For Macdonald, everything he saw from Zabel on Thursday was everything he's been seeing throughout rookie minicamp, OTAs and training camp.
"We're trying to make it an extension of every day that we operate on the practice field," he said. "Any time we're taking the field we're trying to become the team we want to become. We're trying to uphold the standard that we've created. And I think you're seeing the extension of that, of things that he's been doing throughout the whole process. It's definitely a different setting, and you've got the blood pumping and nerves are rolling and all good stuff. He executed at a high level just like he's been doing in practice."
Outside of his "welcome to the NFL" moment, and after he settled in, he thought, "It went good. Being a rookie, you have to understand that there is going to be wins, and then there are learning experiences. So, [I] learned every single play. Thought we had a few good first few drives, and we were able to move the ball a little bit and protect the quarterback."
Adding, "There is always going to be things you have to clean up. I thought we had excellent playmakers behind us that was making our job pretty easy. Any time you have playmakers like that on the outside and behind you, it is fun blocking."