Speaker 1: Factors are alps Patrick touchdown. What a win for this
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphin team. Wow? What is up? Dolphins? And welcome
Speaker 1: to the Drive Time Podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins
Speaker 1: official podcast network covering your Miami Dolphins. How is it
Speaker 1: going to Everybody? Happy Wednesday? I am your host, Travis Wingfield,
Speaker 1: and I am here to bring you your daily dose
Speaker 1: of Miami Dolphins football and on today's show, a flurry
Speaker 1: of roster moves to detail on the show today, an
Speaker 1: interesting analytic study accounting for positional wins above replacement and
Speaker 1: how to apply that context to the Dolphins off season.
Speaker 1: We'll hear from coach Flores from his Wednesday media availability
Speaker 1: and continue the training camp preview with the quarterbacks. All
Speaker 1: of that and more on this Wednesday, July twenty edition
Speaker 1: of the Drive Time Podcast Miami Dolphins The Boy. It
Speaker 1: sure is nice to have current football news and notes
Speaker 1: here to detail on the podcast every day, even if
Speaker 1: it is just a couple of roster designations here and there,
Speaker 1: and we have a few more of those to get
Speaker 1: to on this Wednesday edition of Drive Time. Up first
Speaker 1: one that came out as we published the Monday night podcast.
Speaker 1: The Dolphins have released tight end Michael Roberts after he
Speaker 1: signed with the team back in February. This happened just
Speaker 1: one day after the Dolphins were initially reported to have
Speaker 1: acquired Adam Shaheen from the Bears, giving Miami five tight
Speaker 1: ends heading into training camp. Other news, the Dolphins Monday
Speaker 1: placed cornerback Cordrea Tankersley, defensive tackle undrafted free agent Benito Jones,
Speaker 1: and long snapper the sixth round draft pick from this
Speaker 1: past April's draft on the reserve COVID nineteen list, and
Speaker 1: just to relay what that means, this new reserve list
Speaker 1: category was created for a player who either test positive
Speaker 1: for COVID nineteen or who has been quarantined after having
Speaker 1: been in contact with an effective person or persons. If
Speaker 1: a player falls into either of these categories, their club
Speaker 1: is required to immediately place the player on the reserve
Speaker 1: slash COVID nineteen list. Per agreed upon NFL and nfl
Speaker 1: p A policy, clubs are not permitted to comment on
Speaker 1: a player's medical status other than referring to the roster status.
Speaker 1: Clubs may not disclose whether a player is in quarantine
Speaker 1: or is positive for COVID nineteen. We also added a
Speaker 1: player on Monday. More on that in just one second,
Speaker 1: but first a couple of news bites from Tuesday. The
Speaker 1: Dolphins have placed Xavien Howard on the active slash Physically
Speaker 1: unable to perform list and linebacker Calvin Munson on the
Speaker 1: active slash non football injury list. That happened, of course,
Speaker 1: on Tuesday. Now a pair of cornerbacks in the news
Speaker 1: here for the Dolphins, and another one coming in by
Speaker 1: way of former Auburn Tiger and Kansas City chief Javarus Davis,
Speaker 1: who the Dolphins were awarded off of waivers on Monday.
Speaker 1: A and just a couple of quick notes on Javirus Davis.
Speaker 1: He did run a four three nine forty yard dash
Speaker 1: back at the scouting combine in February. He had eight
Speaker 1: interceptions to every year of his career down there at Auburn,
Speaker 1: twenty seven past breakups over the four year career, and
Speaker 1: of course he was the other cornerback alongside Noah Igbnogamy,
Speaker 1: who are now teammates once more in the professional ranks.
Speaker 1: There was an article written back in April on USA
Speaker 1: Today that I tweeted out talking about how Davis had
Speaker 1: mentioned he had visits scheduled with seven teams in the
Speaker 1: run up to the draft. The Dolphins were one of
Speaker 1: those teams, along with the Patriots and Lions, among others.
Speaker 1: He also referenced in that article his team first mentality
Speaker 1: and how he's willing to do whatever it takes to
Speaker 1: help his team win. So you get the idea of
Speaker 1: how this jive's with the athletic profile and the team
Speaker 1: first mentality that Brian Flores and the Miami Dolphins covet
Speaker 1: at the position. So Flora's, Josh Boyer and Gerald Alexander
Speaker 1: get their hands on yet another toolsy defensive back heading
Speaker 1: into training camp, and we're gonna get into the guys
Speaker 1: defensive backs are trying to stop here speaking of training
Speaker 1: camp in just one second on the Training Camp Preview.
Speaker 1: But I wanted to discuss this tweet slash analytics information
Speaker 1: I came across over the weekend and it came from
Speaker 1: Eric Eager of Pro Football Focus, and he did a
Speaker 1: study on the stat wins above replacement by position. He
Speaker 1: looked at the median war wins above replacement, coefficient of
Speaker 1: variation in war, and year to year correlation in war,
Speaker 1: all by position. Now, if those words have you dreading
Speaker 1: and thinking back to your high school math days or
Speaker 1: college math days. Do not fret. I'm not gonna get
Speaker 1: too much into that stuff. I just wanted to discuss
Speaker 1: the disparity here between positional war and the average across
Speaker 1: each position in the NFL, And of course, quarterback leads
Speaker 1: the way, and pretty obviously so, with a mean one
Speaker 1: point six three wins above replacement. And that's to say,
Speaker 1: the quarterbacks had the greatest impact on games last year
Speaker 1: on average, if you're going off of wins a of replacement.
Speaker 1: Next was the wide receivers, with a pretty considerable drop
Speaker 1: off there from the quarterbacks down to point to eight
Speaker 1: from that one point six three up next where safeties
Speaker 1: and cornerbacks, who tied at point to three. So you
Speaker 1: get the idea. The passing game here is really the
Speaker 1: part of the game that has the biggest impact as
Speaker 1: far as war is concerned. And I'm not gonna get
Speaker 1: a whole lot further into these in degree details again,
Speaker 1: because it feels like something you should probably just go
Speaker 1: check out for yourself, and I don't think it really
Speaker 1: translates that well to an audio platform, but I do
Speaker 1: think we can look at it from my Dolphins roster
Speaker 1: construction standpoint, and this follow up tweet from a data
Speaker 1: analyst at Hawk Blogger, a Seattle Seahawks blog notes that
Speaker 1: defensive backs war is less stable on a year to
Speaker 1: year basis than past rushers are, so the stat does fluctuate.
Speaker 1: But this is going off of and it goes back
Speaker 1: to the idea of building the defense from the back
Speaker 1: to the front, signing a Byron Jones to a big deal,
Speaker 1: drafting Noah a Monogamy in the first round and Brandon
Speaker 1: Jones in the third round, a pair of defensive acts
Speaker 1: playing major college football in the Power five last year,
Speaker 1: and signing a Cavon Frasier a Clayton Federalum truly investing
Speaker 1: in the position in the idea of the defensive backs
Speaker 1: room in the linebacker position had a point one one
Speaker 1: median war as well, and that was in the middle
Speaker 1: of the pack of this position list and this median
Speaker 1: war stat. And we know how aggressive Miami was going
Speaker 1: after Kyle van noy, Comu grug Hill, and Landon Roberts
Speaker 1: this year and last year, picking up Andrew van Gigel
Speaker 1: in the draft and Vince Bagel in a September one
Speaker 1: trade by bringing him in from New Orleans and to
Speaker 1: tie a bow on this thought. I mean, we knew
Speaker 1: quarterback was going to be the leader in the clubhouse,
Speaker 1: and I wanted to just make a note of the
Speaker 1: Dolphins investment at that position at quarterback over the last
Speaker 1: two years by signing Ryan Fitzpatrick, who I mean, can
Speaker 1: anyone really argue his value to the Dolphins. The guy
Speaker 1: has been everything we had hoped for. And then some
Speaker 1: investing in Josh Rosen with the second round draft pick
Speaker 1: acquired in that nineteen trade down, and then using the
Speaker 1: fifth pick this year of course on quarterback to a
Speaker 1: tongue of Valoa. Truly investing in the position, the commitment
Speaker 1: to invest in these core positions. I like Kirk Cousins.
Speaker 1: I like that, And speaking of the cubes the quarterbacks,
Speaker 1: let's get into the next part of our training camp
Speaker 1: preview series, and just real quick before we do that.
Speaker 1: Ahead of this quarterback preview, these photos of the Dolphins
Speaker 1: reporting to the facility on Monday July We're all available
Speaker 1: on the team's website up on social media. It showed
Speaker 1: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Josh Rosen to a Tongue of Valoa, as
Speaker 1: well as some other Miami Dolphins reporting to the facility
Speaker 1: for the first day of work here in the off season,
Speaker 1: and I think Ryan Fitzpatrick's shirt broke Dolphins Twitter there
Speaker 1: for just a moment. I personally had multiple text heading
Speaker 1: my way asking me where people could pick up that shirt.
Speaker 1: And when you know it, Johnny on the spot, Dolphins
Speaker 1: Twitter found it. I think it was on chubbies dot com,
Speaker 1: the Hawaiian Lights shirt. If you're trying to catch that
Speaker 1: drip up. And by the way, has any thirty seven
Speaker 1: year old father of seven ever had more swag than
Speaker 1: Ryan Fitzpatrick. I would argue that no, they do not.
Speaker 1: And with that, I think we have satisfied our quota
Speaker 1: for fashion talk here on the podcast for the next
Speaker 1: couple of years, if not longer than that. Let's go
Speaker 1: ahead and talk about this Dolphins quarterback room and go
Speaker 1: once again the reverse jersey number order, starting with ninety
Speaker 1: nine through number one, and that means first up, Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Speaker 1: He has fifteen accrued seasons in the NFL season number
Speaker 1: two here in Miami for Ryan Fitzpatrick. He wears jersey
Speaker 1: number fourteen. Everyone knows by now he went to Harvard
Speaker 1: thirty seven years old, and when he first got here.
Speaker 1: I wrote a story up on Lockdown Dolphins dot Com
Speaker 1: taking a look at his tape, and you go back
Speaker 1: to his film when he was with the Bucks, when
Speaker 1: he had that start at the beginning of the season
Speaker 1: for Jamis Winston, and he was attacking vertically, taking chances,
Speaker 1: but really taking measured chances to go vertical and getting
Speaker 1: those big plays in the passing game. Through the first
Speaker 1: three games of that season, he led the NFL and
Speaker 1: all the major categories as far yards yards per attempt,
Speaker 1: that type of thing, and he really had a confidence
Speaker 1: in his game. I love the way he trust his
Speaker 1: eyes and lets that thing rip and just gets it
Speaker 1: out there before the defense can really have a chance
Speaker 1: to react, before the defense can have a chance to
Speaker 1: win their pass rush matchups, and before the defense can
Speaker 1: rotate their coverage. He is very sharp that way, getting
Speaker 1: the football out quick. And he said to us last
Speaker 1: year in the media that he felt he was playing
Speaker 1: the best ball of his career in training camp, and
Speaker 1: I think the stats from confirmed that assertion. While the
Speaker 1: film last year in nineteen and the metrics corroborate that
Speaker 1: claim from Ryan Fitzpatrick. After he rejoined the lineup. In
Speaker 1: Week six against Washington, he was the tenth highest graded
Speaker 1: quarterback according to Pro Football Focus over that time, the
Speaker 1: infectious leader of the Miami Dolphins through one eight one
Speaker 1: first downs that was second most in football. His three thousand,
Speaker 1: two hundred twenty six passing yards during that period ranked third,
Speaker 1: behind only Jamis Winston and Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 1: And he also led the Dolphins in rushing and scored
Speaker 1: on scramble plays four different times. Over the course of
Speaker 1: last season. PF credit at Fitzpatrick with thirty five non
Speaker 1: design quarterback runs that tied for the most over the
Speaker 1: twelve week period with Gardner Minshew and Deshaun Watson. So
Speaker 1: his ability to kind of recognize where the weakness might
Speaker 1: be in the defense, where the pass rush or the
Speaker 1: blitz or where an overload blitz can kind of take
Speaker 1: advantage of the numbers and put pressure on the quarterback immediately.
Speaker 1: His ability to pick that up, recognize it, and make
Speaker 1: the defense pay for it was on point last season.
Speaker 1: He consistently made plays outside the structure of the offense,
Speaker 1: extending plays and creating an exciting highlight reel punctuated by
Speaker 1: Musty celebrations. The Terra dactyl scream as I called it
Speaker 1: against Cleveland was one of my favorite. After that touchdown
Speaker 1: run where he kind of did the frank the tank,
Speaker 1: I'm got a biggest scream out. He had several of
Speaker 1: those throughout the course of the year with those touchdown runs.
Speaker 1: And this quote here coming from Ryan from Brian Flores
Speaker 1: about Ryan Fitzpatrick, quote, I think Fitzpatrick did a good job,
Speaker 1: a really good job last year. His leadership something that
Speaker 1: really helped us out a year ago end quote. And
Speaker 1: that leadership is beneficial both on the field and in
Speaker 1: a mentor role for the younger quarterbacks on the roster.
Speaker 1: Fitzpatrick spoke about his position as the elder statesman of
Speaker 1: the room during a virtual press conference back in May,
Speaker 1: saying quote, I'm an open book, and I try to
Speaker 1: make sure that the other quarterbacks no and are comfortable
Speaker 1: with coming to me with questions. I'm also going to
Speaker 1: express my opinions and thoughts on plays that were watching
Speaker 1: in two minute drives, things like that, and to just
Speaker 1: provide some perspective end quote. And Fitzpatrick's performance was not
Speaker 1: exclusive to making plays off script. He delivered dime after
Speaker 1: dime by recognizing the defensive look and where the soft
Speaker 1: spot was to attack, and accordingly, Fitzpatrick would often throw
Speaker 1: the football to a spot and rely on those playmakers
Speaker 1: like a DeVante Parker or Preston Williams and Albert Wilson,
Speaker 1: Jachem Grant. All those guys might get Sicky to minute
Speaker 1: to finish the play and make a big play for
Speaker 1: the offense. Per Pro Football Focus, the offense quarterback completed
Speaker 1: sixties seven point one percent of his throws when the
Speaker 1: ball came out and under two point five seconds, with
Speaker 1: fourteen touchdowns and three interceptions on such throws. Fitzpatrick over
Speaker 1: a fifteen year career, has thirty two thousand, eight hundred
Speaker 1: and eighty six passing yards and two hundred and ten
Speaker 1: touchdown passes. And another guy who has leaned on the
Speaker 1: experience and knowledge and tutelage of Ryan Fitzpatrick as the
Speaker 1: next quarterback up on our list Josh Rosen. He has
Speaker 1: two accrued seasons in the NFL. This is his second
Speaker 1: here in Miami. He wears jersey number three. He came
Speaker 1: from u C. L A. And he is still just
Speaker 1: going to be twenty three years old on opening Day
Speaker 1: and this Dolphins quarterback room features a little bit of everything.
Speaker 1: You've got the accuracy, the big arms, the knowledge of
Speaker 1: Ryan Fitzpatrick. He can impart on these younger players, and
Speaker 1: Rosen gives the Dolphins a second top ten pick under
Speaker 1: the age of twenty five, as well as a very
Speaker 1: cerebral student of the game, a guy that puts a
Speaker 1: lot of time and effort into football. Of course, football
Speaker 1: is important to him, as Brian Flores loves to say,
Speaker 1: in the nineteen season was one of progress and development
Speaker 1: for the young quarterback. He went over several of these
Speaker 1: things he developed last year in training camp, throughout the
Speaker 1: season speaking to the media, and this quote here comes
Speaker 1: from coach Flores. Rosen is expected to come in, learn
Speaker 1: the offense and develop the way looked over the latter
Speaker 1: part of the season. This is what he said back
Speaker 1: at the scouting combine in February. He will get an
Speaker 1: opportunity to compete and get better every day. And quote
Speaker 1: and you go back to the playing time Fitzpatrick had
Speaker 1: last year, whether it was in games or in practice,
Speaker 1: like for instance, in training camp he had a really
Speaker 1: good two minute drive at the end of the team
Speaker 1: scrimmage last year that really showcased his ability to kind
Speaker 1: of elevate his game in those big moments, or if
Speaker 1: you go back to the Dallas game, there was a
Speaker 1: moment in that game where someone dropped a past I
Speaker 1: forget who it was, and Rosen had a lot of
Speaker 1: encouragement for that player, came back to him, had a
Speaker 1: successful play on the next play. So you see that
Speaker 1: leadership quality, the ability to kind of move on and
Speaker 1: go to the next play a very important trait in
Speaker 1: a quarterback, and that progress was tangible throughout the course
Speaker 1: of the season and regardless of the offensive success he
Speaker 1: had show that leadership and encouragement, he also attacked down
Speaker 1: filled with aggressiveness and with accuracy, showcasing those traits that
Speaker 1: made him the tenth pick in the twenty nineteen draft.
Speaker 1: He Impresston Williams really developed a rapport in the exhibition
Speaker 1: season last year, in the preseason and going vertical as
Speaker 1: well in those spots starts he had in the middle
Speaker 1: of the early part of the season in September, like
Speaker 1: in the Dallas game, the Chargers gained the long touchdown
Speaker 1: pass in that Chargers game to Davante Parker, and just
Speaker 1: as he praised Tongue Viola for his work, habits and
Speaker 1: what he's gotten to know about him so far. Ryan
Speaker 1: Fitzpatrick also said he had the respect for Josh Rosen
Speaker 1: last season for leaning on the veterans experience in that
Speaker 1: quarterback room and learning as much as he possibly could.
Speaker 1: Here's what Fits had to say about Josh Rosen. Quote,
Speaker 1: He's always here before six o'clock. He's always here late
Speaker 1: when we're watching film and whatever else Josh is putting
Speaker 1: in the time. And I think right now too, he's
Speaker 1: doing a lot of listening and a lot of observing.
Speaker 1: I think that's what's really important at this point. But
Speaker 1: part of it is just immersing himself in it and
Speaker 1: being around early morning, late at night. And he's doing
Speaker 1: a nice job of being here and really showing that
Speaker 1: he wants to be in here, he wants to learn,
Speaker 1: he wants to do all the right things. And quote
Speaker 1: Matt quote of course coming from last season. And we
Speaker 1: finished this thing up with the quarterback who was the
Speaker 1: highest on my quarterback prospect list this offseason heading into
Speaker 1: the draft and one of my favorite prospects over the
Speaker 1: last several years. I just found so many things into
Speaker 1: a tongue of Voloah's game that I believe translate to
Speaker 1: success at the next level, with the urgency and the
Speaker 1: footwork in the lower half, the ability to get off
Speaker 1: of the spot, immediately recognize where that pressure comes from,
Speaker 1: and making plays off script that way. We've also heard
Speaker 1: Nick Saban and so many other folks that have spent
Speaker 1: time around to a tongue of Voloa, like his quarterbacks
Speaker 1: coach Trent Dilford, the offensive coordinators there Alabama, his teammates
Speaker 1: Xavier McKinney at the combine praise his ability to rise
Speaker 1: the tide of all ships, so to speak, and really
Speaker 1: show a spirit and a mentality that really really helps
Speaker 1: the football team just be better from the top all
Speaker 1: the way down. We heard Nick Saban talk about visiting
Speaker 1: to a tongue of Vloa after the hip injury last
Speaker 1: year and how he went there to hopefully cheer up
Speaker 1: to Ah, but it was to a who in turn
Speaker 1: cheered up Coach Saban with his spirit, with his personality,
Speaker 1: and of course that ukulele playing. He just has that
Speaker 1: infectious personality you want at the position, the type of personality,
Speaker 1: the type of leadership that Brian Floraz and Chris Greer
Speaker 1: really covered at the position. You love the way he
Speaker 1: can layer the football with accuracy to all levels of
Speaker 1: the field, the way he processes the defense and really
Speaker 1: gets through those reads. On the ESPN Detail episode with
Speaker 1: Nick Saban talking about to Ah and the way he's
Speaker 1: able to process the defense and get through his reads,
Speaker 1: he showcases how to a can get through multiple progressions,
Speaker 1: read the front side, read the backside, and get the
Speaker 1: football where it has to go and adjust his his
Speaker 1: location of the football accordingly to how the coverage adapts
Speaker 1: to what he wants to do on offense. And another
Speaker 1: generalized quarterback trade I love to look at is how
Speaker 1: does the defense view him on third and long when
Speaker 1: it becomes you know, you win the first two ounds
Speaker 1: and get the offense into a third and ten or
Speaker 1: a third and twelve. Do you still think you can
Speaker 1: get a stop on that play? Where are you still
Speaker 1: afraid of the quarterback? And you watch Alabama throughout the
Speaker 1: course of Tungua Bloa's career, they were always a threat
Speaker 1: to not only move the chains, but to score from
Speaker 1: anywhere on the field because of how quickly the ball
Speaker 1: came out, how he's able to get the ball in
Speaker 1: the hands of the playmakers. Identify your blitzes and replace
Speaker 1: the blitz with the football. Just really really good quarterback
Speaker 1: play there in college. You hope it translates to the NFL.
Speaker 1: He's gonna be twenty two on opening Day, and by
Speaker 1: now we all know about Tongue Boloa's collegiate success. The
Speaker 1: National Champion, Heisman Trophy, runner up, and the most are
Speaker 1: the highest rather quarterback efficiency rating in the history of
Speaker 1: college football. He arrives to Miami to continue this theme
Speaker 1: of adding talented quarterbacks to the quarterback room. He of
Speaker 1: course comes the leadership and plenty of fanfare. We know
Speaker 1: how important that leadership in the way communication is involved
Speaker 1: at that position. For this Dolphins brass for this Dolphins
Speaker 1: coaching staff, and Tongue by Looa played under three different
Speaker 1: offensive coordinators in college. There at Alabama, and he excelled
Speaker 1: in each of those offensive systems. He helped transform that
Speaker 1: Crimson tied offense from a classic smash mouth outfit to
Speaker 1: an aerial display to the likes of which college football
Speaker 1: had not yet seen before prior to Tongue of Voloah's arrival.
Speaker 1: He's deadly accurate throws one of the prettiest deep balls
Speaker 1: in the in college football last couple of seasons. With
Speaker 1: that trajectory putting penety of air under the football, allowing
Speaker 1: his receivers to run to a spot and catch it
Speaker 1: and run right through it. He anticipates receivers opening up
Speaker 1: and processes the pass rush and potential leaks in the
Speaker 1: past rush with urgency and purpose. Here's a quote from
Speaker 1: Brian Flora's Tongue of valoah fit a lot of the
Speaker 1: criteria we talked about at the quarterback position, good player,
Speaker 1: good person, leadership qualities. Were very happy with the pick. Now,
Speaker 1: the veteran of the room, Ryan Fitzpatrick, who will cover
Speaker 1: here in just one second, he offered up some excitement
Speaker 1: that he has for Tongue of Valoa and what he
Speaker 1: can bring to the rest of the quarterback room as
Speaker 1: well as to Tongue of Valoa as well as a
Speaker 1: scattering report on to a Tongue of Valoa. Fits had
Speaker 1: this to say, quote, I'm an open book and try
Speaker 1: to make sure that they know and are comfortable with
Speaker 1: coming to me with questions. I'm going to express my
Speaker 1: opinion and thoughts on plays that we are watching in
Speaker 1: two minute drives We've been going over some of that
Speaker 1: stuff and my mind and the process of how I
Speaker 1: think through it right or wrong. Just to provide some perspective.
Speaker 1: I'm excited for him to be here for two of
Speaker 1: to be here. I loved watching him playing college. I
Speaker 1: think he's going to be an awesome addition to the
Speaker 1: team for a long time. All right, let's go ahead
Speaker 1: and transition now over to Brian floress media availability. On Wednesday, July,
Speaker 1: he spoke to members of South Florida media about a
Speaker 1: variety of topics, including the coronavirus, how the team is
Speaker 1: preparing to plan this season and go forward in this
Speaker 1: unprecedented time. We are in currently position battles including the
Speaker 1: quarterback spot with Ryan Fitzpatrick, Josh Rosen, and to a
Speaker 1: tongue of voloa, and the competition across camp as a whole.
Speaker 1: Let's go ahead now and get to some of those
Speaker 1: questions with Brian Flora's with the Dolphin South Florida me
Speaker 1: DA and the first question. I won't play the actual
Speaker 1: audio from the questions for you guys, because there is
Speaker 1: some spotty spots in some of these online conferences. Will
Speaker 1: go ahead and give you the details of the question
Speaker 1: and let flow take it from there. The very first
Speaker 1: question I thought was a great one, a very important
Speaker 1: one as well, about the position or Flora's this position
Speaker 1: rather on minority coaches and how to elevate those coaches
Speaker 1: that are capable of doing the job in this league.
Speaker 1: Here was his answer on that topic in regard to
Speaker 1: social justice. I mean I've said this, you know, time
Speaker 1: and time again, there's you know, very capable minority coaches
Speaker 1: throughout the league on our staff um and if given
Speaker 1: the opportunity, I think they perform and do well. Hopefully
Speaker 1: we take the steps where you know people, uh, minorities
Speaker 1: get those opportunities, and I think they would be able
Speaker 1: to take advantage. Up next was a question about competition
Speaker 1: and camp, and specifically about the quarterback possession, which Flora's mentions,
Speaker 1: we want competition at all times. You always want competition
Speaker 1: in training camp. So there's always you know, it's every
Speaker 1: position is an open competition. Uh. Obviously some some players
Speaker 1: are further ahead than others. I think that's we all
Speaker 1: kind of know and understand that. But yes, there's a
Speaker 1: there's we want competition, and there's no jobs that are
Speaker 1: just gonna be handed out and this training camp in
Speaker 1: this season obviously will be different than anyone we've ever
Speaker 1: seen before. And a question was posed a coach about
Speaker 1: how the Dolphins are going about preventing the spread of
Speaker 1: the virus or the precautions being taken by the team
Speaker 1: and the organization and the entire coaching staff to help
Speaker 1: mitigate this process and get the healthiest football team out
Speaker 1: there and keep everyone in the organization healthy and just
Speaker 1: prevent the spread of the virus. Here was coach's answer
Speaker 1: to the dolphins measures are taking to make sure that
Speaker 1: is handled and taken care of. You know, you know,
Speaker 1: our message has been more along the lines of let's
Speaker 1: try to do everything possible so that you know that
Speaker 1: situation doesn't happen. Um, let's wear the mask, let's distance,
Speaker 1: let's test. You know, we're testing on a daily basis. Um,
Speaker 1: that's kind of where our thought process has been. UM. Yes,
Speaker 1: we had those conversations about you know, what it would
Speaker 1: take or what if you know, a catastrophe happened. Yes,
Speaker 1: we've had those and you know there's an action plan
Speaker 1: for that. I'm not gonna get into that, but um,
Speaker 1: but you know, are are you know, most of our
Speaker 1: energy has been towards uh, doing the things necessary to
Speaker 1: prevent that situation. Um. And that's the message I've I've
Speaker 1: tried to give to the team and really everyone in
Speaker 1: the organization players, coaches, uh, you know, equipment, you know,
Speaker 1: training staff, and I think the leadership within the organization, uh,
Speaker 1: you know myself, Chris Brandon, Kyle Johnston, Dave Poloka, the
Speaker 1: rest of the coaching staff. Um, they're all they're all
Speaker 1: sending that exact same message. And of course, with a
Speaker 1: flurry of roster moves we have had this week, we
Speaker 1: had some employers go over to PUP, some players added
Speaker 1: to the COVID nineteen reserve list, and one of the
Speaker 1: players that was not added to any of the list
Speaker 1: was quarterback to a Tongue of Iloa Dolphins rookie quarterback
Speaker 1: the number five overall selection in the NFL draft. Coach
Speaker 1: was asked about his availability heading into training camp and
Speaker 1: any restrictions or limitations that might be placed on the quarterback.
Speaker 1: Here is what coach Flores had to say about that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean he's on he's not on PUP obviously. Do
Speaker 1: you guys know there's an acclimation period here for the
Speaker 1: next Uh you know, let's let's just call it two
Speaker 1: weeks so you know their strength and conditioning and um,
Speaker 1: some walkthroughs. So there won't be you know, much strenuous activity.
Speaker 1: Uh you know from I shouldn't say there won't be
Speaker 1: strength activity. There will be from a strength of conditioning extandpoint,
Speaker 1: but from a football practice you know drills that standpoint. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, there won't be much. But uh yeah, he's
Speaker 1: he's through the physical and when we do get the practice,
Speaker 1: you'll see him on there. And you heard coach talk
Speaker 1: about the acclamation period of getting guys ready for the
Speaker 1: strength and conditioning, getting some of the soft tissue stuff,
Speaker 1: taking care of these guys can be ready to go
Speaker 1: full bore when we hit the field for practice. And
Speaker 1: coach talked about some of the importance of getting that stuff,
Speaker 1: taking care of having the strength and conditioning program and
Speaker 1: how i'd say priority every single year to make sure
Speaker 1: players are healthy and their boys are taken care of.
Speaker 1: Here's what coach had to say on that topic. I mean,
Speaker 1: I think it's a combination of both. I think you
Speaker 1: always want your team to be healthy. Whether it's right now,
Speaker 1: covid z is um, it's what everyone's talking about. But
Speaker 1: you know, when we get into practice, it will be
Speaker 1: you know, soft tissue injuries or you know, shoulders or
Speaker 1: knees or you know, things of that nature. So there's
Speaker 1: nothing more important health of the team. And that's that's
Speaker 1: gonna be uh, you know, at the forefront this year especially,
Speaker 1: But at the same time, yeah, we're working towards uh,
Speaker 1: trying to d prove on the field as well. Uh.
Speaker 1: So that's fundamentals, that's technique, that's conditioning, you know, so
Speaker 1: there's a lot to try to improve upon. So yeah,
Speaker 1: we need to keep them healthy in order so so
Speaker 1: that we can't we can't go out in the field
Speaker 1: and improve. They kind of go hand in hand in
Speaker 1: a lot of ways. And you know, well, these are
Speaker 1: these are very very uh let's call it unprecedented circumstances. Um.
Speaker 1: But you know, I think, you know, we need to
Speaker 1: make the best of the situation. And that's been a
Speaker 1: message to the to the team. There's no there's no
Speaker 1: real point in dwelling on uh you know, the lack
Speaker 1: of games or practice. You know, we just have to
Speaker 1: make the most of very opportunity we get to go
Speaker 1: out there. Um, and you know, the healthy guys will
Speaker 1: practice and the guys who weren't, and those practice reps
Speaker 1: are gonna be very important this season. And so you
Speaker 1: hear the quote, there are no point in dwelling on
Speaker 1: what has happened and the things we cannot control. And
Speaker 1: that's just gonna be a continuing theme of Brian Floors.
Speaker 1: He's not going to be one to make excuses for
Speaker 1: anything going on outside of the team's control. So a
Speaker 1: very consistent message that way from coach Flores. There was
Speaker 1: a question and they're regarding Exavian Howard being placed on
Speaker 1: PUP and coach just confirmed, yep, xaviing Howard is on
Speaker 1: PUP right now. He was also asked about players or
Speaker 1: coaches opting out, and as of that meeting, no Dolphins
Speaker 1: players or coaches had opted out for the season at
Speaker 1: the time of the meeting. X PP. He's been rehabbing
Speaker 1: really the entire summer. Uh, he's making a lot of progress.
Speaker 1: He'll be back um as soon as he can. I'm
Speaker 1: not I can't put a timetable on it. I don't know.
Speaker 1: I know he's working, I know he's he's uh making
Speaker 1: some progress, but you know, I'm not gonna put a
Speaker 1: timetable and when he's he'll be back, but we're trying
Speaker 1: gonna try to get him out there as soon as
Speaker 1: we can. And then finally, Coach was asked about acclimating
Speaker 1: the players, the personnel change the Dolphins had this offseason
Speaker 1: with a big rookie class, plenty of free agent signings,
Speaker 1: how the Dolphins have worked to acclimate all those new
Speaker 1: player is into the program, and how that will look
Speaker 1: this offseason, this training camp heading into September and the
Speaker 1: regular season. I think, you know, every rep is going
Speaker 1: to be important, Every walk through REP, every practice for rep.
Speaker 1: You know, we won't have preseason games. I mean, that's all.
Speaker 1: That's all we've got. I mean, I think I don't
Speaker 1: think there's any point And like I said earlier, there's
Speaker 1: no point in dwelling on, you know, or being upset
Speaker 1: about the circumstances. All. You know, we just got to
Speaker 1: make the most of the opportunities that we're gonna be
Speaker 1: given here. Um. But yeah, every every rep is going
Speaker 1: to be important. Every you know, reping individual is those evaluations, UM,
Speaker 1: those are the evaluations and improvement, those improvements those guys
Speaker 1: make players make, uh in practice and walk throughs they're
Speaker 1: gonna be um what other keeps him on a team,
Speaker 1: what doesn't give him one a team? And so there
Speaker 1: you have at the highlights from coach flora is Is Wednesday,
Speaker 1: July twenty media availability to kick off training camp here
Speaker 1: down in Miami, the season getting underway at the facility,
Speaker 1: Dolphins getting to work. You hear him mention the importance
Speaker 1: of every rep, every walk through, every meeting, not wasting
Speaker 1: any time again gonna be the theme here of this
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins team this season and of course every season
Speaker 1: under Brian Flores. If you guys want to hear the
Speaker 1: entire press conference, go ahead and check out our YouTube channel,
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins dot com social media as we have that
Speaker 1: for you guys available. Go check out the quarterback preview
Speaker 1: written piece up on Miami Dolphins dot com as well
Speaker 1: as the written media piece on the website. We have
Speaker 1: plenty of content for you guys this week, this month,
Speaker 1: and going forward into the season. As for today's edition
Speaker 1: of the Drivetime podcast, that is going to be my
Speaker 1: time you all, please be sure to subscribe to the
Speaker 1: podcast on Apple, podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast from.
Speaker 1: Go ahead and subscribe, rate, and review, the show, Give
Speaker 1: me a follow on Twitter. It's at Wingfield, NFL. Weve
Speaker 1: updates for you guys on this Dolphins team throughout the
Speaker 1: course of the season and beyond. Follow the Dolphins at
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins, and of course check out the Fish Tank
Speaker 1: and the Audible podcast as well as Miami dolphins dot com.
Speaker 1: Until next time, fins up.