WEBVTT - Jerome Baker's Extension, Will Fuller's Inclusion into the Offense and Brian Flores on Development 0:00:01.720 --> 0:00:15.440 Looking down, fail clown, Miami un What is up? Dolphans 0:00:15.560 --> 0:00:18.880 And welcome to the Drive Time Podcast, part of the 0:00:18.880 --> 0:00:24.400 Miami Dolphins podcast network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins. 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:28.520 How's it going everybody? I am your host Travis Wingfield, 0:00:28.720 --> 0:00:31.320 and we've got a fun show for you today. Extension 0:00:31.400 --> 0:00:35.000 season is here. Jerome Baker has signed a three year 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:38.520 contract extension with the Miami Dolphins. Will cover the player, 0:00:38.600 --> 0:00:42.800 the person, the leadership and everything Jerome exudes. Will go 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:45.519 back to his media from Friday, and also here from 0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:49.320 coach Flores and wide receiver Will Fuller and a whole 0:00:49.360 --> 0:00:53.120 lot more on this edition of the Drive Time Podcast 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:57.880 Miami Dolphins. So we talked about playing the hits on 0:00:57.920 --> 0:01:00.800 this show all the time, and that's the message today 0:01:00.840 --> 0:01:03.240 and the hit is the news of the weekend. The 0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:07.120 Dolphins and linebacker Jerome Baker have agreed on a three 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:11.280 year contract extension. And you recall Jerome was part of 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:15.679 theeen class that includes Mike Gasicki, Durham Smith, All Pro 0:01:15.840 --> 0:01:19.399 kicker Jason Sanders who got his extension earlier this this year, 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:21.440 I should say, and a draft pick that would later 0:01:21.480 --> 0:01:25.319 become starting left tackle Austin Jackson, and of course linebacker 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:29.039 Jerome Baker, a player who quickly evolved into one of 0:01:29.040 --> 0:01:31.319 the leaders on the team, both in terms of the 0:01:31.360 --> 0:01:34.280 weight that his voice carries, but also in terms of 0:01:34.360 --> 0:01:37.639 sheer volume of playing time. Go back to when Jerome 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:42.000 was drafted in a third rounder out of Ohio State. 0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:45.280 Remember that clip of him tailing se Kwon Barkley stride 0:01:45.280 --> 0:01:48.000 for stride up the sideline on a wheel route in 0:01:48.040 --> 0:01:51.680 coverage in the Ohio State Penn State game in seventeen. 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:55.080 And then of course he timed well in Indianapolis at 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:58.520 the scouting combine and I remember him covering Bears running 0:01:58.520 --> 0:02:00.600 back to Riet Cohen on an ang a route which 0:02:00.640 --> 0:02:03.560 is just difficult for linebackers to pick up on because 0:02:03.560 --> 0:02:06.240 the widen the linebacker you crossed back across the face. 0:02:06.440 --> 0:02:08.840 You have to have lateral agility and straight line speed 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:11.320 to handle a player like to Read Cohen. And I 0:02:11.320 --> 0:02:13.960 want to say it was Greg Jennings, I think was 0:02:14.040 --> 0:02:17.320 the color commentator on the game that day, and he said, 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:19.799 this is why you draft Jerome Baker to run with 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:23.360 all those speedy mismatch backs and tight ends in the modern, 0:02:23.440 --> 0:02:26.160 past heavy NFL game that we've come to know and love, 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:30.359 and that was true and it still is true. But 0:02:30.480 --> 0:02:33.600 Jerome has taken a considerable leap in his role from 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:36.480 that rookie campaign. You go to his first season under 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:39.320 coach Brian Flores in twenty nineteen. He wore the green 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:42.120 dot on the back of the helmet, the defensive communication helmet. 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:46.160 He played one thousand eighties snaps and over twelve hundred 0:02:46.200 --> 0:02:48.400 snaps that year if you count special teams, which we 0:02:48.480 --> 0:02:50.920 do because it's a big aspect of the game, and 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:53.160 he was just a tick under one thousand snaps this 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:56.040 year combined, and that included work on special teams, though 0:02:56.040 --> 0:02:59.440 the number did go down in two about twenty five 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:02.080 total snap apps from a little over a hundred in 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:06.240 that nineteen season. But the best part about his season 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:10.200 was that you'd assumed that less snaps coincides with less production, 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:13.040 but the opposite of that happened. He became an even 0:03:13.080 --> 0:03:16.200 more efficient player. He set career highs and sacks with 0:03:16.280 --> 0:03:19.760 seven and tackles for loss, also with seven QB hits 0:03:19.800 --> 0:03:23.359 with eleven QB pressures from Pro Football Focus with eight 0:03:23.360 --> 0:03:27.040 team the nine point two yards per reception was a 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:29.360 career low. A career best. How you say that per 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:32.200 Pro Football Focus, a career best with an eighty six 0:03:32.240 --> 0:03:35.040 point to passer rating aloud and coverage. This season, he 0:03:35.160 --> 0:03:37.920 matched his career high with two force fumbles. He added 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:40.520 three more passes defense to his career high was four 0:03:40.680 --> 0:03:43.320 in nineteen, and he still made a hundred and twelve 0:03:43.360 --> 0:03:46.800 total tackles, which was just fourteen shy of that twenty 0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:50.080 nineteen season, but a higher tackle per snap played race. 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:52.760 So he has improved every year of his career and 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:56.040 over his three years, three hundred and eleven tackles, one 0:03:56.840 --> 0:03:59.960 of those solo, eleven and a half sacks to pick, 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:03.680 ten passes defense, and four forced fumbles. His three hundred 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:07.680 and eleven tackles are six among all players selected in 0:04:07.720 --> 0:04:10.840 that team class, and all five of those players with 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:13.600 more tackles than Baker were chosen prior to him at 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:16.359 the seventy three pick to the Miami Dolphins. And you 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:19.040 know what, He's only twenty four years old. He turns 0:04:19.120 --> 0:04:22.880 twenty five on Christmas Day, so you consider that rapid 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:25.960 development occurring in his early twenties and makes it all 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:28.120 the more impressive, and you can see why he was 0:04:28.120 --> 0:04:31.080 a priority to get done with his contract extension before 0:04:31.160 --> 0:04:33.800 training camp, and the impact plays are the ones that 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:36.120 I really want to dig into here because that's where 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:38.680 I think the biggest jump happened for Jerome this season 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:41.640 or this past season. I should say he's been consistent 0:04:41.680 --> 0:04:44.159 in the areas that just don't get anywhere near the 0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:46.440 same pop as the takeaway and sack numbers. You've heard 0:04:46.440 --> 0:04:48.600 coach talk about the flash numbers are great, and that's 0:04:48.640 --> 0:04:50.719 what everyone sees. We want to talk about the one 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:53.400 thousand snaps, the consistent down and down out work of 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:55.560 a player. And I can go back to twenty nineteen 0:04:55.560 --> 0:04:58.120 and find clips of him knifing into the backfield and 0:04:58.160 --> 0:05:00.880 blowing up a Charger's fullback friends since en route to 0:05:00.920 --> 0:05:03.160 a tackle for loss. I can find clips where he 0:05:03.200 --> 0:05:06.440 anticipates a run, whether he's finding his keys from motion, 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:09.400 the polling guard, whatever the exact keys are. I can't 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:12.520 identify them exactly because I'm not Jerome out there seeing it. 0:05:12.720 --> 0:05:15.920 But you can see so much anticipatory work in his game, 0:05:16.000 --> 0:05:18.479 even from that young age. And how about that sack 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:22.760 last year of Patrick Mahomes. A thirty yard loss is 0:05:22.839 --> 0:05:26.440 essentially a turnover when you consider the roughly forty or 0:05:26.480 --> 0:05:28.920 so gross yards the top punters in the game get. 0:05:29.200 --> 0:05:31.880 And I think that play showcase Jerome's best skill set 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:35.919 from a tangible standpoint in the athletic ability. Emmanuel Ogball 0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:38.320 comes free off of his edge and forces him a 0:05:38.400 --> 0:05:40.720 Homes to spend the other direction, and then he's in 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:44.040 a foot race with Baker, who changes direction to beat 0:05:44.080 --> 0:05:46.200 Mahomes to the edge and gets him to the ground 0:05:46.279 --> 0:05:48.080 for that big loss and sets up a big fourth 0:05:48.080 --> 0:05:50.839 down which Miami would cash in on the ensuing drive. 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:53.040 And you see that skill set in his coverage too. 0:05:53.080 --> 0:05:56.440 There was a crucial, absolutely crucial third down stop in 0:05:56.440 --> 0:05:59.159 the Vegas game last year in Week sixteen, where Derek 0:05:59.200 --> 0:06:01.720 Carr broke contain sane and Baker had to plaster to 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:05.039 the back and who initially had kind of stopped his 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:07.919 route in anticipation of the play being over because it 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:09.960 looked like it was gonna be a sack car gets out. 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:12.800 He continues, and that stuff is really really tough to 0:06:12.839 --> 0:06:15.120 do because it's sam lot football and you have to 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:17.159 keep up with someone you know just as shifty and 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:19.719 agile as you are. It's a tough ask, and Jerome 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:21.960 can do that so he's got the physical, he's got 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:25.440 the mental, the versatility, the team first mindset. I shared 0:06:25.480 --> 0:06:27.919 the clip of him putting pressure on Jared Goff and 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:30.400 getting to the quarterback's arm as he's throwing the ball 0:06:30.600 --> 0:06:33.480 and that ball would get intercepted by safety Eric Rowe, 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:36.040 and I just love that play because Jerome looks back, 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:38.720 he sees the ball fluttering, he sees it come down 0:06:38.920 --> 0:06:41.520 in his guy's hands, just as the quarterback is going down, 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:44.400 and he throws a massive fist pump to celebrate. And 0:06:44.440 --> 0:06:46.640 it shows you that selflessness of we don't care who 0:06:46.640 --> 0:06:48.599 gets the credit or the stat we just want to 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:51.920 play winning football. And that mentality is one of Jerome exudes. 0:06:52.520 --> 0:06:56.360 And we recently heard from Dolphins linebackers coach Anthony Campanelli 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:58.599 on Jerome Baker and what's next for him in terms 0:06:58.600 --> 0:07:00.520 of taking the next step and what he brings to 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:03.240 the field, both from a physical standpoint, but also the 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:06.960 preparation and intelligence and work habits that Jerome Baker brings. 0:07:07.040 --> 0:07:09.680 Fake is a guy, like I've said in some of 0:07:09.680 --> 0:07:14.000 these UH media meetings or gatherings in the past, um, 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:16.240 who's really a great guy of coach because he's an 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:20.760 extremely bright guy. Um. You know, we understands football concepts 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:25.560 really really well and those things come easy to him. Um. 0:07:25.760 --> 0:07:29.320 Just his his level of study, I feel as continuously 0:07:29.960 --> 0:07:34.640 improved over time here, over my time here, and he's 0:07:34.680 --> 0:07:39.280 been really really diligent in the classroom. UM. His technique 0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:43.200 on the field, uh, in a lot of in various ways, 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:47.000 has improved. And we're hopeful that he'll continue to do that. 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:50.880 And I know it will because it's important to him. UM. 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:53.160 Just from you know, in the run game and the 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:55.680 past game he's uh, and even in pass rush he's 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:57.920 He's really made improvements in a lot of ways, and 0:07:57.920 --> 0:08:00.200 we're just hopeful to do that, just like everybody else 0:08:00.240 --> 0:08:03.480 hopefully to get better every day. And you hear a 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:06.800 coach they're talking about how smart Jerome is and the 0:08:06.840 --> 0:08:09.679 time he puts into making himself a smarter football player. 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:12.040 Like we talked about the intelligence, you don't just show 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:13.800 up and be intelligent on the football field. It's all 0:08:13.840 --> 0:08:16.080 about preparation of the time you put into it and 0:08:16.080 --> 0:08:18.280 how valuable that is in a system that wants to 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:21.560 be so multiple, because Jerome defines multiplicity in so many 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:23.080 ways with the way that he can play off, the 0:08:23.080 --> 0:08:26.040 ball mug up in the a gaps, playoff, the edge playoff, 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:28.840 a stack, play man, coverage, zone drop. I mean having 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:31.360 a guy that can plant, you can just plant him 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:33.439 out there for nine hundred to a thousand snaps in 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:35.440 a season and you know there's always going to be 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:36.920 a role for him and what you want to do. 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:39.760 It's just so so valuable. And I also like that 0:08:39.800 --> 0:08:42.160 he gets his deal done first in that as we 0:08:42.240 --> 0:08:47.200 mentioned very impressive linebacker class with Darius Leonard, Fred Warner, 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:50.000 ro Kuan Smith, and Tremaine Edmonds. I mean that is 0:08:50.040 --> 0:08:52.920 a stacked, stacked linebacker class. You talk about your modern 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:56.000 day football players and some very good company for Jerome 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:58.960 to keep. So the way Jerome's speed, as we talked 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:01.160 about with the Patrick Mahome him sack, the way that 0:09:01.240 --> 0:09:03.640 speed impacts the game I think is a good correlation 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:06.559 to those impact plays we have covered here. It creates 0:09:06.679 --> 0:09:10.240 urgency and everything that he does, which as a byproduct, 0:09:10.320 --> 0:09:12.920 forces the offense to make urgent decisions. And as coach 0:09:12.920 --> 0:09:15.520 flor has talked about this offseason, having speed on the 0:09:15.559 --> 0:09:18.160 field is a benefit to the offense, and that means 0:09:18.280 --> 0:09:20.360 you need speed on defense too. To match that right, 0:09:20.559 --> 0:09:23.760 and also Chris Greer mentioned this offseason an emphasis on 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:27.040 playmakers on both sides of the ball, and Jerome has 0:09:27.280 --> 0:09:29.800 ball production every single year since he came into the league. 0:09:29.920 --> 0:09:32.320 With the four force fumbles, the two picks, the ten 0:09:32.400 --> 0:09:36.439 passes defense, and the aforementioned pressures that result in takeaways. 0:09:36.880 --> 0:09:38.920 It is not technically ball production, but eleven and a 0:09:38.960 --> 0:09:41.120 half sacks too. That's up in the scoff at in 0:09:41.160 --> 0:09:44.200 three years for a player like Jerome. Baker and coach 0:09:44.240 --> 0:09:47.079 Campanelli also talked about Jerome speed last year and how 0:09:47.160 --> 0:09:50.000 when he's up on the line of scrimmage he's stretching 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:52.320 the offensive line out and how his speed is evident 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:55.079 in those rough situations. So again you see the impact 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:57.880 this player has on the field, but he's also an 0:09:57.880 --> 0:10:00.560 impact guy in the most important area it can be 0:10:00.640 --> 0:10:03.160 in the community. And last summer I talked with Jerome 0:10:03.200 --> 0:10:05.800 on a feature podcast here on Drive Time, and we 0:10:05.920 --> 0:10:08.640 covered some of his work with Dolphins units and handing 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:11.440 out backpatch to kids here at local schools and back 0:10:11.440 --> 0:10:14.360 in his hometown of Cleveland. The organization that his father, 0:10:14.480 --> 0:10:18.120 Jerome Senior, co founded called Men of Central which has 0:10:18.160 --> 0:10:20.680 a focus on providing a positive adult male mentor in 0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:23.240 the lives of kids in the Central neighborhood. They're in 0:10:23.280 --> 0:10:26.599 Greater Cleveland, and so Junior Jerome Baker Jr. Is a 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:29.240 leader in the community. He's a leader on the football field. 0:10:29.400 --> 0:10:31.959 And we're gonna get here to Coach Flors media from 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:34.080 Friday in just a moment. But I want to cut 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:37.040 in on it right here, because Coach talked about leadership 0:10:37.600 --> 0:10:40.600 and the different forms of leadership. Let's go ahead and 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:42.920 listen in. And I think it's different. It's different for 0:10:43.040 --> 0:10:47.160 each each individual. Um, I think I'm gonna lead differently 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:50.920 than you would, or or Sopha would or you know, 0:10:51.320 --> 0:10:53.720 Armando or Kyle. I mean, it's it's everyone's a little 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:57.760 bit different. Some people are are more outgoing and uh, 0:10:58.520 --> 0:11:01.360 you know, louder some people or you know, by example, 0:11:01.520 --> 0:11:04.800 some people, uh say nothing and then when they speak, 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:07.400 people listen. I mean, I think it's there's there's different 0:11:08.240 --> 0:11:11.160 types of leaders and they're coming all. It's not like 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:13.400 it's not a one size fits all, and it's not 0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:15.280 a one size fits all. So I wanted to ask 0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:18.560 Jerome about that quote from coach and what his approach 0:11:18.760 --> 0:11:22.160 to leadership is um for me. Ever since I was young, 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:25.560 it's always been the same. I leave by example, um, 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:27.720 and I kind of just do what the team needs 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:29.840 me to do. If it's if you need me to 0:11:29.880 --> 0:11:32.400 be the guy that yells today, I'll be that guy. 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:34.680 You just need me to be that guy's lead by example, 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:37.880 I'll be that guy. Awesome, I think I'm just lead 0:11:37.880 --> 0:11:40.560 by example guy. I just tried to write things. Um. 0:11:40.600 --> 0:11:41.840 You know, I tried to do it was best for 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:45.319 the team. And uh, that's always been my approach. Um, 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:48.800 and I don't see a change anytime soon. And I 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:51.080 think that's who got me here this far. And before 0:11:51.120 --> 0:11:53.079 that question, he was asked if he could see himself 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:55.160 playing in Miami for a long time. And here what's 0:11:55.240 --> 0:11:57.720 Jerome's response. Oh yeah, I want to play here for 0:11:57.760 --> 0:11:59.640 the rest of my career. I love it here, I 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:02.560 love games, I love the organization, I love everybody here. 0:12:02.840 --> 0:12:05.840 Uh yeah, I definitely see playing for a long time. 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:10.000 You see the hats. He's talking about his bucket hat there, 0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:12.079 it's a it's a gorgeous bucket. Had an awkward Dolphins 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:14.640 bucket hat that he had on practice and it's all awkward. 0:12:14.679 --> 0:12:17.079 Garb there as he met with the media and earlier, 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:19.320 he was asked by a reporter why it was important 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:21.280 for him to be out here for O t a 0:12:21.320 --> 0:12:22.719 s at this time of the summer. And here's the 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:25.000 realm's answer, that I want to play because I thought 0:12:25.000 --> 0:12:27.520 it was fantastic. I love this team. I love being 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:30.440 out here. Um. I just love just being on his 0:12:30.520 --> 0:12:34.280 team and just being out here getting back to football. 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:36.920 It AWESO me helps me, you know in the long run. 0:12:37.000 --> 0:12:39.280 So honest he's just missed being out there with all 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:42.960 the guys, especially all the the personalities we have the 0:12:42.960 --> 0:12:46.280 new guys, um, and just asked me just learning and 0:12:46.320 --> 0:12:51.000 getting better. So I love to play football and that's honestly, Um, 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:53.000 while I'm out here, that's what I love to do. 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:55.200 And I just want to want our team to get better. 0:12:55.480 --> 0:12:57.640 And just to quickly recap the rest of the presser, 0:12:57.679 --> 0:13:00.440 he also talked about how it is easier to lead 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:02.520 and get guys to buy in and to develop that 0:13:02.600 --> 0:13:04.920 trust because of the types of players that Dolphins have 0:13:04.960 --> 0:13:07.360 brought in terms of players who are like him that 0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:09.240 love being around the game. When you heard him talk 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:11.120 about there about how he's out here because He just 0:13:11.200 --> 0:13:13.560 loves the camaraderie, loves getting to know the personalities, and 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:16.240 loves being on the football field. Very good media availability 0:13:16.280 --> 0:13:18.400 there with Jerome. I would highly recommend going back and 0:13:18.480 --> 0:13:20.280 checking it out on our YouTube page, as you can 0:13:20.360 --> 0:13:23.080 find the rest of all those media availabilities on the 0:13:23.120 --> 0:13:26.520 Miami Dolphins YouTube page. And the final sound bite I 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:28.559 want to provide for you guys here on Jerome Baker 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:31.480 with a new three year contract extension comes from March 0:13:31.520 --> 0:13:34.440 of last year when I talked to former Dolphins linebacker 0:13:34.559 --> 0:13:37.280 Channing Crowder, my co host at the draft party at 0:13:37.280 --> 0:13:39.920 hard Rock Stadium and co host of The Hawkman and 0:13:39.920 --> 0:13:42.640 Crowder Show on five sixty here locally in South Florida. 0:13:42.960 --> 0:13:46.160 Here's Channing talking about his favorite player on the Miami 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:49.720 Dolphins and Jerome Baker, and talking about the Dolphins scheme 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:51.800 in that first year under Brian Flores and what he 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:53.720 liked about it. Here's what he had to say about 0:13:53.720 --> 0:13:57.720 the Dolphins newest extended linebacker, Jerome Baker. He put Jerome 0:13:57.760 --> 0:14:00.400 Baker in the middle of everything and tried keep him 0:14:00.440 --> 0:14:02.560 unblocked to let the room run. Because the Romes fans. 0:14:02.800 --> 0:14:04.880 He slide him to the tight end, cool guys down 0:14:04.920 --> 0:14:07.800 in the box. And when I saw not Jerome channing 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:10.120 rather at the draft party back in April, I asked 0:14:10.200 --> 0:14:12.920 him about, Hey, what do you think about Jerome's season 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:15.160 after you were so impressed with twenty nineteen? He said, 0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:17.160 he just got even better at the things he was 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:19.400 already doing. So there you have it, some takes from 0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:22.080 the coaching staff and X linebacker. Plenty of content there 0:14:22.320 --> 0:14:25.360 on Jerome Baker, and like Leonardo DiCaprio and the Wolf 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:29.080 of Wall Street, Jerome's not leaving three year extension and 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:32.600 a big congrats to Jerome Baker out there. Hopefully this 0:14:32.680 --> 0:14:35.680 brings you one step closer to finding mama. All right, 0:14:35.760 --> 0:14:37.640 we have more to get to here. I want to 0:14:37.680 --> 0:14:40.240 get to the other player that spoke at media on Friday, 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:43.480 and that was wide receiver Will Fuller. And after Will 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:46.320 gave me so many good sound bites and interesting answers 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:48.400 in the podcast back in March, when he signed with 0:14:48.440 --> 0:14:50.560 the Dolphins, I thought, why don't we just ask Will 0:14:50.600 --> 0:14:52.360 about how much funny is having being back on a 0:14:52.400 --> 0:14:56.080 football field. Hasn't played a game since last Thanksgiving, and 0:14:56.080 --> 0:14:57.880 then obviously this is his first time back with the 0:14:57.880 --> 0:15:01.520 Dolphins at voluntary camp here last week. So he talked 0:15:01.520 --> 0:15:03.440 about how much fun it is and how it feels 0:15:03.480 --> 0:15:05.960 great to be back on the field and just hearing 0:15:05.960 --> 0:15:08.560 play calls, moving around, competing a little bit, and just 0:15:08.560 --> 0:15:11.000 thinking football stuff on the field. He said, it feels 0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:12.800 good to be back out there. And then I followed 0:15:12.880 --> 0:15:15.000 up by asking about how is the process of getting 0:15:15.040 --> 0:15:17.400 to know your new teammates in terms of camaraderie building, 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:19.640 and he said, it's more about putting names to faces 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:22.040 right now and just showing his face. They're letting people 0:15:22.080 --> 0:15:24.120 know who he is, talking to as many people as 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:26.120 he can, so it's kind of like first day of school, 0:15:26.160 --> 0:15:28.440 getting to know everybody, all your new teammates. And he's 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:31.360 enjoying the process so far. And one thing's fan will 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:33.160 love to hear was he talked about how the Dolphins 0:15:33.160 --> 0:15:35.800 do have speed on this team. Said, you can't teach speed, 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:37.800 and we have it. It's not just me and Wallle. 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:40.520 There are other players with speed too. It's gonna be fun. 0:15:40.560 --> 0:15:42.720 We'll see we're gonna do with the coaches ask of us, 0:15:42.720 --> 0:15:44.880 and we're going to be playing fast and make some 0:15:44.920 --> 0:15:47.520 stuff happen. And I want to finish up with Will 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:50.640 Fuller's media availability here with a quote from Fuller talking 0:15:50.640 --> 0:15:53.160 about the process of coming to Miami and why he 0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:55.960 did want to sign with the Dolphins in free agency. Yeah. So, 0:15:56.000 --> 0:15:58.280 I mean this is my first free agencies so I 0:15:58.360 --> 0:16:00.640 just took I just took it. As you know, I 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:02.440 wanted to go to a team they wanted me. You 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:04.680 know that the Dolphins show showed the most interest. So 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:06.760 that's that's why I chose the Dolphins. And um, you know, 0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:08.280 ever since I've been here has been great. You know. 0:16:08.320 --> 0:16:10.800 I love the culture here, you know. Um, you know, 0:16:11.160 --> 0:16:13.040 it's just been easy to be here. And and you know, 0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:14.480 like I said, I've been in the building as much 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:17.480 as I can and I enjoy being here. So you know, 0:16:17.600 --> 0:16:19.720 I'm happy to do. Dolphins, you know, decided to take 0:16:19.720 --> 0:16:22.160 a chance on me. And so there's Will talking about 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:25.280 getting to Miami and enjoying the process and experience so far. 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:27.120 And we've covered a lot of his game here on 0:16:27.120 --> 0:16:29.000 the podcast in terms of what he brings to the 0:16:29.080 --> 0:16:32.120 offense and the speed and the underneath route running and 0:16:32.160 --> 0:16:35.920 the plus percentile and win ray on certain routes run. 0:16:36.120 --> 0:16:38.280 We went back and covered some stuff with Matt Harmon 0:16:38.360 --> 0:16:40.840 from Reception Perception dot Com and he tracks a lot 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:43.920 of stuff for fantasy purposes and for NFL purposes as well. 0:16:44.200 --> 0:16:46.440 Used to work at NFL Media before he broke off 0:16:46.640 --> 0:16:48.720 and did his own thing, and we had him on 0:16:48.840 --> 0:16:53.040 to preview the past catchers in the draft class. But 0:16:53.080 --> 0:16:54.880 I wanted to, of course, start with will Fuller and 0:16:54.920 --> 0:16:57.560 talk about his game and what he brings the Dolphins offense. 0:16:57.600 --> 0:16:59.040 I want to go ahead and play the audio for 0:16:59.080 --> 0:17:02.440 you guys here. When you look at him, even on 0:17:02.680 --> 0:17:04.800 a year by year basis, he had always been a 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:07.680 really strong separator and reception persception. You know. I break 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:10.160 things down not only by success rate versus man's own 0:17:10.200 --> 0:17:13.119 press coverage, but also by individual routes. You know, we'd 0:17:13.119 --> 0:17:14.679 always had a really good and if people go to 0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:16.960 Reception Perception dot Com and they sign up for the site, 0:17:17.359 --> 0:17:20.680 they can see not only uh, Will Fuller's twenty season, 0:17:20.680 --> 0:17:23.600 but go compare it to his twenty nineteen season as well, 0:17:24.040 --> 0:17:26.320 which I think is really useful because it shows you, 0:17:27.000 --> 0:17:29.359 even if you don't get the version of the player, 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:33.400 you're looking at excellent success rate on deep routes. Of course, 0:17:33.440 --> 0:17:35.359 we know that's part of it, but also routes like 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:37.480 the flat, the curl, you know, some of those more 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:40.600 shorter lay up patterns that are gonna be important for 0:17:41.160 --> 0:17:43.600 moving an offense down the field. And what I always 0:17:43.600 --> 0:17:47.320 liked about Fuller two playing with the Texans before was 0:17:47.359 --> 0:17:49.679 he just put defenses in such a bind. This is 0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:51.760 why I think of a player like Jalen Waddle is 0:17:51.760 --> 0:17:53.800 really going to be appealing for folks in the drafted. 0:17:54.160 --> 0:17:56.760 Fuller was never that number one receiver because the Texans 0:17:56.840 --> 0:18:01.359 had DeAndre Hopkins, and it's like, Okay, we want to, uh, 0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:05.280 just put some extra defensive attention just stopping DeAndre Hopkins. 0:18:05.359 --> 0:18:07.680 But then you're gonna leave Will Fuller on your number 0:18:07.680 --> 0:18:10.240 two corner exposed there on the other side of the 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:12.920 field with no help, you're gonna get destroyed. And those 0:18:13.000 --> 0:18:15.879 those games where it was Watson, Hopkins and will Fuller, 0:18:16.119 --> 0:18:18.760 those guys fired off together. It was real magic. But 0:18:19.200 --> 0:18:22.359 going back to the season, which I think is really, 0:18:22.359 --> 0:18:24.639 of course the important part here, this was a player 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:28.200 that jumped up huge in terms of success rate versus 0:18:28.200 --> 0:18:31.720 press like the Texans used him as an alpha wide 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:34.719 receiver out there as the ISO X guy basically just 0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:37.840 put him in DeAndre hopkins old spot, and he had 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:39.600 the best season of his career. And you can look 0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:41.440 at that, you know, look at that down the route 0:18:41.480 --> 0:18:44.199 tree as well. Only one route did he fall below 0:18:44.280 --> 0:18:46.720 the NFL average in terms of success rate, and that 0:18:46.800 --> 0:18:49.280 was the out route. Everything else, like, the Dolphins are 0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:52.719 getting a complete player. And I love that Matt mentions 0:18:52.760 --> 0:18:55.160 there the progression of will Fuller's career because I went 0:18:55.160 --> 0:18:57.520 back and watched his all twenty two on game pass 0:18:58.560 --> 0:19:00.679 his rookie season. You see that speech to up a 0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:02.680 lot too. But there was a lot of screens throwing 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:05.600 his ways and quick curls and just quick opportunities for 0:19:05.680 --> 0:19:07.119