“I talk to these guys and say what’s going to separate us from the rest of the league is the way we practice,” Schottenheimer said. “It was one of the first things we ever talked about, in one of the first team meetings. And from OTAs, through minicamp to now, the energy and the effort that our guys are practicing with and running? I think we’re one of the few teams that still practices in the offseason program, like, does team (11-on-11). I talk to five or six of my peers, and they’re like, We don’t f—ing practice, we don’t do team anymore, we do seven-on-seven.
“We decided we needed that edge, and so we taught our guys. We defined how practice should run, and this is what shells practice looks like, and this is what a helmets practice looks like, and this is what a padded practice looks like. And these guys have been amazing.”