WEBVTT - Drive Time - Dolphins Depth and Intriguing Camp Developments 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:07.800 Practice factor drawing textower. What a win for this Miami 0:00:07.840 --> 0:00:14.080 Dolphin team. Wow, What is up? Dolphins? And welcome to 0:00:14.160 --> 0:00:18.040 the Drive Time Podcast part of the Miami Dolphins official 0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:22.680 podcast network, covering your Miami Dolphins each and every day. 0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:26.000 How's it going, Everybody Happy Monday? I am your host, 0:00:26.079 --> 0:00:28.920 Travis Wingfield, and I am here to bring you your 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:32.360 daily dose of Miami Dolphins football. And on today's show, 0:00:32.600 --> 0:00:36.479 a very media episode, we're talking Dolphins depth and players 0:00:36.479 --> 0:00:39.640 that I can't wait to personally watch in training camp, 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:42.680 plus players in the top ten at their position in 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:45.760 the NFL, playing the best round of golf in my life, 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:48.160 and an absolute banger of a song that I've had 0:00:48.159 --> 0:00:50.919 on repeat all weekend. All of that and more on 0:00:50.920 --> 0:00:58.720 this Monday, July edition of the Drivetime Podcasts. So I 0:00:58.760 --> 0:01:00.800 did get back out to the inks again for the 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:03.680 third time in the last three years, and I shot 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:07.240 a ninety. Feeling very good about that about being a 0:01:07.319 --> 0:01:10.639 bogey golfer just three times out in the previous three years. 0:01:10.880 --> 0:01:12.640 But I still feel like there's a lot more room 0:01:12.720 --> 0:01:15.800 for improvement there. Even think I could have shaved off 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:19.280 maybe five strokes off that score. I was just piping 0:01:19.280 --> 0:01:21.759 the ball off the tea and with the long irons. 0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:25.120 But when I get into finesse, short shot range, short 0:01:25.200 --> 0:01:27.720 chips and putting, well, that's where I gotta get some 0:01:27.760 --> 0:01:30.360 work in. Probably spend about six months doing that. But 0:01:30.400 --> 0:01:32.839 it's tough because if I don't make some money quick, 0:01:33.080 --> 0:01:35.839 my Grandma's gonna lose her house. So it's a tough 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:39.720 spot out there. And speaking of underappreciated movies or TV shows, 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:42.400 is happy Gilmore underappreciated? I think it is. I don't know. 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:45.240 I was talking with a friend and fellow Dolphins fan 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:48.040 over the weekend about our Hard Knocks season back in 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:51.400 and there were plenty of fun moments from that show, 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:55.040 like the introduction to the Man's Man, Dan Campbell for 0:01:55.120 --> 0:01:57.960 screaming at Michael Egg knew we had Darrell Root and 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:00.760 all of his personality on the show. But among all 0:02:00.760 --> 0:02:04.960 the great stories, one little line from that five episode 0:02:05.040 --> 0:02:08.400 saga really stood out to me, and it came from Ocho. 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:12.200 From Chad Johnson. One thing I always appreciated about Ocho 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:15.320 was his attention to detail and really focusing on the 0:02:15.360 --> 0:02:17.680 small things that add up to make a big thing. 0:02:17.760 --> 0:02:20.720 All the small details really do matter. And he had 0:02:20.760 --> 0:02:23.040 this line where he's kind of walking and talking to 0:02:23.120 --> 0:02:26.080 himself on the practice field. I think it was before practice, 0:02:26.120 --> 0:02:29.200 trying to get himself mentally right, going over the reps 0:02:29.200 --> 0:02:32.760 mentally in his head, and he was murmuring a mantra 0:02:32.960 --> 0:02:36.120 of sorts to himself, just kept saying quick but not 0:02:36.200 --> 0:02:38.760 in a hurry, Quick but not in a hurry. And 0:02:38.760 --> 0:02:41.679 that got me thinking about a current Dolphins receiver who 0:02:41.720 --> 0:02:44.360 I spoke to last week for an interview that was 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:47.359 outside the scope of football on the field, and it 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:49.840 sparked an interest to go back and watch his tape 0:02:49.880 --> 0:02:52.640 and his game, and it led to the conception of 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:55.960 a little segment idea on I don't want to say 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:59.160 under appreciated players. And the more I thought about, the 0:02:59.200 --> 0:03:01.600 more I realized, I think that's the wrong way to 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:04.160 phrase it, the wrong way to cut them, because we 0:03:04.240 --> 0:03:06.680 can appreciate what these guys bring to the field, but 0:03:06.760 --> 0:03:10.080 they were ultimately guys that I am just super intrigued 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:12.040 to see what they can do on the practice field 0:03:12.160 --> 0:03:14.399 in training camp now just a couple of weeks out, 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:18.000 and also how these guys really contribute to how much 0:03:18.080 --> 0:03:21.240 depth this team has compared to previous rosters of the 0:03:21.280 --> 0:03:26.000 Miami Dolphins. So on top of developing several players I 0:03:26.040 --> 0:03:28.920 think last year that now look like long term solutions 0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:31.600 for your Dolphins. Whether it's Eric Row going from a 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:34.280 one year prove it deal with Miami to an extension 0:03:34.320 --> 0:03:37.240 in season, or Davonte Parker breaking out in a big, 0:03:37.280 --> 0:03:40.520 big way and more on him later in this podcast, 0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:43.400 or Preston Williams and Nick need Um looking like real 0:03:43.480 --> 0:03:46.360 players in their respective U d F A rookie years 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:49.920 might get sicky really hitting big strides in year number two, 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:53.720 especially down the stretch late last year. Whatever it was, 0:03:54.200 --> 0:03:56.840 I think there was also a glut of players that 0:03:56.960 --> 0:03:59.920 developed a strong core that allows this team to take 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:03.480 a more focused approach in the coming off seasons ahead 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:07.520 this offseason, we had resources and use those to simply 0:04:07.600 --> 0:04:10.840 get better on the football field. Coach Flora's talked about 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:13.520 that in the scouting or at the scouting combine rather 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:17.640 back in February, about signing players, drafting players, trying to 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:21.240 accumulate good players. That is always the idea, and the 0:04:21.279 --> 0:04:24.119 Dolphins I think did get much better, at least on paper, 0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:27.640 because remember Flora's also says games are not one in 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:29.760 March and April, and he's right, of course they're not. 0:04:29.960 --> 0:04:31.200 You have to go out and put it on the 0:04:31.240 --> 0:04:34.360 field on Sundays in the fall and the winter. But 0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:38.280 with all these resources and developed players as far as 0:04:38.320 --> 0:04:41.279 the incumbents go, you now have a chance to really 0:04:41.400 --> 0:04:44.160 narrow that focus. And what do I mean by that, Well, 0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:47.640 I'm gonna reference another episode of my favorite podcast as 0:04:47.640 --> 0:04:50.400 we do here on Drive Time. It seems like once 0:04:50.400 --> 0:04:53.240 a week in the Move the Sticks podcast with Daniel 0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:57.240 Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks on NFL Media and Jeremiah it 0:04:57.360 --> 0:05:00.320 was on the Patrick Mahomes episode after his mega deal, 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:04.440 his mega contracts and how he would then focus his 0:05:04.480 --> 0:05:07.720 approach on the team around that contract given to their 0:05:07.720 --> 0:05:10.960 star quarterback, their m v P and Super Bowl MVP 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:15.279 quarterback and Patrick Mahomes. And the first point DJ makes 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:17.599 on that point is that he doesn't want to see 0:05:17.640 --> 0:05:20.760 his half billion dollar quarterbacks standing next to Big Red 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:24.240 Andy Reid on the sidelines on crutches. And those were 0:05:24.320 --> 0:05:27.160 DJs word. I don't want him on crutches on the sideline. 0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:30.120 So we're gonna invest in the offensive line and in 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:33.880 the top target and secondary target for this Chief's team, 0:05:33.920 --> 0:05:36.360 and for the Chiefs, the two top targets are really 0:05:36.440 --> 0:05:41.320 indiscernible since basically Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelsey are both elite, 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:44.599 top end guys at their position, and then they're gonna 0:05:44.640 --> 0:05:46.960 go ahead and roll through the other positions with draft 0:05:47.040 --> 0:05:50.000 picks and lower end free agent contracts. But that's where 0:05:50.040 --> 0:05:52.520 DJ would put the money on this team, on the 0:05:52.600 --> 0:05:57.120 offensive line and on the top two weapons of Patrick Mahomes. 0:05:57.320 --> 0:05:59.560 And it got me thinking about how the Dolphins team 0:05:59.560 --> 0:06:02.480 looks to develop a core and then take a similar 0:06:02.520 --> 0:06:04.760 approach as far as how you round out the fifty 0:06:04.760 --> 0:06:07.520 three man roster in terms of what positions you might 0:06:07.560 --> 0:06:11.560 prioritize over others. Because if we come out of this 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:14.520 upcoming season with I don't know, just throwing a number 0:06:14.520 --> 0:06:19.800 against the wall, maybe thirty true core players, guys that 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:21.760 you know you can put on the football field and 0:06:21.800 --> 0:06:24.320 really trust that they're going to execute their job and 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:26.839 do the right thing and make plays for you, then man, 0:06:26.920 --> 0:06:30.040 we are cooking with gas with another eleven draft picks 0:06:30.080 --> 0:06:33.080 next year, plenty of salary cap resources. So it got 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:35.960 me thinking about this team's roster beyond the guys like 0:06:36.040 --> 0:06:39.120 Byron Jones and and Kyle Van Noy and to a 0:06:39.160 --> 0:06:42.599 tongue of Voloa, and Austin Jackson and Noah Igbanogny and 0:06:42.680 --> 0:06:46.000 Christian Wilkins. Your top dollar free agent guys and first 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:48.840 round draft picks, right, guys that you invest the highest 0:06:48.920 --> 0:06:53.400 level resources into. And the inspiration for this was Isaiah Ford, 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:56.400 which before we talk about his game on the field. 0:06:56.560 --> 0:06:58.760 We haven't put this into the podcast yet, but we 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:02.520 did publish a story up on Miami Dolphins dot com 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:06.560 about his Be the Change scholarship fund that he launched 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:08.720 back in June, and it was really cool to talk 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:12.200 to Isaiah about his motivation to use his platform to 0:07:12.320 --> 0:07:14.720 make a difference in his community. So we have the 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:18.360 story up on Miami Dolphins dot com. Isaiah himself retweeted 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:21.160 it for us, obviously, and I'm upstairs in my office 0:07:21.200 --> 0:07:24.160 working on Thursday with the link to the go fund 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:26.920 me page open, just kind of refreshing it and seeing 0:07:26.920 --> 0:07:29.480 how much reach we got out of that interview and 0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:31.600 how we got two more people because of that interview, 0:07:31.760 --> 0:07:34.160 and it was going good. I even sent Isaiah a 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:37.040 message saying how happy I personally was that we were 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:40.240 able to raise another couple of hundred dollars since that 0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:43.400 interview that had gone on the website twelve hours prior 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:45.600 to that. And as soon as I do that, I 0:07:45.640 --> 0:07:49.000 refreshed the page and suddenly his goal of five k 0:07:49.520 --> 0:07:51.360 is blown away. It's all the way up to eight 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:54.680 four hundred after sitting at right around thirty four hundred 0:07:54.840 --> 0:07:57.600 before this one click where I hit the refresh, I 0:07:57.640 --> 0:08:00.200 see a donor of five thousand dollars, And who was 0:08:00.240 --> 0:08:02.680 that guy other than the guy that throws the football 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:06.160 to Isaiah on Sundays and Ryan Fitzpatrick. And that was 0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:08.920 just that was so cool. I was so thrilled in 0:08:08.960 --> 0:08:12.120 that moment and so happy to be such a part, 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:14.960 you know, a small part of such a tight knit 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:18.440 organization and one that really supports one another in their 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:20.760 you know, ventures, both on the field and off the 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:23.200 field as well. Just a really cool moment over the 0:08:23.240 --> 0:08:27.000 weekend with Isaiah Ford and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Now, as for 0:08:27.000 --> 0:08:30.960 Ford's on field work, I love, love, love his twenty 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:34.800 nine team story. He had just three past targets through 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:37.280 the first twelve games of the season, and they were 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:39.920 all in that Chargers game back in Week four, and 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:42.880 Ford had a difficult start to his career. Just from 0:08:42.920 --> 0:08:45.640 an obstacle standpoint, he tore in a c L as 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:48.800 a seventh round rookie in that year's preseason, and that's 0:08:48.800 --> 0:08:51.440 such a tall order for a guy to overcome. But 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:54.320 he wasn't going to let those challenges dictate his future. 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:56.920 You guys all know by now that I was down 0:08:56.960 --> 0:08:59.200 in South Florida as a member of the media with 0:08:59.280 --> 0:09:02.679 locked On daw Fins for ten practices last summer at 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:06.720 training camp, and every single day, each and every day 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:10.400 even he worked with fits after practice on some routes, 0:09:10.559 --> 0:09:13.080 throwing some vertical balls and just getting some extra work in. 0:09:13.320 --> 0:09:15.160 And it would stand a reason to me to think 0:09:15.360 --> 0:09:18.440 that extra work really helped develop a chemistry and trust 0:09:18.480 --> 0:09:21.240 because in the opening days of camp. Throughout the course 0:09:21.240 --> 0:09:24.040 of training camp, you probably didn't have much Isaiah Ford 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:27.320 and Ryan Fitzpatrick because Fitzpatrick was your first team quarterback 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:29.920 and Ford was not running with the ones in camp. 0:09:30.080 --> 0:09:32.480 So he got that extra work in with the Dolphins 0:09:32.559 --> 0:09:35.680 quarterback and I'm sure that helps develop chemistry and trust 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:39.439 as any football player or athlete in basketball, football, whatever 0:09:39.440 --> 0:09:41.880 it might be, could probably tell you. Because as I 0:09:41.920 --> 0:09:45.160 continue to rewatch this twenty nineteen season and I'm on 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:47.880 the Week four teen game at the Jets. Ford goes 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:50.800 from not playing much early in that game to getting 0:09:50.800 --> 0:09:54.040 on the field for every single snap because both Parker 0:09:54.120 --> 0:09:57.839 and Wilson had to exit unfortunately with injuries. So all 0:09:57.920 --> 0:10:01.240 Ford does is see nine targets, three times his season 0:10:01.320 --> 0:10:04.440 total at that point, catches six of them, again three 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:06.960 times his total catches at that point as well, puts 0:10:07.040 --> 0:10:09.360 up ninety two yards, and he would finish out the 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:12.960 final four games catching twenty one out of twenty nine passes, 0:10:13.160 --> 0:10:16.280 a very solid seventy two point four percent catch rate 0:10:16.480 --> 0:10:19.520 for two d and thirty four yards. Another really good 0:10:19.520 --> 0:10:22.720 metric at eight point one one yards per target and 0:10:22.800 --> 0:10:26.720 fifteen first downs. Fifteen of the twenty one catches move 0:10:26.800 --> 0:10:29.080 the chains for Ford, and four of those came on 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:32.600 third down on the money, crucial down. And he also 0:10:32.679 --> 0:10:35.640 had a huge catch and overtime against the Bengals to 0:10:35.720 --> 0:10:37.839 help set up the winning field goal in that game 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:40.560 in overtime, and he looks like a trusted target with 0:10:40.559 --> 0:10:42.920 how he's able to pluck the ball when it's off 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:45.160 of his body. One of the more challenging aspects of 0:10:45.200 --> 0:10:47.520 playing receiver if the ball is not on your body 0:10:47.520 --> 0:10:49.480 and you have to kind of drop your head, which 0:10:49.559 --> 0:10:52.360 changes the angle and the hand eye coordination and the 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:55.280 site of the football. Because as a baseball player, when 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:57.640 you had a pop up in the infield, for instance, 0:10:57.679 --> 0:11:00.000 I used to play catcher back in my very early 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:02.760 baseball days, like in little league and middle school all 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:04.840 the way up to high school. And I guess this 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:07.400 is really true of pop ups on anywhere on the 0:11:07.400 --> 0:11:09.400 baseball field. But they want you to catch the ball 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:11.840 over your head and not do a basket catch because 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:14.560 when you do a basket catch, your line of sight 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:17.199 then changes as you track the ball from up high 0:11:17.400 --> 0:11:19.000 and then you move your head down low to your 0:11:19.000 --> 0:11:22.040 waist to see the basket catch in So anytime you 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:24.800 have to change that eye line, that eyesight, it's gonna 0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:27.760 have a negative impact on how well you catch the ball. 0:11:27.800 --> 0:11:29.680 And the same is true in football. If you have 0:11:29.720 --> 0:11:31.400 to drop your head or move it to the side, 0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:33.560 it's gonna make the catch it more difficult because it 0:11:33.640 --> 0:11:37.640 changes your hand eye coordination and the relationship between those two. 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:40.040 So to catch the ball off your body is a 0:11:40.040 --> 0:11:43.199 long winded way of saying it's difficult, and that video 0:11:43.280 --> 0:11:45.680 that I tweeted out of him running a dig route 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:48.400 against the Jets. The balls on his back shoulder because 0:11:48.440 --> 0:11:51.280 Fits takes an absolute shot as he throws the ball 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:53.839 and it impacts the flight of the ball. Ford has 0:11:53.880 --> 0:11:56.320 to make the adjustment and he catches the football for 0:11:56.360 --> 0:11:58.920 a big first down on the drive that put the 0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:02.040 Dolphins ahead late in the fourth quarter. So when the 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:04.960 quarterback knows he has a bigger strike zone with that receiver, 0:12:05.080 --> 0:12:07.839 it's going to develop more trust makes total sense, right. 0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:11.000 So the metrics when he gets the opportunity Isaiah Ford 0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:13.760 are awesome, and I jotted down some notes about what 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:15.920 I saw in his game. So this is where Chad 0:12:16.000 --> 0:12:19.080 Johnson's line about being quick but not in a hurry 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:22.080 comes up. For Ford. He plays any of the three 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:25.200 receiver positions in eleven personnel and you've got three receivers 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:27.320 on the field, and he has a real calm approach 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:29.640 about how he wants to set up his release and 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:33.040 attack the leverage at the line of scrimmage. He's very patient, 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:35.040 finds a way to square up the man in front 0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:38.440 of him, then uses either quickness or physicality to create 0:12:38.440 --> 0:12:41.080 that separation we saw in the Jets game. We saw 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:43.960 it again in Week seventeen against the Pats with some 0:12:44.000 --> 0:12:47.319 crucial clutch catches in that game as well, and coach 0:12:47.360 --> 0:12:50.839 Flores had some admiring words for the way Ford responded 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:54.239 when he got that opportunity, as well as praising Isaiah 0:12:54.360 --> 0:12:57.040 for helping communicate some of the checks and the offense 0:12:57.200 --> 0:12:59.280 in general towards the end of the season when they 0:12:59.320 --> 0:13:01.920 had some new eyes in the lineup late in the year. 0:13:02.160 --> 0:13:04.559 And then there's this quote from Fits after that Week 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:07.439 seventeen win in New England. Quote, Yeah, it was huge 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:11.120 talking about Isaiah's contributions. Sometimes we relied on throwing to 0:13:11.200 --> 0:13:13.880 Davante outside and a lot of times we relied on 0:13:13.920 --> 0:13:15.959 working to the middle of the field. I missed Albert 0:13:16.000 --> 0:13:17.959 Wilson a couple of times that I wish I would 0:13:17.960 --> 0:13:20.240 have hit him, but he had some nice catch and runs. 0:13:20.360 --> 0:13:23.120 And Isaiah the same thing. I think as a quarterback, 0:13:23.160 --> 0:13:25.320 when you have guys that you trust and you know 0:13:25.400 --> 0:13:27.360 they're going to do the right thing and you know 0:13:27.400 --> 0:13:29.760 they're gonna make a play, it makes your job a 0:13:29.760 --> 0:13:32.880 lot easier. All those guys out there have certainly developed 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:35.480 into that this year. Again, I said this the last 0:13:35.520 --> 0:13:38.120 few weeks about Isaiah Ford, but he's a special guy, 0:13:38.360 --> 0:13:41.160 a guy that you can just rely on in any situation, 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:43.960 and he did a great job today. And quote, I 0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:46.760 mean to take that entire blurb, not just about Isaiah, 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:49.400 but about the entire Dolphins receiving corps for him to 0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:53.319 say that those guys developed into that into trustworthy targets 0:13:53.320 --> 0:13:57.720 throughout the course of the season, with Parker Williams, Grant Wilson, Ford, 0:13:57.720 --> 0:14:00.760 and Hearns making up really half of the Dolphins current 0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:03.120 wide receiver room and all six of those guys having 0:14:03.160 --> 0:14:06.599 contributions last year who fits referred to on that particular 0:14:06.920 --> 0:14:10.599 quote after the Patriots game. That's just a lot of trustworthy, 0:14:10.679 --> 0:14:13.719 reliable guys in the receiver's room, and you feel good 0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:16.280 about needing any of them in a pinch if you do, 0:14:16.360 --> 0:14:18.680 because guys get hurt in this game. Guys are gonna 0:14:18.679 --> 0:14:21.920 be unavailable at times. That's how football works. And that's 0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:24.040 not to say the other guys on this roster are not. 0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:26.480 That we just don't have the game day evidence to 0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:29.200 really show you that tangible evidence that we do have 0:14:29.440 --> 0:14:33.120 from the aforementioned six guys that Fitzpatrick mentions in this quote, 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:35.800 and that's really how it is at so many positions 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:38.840 like safety for instance. Maybe it's his build, but for 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:41.800 the longest time, I wasn't really aware of how fast 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:45.000 Adrian Colbert ran. He clocked a four or four nine 0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:47.960 at the scouting combine back in I think it was, 0:14:48.280 --> 0:14:51.360 and he filled an admirably for Bobby McCain at free 0:14:51.400 --> 0:14:54.040 safety and off the streets as a free agent. Mind 0:14:54.080 --> 0:14:56.760 you over the final six games of last year, and 0:14:56.800 --> 0:14:59.640 you see that speed when he's playing that deep center 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:02.280 field role as we go into man or press man 0:15:02.320 --> 0:15:05.120 coverage where everybody's up front across the board and you 0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:08.880 have one safety yards off the football. There's a play 0:15:08.920 --> 0:15:11.480 against the Jets again from that game where I tweeted 0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:13.480 out a video of it. The Jets go trips to 0:15:13.520 --> 0:15:15.560 the field side of the formation, and again if you're 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:17.960 new to the podcast, the field side is the wide 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:20.080 side of the field where there's more room to operate. 0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:22.640 The boundary is the short side. And the camera doesn't 0:15:22.640 --> 0:15:25.680 show you Colbert on this particular play on the broadcast 0:15:25.800 --> 0:15:28.920 version because he's twenty yards off the football, but on 0:15:28.960 --> 0:15:31.240 the all twenty two you can see that he lines 0:15:31.320 --> 0:15:33.840 up on the boundary side hash mark, and the way 0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:36.640 the Jets aligned on this play is to that field 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:39.680 side where you have three receivers. The furthest receiver split 0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:41.720 out is the Z, and that's gonna be a plus 0:15:41.720 --> 0:15:43.960 split on the outside of the numbers, you know the 0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:46.360 ten yard, twenty yard, thirty yard marker. If you're on 0:15:46.400 --> 0:15:48.880 the outside of that, that's a plus split. You then 0:15:49.000 --> 0:15:51.640 got Jamison Crowder in the slot in a negative split, 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:54.280 which is inside the numbers. And then your why you're 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:56.760 tight end in line on the line of scrimmage, makes 0:15:56.800 --> 0:15:59.760 up your three receivers. There You've got Robby Anderson is 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:02.080 the X to the boundary the short side of the field, 0:16:02.240 --> 0:16:05.120 and to Marius Thomas is that Z in the plus split. 0:16:05.320 --> 0:16:08.040 So one of those guys, Robbie Anderson is your speed 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:11.000 merchant where da Marius Thomas won so many routes throughout 0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:13.920 the course of his great career with more physicality and 0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:17.640 short area quickness and route running. So Colbert aligns on 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:20.200 the boundary side hash mark, the short side of the 0:16:20.200 --> 0:16:23.560 field hash mark and just begins to gain depth immediately 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:25.960 off the snap. And the structure of this call I 0:16:25.960 --> 0:16:28.760 thought was cool because Crowder is the guy you worry 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:31.600 about here because he takes this inside release and he 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:34.480 wants to run directly at Colbert and try to break 0:16:34.480 --> 0:16:36.640 a route off in front of him to make some 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:39.480 conflict there. You always want to create conflict for the 0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:42.320 player the quarterback is reading, and most times that can 0:16:42.360 --> 0:16:45.400 be a safety. But Miami caps off Crowder with a 0:16:45.480 --> 0:16:48.280 nice double team so that Colbert doesn't have to concern 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:51.080 himself with that route, and then you can just follow 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:54.120 Sam Donald's eyes deep to the target he wants to 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:57.080 go to, and Robbie Anderson, who tries to get vertical 0:16:57.160 --> 0:16:59.400 on Ryan lewis to the short side of the field. 0:16:59.640 --> 0:17:02.600 So Hilbert from the boundary side hash mark short side 0:17:02.600 --> 0:17:06.240 of the field. He ranges over almost immediately reading Donald's 0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:09.000 eyes and gets his hands on the football, almost gets 0:17:09.000 --> 0:17:11.280 a pick, but Anderson turned into a defender on the 0:17:11.280 --> 0:17:14.040 play and breaks it up. And that's the ideal cut 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:16.680 of what you need at a single high position twenty 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:20.560 yards off the football. Speed, instincts, range, ball skills, all 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:23.240 those things. And that's where Bobby McCain skill set comes 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:25.880 into play. He starts in that role. You've got Eric 0:17:25.960 --> 0:17:28.159 Rowe doing all the stuff we've talked about down in 0:17:28.200 --> 0:17:31.040 the box, covering tight ends, even matching up in the 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:33.560 slot or out wide when you need it. And then 0:17:33.600 --> 0:17:36.280 Colbert is there to provide you with just another guy 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:38.400 you can put on the field and trust that he'll 0:17:38.440 --> 0:17:40.760 do his job the right way. Brandon Jones, a third 0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:43.320 round draft pick. You have expectations for a guy you 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:46.640 select that high. Clayton Federland played with the Bengals last 0:17:46.680 --> 0:17:48.840 year in some sub package roles. The same is true 0:17:48.880 --> 0:17:51.440 of Cavon Frazier in Dallas. You just feel good about 0:17:51.440 --> 0:17:53.600 any of these guys if you have to call upon 0:17:53.680 --> 0:17:55.800 them and get them on the field. And let's go 0:17:55.840 --> 0:17:59.760 ahead and read a quote from coach Flora's about Adrian Colbert. 0:17:59.760 --> 0:18:02.159 This is after that game against the Jets. Quote. He 0:18:02.240 --> 0:18:04.640 brings a lot of energy on a day to day basis. 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:07.520 He's got some leadership qualities. He's been here for three 0:18:07.600 --> 0:18:09.520 weeks and it feels like he's been here all year. 0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:13.000 He's smart, He's a really good teammate. It's important to him. 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:16.680 He works extremely hard. From my preparation standpoint, he's here early, 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:19.560 he stays late trying to get the information correct. He's 0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:22.679 a guy who brings people together. It's been good having 0:18:22.800 --> 0:18:26.520 him and quote another guy that earns high praise from 0:18:26.520 --> 0:18:29.560 the coaching staff, and next on my list is Jesse Davis, 0:18:29.560 --> 0:18:32.080 and his performance in December is where I want to 0:18:32.119 --> 0:18:35.040 focus on. He got an extension right before the season 0:18:35.080 --> 0:18:37.960 began back in September and has been praised for his 0:18:38.040 --> 0:18:41.000 leadership and the way he works. And I always find 0:18:41.080 --> 0:18:44.359 davis his quotes really refreshing right in the throws of 0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:47.320 the most challenging portions of the season last year, talking 0:18:47.359 --> 0:18:50.720 about professionalism, showing up and putting in the work, getting 0:18:50.720 --> 0:18:53.800 better every day, having a bigger picture mindset as you 0:18:53.840 --> 0:18:57.520 attack every day with that professionalism and a certain level 0:18:57.560 --> 0:18:59.800 of vigor and respect for your own performance and the 0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:01.919 eight PEO put out there, all that stuff. And I 0:19:01.960 --> 0:19:04.480 got to talk to Jesse, who was wearing a Mariner's 0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:06.600 hat in the locker room by the Way post game 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:10.119 after the Bengals victory, because he's from a story of Washington, 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:13.520 a small town up near Seattle, go Ms by the Way, 0:19:13.600 --> 0:19:16.360 and he talked about things at that interview clicking for 0:19:16.440 --> 0:19:19.080 him a little bit in that Eagles game back in 0:19:19.119 --> 0:19:21.960 the first part of December and dealing with all those 0:19:22.040 --> 0:19:25.040 rushers that Philly has off the edge, about dealing with 0:19:25.080 --> 0:19:27.440 the speed of those rushers and the scheme they want 0:19:27.440 --> 0:19:30.359 to play to get up field and really utilize that 0:19:30.440 --> 0:19:33.119 explosive first step to rush up field and beat the 0:19:33.160 --> 0:19:36.199 tackle with that speed, and some of those wide alignments 0:19:36.200 --> 0:19:39.159 the Eagles play because of those skill sets. As you'll recall, 0:19:39.280 --> 0:19:41.800 Matt Burke is there now on the defensive line coach 0:19:41.840 --> 0:19:43.880 and those guys, and he incorporates a lot of those 0:19:43.920 --> 0:19:46.280