Wide receiver Ashley Lelie sat down with TV49 for an Up Close segment where he shared his off-season interests and his enthusiasm for his second year with the San Francisco 49ers. Check out the Top Five from that interview.
Q: You've said that you enjoy traveling during the off-season. What types of things did you do this year?
A: I went to Europe. Hung out in London for a little bit. That was pretty fun. I also went to Amsterdam. I got to see some good art while I was in Europe. I went by Hawaii and went spear fishing. That was pretty hot, it's a little hobby of mine. For everyone who doesn't know, you are not standing on top of the water with a spear. It's basically snorkeling and shooting at a fish.
Q: You were also a mainstay in the 49ers off-season program. What were some of the areas you zoned in on?
A: I always try to get my legs strong and get them in the best shape that I can for the long haul. During the season, they start to wear so I like to get those in shape so that I can get in and out of my breaks. The focal point though was trying to learn the offense and getting the concepts down.
Q: Does this Mike Martz offense live up to the hype?
A: Yeah, just by the way he coaches it. He knows every in and out of the offense, from the receivers split to the offensive line's blocking assignments. He knows every part of it and the way he teaches it to us, he also wants us to know every part of it. Once we start to get it and see it, we can pick defenses apart. Just in seeing how hard our defense is having covering us, and we don't even know the whole offense yet, so once we get into the season and get it down, it's going to be a special offense.
Q: Last year you didn't really get many opportunities, and what I found impressive was the way that you just kept your nose down and never made a fuss at large about your situation. Some guys might have complained more vocally given those circumstances.
A: Well, when I was in Denver, I took that road before, getting upset and voicing my opinion and trying to change things that way. I saw how tough it was. It put me into the position I am. Doing that in Denver, it didn't really lead anywhere. It just added friction with the team, and got me in the hot with the coaches and with other teams having a stigmatism about what type of player I was. I was in a similar situation where I could either choose to speak out and be a distraction or just go with the flow and so I just went with the flow and played football.
Q: Martz has gone on public record saying that he thought you were extremely talented when you first came into the NFL and that he's surprised that you haven't been given more opportunity. How does it feel to have your coordinator speak that way of you, and do you sense you will be a bigger part of things this year?
A: It's encouraging to hear that from a guy who has been to Super Bowls. It makes you want to get better and work harder and to digest this offense. It's kind of a receiver's dream to be in this type of offense where they air the ball out like this. I haven't been in this type of an offense and so it's like being a kid again. I feel like a rookie
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