WEBVTT - Training Camp Preview 2021 Running Backs 0:00:01.880 --> 0:00:16.799 Looking down Miami. What is up, Dolph Fans and welcome 0:00:16.880 --> 0:00:20.200 to the Drive Time Podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:25.079 podcast network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins. How's it 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:28.800 going everybody? I am your host, Travis Wingfield, and we 0:00:28.880 --> 0:00:31.640 can say this again. I am here to bring you 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:36.000 your daily dose of Miami Dolphins football. And on today's show, 0:00:36.240 --> 0:00:40.240 it's part two of the eleven part training camp preview series. 0:00:40.440 --> 0:00:42.879 As we stay in the backfield and stop by the 0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:45.600 running backs room to take a look at Miles Gaskins, 0:00:45.680 --> 0:00:49.839 Van Akhmed, Malcolm Brown, Patrick Laird, Carl Tucker, and Jordan's 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:53.920 Scarlett as well as Jared Oakes the rookie. We continue 0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:56.680 the NFL season preview taking a look at the NFC 0:00:56.800 --> 0:00:59.920 North and we'll get into what I'm watching on Tell 0:01:00.000 --> 0:01:02.880 Division right now and what you should be watching on 0:01:02.920 --> 0:01:07.440 your streaming services or otherwise. Plus my new show recommendation 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:09.920 that I just picked up this past week. All of 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:11.560 that and a heck of a lot more on this 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:19.120 edition of the Drive Time Podcast, No Filler, No Gimmick. Today, 0:01:19.160 --> 0:01:21.720 we're jumping right into the running back room. If you 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:25.240 missed Tuesday's podcast, we previewed the quarterbacks with two a 0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:28.600 tongue of by Loa Jacoby Brissette as well as read Senet, 0:01:28.800 --> 0:01:30.640 and we'll talk about the coaching staff as well at 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:34.319 those positions and continue this every single day up until 0:01:34.400 --> 0:01:37.880 training camp before we get you the daily reports from camp, which, 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:40.240 of course, if you have not seen it so far 0:01:40.440 --> 0:01:42.759 or have not registered your spot so far, you can 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:44.959 get tickets to training camp right now. They're free. Just 0:01:45.000 --> 0:01:47.640 head to Miami Dolphins dot com and get yourself a 0:01:47.720 --> 0:01:52.880 reservation for Dolphins training camp fans back in session. It 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:55.360 makes practices way better to hear the US and the 0:01:55.400 --> 0:01:58.880 os and all the stuff you guys bring to those practices. 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:01.760 It's my favorite time of the calendar, my favorite football 0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:05.560 to watch. The evaluation period. Ninety guys of just nine 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:08.560 ninety players, two hours of pure chaos in terms of 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:11.160 trying to keep your eyes on all the action. It's 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:13.400 a great time. I cannot wait. And one of the 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:16.520 positions I'm excited to watch is the running back position 0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:19.600 because well there's a lot of competition in that room 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:22.720 and maybe a bit of mystery and intrigue and unknown. Now, granted, 0:02:22.760 --> 0:02:25.000 this is the time of year where we're building the team, 0:02:25.160 --> 0:02:27.880 like nobody knows what this Miami Dolphins team is gonna 0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:31.200 look like come September, and then again from September to December. 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:33.240 As coach flora Is and Josh Boyer and the rest 0:02:33.240 --> 0:02:35.480 of the Dolphins coaching staff tells you, you want to 0:02:35.520 --> 0:02:38.160 be a different team, a better football team than you 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:40.400 were at the start of the season. And this is 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:43.440 the part of the calendar where the initial building kind 0:02:43.440 --> 0:02:45.280 of begins. We've done the roster building, we've done the 0:02:45.320 --> 0:02:47.520 off the field type of building. Now it's time to 0:02:47.560 --> 0:02:50.520 develop those fundamentals, those chemistry, find out what kind of 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:53.360 football team you are, and then we'll get to finding 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:56.040 out which guys make it click, which position groups make 0:02:56.080 --> 0:02:59.160 the entire operation go the most, and how this team 0:02:59.200 --> 0:03:01.840 wins football games ultimately at the end of the day. 0:03:01.840 --> 0:03:03.760 So we're keeping on all of that for you guys. 0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:06.440 But here we're gonna talk about the running backs first. 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:09.440 And if you haven't checked out the Miami Dolphins website 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:12.400 Miami Dolphins dot com, we also have written elements that 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:14.519 go along with this to kind of help you track. 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:16.679 You know, it's like a training camp guide for you 0:03:16.720 --> 0:03:18.600 in a way. Jersey number of the college they went 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:20.440 to how you can keep an eye on these guys, 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:22.840 what their stats were from last season, all of that 0:03:22.880 --> 0:03:25.600 fun stuff. And we come into this year with some 0:03:25.720 --> 0:03:28.680 changeover in the running back room. Jared Oakes the only 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:30.760 draft pick at the position in the seventh round out 0:03:30.800 --> 0:03:34.040 of Cincinnati. He comes in. Carl Tucker was a full 0:03:34.200 --> 0:03:37.280 or a tight end, slash, h back, slash, a little 0:03:37.320 --> 0:03:39.840 bit of everything in college. He's a fullback on your 0:03:39.840 --> 0:03:43.160 Dolphins roster. Can't always talk about this guy. Undrafted free agent. 0:03:43.320 --> 0:03:46.840 We bring in Malcolm Brown from the Rams, another big, physical, 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:49.360 tough running back, and Jordan's Scarlett, who was with the 0:03:49.440 --> 0:03:52.200 Lions last year after beginning his career with the Panthers. 0:03:52.240 --> 0:03:56.600 He also was added to this roster. In some departures, 0:03:56.640 --> 0:04:00.160 Matt Brita is up in Buffalo, and DeAndre Washington, who 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:03.000 was acquired last year at the trade deadline, is still 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:05.840 a free agent out there on the open market. The 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:08.480 coaching staff, you guys know who it is. Coach Eric Studisville, 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:11.840 who enters his fourth year with the Miami Dolphins and 0:04:11.920 --> 0:04:15.400 his first as co offensive coordinator. In addition to his 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:18.880 new role, he still retains that position as running backs coach. 0:04:19.160 --> 0:04:22.599 And he's worked with running backs pretty much since I've 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:25.480 been watching football. He was either running backs coach or 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:28.440 run game coordinator of some type all the way back 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:32.560 to when he was with the Chicago Bears. He was 0:04:32.600 --> 0:04:35.360 the interim head coach of the Denver Broncos. And now 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:37.640 where this gets interesting is he was with the Broncos 0:04:37.680 --> 0:04:39.719 for a lot of those Mike Shanahan years, which of 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:42.520 course was one of the principles of the zone running game, 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:45.480 the I should say, the innovators of the zone running 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:48.040 game and really capitalizing on the old doesn't matter who 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:49.760 the running back is in Denver, he's going to give 0:04:49.800 --> 0:04:53.720 you a thousand yards from Mike Anderson Orlandis Gary Clinton 0:04:53.760 --> 0:04:55.839 Porters got traded out the year after he had that 0:04:55.880 --> 0:04:58.720 big monster rookie season because they needed cornerback help and 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:01.120 they got Champ Bailey for a running back and continued 0:05:01.200 --> 0:05:02.880 rushing for a thousand yards. So he was there for 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:05.080 the Broncos in the height of all of that stuff 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:07.760 with Mike Shanahan. He then got the interim job in 0:05:08.600 --> 0:05:11.719 and then reverted to an assistant head coach role after 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:14.559 that with the Broncos all the way through seen before 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:18.880 joining Miami in the guys he has in that room. 0:05:18.920 --> 0:05:22.560 At a glance here real quick, they find production from 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:27.200 all walks of the acquisition period, whether it's waiver wire claims, 0:05:27.680 --> 0:05:32.159 uh training camp cuts, trades, draft picks, undrafted free agents. 0:05:32.360 --> 0:05:35.640 The highest drafted player in this room is Jordan's Scarlett, 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:38.760 who was a fifth round pick of the Panthers in nineteen. 0:05:39.040 --> 0:05:41.240 You've got Miles Gaskin and Jared Oakes a pair of 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:45.120 seventh round picks. You've got Patrick Laird, Savan Akhmed, Carl Tucker, 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:48.359 all undrafted free agents. Malcolm Brown was the U d 0:05:48.480 --> 0:05:50.159 f A when he came into the league with the 0:05:50.240 --> 0:05:54.200 Rams back in so very interesting collection of players. By 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:56.920 now you know that Myles gaskins nineties seven point two 0:05:57.000 --> 0:06:00.640 yards from scrimmage per game was tent among all running backs, 0:06:00.800 --> 0:06:03.640 and savan Akhmed led the team with four point three 0:06:03.680 --> 0:06:06.240 yards per rush and that thirty one yard gallup in 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:09.120 the Week fifteen win over the Patriots was the longest 0:06:09.160 --> 0:06:13.760 carry by a Dolphin's back in twenty The intern Patrick 0:06:13.880 --> 0:06:16.760 Laird has been a mainstay on Miami special teams unit 0:06:16.920 --> 0:06:18.800 the last couple of years. He was a big part 0:06:18.839 --> 0:06:21.440 of that blocked punt Andrew Van Ginkl had last year 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:23.680 in the Chargers game, which set up a one yard 0:06:23.720 --> 0:06:27.599 touchdown plunge from Savan Akhmed in that game. So he 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:29.400 had made a big couple of big plays last year. 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:32.000 Malcolm Brown, similar story, kind of carved his path as 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:34.400 a U d F A up through special teams. We 0:06:34.440 --> 0:06:36.920 talked about Jared Oakes going in the seventh round. He's 0:06:36.960 --> 0:06:38.880 another one of these guys that's big and thick and 0:06:38.960 --> 0:06:41.840 powerful and can contribute in the passing game. Same deal 0:06:41.880 --> 0:06:44.280 with Jordan Scarlett. He's he's got some juice as well. 0:06:44.320 --> 0:06:46.800 And then Carl Tucker looks to make that switch from 0:06:46.839 --> 0:06:49.440 tight end to the full back position. So taking a 0:06:49.440 --> 0:06:51.159 look at the cast and what we have here, I 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:54.000 see a bunch of guys that can play all three downs, 0:06:54.279 --> 0:06:57.080 and so that gives you the option to really not 0:06:57.200 --> 0:07:00.360 allow the defense to focus and key on what one 0:07:00.440 --> 0:07:02.520 particular guy does well. So I look at some plays 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:04.919 last season the Dolphins ran, and for instance, one of 0:07:04.920 --> 0:07:07.440 my favorite plays of the entire year was the screen 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:11.520 pass in the Arizona game to Durham Smith. Right down 0:07:11.600 --> 0:07:13.800 the pipe. They fake to screen a little orbit screen 0:07:13.840 --> 0:07:16.120 to the outside, fake another screen on a swing pass 0:07:16.160 --> 0:07:18.800 to the left side and then smith sneaks back inside 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:20.880 down the tunnel and catches that thing and goes for 0:07:20.920 --> 0:07:23.560 about twenty yards or so in that Cardinals game to 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:25.760 set up one of Miami's touchdowns in the first half 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:28.680 of that game. But they it gives you the ability 0:07:28.720 --> 0:07:31.880 to threaten the defense because you can sit here and say, 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:34.760 we're gonna get in let's just say, twelve personnel, whatever 0:07:34.800 --> 0:07:36.760 the example you want to use, we're gonna get in 0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:39.800 twelve personnel. And because of that, because we're in that package, 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:42.680 it's going to cause the defense to react a certain 0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:46.360 way way why so to speak, And it might, but 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:49.360 it always helps when you have the pieces that forced 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:52.040 the defense to react that way. And that's to me, 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:54.960 guys that can play all three downs and be versatile. 0:07:55.120 --> 0:07:56.480 And you're not gonna put a guy in the game 0:07:56.480 --> 0:07:58.680 and say they're running gap scheme right here, because that 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:00.760 guy only runs gaps. Team you have a mix of 0:08:00.840 --> 0:08:05.480 gap and zone outside inside, physical finesse, passing, game screen, 0:08:05.560 --> 0:08:07.800 game pass pro. You get guys that can do it all. 0:08:07.800 --> 0:08:11.080 You're interchangeable that way, and that keeps your offensive playbook 0:08:11.120 --> 0:08:14.200 expanded and open to the fullest. So I think in 0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:16.600 a lot of ways, what you've done with this room 0:08:16.600 --> 0:08:19.520 this offseason is you've added that variety. I mean after 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:21.720 you know, the mid season point last year when Jordan 0:08:21.800 --> 0:08:24.040 Howard was no longer with the club, the room did 0:08:24.160 --> 0:08:26.360 I think suffer a little bit from being a bit 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:29.040 to one dimensional, and that your top two reliable guys 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:32.600 in Achmed and Gascon there are sub two hundred pound backs, 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:35.040 so they didn't have that true hammer of the likes 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:38.080 of a Malcolm Brown or a Jared Dikes possibly and 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:41.960 what they offer purely from a size and explosive metrics standpoint, 0:08:41.960 --> 0:08:44.280 both those guys can jump out of a gym at 0:08:44.320 --> 0:08:48.240 two d twenty five plus pounds Brown to Jared Dikes 0:08:48.520 --> 0:08:51.800 to and then both Gasket and Achmed are sub two hundred. 0:08:51.800 --> 0:08:53.520 But doesn't mean they can't break tackles. We'll talk about 0:08:53.520 --> 0:08:55.200 that here in just a second. But in terms of 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:58.320 pure physicality, you add that to the room with those 0:08:58.320 --> 0:09:01.680 two players as well as or in Scarlett and talking 0:09:01.720 --> 0:09:03.800 about that screen, the reason I wanted to get into 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:07.400 that was that the feature or the option of two 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:10.680 back personnel sets. Remember two thousand eighteen, going back to 0:09:11.080 --> 0:09:14.160 Eric Studisville's first year here in Miami. I was so 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:17.440 happy with what I saw in terms of additions to 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:20.080 the running game on on the film, in terms of 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:23.600 the run scheme, because first in sen it was almost 0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:27.480 exclusively outside zone. And granted with Jayed Gi and the 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:29.560 way he ran that year and how he really made 0:09:29.600 --> 0:09:32.920 that season go with the option of Ryan Tannehill and 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:35.600 his play pass heavy offense and kind of playing from 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:37.960 those tight end heavy sets and playing off the running game. 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:40.240 It's his bread and butter. It worked for that team, 0:09:40.520 --> 0:09:44.320 and that was the word around kind of why he 0:09:44.400 --> 0:09:47.080 was traded Jedgi just a year later, because he wanted 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:49.280 to stick to that bread and butter offense, and the 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:52.160 idea was that bringing in different personnel would allow the 0:09:52.200 --> 0:09:54.880 attack to become more multiple. But it just didn't really 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:57.880 take hold until coach Students Vielle got here in and 0:09:57.880 --> 0:09:59.840 like I, I go back to the opener against the 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.760 Titans that year, and there was some fun like fake toss, 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:05.920 fullback dive stuff where Frank Gore is the up back 0:10:06.000 --> 0:10:09.240 taking carries and plodding ahead for eight nine ten yards 0:10:09.280 --> 0:10:11.839 just because of misdirection kind of through the defense into 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:14.280 the wrong gap. And freed up a certain gap for 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:16.960 Frank Gore to push through, which he always hits the 0:10:17.040 --> 0:10:19.840 right gap for his entire life. Now at age seventy one, 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:21.720 he's ever missed a gap in his entire life. That's 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:23.560 why he's one of the best bring backs of all time. 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:25.839 And some of those two back sets you would get 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:28.640 and Albert Wilson or a Jachem Grant type two guys 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:30.760 that are still here. And now you've also got Jalen 0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:33.199 Waddle who can do that. Robert Foster was a possible 0:10:33.280 --> 0:10:36.280 jet motion guy will Fuller obviously, but when you go 0:10:36.320 --> 0:10:39.640 ahead and get there from two back personnel, you can 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:44.160 almost operate in a classic or traditional I'm not sure 0:10:44.160 --> 0:10:46.480 the term I want to use. Their a tailback fullback 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:48.960 look where you have these two d and twenty five 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:52.720 pound plus guys dotting the I or splitting the quarterback 0:10:52.800 --> 0:10:56.480 alongside Miles or Savan. You get that variety in those 0:10:56.520 --> 0:10:58.839 two back sets, and all of a sudden you then 0:10:58.920 --> 0:11:00.839 can influence the defense. It is because of what all 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:04.320 those guys do with their variety of skill sets, but 0:11:04.400 --> 0:11:06.400 the fact that they all can play on three downs. 0:11:06.440 --> 0:11:10.040 So the added size also gives you an added bonus 0:11:10.120 --> 0:11:13.720 in short yardage. And that's also it also helps you 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:16.600 and what I consider to be the real true value 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:20.320 of running the football and running downs in the National 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:22.480 Football League. To me, the number one job of running 0:11:22.480 --> 0:11:25.120 back and the running game is to convert first downs 0:11:25.360 --> 0:11:29.320 and also to create easier shorter down a distance later 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:31.280 in the down count. So like when you have a 0:11:31.360 --> 0:11:33.360 running game that can do the three things. Number one 0:11:33.679 --> 0:11:36.319 obviously is to keep the defense honest, because, like we 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:39.680 talked about with the Ryan Tannehill j gi E offense, 0:11:39.960 --> 0:11:42.880 one false step downhill makes things difficult to defend at 0:11:42.800 --> 0:11:45.920 a second level on crossing routes, on the hook zone, 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:49.359 the curl zone, all that fun stuff, and especially especially 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:52.560 when guys running those crossing routes are Jalen Waddle and 0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:55.200 Will Fuller and Robert Foster and jakeem Grant and Albert Wilson, 0:11:55.240 --> 0:11:57.600 all these guys that run sub four four forties. Makes 0:11:57.600 --> 0:12:00.640 life difficult on those linebackers as they have two things 0:12:00.679 --> 0:12:02.440 they have to think about before they get to their spot. 0:12:02.520 --> 0:12:05.760 Drop Number two with running the football is turn over 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:10.240 the down marker. Get first downs. Everybody wants to talk about. 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:12.920 You take your play action deep shot, on second and 0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:15.720 short right, And by everybody, I mean the Madden community, 0:12:15.800 --> 0:12:18.040 because if I missed this shot right here on second 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:19.920 and two, I can just run the ball on third 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:22.240 down and convert. But we know that's not real life. 0:12:22.280 --> 0:12:24.160 Just look at the Dolphins defense last year. How many 0:12:24.160 --> 0:12:26.840 fourth down, third and short or fourth and short stops 0:12:27.040 --> 0:12:29.400 did this defense get. I can recall the Denver game, 0:12:29.440 --> 0:12:32.439 the Arizona game, the Oakland sorry, the Las Vegas game, 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:35.600 big clutch fourth and short stops. In those games, it's 0:12:35.600 --> 0:12:38.199 not always a given the offense will convert and that's 0:12:38.240 --> 0:12:40.959 a turnover. So I'd rather go second and second and 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:43.360 three and run the football than count on trying to 0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:44.839 run the ball and turning it over on third or 0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:48.559 fourth down. But second and four or less is probably 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:51.600 my personal favorite running down because I like first downs. 0:12:51.679 --> 0:12:54.560 I'm weird like that. And then three for me is 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:56.960 to hit home runs. You look at the balance of 0:12:57.000 --> 0:13:00.520 passing yards per play versus the run. One is clearly 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:03.559 superior because you aim for what seven eight yards per 0:13:03.600 --> 0:13:05.719 pass when you throw the football, and four and a 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:08.319 half yards per run on the ground is good. You 0:13:08.360 --> 0:13:10.640 see where I'm going here. The ability to hit chunk 0:13:10.760 --> 0:13:13.199 run plays to bump that average, but also to give 0:13:13.240 --> 0:13:17.000 yourself chunks in the running game, the ten plus yard runs. 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:19.800 That's where I get most excited, and frankly a little 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:21.960 bit of a side here why I'm most excited about 0:13:22.000 --> 0:13:24.040 year two of Savon Akhmed because I think he was 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:26.800 beginning to really kind of scratch the surface on those 0:13:26.840 --> 0:13:28.840 big chunk games last season. More on that here in 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:31.560 just one second. So to bring this point full circle, 0:13:31.880 --> 0:13:35.240 if you can convert your short distance first downs, you 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:38.319 extend drives, you put your defense on the sideline for 0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:41.440 more plays, and you put the opposing defense on the 0:13:41.480 --> 0:13:45.360 field more. It's science. So we want to specialize in 0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:48.520 versatile players, and that's true for the entire roster. But 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:53.080 despite that versatility, we'd still like to identify some traits 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:56.160 that each of these players bring to the table individually 0:13:56.160 --> 0:13:58.480 as their individual skill sets. And we'll get to that 0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:00.480 with each player here in just one second. But first 0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:02.960 my final point on the room as a whole. You 0:14:03.000 --> 0:14:05.960 wonder if perhaps the running backs maybe you need to 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:08.440 really present a lot of value at the bottom part 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:10.280 of the depth chart, the guys that you know, because 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:12.040 you you come into a game with three, four or 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:14.760 five running backs active, you probably only expect to give 0:14:14.760 --> 0:14:17.120 two or three, maybe four of those guys carries. So 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:18.880 you do have to come into the game with those 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:21.040 guys with the mindset that they're gonna play a lot 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:23.840 on special teams, and maybe this running back room does 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:26.320 have to give you more on special teams. Why is that, Well, 0:14:26.320 --> 0:14:30.120 typically every position and on the roster besides quarterback obviously 0:14:30.400 --> 0:14:33.240 contributes to special teams in their own way. But you 0:14:33.320 --> 0:14:36.280 also have a lot of proven, experienced receivers on this 0:14:36.400 --> 0:14:40.520 roster whose primary job in the past has been offense 0:14:40.600 --> 0:14:44.320 exclusive in recent years, Let's say, and this is purely hypothetical, like, 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:47.520 what if you keep six receivers and those top six 0:14:47.560 --> 0:14:50.040 receivers are guys that the coaches decide at the end 0:14:50.080 --> 0:14:55.800 of camp are Waddle Fuller, Parker, Williams, Wilson, and Lynn Bowden. 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:58.320 That's six guys. How many of those guys are gonna 0:14:58.360 --> 0:15:01.480 be your noted gunners or kick return guys or wedge 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:04.000 busters whatever it might be. I'm not saying you can't 0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:07.360 ask them to do it, but maybe that option is 0:15:07.400 --> 0:15:09.880 there to go with that receiving group that you you 0:15:09.880 --> 0:15:12.640 want to get more offensive production. Out of because you 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:15.600 have more special teams ability in the running back room. 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:17.720 Does that make sense, am? I explained that correctly. I 0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:19.640 feel like I am. But again, this all goes back 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:22.200 to just having options. Something I think Miami did a 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:25.960 good job of this offseason to give themselves their potential 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:28.960 presume whatever it might be, Plan A, and a contingency 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:31.880 to that plan, and a contingency to the contingency plan, 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:35.080 and on and on and on and on. So maybe 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:37.240 the back end of the running back group is geared 0:15:37.240 --> 0:15:39.800 a bit more towards what you do on special teams. 0:15:40.040 --> 0:15:42.120 Maybe it's the opposite of that, and I'm completely wrong, 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:44.640 but I think it's a point worth at least exploring 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:47.520 as you continue to improve the depth of this roster 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:50.640 and start to get closer to having forty or fifty 0:15:50.680 --> 0:15:52.920 guys that you feel really good about with in terms 0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:56.880 of their straight up offense or defensive ability on your roster. 0:15:57.280 --> 0:15:59.240 As far as the cast of running backs we're dealing 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:02.160 with here, we're gonna start with Miles Gaskin out of 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:04.800 the University of Washington. He's played two years now in 0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:09.280 the NFL, both with your Miami Dolphins. He wears number 0:16:09.320 --> 0:16:11.600 thirty seven. He's gonna be twenty four years old come 0:16:11.680 --> 0:16:14.200 opening day. And I talked about this all the time, 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:19.200 but I just really really admire what Miles brings to 0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:21.440 the locker room and the rest of the running back 0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:23.880 room and the team as far as how you're supposed 0:16:23.960 --> 0:16:26.240 to work, because he's talked about it in his media 0:16:26.240 --> 0:16:30.200 availability with US just this offseason, how he was working 0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:32.760 back home in Seattle, but he wanted to get back 0:16:32.800 --> 0:16:35.840 down here to fully utilize the resources he had provided 0:16:35.880 --> 0:16:38.200 to him and just be back around work. Because you 0:16:38.200 --> 0:16:39.760 can go back home when you have your buddies and 0:16:39.760 --> 0:16:41.680 your family and everyone around you, and you can get 0:16:41.680 --> 0:16:44.000 your same your your trainers and your workouts in. But 0:16:44.200 --> 0:16:47.080 utilizing what the Dolphins facility has to him is obviously 0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:49.240 the best option for him. So he came back down here, 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:51.800 plus a lot of people trained in South Florida. And 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:54.520 so you know when one day the Goofy podcaster is 0:16:54.560 --> 0:16:56.760 walking by the practice field from a solid fifty yard 0:16:56.760 --> 0:16:59.320 advantage point away and you can see Miles Gaskin doing 0:16:59.400 --> 0:17:02.040 ladder drill and drilling that footwork on a player day 0:17:02.040 --> 0:17:05.000 off on a Tuesday, less than forty eight hours removed 0:17:05.000 --> 0:17:07.800 from playing sixty snaps on Sunday and mind you that 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:10.000 and presses me alone. But then the next day we 0:17:10.040 --> 0:17:12.960 get Jerome Baker on media and he's asked about a 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:16.000 breakthrough performance that Miles had the previous week. And you guys, 0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:18.600 remember after Week one last year, the narrative was, what 0:17:18.720 --> 0:17:21.880 a surprise the Miami Dolphins going with Miles Gaskin as 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:24.439 their top guy in the backfield getting the bulk of 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:27.840 the workload. Well, if you listen to drive time, that 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:30.520 wasn't a surprise because Myles Gaskin was in the training 0:17:30.560 --> 0:17:33.680 camp notes pretty much every single day, ripping off big 0:17:33.760 --> 0:17:35.960 runs and making things happen and showing you that fluid 0:17:36.040 --> 0:17:38.879 vision and proving as much as you can as a 0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:40.520 running back in training camp. It's kind of hard when 0:17:40.520 --> 0:17:43.120 there's no hitting. Luckily, this year we get preseason games 0:17:43.160 --> 0:17:45.560 to watch guys take hits and break tackles. And that's 0:17:45.560 --> 0:17:48.040 what Jerome Baker was able to detail for us, saying, 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:51.600 if you've been around Miles Gaskin, his success is no 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:54.080 surprise to anyone here in this building because the way 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:57.200 he works his mindset, he's got that dog like mentality. 0:17:57.280 --> 0:18:01.520 So I did a podcast last December with You Dubs 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:04.760 running Backs coach Keith bon Offa, and he said, that's 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:06.720 how it always was with Miles. He brought a level 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:09.720 of maturity and seriousness to the room. And in college, 0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:11.160 you know, you get guys out of high school, maybe 0:18:11.160 --> 0:18:13.000 they don't know how to work yet having Miles and 0:18:13.040 --> 0:18:15.320 that you Dub running Backs room was so valuable for them. 0:18:15.320 --> 0:18:18.159 And obviously the production was also valuable. But he just 0:18:18.280 --> 0:18:20.240 knows when it's time to work and that had a 0:18:20.280 --> 0:18:22.879 positive impact on the rest of that you Dub running 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:25.480 Back room. And just look at how Savan talks about him. 0:18:25.480 --> 0:18:28.480 A big brother, little brother type of relationship. They live 0:18:28.560 --> 0:18:30.639 in the same complex down here in South Florida, as 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:33.040 they both talked about many times, and Miles told us 0:18:33.080 --> 0:18:36.000 they are with each other, you know, every night, quizzing film, 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:39.080 going over terminology, little things that can make them sharper 0:18:39.119 --> 0:18:42.240 and react quicker on the football field. Again, that positive 0:18:42.280 --> 0:18:45.800 impact has a reverberating effect on the rest of the roster. 0:18:46.040 --> 0:18:48.160 And here's what coach students Ville had to say about 0:18:48.160 --> 0:18:50.640 Miles earlier this summer. I think the big thing about 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:52.920 Miles from at least last year, going from year one 0:18:52.960 --> 0:18:55.800 to year two for him was his growth in football 0:18:56.080 --> 0:18:58.800 and what he learned and how dependable he became for 0:18:58.960 --> 0:19:02.080 what we needed done. Just talking about again getting those 0:19:02.119 --> 0:19:05.080 assignments and knowing your checks, knowing your terminology. It's so 0:19:05.200 --> 0:19:07.000 valuable to play fast. If you don't have to think 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:08.879 about it, and you can just you know, jump on 0:19:08.880 --> 0:19:10.760 a podcast and record and not have to worry about 0:19:10.800 --> 0:19:13.800 your mechanics, you're gonna sound better. Same thing for football players. So, 0:19:14.080 --> 0:19:16.560 despite missing six games last year, playing in just ten 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:20.040