Speaker 1: Touchdown Miami. What is up, Dolph Fans, 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: we stride right into the NFL's dead period with an
Speaker 1: action packed show. I'm gonna talk about development and the
Speaker 1: improvements players have seen under the watch of head coach
Speaker 1: Brian Flores and his staff. We're going to discuss the
Speaker 1: media from the end of last week with Byron Jones,
Speaker 1: Jesse Davis, and Coach himself. And we'll discuss Father's Day
Speaker 1: weekend on this busy, busy edition of the Drivetime Podcasts.
Speaker 1: And I'm hoping all the papas in the world enjoyed
Speaker 1: their special day on Sunday. How do you guys do
Speaker 1: Father's Day out there? Do you get the King's treatment
Speaker 1: all day? For me, we had some family obligations to
Speaker 1: fulfill and then once we got done with that, I
Speaker 1: was granted access to do whatever the hell I wanted
Speaker 1: to do on Sunday night, which was watch Hawks and
Speaker 1: Sixers Game seven and more on the sports weekend. Here
Speaker 1: in just a moment, as well as the season five
Speaker 1: premiere of Rick and Morty, which, as completely expected, hit
Speaker 1: the ball not just out of the ballpark, but about
Speaker 1: four nine feet out of the stadium. I mean Mr
Speaker 1: Nimbus Morty's actions causing the culture of an entire planet
Speaker 1: to be based on defeating him. Just an A plus episode.
Speaker 1: And just as I was thinking about the last time
Speaker 1: I anticipated a new episode of one of my favorite shows,
Speaker 1: the new season of Dave comes out, which, speaking of
Speaker 1: a plus, the way they intertwined drama and comedy in
Speaker 1: that show on f x X and Gaeta is quickly
Speaker 1: becoming one of my favorite actor slash person these is
Speaker 1: just absolutely fantastic. That's one of the best shows on
Speaker 1: TV right now. Then we get on Netflix. I think
Speaker 1: you should leave season two here in just a couple
Speaker 1: of weeks. And right behind that is Impractical Jokers. So
Speaker 1: good times in the TV world. Really for my money
Speaker 1: for the first time since pre pandemic. Then how about
Speaker 1: the sports weekend that was And maybe this is the
Speaker 1: it is the the payoff for all the sports we
Speaker 1: missed last year. But it just feels like every weekend
Speaker 1: we're getting fantastic sports with hockey and basketball and the
Speaker 1: US Open and F one. I won't mention my Seattle
Speaker 1: manners more than just to say they swept last year's
Speaker 1: American League champion Tampa Bay Rays in a four game series. Cool.
Speaker 1: I guess we're back over five hundred. But that's that's
Speaker 1: all I care to say about that. But the French
Speaker 1: Grand Prix was a thriller to me. It's so weird
Speaker 1: to see Lewis Hamilton's not be one of that, or
Speaker 1: not to be the guy rather to make the move
Speaker 1: to steal a win last moment. Exciting stuff there from
Speaker 1: Max First staffing with the Red Bull car, who, even
Speaker 1: though not a huge fan of his, has made the
Speaker 1: Driver's championships super interesting because he can challenge Lewis Hamilton's
Speaker 1: and the Mercedes team and good on my personal squad,
Speaker 1: the McLaren team for a fifth and sixth finish there
Speaker 1: at the French Grand Prix with Lando Norris and Daniel Ricardo,
Speaker 1: my favorite driver. And then there were the hoops and
Speaker 1: the hockey. But I'll be real with you guys here
Speaker 1: for just one second. Hockey is just not sticking for
Speaker 1: me as a sport for whatever reason. But hoops really
Speaker 1: are and so much so that I'm officially the owner
Speaker 1: of some Miami Heat apparel for the first time in
Speaker 1: my life. And the team that made quick work of
Speaker 1: the Heat is now onto the Eastern Conference Finals, and
Speaker 1: that was the biggest win of the NBA postseason to
Speaker 1: me because I just can't wait to see the super
Speaker 1: team kind of go away and become a thing of
Speaker 1: the past, and it appears to maybe be trending in
Speaker 1: that direction. The Nets were the only one left, I suppose,
Speaker 1: with the Lakers seemingly in some disarray with Lebron finally
Speaker 1: showing some age and Anthony Davis his injury history there,
Speaker 1: so to see them lose was awesome. Plug Us, Kevin
Speaker 1: Durant and James Harden to me are still super songs
Speaker 1: in my book. So I'm never gonna root for anything, Okay,
Speaker 1: see related and I love Janice and his story and
Speaker 1: I'm rooting like hell for that dude to give himself
Speaker 1: a championship. So go Bucks the rest of the way,
Speaker 1: and I'll pull for the Sons in the West because
Speaker 1: a I love Chris Paul I have since the Wake
Speaker 1: Forest days, but also our social media coordinator or as
Speaker 1: of last week, our former social media coordinator Simmer and Dave,
Speaker 1: congrats on the new gig sim at Bleacher Report. You've
Speaker 1: definitely earned it and deserve it. She's a huge, huge,
Speaker 1: die hard, real Phoenix Suns fan, so it was fun
Speaker 1: to see how excited she is after all these big
Speaker 1: Sons wins coming back to the office and she's pumped up.
Speaker 1: So Sons Bucks is my hope, and I'm hoping it's
Speaker 1: Milwaukee that captures the crown jewel at the end of
Speaker 1: it all. Last thing here on Father's Day before the football,
Speaker 1: I want to make a special mention of the stepfather's
Speaker 1: out there, the unsung heroes, and the ultimate selfless act
Speaker 1: of treating another person's child as your own. I was
Speaker 1: raised by a stepdad and I am forever grateful for him.
Speaker 1: So just a shout out to step dad's out there.
Speaker 1: So how about that football? On the plane ride back
Speaker 1: to Washington State for what seems like the thirtieth freaking
Speaker 1: time over the last eighteen months or so that I've
Speaker 1: made that flight, and it was my final bicoastal jump
Speaker 1: back over the country before we as a family make
Speaker 1: the move here in total for good. The next month,
Speaker 1: inspiration kind of struck me on this flight as I
Speaker 1: began to do some writing, and if you couldn't tell,
Speaker 1: I was trying to establish a bit of a theme
Speaker 1: and line of thinking in my questions for Coach Flores
Speaker 1: and the players last week at o T as media
Speaker 1: availabilities with regards to testing the waters, as Coach Flow
Speaker 1: put it. And I wasn't just hoping to examine coaches
Speaker 1: comments or two US comments or anybody else we talked
Speaker 1: to about being aggressive and practice. After all, this is
Speaker 1: nothing new. This is what practice has been in sport
Speaker 1: since the beginning of time. To relate my own experience
Speaker 1: in sports, my regular audience knows that I was a
Speaker 1: baseball guy back in my heyday, and in bad practice,
Speaker 1: we had some rules. We had to get one down,
Speaker 1: which is a bunt. Obviously, we had to get him
Speaker 1: over hit the baseball the other way to the right side.
Speaker 1: If you're a right handed hitter and get him in,
Speaker 1: get lift on a ball to the outfield to get
Speaker 1: your sack fly. Then my next fifteen or so swings,
Speaker 1: we're just trying to hit line drives into either gap
Speaker 1: less in our field or rights in her field, depending
Speaker 1: on where the pitch was on the outer half. Or
Speaker 1: the inn half, and I know these are different times
Speaker 1: pre launch angle. And then I would take a few
Speaker 1: swings where I did try to pony up and lift
Speaker 1: the baseball. Now I ran into a few home runs
Speaker 1: in my heyday, despite the fact that I was a
Speaker 1: leadoff hitter who stole a bunch of basses and was
Speaker 1: always on base. But it wasn't because of trying to
Speaker 1: elevate the baseball. And you know why I didn't bring
Speaker 1: it up over into games because I wasn't good at
Speaker 1: it in batting practice. So I would stick to sprang
Speaker 1: the ball all over the field because it got me
Speaker 1: on base better than half the time and created more
Speaker 1: runs for my team than if I tried to hit
Speaker 1: the big three run homers. So I tested it out
Speaker 1: in practice. That's the time to find out what your
Speaker 1: limitations or potential limitations are, and find out what you
Speaker 1: do best on the game day field. And so in
Speaker 1: thinking about that and thinking about coaches comments, and then
Speaker 1: consider the results of the development we've seen here with
Speaker 1: the individuals on this club that has been night and
Speaker 1: day to what it was before Flow arrived for almost
Speaker 1: an entire generation of Dolphins fans too. I mean, how
Speaker 1: many times, and especially especially to division rivals. Did we
Speaker 1: see talent and go out the door and then flourish elsewhere?
Speaker 1: For me, and I want to hear from older's, older
Speaker 1: Dolphins fans on this, but it probably didn't happen nearly
Speaker 1: as much because well Don Bleep and Shula was here.
Speaker 1: But for me, it started with Wes Welker. Then remember
Speaker 1: the Rex Ryan Buffalo Bills, not the Jets, the Rex
Speaker 1: Ryan Bills and that game where he made every ex
Speaker 1: Dolphin on their squad which was for deep A Captain,
Speaker 1: Richie Incognito, Charles Clay, Chris Hogan and Dan Carpenter all
Speaker 1: out there for the coin toss and that was a rough,
Speaker 1: rough forty one to fourteen game that was really over
Speaker 1: by mid way through the second quarter. I think we
Speaker 1: threw a pick six to make it twenty two one
Speaker 1: to nothing. And how those guys were the ones doing
Speaker 1: all the scoring for the Bills. Clay scored the very
Speaker 1: first touchdown of the game and they got themselves that
Speaker 1: big lead and started pumping the football to both Clay
Speaker 1: and Chris Hogan who found the end zone to make
Speaker 1: it thirty four to six or something like that. In
Speaker 1: the fourth quarter. So for a long time that was
Speaker 1: kind of the norm. But now now you see guys
Speaker 1: get here and they get better. You see draft picks
Speaker 1: show a clear trajectory in the right direction, allah of
Speaker 1: Jerome Baker. And so it got me thinking, we know
Speaker 1: about the results, but what about the process to get there? Now,
Speaker 1: I'm not going to be able to take you inside
Speaker 1: the entire plan of getting a player, concocting a plan
Speaker 1: first said players development, and then executing that plan for
Speaker 1: the players development. And a quick aside one I will
Speaker 1: never forget was the first season of the fantastic Amazon
Speaker 1: slash NFL film series All or Nothing, when Bruce Arians,
Speaker 1: then the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, was talking
Speaker 1: about their rook running back that they were very fond
Speaker 1: of and David Johnson and how he was running back kickoffs,
Speaker 1: making big explosive plays in the passing game, and Arians
Speaker 1: would talk not so candidly to his coaching staff that
Speaker 1: was of course picked up by the cameras there about
Speaker 1: how they were going to keep him in more of
Speaker 1: this complimentary role until about Thanksgiving or so, to keep
Speaker 1: him hungry, to keep him humble amidst all the success
Speaker 1: that he was having in that initial rookie season, and
Speaker 1: to tie it all back together, the ultimate place of
Speaker 1: development is on that practice field. You put in the
Speaker 1: film work, you put up the weights, you stay discipline
Speaker 1: in the kitchen. But when it's time to apply everything
Speaker 1: you've taken in the I guess extracurricular portion of the
Speaker 1: job and put it on the field and test those
Speaker 1: mechanics and your skill sets you've developed against your teammates
Speaker 1: and other guys working on the same things. That's when
Speaker 1: you see the proverbial sausage come through the grinder or
Speaker 1: whatever that machines called. And that's how you get your
Speaker 1: display for him, your sausage that goes in front of
Speaker 1: the window to sell to your customers. So I want
Speaker 1: to take a look at the roster and check out
Speaker 1: some of the names that can definitively point to and
Speaker 1: say here's a guy. Now, here's a guy that has
Speaker 1: really blossomed with this team since or you know, whenever
Speaker 1: it happened within that framework of time. And I start
Speaker 1: at the quarterback position with well, who else besides starting
Speaker 1: quarterback to a tongue vloa. Go back to Week fifteen
Speaker 1: last year against the Patriots. The Dolphins are on that
Speaker 1: yard march right into the five yard line, about to score,
Speaker 1: go up seven nothing, take a lead in a very
Speaker 1: important game against a Vision rival in New England, and
Speaker 1: it looks like it's gonna be a Dolphin's touchdown. But
Speaker 1: then to get some heat, he throws a ball to
Speaker 1: the outside under pressure and it's picked off by J. C.
Speaker 1: Jackson has to described it himself a rookie mistake in
Speaker 1: that moment. But what's the hallmark of the great players
Speaker 1: in this league. There are a few, but one of
Speaker 1: them is the ability to take an occurrence that happened
Speaker 1: in game, learned from it, and then within that same game,
Speaker 1: apply those lessons later on. And we heard exactly the
Speaker 1: same phrase for rookie Dolphins outside linebacker Jalen Phillips from
Speaker 1: Brett Coleman, who came on the podcast. He's from the
Speaker 1: film Room on YouTube does a great work. They're breaking
Speaker 1: down some some NFL and college football, and he talked
Speaker 1: about the best traits of each Miami rookie and he
Speaker 1: said his favorite thing about watching Jalen's college tape at
Speaker 1: the you was how he could counter moves that were
Speaker 1: successful early in ballgames, forwarding his pass rush to make
Speaker 1: an impact in the second half. Now that is the
Speaker 1: hallmark of a pass rusher you want on your squad.
Speaker 1: Key third downs in the second half, and he's figured
Speaker 1: out how to beat his man. That's choice stuff. Back
Speaker 1: to to a same game, fourth quarter, third and goal
Speaker 1: trailing nine to seven. In the game, he gets pressure,
Speaker 1: he makes a move in space and forces a mistackle
Speaker 1: right at the goal line to get it across for
Speaker 1: six in game. Application of adjustments and lessons applied big
Speaker 1: time for a then twenty two year old quarterback. At
Speaker 1: running back Miles Gaskin is inactive through the first nine
Speaker 1: weeks of his rookie season, gets the call and sees
Speaker 1: five snaps, next week, seven snaps, then sixteen, then sixteen again,
Speaker 1: and then thirteen before finally seeing thirty four snaps in
Speaker 1: each of the next two games, where he posts a
Speaker 1: hundred and thirty yards from scrimmage and his first career touchdown.
Speaker 1: Not bad for a rookie seventh round draft pick getting
Speaker 1: his first significant action. Then he gets to camp and
Speaker 1: he's in the Debrief podcast slash story on Drive time
Speaker 1: in Miami Dolphins dot Com every single day because to
Speaker 1: me he was looking the part of not just a contributor,
Speaker 1: but a possible feature back, and lo and behold, he
Speaker 1: enters Week one and gets overwhelmingly the majority of the
Speaker 1: Dolphins workload among running backs in that Week one game,
Speaker 1: and winds up finishing the season as the tenth highest
Speaker 1: player among all NFL running backs and average yards per
Speaker 1: scrimmage for yards from his krimmage rather per game, say
Speaker 1: that ten times fast, and one of college football's most
Speaker 1: productive running backs over a four year span. Takes a
Speaker 1: year to pick up the speed of the game, or
Speaker 1: the playbook, or whatever it might have been. Where Miles
Speaker 1: progressed for himself, the results spoke for themselves here under
Speaker 1: coach Eric Studisville in that running backs room, and savan
Speaker 1: akhmed his best friend and team at you dub now
Speaker 1: teammate here in Miami, goes from waiver wire to a
Speaker 1: back who averages a team high four point to five
Speaker 1: yards per carry and breaks the streak the Dolphins had
Speaker 1: for not having a one yard rusher at twenty five
Speaker 1: games and finishes his rookie season with almost four hundred
Speaker 1: yfs yards from scrimmage and three total touchdowns on just
Speaker 1: eighty nine touches production from a guy that was undrafted
Speaker 1: and got here in August after spending the entire summer
Speaker 1: with another club. Also, he was activated for the first
Speaker 1: time in Week nine after not being active for the
Speaker 1: first three games, when he was called up to the
Speaker 1: active roster in Week five against the forty nine, his
Speaker 1: former team. So he gets here and learns and does
Speaker 1: the process and develops and gets production. For Miles Gaskin
Speaker 1: with his game and his his skill set jump, I
Speaker 1: just look at the balance that he showed and the
Speaker 1: way he's able to not only make tackling and was
Speaker 1: more difficult, but to bounce off of them and stay
Speaker 1: on his feet. And he talked about this this offseason
Speaker 1: with some media availability about getting stronger and specifically strengthening
Speaker 1: awkward type of movements or muscle groups like your ankles.
Speaker 1: Are just finding ways to mimic the football movement that
Speaker 1: you can't do with traditional weightlifting or even certain agility movements,
Speaker 1: like you have to find certain ways to mimic football movement.
Speaker 1: He talked about that in this offseason at the receiver position,
Speaker 1: you look no further than DeVante Parker sticks number eleven himself.
Speaker 1: He gained more yards in twenty nineteen than he did
Speaker 1: in seventeen and eighteen combined. He also caught thirteen of
Speaker 1: his twenty two touchdowns in his career since the arrival
Speaker 1: of Brian Flores and staff, and under the watch of
Speaker 1: wide receivers coach Josh Grizzard, who went from assistant receivers
Speaker 1: coach in twenty nineteen to earning a promotion to full
Speaker 1: time receivers coach in And not just that, but Davante's
Speaker 1: games played average saw a nice bump from thirteen and
Speaker 1: a quarter games per season and his first four years
Speaker 1: in the league up to fifteen games per season. Each
Speaker 1: of the last two he's been more physical. I thought
Speaker 1: his contested catchability has just shot through the roof and
Speaker 1: he goes up there and that football is his when
Speaker 1: it's in the air between he and a defender. Speaking
Speaker 1: of contested catchers, Preston Williams an undrafted free agent to
Speaker 1: a guy that's played sixteen games in two years. A
Speaker 1: couple of unfortunate injuries to end those seasons, but he
Speaker 1: produced seven hundred and sixteen yards and seven touchdowns. That's
Speaker 1: really good production from a U d f A in
Speaker 1: sixteen games. The tight end position might have the best
Speaker 1: example of all from growth and Mike get sick and
Speaker 1: his usage went from in line as a traditional y
Speaker 1: tight end in his rookie season to less than ten
Speaker 1: percent to capitalize on those gifts that he shows as
Speaker 1: a receiver, to help get him more free releases and
Speaker 1: all the benefits that come from playing detached from the
Speaker 1: line opposed to being in line, and he responds by
Speaker 1: showing a just growth in the functional strength, the improved
Speaker 1: ability to fight through re routes and demming safeties and
Speaker 1: linebackers off the line, from two hundred and two yards
Speaker 1: as a rookie to five hundred and seventy in a
Speaker 1: second season and then seven hundred and three last year.
Speaker 1: Also no touchdowns as a rookie, five in that sophomore
Speaker 1: campaign and a career high six last season. And how
Speaker 1: about the yards per target jump he saw up to
Speaker 1: eight point three. That's eight point three for a tight end,
Speaker 1: that's receiver numbers, and that's up from six point four
Speaker 1: and six point three his first two seasons. And really
Speaker 1: that stretch of production began in Week twelve of twenty nineteen.
Speaker 1: He scored all five of his touchdowns from week twelve
Speaker 1: on right around Thanksgiving up through December, and how about
Speaker 1: a rookie on the offensive line and Robert Hunt. He
Speaker 1: goes from extra offensive lineman six or seventh guy off
Speaker 1: the bench in the heavy personnel to starting right tackle
Speaker 1: and all he does is play out the final six
Speaker 1: games of last season as one of PF's top ten
Speaker 1: graded offensive tackles. Take that for what you will. Onto
Speaker 1: the defense, we saw ray Kwon Davis get an elevation
Speaker 1: of playing time right around the midway point of the
Speaker 1: season and his play took off from there. We've noted
Speaker 1: his pressures, his run stops, his tackles for loss, all
Speaker 1: those jumps he saw about midway through the season last year.
Speaker 1: As we have discussed on this podcast, his teammate on
Speaker 1: the defensive line there is Zack Seeler. He gets here
Speaker 1: in December of twenty nineteen after being waived by the
Speaker 1: Baltimore Ravens, and he has an immediate impact with some
Speaker 1: promising reps in a week fifteen game at the Giants
Speaker 1: and then the production to match the following week where
Speaker 1: he records a bunch of pressures, hits, sacks, TFLs against
Speaker 1: the Bengals in that game also had some past breakups
Speaker 1: at the line. Then part way into the season he
Speaker 1: earns a contract extension and and for what it's worth,
Speaker 1: he claimed a spot in the top twenty on Brandon
Speaker 1: Thorne's true sack rate for interior rushers. Brandon Thorne evaluates
Speaker 1: past rushers and offensive lineman. He did the podcast back
Speaker 1: and I want to say February, which is really impressive
Speaker 1: to me for Zach because he plays inside and outside
Speaker 1: and those outside reps didn't count in this particular measurement.
Speaker 1: So good work there from Zach Seeler as a pass
Speaker 1: rusher and the interior defensive line. Christian Wilkins had a
Speaker 1: nice jump too, and just real quick. Year two jumps
Speaker 1: I think are interesting because they are automatically assumed by
Speaker 1: every single fan base, right like you, you think that
Speaker 1: you're gonna see a like, without doubt, a tangible jump
Speaker 1: from employer from year one to year two, because that's
Speaker 1: just how you operate when you don't have the benefit
Speaker 1: of full information. But it doesn't always happen. Maybe we've
Speaker 1: become a bit spoiled into thinking that it does the
Speaker 1: last couple of years, But I'm old enough to remember
Speaker 1: the likes of Jason Allen or John Beck or Chad
Speaker 1: Henny or Jamaar Taylor, and the list goes on and
Speaker 1: on and on. But Wilkins took a tangible jump. Pro
Speaker 1: Football Reference had him with an approximate value A a
Speaker 1: stat that measures just a player's overall impact on the
Speaker 1: game and the season and every year of their career
Speaker 1: of four in twenty nineteen, that number went all the
Speaker 1: way up to seven in which was the same number
Speaker 1: as ray Kwon Davis. For comparison sake, I've got several
Speaker 1: examples of this development and growth in the second level
Speaker 1: of the defense. Jerome Baker. I mean, we covered that
Speaker 1: pretty thoroughly in the episode last week tracking his extension.
Speaker 1: The box score production was unreal in after showing his
Speaker 1: medal as a versatile, durable, explosive four down player his
Speaker 1: first two years in the league. And one thing I
Speaker 1: liked about Jerome this year personally was the improvement in
Speaker 1: taking on blocks. I thought he showed real growth in
Speaker 1: that area. And speaking of that, our next candidate on
Speaker 1: this list as Andrew Van Ginkel. Now, if you were
Speaker 1: riding with me back in the Lockdown Dolphins days, you
Speaker 1: remember my personal a VG journey. I was not familiar
Speaker 1: with him with his game when the Dolphins drafted him
Speaker 1: in twenty nine team, but I got right to work,
Speaker 1: and after two or three tapes, I couldn't believe this
Speaker 1: guy made to the fifth round. He had one big
Speaker 1: year of production at Wisconsin, and it was easy to
Speaker 1: see why because watching his tape, you would find him
Speaker 1: locate bodies, not just grass, but locate route runners, potential
Speaker 1: threats on his zone drops and take him away. He
Speaker 1: would gained depth when he got out to the flat
Speaker 1: to help him locate what what route concept it might be.
Speaker 1: And there were clips in his rookie season to confirm
Speaker 1: what I saw on that Wisconsin tape. Shoot there on
Speaker 1: my timeline from two years ago. He's not just picking
Speaker 1: up routes that originate from his side of the football.
Speaker 1: He's finding backside crossers and walling them off and disrupting
Speaker 1: pass lanes. A very high level concept thinker when it
Speaker 1: comes to defending the passing game at that linebacker position.
Speaker 1: And the one thing that wasn't a consistent occurrence of
Speaker 1: his on the college tape was taking on and defeating
Speaker 1: those blocks. And then he misses the first eleven games
Speaker 1: of his career with a dang injury. I was so
Speaker 1: bummed to see that. But then he comes back in
Speaker 1: and he's doing it all of a sudden, like regularly,
Speaker 1: he's knifing in there and cutting possible split zone blocks.
Speaker 1: He's spilling out fullbacks and tripping up the ball carrier
Speaker 1: for tackles for loss in addition to the zone drops
Speaker 1: in coverage. And so that kind of just to me,
Speaker 1: speaks to just because the guy doesn't have something on
Speaker 1: his college tape doesn't mean he can't do it. We
Speaker 1: talked about with running backs all time that don't have
Speaker 1: pass game production in college, Like if a coach see
Speaker 1: something and a player that I can maybe developed and
Speaker 1: turn him into that player, that's great. And maybe that's
Speaker 1: what happened here with Van Ginkle because he has been
Speaker 1: really good in that area as a pro and then
Speaker 1: just last year he turns up the pass rush and
Speaker 1: at the most critical times. Shack Lawson, who was a
Speaker 1: prominent fixture on the defense, played plenty of downs last year,
Speaker 1: but the two games he missed were San fran in
Speaker 1: Las Vegas and Gek's stat line. In those two games,
Speaker 1: he combined for seven quarterback pressures, three sacks, fourteen tackles,
Speaker 1: a forced fumble, and outside of those games, he also
Speaker 1: scored a seventy eight yard fumble returned for a touchdown,
Speaker 1: and he blocked a punt that put us on the
Speaker 1: one yard line to get another touchdown on the board.
Speaker 1: If we're talking about true impact four down players, consider
Speaker 1: that growth. As a fifth round pick just two years
Speaker 1: ago at the same position, Sam edgl Van came down
Speaker 1: from Canada and all he did in twenty nine team
Speaker 1: was ranked in the top five among off ball linebackers
Speaker 1: and QB pressures. Now, granted, he also led that group
Speaker 1: in pass rush reps per Pro Football Focus. And remember,
Speaker 1: off ball does not include the likes of the Von
Speaker 1: Millers of the world, the Khalil Max your outside on
Speaker 1: ball rushers. This is only off ball linebackers, guys that
Speaker 1: play on two points stands away from the football. But
Speaker 1: it speaks to what the Dolphins saw in eg Vaughan
Speaker 1: and how they were able to use his skills with
Speaker 1: that quick first step and that closing speed at that
Speaker 1: linebacker position, which made him a mainstay on the Miami
Speaker 1: Dolphins special teams each of the last two years. Also,
Speaker 1: Eland and Roberts had his highest approximate value on Pro
Speaker 1: Football Reference since seen last year, he notched a career
Speaker 1: high eight tackles for loss, despite matching a career lowan
Speaker 1: games played with thirteen two again those dang injuries. Vince
Speaker 1: Bagel led the team and quarterback pressures in twenty nineteen
Speaker 1: after arriving in September and a player for players swap
Speaker 1: for Kiko Alonso with the Saints, and it should be
Speaker 1: noted that he had five total quarterback pressures his first
Speaker 1: two seasons in Green Bay and in New Orleans respectively,
Speaker 1: before checking him with thirty four pressures in twenty nineteen,
Speaker 1: where he also added twenty two run stops and an interception,
Speaker 1: all the obviously career bests. And then finally, in the
Speaker 1: defensive secondary, four players set or tied their career high
Speaker 1: in I n T s last season under DBS coach
Speaker 1: Gerald Alexander, Xavien Howard, Byron Jones, Eric Row, and Nick
Speaker 1: need Um, who matched the two from his rookie season,
Speaker 1: will start there with Eric Rowe, a midseason positional convert
Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen who went on to post awesome numbers
Speaker 1: and coverage, primarily against tight ends, and he said going
Speaker 1: into last season, his second as a safety or or
Speaker 1: his first full season as a primary safety, that he
Speaker 1: wanted to work on fitting the run and learning the
Speaker 1: aspect of that position further because as you often see
Speaker 1: number twenty ones down there in the trash, mixing it
Speaker 1: up with guys that he's giving an excess of eighty
Speaker 1: or ninety pounds two at times down there and his
Speaker 1: highest a v before Miami three the last two years
Speaker 1: six and seven. Growth improvement, development of rookies and veterans alike.
Speaker 1: Speaking of rookies, Nick need Um undrafted cornerback out of
Speaker 1: you tip, you tip. You know how artists go from
Speaker 1: a Conference USA competition to the n f L, Well
Speaker 1: Nick did it. And last year, which was his first,
Speaker 1: converting from a primary outside corner to a slot guy
Speaker 1: inside in matchups with Cooper Cup, Keenan Allen, Jamison Crowder,
Speaker 1: and Tyler Boyd four of the best slot guys in
Speaker 1: the NFL the last few years. Eight receptions on fourteen
Speaker 1: targets for eighty six yards, no touchdowns and a pick
Speaker 1: that's six point one four yards per target. Not bad
Speaker 1: at all, not bad at all. So the list is tangible,
Speaker 1: it's long and It's got me thinking about the proverbial
Speaker 1: ping pong balls and the hopper that could be on
Speaker 1: this list next season. At this time, we started the
Speaker 1: receiver position Jalen Waddle. There's no real precedent here, but
Speaker 1: if you're a fan of the podcast, you know how
Speaker 1: good I think Jalen Waddle can be and why the
Speaker 1: Dolphins took him with that six pick in the draft.
Speaker 1: As Daniel Jeremiah says, freaky fast with the GPS records
Speaker 1: to match, and that changes the way defenses have to defend,
Speaker 1: especially when you've got another one, an accomplished guy, and
Speaker 1: Will Fuller with similar vertical speed and oh yeah, Jachem
Speaker 1: Grant Robert Auster, both who have notched sub four three
Speaker 1: forty yard dash times once upon time in their pro days.
Speaker 1: But I digress. That's not the point here. Staying at
Speaker 1: that position, Lynn Bowden had late season emergence last year,
Speaker 1: and now he's got the full benefit of a full
Speaker 1: offseason working with two and the quarterbacks and the rest
Speaker 1: of the receivers. And last year they talked a little
Speaker 1: bit about the offensive staff, how Lynn was getting caught
Speaker 1: up as he got here in September and and working
Speaker 1: through some special packages to get him touches, but how
Speaker 1: he had to really work extra hard to get the
Speaker 1: base concepts of the offense down because he was a
Speaker 1: late arrival. Shoot, he was here and we had a
Speaker 1: game in a week. That's how much time he had
Speaker 1: to get acclimated. And he got more and more comfortable
Speaker 1: as the season went along and produced more and more
Speaker 1: late in the season. You go to the offensive line,
Speaker 1: Austin Jackson, Rob Hunt, Solomonckinley. These guys have such rare
Speaker 1: physical traits in terms of their athletic ability and the
Speaker 1: power and the pop and the nastiness with which they play.
Speaker 1: Again the full offseason, shoot, I thought we saw growth
Speaker 1: from all three of these guys in season. Now you
Speaker 1: get the full compliment of the off season. I think
Speaker 1: it's only reasonable to expect growth from those guys as well.
Speaker 1: And then one of the guy on the offensive line,
Speaker 1: Michael Dieter. I think it was like eighteen or twenty
Speaker 1: two reps in there that he played last year in
Speaker 1: place of an injured Solomon Kinley on the offensive line,
Speaker 1: But they were good reps and I think the year
Speaker 1: of seasoning could be really good for Mike, who I
Speaker 1: thought looked a little bit stronger and fitter in the
Speaker 1: right places back in minicamp last week. On the defensive
Speaker 1: side of the ball, I think Jalen Phillips is a
Speaker 1: pretty prominent name on this list if you talk to
Speaker 1: fans and other writers that cover the sport. But I'm
Speaker 1: gonna put Adam Butler in here too, even though this
Speaker 1: is already an accomplished player with a resume in the NFL.
Speaker 1: I look at how the Dolphins have rebuilt or reconstructed
Speaker 1: the interior of this defense this offseason. And you've heard
Speaker 1: me mention this about I don't know twenty five or
Speaker 1: fifty five times or so. But the trio of Baker,
Speaker 1: Bernardrick McKinney, another newcomer, and Adam Butler, they complement each
Speaker 1: other so well in my opinion, that the stats might
Speaker 1: not be evenly shared among the three. But the one
Speaker 1: common goal that y'all care about is shutting down opposing offenses.
Speaker 1: I think that trio will play a large part in
Speaker 1: accomplishing that goal because the combo of their size and
Speaker 1: their speed in that first step explosiveness, all of them
Speaker 1: have it. And like I said, it's hard to predict
Speaker 1: who's gonna get the sacks that hits the hurries. But
Speaker 1: I think Adam is in a position to really capitalize
Speaker 1: and be one of those guys we talked about at
Speaker 1: this time next year in terms of career highs and
Speaker 1: some key stats in the secondary. I just point to
Speaker 1: all the young guys. Javon Holland I've made no secret
Speaker 1: about how much I love his college tape, the ball hawking,
Speaker 1: the instinctive nature to pull the trigger before the ball
Speaker 1: comes out. He comes in and makes plays in condensed
Speaker 1: areas and lays the wood in short areas and can
Speaker 1: play deep as well as far as his college tape goes.
Speaker 1: Brandon Jones, instinctive players, in my experience tend to benefit
Speaker 1: the most from that year to jump, and my goodness,
Speaker 1: I love hearing Brandon talk xs and ohs and the
Speaker 1: mental side of the game. He damn near jumped a
Speaker 1: little hook up route in Jacksonville last year to Lavisco Chanal,
Speaker 1: and my hope is with a year of experience and
Speaker 1: playing a tenth of a second fast or he can
Speaker 1: turn that from a completion to not just a pass breakup,
Speaker 1: but maybe a pick, maybe even a pick six. I
Speaker 1: also want to mention the sack he had against the
Speaker 1: Jets and the block against the Cardinals that he had
Speaker 1: to spring Shacklaws and for that long touchdown when ob
Speaker 1: punched it out. Just two plays that show his will,
Speaker 1: his hustle, and his versatility as he got that sack
Speaker 1: on the against the Jets in the red zone when
Speaker 1: the Dolphins were in a zero zero game trying to
Speaker 1: get off the field of force a field goal in
Speaker 1: a very important game last December. So good work there
Speaker 1: from Brandon Jones. And let's go ahead and finish it
Speaker 1: up here with Noah ig Manogeny as he provides a
Speaker 1: bit of a segue here to our first media vail
Speaker 1: to cover from last week. As Byron Jones talked about
Speaker 1: the studious nature of this game. He talked about it
Speaker 1: last season, how he's here with the coaches before everybody
Speaker 1: else and he's here after with the coaches working on stuff.
Speaker 1: We talked about the physical stature that he showed in
Speaker 1: that workout video I talked about a couple of weeks
Speaker 1: back on the podcast where he's out there shirtless moving
Speaker 1: around just looks physically built but also quick and in
Speaker 1: those awesome shades too. By the way, and Byron as
Speaker 1: So mentioned his training camp last year, saying he bought
Speaker 1: out last camp and that matched my notes where he
Speaker 1: was often in those debrief pieces and talking about how
Speaker 1: competitive he was going up against Davonte Parker and Preston Williams,
Speaker 1: guys that have caught big passes in this league on
Speaker 1: game days. And then he has a strong O t
Speaker 1: A this year as well, and the fact that he
Speaker 1: has the coach and we've talked about I mean Flora's
Speaker 1: Bowyer Alexander and Burke's talk about being in good hands there.
Speaker 1: And I don't want to leave the other rookies off
Speaker 1: this list because I love this draft class so much
Speaker 1: so Eikenberg, Long, Coleman, Doakes, the U d f a
Speaker 1: S will be keeping an eye on those guys for
Speaker 1: when we revisit this piece next summer, and not to
Speaker 1: mention the dark horse candidates who will inevitably produce at
Speaker 1: least a name or two that we just did not
Speaker 1: see coming, because that is how football works, and that's
Speaker 1: what makes it so much fun. Alright. Byron Jones met
Speaker 1: with the media last week, and I love talking to
Speaker 1: Byron because he gives you such thoughtful, in depth answers
Speaker 1: and I also just feel like he has an interesting
Speaker 1: perspective and approach to the game. One of the things
Speaker 1: I wanted to ask Byron about was if you walk
Speaker 1: Chim during games or practice, when he's not on the
Speaker 1: field or he's not taking reps, he's usually off to
Speaker 1: the side doing something, whether it's staying loose or working
Speaker 1: on technique. It reminds me a lot of myself when
Speaker 1: I was back to my baseball days, I had a
Speaker 1: very specific on deck routine where if I wasn't able
Speaker 1: to get that routine in before and at bat, I
Speaker 1: wasn't very happy with the results I would get most
Speaker 1: of the time, so I always always had to be
Speaker 1: strict to that routine. It kind of reminds me of
Speaker 1: that because you just see him he's out there doing
Speaker 1: some side shuffling or just getting some kind of working
Speaker 1: to stay loose. He talked about that. He also talked
Speaker 1: about his mindset of every single season being a reset
Speaker 1: and how you have to build up from step one
Speaker 1: and stack the days on top of each other before
Speaker 1: you get to where your ultimate goal is at the
Speaker 1: end of the season. I thought that was a very
Speaker 1: unique perspective, But his best answer was when I asked
Speaker 1: him about another theme of media this week where we
Speaker 1: were talking about playing multiple positions and how that helps
Speaker 1: you gain a different perspective of seeing the field from
Speaker 1: front spots, as coach Flor has talked about. So I
Speaker 1: asked Byron about his time playing safety in Dallas and
Speaker 1: now that he's been a cornerback in his last couple
Speaker 1: of years there in Dallas and now with Miami going
Speaker 1: into a second season here about how that helped him,
Speaker 1: and he gave me a fantastic answer. Talking all things football,
Speaker 1: let's go to Byron. Yeah, Now, it's very valuable. So
Speaker 1: for example, that covered two. As a corner, uncovered two,
Speaker 1: I could be as aggressive as I want at the
Speaker 1: line of scrimmage because I do have it over the
Speaker 1: top safety. But there is a weak spot. It's called
Speaker 1: the honey hoole. And if you're if you've never been
Speaker 1: a safety, you don't really know how hard it is
Speaker 1: to get from. You know the numbers all the way
Speaker 1: through the sideline and the quarterback those at dark. So
Speaker 1: as a corner, I I typically carry those honeyhole shots
Speaker 1: a little bit longer than most corners because I just
Speaker 1: know what it feels like to be a safety. So, um,
Speaker 1: just being a guy. I've been in this league for
Speaker 1: now seven years, I played multipositions. I try to help
Speaker 1: out my guys as much as I can. I try
Speaker 1: to take as much stress off the safeties and they
Speaker 1: try to do the same for me as a corner. Um,
Speaker 1: I try to understand where where my help is, so
Speaker 1: I play you know, certain leverage inside leverage, outside leverage
Speaker 1: depending on where my help is. And um, you know,
Speaker 1: you you gained a better appreciation the defenses in its
Speaker 1: entirety when you actually understand and appreciate each position. Um.
Speaker 1: So now it's it's it's invaluable. That's one thing that
Speaker 1: that's awesome about some of the young guy to be
Speaker 1: having our team because they're still versatile and they're playing
Speaker 1: different positions and learning, uh, those different perspectives. So that's
Speaker 1: gonna be valuable in the future and in this year
Speaker 1: as well. To kind of cover some of the verbiage
Speaker 1: there that Byron talks about, the honeyhole if you consider
Speaker 1: the little gap between where the safety and the underneath
Speaker 1: quarterback are in cover. To think about the mac Hollands
Speaker 1: completion against the Raiders last year where they had the
Speaker 1: deep safety off in a cornerback underneath who turned mac
Speaker 1: Hollins free. And that's what Byron is talking about. With
Speaker 1: carrying that receiver, you kind of carry him further up
Speaker 1: and then you kind of close back down the flat
Speaker 1: if someone's in that area once you pass him off
Speaker 1: to where you say, I can let him get past
Speaker 1: me now because the safety has enough time to get
Speaker 1: over there. And NFL quarterbacks are so good with you know,
Speaker 1: velocity and putting rip on the football and and seeing
Speaker 1: things that if you give them that opening, they can
Speaker 1: find that soft spot in the zone and attack it.
Speaker 1: So it's cool to hear Byron talk about that. He
Speaker 1: also discussed, you know, plenty of other content where he
Speaker 1: you know, he talked about the younger players right there.
Speaker 1: He talks about Noah Ignogny a bunch and the work
Speaker 1: habits he sees from Noga Noah and the physical traits
Speaker 1: that he showcases. He also talked a little bit about
Speaker 1: some of his charitable work, you know, the Walter Payton
Speaker 1: Man of the Year nominee for the Miami Dolphins last year,
Speaker 1: and it shows with the way he conducts himself as
Speaker 1: a leader on the football field as well as in
Speaker 1: the community. We also heard from coach last Thursdays. He
Speaker 1: was asked about O t A s and the value
Speaker 1: of getting these mini camps and some of the offseason
Speaker 1: programs to help develop camaraderie and team chemistry. Talked about
Speaker 1: working on techniques and fundamentals on the field, and he said,
Speaker 1: anytime you can get on the field to work with
Speaker 1: our coaching staff, or the players can work with our
Speaker 1: coaching staff and go through these techniques and fundamentals, get
Speaker 1: them corrected, go out there, do them again and get
Speaker 1: better at them. I think repetition is always a good thing,
Speaker 1: so we're able to get that accomplished. I'm happy with
Speaker 1: what we did this offseason and hopefully it helps us
Speaker 1: moving forward into training camp and into preseason games and
Speaker 1: into the season. He was also asked about his message
Speaker 1: to players during this dead period as we call it,
Speaker 1: and he said his message was to go on vacation,
Speaker 1: to take this time to recharge, get some rest, spend
Speaker 1: time with your families, your friends, your loved ones. He
Speaker 1: talked about having balance in your life, so that was
Speaker 1: his message to the team, but at the same time,
Speaker 1: keep yourself in condition and train. And this is me
Speaker 1: speaking now because that South Florida heat in August and
Speaker 1: July it is unrelenting, So these guys are gonna have
Speaker 1: to work on it. Here, I am doing a podcast
Speaker 1: in my upstairs of my house without central air. We
Speaker 1: have an a C unit in the window. I'm preparing
Speaker 1: for training camp going through the heat down here. Uh.
Speaker 1: In this podcast studio, Coach also talked about Liam Eichenberg
Speaker 1: getting his opportunity to get some reps and what he
Speaker 1: looks like as a player. Talked about Jillen Wildle two,
Speaker 1: saying from a health standpoint, I think you saw him
Speaker 1: run yesterday. I'm looking at him run and it looks
Speaker 1: like he's doing all right from that standpoint, So that
Speaker 1: was good to hear him confirm that for US. Coach
Speaker 1: also talked about the center position. We talked about Michael
Speaker 1: Dieter earlier in the podcast. He spoke about his flexibility
Speaker 1: of playing guard, playing center, playing some tackle, and really
Speaker 1: across the offensive line, talking about being in competition to
Speaker 1: get playing time this season and how Michael is excited
Speaker 1: about the opportunity. He also was asked further about Michael
Speaker 1: Dieter Match Scurrow and Cameron tom three of the interior
Speaker 1: offensive linemen that have center attached to their position, and
Speaker 1: he's talked about signing players with the idea that they
Speaker 1: will create competition and nobody's gonna be given anything. And
Speaker 1: he talks about how at all positions that's always the
Speaker 1: plan to come in, compete, learn the playbook, communicate with
Speaker 1: your teammates, and will play the best people at whatever position.
Speaker 1: He also talked about playing the best five guys along
Speaker 1: the offensive line, and Jesse was asked about being at
Speaker 1: O T A S at the stage of his career,
Speaker 1: and he talked about being accountable and just being wherever
Speaker 1: they need him to be. So I'm not going to
Speaker 1: tell them no. I like playing. I like being out there.
Speaker 1: I like mixing it up with the guys to be
Speaker 1: out there for O T. S. I thought that was
Speaker 1: a cool quote from Jesse. He talked about bouncing around
Speaker 1: positions and having that experience and then passing out along
Speaker 1: to younger guys to give them the idea of what
Speaker 1: to expect. How do you play this guy? How do
Speaker 1: you set this? He said, I like being a teacher
Speaker 1: for these guys because they've all got to play too,
Speaker 1: and a look forward to watching them. He was also
Speaker 1: asked about being in that leadership role and how not
Speaker 1: being scared of competition because vets that helped him along
Speaker 1: the way weren't scared of his competition and he wants
Speaker 1: to kind of give that back and help these young guys.
Speaker 1: And that's part of the role to be a leader.
Speaker 1: You've got to help your team out, he says. And
Speaker 1: if you're afraid of competition, this is not the place
Speaker 1: to be. He spoke about more confidence from his quarterback
Speaker 1: into a tongue of byloa, how he's seen that, how
Speaker 1: he's seen great leadership, how he's taking control of the
Speaker 1: huddle and knows exactly what he's doing. And on that topic,
Speaker 1: Jesse weighed in on the first day of practice and
Speaker 1: he said the only way to get better is by failure.
Speaker 1: It's just one practice. It was reigning, Jesse said, And
Speaker 1: I want to finish up here this podcast with Jesse
Speaker 1: on a comment that he gave me in a response
Speaker 1: to a question I asked him about playing multiple positions
Speaker 1: and the things that he can take away from this
Speaker 1: training camp or from minicamp. Rather without the pads on
Speaker 1: because coach Flores talked about there's no bull rushes. There's
Speaker 1: those guys. You can't lean on people and hit them
Speaker 1: because we don't have full pads on. So here's Jesse
Speaker 1: talking about what you can take from this time of year.
Speaker 1: I think it's a good reminder of what we're looking
Speaker 1: at to evaluate in June. Practices. Yeah, you know, you're not.
Speaker 1: It's mostly you know, passes, not a lot of runs,
Speaker 1: not like fitting up or anything. Um, you know, you're
Speaker 1: kind of getting your sets. You're getting your handwork, more
Speaker 1: technique base, you know, more funnily with that. But um,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm just trying to get myself to quiet
Speaker 1: my feet down, keep my hands tight, and I think
Speaker 1: that everybody does that in Mobilne too, you know, just
Speaker 1: trying to work the same thing. It's not as easy
Speaker 1: it sounds, but I mean that's kind of the thing,
Speaker 1: you know, you go into these camps trying to work.
Speaker 1: So there's Jesse talking about his workload and as for
Speaker 1: the workload on this podcast, that is going to be
Speaker 1: my time. One last mention here on the podcast, huge
Speaker 1: huge amounts of respect for Carl Nassi of the Las
Speaker 1: Vegas Raiders. He announced on social media he came out
Speaker 1: as the only currently active NFL player to come out
Speaker 1: as gay in the league. So very very courageous there
Speaker 1: from Carl Nassip. He also amounts a one thousand dollar
Speaker 1: donation to a suicide prevention foundation called the Trevor Projects.
Speaker 1: So very cool stuff. They're from Carl Nasseb and Happy
Speaker 1: Pride Month to Carl and everybody out there in the community.
Speaker 1: All right, go ahead and finish up this podcast here
Speaker 1: with reminder to subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcast
Speaker 1: or Google Play, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast from.
Speaker 1: Go ahead and leave us a rating and leave us
Speaker 1: a review. You can follow me on Twitter at Winkfleld NFL.
Speaker 1: You can follow the team at Miami Dolphins, check out
Speaker 1: the fish Tank and the Audible podcast, and of course,
Speaker 1: last but not least, Miami Dolphins dot com. Until next time,
Speaker 1: fins up.