WEBVTT - Drive Time: Mike McDaniel Owner’s Meeting Presser Review 0:00:09.600 --> 0:00:13.720 What is up, Dolphans And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast. 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:17.160 I am your host, Travis Wingfield, and on today's show, 0:00:17.239 --> 0:00:20.040 your boy husband to Palm Beach and back. I got 0:00:20.079 --> 0:00:23.640 through two different accidents on the freeway. I wasn't involved 0:00:23.640 --> 0:00:26.840 in the accidents, but they made my one hour commute 0:00:26.880 --> 0:00:28.280 a two and a half hour commute. 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:28.640 Good thing. 0:00:28.680 --> 0:00:31.160 I planned for two and a half hours and made 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:34.040 it there and back to hear from head coach Mike McDaniel, 0:00:34.240 --> 0:00:37.760 who addressed all kinds of topics, including the quarterback position too. 0:00:37.960 --> 0:00:41.440 Was health Zach Wilson's signing the offensive line position, What 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:46.360 James Daniels means about instituting stricter policies for disciplinary actions 0:00:46.360 --> 0:00:49.159 for players and culture building in the draft. Lots and 0:00:49.280 --> 0:00:51.840 lots of content. In this episode, We're going to play 0:00:51.880 --> 0:00:53.920 some sound bites from coach and then give you my 0:00:54.040 --> 0:00:56.240 thoughts on those sound bites and get the heck out 0:00:56.240 --> 0:00:59.000 of here from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist 0:00:59.000 --> 0:00:59.960 Health Training Complex. 0:01:00.160 --> 0:01:02.400 This is the Drive Time podcast. 0:01:02.440 --> 0:01:08.360 Heye, so yeah, early morning at the Breakers in Palm Beach, which, 0:01:08.400 --> 0:01:09.960 by the way, I need to get out to that 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:13.360 golf course because my goodness, it is a thing of beauty. 0:01:13.360 --> 0:01:16.399 But we had a lot of conversation with coach Mike McDaniel, 0:01:16.400 --> 0:01:18.920 who gave the media about an hour of his time, 0:01:19.000 --> 0:01:22.120 so very very appreciative of that. And as I was 0:01:22.120 --> 0:01:25.200 putting together the episode with my Charles Davis interview, I'm like, 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:28.120 I've got more than a half hour of McDaniel content. 0:01:28.160 --> 0:01:30.640 We'll go ahead and bump CD to Wednesday and do 0:01:30.760 --> 0:01:32.680 this here off the top. Before we get to that, though, 0:01:32.720 --> 0:01:34.360 I want to let you guys know ahead of time 0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:38.520 that the Dolphins and myself have agreed to something of 0:01:38.560 --> 0:01:41.440 a contract extension, if you want to call it that. 0:01:41.560 --> 0:01:44.440 But the long story short here is your boy's not 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:47.760 going anywhere for a while. They like what I'm doing. 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:49.640 I like what I'm doing here for the team as well. 0:01:49.720 --> 0:01:54.120 So Drivetime drives on here for the foreseeable future. Very 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:56.520 very excited about that and the future for the wingfields 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:59.960 here in South Florida. All right, so you guys remember 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:03.960 the theme across the player interviews right. In fact, I 0:02:03.960 --> 0:02:05.840 want to go ahead and play some sound bites from 0:02:05.840 --> 0:02:08.360 those player interviews because it's going to set up a 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:11.960 lot of what Coach McDaniel explained today at his media 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:15.080 availabilities with both national and local reporters here from the 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:18.440 South Florida market that we've talked about on the podcast 0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:20.680 for the last couple of months as things that we felt, 0:02:20.720 --> 0:02:26.720 I felt were really important notes to hit or moves 0:02:26.800 --> 0:02:31.040 to operate under certain concepts and ideals of and one 0:02:31.040 --> 0:02:34.400 of those things was creating competition. But the biggest part 0:02:34.400 --> 0:02:39.720 of that competition aspect was to get guys who just loved, breathed, 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:43.000 lived football. And I want to go ahead, and just 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:45.480 I pulled my phone up, gonna make this a really quick, 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:49.000 crude sound drop in because it's just a faster way 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:51.040 to do it. And I don't think the quality loss 0:02:51.040 --> 0:02:53.560 will be so much that it matters, but that's too 0:02:53.600 --> 0:02:56.160 much inside baseball. Just gonna play some sound bites here 0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:57.600 real quick from some of the guys I talked to 0:02:57.680 --> 0:03:00.839 on the drive time interviews stand by football Man. 0:03:00.880 --> 0:03:03.520 And when I'm on the field, nothing else matters. 0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:07.000 There's so much things that watch that happen, certain plays 0:03:07.000 --> 0:03:09.160 that if you you may watch the play three times, 0:03:09.240 --> 0:03:11.000 you don't see it. And so like when I'm like 0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:13.560 at home, like studying film, like I always try to 0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:17.440 make sure like, Okay, I may understand this, but there's 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:18.880 a whole bunch of people like this is. 0:03:18.880 --> 0:03:20.440 Kind of a niche topic. 0:03:20.680 --> 0:03:23.440 Not everyone understand this. So like if there's any type 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:25.680 of like even I even send like obvious stuff too, 0:03:25.720 --> 0:03:27.960 Like if it's an obvious clip, I still send it, like, Hey, 0:03:28.200 --> 0:03:30.040 this is a huge thing that people need to pay 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:30.600 attention to. 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:32.480 So I'll take a video and look. 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:35.400 At everybody fees off of that. So when you see 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:37.920 when you're making big plays or when anybody see somebody 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:40.800 getting ran over or just getting dominated, you know, it 0:03:40.960 --> 0:03:43.120 just brings the juice. And you know, for me, the 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:45.480 game is all about juice, having juice, and the team 0:03:45.520 --> 0:03:48.080 with the most juice wins at the end of the day. 0:03:48.120 --> 0:03:50.640 So those sparks, you know, it's kind of like a 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:53.760 snowball effect when you see the moment, like there's just 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:56.920 a momentum, right people getting juiced up, you're making big plays, 0:03:56.960 --> 0:03:59.560 and the momentum bills and you know then you just 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:03.280 become stop up before. So uh, whenever I can get 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:06.800 a little ten yard run and juice up the team, 0:04:07.160 --> 0:04:08.040 it's always great. 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:11.320 Yeah. I do love for since I was a little kid. 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:14.360 You know, my dad's here. You know, we've been watching 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:15.120 football together. 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:16.400 You know, we. 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:20.560 He been training me for to be a football fair 0:04:20.720 --> 0:04:22.280 like I said, ever since I was five, you know, 0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:25.880 and growing up I didn't playing football every year. And 0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:28.679 I got a younger brother now who's on the same path. 0:04:29.320 --> 0:04:32.039 You know, he committed to South Carolina, and uh, this 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:35.120 is just this is what my family do and we 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:36.039 we love to play ball. 0:04:36.320 --> 0:04:38.719 So that was Willy Gay, James Daniels, Farrell Brown, and 0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:39.600 k J. Britton. 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:41.880 I mean, in the Willie Gay interview, I told him 0:04:41.880 --> 0:04:43.800 there's been a theme around these guys, and you don't 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:46.440 have to hear the coach explain it to see that. 0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:48.640 It's just dot in the eyes and crossing the t's, 0:04:48.640 --> 0:04:50.640 which is the same concept that you'll hear coach talk 0:04:50.680 --> 0:04:53.880 about here, something we've covered on this podcast several times. 0:04:53.920 --> 0:04:56.320 And yes, this is one of those times where hey, 0:04:56.520 --> 0:04:59.000 Travis is thrilled to get his point confirmed by the 0:04:59.040 --> 0:05:01.360 head football coach. And I can hear my co host 0:05:01.440 --> 0:05:03.680 and the radio show Seth Levitt talking about this and 0:05:03.760 --> 0:05:04.960 laughing about this right now. 0:05:05.279 --> 0:05:07.239 But you'll hear from coach here. 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:10.400 But what I've been saying about holes in the roster 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:14.080 construction for months about how it's not just the Dolphins 0:05:14.080 --> 0:05:16.440 that have twenty or thirty impending free agents, it's the 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:19.279 entire league. So with that in mind, let's go ahead 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:21.880 and hear Coach's first response to a question about the 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:25.800 process of the team's offseason with the acquisitions, what it's 0:05:25.839 --> 0:05:27.720 done to the roster, where it sets them up for 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:31.920 the draft. Here's Coach on the last month plus of evaluations, 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:35.480 roster construction, and what's gone down for your Miami Dolphins. 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:40.599 This been going into year four and working with Chris 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:45.920 was very powerful in that we could, you know, really 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:51.839 every year specifically now where veteran contracts are getting shorter 0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:57.679 and shorter, you know, posts their first contract or second 0:05:57.680 --> 0:06:01.920 and third contracts are getting shorter, are having to solve 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:05.760 different problems, and you know, I think the way we've 0:06:05.800 --> 0:06:12.400 attacked it directly relates to, you know, the lessons learned 0:06:12.440 --> 0:06:13.919 both good and bad from. 0:06:13.760 --> 0:06:15.159 The two previous years. 0:06:15.160 --> 0:06:18.440 So when I talk about, you know, the vision that 0:06:18.520 --> 0:06:22.160 I have, you know for our team in twenty twenty five, 0:06:23.200 --> 0:06:30.640 that includes players that are uh on the upward ascension 0:06:31.480 --> 0:06:36.040 of development, players that I think that we can further develop, 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:40.800 and that can contribute to a culture of uh, you know, 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:44.919 a team first mentality that wins down the stretch of 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:45.360 the season. 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:47.960 So, you know, so far, so good. We still have 0:06:48.000 --> 0:06:48.640 a lot of work. 0:06:49.160 --> 0:06:54.240 You know, free agency has gotten a little longer, so 0:06:54.360 --> 0:06:54.839 to speak. 0:06:54.920 --> 0:06:57.640 In my opinion, I think that it gets drawn out. 0:06:57.760 --> 0:07:02.320 There's there's a lot of transactions early and then you know, 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:04.360 people are kind of trying to find their best fit. 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:07.039 We're in communication with some players and we have ten 0:07:07.120 --> 0:07:11.840 draft picks, and those those guys are unique because you 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:15.440 have the ability to have a four to five year 0:07:16.000 --> 0:07:22.760 contracted employee that you know, really really can influence the 0:07:22.880 --> 0:07:25.840 character and culture of your team, you know. 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:27.200 As you progress. 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:33.520 So I'm really excited specifically for what we have done, 0:07:34.000 --> 0:07:38.640 who the types of players that we've added, and uh, 0:07:38.720 --> 0:07:42.239 the the scope of how we're going to address our needs. 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:46.640 And you know, I would love to tell you exactly 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:51.520 what what we're doing vaguely, Uh, I think that would 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:53.600 be a competitive disadvantage. 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:58.800 So I think it is uh, so far, so good. Uh. 0:07:59.160 --> 0:08:02.320 In in lesser that line Man quote, the way we've 0:08:02.320 --> 0:08:05.200 attacked it directly relates the lessons learned, both good and bad, 0:08:05.200 --> 0:08:07.760 from the previous two years end quote, So you know 0:08:07.840 --> 0:08:09.960 what is that? You know, I was thinking about my 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:12.560 thoughts from earlier offseason podcasts, and we talked about this 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:14.960 the first week after free agency. I think I did 0:08:14.960 --> 0:08:16.720 a show last week about it, how the run game 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:19.120 had to get better, but in particular how you had 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:21.600 to be better off the perimeter. Insert Pharaoh Brown for 0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:24.240 Durhama Smith, which I thought was a massive upgrade in 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:28.239 your outside running game. Insert Nick Westbrook Akine who totally 0:08:28.240 --> 0:08:30.040 reinvents the way you can run the football in terms 0:08:30.080 --> 0:08:32.960 of your blocking assignments from the wide receivers. They got 0:08:33.080 --> 0:08:36.400 more physical with you know, Larry Boram and James Daniels, 0:08:36.400 --> 0:08:39.000 even if only one of those guys starts with the 0:08:39.120 --> 0:08:41.320 expectation that Jalien Right will play more this year as 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:43.840 a more of a one B compared to being a 0:08:43.920 --> 0:08:47.080 three or four back, more physical because of his his 0:08:47.120 --> 0:08:49.920 added element to the game. Here's what Coach said about 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:52.480 what those things were, and you know some of those 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:53.920 word things that Travis thought as well. 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:58.160 It's the execution and the art of finding those things 0:08:58.360 --> 0:09:03.800 every season. Of course, you're wanting to have reasons of 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:07.120 why you you the two previous years you've made the 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:10.920 playoffs and you didn't this past season. Outside of the 0:09:10.960 --> 0:09:13.640 things that you can point to all the you know, 0:09:13.679 --> 0:09:20.240 there's compounding variables and but the key component of football 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:24.400 teams of organizations is to find and attack things you 0:09:24.400 --> 0:09:30.520 can get better at. Wellh I'm you know, I've met 0:09:30.559 --> 0:09:32.360 a guy at the car wash that told me that 0:09:32.400 --> 0:09:35.800 we need to be better at short yardage like and 0:09:35.880 --> 0:09:38.520 guess what, like he's on the right track. 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:40.079 To me, you don't. 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:45.040 There's always things that you can We're good at other 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:46.760 things well, but. 0:09:46.760 --> 0:09:49.320 You make growth in those areas. 0:09:49.360 --> 0:09:54.520 You focus on those areas, and that's how your team develops, 0:09:54.559 --> 0:09:59.240 and that's how teams win. And you know, I also 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:05.840 acknowledged that specifically from like literal reps as a fan 0:10:06.200 --> 0:10:09.280 and a fully invested one. The last thing you see 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:16.360 is the Jets game, and then it's space. Well, from 0:10:17.360 --> 0:10:22.440 that moment, that last press conference, that last locker room 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:29.440 meeting has been focused on fixing and moving forward. And 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:36.640 so like those scars that are very fresh for everybody, 0:10:37.200 --> 0:10:40.880 that's twenty years ago to me because of where we 0:10:40.960 --> 0:10:45.920 are in our process, which is ongoing, has a critical 0:10:46.040 --> 0:10:53.120 component in the in the draft, but it's all in 0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:57.439 the same vein of having a unit of people work 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:01.720 in concert to improve, get better, and that's. 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:05.680 A strong tonality of the buildings each and every day. 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:07.960 And then this part, you know, this is a culture 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:10.480 thing and I love it. Remember we had Kyle Crabs 0:11:10.480 --> 0:11:13.040 on the podcast to outline some of his beliefs about 0:11:13.040 --> 0:11:15.719 how this should go. In my goodness, he absolutely nailed it, 0:11:15.760 --> 0:11:19.079 talking about the need for competition and pitting rookies versus 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:22.040 second contract guys that are still hungry, and Coach says, quote, 0:11:22.040 --> 0:11:23.800 when I talk about the vision I have for our 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:26.400 team in twenty twenty five, that includes players that are 0:11:26.400 --> 0:11:29.559 on an upward ascension of development that can contribute to 0:11:29.600 --> 0:11:31.640 the culture of a team first mindset that helps you 0:11:31.679 --> 0:11:34.920 wins game, win games down the stretch. And kJ Britt 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:36.559 is a guy that probably thinks he can do more 0:11:36.559 --> 0:11:39.080 than he did his first contract. Pharaoh Brown talked about 0:11:39.120 --> 0:11:41.079 his juice and some of the will he has to 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:43.760 win after playing for the Patriots and Seahawks last couple 0:11:43.800 --> 0:11:47.960 of years. James Daniels is a guy that obviously prioritized 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:49.520 winning in a big way and chose to go to 0:11:49.559 --> 0:11:52.040 the Steelers after the Bears, going from a team that 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:53.880 hasn't won a bunch to a team that has has 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:55.360 won a bunch of games. Now he gets to be 0:11:55.559 --> 0:11:58.000 a good fit in an offense that could really use 0:11:58.000 --> 0:12:00.240 his skill set. I mean really across the or you're 0:12:00.240 --> 0:12:03.000 getting guys that fit that mold. Let's go ahead and 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:05.800 hear from Coach more about how that can help define 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:08.000 the culture and not just the guys you bring in 0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:11.280 on the second contract, second and third contracts, but doing 0:12:11.320 --> 0:12:13.240 that with the mindset that you know you're gonna have 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:16.720 ten draft picks, ten rookies possibly more from the UDFA class. 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:18.360 Who helps at that culture too? 0:12:18.360 --> 0:12:21.200 Because who is hungrier in the NFL than a player 0:12:21.240 --> 0:12:24.240 that hasn't made any money yet, that hasn't proven themselves 0:12:24.280 --> 0:12:26.200 with resume and film and tape and has a chance 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:28.280 to make a first impression. Those are the guys that 0:12:28.320 --> 0:12:31.320 are going to typically should be the hungriest players out there, 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:33.439 and coach wants to pair all that together. Let's go 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:35.400 ahead and hear from Coach on the direct of this 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:39.040 offseason to improve the culture and get hungry football players 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:39.640 on the field. 0:12:39.760 --> 0:12:41.880 Culture is defined by the human beings. 0:12:43.360 --> 0:12:48.400 I think what's unique and I think could be something that. 0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:48.679 I don't know. 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:53.520 If I investigated, I could write about is that there's 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:58.880 more roster turnover in the National Football League. Now there's more. 0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:06.000 There's all our veteran contracts right or the smaller second 0:13:06.040 --> 0:13:08.000 and third year contracts. We've seen a lot more three 0:13:08.120 --> 0:13:11.960 years or two years or one year. So how do 0:13:12.000 --> 0:13:16.560 you have a sustained culture? Well, it's by the people. Well, 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:24.240 draft classes, you know, not only have to be impactful 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:28.600 year one, your draft classes are also your four to 0:13:28.679 --> 0:13:32.680 five year commitments that you have the ability to set 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:35.240 the tonality of how your team is or the culture 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:36.319 that it so. 0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:41.000 To me, I was very happy with last year's draft class. 0:13:42.800 --> 0:13:45.720 And we're working, you know, Chris and I are working 0:13:46.440 --> 0:13:49.679 day and night to make sure we have this. We 0:13:49.760 --> 0:13:54.640 have the same vigor about the opportunity with the ten 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:56.880 draft picks this year because you're talking about in two 0:13:56.960 --> 0:14:05.280 years seventeen players that that you have a sustained process 0:14:05.760 --> 0:14:08.800 in a league where with parody, it's all about development. 0:14:09.800 --> 0:14:14.160 So we're trying to get the right guys to develop 0:14:14.200 --> 0:14:21.840 as professionals, and their core value has to be team football, 0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:27.320 football winning and they really have to get joy out 0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:30.600 of that. That was a component that was consistent among 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:35.080 the different personalities we drafted last year. All these guys 0:14:35.080 --> 0:14:40.320 were living and breathing football, and I think that's. 0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:43.160 Even more important as. 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:50.120 Each team, all thirty two have a unique exercise. 0:14:50.480 --> 0:14:54.280 It has changed in the last couple of years, specifically. 0:14:54.320 --> 0:15:03.480 Of having your football team having an identity that progresses. 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:08.160 While handling all the roster turnover. 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:12.400 That's natural with all these shorter contracts that people are 0:15:12.480 --> 0:15:16.880 signed up for. So it is I think that the 0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:18.960 there's a The draft has always been fun. 0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:21.880 The draft has always been important. 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:26.720 There's a unique twist to the draft now as I 0:15:26.840 --> 0:15:32.720 see a big picture, and you know, very it's very 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:37.880 important that we that we not only take all the 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:40.480 things that we did well from last year and that 0:15:40.560 --> 0:15:44.120 draft class, but we we have three more, We have 0:15:44.320 --> 0:15:48.480 ten picks, and so that we we try to have 0:15:48.600 --> 0:15:54.360 as many contributors to our football team and our culture 0:15:54.400 --> 0:15:57.840 as possible with those with those draft picks. 0:15:57.840 --> 0:15:58.720 That we'll be here for a. 0:15:58.680 --> 0:16:04.480 Minute back here after a short break, reacting to coach 0:16:04.560 --> 0:16:08.560 McDaniel talking about the culture change and shift and cultivating 0:16:08.800 --> 0:16:12.640 competition across all position spots and groups. It's not dissimilar 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:14.800 to what the Rams did under Sean McVay back in 0:16:14.800 --> 0:16:16.360 twenty twenty three when it looked like a team that 0:16:16.440 --> 0:16:19.080 was gonna have to like hard reset, And all I 0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:21.760 did was soft reset with like thirteen draft picks and 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:24.360 then twenty seven udfas they gave them forty rookies going 0:16:24.400 --> 0:16:28.640 into camp. They cultivated a certain style of player, a 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:31.480 certain culture. And now this is a Rams team that, 0:16:31.560 --> 0:16:34.680 through good drafting, through good development of later round draft picks, 0:16:34.960 --> 0:16:37.080 has a roster that can afford to go out and 0:16:37.080 --> 0:16:40.440 pay Matthew Stafford's big contract, that can extend Puka Naku 0:16:40.480 --> 0:16:42.800 when that time comes up here who can give you know, 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:45.360 Kobe Turner and Jared Vers, but they're gonna get here 0:16:45.520 --> 0:16:48.040 eventually when their time comes up as well. And it's 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:51.040 a kind of a not just a philosophical shift, but 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:53.000 kind of a culture shift and how you build things. 0:16:53.240 --> 0:16:55.960 And that draft pick commentary is just so fascinating to me, 0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:58.560 and he's right, and that's why you do draft well, 0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:01.080 hit on those picks, then pay those guys. And we 0:17:01.120 --> 0:17:03.520 talked in the first Freegency podcast about how the Bills 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:05.480 and Eagles had done a good job of getting guys 0:17:05.520 --> 0:17:07.679 done early, and the Bills just did it again with 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:10.359 Christian Benford early and we've seen that here with Tua 0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:13.080 and Austin and Jalen Waddle, and we'll see about Phillips 0:17:13.119 --> 0:17:14.960 coming up. But if you can do that, and you 0:17:15.000 --> 0:17:17.200 compare that with signing the twenty five twenty six year 0:17:17.200 --> 0:17:18.960 old who didn't play up to his draft billing in 0:17:18.960 --> 0:17:21.560 that first contract and now he's hungry on a short 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:24.840 term slash prove it type of deal, that's the literal 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:29.480 iron sharpens iron definition. Well, not literally, but it's fostering 0:17:29.480 --> 0:17:33.160 an environment like that. You reduce complacency, and you cultivate 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:36.879 situations where guys are straining constantly and where guys feel 0:17:36.880 --> 0:17:39.560 like practice reps are putting their livelihood on the line 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:42.440 because it is right. And when you get that environment 0:17:42.480 --> 0:17:45.520 in practice, well, that critical third and six in the 0:17:45.520 --> 0:17:48.520 fourth quarter in November is not a new experience. He's 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:51.480 been through that before. I always joke with my golf buddies, 0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:53.040 you know, I wish there was a way to get 0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:55.399 me to care about missing putts on the practice screen 0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:58.000 because the only time I ever get actual high stress 0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:00.679 Birdie or Parr gotta make type of when you're on 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:02.560 the course is when you're on the course, and you 0:18:02.600 --> 0:18:06.159 literally cannot replicate that outside of you know, putting money 0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:08.359 on your putts with your pals on the practice green, 0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:10.840 which we don't do. So the only real putts I 0:18:10.920 --> 0:18:13.320 get are the ones in the round itself. So you 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:16.040 can create this sense of urgency on the football field 0:18:16.080 --> 0:18:19.880 within players by making their playing time and as a result, 0:18:19.960 --> 0:18:23.160 their paycheck dependent on how they play in those practices. 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:23.440 Right. 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:26.360 I don't think the process was necessarily bad last year 0:18:26.359 --> 0:18:28.919 because you had a good football team on paper. But 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:31.760 we did go into camp with what competitions at like 0:18:32.280 --> 0:18:36.400 the guard spots, rotational defensive tackle work, and that's about it, right. 0:18:36.520 --> 0:18:38.680 There was a couple other spots maybe, but you knew 0:18:38.680 --> 0:18:40.600 what the receiver room looked like to a certain extent, 0:18:40.840 --> 0:18:42.560 you knew the tackles in the center, you knew about 0:18:42.560 --> 0:18:44.359 the running backs, and you knew Ramsey and Fuller and 0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:47.199 Coho and Holland Employer were your top five dbs. Like, 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:49.320 there just wasn't a lot of maybe the best man 0:18:49.359 --> 0:18:51.439 win type of stuff. And that's not to say they 0:18:51.440 --> 0:18:53.960 didn't compete, but I feel like fostering more of a 0:18:53.960 --> 0:18:56.520 competitive environment won't just give you the best player for 0:18:56.560 --> 0:18:57.080 the job. 0:18:57.520 --> 0:18:58.720 That's a great part to have from it. 0:18:58.760 --> 0:19:01.480 But we'll also prepare that play for the moments they'll 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:03.760 face in season because they can recall I had to 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:06.359 win this rep against Tyreek Hill to earn this spot 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:08.080 in the first place. Now let's go do it again 0:19:08.119 --> 0:19:10.840 in a game situation. In fact, there was another question 0:19:10.920 --> 0:19:13.560 about just that. He was asked about Storm Duck cam Smith, 0:19:13.840 --> 0:19:16.399 the battle for that next cornerback job beyond Ramsey and 0:19:16.440 --> 0:19:19.280 Cater Kohu, and the answer was through the lens of 0:19:19.400 --> 0:19:20.639 once again, competition. 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:25.199 Oh, everyone's competing. You know. I think that. 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:31.919 What you know, what I think has will prove to 0:19:32.119 --> 0:19:37.359 have the residuals to meet the expectations of you know, 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:46.320 everyone Dolphins, is that we were creating a unique environment 0:19:47.200 --> 0:19:52.720 where competition is inherent. That you do not think as though, 0:19:53.119 --> 0:19:56.960 oh I'm the starter because I'm annoided. 0:19:57.920 --> 0:20:02.280 You know, I think, uh, competition. 0:20:03.119 --> 0:20:10.000 Is a drive, driving force and motivated athletes becoming you know, 0:20:10.119 --> 0:20:15.879 elite at their trade, and and within that we we 0:20:16.040 --> 0:20:23.199 develop our games. So ultimately, the idea is to be 0:20:23.760 --> 0:20:29.000 a much better team when the season ends. Then when 0:20:29.680 --> 0:20:34.640 the way everyone that covers or sees the football team 0:20:34.680 --> 0:20:38.119 that doesn't see the behind the scenes work thinks we 0:20:38.160 --> 0:20:41.639 will be at this point because we're a team that 0:20:41.800 --> 0:20:45.320 develops and players get better every year, and you have 0:20:45.400 --> 0:20:48.040 to do that through competition. And there's a couple of 0:20:48.080 --> 0:20:53.119 different afritues similar to the quite similar to the interior 0:20:53.119 --> 0:20:59.560 defensive line market, where there's some options. But what I 0:21:00.480 --> 0:21:03.440 what will be the furthest thing. I'll take the depth 0:21:03.520 --> 0:21:05.359 chart that I have in my office to the magnets 0:21:05.400 --> 0:21:08.719 and I might as well just splatter them like it 0:21:08.720 --> 0:21:13.440 does like talk to me in August, because you know 0:21:13.520 --> 0:21:18.560 that that that's the that's always been the mindset of 0:21:18.560 --> 0:21:23.000 the program. But I think a re emphasis and focus 0:21:23.080 --> 0:21:27.719 on on what that is is is the result of 0:21:27.920 --> 0:21:32.679 the hard lessons of the three previous years when you 0:21:32.720 --> 0:21:37.320 don't you know, every time you're not holding the thirty 0:21:37.359 --> 0:21:39.719 one teams, Okay, how do we do that? 0:21:40.160 --> 0:21:43.000 And so every year you try to take. 0:21:44.320 --> 0:21:46.280 What you can from that and then and then press 0:21:46.320 --> 0:21:50.320 forward and we will have competition and they will not 0:21:50.520 --> 0:21:54.560 know I don't you guys can vote's reps that are 0:21:54.560 --> 0:21:57.800 in front of us that are very important. They'll determine that. 0:21:58.200 --> 0:22:01.120 Again, he mentioned options there and they said the same 0:22:01.160 --> 0:22:03.919 thing about the offensive line back in Indianapolis. You know, 0:22:03.960 --> 0:22:05.520 we feel good about a couple of guys we have 0:22:05.600 --> 0:22:08.359 interest in with regards to getting a deal done, and 0:22:08.400 --> 0:22:10.400