But Gilbert, who struggled with maturity issues and an undisclosed personal problem during a disastrous rookie season, still doesnt fully understand what it takes to be a professional.
Hes further along than where he was last year, but I still think he has some ground to make up, ONeil said Monday before the final practice of camp.
Gilbert also faces an uphill battle, ONeil conceded, because he didnt play with proper technique at Oklahoma State University and has yet to learn how to trust it consistently in the NFL.
Theres a lot of guys in college that are unbelievable athletes who are so gifted they can just go out there and dominate, ONeil said. There are a lot of guys like that. Youre not going to get away with that at this level. Everybodys gifted. So you better have technique at this level if youre going to be successful.
You have to be able to fall back on your technique and your teaching. To me, thats what gives you confidence out there. You cant just go out there and play and street ball. Im not saying hes doing that, but when you have a good foundation and youre having a bad day, you can always fall back on that to get yourself out of it.