importantly, some production when he’s on the field.

”Do it on Sunday,” he said. ”When it’s game time, show up and play ball. It’s a very simple concept, just go out there and be a dog, be a disruptive force, play every play at extreme capacity.”

And don’t jump offside.

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