Speaker 1: To us byrons touch style by waddle snucked into the
Speaker 1: end zone of Miami by tight pro tip window. They
Speaker 1: had to get that touchdown on that play. They get it.
Speaker 1: What is up, Dolphans And welcome to the Drive Time Podcast,
Speaker 1: part of the Miami Dolphins podcast network, covering your team,
Speaker 1: your Miami Dolphins. How's it going everybody? I am your host,
Speaker 1: Travis Wingfield. And on today's show, we pick up our
Speaker 1: two season preview. With a little slight change to the programming,
Speaker 1: We're only going to cover the Miami Dolphins offensive line
Speaker 1: room today, no NFL preview because it's a very large group.
Speaker 1: And I also want to talk a little bit about
Speaker 1: my trip to the Northwest and just get you guys
Speaker 1: call up more. We're going this summer so far, but
Speaker 1: this offensive line room, some changes in both the veteran
Speaker 1: free agency acquisitions and in the U d f A class,
Speaker 1: a new man in charge with coach Matt Applebaum here
Speaker 1: from Chris Greer and Mike McDaniel as well. And if
Speaker 1: there is some time, we'll talk about some golf, some
Speaker 1: new music this summer, airplane etiquette, and a few things
Speaker 1: I jotted down in my notebook from somewhere in central Washington.
Speaker 1: This is the Drive Time Podcast. So we are on
Speaker 1: part five, I think it is now of this series
Speaker 1: and our final one on the offensive side of the footballs.
Speaker 1: We take a look at the offensive line if you're
Speaker 1: just catching up quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight
Speaker 1: ends have come off the board in that order, and
Speaker 1: we've also previewed the entire NFC Conference East, South, North,
Speaker 1: and West in those series. Today we're talking about just
Speaker 1: the offensive line, and we start with the personnel changes
Speaker 1: and the roster as a whole. It's an even five
Speaker 1: for five swap here going off of the new acquisitions
Speaker 1: and those that have departed, and a couple of the
Speaker 1: names here you're gonna have to go into the memory
Speaker 1: bank to recognize because some of these guys were practice
Speaker 1: squaw are guys that just didn't play on actual Sundays
Speaker 1: for the Dolphins. But the new acquisitions you know by
Speaker 1: now about Tehron Armstead, one of the game's very best
Speaker 1: left tackles, and Connor Williams one of the best interior
Speaker 1: offensive lineman coming over from the Saints and Cowboys, respectively.
Speaker 1: Cole Banwart comes over from the Vikings last year and
Speaker 1: then two U d f A s Kellen Dish from
Speaker 1: Arizona State and Blaze Andrei's from Minnesota. We'll talk about
Speaker 1: their games as well. The departures. Jesse Davis is now
Speaker 1: with the Vikings, Greg Mans is now with the Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 1: Roderick Johnson signs the Chiefs, and then Cameron tom and
Speaker 1: Spencer Pulley are both free agents at press time. And
Speaker 1: just to kind of wrap up the room as a whole,
Speaker 1: the incumbents you know about, Michael Dieter, Robert Jones, Solomon
Speaker 1: Kinley is back. A lot of names back on this
Speaker 1: offensive line, Robert Hunt, Austin Jackson, Liam Eichenberg, Greg little
Speaker 1: Keyan Smith, Adam Panky, and Larnel Coleman. A good group
Speaker 1: of incumbents there. In terms of some of the continuity
Speaker 1: upfront on this offensive line, you and act to those veterans.
Speaker 1: You get a couple of U d f as to
Speaker 1: help compete in that spot, and all of a sudden
Speaker 1: you have more depth and you're probably better up top
Speaker 1: as well on the offensive line. And speaking of up top,
Speaker 1: we go to the coaching staff change first, and Matt
Speaker 1: apple Bomb comes over from Boston College where he helped
Speaker 1: the Eagles earned Pro Football Focuses number two overall grade
Speaker 1: across an entire offensive line last year and all of
Speaker 1: college football, and that was led by first round draft
Speaker 1: pick Zion Johnson, who was just one heck of a
Speaker 1: player and had very very high praise for Coach apple
Speaker 1: Bomb at the scouting Combine. In fact, BC also produced
Speaker 1: two more guys that will get a chance to fight
Speaker 1: for jobs this year in training camp with Alec Lyndstrom
Speaker 1: and Tyler Rabel. Lynstrom is the brother of Chris Lyndstrom,
Speaker 1: former first round pick of the Atlanta Falcons. And Tyler Rabel,
Speaker 1: I know, you know that name, the son of head
Speaker 1: coach of the Tennessee Titans, Mike Rabel. They'll be with
Speaker 1: the Cowboys and Falcons and camp this summer, respectively. And
Speaker 1: the reason I bring those guys up is because they
Speaker 1: just had so much praise for Coach apple Bomb during
Speaker 1: the scouting Combine interviews. And of course, you know you
Speaker 1: see a guy that played for a Dolphins coach, or
Speaker 1: you know someone attached to the Miami Dolphins, and you
Speaker 1: see the usual suspects kind of flocked to that scrum.
Speaker 1: I think it was myself and David Farona's were front
Speaker 1: and line with a couple of these guys, you know,
Speaker 1: Alan Poopar hal Habib and just a bunch of the
Speaker 1: guys that are there at the combine covering the Dolphins,
Speaker 1: getting a bunch of questions for them. So it's beneficial
Speaker 1: for us to have those multiple Dolphins resources there because
Speaker 1: we get more Dolphins content out of those interviews. And
Speaker 1: to a man Zion Johnson, Tyler Rabel, and Alec Lyndstrom
Speaker 1: referenced staying after practice and just hammering technique and watching
Speaker 1: film and being in the classroom and how how almost
Speaker 1: borderline obsessed coach apple Bomb was with the finer points
Speaker 1: of technique of putting in the work and just being
Speaker 1: you know, getting yourself as prepared as you possibly can.
Speaker 1: Because if you can take care of that something you
Speaker 1: have complete control over, you maximize your opportunity for your
Speaker 1: talents to show through and to become a good player
Speaker 1: at that level and then to hopefully make a career
Speaker 1: out of it in the National Football League. And that's
Speaker 1: kind of what apple bamb does here and makes a
Speaker 1: jump back to the NFL with fourteen years of coaching experience,
Speaker 1: ten of those in college four of those in the
Speaker 1: NFL with Jacksonville and Washington his first O line job
Speaker 1: here in the NFL. But man, he did some really
Speaker 1: impressive stuff with that BC group. Helped them transition between
Speaker 1: new systems from a kind of more traditional power running
Speaker 1: type of scheme to a more spread it out offense
Speaker 1: or modern day passing attack. I should say, so Apple
Speaker 1: Bama arrives here in South Florida. We'll hear from him
Speaker 1: here in just one second, and I want to take
Speaker 1: a look first before we do that, at the group
Speaker 1: at a glance and just touch on what this room
Speaker 1: looks like now compared to a season ago. And it
Speaker 1: starts with the two additions of two proven veterans, I mean,
Speaker 1: Connor Williams one of the very first players to sign
Speaker 1: for the Dolphins when the new league year kicked off,
Speaker 1: and then to run Armstead took a little bit more time,
Speaker 1: but man, he sure talked about it in some of
Speaker 1: the videos he's produced from his own YouTube pay or
Speaker 1: YouTube channel, I should say, his own production team, talking
Speaker 1: about how my he was just such a good fit
Speaker 1: for him for so many reasons, and one of those
Speaker 1: being the scheme that kind of suits his skill set.
Speaker 1: We'll get into that here in just one second. With
Speaker 1: this Dolphins O line group, it's like the rest of
Speaker 1: the roster really, I mean a mixture of experience and youth.
Speaker 1: Up in the trenches. You know four players drafted in
Speaker 1: the third round or higher between twenty nine and one,
Speaker 1: and a fifth player if you count Solomon Kinley in
Speaker 1: the fourth round if you go back to the fourth
Speaker 1: to four rounds on that, but first two day draft picks,
Speaker 1: there's four of those guys over the last three drafts.
Speaker 1: And that's with zero this past season in the draft.
Speaker 1: So really through two years you had four guys that
Speaker 1: were had first, second, or third round picks, top two
Speaker 1: day picks invested into them, and the Dolphins have rounded
Speaker 1: out the group with depth and talent. I mean the
Speaker 1: additions you make with all the incumbents just makes you deeper, right,
Speaker 1: makes you better up top as well when you go
Speaker 1: get an armst now Williams, but between Michael Dieter, Austin Jackson,
Speaker 1: Robert hunt Leam Eikenberg, a third rounder in twenty nineteen,
Speaker 1: a first rounder and second rounder, and another second round
Speaker 1: have all shown flashes and accruede valuable experience. Starting with
Speaker 1: or I should say with starts scattered across that quartet,
Speaker 1: and head coach Mike McDaniel expressed his excitement for the
Speaker 1: group and the physical talents offered by the many highly
Speaker 1: drafted members of this unit, as he went very in depth.
Speaker 1: We're gonna play a long answer for you here from
Speaker 1: him on a press conference from May sevent taught seventeenth
Speaker 1: Geez Travis talking about coaching that particular position and how
Speaker 1: it is the toughest to kind of get aligned with
Speaker 1: the system, but how he's very excited about both the
Speaker 1: personnel and the staff that he has to get this
Speaker 1: group ready to play. Because you'll hear in this diet
Speaker 1: tribe some stuff that he's hit on a few times
Speaker 1: in various press conferences, talking about athletic ability and the
Speaker 1: way these guys work, and how if you can get
Speaker 1: those two things up to snuff with an offensive coaching
Speaker 1: staff beyond Matt Applebaum and himself, with Frank Smith and
Speaker 1: with John Embrey involved and Eric Studisville across the offensive
Speaker 1: group there. I mean, you've got guys that have tons
Speaker 1: of experience in the run game coordination and offensive line play,
Speaker 1: running the football, and I think it's going to have
Speaker 1: a big impact on these guys who again we'll touch
Speaker 1: on this here in just one second that really excel
Speaker 1: in the athletic department. In fact, let's go ahead and
Speaker 1: play coach McDaniel's audio because he talks about it in
Speaker 1: terms that I just can't replicate. Here's Coach McDaniel. The
Speaker 1: most drastic disparity from you know, whatever you'd call quote traditional.
Speaker 1: You enter it when you're coaching players. You're very aware
Speaker 1: of their past coaching. You make yourself aware of that
Speaker 1: so that you can best articulate, Hey, this is like
Speaker 1: this or this is not like this. The biggest disparity
Speaker 1: from a traditional standpoint is the offensive line, without a doubt,
Speaker 1: UM that and and it and it is a full
Speaker 1: scale commitment to UM certain principles and ownership of fundamentals
Speaker 1: that we ask them to do in a major in
Speaker 1: UH and So as far as the off season program
Speaker 1: is concerned, it's it's almost built for our offensive alignement
Speaker 1: in terms of how to approach things, because you need
Speaker 1: about two weeks of you know, an hour and half
Speaker 1: or hour and forty five minute meetings, which is what
Speaker 1: Phase one allows you to digest. Hey, we're asking you
Speaker 1: to UM, run off the ball. We're asking you to
Speaker 1: have these landmarks. We're asking you not to hesitate UM.
Speaker 1: And then phase two you can kind of drill it
Speaker 1: UM that I think in terms of uh, you know,
Speaker 1: Johnny don't know his name coming on the team and
Speaker 1: then all of a sudden being thrown into the mix,
Speaker 1: I think that it's the hardest position UM because we
Speaker 1: are so committed UM to to our fundamentals and technique
Speaker 1: and UM you know offensive alignement or like uh oh
Speaker 1: or like officials it's ay where like you're not talking
Speaker 1: about them and that's a good thing, and they have
Speaker 1: scars from when they are talked about. So to get
Speaker 1: them to just let go and let all that stuff UM,
Speaker 1: let the past be the past and move forward. Is
Speaker 1: is the most deliberate and intentional thing that as a
Speaker 1: coaching staff we have to do. UM. One of the
Speaker 1: reasons that kind of shaped my whole vision for UM
Speaker 1: hiring a coaching staff. I wanted to make sure that
Speaker 1: the guys that were touching those players, we would be
Speaker 1: able to see the results of the of the scheme
Speaker 1: and people really UM dive in and invest understand where
Speaker 1: they're coming from. Some of the stuff that they have
Speaker 1: in their past and let that go and move forward. UM.
Speaker 1: And I feel very very comfortable and confident and happy
Speaker 1: with what UM. You know, start with Matt Applebaum and
Speaker 1: um and and and Lamb has been doing an outstanding
Speaker 1: job understanding everything that we're trying to do. Mike person
Speaker 1: and then uh Frank Smith obviously the offensive coordinator. So
Speaker 1: it's it's exciting too because you, UM, you get to
Speaker 1: see guys at that position. UM. I feel like we're
Speaker 1: kind of it's liberating to a degree because they're uh,
Speaker 1: listen the guys that UM. If I were to tell
Speaker 1: you that UM on this team and this is my
Speaker 1: seventh team. UM been in a lot of different places,
Speaker 1: but this is the uh as athletic and capable of
Speaker 1: any group that might you might be like, huh are
Speaker 1: you great? UM? But they they really are, and they're
Speaker 1: hungry and committed, and it's been really really UM rewarding
Speaker 1: to watch them works, see the benefits. And then more
Speaker 1: than that, UM, you know what's gonna happen with your
Speaker 1: first adversity because this just in offensive linemen have adversity,
Speaker 1: They live in adversity. UM, and they how are they
Speaker 1: going to respond to a run play where they're short
Speaker 1: and their aiming point and Christian makes you pay in
Speaker 1: the backfield or um uh sailor or whoever um and
Speaker 1: and that's the fun part of this part of the
Speaker 1: year is you get to h focus on them and
Speaker 1: not not an opponent. I just find that answer. So,
Speaker 1: I mean, obviously very instructive, but so interesting for a
Speaker 1: few reasons. Because talking about the physical talents of this group,
Speaker 1: and obviously when you put high draft picks into guys,
Speaker 1: they typically tend to excel with the athletic ability and
Speaker 1: obviously some fundamentals and technique and that stuff too. But
Speaker 1: when you get these guys that are, you know, the
Speaker 1: elite of their class in terms of the testing metrics,
Speaker 1: in the build it to move and all that that
Speaker 1: stuff that pairs together that ultimately is what you're trying
Speaker 1: to harness and get production out of as a coach.
Speaker 1: This group has that in spades. I think you hear
Speaker 1: that excitement from coach McDaniels discussion they're talking about the
Speaker 1: offensive line and you go back to the ground game
Speaker 1: with the forty nine ers that he was the run
Speaker 1: game coordinator of before being the o C. It favored
Speaker 1: athletic ability, the ability to operate in space, and you
Speaker 1: talk about the additions made this offseason, like to Hron
Speaker 1: Armstead doesn't just give the Dolphins, you know, a three
Speaker 1: time Pro bowler, it also injects the fastest forty time
Speaker 1: ever recorded by an offensive lineman into the Dolphins front five.
Speaker 1: And so you're gonna hear Chris Career right here on
Speaker 1: March talk about how excited to Ron Armstead was to
Speaker 1: join the scheme. Here is the Dolphins GM. You know,
Speaker 1: Mike has assembled a really good staff and it's very
Speaker 1: heavy offensive line coach, you know, coaches. I think he's done, um,
Speaker 1: a great job in terms of communicating that vision for
Speaker 1: what he wants. And so I think for us, you know,
Speaker 1: we feel good about the young players we have, as
Speaker 1: does Mike and the staff talk about them. You know, um,
Speaker 1: they understand they need to play better and and can
Speaker 1: get better. But I think the scheme also very friendly
Speaker 1: for offensive lineman and I think Toronto had mentioned that
Speaker 1: as press conference and wanted to play in the scheme.
Speaker 1: And Connor Williams is another one that we felt excited
Speaker 1: about because that we think he's a very good run
Speaker 1: player and it's also he's very athletic and can pass
Speaker 1: rock luck and I think um like anything, they all
Speaker 1: keep working and proving it better and and so we're
Speaker 1: very excited about the group overall. And just a further
Speaker 1: touch on that idea of athletic ability, and you know,
Speaker 1: want something I reference on the podcast here all the
Speaker 1: time is the r AS the Relative Athletics Scorecard, which
Speaker 1: comprehensively measures each player's pre draft workout, whether it's a
Speaker 1: the scouting Combine or the individuals Pro Day, and the
Speaker 1: additions of Armstead and Williams gives Miami four lineman with
Speaker 1: scores that measured in the five percent tilent or better
Speaker 1: among all time offensive lineman going back to seven is
Speaker 1: when Kent Lee plasts are attracting the stuff. But to
Speaker 1: Ron arms And out of ten was a nine five eight,
Speaker 1: Austin Jackson was a nine four five, Cornor Williams was
Speaker 1: a nine one five, and Liam Eichenberg and eight five
Speaker 1: three just with recent Dolphins editions their draft picks or
Speaker 1: free agency. But next Gen stats would put Robert Hunt
Speaker 1: in that category as well because he didn't have workouts
Speaker 1: in his pre draft run up, but he had a
Speaker 1: high speed per next gen of nine team miles per
Speaker 1: That's that's not far off from the twenty three mph
Speaker 1: that Raheem Mostart hit to lead the NFL a couple
Speaker 1: of years ago. But again no no pre draft workouts,
Speaker 1: no r s. But Michael Dieter had a seven three
Speaker 1: five Laarnel Coleman at eight five eight, and then finling
Speaker 1: this year, the two U d f as the Dolphins
Speaker 1: had were number one and number two in Missioner's offensive
Speaker 1: line class at rs Blaze Andrews from Minnesota with nearly
Speaker 1: a perfect nine eight one the best on the team
Speaker 1: and second best on the team is Kelln Dish from
Speaker 1: Arizona State nine seven five. So, in simpler terms, the
Speaker 1: Dolphins offensive line is incredibly talented with plenty of natural talent.
Speaker 1: Let's go ahead and finish up this first set it
Speaker 1: here by hearing audio from coach Matt Applebaum, who talked
Speaker 1: about the group he inherits here in a press conference
Speaker 1: or a meet with the media back in the month
Speaker 1: of May. I was encouraged. I mean, um, I see,
Speaker 1: I see negative plays like everyone else does, but I
Speaker 1: see a lot of positive plays too, and I like
Speaker 1: to focus on the positive. And then when you just
Speaker 1: focus in on one guy or another guy, and you
Speaker 1: ignore what's happening with the play or where in the
Speaker 1: game that play is occurring, and you're just studying what
Speaker 1: that guy is doing. You see a lot of skill sets,
Speaker 1: and then when you get to know these guys on
Speaker 1: a more insident basis, you're like, Wow, these are really
Speaker 1: good dudes. They're hard working on top of their talent,
Speaker 1: and they want to be good. And I mean, I'm
Speaker 1: really encouraged up to this point, but I was coach
Speaker 1: talking about what he saw on tape after getting the
Speaker 1: job in the alignment he inherited talking about seeing the
Speaker 1: positive and trying to harness that and get the most
Speaker 1: out of that going forward. All right, let's go ahead
Speaker 1: and take our first break. We'll come back and talk
Speaker 1: about the entire cast, a deep Dolphins offensive line group
Speaker 1: plans to cover here on this edition of the Drivetime Podcast.
Speaker 1: Your host, Travis Wingfield. We are brought to you by
Speaker 1: Auto Nation. Back here on this post holiday edition of
Speaker 1: the Drive Time Podcast. I am still coming to you
Speaker 1: from Central Washington. Our summer break extends here right into
Speaker 1: the month of July, but we are just three weeks
Speaker 1: away a little more than three weeks from the start
Speaker 1: of training camp, will get a chance to look at
Speaker 1: this new made Dolphins offensive line, which again is the
Speaker 1: group that has, besides tight ends, the least amount of
Speaker 1: turnover and change in two on the offense. And we
Speaker 1: start here with one of the big changes in order
Speaker 1: of jersey number number fifty eight, Connor Williams. And whether
Speaker 1: it's the film, the counting stats, or the advanced metrics,
Speaker 1: they really all kind of lend themselves to the same story.
Speaker 1: For Connor Williams. He's tough, he's productive, and he's reliable.
Speaker 1: Point five pass block efficiency score ranked third best among
Speaker 1: all qualifying guards. Last year. He allowed just thirteen quarterback
Speaker 1: pressures that was second fist among all guards left or
Speaker 1: right with at least two hundred past blocking snaps. And
Speaker 1: we're using guards because that's where he played in one
Speaker 1: but this guy can play any position on the offensive line.
Speaker 1: Going back to his days at Texas with the Cowboys
Speaker 1: the last two years, he played two thousand, one hundred
Speaker 1: and seventy five snaps. That was each of the cowboys
Speaker 1: thirty four games, including the one playoff game last year,
Speaker 1: so eighteen last year sixteen. The year prior an average
Speaker 1: nine hundred and thirty point five snaps per season over
Speaker 1: four years with the Dallas Cowboys. Among guards who had
Speaker 1: at least two hundred run blocking snaps. Last year, Williams
Speaker 1: was tenth highest graded guard on Pro Football Focus. He
Speaker 1: was back and again talking about things that get repeat
Speaker 1: run here on the podcast. In the off season. We
Speaker 1: talked a lot about Daniel Jeremiah's comment during the pre
Speaker 1: combine conference call when he talked about things to look
Speaker 1: for in a system like what the Niners have run
Speaker 1: with the Dolphins could run under Mike McDaniel is offensive
Speaker 1: lineman who are smart and can move, and that's Connor
Speaker 1: Williams to a t. He's very athletic, talking about the
Speaker 1: r S score earlier, and then also the fact that
Speaker 1: he was a three point five student of Texas and
Speaker 1: actually got into the Texas Macombs School of Business, which
Speaker 1: from my understanding of my research, is a very difficult
Speaker 1: thing to do in a really exclusive group that you
Speaker 1: have to have a lot of good extracurriculars and good
Speaker 1: g p A to get into. So Connor Williams checks
Speaker 1: those boxes and he'll come out and compete his butt
Speaker 1: off and make this defense offensive line better. Number sixty
Speaker 1: one cole band were spent time the last year with
Speaker 1: the Titans, Giants, and Vikings. He arrived from one of
Speaker 1: the country's premier offensive line factories at the University of Iowa. There,
Speaker 1: he was charged with just thirteen quarterback pressures over four years.
Speaker 1: That's on five hundred and seventy two pass blocking snaps,
Speaker 1: so very good college career. Has not yet played in
Speaker 1: an NFL game. Number sixty three Michael Dieter talked about
Speaker 1: how well he scored on r A s, but his
Speaker 1: length at center I think really stands out because again,
Speaker 1: another one of these guys that played tackle, guard and
Speaker 1: center in college and now has played guard and center
Speaker 1: in the NFL actually played tackle a couple of games
Speaker 1: back in twenty nineteen two. I think that Cowboys game.
Speaker 1: He played some left tackle in that game. But his
Speaker 1: length at center is that's the position where it really
Speaker 1: stands out because it helps him gain leverage and latch
Speaker 1: onto his man in space, and that's only going to
Speaker 1: help him in pass protection as well, which last year
Speaker 1: he was tagged with just ten quarterback pressures on three
Speaker 1: hundred and thirty five pass blogging snaps, and I thought
Speaker 1: we saw consistent growth and progress out of Michael Dieter
Speaker 1: a year ago, number sixty four kelln diash. The aforementioned
Speaker 1: athletic ability is it's immediately evident when you turn on
Speaker 1: the tape, and it's not just the fact that he
Speaker 1: fires off the ball and can unlock his hips and
Speaker 1: climbed to the second level in the blink of an
Speaker 1: eye or get wide. He was the highest graded Pack
Speaker 1: twelve offensive line between one due to the fact that
Speaker 1: his tape was good as numbers were good. I mean
Speaker 1: Pro Football Focus had him with twelve pressures his career
Speaker 1: on five hundred and career pass blocking snaps. That does
Speaker 1: say point seven pass block efficiency rate. That was the
Speaker 1: same pbe pass block efficiency rate that d scored in
Speaker 1: one season, which was an accomplishment only fifteen tackles in
Speaker 1: all of college football with what was the two hundred
Speaker 1: something teams only fifteen tackles achieved that metric a season ago.
Speaker 1: But turn the tape on, man, he's getting into space.
Speaker 1: He's like swatting down these these uh polished pass rush
Speaker 1: moves and getting the hands off of him and burying
Speaker 1: guys and not just anybody like Cavon Thibodeaux, Bradley and
Speaker 1: I at Utah a couple of years ago. Just a
Speaker 1: really good college career for dish number sixty five, Robert Jones.
Speaker 1: Do you want to talk about an ideal base with
Speaker 1: powerful just striking ability. This guy is so wide and
Speaker 1: has such powerful hands that it just pairs up well
Speaker 1: with the fact that he bends at the knees and
Speaker 1: can stay square in front of his guy. It's it's
Speaker 1: really impressive to watch just the physical prowess of Robert Jones,
Speaker 1: and he displayed these skills sparingly in limited playing time
Speaker 1: as a rookie. Is the d f A. He got
Speaker 1: his first start last year in Week eighteen, and he
Speaker 1: played twice seven pass blocking snaps and allowed just two
Speaker 1: pressures in those twenty seven pass blocking snaps, and I
Speaker 1: thought he impressed along the way in the preseason and
Speaker 1: in the spot duty in the regular season before that
Speaker 1: first start. Curiously about Robert Jones here and your number two,
Speaker 1: number sixty six. Solomon Kinley started fifteen games as a
Speaker 1: rookie back in twenty but saw spot duty last year
Speaker 1: to the tune of eighty six pass blocking snaps and
Speaker 1: on those eighties six reps. Killey was charged with just
Speaker 1: six QB hurries without a sack or quarterback hits, so
Speaker 1: he kept this QB upright during his time in number
Speaker 1: sixty eight. Robert Hunt perhaps the incumbent I'm most excited
Speaker 1: to see in this new Dolphins offense. He talked a
Speaker 1: little bit about playing under Billy Napier in college and
Speaker 1: an offense that really emphasized athletic ability, the movement skills,
Speaker 1: all of that, and if you can recall Big Rob's
Speaker 1: tape back at U L, it was straight up comical
Speaker 1: and the best way possible, Like I clipped a few
Speaker 1: of them off. If you want to search at Wingfield,
Speaker 1: NFL Robert Hunt, go to the videos tab on Twitter.
Speaker 1: There was this opening drive of a game and I
Speaker 1: forget the opponent and you can like and you'll find
Speaker 1: it when you go back where he just did every
Speaker 1: single thing that like you want to see pop on tape.
Speaker 1: For alignment, like driving guys out of the play, you know,
Speaker 1: hitting those duo Blocksbury climbs the second level and squares
Speaker 1: a guy up and punches and puts him on the ground,
Speaker 1: get into a vertical set and pass protection and just
Speaker 1: basically wiping out the edge of any potential threat on
Speaker 1: the quarterback, and as a pro, I love the way
Speaker 1: he improved both those first two years. He was one
Speaker 1: of the game's best right tackles in terms of pressure
Speaker 1: rate and grade over the final six games. Then the
Speaker 1: same thing happened at right guard last year. Shut out
Speaker 1: after shutout in the past protection uh stats and he
Speaker 1: showed a real aptitude for both you know, speed and
Speaker 1: one gap type of rushers, but also guys that try
Speaker 1: to hit him with power, Like he really refined his game.
Speaker 1: I thought in a way that could spill over into
Speaker 1: a third year where that late season production maybe gets
Speaker 1: started a little bit earlier and just really picks it
Speaker 1: up and hits the ground running, because the way the
Speaker 1: way he plays is just I think a really good
Speaker 1: fit for the system and a fun stat on him
Speaker 1: was over those last six games last year just three
Speaker 1: quarterback pressures allowed and no quarterback hits in that time.
Speaker 1: He really found his rhythm late in the season. Number
Speaker 1: seventy one and Blaze Andrey's position versatility, even playing multiple
Speaker 1: positions within some games last year for the Gophers. His
Speaker 1: ability to climb to the second level really stands out
Speaker 1: on tape and obviously a knowledge of the game to
Speaker 1: play all those spots. Just five sacks allowed in career
Speaker 1: pass blocking snaps at Minnesota for Andrew's and also had
Speaker 1: a chance to talk with him about SKA you moth
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Gophers rally cry or is that what it's
Speaker 1: called the war cry over there, and he explained what
Speaker 1: all that means to me, and it was really insightful,
Speaker 1: really fun talking about the p. J. Fleck era and
Speaker 1: how they have kind of injected, you know, some enthusiasm
Speaker 1: and production and victories into that program there under Fleck
Speaker 1: and under Blaze. Andrew's number seventy two to Ron Armstead.
Speaker 1: His impact on the Dolphins offensive line figures to extend
Speaker 1: beyond his on field production, which should really excite all
Speaker 1: fans of the Dolphins. I wrote, fans of the Finned.
Speaker 1: That's something I'm trying to get catch to catch on,
Speaker 1: remember the movie Major League, Uh, fans of the Feathered,
Speaker 1: he called him fans of the finn Just kind of
Speaker 1: my play on that. But we'll see if it catches on.
Speaker 1: Probably not, but he has one of He's been one
Speaker 1: of the game's best left tackles for a decade into
Speaker 1: addition to his constant mentorship, like go look up his
Speaker 1: name on Twitter and just type the videos. He's all
Speaker 1: over offensive line masterminds, just spreading the knowledge to the
Speaker 1: younger folks in the game, and he really knows how
Speaker 1: to communicate it very very well. But he also comes
Speaker 1: with three Pro Bowls to his name, a three point
Speaker 1: seven percent pressure rate since coming into the league back
Speaker 1: in and a zero point six percent sack rate, both
Speaker 1: of those ranked best among all NFL tackles during that span.
Speaker 1: This dude is really really good. I mean coaching guys
Speaker 1: up on the on the clinic videos. You see it
Speaker 1: in practice two so far back in o t a
Speaker 1: s the PhD level understanding of the position to pick
Speaker 1: up dunce, to come across the formation, to get a
Speaker 1: green dog blitzer and wipe that guy out. Just total
Speaker 1: knowledge of the protection scheme and the ability to help
Speaker 1: weaknesses or vulnerabilities because of his knowledge within that system.
Speaker 1: Like there are players where you see him just the
Speaker 1: entire protection or offensive line should say slides away and
Speaker 1: he stuck on an island with some of the game's
Speaker 1: most premier pass rushers handling two way goes inside outside,
Speaker 1: redirecting he's bruising a hell on the running game, despite
Speaker 1: the fact that he plays faster than just about anybody
Speaker 1: in the league at that position. His past sets, his landmarks,
Speaker 1: his patients. The typewriter feat to redirect and change directions.
Speaker 1: I can't say enough great things about Toron often. He
Speaker 1: is a tremendous football player. Let's go ahead and take
Speaker 1: our last break here and come back and finish up
Speaker 1: with the rest of the Dolphins offensive line, and I'll
Speaker 1: tell you a funny story on the airplane on the
Speaker 1: trip over here that next here on the Drivetime Podcast,
Speaker 1: your host Travis Wingfield. We are brought to you by
Speaker 1: Auto Nation. Picking it back up here in the third
Speaker 1: segment of this offensive line preview edition of the Drive
Speaker 1: Time Podcast, found a way to get up to a
Speaker 1: half an hour again. Here, we're gonna go ahead and
Speaker 1: keep this thing rolling with number seventy three, Austin Jackson.
Speaker 1: And the first thing I wrote down is how much
Speaker 1: I love his press conferences because the way he can
Speaker 1: articulate the way he sees the game. I asked him
Speaker 1: once earlier this offseason about playing both tackle and guard
Speaker 1: and how that can help widen his perspective and widen
Speaker 1: his lens. He had a great answer about that. Very studious,
Speaker 1: athletic as hell. He's hungry as hell, plays the game
Speaker 1: chippy with the right kind of attitude. I just think
Speaker 1: about Austin Jackson a lot when I think about the
Speaker 1: things that coach McDaniel has said about the hunger and
Speaker 1: the approach to the game he talks about with this
Speaker 1: offensive line. Him and him and Liam Eichenberger two guys
Speaker 1: that really stand out to me in the way they
Speaker 1: approached the game with how McDaniel talks about that, And
Speaker 1: I'm excited to see what he looks like here and
Speaker 1: your number three in this system, because at his best,
Speaker 1: he's a punishing athlete that can play multiple spots. And
Speaker 1: last year, upon moving inside to guard, he appeared in
Speaker 1: ESPN's top ten run blocking win right on three occasions.
Speaker 1: Only eight pressures allowed over the final six games for
Speaker 1: Austin Jackson as well, so improvement was there at that
Speaker 1: guard position. He showed some flashes of tackle in his
Speaker 1: career as well, and I think that, again, the system
Speaker 1: that can benefit a guy like this, and I think
Speaker 1: that his run game tape last year was actually pretty
Speaker 1: good A lot of the time, like I don't think
Speaker 1: that he got that type of pub and that vibe
Speaker 1: from uh, you know what you might see on social media,
Speaker 1: but when you go and watch every game on tape,
Speaker 1: like there are lanes he's clearing out. He's hitting some
Speaker 1: good combo blocks, some good second level blocks too. So
Speaker 1: I think we can see I hope to see some
Speaker 1: more of that here from Austin Jackson. Two number seventy four.
Speaker 1: Liam Eichenberg. Just the way that he wins with technique
Speaker 1: pops off the tape all the time. His kickslide solid,
Speaker 1: his hands are good, the punch, the way he kind
Speaker 1: of plays, you know, hips above the knees, knees above
Speaker 1: the feet, shoulders above the hips, all that staying in line.
Speaker 1: Those things popped off on tape at nore Dame and
Speaker 1: I talked about, you know, Austin Jackson's approach. You see
Speaker 1: it with Leam Eichenberg too focused and hungry, and he
Speaker 1: allowed just one quarterback hit in the last seven games
Speaker 1: of last season. Hopefully he can have a similar trajectory
Speaker 1: to what he didn't nore Dame when he had a
Speaker 1: couple of sacks credited to his name in freshman season
Speaker 1: and then never allowed a sack again in college number
Speaker 1: seventy five. Greg Little. I have referenced on here many
Speaker 1: times the great presser from when he was in San
Speaker 1: Francisco when coach McDaniel detailed the construction of that Niner's
Speaker 1: offensive line and how ideally if he could engineer alignment,
Speaker 1: they'd all be seven ft tall, four hundred pounds and
Speaker 1: no one is that but Little, and ironically with the name,
Speaker 1: is a massive body. He's got exceptional length and he's
Speaker 1: quick off the football, which we've heard that phrase a
Speaker 1: lot too so far this offseason. You see it in
Speaker 1: the kickslide, which also happens to cover a ton of ground.
Speaker 1: His testing times out of the combine didn't jump off
Speaker 1: the page, but man, the on field movement spells some
Speaker 1: really good athletic ability. He's a knee bender, he has
Speaker 1: quick feet, a strong, fast punch, and if you go
Speaker 1: back to Lance Zerlines nfl dot com report on him
Speaker 1: when he was drafted back in twenty nineteen, he wrote
Speaker 1: a about the athletic traits to stand out when watching
Speaker 1: him on tape, and of course the benefits of having
Speaker 1: some good competition in a position room is typically it
Speaker 1: spells quality depth for the year, and Greg Little also
Speaker 1: excited to get a chance to watch him compete in
Speaker 1: training camp. A couple more guys here, number seventy six.
Speaker 1: Keyon Smith at the risk of stallion like a broken record.
Speaker 1: He's just another guy with really good athletic ability. The
Speaker 1: nfl dot Com report on him said good knee bender,
Speaker 1: wide base, and those are great places to start for
Speaker 1: an offensive lineman. It helps you stay square. A fun
Speaker 1: fact on him is he didn't allow a sack in
Speaker 1: his final year of college ball at Fayetteville State. Number
Speaker 1: seventy eight. Adam Panky played in some extra offensive line
Speaker 1: packages the Cup last couple of years, jumbo packages, heavy packages.
Speaker 1: He gets good pushing those roles and helps wipe out
Speaker 1: the edge for some of those goal line touchdown runs
Speaker 1: you've seen. And in the run game as a true tackle,
Speaker 1: I mean he's he's been pretty good in that role.
Speaker 1: He didn't play last year, but six quarterback pressures on
Speaker 1: a eight pass blocking snaps back in twenty I should
Speaker 1: say some good numbers. We finished up here with number
Speaker 1: seventy nine Larnel Coleman. Again, can't we see how guy
Speaker 1: looks at your number two? Because he's a superb athlete
Speaker 1: with tremendous length. Was a high school basketball stand down.
Speaker 1: He talked about that and his ability to play great
Speaker 1: defense and basketball and how that compares to pass pro
Speaker 1: because the quarterback is the hoop and you gotta stay
Speaker 1: between your man and the hoop. Right. He had exceptional
Speaker 1: vertical and broad jumps. There's the basketball influence thirty one
Speaker 1: vert nine oh five and the broad to help out
Speaker 1: that eight five eight raths score. And he does that
Speaker 1: with thirty five and a half inch arms in an
Speaker 1: eight four inch a four and seven eight inch wingspan.
Speaker 1: I'm excited for the coaching to have to get their
Speaker 1: hands on him because that's the ball of clay you
Speaker 1: want to work with. So that is your Dolphins offensive
Speaker 1: line group. Let's go ahead and finish up here with
Speaker 1: one quick story before I got out of here, talking
Speaker 1: about air travel, and one thing I told my wife
Speaker 1: on the flight down here was people forgot how to
Speaker 1: fly because we were lining up for the for the
Speaker 1: plane or they were starting to line up like thirty
Speaker 1: minutes before boarding, and the line was it was substantial,
Speaker 1: it was huge. They had to actually get on the
Speaker 1: speakers and say like, hey, let's go sit down until
Speaker 1: your boarding group is called. We don't want to clog
Speaker 1: this hallway up. But no one listens to that. And
Speaker 1: so you know, coming back to the Pacific Northwest has
Speaker 1: been nice. I really do miss South Florida, and primarily
Speaker 1: right now because our internet connection has not been great
Speaker 1: out here and I want my my good, solid, high
Speaker 1: speed internet back. But back to the flight. F l
Speaker 1: L two C tech. They did a seat change the
Speaker 1: night before and moved me away from my wife and
Speaker 1: daughter and the one boon to flying with a two
Speaker 1: year old. As you get the whole road to take over, right,
Speaker 1: and this is real thirties, so I think we're five
Speaker 1: rows from the back of the plane. My my new
Speaker 1: seat is row. Both our window seats thirty A and
Speaker 1: five F. That's that makes the whole sense, right, A
Speaker 1: is one F is six. We get onto the plane
Speaker 1: before the potential trade partner emerges, We're gonna ask you
Speaker 1: ot to switch seats because why wouldn't he want to change,
Speaker 1: and obviously I want to change. But he comes back
Speaker 1: and says, hey, you're in my seat. Yeah, that's correct, man.
Speaker 1: And now at this point I make the ask, hey
Speaker 1: do you mind switching seats. This is my family. Uh,
Speaker 1: pretty easy swap, right. His first response was, no, I
Speaker 1: really want the window. Oh okay, Well I got good
Speaker 1: news for you, because twenty five is a window seat.
Speaker 1: Oh well, you want me to carry my luggage all
Speaker 1: the way back up there? Five rows? Man, doesn't seem
Speaker 1: like it's that whole much. That's where the polite switch
Speaker 1: kind of you know, by default, I always have it on,
Speaker 1: but that's where it flipped off. And I simply asked,
Speaker 1: I can carry the five steps that helps you, man,
Speaker 1: that this would be really helpful to me if you
Speaker 1: don't mind. And this shot across the bow rendered him speechless.
Speaker 1: So let's make another point. You can see with my
Speaker 1: family if you want, I'll go ahead and go up there.
Speaker 1: And this was the point where he accepted the trade
Speaker 1: and took and he muttered a few f words at
Speaker 1: me as he walked away. And here's where I know
Speaker 1: I'm not wrong. If I get into a conflict like that,
Speaker 1: my wife will typically tell me where my behavior was off.
Speaker 1: But she said that I was no way in the wrong,
Speaker 1: So I felt pretty good about that. Was that a
Speaker 1: common thing refusing to change seats in order to sit
Speaker 1: next to a toddler. I was very taken back by that, Like, hey,
Speaker 1: if you want to sit by her for six hours,
Speaker 1: have fun. She unbuckled and buckler seat belt probably six
Speaker 1: hundred times. That's fun to watch. We didn't sleep at all.
Speaker 1: And mind you, it's a six o'clock Eastern flight and
Speaker 1: Caroline's bedtime is top quickly eight o'clock. So a delirious
Speaker 1: toddler finding her to fighting to keep her wits about her.
Speaker 1: I was pretty blown away by that. So change seats
Speaker 1: with someone that has a kid and wants to be
Speaker 1: with their families. That seems like a given to me.
Speaker 1: All right, let's go ahead and wrap this podcast up.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be my time. We'll have the defensive Line
Speaker 1: later this week, and we'll get back into the divisional
Speaker 1: previews on the Linebacker Podcast next week. I do believe
Speaker 1: you all. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast
Speaker 1: on Apple Podcast. Leave us a rating, leave us a review.
Speaker 1: You can follow me on Twitter at Wingfield NFL. Follow
Speaker 1: the team at Miami Dolphins. You can check out the
Speaker 1: fish Tank Podcast. A really good episode with a Land
Speaker 1: and Roberts. They just put out I think it was
Speaker 1: last week. Don't miss that episode. Also check out our
Speaker 1: Twitter space is show when we come back to the air.
Speaker 1: We're taking a couple of weeks off. We'll be back
Speaker 1: I think before training camp to kind of give us
Speaker 1: a training camp preview type of episode if you will,
Speaker 1: so don't forget to miss that. Also the team YouTube
Speaker 1: channel for all of the drive time and fish Tank interviews,
Speaker 1: media availabilities, and Dolphins Today, and last but not least,
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins dot Com Until next time finds up Caroline
Speaker 1: Daddy He's coming home m hm.