Last year, when Detroit Lions defensive end Anthony Zettel was a rookie, some teammates gently poked fun of a now-famous video of him tackling a tree.
This year, Zettel is still using video but he's the one getting the last laugh. As part of his offseason training, Zettel studied edge pass rushers with similar builds and styles, like Pro Bowlers Tamba Hali, Ryan Kerrigan and J.J. Watt.
"Just a lot of just studying film and watching the greats of the NFL, how they go about pass rush and stuff," he said. "I think that's helped me a lot."
Besides the extra film study, Zettel emphasized his lower body in workouts to gain more explosion for functional strength on the field. The difference in Zettel is markedly noticeable from his rookie season, when he made 13 tackles with one sack in 13 games and was a quiet presence in the locker room and around reporters.
He has been a star in one-on-one pass-rush drills in training camp, regularly smoking his opponents. With Ziggy Ansah still on the physically-unable-to-perform list, Zettel has played in his spot with the first-team defense.
"I mean, first-team reps, they're all the same," Zettel said. "I know you're out there, you're going against NFL guys. It helps going against the stars and stuff. I'm just looking forward to what we bring come the first preseason game."
It's more than Zettel's play, though. He's also talking and acting like a veteran and embracing his role as a first-team player.
"I think going into that second year is huge," he said. "Everybody talks about it's the biggest jump, and I think it is.
"I think the confidence level and how I approach every day is just different. I'm not coming in there timid anymore, thinking about ways that I could mess up. I'm thinking about ways I can get better, so my confidence is a lot better and that's (in line) with those second-year players around the league."
Zettel's play is coming at the right time for the Lions, who have been have beset with injuries in camp and are just starting to get players back on the field.
"Yeah, physically even during the spring he came back from the winter break in great physical condition. He's working at it all the time," coach Jim Caldwell said. "He's trying to take care of all the little things, so we see some improvement already. So we'll see what happens when we get into ball games.
"But he knows what he's doing. He has a good feel for it and we expect to see obviously some improvement over last year for certain."
The Lions have a recent history of molding breakout stars at defensive end. George Johnson came out of nowhere in 2014 and had six sacks. Last year, Kerry Hyder had eight sacks. The secret to any player's success, Hyder said, is simply experience.
"One of the biggest things we got as players, people think it's the weight room or this and that, it's really experience," Hyder said. "And you can tell (Zettel) has a year under his belt and he knows what he's doing. He's not just out there just playing. His football IQ and everything is going up, as you can tell when he's on the field. He's playing faster, he's stronger. He's more confident in his moves and that's what he's shown on tape."
And there it is again. Zettel's video.
"He's already an athletic guy, if you follow him on YouTube," Hyder said. "So it's pretty cool seeing it translate to the field."
Plenty of credit for the breakout seasons of Johnson and Hyder goes to defensive line coach and part-time alchemist Kris Kocurek. Zettel knows it's possible. After all, there's plenty of video to support the precedent.
"I think those sacks and stuff come with hard work," Zettel said. "Last year, Kerry was just an animal. Killed it all season. He was that guy that improved the most and I'm looking forward to taking that next step in my game and become a more reliable player."
