Speaker 1: Down, Miami un What is up, Dolphans, And welcome to
Speaker 1: the Drive Time Podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins podcast network,
Speaker 1: covering your team, your Miami Dolphins. How's it going everybody?
Speaker 1: I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show,
Speaker 1: if you're getting tired of us talking about the skill
Speaker 1: players and the skinny guys that run around and catch
Speaker 1: passes on the outside, and the defensive playmakers in the secondary,
Speaker 1: well this is the podcast for you. We're getting into
Speaker 1: the offensive line, the big uglies, and we're doing it
Speaker 1: with an eight year NFL veteran and a legend at
Speaker 1: the University of Miami, Rashad Butler, joins us on Drive
Speaker 1: Time today to breakdown all things Dolphins offensive line. He's
Speaker 1: gonna tell us how much better he expects those second
Speaker 1: year players to get the impact of the rookies and
Speaker 1: Liam I can Burg, how Matt Skura fits in. All
Speaker 1: of that in a heck of a lot more on
Speaker 1: this edition of the Drivetime Podcast. So we had the
Speaker 1: schedule released podcast earlier this week, but today's episode of
Speaker 1: the podcast, we have a former NFL stud eight years
Speaker 1: in the league, former Miami Hurricane, former local radio guy,
Speaker 1: down here in South Florida. He knows the game, he
Speaker 1: knows the position, he knows this team, he knows this area.
Speaker 1: Let's not waste any more time. Welcome my guest in
Speaker 1: to this edition of Drive Time, Rashad Butler, and joining
Speaker 1: me now on the Drivetime podcast is former Hurricane star
Speaker 1: and eight year NFL veteran retired of course, Rashad Butler
Speaker 1: And Rashad, I think the last time I saw you,
Speaker 1: bro was the Heat game around Christmas twenty nineteen. It's
Speaker 1: been a minute. How the hell have you been? Man?
Speaker 1: I've been great, And it's funny, uh that because the
Speaker 1: last you saw me, I think I might have way
Speaker 1: maybe about uh two hundred and maybe ninety or eighty
Speaker 1: five pounds, and now I'm down or whopping forty forty
Speaker 1: pounds man, the two forty five man, listen, I have
Speaker 1: not been this light, uh since I can remember. I
Speaker 1: think the last time I might have been this light
Speaker 1: may have been when I first school in is like
Speaker 1: when I was just leaving middle school, just leaving middle school,
Speaker 1: I was going to suggest high school. Oh my goodness, man,
Speaker 1: I see those stories all the time. I think, like
Speaker 1: Nick Hardwick had a really good like post career transformation
Speaker 1: where he dropped a bunch of weight. First of all, congratulations,
Speaker 1: I probably get that out of the way first. But
Speaker 1: what did you do? Man? What was the secret, to
Speaker 1: be honest with you, So I watched this next Lick
Speaker 1: documentary called Game Changers, and it talked about the benefits
Speaker 1: of athletes as far as as far as high performing
Speaker 1: athletes UM going to a all plant but plant based diet,
Speaker 1: and so that really interested me, and I said, you
Speaker 1: know what, let me just ease into it, because one
Speaker 1: thing I've learned from prior experiences, it's always harder to
Speaker 1: kind of go full pledged into something rather than just
Speaker 1: easing into it. So I eased into it a little
Speaker 1: bit as far as eating more plant based foods here
Speaker 1: and there, and then I want to say, maybe within
Speaker 1: a month or so, I was, you know, still continue
Speaker 1: to work out. But within about a month or so
Speaker 1: I found out that I transferred to nothing but plant based.
Speaker 1: And now I've been all plant based since I want
Speaker 1: to say, maybe August two thousand and twenties, so August
Speaker 1: of last year, so I'm coming up on about a year.
Speaker 1: This August is crazy. You must feel incredible, like as
Speaker 1: far as the difference for just lethargic nous and being
Speaker 1: more active, like you have to feel incredible, I imagine,
Speaker 1: Oh no, I do. And it's crazy because I got
Speaker 1: my blood work done for the first time and I
Speaker 1: want to say maybe a few years, and my levels
Speaker 1: all around with everything was just outstanding. I Mean, the
Speaker 1: doctor looked at my bloods and said, he's like, listen,
Speaker 1: I don't know what you're doing, but whatever you're doing,
Speaker 1: keep it up. And it's funny because I remember watching
Speaker 1: the documentary and that was I think one of the
Speaker 1: main things a lot of the athletes that they documented
Speaker 1: sit on there was how their blow work was just amazing,
Speaker 1: just because it was just flowing a lot better throughout
Speaker 1: their entire body. Man, I watched a documentary a while
Speaker 1: back and they were talking about plant based diets and
Speaker 1: how it can combat serious disease. And from that moment
Speaker 1: and the more literature I come across or the more
Speaker 1: information I come across, it's it's the way to go.
Speaker 1: But I'm such a creature of habit and I'm so
Speaker 1: I almost wanted to addicted to certain foods you wouldn't
Speaker 1: know by looking at me, but meets a big part
Speaker 1: of that, man Like, it's it's so commendable to be
Speaker 1: able to make that step because it's like throwing away
Speaker 1: a lifestyle you've known, like you mentioned for so long.
Speaker 1: Especially a person like that has to you know, maintain
Speaker 1: a certain level of weight like you did for along.
Speaker 1: It's it's mind belong to me, man Like, congrats again,
Speaker 1: thanks man, Thanks of course. Let's let's talk about professionally now,
Speaker 1: like what's what's what's coming up for you down the
Speaker 1: pipe and what are you been up to? I know,
Speaker 1: I think we mentioned the last time we hung out
Speaker 1: was because we had to get to the Heat game
Speaker 1: from seven ninety. What are you doing these days? Well,
Speaker 1: the last time I was actively on the air, UH
Speaker 1: down in South Florida. And I say down in South
Speaker 1: Florida because I currently lived in West Palm Beach where
Speaker 1: I'm from. Was I want to say, you're right when
Speaker 1: the season ended because I was doing the post game
Speaker 1: for the Miami Dolphins and I was doing the pregame
Speaker 1: for the Miami Hurricane, So I watched a lot of
Speaker 1: UH Jalen Phillips and a lot of the other guys
Speaker 1: I got drafted his past year from the University of Miami.
Speaker 1: But currently now I'm a free agent, and I love
Speaker 1: it because I'm actually relocating to Arizona this summer. One
Speaker 1: thing about me, I'm accustomed to change to where I
Speaker 1: can't sit anywhere for a long period of time, Like
Speaker 1: if I feel stagnant, I feel like I have to decide, Okay,
Speaker 1: I need something new, I need a new challenge. So
Speaker 1: I've always loved Arizona, the Scott Stale Phoenix temper area,
Speaker 1: even when we first went out there in two thousand
Speaker 1: and three, when I played in the Fiesta Board. I mean,
Speaker 1: I hate to bring that that Bowl game up, but
Speaker 1: Scott Stale, I want to say, I think about a
Speaker 1: good seven or ten days. And then I just loved
Speaker 1: it out there, and I said, you know, when I
Speaker 1: get a chance, I want to live out here. And
Speaker 1: again I said that years ago, not knowing you know,
Speaker 1: if I was ever going to get that chance, And
Speaker 1: here it is. I have that chance, so I'm taking
Speaker 1: full advantage of it. You definitely prefer warmer climates, that
Speaker 1: is for sure. Absolutely absolutely absolutely, Listen, I had an opportunity. Uh,
Speaker 1: anyone that knows me knows I love Toronto. But man, yeah,
Speaker 1: they were winners. They're just it's too much, man, I said, Listen,
Speaker 1: I would just venture to Toronto in the summertime, whether
Speaker 1: it's not gonna happen. Not not gonna work here anymore,
Speaker 1: not going north to the border. I'm down here. It's
Speaker 1: a little bit toasty, but you know, I'm getting used
Speaker 1: to It's I always tell my wife if it's better
Speaker 1: than the thirty degree, you know, months we have back
Speaker 1: to back to back up there in the Northwest. So
Speaker 1: one thing you do not prefer, Rashad. In my first topic,
Speaker 1: I wanted to get into here and and you know
Speaker 1: before your real area of expertise on the offensive line.
Speaker 1: There's something I had to bring up to you because
Speaker 1: I know you're hot about it. It's the Jersey numbers. Now,
Speaker 1: aside from the traditionalist view, I was hoping you could
Speaker 1: explain for the people out there why this could make
Speaker 1: things a little more challenging when it comes to like
Speaker 1: on the football field, because personally at training camp, for instance,
Speaker 1: it's already very tough to keep track of ninety players
Speaker 1: running around and make notes and keep up and take
Speaker 1: good notes. But I think this will only increase the
Speaker 1: difficulty of that. So selfish selfishly because of that, you know,
Speaker 1: and trying to track substitutions from the press box from
Speaker 1: the opposing team on game day. I'll have the Dolphins
Speaker 1: numbers memorized, but the opposition is gonna be tough for me.
Speaker 1: So tell us how that might be a tough adjustment
Speaker 1: when it comes to on the field when you're trying
Speaker 1: to I d mic linebackers and find out where the
Speaker 1: Russians might be coming from, Like, what's what's the biggest
Speaker 1: hang up you have there? So the first team that
Speaker 1: I knew of that really started to tinker with the
Speaker 1: jersey numbers on the defensive s oude of the ball
Speaker 1: were the Baltimore Ravens when they had Rex Ryan and
Speaker 1: uh Marvin Lewis, and they used to have a lot
Speaker 1: of their edge rushers that were in I guess typically
Speaker 1: um identified as outside linebackers with you know these anxiety
Speaker 1: like you know, linebacker numbers and numbers and the forties
Speaker 1: and things of that nature. And what it did was
Speaker 1: it caused a lot of confusion because they were so
Speaker 1: good at putting guys at different spots. As far as
Speaker 1: you know, they may have a guy with the forty
Speaker 1: something number lined up right over the nose tackle. But
Speaker 1: you knew, like that guy's not that guy's not a
Speaker 1: linebacker because you know, just his body type was a
Speaker 1: little bit bigger. So it causes a lot of confusion
Speaker 1: for the offensive line, for the quarterback to make ideas
Speaker 1: and adjustments and so forth. And again, like I said,
Speaker 1: that was the first team I remember back when I
Speaker 1: was playing that did it, and it really cost a
Speaker 1: lot of consternation for us. And I mean we spent
Speaker 1: a lot of hours in our meeting rooms leading up to, uh,
Speaker 1: that game, just you know, trying to create certain rules
Speaker 1: for you know, certain I mean for certain jersey numbers.
Speaker 1: So it causes a lot of consternation. Or like I said,
Speaker 1: the office line in the quarterback. It makes a ton
Speaker 1: of sense that Rex Ryan would do that because he
Speaker 1: was kind of incorrect me if I'm wrong here, but
Speaker 1: one of the originators of that Amba package where you
Speaker 1: kind of yeah, so perfect. It makes total sense that
Speaker 1: he would go for that. That's actually really smart, so perfect,
Speaker 1: but you know, to kind of tie us back together, Rashad,
Speaker 1: I was gonna make this comment to you before I
Speaker 1: learned about your weight loss. But I was going to
Speaker 1: compliment you and say, I think you could rock the
Speaker 1: single digit just fine. Now get my man the number
Speaker 1: eight jersey. So when he goes out and pancakes number seven,
Speaker 1: me two on the other side of the ball. That
Speaker 1: looks funky in the jersey numbers. But we know who's
Speaker 1: really doing the work there. But know, let's let's go
Speaker 1: ahead and transition here into what we really want to
Speaker 1: talk to you about, Rashad is it's the offensive line
Speaker 1: and jump into one season. These Dolphins have been very
Speaker 1: busy this offseason. Actually, before we get to the offensive
Speaker 1: and let's do this, let's let's give me your comprehensive
Speaker 1: Dolphins offseason thoughts. What did you think about the direction
Speaker 1: of this team now? Is they're kind of heading into
Speaker 1: the third season under Brian Flora's Yep, you high on them,
Speaker 1: you're low on them? Where do you come in on
Speaker 1: this Dolphins operation? I'm high And the reason I'm high
Speaker 1: is because, like myself, I'm a big planner and I
Speaker 1: like to stick to my plan and I just respect
Speaker 1: so much what Career and Flores both have done as
Speaker 1: a partnership as far as mapping out a plan from
Speaker 1: day one. When Brian Flores was higher and sticking to
Speaker 1: that plan. And I know for a lot of fans, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, when they see guys like Caliban Nooy get cut,
Speaker 1: guys like Shaq loss and get cut, it makes them
Speaker 1: kind of, you know, say, I don't like that cut
Speaker 1: makes no sense. But again, these two has these two
Speaker 1: have had a plan I'm referring to Greer and Flores
Speaker 1: from day one, and they're sticking to that plan. I
Speaker 1: think that plan is maximizing the value at every position
Speaker 1: and at the same time building depth. And when Flores
Speaker 1: came in, I think Flores what he was trying to
Speaker 1: do was he was trying to find that, Okay, how
Speaker 1: many guys can I acquire for the cheap and find
Speaker 1: out who really wants to play this brand of football
Speaker 1: offensively and defensively. And once he found out out, he
Speaker 1: kept a lot of those guys. You know, we saw
Speaker 1: last year he brought a lot of guys in that
Speaker 1: he felt um could play that type of football. But
Speaker 1: at the same time, you know, I think Chris Greer
Speaker 1: was there to be uh, fiscally smart and say listen,
Speaker 1: you know this is what we want to do, and
Speaker 1: you know we're gonna do it, and we may make
Speaker 1: some tough decisions that people may not like, but at
Speaker 1: the end of the day, if it's bettering our team,
Speaker 1: and what I mean by that is if we're able
Speaker 1: to let cut loose off a guy like Calivan Noor,
Speaker 1: who was a great team leader and played some great
Speaker 1: vould here for the Miami Dolphins in that one year.
Speaker 1: But at the same time, you know, we need to
Speaker 1: get a guy like Andrew ban Gikle, who's a lot younger,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, who is you know, entering
Speaker 1: the prime of his NFL career more snaps. So again,
Speaker 1: I get it. So I love everything they've done thus far,
Speaker 1: and I think the future is very, very bright for
Speaker 1: this organization. For those of you that are new to
Speaker 1: Drive Time or you know, never heard Locked on Dolphins,
Speaker 1: I used to do radio with Zack and Rashad weekly.
Speaker 1: It seemed like Rashade we were always talking. And I'm
Speaker 1: telling you like that, it's kind of feeling like it's
Speaker 1: coming back right now because what you just described was
Speaker 1: the thesis of this monologue I had on Wednesday's podcast.
Speaker 1: We're recording this podcast on Tuesday. It comes out Friday.
Speaker 1: You're gonna hear it. But the last podcast I did,
Speaker 1: I talked about what you just talked about, and you
Speaker 1: were way way more concise than I was. So good
Speaker 1: on you for that. But man, I'm so excited. And
Speaker 1: of course a lot of those moves and activity have
Speaker 1: come up front on the offensive line again, your bread
Speaker 1: and butter. Eight years in the NFL. Let's go ahead
Speaker 1: and start and break this thing down with the newcomers.
Speaker 1: And let's go ahead and start with the draft. Second down,
Speaker 1: forty second pick in the draft, Dophins come up eight
Speaker 1: spots to select Notre Dame's Liam Eichenberg, and I want
Speaker 1: to just get your break down his game, like what
Speaker 1: do you think he does best? Working to use some improvement?
Speaker 1: Where does he factor into this team? And I have
Speaker 1: to imagine, Rashad, you are a fan of the technique
Speaker 1: of this kid. Listen, you hit it right on the head.
Speaker 1: I was gonna say that because one thing about me,
Speaker 1: I wasn't the biggest guy anyone that knows my career.
Speaker 1: I played in the Shanahan and Kubiak system, which is
Speaker 1: very wide zone heavy, and a lot of us up front,
Speaker 1: you know, we were at the most maybe I would
Speaker 1: say three ten or lighter. I think the biggest guy
Speaker 1: we had at the time was Dwayne Brown, who I
Speaker 1: think it was like three twenty. But you know, being
Speaker 1: that light, you'd have to play with great technique. And
Speaker 1: when I watch uh Liam Eichenberg, he just plays with
Speaker 1: great technique and he's consistent with it, man, And you know,
Speaker 1: he's a guy that he's not an overly big guy.
Speaker 1: And I was surprised that the Dolphins, you know, drafted
Speaker 1: him so high because you know, if you look at
Speaker 1: with the Dolphins, I guess look for in the office
Speaker 1: a linement, they look for guys that are big, like
Speaker 1: guys that are about three twenty plus, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean. I think the smallest guy right now is
Speaker 1: what Matt Skurrett, if I'm not mistaken, But I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, other than that, I mean, everybody else is
Speaker 1: like about three plus, you know. So I was surprised
Speaker 1: when they got him. But you know, the more I
Speaker 1: watched his film, and you know, I got a chance
Speaker 1: to watch him a little bit throughout the season, I said, listen,
Speaker 1: it makes sense because this guy is technically sound. And
Speaker 1: one thing I believe along your offensive line is your
Speaker 1: tackles have to be not only athletic, but they have
Speaker 1: to be the most technically sound along the line of
Speaker 1: scrimmage because those guys are going up against some freak athletes,
Speaker 1: whether it's you know, outside linebacker standing up, whether it's
Speaker 1: you know, defensive ends who look like Miles Garrett who
Speaker 1: can run you know, a fourth six, four five and
Speaker 1: a forty. So you need those guys to be technically
Speaker 1: sound consistently. He's gonna get some education through Manual Agball
Speaker 1: and Jayleen Phillips too, because we talked about the athletic
Speaker 1: ability of Phillips. My goodness, that dude can bend, he
Speaker 1: can he can run the arc. He's got an arsenal
Speaker 1: of pass rush moves. That's for another podcast from the
Speaker 1: other day. But you talk about leam Meikenberg gets. I'm
Speaker 1: glad you you mentioned the size thing because you know
Speaker 1: you mentioned three twenty. That's about where Austin Jackson is,
Speaker 1: Rob Hunts pushing three thirty, Solomon Kinley's three forty, d J.
Speaker 1: Fluker three forty, and Eric Flowers was here last year
Speaker 1: was also in that same range. So he's different. But
Speaker 1: like you mentioned, I think he was probably, if not
Speaker 1: the top on the top two or three plug and
Speaker 1: play tackles in this class, so I have to imagine
Speaker 1: he gets a real good shot to start at right
Speaker 1: tackle on opening day. We go to the end of
Speaker 1: the draft and the other side of the offensive line.
Speaker 1: Larnel Coleman played left tackle at ums Rashot. I'm not
Speaker 1: sure if he got much U Mass taping you over
Speaker 1: the time we talked about this podcast. But this kid's
Speaker 1: an athletic player, played basketball, has a crazy wingspan. What
Speaker 1: do you notice in his game? You know, I haven't
Speaker 1: got a chance to watch any U Mass film, but
Speaker 1: I did some research on him and the one thing
Speaker 1: that stands out to me and I have this this issue,
Speaker 1: which is a good issue to have when you're playing
Speaker 1: UH tackle in the UH in the NFL, this he
Speaker 1: has some long arms, and you want your tackles to
Speaker 1: have arm a limp because that is very important when,
Speaker 1: like I said, you're responsible for creating the width of
Speaker 1: the pocket. And one thing I heard UH in the
Speaker 1: interview you did with him that I think makes a
Speaker 1: lot of sense. And I encourage more offensive alignment to
Speaker 1: go this route when they are younger, and I understand
Speaker 1: it's kind of hard to I guess, no, you're gonna
Speaker 1: play offensive line you grow up because no one wants
Speaker 1: to play that position. But you know, I remember him
Speaker 1: saying in your interview that he looked like he looked
Speaker 1: at the offensive line position more to playing defensive basketball.
Speaker 1: And it is because a lot of my great footwork
Speaker 1: that I had throughout my career came from playing basketball. Uh.
Speaker 1: After I played baseball, I played basketball for quite some time.
Speaker 1: I played basketball a little bit in high school, in
Speaker 1: and so forth. Then, Uh, I actually accustomed my great
Speaker 1: you know, footwork uh throughout my career. Uh, I mean
Speaker 1: due to that time playing BASKETBA on. So when you
Speaker 1: say that, I said, listen, I said, I know for
Speaker 1: a fact this kid is going to be able to
Speaker 1: mirror a lot of great athletes that play on the
Speaker 1: outside that he's gonna be going up against the NFL.
Speaker 1: I love the way he put it. He talked about
Speaker 1: it's like it's like playing defense where you stay in
Speaker 1: between your man the basket. It's like staying between your
Speaker 1: man and the quarterback. That's all it is. I actually
Speaker 1: heard I think it was Daniel Jeremias and the exact
Speaker 1: same thing about leam Meikenberg. Like you're gonna find him
Speaker 1: between your quarterback in the past rusher and that's the
Speaker 1: only thing you can do as an offensive lineman. So
Speaker 1: it's a it's a cool philosophy. I think he's got.
Speaker 1: He definitely has some developing to do. Obviously, U mass
Speaker 1: kid kind of raw rough around the edges, but he's
Speaker 1: in a good program for it, Lemille John Pierre is
Speaker 1: a good coach for it. So looking forward to seeing
Speaker 1: what he can do this season. Like I told you earlier,
Speaker 1: training camp was only a few months away. Man, I
Speaker 1: can't wait to see this freaking team on the field.
Speaker 1: I can't wait. And so and two more reasons, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm excited about it. A couple more editions on the
Speaker 1: offensive line, and we go to Baltimore, a couple of
Speaker 1: guys that defected from Baltimore that's the right word. I
Speaker 1: don't know. But Matt Scurry, you mentioned him earlier in
Speaker 1: the pivot center the center position, kind of a position
Speaker 1: shing that this team, maybe him and maybe Michael Dieter
Speaker 1: could compete for that spot. Will find out what happens.
Speaker 1: But I wentn't back and watched his tape in twenty nineteen.
Speaker 1: He was a damn good player, just kind of ran
Speaker 1: some snap issues last year. What you see on tape
Speaker 1: with Matt Skura very physical, uh, And I like this.
Speaker 1: I have nothing against Ted Carriss. I think Ted Carress
Speaker 1: did a great job last year as far as holding
Speaker 1: that offensive line together and getting guys along the offensive
Speaker 1: line on the right guys, because I think Ted Carress
Speaker 1: showed that he was very, very smart. And I think,
Speaker 1: you know, Matt Skurrett is a very smart singer as well,
Speaker 1: because listen, to play in the NFL at that position,
Speaker 1: you have to be a smart guy. Mean, you have
Speaker 1: to know everything about the opposing defense as much as
Speaker 1: the quarterback does. The guy who you're snapping the ball to,
Speaker 1: like you and him have to be on the same page.
Speaker 1: But I just think Matt Skurrett plays a more physical
Speaker 1: brand of football, the brand of football that I think
Speaker 1: Brian Floydes and Chris Greer want to play. Up front.
Speaker 1: You're starting to see it. And the guys that they
Speaker 1: not only drafted last year, but the guys that they
Speaker 1: drafted this year, uh, and even the guys that they
Speaker 1: brought in as far as Matt Scara and d J Fluku,
Speaker 1: I think is a very very physical guy. I think,
Speaker 1: you know my only right with d J flu Gridge.
Speaker 1: You know, at times I think he tries to use
Speaker 1: his physicality too much and he kind of gets beat
Speaker 1: by a lot of quicker guys. But listen, once he
Speaker 1: gets his hands on you, I mean, it's a wrap, man,
Speaker 1: It is a rap. So I like what the Darkness
Speaker 1: are doing because again I think they mapped out a
Speaker 1: plan by saying, listen, we want a physical offensive line
Speaker 1: with beef that is going to be able to not
Speaker 1: only protect our quarterback, but move guys off the ball
Speaker 1: and take over a game late in the third quarter,
Speaker 1: early in the fourth quarter. And they're doing that with
Speaker 1: the guys they brought in and DJ signed last year
Speaker 1: to play for a team that just runs the ball
Speaker 1: down your throw. Obviously where Matt came from too. That's
Speaker 1: kind of what they do, right. They pushed guys off
Speaker 1: the football, they create space. I saw a tape against Steelers,
Speaker 1: I think it was last year, and Matt Skura had
Speaker 1: reps against you know, uh, Cameron Heyward inside. He was
Speaker 1: winning those reps and getting out on the edge against
Speaker 1: t J. Watton went in some of those reps too,
Speaker 1: So it's it's it's there. We just gotta find out
Speaker 1: if we can can cultivate it and get it to
Speaker 1: come come to fruition down here in Miami. Now, those
Speaker 1: are the newcomers, along with Robert Jones, an undrafted free
Speaker 1: agent out of Middle Tennessee State who Emery Hunt was
Speaker 1: on the podcast and he was very, very pumped up
Speaker 1: about him last week. Cameron tom is an interesting futurist
Speaker 1: contract signing this offseason as well. I'm curious to get
Speaker 1: a good look at him and training camp. Let's go
Speaker 1: ahead and jump to that part of the calendar a
Speaker 1: shot again. Training camp. It's like opening new gifts, man.
Speaker 1: You get to see all these products you've invested into
Speaker 1: and in terms of getting to know their game, their trajectory,
Speaker 1: and that's where I think this really starts with this group.
Speaker 1: And let's go ahead and start with those big three
Speaker 1: from last year who I think are really going to
Speaker 1: determine how good this offensive line can be. Two very
Speaker 1: highly drafted kids in Austin Jackson and Robert Hunt, and
Speaker 1: then also Solomon Killy in the fourth round, who might
Speaker 1: have had the best rookie season of the three. We'll
Speaker 1: go ahead and start with Austin though first year are
Speaker 1: all left tackle reps ups and downs. I think he
Speaker 1: came back off the injury and maybe struggle a little bit,
Speaker 1: but then picked it back up. What did you see
Speaker 1: from his game and what about his game gave you
Speaker 1: a bunch of confidence going forward? Well, first off, you know,
Speaker 1: I have to commend the way that all three of
Speaker 1: those guys played because I came into the league where, uh,
Speaker 1: the only time you were playing it was two instances,
Speaker 1: whether you were drafted in the first round. Because back
Speaker 1: then when I came in in two thousands and six
Speaker 1: guys in the second round, third round and in and
Speaker 1: uh and and lower, those guys weren't playing unless someone
Speaker 1: got injured, which is my second you know scenario. But
Speaker 1: nowadays you're seeing guys like Solomon Ckinley who were drafted
Speaker 1: in the fourth round, who were you know, getting a
Speaker 1: lot of reps. But to stay on Austin Jackson, one
Speaker 1: thing I think he did very well this year was
Speaker 1: used his athleticism to his advantage. I mean, there was
Speaker 1: times where he was out of position, but the guy
Speaker 1: is just so athletic for his size. He was able
Speaker 1: to recover. And again, I don't think a lot of
Speaker 1: fans understand how hard it is to come in the
Speaker 1: league that is just full of talent in a high
Speaker 1: performing business, and to be a rookie and have to play,
Speaker 1: you know, the toughest position on the offensive line. So
Speaker 1: I think he held his own. I mean again, I mean,
Speaker 1: he had growing pains, but that's expected when you have
Speaker 1: a rookie playing that position that's entrenched as the starter
Speaker 1: pretty much, uh for day one. I mean I would
Speaker 1: say this. I think one thing he can improve on
Speaker 1: is just becoming more technically sound consistently as far as
Speaker 1: in the passing game, because there were times, you know,
Speaker 1: we've seen that Denver game where you know, hey, I
Speaker 1: mean I like to say he was in the matrix.
Speaker 1: I mean it happens to every young player to where
Speaker 1: you know, you have one bad weapon. It's just it's
Speaker 1: it's snowballs, you know what I mean. But I think
Speaker 1: for him, with his athleticism and the experience he has,
Speaker 1: if he can just refine his technique to become a
Speaker 1: consistent uh past blockers, then I think Sky's limit. Because
Speaker 1: in the running game, he malls people in a running game,
Speaker 1: he really does, so this guy's remember for him, it
Speaker 1: started earlier in that Denver game for him the first
Speaker 1: rep he got beat. I think it, like you mentioned,
Speaker 1: a kind of snowball from there, and that's a great
Speaker 1: pass rushing team with an even better defensive coordinator or
Speaker 1: a guy that calls the defense and Vic Fangio, so
Speaker 1: it took to be expected. You also mentioned the fact
Speaker 1: that you know his technique could do some refinement. Thirty
Speaker 1: youngest player in the NFL last year, he's twenty one
Speaker 1: years old, so you have to imagine that gets better
Speaker 1: as well. So I'm encouraged. Like you mentioned, let's go
Speaker 1: ahead and move on to the next guy I want
Speaker 1: to talk about here, the other side, and maybe he
Speaker 1: kicks him to guard this year, maybe he plays tackle.
Speaker 1: We'll find out again in August. Rob Hunt and I thought,
Speaker 1: you know, towards the end of the year, I mentioned
Speaker 1: that on a previous podcast. I recently rewatched all the
Speaker 1: December games, and the offense kind of hit a wall.
Speaker 1: And that was not just the offensive line, it was
Speaker 1: everybody like that. The skill players kind of started getting injured,
Speaker 1: and the offensive line kind of gave up more pressures,
Speaker 1: and the quarterback play kind of dropped off a little bit.
Speaker 1: Just was a rough offensive month for this team, and
Speaker 1: they wind up ten and six, just on the outside
Speaker 1: of the playoffs. But I thought Rob Hunt of that
Speaker 1: group was one guy that kind of a set ended
Speaker 1: through that back end of the season. Did you see
Speaker 1: the same thing? No, I did. I think, you know,
Speaker 1: for him, I think he benefited so much from you know,
Speaker 1: he came in from a I don't want to say
Speaker 1: lower level school, but you know, he came in from
Speaker 1: a school that wasn't playing top tier competition on a
Speaker 1: weekly basis, as in Austin Jackson and Uh Solomon uh
Speaker 1: did as far as that USC and Georgia. So I
Speaker 1: think the Daarphins said, you know what, we he's this
Speaker 1: guy in. I mean, hey, if he comes out guns blazing,
Speaker 1: then we'll start him from week one. But I don't
Speaker 1: think that was the case. You know, I think he
Speaker 1: had his growing pains in training camp, but I think
Speaker 1: what he did was he said, you know what I'm
Speaker 1: gonna learn, I'm gonna get better each and every day.
Speaker 1: And I think Brian Flores and that coaching staff they
Speaker 1: saw that in the minute. They felt like, Okay, this guy,
Speaker 1: he's reaching his stride. We're gonna put him in there
Speaker 1: and we saw it because I mean the San Francisco
Speaker 1: gamm I mean he's going up against the guy and
Speaker 1: Eric Armstead, which you know, I think he did a
Speaker 1: great job as a Rickie facing a guy that, you know,
Speaker 1: I mean could have easily been all the pro. I mean,
Speaker 1: I don't know if he was or not, but I mean, hey,
Speaker 1: I mean he's a guy that could have been easily
Speaker 1: in the discussion to be a defensive all produce here.
Speaker 1: And I just think from that game forward, I mean,
Speaker 1: he just gained confidence and he just took off with it.
Speaker 1: And I think he is the one among those, uh
Speaker 1: those other two that I think he had the best
Speaker 1: season as a rookie as far as you know, from
Speaker 1: the time he stepped in until the end of the season.
Speaker 1: He his first rep was a long arm pass rush
Speaker 1: from Toronto from Eric Armstead, I'm sorry, and he just
Speaker 1: handled it. He put him on the ground. I was like, wow,
Speaker 1: first rap as an NFL pro as far as he
Speaker 1: came off the bench for a couple of heavy packages
Speaker 1: early on, but that was his first start and I
Speaker 1: was like, WHOA that starts alarming um real quick. Before
Speaker 1: he jump onto Solomon Kindley here. You know, if he
Speaker 1: does make that move from right tackle to right guard
Speaker 1: in a second season, you know, with your experience were shot.
Speaker 1: How difficult is that to make a position change you
Speaker 1: know early in your career. Is it as hard as
Speaker 1: folks want to make it out to be. Is a
Speaker 1: little bit easier? Like what do you think? To me?
Speaker 1: It depends on if you took those type reps in college.
Speaker 1: So for me, I didn't have a hard time switching
Speaker 1: from right to left tackle because in college, before I
Speaker 1: became a starter, I was doing a lot of cross training.
Speaker 1: So even though I became a starter at right tackle, uh,
Speaker 1: there were times in practice that you know, if I
Speaker 1: wasn't taking started reps that right tackle, I was taking
Speaker 1: start reps that left tackle just in case someone got hurt.
Speaker 1: So again, I'm pretty sure he played played a little
Speaker 1: bit of both in college. Now, again, I don't know
Speaker 1: if Miami was cross training him and practice throughout the season,
Speaker 1: But for him, I don't think the transition should be hard.
Speaker 1: But I had. I do know this, going from tackle
Speaker 1: to guard if you're physical, and one thing about Robert
Speaker 1: Hunt that I love is he is just so damn physical,
Speaker 1: is that it should be easier because the action starts
Speaker 1: a lot faster. Usually at tackle guys that are very,
Speaker 1: very physical, they have a hard time being paid to
Speaker 1: be patient because action doesn't come to you as fast
Speaker 1: as a Dolles room playing guard. So I for a
Speaker 1: guy as physical as him, I think the transit is
Speaker 1: gonna be easier because it's gonna be able to give
Speaker 1: calls and those big big mits on you know, guys
Speaker 1: like Aaron Donald and somebody in somebody's great studs at
Speaker 1: the three technique that he's gonna be going going up against.
Speaker 1: It makes a lot of sense because you know usually
Speaker 1: that that edge rusher off the off the outside can
Speaker 1: be in that wide nine technique, and so you have
Speaker 1: to kind of get that vertical set and get yourself
Speaker 1: in a position where you can then kind of wait
Speaker 1: for him to draw the hands out and throw the punch.
Speaker 1: And I'm sure it gets challenging out there, and some
Speaker 1: guys are good at taking that wide nine turning into
Speaker 1: a tight five. But as a rookie was so much
Speaker 1: going on, maybe that's a lot to ask for. Now
Speaker 1: you talk about going from one side of the offensive
Speaker 1: line to the other, and Solomon Kinley for his credit
Speaker 1: in college played both sides, but his best production in
Speaker 1: college was at left guard. I think the easy idea
Speaker 1: here as far as what we might project, is that
Speaker 1: he does make the switch to left guard, and then
Speaker 1: Rob Hunt plays right right, Solomon's left guard, Robert's right guard,
Speaker 1: and then Eikenberg right tackle. I think maybe best k Senaril.
Speaker 1: We'll see what happens, but if he does make that move,
Speaker 1: that could be a possibility. What you're seeing his rookie
Speaker 1: season and where and he get better. Well, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: say this as well too. I think all three of
Speaker 1: those guys do a great job of finishing and playing
Speaker 1: to the whistle and sometimes beyond the whistle. But man,
Speaker 1: the one guy who does it the most is Solomont.
Speaker 1: I used to love watching him, man, because listen, I
Speaker 1: know how it is being down there on those trenches
Speaker 1: and those guys on the opposite opposite of the ball,
Speaker 1: whether it's a defensive lineman or a linebacker, they do
Speaker 1: not like offensive lineman finishing to the whistle and sometimes
Speaker 1: going beyond the whistle. But he made so many people upset,
Speaker 1: and you saw it. I'll say this, I even saw
Speaker 1: on the TV copy. It was hilarious. But I love
Speaker 1: that about him because that's something that you can't coach.
Speaker 1: You just can't. Either guy hazard or a guy doesn't.
Speaker 1: And that's one thing I love about his game is
Speaker 1: that you know with him, you know he make you beat.
Speaker 1: He may be in the wrong position at times, or
Speaker 1: actually say, you know, he may have guys in the
Speaker 1: wrong position, but you know that once he gets his
Speaker 1: hands on you, he's going to finish until the times,
Speaker 1: even after the whistle. And I love that because, like
Speaker 1: I just said, that's something that you can't coach. Either
Speaker 1: guys have it or they don't. Brandon Thorne does a
Speaker 1: bunch of good stuff on Twitter and he also has
Speaker 1: a website. I'm drawing a blank on the name, but
Speaker 1: he's been. He's been on the podcast before. He always
Speaker 1: clips off what he calls hashtag punished jumpers when God
Speaker 1: trying to bat the ball down and Solomon is on
Speaker 1: there so often putting guys on their backside. And it's
Speaker 1: like you said, it's seen that a couple of times. Listen,
Speaker 1: he had one agift New England that was nasty, nasty man.
Speaker 1: I think yeah, I think yeah. Another one earlier in
Speaker 1: the year against I think it was Buffalo that was nasty.
Speaker 1: Too many remember that one. Yeah, it's so like I'm
Speaker 1: sure it's been for you, but for me, like I
Speaker 1: don't really jump out of my chair watching offensive line
Speaker 1: play a lot like I used just appreciate it, like
Speaker 1: I'm not freaking out. But with him it's different, like
Speaker 1: I'm always like, oh yes, like I love it. It's
Speaker 1: fun to watch man, all right, Rashan. We've covered even
Speaker 1: of the guys up front. I believe as far as
Speaker 1: you know, incumbents and newcomers, and I want to go
Speaker 1: ahead and make sure we mentioned Jesse Davis for his leadership,
Speaker 1: versatility and what he's meant to this team since he
Speaker 1: got here. Michael Dieter, good depth last year, he's back,
Speaker 1: Tyler Gothier go tier. I hope I pronounced that right,
Speaker 1: Jonathan Hubbard. We have mentioned Robert Jones, Adam Panky had
Speaker 1: some snaps last year in heavy personnel, Dervall kierrez Neto,
Speaker 1: and I also mentioned Cameron tom Fifteen players in total.
Speaker 1: So here, I'm gonna put you to the screws, Rashod.
Speaker 1: What's your projection? What you got for an opening day?
Speaker 1: Who makes the opening day roster and who are your
Speaker 1: starting five? Okay, so my starting five, I'm gonna go
Speaker 1: from left to right. I think it's going to be
Speaker 1: and this is barring no injury doing training camp. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna go with Austin Jackson, uh, Solomon Kinley, Matt Skierra,
Speaker 1: Robert Hunt, and I'm going to finish off with Liam Aickenberg.
Speaker 1: And I think the two players that are going to
Speaker 1: be dressing um on game day. Um, it's just I know,
Speaker 1: because you know, you need a guy that can snap,
Speaker 1: that has the ability to snap. And I'm gonna say this, Um,
Speaker 1: I think d J. Fluker is a big body, strong guy,
Speaker 1: and I don't see them bringing him in to just
Speaker 1: let him go unless he just bombs out in training camp.
Speaker 1: I don't see that happening. I think he's gonna be
Speaker 1: uh that one guy that is going to be pretty
Speaker 1: much pretty much pretty much, I can play both guards.
Speaker 1: And I'm gonna say Jesse Davis because I think Jesse
Speaker 1: Davis just has a lot of versatility. And I know
Speaker 1: Jesse Davis has taken some, uh taking some some center snaps.
Speaker 1: Now ideally you don't want Jesse taking center snaps, but
Speaker 1: I think if you have to Um, I think he's
Speaker 1: a guy that you know you can count on because
Speaker 1: he's a guy that literally has played every position along
Speaker 1: the office the line. And again, I know there's some
Speaker 1: people that may think that Jesse David's time might be up,
Speaker 1: and I'll say this, I believe that and would have
Speaker 1: been up if he wasn't as versatile as he is.
Speaker 1: But you're talking about a guy that can literally play
Speaker 1: every position along the officer line. For me, that has
Speaker 1: to be one of the guys that is going to
Speaker 1: dress on game that that's not gonna be a starter.
Speaker 1: And like I said, the reason I believe in DJ
Speaker 1: Flucker because he's just a big body guy that fits
Speaker 1: the mold that they want. I mean, I don't see
Speaker 1: him beating out either Robert Hunt or Solomon Kinley. If
Speaker 1: he does, more power to him. But I think he's
Speaker 1: a guy that can come in if either one of
Speaker 1: those guys go down with some type of injury. So, again,
Speaker 1: for the listeners, I go up from left to right,
Speaker 1: Austin Jackson, Solomon Kinley, Mascara UM, Robert Hunt, Liam Eichenberg,
Speaker 1: and the two guys dressing on game day. I would say, uh,
Speaker 1: D J Flucker and Jesse Davison. Again, I know at
Speaker 1: times they did dress eight, So I mean, if they
Speaker 1: want to dress eight, then I'll say it has to
Speaker 1: be Michael Deater. But I mean I wouldn't be surprised
Speaker 1: if Theater is a guy that you know he just
Speaker 1: cut bait with, because I mean, it is a business.
Speaker 1: But at the same time, if they want to dress, say,
Speaker 1: I think that's the guy that you know you can
Speaker 1: count on to to take to take center snaps. If
Speaker 1: Skirrit has his snapping snapping issues again, or if he
Speaker 1: just goes down with the injury. That's my starting five.
Speaker 1: That's my top eight two, and I would probably I
Speaker 1: would probably go Larnel Coleman is nine just because of
Speaker 1: the upside and development. I think you can probably be
Speaker 1: one of those guys like you mentioned that doesn't dress,
Speaker 1: but he's protected from the practice squads, he doesn't get plucked.
Speaker 1: That's that's a great group there. I think you mentioned
Speaker 1: the versatility was the keyword you mentioned there, because like
Speaker 1: Fluker can play swing tackle and swing guard right like
Speaker 1: he can play four spots. You mentioned Jesse Davis last year,
Speaker 1: every time they came out for practice, three guys, three quarterbacks, right,
Speaker 1: That's how it always goes. Ted Carress, Michael Deater, and
Speaker 1: Jesse Davis was the third center snapping to the to
Speaker 1: read tonet third string quarterback, so there is some cross
Speaker 1: train there. He could play that position. I think that's
Speaker 1: the way to go. It's I love it, Rashade, because
Speaker 1: you go back just two years ago. Those guys you're
Speaker 1: talking about, Michael Dieter and Jesse Davis, they were like
Speaker 1: penciled in as sure fire starters. Now they're competing for
Speaker 1: maybe fifth, six, seven eight jobs on the roster. It
Speaker 1: just speaks and like you mentioned earlier, the depth this
Speaker 1: team has built over the last couple of years. So again, Man,
Speaker 1: I'm super excited. Thank you so much for joining me today.
Speaker 1: Man Rashaan Butler, former Hurricane start eight year NFL veteran Rashan,
Speaker 1: We appreciate both your time and expertise so much. Thank
Speaker 1: you for dropping the knowledge on us. Where can the
Speaker 1: folks find you on social men, they can find me.
Speaker 1: I'm on Twitter at Rashad r A s h A
Speaker 1: d jamal j A m A A L b uh.
Speaker 1: Don't be afraid to interact with me. I don't interact
Speaker 1: as much anymore. Because we're at it. It did period
Speaker 1: as far as in the off season. But you know,
Speaker 1: if I do have something on my mind that I
Speaker 1: mean that's even Dolphins related or football related. Uh, I'm
Speaker 1: not afraid to speak it. But other than that, that's
Speaker 1: where you can find me at great follow up, great resource.
Speaker 1: I mean, won't hold it against you that I moved
Speaker 1: down here and you moved to the West coast right
Speaker 1: when I get down here. Man, listen, listen this. You
Speaker 1: gotta tell me how it is waking up at what
Speaker 1: nine o'clock to NFL games. Man, I gotta get used
Speaker 1: to that. Man. I think the older you get, the
Speaker 1: better against because you're kind of up earlier, you're kind
Speaker 1: of doing stuff. So when I was twenty one, didn't
Speaker 1: like it so much. Now I kind of like, alright, man,
Speaker 1: thanks again with sh I'll be well, my friend, no
Speaker 1: problem man, and away he goes. Always a fun podcast.
Speaker 1: Talking to overshot here on the Drive Time podcast. I
Speaker 1: want to finish up and read a couple of reviews
Speaker 1: here you guys left for us on Apple podcast. I
Speaker 1: appreciate you guys. Doing this for us helps us climb
Speaker 1: the podcast charts, gets us more discoverability more listens all
Speaker 1: that fun stuff. This one from sun iran Desert doll fan.
Speaker 1: What more can you ask for? Travis and his team
Speaker 1: give you all the information a doll fhan needs to
Speaker 1: stay up and up to speed on what the team
Speaker 1: is doing to get back to the top tiers in
Speaker 1: the league. He is smart, witty, and enthusiastic. Most important
Speaker 1: of all the research and work that goes into every
Speaker 1: podcast speaks to his professional approach that Travis takes to
Speaker 1: his job. Hashtag fins up. I can't appreciate that more
Speaker 1: than I do. Man like, thank you so much, because
Speaker 1: that is the goal of this podcast is to be
Speaker 1: the most most informed Dolphins podcast. I went to the
Speaker 1: Panthers game earlier this week with video and people from
Speaker 1: different departments of the stadium, and somebody was debating me
Speaker 1: in football and one of our video guys goes, why
Speaker 1: are you debating with Travis? The guy watches like forty
Speaker 1: hours of film a week. So I was so appreciative
Speaker 1: of that, just because of the acknowledgment. And we do
Speaker 1: put a lot of work into the podcast, and it's
Speaker 1: not just me, like you mentioned, the whole team here
Speaker 1: does a great job. Great content from Florio hater on
Speaker 1: on Apple Podcast. I followed you for years, Travis, and
Speaker 1: I'm so happy you're living your dream. Your delivery of
Speaker 1: the content is a plus, and your growth over the
Speaker 1: years has been phenomenal. Congrats on your continued success and
Speaker 1: a great show. Thank you very much for that. This
Speaker 1: one from Wheels roll In the real deal, he says,
Speaker 1: has been of Dolphins fan since nineteen seventy. Travis is
Speaker 1: the real deal covering the fish. We are lucky to
Speaker 1: have this cat covering our team. Go get him, Travis.
Speaker 1: Just listen to the podcast with Coach Flores. Great interview.
Speaker 1: I get nervous listening to Coach Flora's and you are unwavering.
Speaker 1: He's just the best coach. I was definitely intimidated because
Speaker 1: Coach does have a presence to him. But that podcast
Speaker 1: was great. It was great fun stuff. Alright, plenty more
Speaker 1: up there. We'll get some more of these here later
Speaker 1: in the summer as we kind of get some more
Speaker 1: need for content in the future. But as for now,
Speaker 1: we have plenty for you guys coming down the pipe.
Speaker 1: And as for today's podcast, that is going to be
Speaker 1: my time you all. Please be sure to subscribe to
Speaker 1: the podcast on Apple Podcasts. Leave us a rating, leave
Speaker 1: us a review. You can find me on Twitter at
Speaker 1: Wingfield NFL. You can follow the team at Miami Dolphins,
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