Let's be clear: Social media wasn't the cause of Cesar Ruiz's difficulties in Years 1 and 2. But the third-year pro has still found a way to quiet that noise.
He stopped using it entirely, a decision made midway through last season in an effort to "focus on ball." Ruiz did acknowledge paying more attention than he needed to throughout Year 1.
"I wasn't really on it that much and I was like, 'you know what? Just focus on ball. Don't get distracted.' ... At the end of the day, you know, everybody, they want you to be great," Ruiz continued. "When you're reading this stuff it's like, everybody expects you to be really good. So it's like, you know what the expectation is, don't worry about it, don't read it. Just fix it, make it happen.
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But a quieter headspace is far from the lone reason to credit his standout third season to date, it's simply a factor. Ruiz has put on weight -- intentionally -- to bulk up to about 324 pounds this season. He says size was never the issue, but added bulk and strength is always a benefit at his position.
He also pointed to the clearest difference this year: "guard just feels natural to me now."
He also pointed to new OL coach Doug Marrone, who is very technique critical. Zach Strief and coaching intern Jahri Evans also played a key role during the first full offseason slate of Ruiz's career.
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"I'm just out there playing, you know, just working technique and fine details. It's just something I've really worked on a lot in the offseason. And this year, like, even right now in practice, working on fine details," Ruiz said. "So taking that and taking into the game, you know, just playing with confidence, and trusting my moves, trusting different things."
That clearly wasn't always the case, shifting from his natural position of center to the RG spot in his rookie season. That season was 2020, the offseason most heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. There were no OTAs, no preseason games, the time for development was limited.
In 2021 the 5-man group expected to start at OL played five snaps together before the injury bug struck. He was forced to shift back to center for five games and that group simply never coalesced throughout the season.
This year injuries have been minimal and the right side of the OL has been stable. Ruiz speaks to the development between he and Ramczyk and he and McCoy as nearly telepathic. There's limited communication needed, and no one is guessing.
"We don't have to say anything," Ruiz said. "We just know."
Each player is able to anticipate what the other is going to do before they do it. They're able to play off teammates more effectively, and that's what any OL group needs to be able to do if it wants to thrive.
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"I think Cesar's done a really good job in preparing this year," Ramczyk said this week. "You know, personally, I see a lot more confidence out of him and his game and I think his preparation has been, you know, even better this year, too. So I see a confident player that's, that's going out there on Sundays and playing good football."
And that's exactly what's happened as the season has progressed. Andy Dalton hasn't been sacked in 8 quarters of football after Jameis Winston was sacked 10 times during the first 8 quarters to start the season. Nowhere has the improvement been seen more clearly than Ruiz, whose 6 pressures allowed this season (per Pro Football Focus), ranks in the top 10 of all players who have been in for at least 50% of their team's pass-pro sets on the year.
Offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael gave one of the strongest endorsements he can for Ruiz and his OL group's play: He almost doesn't even see them out there.
"That's usually because you're not seeing them make mistakes," Carmichael said.
If there are reasons to be confident this Saints team can fight back and make noise this season, start with the offensive line, because Ruiz and his teammates are confident as ever.
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