Johnson also found new ways to challenge the offense that didn't rely on the defense's intensity.
Odunze recalled the grueling "long drive drill," which he believes All-Pro guard Joe Thuney introduced to Johnson. The offense would run play after play after play without substitutions or stoppages. It was a drill the unit performed a few times throughout camp, and one Odunze described as "no joke."
"It's about letting that fatigue set in," Odunze said. "That definitely builds your mental toughness, because you're going out there and having to perform when you're dead tired.
"You're in it for the long run, but it's a challenge, and that's what we need."
Johnson's ability to repeatedly challenge the entire team, while keeping each player locked in day after day for six weeks, speaks to the level of respect he's garnered throughout the locker room.
Some of that respect stems from Johnson knowing when extra motivation is needed.
Johnson often starts meetings with a quote or a soundbite or podcast clip that had stuck out to him in order to hammer home his messaging for the day. Byard recalled a particularly captivating moment from a team meeting last week, where Johnson read an excerpt from the book, "Objective Secure," written by U.S. Army Special Forces Warrant Officer Nick Lavery, who suffered a severe injury in battle but returned to combat duty after being treated.
"He literally ended the meeting there," Byard said. "Normally, he'll say whatever he's gonna say, and then he'll talk about the schedule. He walked up, read this part from the book, and said, 'all right, break up.'
"It was one of those ones. It's like, that was a crazy story, but everybody felt the message in what he was saying about the body is tired, different things are going on, everybody has their own stuff they're dealing with, but let's stay focused on the mission at hand, which is today and the practice and the process."