Speaker 1: But do they know, David Long is this is the
Speaker 1: first play the game. This is how you play football,
Speaker 1: this Tennessee Titan football righter. You just come in and
Speaker 1: you just blast the guard. You just come in. You
Speaker 1: just give him right foot, right shoulder, right foot, right shoulder,
Speaker 1: Just blast them all right, and then get out the block,
Speaker 1: make the tackle. You know, Aaron Jones ends the Cowboys.
Speaker 1: They couldn't get sixty yards last night against this defense.
Speaker 1: You watch this, David Long Junior. He leads the team
Speaker 1: in tackles like negative plays all these plays last night
Speaker 1: behind the line of scrimmage, one after another. Because all
Speaker 1: he does attack like he attacks, and he just finds
Speaker 1: the opening, full speed, full speed player. Like just put
Speaker 1: your put your periscope on, David Long Junior. You'll have
Speaker 1: a good time. You'll get your money's worth. Drive Time
Speaker 1: with Travis Winfield begins. Now let me check what is up,
Speaker 1: Dolph fans, and welcome to the Drivetime Podcast, part of
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins podcast network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 1: How's it going? Everybody? I am your host, Travis Wingfield.
Speaker 1: And on today's show, it is the David Long episode.
Speaker 1: Miami makes another splash this one at linebacker, and your
Speaker 1: boy is fired up. A master block deconstructor, one of
Speaker 1: the smartest, most instinctive linebackers I watched on tape during
Speaker 1: the free agent process, A productive blitzer with plus coverage skills.
Speaker 1: The Dolphins got themselves a good one in the middle
Speaker 1: of defense, and we're gonna talk about him in depth
Speaker 1: on this episode of the Drivetime Podcast from the Baptist
Speaker 1: Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This is
Speaker 1: the Drivetime Podcast. Maya Gaffe fash So another big addition
Speaker 1: to this Miami Dolphins defense. It is official. David Long
Speaker 1: is a Miami Dolphin in a two year contract, and
Speaker 1: I am fired up. The Dolphins had the fourth ranked
Speaker 1: run defense in the National Football League last year, and
Speaker 1: it looks like that will get even better now with
Speaker 1: the addition of this really talented linebacker. And I'm not
Speaker 1: sure there was a better player I would have targeted
Speaker 1: who could have made that part of the team even
Speaker 1: better than mister David Long Junior. But it's not just that.
Speaker 1: For David Long. He is a productive rusher, a tremendous
Speaker 1: coverman to boot He's a three down player and that's
Speaker 1: why we start with his stats right here. He played
Speaker 1: seven hundred and forty snaps in twelve games last year
Speaker 1: for the Tennessee Titans. The former six round draft choice
Speaker 1: out of West Virginia became the traffic cop in the
Speaker 1: middle of that defense, earning his way into that role
Speaker 1: with increased workloads each year of his pro career. That
Speaker 1: rookie campaign was mostly on special teams and Dan damn
Speaker 1: good tape in that regard, by the way, then something
Speaker 1: of a two down role in twenty twenty, but the
Speaker 1: last two years that defense was different with David Long
Speaker 1: on the field compared to not having him out there.
Speaker 1: So he did miss five games last year, but seven
Speaker 1: hundred and forty snaps in twelve games. That's sixty two
Speaker 1: snaps per game, which is pro raded to about one
Speaker 1: thousand and fifty snaps for seventeen games. So if he's
Speaker 1: up on game day, he's on the field when the
Speaker 1: Titans defense was and it's not hard to see why
Speaker 1: he is a rare player in the sense that he's
Speaker 1: not just capable in all three phases, he excels in
Speaker 1: all three phases. Let's go ahead before you look at
Speaker 1: the advanced metrics on rush defense, coverage, and pass rushing.
Speaker 1: Let's look at the counting stats. Eighty six tackles last year,
Speaker 1: seven of those for a lost, three QB hits. He
Speaker 1: had two of his four career picks. All of those
Speaker 1: four came within the last two years when he did
Speaker 1: get elevated into that full time starter role. And again,
Speaker 1: that's not a linebacker starting in your base look and
Speaker 1: then coming off in sub packages. It's starting, finishing, and
Speaker 1: playing everything in between. He also had five passes defense.
Speaker 1: That's eleven in the last two years. So for his
Speaker 1: career fifty games, twenty six starts, four hicks, fourteen pass defense,
Speaker 1: two forced fumbles, two hundred and thirty tackles, fifteen of
Speaker 1: those for a loss, and five QB hits. So I
Speaker 1: told you about the pass rush production, right, and I
Speaker 1: just told you no sacks. But we know that pass
Speaker 1: rush isn't just about what the sack production is. Eighteen
Speaker 1: pressures last year with those three hits, and that was
Speaker 1: on only forty seven pass rush attempts, So he's applying
Speaker 1: pressure on more than one third of those wits calls
Speaker 1: thirty eight percent to be exact. We talk about run
Speaker 1: stops on this podcast a lot. He had forty of
Speaker 1: those on just two hundred and sixteen rundown snaps last year.
Speaker 1: Think about that, on just under one fifth, it's about
Speaker 1: eighteen point five percent of the place that he's on
Speaker 1: the field against the run. He's not just making the tackle,
Speaker 1: he's making a tackle that is considered a win on
Speaker 1: that play for the defense. Run stops are a measure
Speaker 1: of making a tackle within a certain percentage of the
Speaker 1: yards to gain on a given play. It changes for
Speaker 1: first down, second down, third down. Think of it in
Speaker 1: terms of improving your win ability based on the outcome
Speaker 1: of that play. David Long making all kinds of positive
Speaker 1: plays for the Titans run defense the last couple of years.
Speaker 1: Thirty nine of Pro football focuses off ball linebackers had
Speaker 1: forty run stops. Nobody did it on fewer rundown snaps
Speaker 1: than Long's two sixteen. That's actually the same number A
Speaker 1: Landon Roberts had forty, but he was on the field
Speaker 1: for three hundred and fifty three rundowns snaps, so nearly
Speaker 1: one hundred and forty more. That eighteen point five percent
Speaker 1: mark for Long was the second best run stop rate
Speaker 1: among all off ball linebackers in the NFL last year
Speaker 1: minimum two hundred snaps. Fred Warner was second in total
Speaker 1: run stops. He had seventy two. His rate was sixteen
Speaker 1: point three percent. Just to give you a comparison of
Speaker 1: how the most productive run stopping linebackers do in that category.
Speaker 1: And we'll get to the tape. Oh buddy, we'll get
Speaker 1: to that tape. But let's look at the coverage numbers
Speaker 1: first before we do all that. And by the way,
Speaker 1: the eight team pressures was tenth most from a volume
Speaker 1: standpoint among all off ball linebackers. So if he played
Speaker 1: the whole year, probably could have been top two or
Speaker 1: three among those top ten. Kara to guests who had
Speaker 1: the best pass rush rate or pressure rate, I should say,
Speaker 1: check this out. So Long had eighteen pressures on forty
Speaker 1: seven snaps. Bobby Wagner nineteen on one hundred and thirteen reps.
Speaker 1: Jawan Bentley had two more, twenty pressures one hundred and
Speaker 1: seventeen reps. Caden Ellis just signed a big contract. He
Speaker 1: had twenty pressures. That's two more than Long, but he
Speaker 1: did it on sixty or sorry, fifty six more snaps,
Speaker 1: one hundred and three of them Alex Anzeloni also just
Speaker 1: got paid. He's actually the second best rate on this list.
Speaker 1: Twenty one pressures ninety pass rush reps. Frankie Luvu Gokoog's
Speaker 1: twenty three on one forty six. Matt Milano we all
Speaker 1: know about him and the really pro bowl level player.
Speaker 1: He is twenty four pressures on seventy three pass rush reps.
Speaker 1: Patrick Queen twenty five on one thirteen. And Devin White
Speaker 1: for the Buccaneers led the NFL of thirty three pressures,
Speaker 1: but he did that on one hundred and fifty three reps.
Speaker 1: Once again, I have done the math, and the math
Speaker 1: is good. Thirty eight point three percent for David Long
Speaker 1: is absurd. Devin White the number one quarterback pressure leader
Speaker 1: among all off ball linebackers in terms of volume. His
Speaker 1: was twenty one point five percent, so a seventeen percent
Speaker 1: departure there. The next best rate in the top ten again,
Speaker 1: Alex Anzeloni twenty three point three percent. And I just
Speaker 1: told you did the math. Let me go ahead and
Speaker 1: pull us back up, because I'm looking at Bolano's number
Speaker 1: and that looks pretty good. Two twenty four divided by
Speaker 1: seventy three. He was thirty two point eight percent, So
Speaker 1: I was wrong about Anzeloni. He's third Milano was second,
Speaker 1: but he was still six percent points away from David Long.
Speaker 1: Back to the coverage aspect of it, targeting Long last
Speaker 1: year yielded an eighty seven point o passer writing for
Speaker 1: opposing quarterbacks. He's never been flagged more than twice in
Speaker 1: one season. He has six career penalties, and man, that's
Speaker 1: so impressive, giving twelve hundred and thirty six career coverage
Speaker 1: snaps and just six penalties. Twelve hundred and thirty without
Speaker 1: six wi and a lot of times, these guys can be,
Speaker 1: you know, matched up in a way that isn't always
Speaker 1: a favorable matchup for them. Think about offensive coordinators who
Speaker 1: spend all week trying to figure out a way to
Speaker 1: get a bed back against a linebacker one on one,
Speaker 1: or a Travis Kelsey matched up against a linebacker one
Speaker 1: on one. Pretty easy for those wins to be substantial
Speaker 1: enough that the defenders only move is to grab on
Speaker 1: and get that five yard holding call. But he doesn't
Speaker 1: have to do that. He hasn't done that. It speaks
Speaker 1: for his change of direction skill set, his route concept recognition,
Speaker 1: and his instincts to anticipate things. He was in coverage
Speaker 1: on those four hundred and seventy seven snaps last year
Speaker 1: and allowed just four hundred and sixty eight yards. That's
Speaker 1: less than one yards per coverage snap. And in his
Speaker 1: career he's just over one yard per coverage snap thirteen
Speaker 1: hundred and seventeen yards. Again, twelve hundred and thirty six
Speaker 1: career snaps. Those are really good numbers. That eighty seven
Speaker 1: passer rating allowed was seventh among all off ball linebackers
Speaker 1: last year, and again using Fred Warner, his was eighty
Speaker 1: eight point eight, So in that same ballpark. I don't
Speaker 1: think that stat is the end all be all, because
Speaker 1: ultimately you don't want to be targeted as a linebacker.
Speaker 1: But Long wasn't targeted that often because he's often in
Speaker 1: great shape. But it does give you a feel for
Speaker 1: what some of the really well known players produced in
Speaker 1: that department. Warner was at point seven five yards per
Speaker 1: coverage nap for posterity, he's an absolute freak. Another thing
Speaker 1: I really like about David Long, and this stat bears out,
Speaker 1: is he only or rather he allows you to not
Speaker 1: get caught in a matchup issue when teams get down
Speaker 1: tight in the red zone and really in general, but
Speaker 1: down there specifically, you can often have heavier personnel, which
Speaker 1: brings up base defenses. Right your three linebackers, four linebackers
Speaker 1: on the field, and that can create matchup issues because
Speaker 1: offenses love to throw to the running back who gets
Speaker 1: matched up on a linebacker whose primary strength it is
Speaker 1: probably run defense. But for Long, he's a force against
Speaker 1: the run, but can also a matchup on coverage. Essentially,
Speaker 1: it limits the offenses options in a critical area. Think
Speaker 1: about the Bills opening drive touchdown in that Week three
Speaker 1: game last year, running back on linebacker. Was it Singletary
Speaker 1: or was it moss I? Forget which running back it was,
Speaker 1: but it was against Landon Roberts fourth down and it
Speaker 1: was no contest. It was wide open, easy touchdown. Now
Speaker 1: imagine that's David Long and you can save seven points
Speaker 1: they're going to take away very very important aspect of
Speaker 1: this acquisition. Let's do some more stats and next gen
Speaker 1: data before we move on to the tape and fit
Speaker 1: portion of the podcast. ESPN has their own version of
Speaker 1: tracking pass rush wins pass rush win rate, aptly named
Speaker 1: right Well. He was also second in that as well
Speaker 1: as their pressure rate tracking Pro Football Focus grades. I
Speaker 1: don't I can take him or leave him. But he
Speaker 1: was eighty nine point zero against the run, which was
Speaker 1: fourth among qualifying players. So seventh best passer rating against,
Speaker 1: second best pass rush ring rate, and fourth best run
Speaker 1: defense grade. It sounds like a top five linebacker to me.
Speaker 1: More data next Gen tracks run stuff rate. He tied
Speaker 1: for first with Jeremiah A. Wusu Coromoa. And I've always
Speaker 1: said that stats are confirming of the tape right Well,
Speaker 1: when looking at what most of these stats say, I
Speaker 1: also like to look at who's on that list. Well,
Speaker 1: Jeremiah Wusu Corromo is one of the premier players in
Speaker 1: the NFL. Matt Malana was third both Jok and Long.
Speaker 1: We're six point six percent five point eight percent at
Speaker 1: third than you had Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu at
Speaker 1: four point nine at four point eight percent good company,
Speaker 1: and he topped all of them except for matching Jok.
Speaker 1: And this stat measures tackles for no gainer for a loss,
Speaker 1: so it's different than the run stops, but you just
Speaker 1: get the idea. This is one of the most consistent
Speaker 1: playmakers from that position against the run, and as a
Speaker 1: rusher and in coverage. In fact, Next Gen tagged Long
Speaker 1: with minus five point one receptions over expected. That means
Speaker 1: that there's a baseline for what's expected to be completed
Speaker 1: based upon the play call, where people are when the
Speaker 1: ball is thrown situations like that, he was minus five
Speaker 1: point one receptions overexpected. That was sixth best among off
Speaker 1: ball linebackers. And to our earlier point, the Dolphins allowed
Speaker 1: the most touchdowns of any linebacker group in the NFL
Speaker 1: eleven last year and the fourth highest completion percentage against
Speaker 1: linebackers and coverage just a hair under eighty percent. So
Speaker 1: Ramsey was literally as good as you could have asked
Speaker 1: for in terms of an upgrade at corner but Long,
Speaker 1: honestly it might be even more so of that at
Speaker 1: the linebacker position. There you go, that's the numbers. Let's
Speaker 1: go ahead and take our first break and come back
Speaker 1: and do my favorite part, the film breakdown on David Long.
Speaker 1: That's next Drivetime podcast, your host, Travis Wingfield, brought to
Speaker 1: you by AutoNation. The film has been grinded, the notes
Speaker 1: have been written. We are ready to rock and roll
Speaker 1: here talking about what has me fired up. If you
Speaker 1: couldn't tell from the tone of that first segment, I
Speaker 1: am just over the moon about this acquisition. There is
Speaker 1: so much good tape that illustrates all the things that
Speaker 1: we just mentioned. First, I want to talk about his instincts.
Speaker 1: There's a play against the Raiders where Vegas runs duo
Speaker 1: and what that means you you get two double teams
Speaker 1: inside and you create a two way go for the
Speaker 1: running back to choose I want this gap or do
Speaker 1: I want that gap? Before the snap, you see along
Speaker 1: realign the three technique. It comes down and says, hey,
Speaker 1: big guy, move your butt over this way. Two gaps
Speaker 1: where he becomes now a one technique from the three tech,
Speaker 1: which is the outside shoulder of the guard slide over
Speaker 1: to the outside shoulder of the center. And why don't
Speaker 1: you go ahead and eat up this double team for me?
Speaker 1: And watch this, Watch this, watch I'm gonna do. It's
Speaker 1: hard to come away with any conclusion other than the
Speaker 1: fact that he knows exactly what the play is, because
Speaker 1: that's what the best do, right. They prepare in a
Speaker 1: way that gives them the answers to the test before
Speaker 1: they ever take the field. And he bumps the DT
Speaker 1: over and you get this ISO block on the end
Speaker 1: with a left tackle, and it creates these two huge gaps,
Speaker 1: one on the inside of that double team, one on
Speaker 1: the outside, and they're both look like huge lanes. It
Speaker 1: also gives Josh Jacobs, who by the way led the
Speaker 1: NFL and rushing both gaps, to choose from. That's his read.
Speaker 1: Find out where you see color flash and take the opposite,
Speaker 1: opposite gap. So Jacobs takes the handoff, and you see
Speaker 1: Long squeeze in tight, get in tight to that block
Speaker 1: and make yourself tough to see. But also the closer
Speaker 1: you can scrape, the more chance you have of playing
Speaker 1: in that gap at the right time. So he's right
Speaker 1: behind that double team on the defensive tackle. Then he
Speaker 1: kind of shifts inside, takes one step towards the inside gap,
Speaker 1: and flashes that blue jersey, which gives Jacobs his read,
Speaker 1: Hey blue inside, I'm gonna go outside. If the blue
Speaker 1: went outside, I was going to bang it up inside.
Speaker 1: So you see Long take that step inside, and Jacobs
Speaker 1: immediately bounces, which is the right read. Right looks like
Speaker 1: a wide open b gap for potential long gain and
Speaker 1: a safety coming down from depth is my only potential
Speaker 1: obstacle for a long run, so he takes that B gap,
Speaker 1: but that's what Long wanted. He baited him into that move.
Speaker 1: He darts right back out there and beat Jacobs to
Speaker 1: the spot and wrestles him to the ground for no gain.
Speaker 1: I guarantee you Jacobs is thinking in that moment, this
Speaker 1: is a twenty yard run for me and then potentially
Speaker 1: running over a safety for a touchdown. It's a no
Speaker 1: yard gain. That's how impressive it was. So you see
Speaker 1: the preparation and instincts on his tape all the time.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of that in his coverage game as well.
Speaker 1: He anticipates where the brakes come off the stem and
Speaker 1: he puts him in position to drive on the football.
Speaker 1: You know, two picks five passes defense last year prove
Speaker 1: that he has a nose for the football and coverage,
Speaker 1: but it also puts him in position where per Fick
Speaker 1: passes tend to be completed. But he gets himself in
Speaker 1: a spot where he can make any immediate tackle and
Speaker 1: limit any yard after catch. The number one thing that
Speaker 1: jumps off the tape to me is a product of
Speaker 1: that preparation and those instincts. He just goes like he
Speaker 1: sees it and he goes, did you guys watch hard
Speaker 1: Knocks last summer with that rookie linebacker Rodrigo, Malcolm Rodriguez
Speaker 1: with the Lions linebacker coach Kelvin Shepard just kept saying
Speaker 1: in the meeting rooms to the veterans, y'all better be
Speaker 1: careful because Rodrigo is doing things the right way. He's
Speaker 1: doing it how I coach him, and if he stays
Speaker 1: that way, we're going to play him on Sundays. And he,
Speaker 1: of course is alluding to the fact that a sixth
Speaker 1: round rookie shouldn't be the one who's consistently correctly reading
Speaker 1: his keys and playing faster than the rest of the room,
Speaker 1: because that typically comes with time and experience. Right, That's
Speaker 1: what Long does all the time. He plays off of
Speaker 1: his keys, and he plays that fast. By the way, Rodrigo,
Speaker 1: it's just good football's. You can tell it's a good
Speaker 1: football player when they play that way. He played all
Speaker 1: year and was great for the Lions. Same story with
Speaker 1: David Long, and it speaks to the point I've been
Speaker 1: trying to make about the quarterback position for I don't
Speaker 1: know ever, that there is not just one way to
Speaker 1: put the ball where it needs to be when it
Speaker 1: needs to be there. There are multiple contributing factors like velocity,
Speaker 1: like footwork, like timing, but nothing above anticipation. Right, that's
Speaker 1: number one. I look at David Long that way because
Speaker 1: he's just frequently seeing it before everybody else. He did
Speaker 1: test in the ninety third percentile on the three cone
Speaker 1: back in his combined workout, which tracks, and the way
Speaker 1: he breaks off the stem and coverage and the way
Speaker 1: he deconstructs blocks without engaging them. He's just a super
Speaker 1: anticipatory player who makes a lot of plays with the
Speaker 1: work that he puts in on Wednesday through Friday, not
Speaker 1: just on Sundays. Now, He's not just an anticipatory block beater.
Speaker 1: He's a violent player. He plays with tenacity and he
Speaker 1: hits people in the mouth. First play in the Green
Speaker 1: Bay game last year TNF Amazon Prime, you probably watched it.
Speaker 1: They pull a guard and it's Long versus Elton Jenkins
Speaker 1: in the a gap. That's one of the best offensive
Speaker 1: lineman regardless of position in the National Football League. And
Speaker 1: this is where the film nerd in me gets pumped
Speaker 1: because it's basic football techniques. They're not always as common
Speaker 1: and fundamental as you might think. Power generates in the bass, right,
Speaker 1: it's all in the hips. All hitters have that power
Speaker 1: come through their lower half and it funnels through the
Speaker 1: shoulder for most football hits. Right on this clip, you
Speaker 1: see Long come to balance to get his knees over
Speaker 1: his feet, hips over his knees, shoulders over his hips,
Speaker 1: and that allows him to generate all the force playing
Speaker 1: through that lower half body explosion into the force of
Speaker 1: the hit, and it gets the knock back. It lays
Speaker 1: the boom. It's aligned in a way that allows him
Speaker 1: to make the initial contact to create that knockback. Because
Speaker 1: he's playing through the player, that player's momentum is stonewalled.
Speaker 1: He no longer becomes a part of a factor in
Speaker 1: the play. It allows Long to shed and make the tackle.
Speaker 1: His tape is littered with plays like this quickness speed
Speaker 1: beaten with with you know, undergoing underneath blocks but also
Speaker 1: playing through blockers. This guy's a great football player. Guards centers,
Speaker 1: tight ends, fullbacks. It doesn't matter he beats those blocks.
Speaker 1: He also wins in coverage. I loved watching him spot
Speaker 1: drop to a relative landmark, but then immediately search for
Speaker 1: a body for a number to cover for an eligible
Speaker 1: because sometimes you see guys get to their spot and
Speaker 1: they just cover grass. That's where I'm supposed to be.
Speaker 1: I'll stand here, not no skin off my back. Long
Speaker 1: don't do that. He finds eligible players to track. There's
Speaker 1: a clip against the Bengals where he sees motion a
Speaker 1: justice pre snap alignment, gets depth of the curl flat
Speaker 1: which is, you know, the five yards and into the
Speaker 1: side of the field, and as Burrow comes off his
Speaker 1: initial read, Long knows, okay, the pass rush is gonna
Speaker 1: get home because it's married up with our coverage you're
Speaker 1: playing right now. So now that he's held the ball,
Speaker 1: I can drive before the ball comes out, and it
Speaker 1: puts him in a position to make a big play
Speaker 1: on the football, just giving him a headstart because he
Speaker 1: understands the concepts of what's going on around him. There's
Speaker 1: a play against the Colts this year in the game
Speaker 1: in Indianapolis where you see him call out something before
Speaker 1: the snap. The defensive tackle he's working off shoots inside
Speaker 1: and that creates a lane for Long to scrape right
Speaker 1: off his back and then beat mo Alei Cox, who's
Speaker 1: one of the best blocking tight ends in the game,
Speaker 1: to the spot and get Jonathan Taylor down for a loss.
Speaker 1: I just consistently see him beat blocks in whichever way
Speaker 1: they call plays for. He's tough to climb and attached
Speaker 1: to For offensive lineman on the second level, Gosh, he's good.
Speaker 1: The smooth transitions and quickness help him win as a
Speaker 1: rusher and especially in coverage. And I think when you
Speaker 1: look at some of the principles of the coach Fangio
Speaker 1: defense and what he's called upon in the past, it
Speaker 1: has been that linebacker that allows you to play with
Speaker 1: those lighter boxes because of his ability to both come
Speaker 1: up and play downhill, but also a matchup in the
Speaker 1: passing game. It's a defense that has a lot of
Speaker 1: variety and disguise, and you can only get to that
Speaker 1: stuff if you have super smart, instinctive players in those
Speaker 1: signal caller roles, linebacker in safety, and with David Long
Speaker 1: and Javon Holland, gosh, I think we stand a great
Speaker 1: chance to get that communication ruling quickly in this new
Speaker 1: defense to maximize all the personnel we now have on
Speaker 1: this Dolphins defense. Some testimonials here about the David Long signing.
Speaker 1: Josh Norris a great football mine from Underdog Fantasy Outstanding
Speaker 1: played at a really high level before the injury last year.
Speaker 1: Dolphins have already added Vic Fangio, Jalen Ramsey and Dave
Speaker 1: Long this offseason. Who he says, Damian Woody, a former
Speaker 1: Jet who doesn't like the Dolphins, ESPN that David Long
Speaker 1: deal is fantastic for the Dolphins. Last year in camp,
Speaker 1: Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen had this to say. Long
Speaker 1: has taken that position, that role in the middle of
Speaker 1: the defense, taken the role by the horns, and he's
Speaker 1: running with it. He's really the solidifying force in that
Speaker 1: room right now. Finally, I think you could really see
Speaker 1: a drop off when Long wasn't in the lineup. Twelve
Speaker 1: games for the Titans last year where he was in there,
Speaker 1: they allowed just twenty points per game, and they went
Speaker 1: seven and five without him, didn't win a game and
Speaker 1: five and allowed nearly four more points per game twenty
Speaker 1: three point nine. Getting Long and Ramsey four this defense
Speaker 1: was just such a big two part win. Again. I'm
Speaker 1: fired up. Let's go ahead and do our last segment
Speaker 1: here on mister Long. We're going to hear from the
Speaker 1: executive producer and game day host of Titans Radio. He's
Speaker 1: been there for their entire time in Nashville. Rehet Brian,
Speaker 1: he'll tell us about David Long Junior. That's next Drivetime podcast.
Speaker 1: Your host, Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Auto Nation
Speaker 1: and joining me now, is the executive producer and game
Speaker 1: day host of Titans Radio. He's Rhett Brian. Rhet, thank
Speaker 1: you so much for your time today. We really appreciate it, Travis,
Speaker 1: glad to do it. Free agency is a wild and
Speaker 1: wooly time and you guys have invested interest in this
Speaker 1: like everybody else. Absolutely we do. It's always fun. The
Speaker 1: NFL is King Matt takes over this time of year,
Speaker 1: as it does throughout much of the calendar, and players
Speaker 1: trading teams always seems to be one of the more
Speaker 1: fun times for fans. We wanted to get you on
Speaker 1: here to pump up one of our new guys here
Speaker 1: with the news that David Long Junior will be the
Speaker 1: next man in the middle of this Miami Dolphins defense
Speaker 1: for Coach Fangio, and I wanted to start here and
Speaker 1: just kind of ask you if you could surmise David
Speaker 1: Long's time with the Titans. I know he was a
Speaker 1: key part of the defense. How would you kind of
Speaker 1: encapsulate his career there with the Titans. Well, first of all,
Speaker 1: I'm excited for him for the opportunity to work with
Speaker 1: a guy like Vic Fangio, and he cut his teeth
Speaker 1: with another great defensive mind and Dean Pets. And when
Speaker 1: he came into the league in twenty nineteen with the Titans,
Speaker 1: you know, he was he was more of a C
Speaker 1: ball hit ball, tackling machine. You know, he's a Big
Speaker 1: twelve Player of the Year out of West Virginia. And
Speaker 1: the more he got an opportunity to play, the more
Speaker 1: he had a chance to be able to work better
Speaker 1: into coverages and uh, you know, hone that part of
Speaker 1: his craft. He's always been a solid tackler. In fact,
Speaker 1: he's been second to tackles on the team in the
Speaker 1: last two seasons, so he's gotten better every year. He's
Speaker 1: been a tendency Titan. And you know, the only thing
Speaker 1: that I would say is one of the reasons why
Speaker 1: he is now Miami Dolphin is the durability part of it.
Speaker 1: He's had some soft injury to tissue. Excuse me, he's
Speaker 1: had some soft injury. Soft tissue injury. Don't get it
Speaker 1: out of me. I've been up for a long time
Speaker 1: that I've been feeling it on our morning show, on
Speaker 1: our flatculivation, So I excuse me that we get it.
Speaker 1: But he gave his twelve games in the last two seasons,
Speaker 1: and that you know, and look, everybody deals with injuries.
Speaker 1: Everybody has that. You know, it's one hundred percent success rate,
Speaker 1: and that's part of the deal. Is I think they
Speaker 1: probably would have liked to have had him back, but
Speaker 1: I think availability was a part of this. But let
Speaker 1: me say this, and that's the only thing I'll say
Speaker 1: that even sounds disparaging about the guy because he's great dude,
Speaker 1: easy to work with, hungry, quick, learner, all the things
Speaker 1: that that somebody like Vic Fangio would love. And if
Speaker 1: you want a sample size and one play of the
Speaker 1: kind of ball player you're getting at David Law I
Speaker 1: urged Dolphins fans to go and look at a highlight
Speaker 1: from the twenty twenty two season and Week five against
Speaker 1: the Washington Commanders at their place next field. It is
Speaker 1: I mean, the Titans are holding on for dear life
Speaker 1: because Washington has a pretty dog one good defense and
Speaker 1: Carson Wentz did very Carson Wentz like things and the
Speaker 1: last play of the game, he steps in front of
Speaker 1: a pass and picks off Carson Wentz at about the
Speaker 1: half yard line to seal the ball game. That's the
Speaker 1: kind of dude you're getting, you know, A good leader
Speaker 1: in the locker room, a good person, and a dog
Speaker 1: one good ball player. That's actually one of the tapes
Speaker 1: I haven't watched yet, but I just wrote it down
Speaker 1: here my notepad to go back and check it out,
Speaker 1: because you know, watching his tapes, this is a guy
Speaker 1: that plays with incredible anticipation time and time again. And
Speaker 1: I wonder what his preparation must be like because you
Speaker 1: often see him, you know, calling out plays and getting
Speaker 1: to the spot before his opponent most of the time.
Speaker 1: What can you tell us about the way he prepares
Speaker 1: and works well. He certainly puts time in in the
Speaker 1: film room, because again, that was not necessarily his four
Speaker 1: tape when he came into the league as a Titan
Speaker 1: from West Virginia, and it's something that he learned along
Speaker 1: the way. Now here's the other thing for Dolphins fans.
Speaker 1: In the twenty nineteen playoff run that the Titans made
Speaker 1: to the AFC Championship Game, they had some injury concerns,
Speaker 1: and he got to play in some pretty big spots.
Speaker 1: He played some in the playoff win over the New
Speaker 1: England Patriots at Foxborough that basically ended the dynasty. That
Speaker 1: was Tom Brady's last play, the pick six he threw
Speaker 1: to then Logan Ryan, and then the next week he
Speaker 1: got playing time in Baltimore as the Titans kind of
Speaker 1: cracked the code and showed all the other defenses how
Speaker 1: you can beat Lamar Jackson in the divisional route. You'll
Speaker 1: look at those tapes and you'll see again what I'm
Speaker 1: talking about. But he certainly has developed that part of
Speaker 1: his craft and anticipating routes. That's a great way to
Speaker 1: put it, because that is exactly what he did in
Speaker 1: the play I'm talking about in week five that Carson
Speaker 1: Wentz put right his way, and I'm telling you they
Speaker 1: were they were going to go down and win this
Speaker 1: thing because it was a twenty one to seventeen final,
Speaker 1: I believe, so, I mean, it very easily could have
Speaker 1: gone the other way, and he made a perfect read
Speaker 1: on that. It's good company because there was a game
Speaker 1: that Jalen Ramsey also had a game ceiling pick this
Speaker 1: past year in the end zone as well, So a
Speaker 1: couple of guys saving games for their respective teams now
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins. And speaking of Vic Fangio, and you know
Speaker 1: you mentioned that preparation and the way that he kind
Speaker 1: of anticipates it's it's what coach wants the middle of
Speaker 1: the defense. And speaking of DCS, I went back and
Speaker 1: did some digging and found some quotes from Titans DC
Speaker 1: Shane Bowen regarding David stepping into more of a leadership
Speaker 1: role kind of like you mentioned there over the last
Speaker 1: couple of years where his playing time increased when he
Speaker 1: was available to play, I'm curious if you can give
Speaker 1: us a perspective on how his teammates and coaches and
Speaker 1: people around the building responded to his example both on
Speaker 1: the field but also vocally as a leader. Well, and
Speaker 1: that's the thing that he had to work on because
Speaker 1: he's kind of a soft spoken, keeps to himself guy.
Speaker 1: He's not like a weirdo or anything. He's just that's
Speaker 1: just kind of his makeup. But clearly he the more
Speaker 1: opportunities he got and when he stepped into that room.
Speaker 1: Because here's the thing. We had Jayon Brown from UCLA
Speaker 1: who played for the Titans and had an injury, came
Speaker 1: back on a one year deal, and during all of
Speaker 1: that and during Jayon Brown's time where he lost some
Speaker 1: time off the field, that's where he really started cutting
Speaker 1: his teeth in this thing. And the one thing that
Speaker 1: he told us to begin the twenty twenty one season
Speaker 1: is that if he had not necessarily any regrets, but
Speaker 1: things he wants to approve on, it was to be
Speaker 1: more of a leader. He certainly did that calling out defenses,
Speaker 1: and hey, he learned from some good ones now because
Speaker 1: Wesley Woodyard finished his career with the Titans, and that's
Speaker 1: a good one who spent time you know, at Denver
Speaker 1: and certainly with the Titans and a long career. But
Speaker 1: you know, he has a respect not only of his
Speaker 1: now former teams, he has a respect from alumni and
Speaker 1: veterans in the Titans organization. When it was announced that,
Speaker 1: you know, he was going to be going on a
Speaker 1: two year deal with the Dolphins, Keith Bullock, one of
Speaker 1: our great you know, all time linebackers, in fact that
Speaker 1: these are the all time leading tackler Titans history, said
Speaker 1: that's my guy. Congratulations, keep doing the good work. And
Speaker 1: if Keith Bulleck, here's your seal of approval. That's pretty
Speaker 1: good stuff. Yeah. Absolutely, you keep going. All these linebackers
Speaker 1: you guys have had, It's been a pretty good position
Speaker 1: for the Titans over over the course of a couple
Speaker 1: of decades here, and you mentioned the example on the field,
Speaker 1: but also, you know, not just that, but also in
Speaker 1: the community. I found this great clip of him on
Speaker 1: Twitter going to a local elementary school this past season
Speaker 1: and the kids just ate it up. They were loving
Speaker 1: having him there. I was curious if you could tell
Speaker 1: us about the kind of impact he made on the
Speaker 1: community there in Nashville. Yeah, he certainly is happy to
Speaker 1: do that, and that probably I was somewhere in that
Speaker 1: clip because our team mascots, like a lot of other teams,
Speaker 1: has had a Fuel Up to Play sixty program and
Speaker 1: show for elementary and middle school kids, and he participated
Speaker 1: in that multiple times and always had a great message
Speaker 1: and a great place of advice. You know, he's one
Speaker 1: of those guys that he recognizes where he's come from,
Speaker 1: and you know, is able to because of that, see
Speaker 1: where he's going because he's seen where he's been and
Speaker 1: had some poignet words every time he stepped to the
Speaker 1: microphone and It was great because it was an interactive,
Speaker 1: you know program with the mascot and getting kids active
Speaker 1: for sixty minutes a day. So we had students and
Speaker 1: teachers that were involved, and he was great in that,
Speaker 1: just like he's cheers on his teammates when you know
Speaker 1: he was in the locker room here in Nashville. But yeah,
Speaker 1: he's good in the community. He's good on the football field,
Speaker 1: Like you're getting not only a good player, but you're
Speaker 1: getting a good guy. That's what we want to hear.
Speaker 1: That's all I need from you today, sir. He's the
Speaker 1: EPN game Day host of Titans Radio. You can find
Speaker 1: him on Twitter at Rhet b ten of see Rent.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your time today. Very insightful
Speaker 1: and very helpful for us. Turevius. Appreciate the time and
Speaker 1: take care of our guy. He's a good one. You
Speaker 1: got it. Thanks a lot. So there he goes Rehet Brian.
Speaker 1: Very good stuff there. I love that insight we get
Speaker 1: from people that know these guys to give us a
Speaker 1: little more than we can get from you know, if
Speaker 1: someone on the outside. Really good stuff there. That concludes
Speaker 1: our David Long episode. We have the Mike White and
Speaker 1: Jalen Ramsey episodes up for y'all as well, and we'll
Speaker 1: continue to track everything the Miami Dolphins are doing here
Speaker 1: on the Drivetime Podcast. In the meantime, that's gonna be
Speaker 1: my time. You all. Please be sure to subscribe to
Speaker 1: the podcast on Apple Podcasts. Leave us a rating, leave
Speaker 1: us a review. You can follow me on Twitter at
Speaker 1: Wingfield NFL. Follow the team at Miami Dolphins. Check out
Speaker 1: the fish Tank podcast with Seth and Juice. They have
Speaker 1: a big time guest coming up there I think next week,
Speaker 1: I believe, if not the week following that. Also, the
Speaker 1: team YouTube channel for media availability Dolphins Today, fish Tank
Speaker 1: and Drivetime content Funny up there for you. And last
Speaker 1: but not least, the five Danks pieces and all these
Speaker 1: new free agents up on Miami Dolphins dot com. Until
Speaker 1: next time finds up Caroline Camera and Daddy, He's comin' home.