Speaker 1: Practice are al fits Faford Parker touchdown. What a win
Speaker 1: for this Miami Dolphin team. Wow? What is up? Dolphins?
Speaker 1: And welcome to the Drivetime Podcast, part of the Miami
Speaker 1: Dolphins official podcast network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins,
Speaker 1: each and every day. How's it going everybody? It is
Speaker 1: Wednesday hump Day. I am your host, Travis Wingfield, and
Speaker 1: I am here to bring you your daily dose of
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins football. And on today's show, it's time to
Speaker 1: turn the page and get to the New York Jets
Speaker 1: are a f C East rival. We'll hear from coach Floras,
Speaker 1: a handful of Dolphins players, as well as my exclusive
Speaker 1: interview with Dolphins sensational safety Eric Rowe. And I'll tell
Speaker 1: you the one thing more disheartening than allowing a third
Speaker 1: and long conversion on defense. All of that and more
Speaker 1: on this Wednesday, October fourteenth edition of the Drive Time podcasts,
Speaker 1: and Drive Time was brought to you by Auto Nation.
Speaker 1: There are so many reasons to drive pink, but for
Speaker 1: Auto Nation, there's only one to finish the fight against cancer.
Speaker 1: In fact, Auto Nation has helped raise over twenty five
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Speaker 1: dot com and it is Wednesday. Here on the podcast,
Speaker 1: we had the very rare, I think, the second ever
Speaker 1: Tuesday night football game in the NFL, as the Titans
Speaker 1: take down a f C East foe Buffalo Bills and
Speaker 1: helping the Miami Dolphins out there a little bit. Buffalo
Speaker 1: falls to four and one. That makes Buffalo four and one,
Speaker 1: New England two and to Miami two and three, and
Speaker 1: the Jets oh and five. I know it's a little
Speaker 1: bit early to start looking at the standings in the NFL.
Speaker 1: I always believe maybe after Halloween, maybe even closer to Thanksgiving,
Speaker 1: is when you start to really pay attention to the standings.
Speaker 1: But the Dolphins now behind the Bills by only two games,
Speaker 1: and we're only one game back of the Colts, who
Speaker 1: hold the seventh seed in the a f C wild
Speaker 1: Card picture, along with the Las Vegas Raiders who were
Speaker 1: also three and two, and the Patriots right ahead of
Speaker 1: that at two and two. So Miami with a chance
Speaker 1: to make some moves this weekend with the game against
Speaker 1: the New York Jets. And I thought the primetime games
Speaker 1: over the weekend in general, just we're really good. We
Speaker 1: talked about the Titans and Bills game got kind of
Speaker 1: out of hand at the very end there, But on
Speaker 1: Monday Night Chargers and Saints, that thing came right down
Speaker 1: to the wire into overtime a field goal off the upright.
Speaker 1: Can't beat that, Russell Wilson. The Seattle Seahawks doing their
Speaker 1: thing on Sunday night football against the Minnesota Vikings. So
Speaker 1: if primetime games can continue to be like this and
Speaker 1: give us that much entertainment, especially three nights in a row,
Speaker 1: can't top that, man, I'm all here for that. So NFL,
Speaker 1: you never let us down. You always give us the
Speaker 1: best drama on all of television. Speaking of drama, watching
Speaker 1: the first part of that Bills and Titans game, I
Speaker 1: kept thinking to myself as Josh Allen was converting these
Speaker 1: third and thirteens and third and fifteens and just breaking
Speaker 1: the back of the Titans defense early in that game,
Speaker 1: how disheartening that must be as a defense to watch
Speaker 1: a quarter back that can extend plays and get the
Speaker 1: football down the field into those intermediate areas, and with
Speaker 1: the way he extends the play and extends the pocket
Speaker 1: by the time he finds the receivers. Those guys have
Speaker 1: been covering for five, six, seven seconds, and so they're
Speaker 1: wide open at that point. So a difficult quarterback to defend.
Speaker 1: And I was thinking, what's more disheartening than giving up
Speaker 1: third and long repeatedly? Especially I think on the second
Speaker 1: or third drive of the game for Buffalo, they had
Speaker 1: converted to plays that were third and thirteen or longer,
Speaker 1: and I was thinking, what's more disheartening than that. Well,
Speaker 1: I'll tell you my favorite food is chicken parmer Gan.
Speaker 1: We had chicken parm for lunch on Tuesday here at
Speaker 1: the Dolphins facility, and I went up there, saw the
Speaker 1: lunch in the lunch room, saw what was in there,
Speaker 1: decided to go back to my desk to clean a
Speaker 1: couple more things up with work, and then came back
Speaker 1: to get the lunch and the chicken parm was gone.
Speaker 1: So third and thirteen not getting your chicken parm. I
Speaker 1: think both those things are all things equal, all joking aside.
Speaker 1: Let's go ahead and jump now into Brian Flores is
Speaker 1: Wednesday morning media availability. It's a new week, a new
Speaker 1: oponent of the the New York Jets, and we're gonna start
Speaker 1: here for a question with coach about getting out to
Speaker 1: fast starts, and both of the Dolphins wins this year,
Speaker 1: they got out to fourteen zero leads and would later
Speaker 1: extend those leads seven and then seven seven in that
Speaker 1: Jacksonville game as well, So plenty of early leads and
Speaker 1: fast starts in those victories. I asked coach, what is
Speaker 1: synonymous with fast starts and how do you do that
Speaker 1: again here in Week six against the New York Jets.
Speaker 1: But we always talked about, you know, playing fast, starting fast, Um,
Speaker 1: something that we harp on on a weekly basis. Again,
Speaker 1: it's football about ball bounces a few different ways, so
Speaker 1: anything can happen, and we've got to be able to
Speaker 1: play any type of game. So, um, you know, when
Speaker 1: we start fast, and when we started fast this season,
Speaker 1: it's were five games and we started fast twice and
Speaker 1: we won those games. We didn't start fast, um, and
Speaker 1: we didn't win those games. So um, like every game
Speaker 1: is a little bit different. You know, there's some some
Speaker 1: if we can get going early, and we want to
Speaker 1: and that's always a good thing, but we've got to
Speaker 1: be ready to play, um, you know, in any type
Speaker 1: of game. We've talked about that as a team. Um,
Speaker 1: you're up, you're down. It's a back and forth to
Speaker 1: defensive games, you know, an offensive game. We've got to
Speaker 1: be able to adjust and try to play any any
Speaker 1: style because every week it's a little bit different based
Speaker 1: on your opponent, based on you know, a lot of factors.
Speaker 1: So the starting fast is always something we we we
Speaker 1: put a lot of emphasis on. And earlier in this week,
Speaker 1: we had Mike Gasicki on talking about Ryan Fitzpatrick and
Speaker 1: said he's his favorite player he's ever played with. Coach
Speaker 1: was asked about that comment and what makes Fitzpatrick so
Speaker 1: likable among his teammates and his peers. I think he
Speaker 1: just he brings a lot of energy to the field. Well,
Speaker 1: I would say, first and foremost, he's a he's a
Speaker 1: great teammate that goes I would say, you know far
Speaker 1: beyond you know what you guys see on the field.
Speaker 1: So that's their interactions in the locker room, um, you know,
Speaker 1: outside of the building. I think that's all plays a
Speaker 1: part and why he said something like that, Um, but
Speaker 1: on the field, you I see his energy, his enthusiasm, UM,
Speaker 1: his support for his teammates, willingness to you know, put
Speaker 1: his body on his on the line for his teammates.
Speaker 1: I think that's why you get that that type of
Speaker 1: response from a guy like Mike and other players as well.
Speaker 1: But um, to me, that starts. You know, what you
Speaker 1: see on the field is what you see on the field,
Speaker 1: But those relationships and that that respect is earned, um,
Speaker 1: you know in practice and meetings and you know, in
Speaker 1: the locker room, and then it kind of manifests itself
Speaker 1: into the relationships you see on the field from the
Speaker 1: quarterback to the guys that try to get to the
Speaker 1: opposing team's quarterbacks. Here's what coach had to say about
Speaker 1: what he's seen so far from Emmanuel Ogba, who picked
Speaker 1: up another sack on Sunday and continue to have his
Speaker 1: presence felt along that Dolphin's defensive line, pass rush and
Speaker 1: run defense at the end inside wherever he can line
Speaker 1: up AGAs making plays. You know, there's a lot of things.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's run game, pass game, uh, work, ethic, competitiveness.
Speaker 1: You know, it's tough, smart, you can play multiple positions.
Speaker 1: So I was been obviously getting improving and getting better
Speaker 1: every week, getting more familiar with the system, his role
Speaker 1: and his fit, you know, and the defense. So I've
Speaker 1: been I've been pleased with him. We talked about that
Speaker 1: run defense and Emmanuel ogbas impact on the run defense.
Speaker 1: He was a big focal point of that fourth down
Speaker 1: stop which Mary and Hobby, Dolphins defensive line coach on
Speaker 1: the podcast yesterday, talked about how important that play was
Speaker 1: to not just get the defense off the field and
Speaker 1: set the offense up in almost plus territory was at
Speaker 1: the minus forty two yard line in that range, but
Speaker 1: it also gave them some momentum and got the offense
Speaker 1: charged up. They would later score on that possession and
Speaker 1: make it fourteen zero. Here's coach talking about the other
Speaker 1: side of the football though, the running game, which chan
Speaker 1: Gaily said was doing good on counter needs some work
Speaker 1: on wide zone on Tuesday's press conference that he was
Speaker 1: available for. Here's coach Flores on the running game. It's
Speaker 1: like every other area, UM on this team could it
Speaker 1: could improve. Um. So, run game, play action, run defense,
Speaker 1: past defense, you know, kickoff, kickoff or tern punt coaching,
Speaker 1: all of it can improve. So, UM, that's what we're
Speaker 1: trying to do on a daily basis. UM. I mean
Speaker 1: it starts in meetings. It starts in meetings and you
Speaker 1: take it to walk through and you go out there
Speaker 1: and practice and try to improve it and get better. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, whether it's you know, blocking up an eight
Speaker 1: man front or one guy you know, getting seven on
Speaker 1: seven and the back beating the eighth guy, or um,
Speaker 1: you know, something schematically that we could do that would
Speaker 1: help us in that in that phase of the game. Um.
Speaker 1: But we're doing that on a weekly basis. And you know,
Speaker 1: things that people think we're struggling in obviously, but also
Speaker 1: the things that we're actually you know, we might be
Speaker 1: having some success in. So we're trying to improve every
Speaker 1: every area. And on the topic of improvements, Dolphins have
Speaker 1: a season high five sacks in the game on Sunday,
Speaker 1: spearheaded by that front seven, the linebackers coming into the asbrush,
Speaker 1: but also the defensive line. And then coach finished up
Speaker 1: with his thought on Shack Lawson. Alright, So Shack Lawson, Uh,
Speaker 1: he's getting better, he's trying to rehab and he's getting treatment.
Speaker 1: Expect to see amount of practice today. So we'll see
Speaker 1: how this goes and practice. We want to see him
Speaker 1: out there obviously if he can, if he's healthy enough,
Speaker 1: we'll get him out there. So though you have it
Speaker 1: busy Wednesday morning presser here for coach Flores. Up next,
Speaker 1: let's go ahead and run my interview here with Dolphins
Speaker 1: safety Eric Row. We talked about a handful of topics
Speaker 1: like career adversity, um playing the new position at safety,
Speaker 1: his production in that position, playing with his teammates here,
Speaker 1: and kind of gathering that sense of camaraderie and leadership
Speaker 1: here on the Dolphins team in his second year with
Speaker 1: the club, and also some tips on fashion, talking about
Speaker 1: Halloween and his potential side hustle during his NFL career
Speaker 1: and possible post playing career endeavors. Long down the road
Speaker 1: here for Eric Row. Let's go ahead and roll my
Speaker 1: interview with Dolphins safety Eric Row and writing Shotgun Now
Speaker 1: on Drive time is Dolphins safety Eric Row. Eero, Welcome
Speaker 1: back in Man, Thanks for joining me. Hey appreciate having
Speaker 1: me as always. And I think the last time we
Speaker 1: talked was smack dab right in the middle of training
Speaker 1: camp and you had a one word answer when I
Speaker 1: asked you how you were feeling. You just said sore.
Speaker 1: But after a game and a five hour flight, how's
Speaker 1: the body feeling today? Even more so, even what you
Speaker 1: know what. It's a good, happy sort. We came away
Speaker 1: with a win. That's exactly right. That's exactly right. And
Speaker 1: we talked about this a little bit, you know, before
Speaker 1: we jumped on the podcast here and how we wanted
Speaker 1: to talk football, but also talk about your personal background
Speaker 1: a little bit. And I understand you have another interest
Speaker 1: outside of the football world, correct. I always had an
Speaker 1: interest in real estate. You know my mom kind of
Speaker 1: growing up, she didn't she kind of showed me the
Speaker 1: ways and kind of ever since then, I had a
Speaker 1: you know, I had a good interest in it. So
Speaker 1: and now that you know I have a little bit
Speaker 1: of money to invest, I start looking for like different
Speaker 1: unit properties. Well, shoot, given the trends of the recent market,
Speaker 1: it's a good time right now, isn't it. Yeah, it's
Speaker 1: a great time to do it. Great time. And are
Speaker 1: you more focused back in your hometown of Houston, is
Speaker 1: that kind of the area you want to be or
Speaker 1: maybe down in South Florida? Like where's your focus at
Speaker 1: for that? Really? Both I'm actually looking into property is
Speaker 1: actually in Florida. It's actually like Tallahassee. Uh. And there
Speaker 1: was a couple there was a property chill looking at
Speaker 1: Houston kind of here and there. You obviously died down
Speaker 1: during the season because you know, my whole focus is here,
Speaker 1: but you know, a little bit here and there. You know,
Speaker 1: I'll look, you know, to see if something's under the market. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and you mentioned you, you know, the fact that it
Speaker 1: has kind of dined down while you're here because your
Speaker 1: focus is right here, and thankfully for Dolphins fans, your
Speaker 1: career are still in the middle of it, still thriving,
Speaker 1: in the middle of your prime here and plenty more
Speaker 1: years to come, hopefully, Eric. But I wanted to ask
Speaker 1: you about maybe some of your career adversity. You know,
Speaker 1: the injuries. Dolphins were your third team you've you've been
Speaker 1: on now, and you were playing cornerback at this time
Speaker 1: a year ago, and this team was off to a
Speaker 1: difficult start, and I think it's to draw parallels there.
Speaker 1: How would you say your career adversity has helped prepare
Speaker 1: you for managing the highs and lows of an NFL season,
Speaker 1: in more particular this Dolphins team the last couple of years. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, just uh, you know, I've been through it all,
Speaker 1: been through the the injuries. You know, that's that's the lows, Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, the highs with you know, making a playoffs
Speaker 1: and super Bowl runs. So I kind of been from
Speaker 1: the top and I've been at the bottom and uh
Speaker 1: and kind of you know, kind of what you learned
Speaker 1: from both is how you know, kind of how much
Speaker 1: work that you need to consistently put in, you know,
Speaker 1: day and day out, whether you know you're at the top,
Speaker 1: we're at the bottom, you know, just to stay and
Speaker 1: you know, really compete in this league because if you
Speaker 1: don't get better, then I mean you get worse. I
Speaker 1: mean that's what I learned. So obviously that taking care
Speaker 1: of your body is a huge issue. So but you know,
Speaker 1: from this time last year, yeah, we you know, over
Speaker 1: four or five days and oh and five you know,
Speaker 1: rough star. You know, I had to you know, had
Speaker 1: a rough start going in. But the only thing you
Speaker 1: can do is just keep working. And then when they
Speaker 1: made the position switch, I just keep I just kept working.
Speaker 1: I mean just you know, really nothing that I can do. Like,
Speaker 1: I'm not I'm not a quitter, so I'm not gonna quit.
Speaker 1: So I'm just gonna keep working. And I mean I'm
Speaker 1: glad like the work I'm putting in it is kind
Speaker 1: of paying out but I know is it doesn't stop there.
Speaker 1: He's gotta keep working. And that seems to be kind
Speaker 1: of the the entire mentality of the team, right because
Speaker 1: we've had Fitzpatrick on after after the Seahawks game, he
Speaker 1: was down on himself after the game on Sunday against
Speaker 1: the night Ares. He was, you know, kind of in
Speaker 1: the same like, same tempered, measured approach as far as
Speaker 1: like I don't want to get to high, don't want
Speaker 1: to get too low. Does he really kind of help
Speaker 1: permeate that throughout the course of the locker room. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean even even you know, we had a team
Speaker 1: meeting and our player meaning and he told us, like,
Speaker 1: you know, be the same guy whether we're losing or
Speaker 1: we're having success. Be the same guy, you know, coming
Speaker 1: to practice, the same guy in the game. You know,
Speaker 1: just cover losing. Don't be down on yourself for if
Speaker 1: we're winning, you know, you have extra energy to be
Speaker 1: the same guy every day and being consistent. And on
Speaker 1: the topic of adversity, Eric I think a less person
Speaker 1: might cave to the idea of switching possessions, especially mid season,
Speaker 1: but you talk about how you embraced it and how
Speaker 1: what else am I gonna do because I'm here, I'm
Speaker 1: not on a quitter. And before I get to my
Speaker 1: main point here, I want to ask you just just
Speaker 1: real talk for a second. When you first realize you
Speaker 1: were going to be down there in the box with
Speaker 1: some of those bigger dudes at two oh five, what
Speaker 1: was your reaction? Yeah, yeah, well, you know, at first,
Speaker 1: I'm like, you know, okay, I'll do it. But then
Speaker 1: when I got down there, you know, during the game,
Speaker 1: and how fast, how fast you know, things really move
Speaker 1: and that you know that little box, I mean, it's
Speaker 1: it's pretty physical. I'm like, oh, she like this is
Speaker 1: this is real down here. I've been on you know,
Speaker 1: I've been out by the numbers, you know, facing of
Speaker 1: my whole career, and I mean, you have the receivers
Speaker 1: are fast, but it's a one on one, but you're
Speaker 1: the box. It's it's a lot of moving parts and
Speaker 1: I'm like, holy crap, like they move fast. But uh well,
Speaker 1: you know, what's it. You know, once you get used
Speaker 1: to it, you know, it just kind of is what
Speaker 1: it is. But at first I was like, man, this
Speaker 1: is this is tough. Are there may be any like
Speaker 1: little silver linings to to that flip and and the
Speaker 1: fact that you do have to take on those big
Speaker 1: physical guys down the box. Because I recall reading a
Speaker 1: story I think it was from Charger Center, former Charger
Speaker 1: Center Nick Hardwick, who talked about playing down there and
Speaker 1: the weight you have to maintain and how he would
Speaker 1: eat ice cream every single night. Was there any advantages
Speaker 1: like maybe more ice cream for you? Yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: I got you know, you get to take on the
Speaker 1: fullback or live in at some point. And I mean
Speaker 1: the coaches they try to like, they try to help,
Speaker 1: and you know the way they you know, put me
Speaker 1: in the position where I don't have to do that
Speaker 1: a lot, so that helps. But you know, at times
Speaker 1: I have to go down there and kind of just
Speaker 1: stick my body in there, and it's kind of sacrifice. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's that's the name of the game, right, that's football
Speaker 1: on a nush all right there. But again, you embraced it.
Speaker 1: And you know, we saw Jamal Perry play safety when
Speaker 1: Bobby went out last week against the Seahawks. We saw
Speaker 1: Jesse Davis flipped from right tackle to left tackle Sunday
Speaker 1: against the Niners. It's a hallmark under the team for
Speaker 1: Brian Floors. Versatility, guys playing multiple spots, next band up mentality,
Speaker 1: this adaptable, vers versatile mindset. But I want to go
Speaker 1: in deeper on that because guys just seemed genuinely receptive
Speaker 1: to being team first over me. First. We heard coach
Speaker 1: talking about it last year when he first got here,
Speaker 1: how he doesn't want the star player that's bigger than
Speaker 1: the team. And I think that you really embody that,
Speaker 1: e Ro And what do you think it is about
Speaker 1: Flora's that makes players so receptive to his style and
Speaker 1: his teaching. I think it's that so really like the
Speaker 1: mindset of the guys that you know, kind of he
Speaker 1: brought in and you know from free agents, and we
Speaker 1: all have the same mindset of obviously everyone has a
Speaker 1: mindset of winning, but obviously have to get more you know,
Speaker 1: in the detail with that, Like a lot of guys,
Speaker 1: you know, they you know, we have a good chemistry
Speaker 1: on the team. Everyone you know, they love hanging out
Speaker 1: with each other, respect each other. So you know, kind
Speaker 1: what comes with that is you're gonna play hard for
Speaker 1: each other, right, you know, we got to play onto
Speaker 1: positions like to help the team win, Like you know,
Speaker 1: we don't want to let each other down, So it
Speaker 1: kind of is what it is. Like. It was funny
Speaker 1: because win Jamal, he came in and see how his game.
Speaker 1: He hadn't got like a free safety snap probably like
Speaker 1: in three weeks when he went in there, and you know,
Speaker 1: he did his thing and he really helped the team
Speaker 1: out and body went down, And I mean, that's that's
Speaker 1: kind of stuff we need, and we've seen it up
Speaker 1: throughout the course of the first two years here with
Speaker 1: Brian Flores. And your history with Brian Flores goes back
Speaker 1: now to you know New England previously before you got here.
Speaker 1: You know him as well as anybody maybe on this team,
Speaker 1: but maybe you can tell us a little bit about
Speaker 1: some of his defensive philosophies. You mentioned the team signing
Speaker 1: certain free agents, drafting certain players. We saw them signed
Speaker 1: Byron Jones usual a first round pick on a cornerback,
Speaker 1: and Noah Eggnogay a third round pick on the safety,
Speaker 1: and Brandon Jones. What does the value or kind of
Speaker 1: the mindset they are building that defense sort of front
Speaker 1: to back and really loading up that secondary and give
Speaker 1: you've got so many matchup parts and so many guys
Speaker 1: that can do multiple things back there. Yeah, I mean it.
Speaker 1: I mean, obviously everyone knows he's a you know, defensive guy,
Speaker 1: and I guess our you know, first first thing was
Speaker 1: we needed some people in the back end, so you know,
Speaker 1: they got a lot of secondary people coming in. But yeah,
Speaker 1: he's definitely, you know, a defensive like heart. But a
Speaker 1: lot of people don't know he's big on special teams,
Speaker 1: Like he drives a lot of people based on special
Speaker 1: teams first, so I think people don't know. But yeah,
Speaker 1: just knowing his like philosophy, like like defense, it's just
Speaker 1: kind of like, you know, we gotta get it done,
Speaker 1: especially on the back end. Yeah, he talks about the
Speaker 1: kicking game plenty in his press conferences. We've we've heard
Speaker 1: it a few times. But we were also, you know,
Speaker 1: going back to that kind of even quel mentality. We
Speaker 1: talked about Fitzpatrick kind of approaching the game that way
Speaker 1: and his you know, his media and everything he does
Speaker 1: is all, you know, let's try to get away from
Speaker 1: the roller coaster and stay on that flat line, so
Speaker 1: to speak. But after the game Sunday, you know, in
Speaker 1: the post game zoom calls, I expected Flow to be
Speaker 1: a little bit more jovial on Sunday, but he had
Speaker 1: the exact same demeanor that he did after the Seattle loss.
Speaker 1: He preaches it, he practices it, same guy every day.
Speaker 1: My question to you is, how does this team kind
Speaker 1: of take on that personality of their head coach And
Speaker 1: do you think it's already taken hold now just one
Speaker 1: games in. Yeah, like we it kind of reflects to us,
Speaker 1: like of course after the game, you know, everybody's happy, right,
Speaker 1: we're chairing blah blah blah. But I guarantee you on Wednesday,
Speaker 1: we're gonna go right back to ward, you know, kind
Speaker 1: of prepare for the you know, the Jets, because I
Speaker 1: mean we know that we can weak out you know,
Speaker 1: games like that. You know, it just doesn't happen just
Speaker 1: because you're hyped up, right, you gotta get ready. So
Speaker 1: I'm guaranteed on Wednesday, we're gonna work just as hard
Speaker 1: as we did, you know, after we lost the Seattle
Speaker 1: or after we wanted Jacksonville. So you know, we have
Speaker 1: the same mindset going to each each week, each game week,
Speaker 1: And yeah, it kind of comes from him. And you mentioned,
Speaker 1: you know the Jets coming up on Sunday last year,
Speaker 1: the first one of the season against the New York
Speaker 1: Jets at home. So we'll have that that bout back
Speaker 1: here again this Sunday at hard Rock Stadium. I'm just
Speaker 1: curious if there was one moment last year, Eric that
Speaker 1: maybe stood out to you there was kind of a
Speaker 1: turning point, you know in the season where maybe you
Speaker 1: guys kind of started to click and kind of get
Speaker 1: the approach of the program and had had his message
Speaker 1: kind of take hold. Was there a moment where that
Speaker 1: maybe happened and you kind of see that carry into
Speaker 1: this season too. It was the the Buffalo Bills game
Speaker 1: when we were at the Bills and we actually took
Speaker 1: the lead, and I think kind of from there, people
Speaker 1: started believing like okay, like yeah, you know, whatever we're doing,
Speaker 1: like putting you know, the work we're putting in practice
Speaker 1: and off the field, and it means it is working obviously.
Speaker 1: You know, we just got to execute and finish and
Speaker 1: kind of, I think like the next game or so,
Speaker 1: we finally, you know, we beat the Jets, and then
Speaker 1: kind of from their own you know, people started believing
Speaker 1: and rolling into this year. Even though we have new guys,
Speaker 1: you know, some of us old guys like we had
Speaker 1: the same mentality, like we kind of knew we were
Speaker 1: coming off last year and then and obviously you know,
Speaker 1: now this year going on, like we all see like
Speaker 1: you know, the work you put in like last Sunday,
Speaker 1: like it shows. So you know, I feel like last
Speaker 1: year it did kind of roll over. Do you think
Speaker 1: there's value and the fact that you guys were here
Speaker 1: for that, like guys like you and Nick need Him
Speaker 1: for instance, Bobby McCain, Xavian Howard, the guys that were
Speaker 1: here and kind of carried it over. Does that really
Speaker 1: help that message? Like for the younger guys like, Okay,
Speaker 1: that's the expectation for how it's gonna be around here. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, I mean definitely definitely, uh you know, with
Speaker 1: Noah and Brandon and even on the whole line like
Speaker 1: Austin Johnson even to it, like you know, you know,
Speaker 1: we all like you know, we help him out now
Speaker 1: and they're here on and off the field like it
Speaker 1: kind of like trying to put that minset and like
Speaker 1: you know, you know, this game is not easy. It's
Speaker 1: not easy to get wins. You know, if you make
Speaker 1: a play that's it's not like you know, college where
Speaker 1: you know it MAIM may have been a lot easier
Speaker 1: you can do more consistently, like so like you know,
Speaker 1: we tell him you gotta keep putting in that work
Speaker 1: and kind of obviously they'll pick it up and then
Speaker 1: you know it kind of care to start the locker
Speaker 1: room and for you personally, Eric, just looking over some
Speaker 1: of your stats since the switch to safety last year,
Speaker 1: as far as tracking coverage reps. You know, completion percentage
Speaker 1: yards on those completions every week, Man, your numbers, You're
Speaker 1: you're locking guys down. We saw it yesterday to completions
Speaker 1: in your target area on six targets for like thirty
Speaker 1: one yards man and one for twelve for George Kittle
Speaker 1: up against you. I'm gonna guess that it's confidence, but
Speaker 1: I want to hear it from you. What trade would
Speaker 1: you attribute your performance these last sixteen year sold games
Speaker 1: at safety too? I mean really, my really, the teammates.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's not a woman show out there. It's
Speaker 1: not just me. It's uh, you know, it's a D
Speaker 1: line obviously get pressure. It's you know personally QB and
Speaker 1: and like really like sometimes me and Bobby like he
Speaker 1: has like he has my help. Like there's a couple
Speaker 1: of overs and you know, Bobby's right there in the window,
Speaker 1: you know, for that split second, you know, cor right,
Speaker 1: he looks his ways like you know, all right, you're
Speaker 1: not open. So I mean it's it's not a woman's show.
Speaker 1: But I mean I continue like to the whole defense,
Speaker 1: like you know, we're all just trying to help each
Speaker 1: other out and make each other better. Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1: I love hearing that. Eric. And to go back away
Speaker 1: from the football field here. We talked about your you know,
Speaker 1: your real estate endeavors, but I want to talk about
Speaker 1: your drip because I've seen a picture of the pumpkin suit.
Speaker 1: Fashion meets Halloween. Is that kind of your game? Yeah?
Speaker 1: Or I say my wife's things. You say, put this on.
Speaker 1: I'm like, all right, I'll throw it on. You should
Speaker 1: see my closet from the time I from when I
Speaker 1: was a back storch when I got married, completely completely different.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, no, say, is Halloween your favorite holiday or
Speaker 1: is that just something that was you know, timely and
Speaker 1: that's my wife favorite holiday? So I only like this
Speaker 1: one is all costumes and all that decorative stuff. You guys,
Speaker 1: You guys take out the house like like Griswold style.
Speaker 1: But Halloween, Yeah, you know, some stuff outside. She loved Halloween.
Speaker 1: There's a new movie on Netflix and it's it's Adam Sandler,
Speaker 1: which he like does the you know, he's just kind
Speaker 1: of a goofball. It's like it's called like Hui du
Speaker 1: bois or something like that. It's the name of the character.
Speaker 1: It's it's goofy. But she probably would like it if
Speaker 1: she's into Halloween, cause it's just silly about Halloween. So
Speaker 1: you guys can check that out for a little up
Speaker 1: there you go, All right, Eric roll, I really appreciate
Speaker 1: it time today, man, hell of a game on Sunday,
Speaker 1: and we'll see you back out there for the Jets
Speaker 1: this coming Sunday. I appreciate it, thanks man, And so
Speaker 1: there he goes, Eric row. You guys can find the
Speaker 1: feature up on Miami Dolphins dot com taking a look
Speaker 1: at Eric Rowe, some quotes there from coaches, from himself
Speaker 1: as well from this podcast, and some stats. And let's
Speaker 1: go ahead and talk about those stats here real quick,
Speaker 1: because since he made the switch to safety seventeen games ago,
Speaker 1: he is allowing only thirty seven completions on sixty four
Speaker 1: pass attempts for three hundred and thirty eight yards and
Speaker 1: one touchdown, one interception with eight pass breakups, that's a
Speaker 1: passer rating of seventy point nine six. Most quarterbacks these
Speaker 1: days are up in the high nineties, close to a
Speaker 1: hundred NFL. He's left in quarterbacks to seventy point nine
Speaker 1: six passer rating when they test him. He also has
Speaker 1: twenty two run stops. He's also forwarding some of the
Speaker 1: best tight ends in the entire National Football League. Last year,
Speaker 1: against the Eagles, he held Zach Ertz to no catches
Speaker 1: on two targets, and Sunday against the Niners, he limited
Speaker 1: George Kittle to one catch on two targets for twelve yards.
Speaker 1: That's one week after Kittle had fifteen catches for one
Speaker 1: hundred and eighty three yards in their win over their
Speaker 1: loss rather to the Philadelphia Eagles. He has seventh among
Speaker 1: safeties in completion percentage allowed at sixty one point nine
Speaker 1: percent this year with minimum ten targets. His four pass
Speaker 1: breakups are tied for second most amongst safety's. He's got
Speaker 1: one hundred and eighty three career tackles, getting close to
Speaker 1: two hundred, and he's second right now on the team
Speaker 1: with twenty two tackles, behind Jerome bakers eighty one tackles
Speaker 1: last year were second behind Jerome Baker. His snap counts
Speaker 1: this year, He's played two hundred and fifty eight snaps,
Speaker 1: ninety eight of those in the box, fifty five of
Speaker 1: those in the slot, fifty deep in the free safety spot,
Speaker 1: twenty nine out at wide corner, twelve on the defensive line,
Speaker 1: and fourteen special team snaps. Last season a career high
Speaker 1: one thousand one thirty five snaps four in the box
Speaker 1: to fifty four out wide, to in the slot, eighty
Speaker 1: six at free safety, sixty one on the defensive line,
Speaker 1: and sixty three on special teams. All of those numbers
Speaker 1: coming courtesy of Pro Football Focus. So Eric role plays
Speaker 1: everywhere on the damn field. You've heard coach Flores talking
Speaker 1: about him playing safety, linebacker, corner, slot, and there's the
Speaker 1: proof of the putting right there. Guy plays all over
Speaker 1: the place, and he's productive, and he got that contract
Speaker 1: extension last year, and boy, he is playing really good
Speaker 1: football right now for your Miami Dolphins. And let's go
Speaker 1: ahead and get started with player media availability here, starting
Speaker 1: with Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who first was asked if
Speaker 1: he knew about his fifth overall ranking in the qb
Speaker 1: R statistic and if it matters to him, does he
Speaker 1: care about it? Here's Fits on just that you know,
Speaker 1: you don't you don't really pay too much attention to
Speaker 1: any of that stuff. But I think that one is
Speaker 1: probably a better metric of overall quarterback play um than
Speaker 1: just the the regular QB rating. So I mean that
Speaker 1: one to me matters more than the blanket quarterback rating one.
Speaker 1: So Fits is a QBR guy and his argument makes
Speaker 1: total sense right there. My next question for Fits was
Speaker 1: about the thirty two yard touchdown past to Preston Williams.
Speaker 1: We saw Brian Baldinger break that thing down on his
Speaker 1: Twitter timeline on Baldi's breakdowns, showing Fitzpatrick's trust in his
Speaker 1: eyes and throwing the ball to a spot under pressure.
Speaker 1: I wanted to ask Fits about how he gets to
Speaker 1: that point of his career in his football life where
Speaker 1: he can trust his eyes so much. Here's Fits on
Speaker 1: that touchdown past to Preston Williams and growing confidence here
Speaker 1: with the Dolphins receivers. Yeah, I mean a lot of
Speaker 1: it is experience and film study and just kind of
Speaker 1: years of accumulating this catalog in the back of my
Speaker 1: mind of things that I really like and I'm comfortable
Speaker 1: with first and certain looks. And then the other end
Speaker 1: of that is getting the guys that you're playing with
Speaker 1: understand how I'm seeing it and where I want them
Speaker 1: to be. And that was a huge play in the game.
Speaker 1: That was a huge play for me just in terms
Speaker 1: of my confidence in Preston and for us to be
Speaker 1: on the same page and for me be able to
Speaker 1: throw that ball knowing exactly where he was going to
Speaker 1: be and for him to make the right read and
Speaker 1: the right decision there. That kind of thing goes a
Speaker 1: long way and building confidence with guys, and that one,
Speaker 1: that one was a fun play because, uh, you know
Speaker 1: the setup and every the way everything went, but also
Speaker 1: just because it was a pretty meaningful play in the
Speaker 1: second half. And you hear him talk about the years
Speaker 1: of catalogs in the back of his mind he has
Speaker 1: with certain plays and certain looks. How about some physical
Speaker 1: elements of Fitzpatrick's game that he feels he's gotten better at,
Speaker 1: whether it's accuracy, decision making. Here's the quarterback on where
Speaker 1: he thinks he's improving now in year sixteen. I just
Speaker 1: think as the years have gone on, For me, I've
Speaker 1: become more accurate. I've become a better decision maker, but
Speaker 1: more accurate in the way that I'm throwing the football.
Speaker 1: And I think that's shown up a little bit this year. Um,
Speaker 1: but I don't know. I mean, also for me, it's
Speaker 1: it's not necessarily about the physical anymore. I mean, I
Speaker 1: think I could still make all the throws, but it's
Speaker 1: never really been about that for me. So feel uncomfortable, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, in this system, feeling comfortable with the guys
Speaker 1: I'm playing with and right now just spreading the ball around.
Speaker 1: You know, There's been other years and seasons where, um,
Speaker 1: you know, we haven't either had as much talent or
Speaker 1: we've had one superstar where he's getting force fed a
Speaker 1: lot of the time. And I think with the group
Speaker 1: right now, we've got a lot of really talented guys
Speaker 1: that have different skill sets. And we said that in
Speaker 1: the past, but I think with the ball being spread
Speaker 1: out more that's also helped with my efficiency and accuracy
Speaker 1: a little bit. Let's go ahead and pick it up
Speaker 1: here with Dolphins offensive lineman Jesse Davis, who first was
Speaker 1: asked about Ryan Fitzpatrick, the teammate he is, and how
Speaker 1: guys rally around the energy puts Patrick brings to the huddle,
Speaker 1: to the practice field, to the game day field and
Speaker 1: all of the above. Oh, I mean, he just brings energy,
Speaker 1: you know. I think everybody always comments on how electric
Speaker 1: he can be and how he uplifts of you know,
Speaker 1: the whole squad really and even coaches, you know, seeing
Speaker 1: it's refreshing to play with them. Um, he's out there
Speaker 1: getting this, you know, on correct assignments and then you
Speaker 1: know watching him, you know, have fun throwing the ball
Speaker 1: and you know, scoring touchdowns. So I mean it's just great. Next,
Speaker 1: Jesse talks about the growth of this team and what
Speaker 1: he's seen in two years so far underhead coach Brian Flores.
Speaker 1: This organization has done a really good job bringing to
Speaker 1: the guys that they need, what they want on you know,
Speaker 1: who they're gonna fill roles. So you know, it's fun
Speaker 1: to see our defense you know, get the ball and
Speaker 1: just felt like a practice out there where you just
Speaker 1: a sudden change to go back out So if that happening,
Speaker 1: and then with us actually moving the ball contributing as well,
Speaker 1: you know all of that. You know, Um, from the
Speaker 1: time I've been here and flow you know it kind
Speaker 1: of it's fun to see it kind of come together.
Speaker 1: You know, his ideas, his philosophy is actually working, and
Speaker 1: you know, it's really exciting to see. And Jason Sanders
Speaker 1: was named a f C Special Teams Player of the Week.
Speaker 1: He has fourteen consecutive kicks to start the season. That's
Speaker 1: a franchise record. He is only three away with sixteen
Speaker 1: consecutive makes going back to last year from breaking Olindo
Speaker 1: Marey's record that he sat back in n He also
Speaker 1: has his second consecutive game with five field goals made.
Speaker 1: He also made seven kicks in a game last year,
Speaker 1: So this guy putting plenty of footballs through the uprights.
Speaker 1: What does it mean to Jason Sanders to win a
Speaker 1: f C Special Teams Player of the Week award for
Speaker 1: the third time in his career. He also was the
Speaker 1: Player of the Month last December um after a good start.
Speaker 1: So for me, it's a matter of how do I
Speaker 1: treat each kick the same to you know, that twenty
Speaker 1: year fielder that happens to be in the fresh quarter,
Speaker 1: is it the same importance as that fourth quarter kick.
Speaker 1: That's the mentality I kind of had to taken in
Speaker 1: each kick, So when I go on the field, I'm
Speaker 1: sure that that same as that fifty yarders go ahead
Speaker 1: and finish up here with Dolphins linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel,
Speaker 1: who first was asked what area of his game he
Speaker 1: feels he's improved the most so far in a second season.
Speaker 1: You know, I think I'm just building my strength in
Speaker 1: the weight room and trusting my technique. I think Austin
Speaker 1: Clark has done a great job, um with teaching me
Speaker 1: his technique and you know how to do a better
Speaker 1: job set in the edge and whether it be hand
Speaker 1: placement or my feet, um, not giving up ground, you know,
Speaker 1: but more attacking. I think that's really helped improve um
Speaker 1: me this year. Next, I asked Andrew what it is
Speaker 1: about this scheme that really best accentuates his strengths as
Speaker 1: a pass rusher. Here's Van Ginkle on that answer. Um,
Speaker 1: I'd say they put us in a position to succeed.
Speaker 1: You know, the coaches no our strengths and weaknesses as well,
Speaker 1: so um, they're not gonna you know, put me you know,
Speaker 1: down the middle of a guy or um make me
Speaker 1: do something I'm uncomfortable with, which I think has really
Speaker 1: helped me and um whether it be movements are at
Speaker 1: joshing At think they're just um aligned guys where they
Speaker 1: can succeed, which is benefited me? And who does Andrew
Speaker 1: Van Ginkle credit for his improvement and progression in your
Speaker 1: two outside linebackers coach Austin Clark. You know, once again,
Speaker 1: I just gotta give credit to Austin Clark. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: I think the key that he has taught me is
Speaker 1: getting inside hands, um you know, and they're shortly played
Speaker 1: or on their chess plate, so that way you can
Speaker 1: get a grip of them, and um, you know, it's
Speaker 1: easier to disengage, you know. Um, So I would say
Speaker 1: that think that's the biggest thing is to get an
Speaker 1: inside hands and being able to grab them has made
Speaker 1: a huge difference. And so there you have it. I
Speaker 1: think we can go ahead and put a button on
Speaker 1: this Wednesday edition of Drive Time with your host me
Speaker 1: Travis Wingfield. In the meantime, you all please be sure
Speaker 1: to subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcast or Spotify
Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcast from. Go ahead and leave
Speaker 1: us a rating, leave us a review, give me a
Speaker 1: follow on Twitter. It's at Wingfield NFL. Follow the team
Speaker 1: at Miami Dolphins. Check out the fish Tank podcast they
Speaker 1: had Bart Scott on this week. You will not want
Speaker 1: to miss that one, and don't forget to check out
Speaker 1: the Audible with John and Bow and also Miami Dolphins
Speaker 1: dot com. Until next time finds up