Theres a hint of pride in Zach Striefs voice when he describes himself and Larry Warford as offensive line nerds.

Not that Strief isnt accustomed to studious teammates. But the veteran right tackle has found a kindred spirit in the New Orleans Saints free agent right guard, a meticulousness that delves to a depth that perhaps few understand, or care to understand, how to explore.

I think were very into the intricacies and I think theres a lot of guys that have beliefs on techniques and how to do things, Strief said. We were legitimately excited (Friday) because we took better first steps on a naked (bootleg). Legitimately, like, high-fived each other. Its kind of weird.

Its just fun having somebody else there who can offer a different viewpoint on body mechanics and offensive line play, Warford said. It is kind of nerdy. Just (talking about) motion, what muscles are engaged, if inefficiencies are happening on a certain play, being able to diagnose whats going on and trace it back to whats leading back to mistakes.

Its a fresh dynamic for Strief.

For much of the first 11 years of his NFL career, when he looked to his immediate left, there stood Jahri Evans, one of Striefs 2006 draft classmates. Evans, a six-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro, became the second-most decorated offensive lineman in franchise history and earned franchise-wide respect.

But when the Saints signed Warford in free agency, the separation from Evans was solidified. Warford (6 feet 3, 317 pounds and entering his fifth season) seamlessly has adapted to playing alongside Strief after spending his first four seasons with Detroit.

With Zach, its real easy to transition into this offense, Warford said. Hes been in there for so long, he knows everything thats going on. He knows how he and Jah used to set and hes explained that to me.

Hed tell me how to incorporate how I play a little bit into what hes used to, and vice versa. Weve been bouncing opinions back and forth on each other and its going real smooth, as smooth as I could have hoped. With Zach, this transition has been real easy for me.

Said Strief: I think more than anything, theres just differences in how theyre moving. I felt like I could overlap Jah in play sometimes on the backside. His release from certain blocks was different, hes a different type of player.

Larry is so explosive, I feel like Im behind him half the time. So thats pushed me a lot to get going, get out of the stance and get moving because hes gone quicker than Jah was. Theyre just different types of players and I think that stuff will come. But I think its already going well. I think were already getting a good feel for each other.

So good is the chemistry, Warford said, that the two nearly have reached the point where they dont have to speak in order to have an understanding of how best to coordinate on a given play.

Cohesion-wise, were way ahead of where I would have thought we would be, Strief said. We do no doubt, in meetings all the time well get, like, all excited about a step. Like, You see that? You see that step? Its like, Thats good. Hes like, Thats nice. Its really weird.

Its a weird relationship but were both really into it. Were not going to run into any issues. I think were already getting to a point here where communication is easier, we dont have to be as descriptive. I think were seeing things.

The realization that they were on the same page came early.

I realized it pretty quick, just from the first day, Warford said. I think he was talking to Landon (Turner) about something, about engaging his hips and how he should go about doing it, and it was exactly how Id been taught. From there, I was like, Let me stand by this guy. It went on from there.

I call him Yoda. Just his vast understanding about our position from the ground up, in and out. Its on another level. I love talking about it, so I just call him Yoda.

His meticulous teammate doesnt mind at all.

Larry referred to me as Yoda, and I thought that was a nice compliment, Strief said. Thats nerdy.

Read the original:
John DeShazier: Saints linemates Larry Warford, Zach Strief already developing chemistry - NewOrleansSaints.com