WEBVTT - Sony Michel Breakdown and Assistant Coaches Media Availability 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:05.360 To us fires touch style by waddle stuck into the 0:00:05.440 --> 0:00:09.440 end zone of Miami Boy, tight froll type window. They 0:00:09.440 --> 0:00:11.760 had to get that touchdown on that play. They get it. 0:00:15.280 --> 0:00:19.840 What is up, Dolphans And welcome to the Drive Time Podcast, 0:00:20.120 --> 0:00:24.000 part of the Miami Dolphins podcast network, covering your team, 0:00:24.040 --> 0:00:28.280 your Miami Dolphins. How's it going everybody? I am your 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:32.080 host Travis Wingfield And on today's show, a new player 0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:36.199 to evaluate. Running back Sony Michelle has signed with the 0:00:36.240 --> 0:00:39.680 Miami Dolphins. Will get into his game and what he brings. 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:43.480 Plus we'll hear from the offensive staff on the Michelle edition, 0:00:43.760 --> 0:00:46.919 and the entire coaching staff on mini camps, the new 0:00:46.920 --> 0:00:49.240 players they've added, and a whole heck of a lot 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:52.680 more assistant coaches. Media Day one of my favorite days 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:55.120 in the calendar. When we get it, We've got that 0:00:55.200 --> 0:00:57.880 covered today, and a whole lot more from the Baptist 0:00:57.880 --> 0:01:00.440 Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Calm Plex. This 0:01:00.640 --> 0:01:09.080 is the Drive Time Podcast, alright, A new signing. Always 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:11.319 love a chance to crack open the tape and my 0:01:11.440 --> 0:01:14.840 favorite analytics sites to learn about a new player, well 0:01:15.640 --> 0:01:18.400 maybe not learn, you better know these guys around the 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:20.880 league ahead of time in this industry, but a deep 0:01:20.920 --> 0:01:23.560 dive to get to know them further. That's always been 0:01:23.600 --> 0:01:25.959 my favorite thing to do, and today we get that 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:28.600 chance with running back Sony Michelle, who agreed to a 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:32.120 contract with the Miami Dolphins on Tuesday. Here's a quote 0:01:32.120 --> 0:01:34.200 that I pulled from my sit down with Chris Greer 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:38.039 and Mike McDaniel back before the scouting combine, back when 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:40.360 they first kind of got together after McDaniel was hired, 0:01:40.560 --> 0:01:42.800 and talking about the running back position. And I keep 0:01:42.800 --> 0:01:46.000 going back to this. After the Edmunds signing, after the 0:01:46.040 --> 0:01:50.160 most Sart signing, now after the Michelle signing quote, Mike 0:01:50.240 --> 0:01:52.320 prepared a tape of what he's looking for at the 0:01:52.400 --> 0:01:54.760 running back position. It was a great teaching moment for 0:01:54.800 --> 0:01:57.680 the scouts and the offensive coaching staff who came in 0:01:57.760 --> 0:02:00.640 and listened to It. Was a good visual opportunity for 0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:02.600 all the scouts and coaches to be in one room 0:02:02.600 --> 0:02:05.040 talking about what we're looking for at the position and 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:08.760 things Mike has had success at finding in San Francisco. 0:02:08.840 --> 0:02:13.840 Are scouts really appreciated that. So from San Francisco raheam Mostert. 0:02:14.120 --> 0:02:16.119 They were also very familiar with a back they saw 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:19.120 twice a year in Chase Edmonds in Arizona, and we 0:02:19.160 --> 0:02:20.880 know about what he added to the room and with 0:02:20.880 --> 0:02:23.720 regards to his rushing e p A added the explosive 0:02:23.760 --> 0:02:26.600 passing game nature, the ability to hit big runs and 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:29.359 pass protection. Gonna die in that pocket with my quarterback 0:02:29.560 --> 0:02:31.200 with two a tongue voloa the way I did k 0:02:31.400 --> 0:02:34.240 one Kyler Murray. That's what Chase Edmonds told me on 0:02:34.280 --> 0:02:37.360 my interview with him on the Drive Time podcast. Most 0:02:37.400 --> 0:02:40.880 are great speed to the perimeter, passing game prowess as well, 0:02:40.960 --> 0:02:43.639 screen game can help and pass protection. Again, a guy 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:45.679 in San Francisco, a guy from the Cardinals, a guy 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:47.919 from the Rams, another guy that the Niners saw two 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:50.320 times a year, and really a guy that played in 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:52.680 the McVeigh system, a guy that has run behind fullbacks 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:57.000 in New England. So versatile potential fits here in the system. 0:02:57.040 --> 0:02:59.799 It creates opportunities for you to be flexible with how 0:02:59.840 --> 0:03:02.320 you make your calls, with how you rotate your personnel. 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:04.840 And if guys get banged up, they are now deep. 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:07.000 Like we'll talk about this here in just one second, 0:03:07.040 --> 0:03:10.160 but the Rams picked up Michelle after the Acres injury 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:13.000 back in training camp last year, and they still had 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:15.520 Darryl Henderson, but they wanted to be deep there, and 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:17.520 come late in the year when Acres was down and 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:20.519 Darryl Henderson was down, they relied on Sony Michelle and 0:03:20.560 --> 0:03:23.080 all he did was pile up five forty rushing yards 0:03:23.280 --> 0:03:26.800 in six games. So depth is always a great thing 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:29.960 to have, and the Dolphins got deeper at the running 0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:31.640 back spot today. But we start here with the five 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:34.560 Things piece up on Miami Dolphins dot Com helping you 0:03:34.600 --> 0:03:37.040 get to know new Dolphins running back Sony Michelle. And 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:40.360 the first thing is, well, another South Florida homecoming. We 0:03:40.480 --> 0:03:43.920 know by now South Florida is the absolute mecca of 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:47.880 football in this country. Right, another one of South Florida's 0:03:47.880 --> 0:03:52.240 favorite football sons returns home with the signing of Sony Michelle. 0:03:52.440 --> 0:03:55.080 We had Sam Madison Patrick Sir tan back on the 0:03:55.080 --> 0:03:57.680 staff here with the defensive backs West welcome back here 0:03:57.680 --> 0:04:01.160 to coach the wide receivers, Teddy Bridgewater, a very prominent 0:04:01.400 --> 0:04:04.200 local high school star here and probably the best quarterbacks 0:04:04.200 --> 0:04:06.560 to come out of South Florida ever as far as 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:09.280 high school goes. And now you get Sony Michelle, the 0:04:09.360 --> 0:04:12.040 son of Haitian immigrants who moved to the States right 0:04:12.080 --> 0:04:15.680 after Michelle's older sister was born, and he lands at 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:19.600 Powerhouse American Heritage High School in Plantation. That's juice is 0:04:19.640 --> 0:04:22.200 stomping grounds over there, and a lot of X player 0:04:22.279 --> 0:04:25.440 stomping grounds there. He rushed for four thousand, seven hundred 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:29.279 fifty eight yards sixty three touchdowns in his three varsity seasons. 0:04:29.320 --> 0:04:31.559 I saw a really cool stat graphic about this year's 0:04:31.600 --> 0:04:35.000 draft class and how many players were specialized athletes, as 0:04:35.000 --> 0:04:37.599 in only one sport athletes, and I think it was 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:40.360 something like twelve of this year's draft class only played 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:43.160 one sport and sixty percent of them played two or 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:47.840 more sports. And there's obviously missed a number, there's a 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:50.159 missing chunk of that number of that equation, but it 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:53.039 was something to that effect. It's a big, big differentiator 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:56.279 between single sport athletes and two sport athletes. And the 0:04:56.279 --> 0:04:58.800 reason I'm telling you that is because Michelle also won 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:01.240 districts in high school in both the one hundred and 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:04.599 two hundred meter dashes as a member of the American 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:07.640 Heritage track team, and then all he did from that 0:05:07.680 --> 0:05:10.960 point was continued to have a dominant dominant stats, this 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:14.560 time at a major college at the University of Georgia. 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:17.400 Michelle capped a four year career with a birth in 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:20.960 the College Football National Championship game. After that exhilarating My 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:24.280 favorite all time college football playoff game was that Rose 0:05:24.279 --> 0:05:27.800 Bowl between Oklahoma and Georgia that year. And that was 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:29.840 all after a career where he had four thousand, two 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:32.360 hundred thirty four yards in the ground and thirty nine 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:35.920 total touchdowns. And that dominance as an amateur led to 0:05:36.000 --> 0:05:37.919 him hearing his name called on the first night of 0:05:37.960 --> 0:05:41.080 the draft in eighteen, the same year that he would 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:44.320 score the only touchdown and Super Bowl fifty three. My 0:05:44.400 --> 0:05:48.280 apologies for Twitter for not having any idea what Roman 0:05:48.360 --> 0:05:50.920 numerals look like. I'm so inclined just to put fifty 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:52.400 three on things, but I went ahead and went with 0:05:52.600 --> 0:05:54.760 L I I. He had the only touchdown in that 0:05:54.880 --> 0:05:58.040 Super Bowl, the thirteen three victory of the Patriots over 0:05:58.440 --> 0:06:00.599 his next team, the Los Angeles Ran Ms, and that 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:02.919 takes us into point number two. A two times Super 0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:05.919 Bowl champion. After nine d thirty one yards on the 0:06:05.960 --> 0:06:09.040 ground that rookie season, he goes into the playoffs and 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:13.280 has a run of legend. We talked about the aforementioned 0:06:13.320 --> 0:06:16.760 touchdown he scored. That was merely an encore performance to 0:06:16.920 --> 0:06:19.920 his showings in the divisional and conference championship rounds, because 0:06:19.920 --> 0:06:22.360 in those two games he combined for two hundred forty 0:06:22.400 --> 0:06:26.040 two rushing yards and five touchdowns. Really helped that Patriots 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:29.039 offense carry the water to the super Bowl that season. 0:06:29.279 --> 0:06:31.440 Sprinkle in ninety four yards and the t d and 0:06:31.480 --> 0:06:34.120 the Super Bowl. Give this man three hundred thirty six 0:06:34.160 --> 0:06:38.040 yards on the ground and six touchdowns in three playoff 0:06:38.120 --> 0:06:40.320 games in his rookie season, an average of a hundred 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:43.320 and twelve yards on the ground and two visits to 0:06:43.400 --> 0:06:46.000 pay Durt every single game. He was also an integral 0:06:46.040 --> 0:06:48.400 part of the Rams championship run this past season. Talked 0:06:48.440 --> 0:06:51.120 about that stretch of the final six games. They're only 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:53.479 lost in that stretch was the season finale to the 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:55.880 forty niners, who had to win that game to get 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:58.839 into the postseason, and the Rams only saw I think 0:06:58.960 --> 0:07:01.279 they won the division regard us didn't see any seating 0:07:01.680 --> 0:07:04.680 differential there because of that loss. But over those six 0:07:04.720 --> 0:07:07.800 games where they went five and one, five hundred forty 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:10.400 yards on a hundred twenty nine rush attempts and again 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:12.920 cam Akers down. Darrell Henderson played just two games and 0:07:12.960 --> 0:07:16.000 carried the ball seven times during that stretch, So depth 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:19.320 is crucial at this position. How about the stats here 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:22.560 on Sony Michelle, but also pairing that with what he 0:07:22.600 --> 0:07:25.040 does in terms of his running style, we covered the 0:07:25.120 --> 0:07:27.680 high school in college production and but no surprise, he 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:30.360 has continued to chew up yards as a pro. Three thousand, 0:07:30.440 --> 0:07:33.840 six hundred fourteen career rushing yards in four seasons, and 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:35.640 he didn't see a whole lot of times. That was 0:07:35.680 --> 0:07:38.800 basically you know, three plus seasons where he's up around 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:41.720 thirty hundred rushing yards and twenty four touchdowns, good for 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:45.040 a career average of four point two yards per carry. 0:07:45.120 --> 0:07:47.080 He's only fumbled the ball once in the last two 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:50.920 seasons and that's three five touches. So a sturdy, dependable 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:54.000 ball carrier. He's a stocky to fifteen. He carries that 0:07:54.880 --> 0:07:57.320 it sounds lighter than he looks like. He carries it well, 0:07:57.560 --> 0:08:00.280 and he runs behind his pads and stays square it 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:02.040 to the line of scrimmage and that helps him push 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:04.320 the pile. That has also helped him be a big 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:07.480 time third and fourth and short conversion type of back, 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:10.239 so on carries on third or fourth down and needing 0:08:10.320 --> 0:08:13.120 just three or few yards to move the sticks. He 0:08:13.160 --> 0:08:15.960 has converted on sixty six percent of his carries. He 0:08:16.080 --> 0:08:19.560 was eleven for seventeen in that stat last season, and 0:08:19.600 --> 0:08:22.040 Pro Football Focus has him with a hundred and twenty 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:25.240 three career miss tackles forced on eight hundred and fifty 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:27.720 four career attempts. That's good for a broken tackle every 0:08:27.720 --> 0:08:30.280 six point nine carries. Pretty good number. He averaged two 0:08:30.280 --> 0:08:33.440 point seven four yards after initial contact a season ago, 0:08:33.679 --> 0:08:37.000 which ranked thirty four among NFL backs with at least 0:08:37.000 --> 0:08:39.840 one hundred carries. His career averages right there to two 0:08:39.840 --> 0:08:43.960 point seven three yards, and you know, I think, actually, 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:45.040 you know, let's get back to that here at the 0:08:45.080 --> 0:08:48.320 end of this this bit. He also has ten plus rather, 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:50.520 he has nine point four percent of the time he 0:08:50.559 --> 0:08:53.040 touches the football, it goes for ten plus yards. I'm 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:55.600 big on the ten plus yard run, nine six total 0:08:55.679 --> 0:08:57.720 of those on the eight hundred and fifty four carries. 0:08:57.960 --> 0:09:01.000 His versatility shows up in the PFFS splits to talk 0:09:01.080 --> 0:09:04.280 about zone running, man gap scheme running, and you know 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:06.480 that's tough to differentiate if you don't know the exact call, 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:08.439 and you can you can see the offensive lineflow and 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:12.000 make it out that way. But there's probably some variation there, 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:14.920 but it comes down to this, it's almost a fifty split. 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:17.640 And far as the way PFF tracks that, he's also 0:09:17.720 --> 0:09:21.040 no slouch whatsoever in the past Pro game, allowing just 0:09:21.120 --> 0:09:24.520 twelve career quarterback pressures on two hundred and thirty three 0:09:24.520 --> 0:09:27.520 pass blocking attempts and just five QB hits. How about 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:30.160 the Sean McVeigh stamp of approval. Here's a quote from 0:09:30.200 --> 0:09:33.800 McVeigh when they acquired Sony Michelle. He's physical, he's tough, 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:37.000 he's got great contact balance and really good vision. He's 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:39.880 just strong. When you're looking at Sony Michelle, he's sturdy, 0:09:40.040 --> 0:09:42.719 a tough back. So all those things are really reflective. 0:09:42.880 --> 0:09:46.240 He's really conscientious, really smart. People forget Sony came in 0:09:46.280 --> 0:09:48.520 here at the very end of training camp and immediately 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:52.120 was playing in week number one, where he's when he's available, 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:54.920 where he was available, i should say, against the Chicago Bears, 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:57.240 and then he had a huge workload against the Colts 0:09:57.400 --> 0:09:59.040 at the end of the game in Week two. His 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:02.360 football intelligence makeup and who he is is all about 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:04.840 the right stuff. I love working with him, but I 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:07.760 think ultimately the physicality to build his vision and his 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:10.160 ability to be able to fall forward and kind of 0:10:10.160 --> 0:10:13.400 be able to naturally work edges but deliver those body 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:17.120 blows is what makes him a good physical contact runner. 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:20.600 And that's end quote. I mean, that is essentially my 0:10:20.640 --> 0:10:22.320 scattering report on him, which we'll get to here in 0:10:22.360 --> 0:10:23.839 just one second. But who better than to hear that 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:26.960 from Sean McVeigh. I mean, it's transparency is awesome, but 0:10:27.080 --> 0:10:29.960 just the knowledge as well obviously really shines through there. 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:32.520 So talk about the way he works. The fifth point 0:10:32.520 --> 0:10:34.600 here on the five Things piece up on Miami Dolphins 0:10:34.640 --> 0:10:37.080 dot Com is that he's a professional from the word go. 0:10:37.280 --> 0:10:40.080 So this was a kid that was highly regarded like 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:42.920 he you know, coming into high school, people knew about him, 0:10:42.960 --> 0:10:44.800 wanted to get him on their football team. That's how 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:47.720 he winds up in a powerhouse like American Heritage. And 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:50.439 you know that praise that was heaped on him by 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:52.599 his coaches and his peers, you know you're gonna be 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:55.360 a future pro someday. That can sometimes get into a 0:10:55.440 --> 0:10:57.920 kid's head and maybe make them think that they don't 0:10:57.920 --> 0:10:59.959 have to do certain things, but not for Sony Michelle, 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:02.800 that only amplified his work ethic and so a couple 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:06.320 of quotes here from former Georgia and Patriots teammates. David 0:11:06.360 --> 0:11:10.359 Andrews was drafted with UH with Sony Michelle in teen, 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:13.120 so too was Isaiah Win. He was actually the patriots 0:11:13.160 --> 0:11:15.920 other first round pick that year out of Georgia. Here's 0:11:15.960 --> 0:11:18.120 what David Andrews had to say. I think being a 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:20.320 senior and watching freshman come in and work hard and 0:11:20.360 --> 0:11:22.839 things like that, those kind of attributes stick out a 0:11:22.840 --> 0:11:25.560 little bit more than on the field. I mean, obviously 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:27.320 he was a great player, but I think that stuff 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:29.960 just his work ethic. It's stuck out, kind of that 0:11:30.000 --> 0:11:32.880 head down mentality, getting to getting the work done and 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:36.520 not getting overwhelmed or anything like that. That was David Andrews. 0:11:36.520 --> 0:11:38.880 Here's Isaiah Win as the best part that I like 0:11:38.960 --> 0:11:42.560 about him as his leadership and his vibe. And this 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:44.520 was his roommate in college too. I've never seen a 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:46.800 day where he didn't feel up to working, whatever it 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:49.000 may have been. So it's just his vibe. You can 0:11:49.040 --> 0:11:51.679 easily catch his vibe and you'll get right on points, 0:11:51.679 --> 0:11:54.600 so works the right way, has the stats, has the 0:11:54.679 --> 0:11:56.199 kind of pedigree there. He's won a lot of big 0:11:56.240 --> 0:11:59.440 football games, played big and big football games. And the tape, 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:02.559 going back to what McVeigh said, exceptional contact balance. When 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:05.120 you see you know Edmonds and most are kind of slash, 0:12:05.160 --> 0:12:06.960 hit it and get through the line quickly and explode. 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:09.440 Michelle is more of a build up speed runner, and 0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:11.320 he does a nice job of setting up tacklers to 0:12:11.360 --> 0:12:13.679 come diving in to meet them with a stiff arm, 0:12:13.720 --> 0:12:16.120 a side step or lower the shoulder, and he can 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:19.160 bounce off all those things. I also and am so 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:22.440 appreciative of his ability to recognize what type of move 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:24.960 he has to execute. You'll see a couple of second 0:12:25.000 --> 0:12:27.760 level defenders crash and he's not gonna look to make 0:12:27.800 --> 0:12:30.880 horizontal moves. He just gets behind those pads and burrows 0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:33.520 forward like you know that. I think that shows up 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:36.600 in the conversion numbers, and the tape showcases him pushing 0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:39.000 piles because he's not gonna Oh, there comes three guys, 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:40.360 let me try to spin out of this move. Now, 0:12:40.360 --> 0:12:42.160 put your head down and get three or four more 0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:44.760 yards and don't get knocked backwards. We've seen a few 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:47.240 times before here. I know it's InVogue to say running 0:12:47.240 --> 0:12:49.400 the football is, you know, a thing of passing all that, 0:12:49.480 --> 0:12:51.360 and look, you know, I love the numbers as much 0:12:51.360 --> 0:12:53.280 as the next guy, but I think the numbers and 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:56.040 absence of tape is a dangerous, dangerous game and the 0:12:56.080 --> 0:12:59.280 best way to communicate for information in this business. So 0:12:59.280 --> 0:13:01.680 when you look at ards after contact average and you 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:04.559 see that ranking, you have to contextualize at thirty four 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:07.600 in that regard. And while the difference between you know, 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:10.480 a second and seven and a second and five might 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:12.400 be one of those things that's kind of laughed at 0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:14.440 in the analytics community. I've seen that talked about when 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:16.760 Pete Carroll talks about it, and you can go about, 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:18.360 you know, whether or not the game has passed you 0:13:18.400 --> 0:13:20.280 by at a certain age or a certain level of thinking. 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:22.720 But the difference between second and seven and second and five, 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:25.600 and what I find odd about that kind of mocking 0:13:25.640 --> 0:13:29.199 mentality is that those percentages between second and seven second 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:33.320 five a very very analytical driven stat Your chances of 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:36.959 converting increase substantially with second and five. Second and short 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:40.120 compare medium compared to second long. And that's what Michelle does. 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:44.080 He turned second long into second medium. He's a professional runner. 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:46.280 I noticed that's when watching is a quandary white tape 0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:48.400 last week from South Carolina, how he can kind of 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:50.880 press the intended gap until the very last moment and 0:13:50.920 --> 0:13:53.720 squeeze every single bit of juice out of the fruit 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:56.760 and then get back to the backside. Same thing with Sony. 0:13:56.800 --> 0:13:59.400 Backside vision is there with the patients to help set 0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:03.240 up your blocks and create advantageous situations with regards to 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:06.040 your lineman's leverage. I think this also really helps him 0:14:06.040 --> 0:14:08.560 in those short yardage situations we talked about. He's quick 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:10.720 to find that gap, and he can get there without 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:13.520 being squared up by a defender, which obviously allows the 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:15.760 foot drive to work and keep him moving north and 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:18.280 south like pull up his goal line runs. And there's 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:22.240 two things one never any hesitation and two very minimal 0:14:22.240 --> 0:14:25.640 occurrences of him being squared up, which is the only 0:14:25.720 --> 0:14:28.000 way you can make stops as a defense in those situations, 0:14:28.040 --> 0:14:29.640 you have to beat your man. You have to square 0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:32.200 up the back and stop his momentum completely. And to 0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:34.000 make it a baseball reference here like I like to do, 0:14:34.320 --> 0:14:36.800 it's like pitching to poor contact the batter squares up 0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:40.320 on the barrel, those chances of getting a hit increased 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:42.440 tenfold because the ball gets hit harder. But if he's 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:44.680 getting it off the hands, getting jammed or off the 0:14:44.760 --> 0:14:46.840 end of the bat, getting fooled, or swinging over the 0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:48.320 top of the ball or under the ball where it 0:14:48.400 --> 0:14:50.840 just barely gets a piece of the bat, that's bad contact, 0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:54.160 that's low exit velocity, and you're probably going to make 0:14:54.160 --> 0:14:57.560 an out. Sony's pitched arsenal and short yardage allows him 0:14:57.600 --> 0:15:00.680 to keep the proverbial hitters off balance and just hope 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:03.720 that their poor contact can bloop one into the outfield 0:15:03.720 --> 0:15:05.800 grass or possibly get a seeing I single. You're just 0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:08.680 not gonna square him up very often. And lastly, he's 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:11.880 ran behind fullbacks a lot in his career, which I 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:14.280 think is another sign of his patients. As we know, 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:17.920 Miami also signed alec Ingold and John Lovett this offseason. 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:20.040 All right, that's gonna be our first break here on 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:22.320 this edition of the Drivetime Podcast. We're gonna come back 0:15:22.360 --> 0:15:25.200 with assistant coaches. Media can't wait for this next year 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:28.280 Drivetime Podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:33.160 Auto Nation. Back here on this edition of the Drivetime 0:15:33.200 --> 0:15:36.240 podcast had a chance to speak to the Dolphins assistant coaches. 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:38.720 Almost got to all of them, but I had some 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:41.400 longer conversations with some coaches, so I didn't quite get 0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:43.920 to everybody. But we did speak to seven different coaches. 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:46.360 I believe it was three on offense, four on defense. 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:48.560 We'll go ahead and start here on the offensive side 0:15:48.600 --> 0:15:51.720 of the football with coach Wes Welker, who began talking 0:15:51.800 --> 0:15:56.240 about fellow former Texas Tech wide receiver Eric Azukama, the 0:15:56.280 --> 0:15:59.080 private workout they went through together. Just listen to West 0:15:59.080 --> 0:16:02.840 talk about this and also consider the value of having 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:05.600 a Wes Welker, a guy that boy, he sure won 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:08.480 a lot in his playing days with the mental aspect 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:10.760 of the game, the toughness, the good hands, the ability 0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:14.240 to separate in short areas, just a valuable resource. He's 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:16.120 going to be in that receiver's room. And here he 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:19.440 talks about the process of evaluating a receiver like Eric 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:22.640 Azukama and what attracted them to his game and ultimately 0:16:22.680 --> 0:16:26.000 the draft pick in the fourth round. Here's Coach Welker. Yeah, no, 0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:30.560 I mean I've watched games when I could and and 0:16:30.680 --> 0:16:33.000 I know this past year he did. He definitely stick 0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:36.880 stood out. UM you know, and then watching his film 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:40.640 and really kind of evaluating it this year. UM. You know, 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:45.560 his size, his hands, hands are really really good. UM. 0:16:45.600 --> 0:16:47.960 You know, they didn't have a huge route tree there 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:51.080 in Texas tech. UM, so I think it was key 0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:54.040 to for us to really get in there and get 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:57.960 a workout with them, and UM, you know, the workout 0:16:58.040 --> 0:17:01.400 kind of showed everything that um, we thought was possible 0:17:01.520 --> 0:17:04.880 with him. UM. You know as far as a guy 0:17:04.960 --> 0:17:08.280 that size being able to break down and come out 0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:12.840 of breaks, UM that it's a unique skill set of 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:14.960 being able to run as fast as you can and 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:17.399 break down at that size and then have the hands 0:17:17.480 --> 0:17:21.199 and the body strength to um make contested catches or 0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:27.400 um really be able to get that separation um because 0:17:27.480 --> 0:17:31.040 he is that size and because he can um you 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:36.520 know stop um, which is key for for receiver. So UM, 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:39.040 you know there's a lot to like about him and 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:42.200 and um you know the makeup of being a Red 0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:46.680 Raider and everything else. And UM you know we're fired 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:49.879 up to have him and look forward to uh seeing 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:52.960 his progression. Was that a workout? Love it that you 0:17:53.040 --> 0:17:58.080 went to? It was a dolphin scout as well, it's 0:17:58.119 --> 0:18:02.720 just me and you came away thinking this is someone 0:18:02.840 --> 0:18:07.680 we maybe should have interested. Not absolutely absolutely, you know, Um, 0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:10.280 there were just certain things in the evaluation of watching 0:18:10.359 --> 0:18:14.000 on film where he couldn't you know, you saw glimpses 0:18:14.040 --> 0:18:16.920 of it, but you didn't know, and so really being 0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:20.720 able to go see a firsthand was was I think 0:18:20.840 --> 0:18:24.920 key and that you know, evaluation process of like, Okay, no, 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:29.240 this kid's way more talented than what we initially thought, 0:18:29.480 --> 0:18:30.600 and so I thought it was a good idea to 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:33.040 follow up with West there on that particular comment about 0:18:33.080 --> 0:18:35.639 how does that work out Taylor specifically to the player, 0:18:35.840 --> 0:18:38.520 and just kind of the process behind evaluating the receivers 0:18:38.640 --> 0:18:41.639 and what they look for. Here's coach Wi Yeah, no, absolutely, 0:18:42.160 --> 0:18:44.800 you know he's talented. You know, he's has hands, um, 0:18:45.119 --> 0:18:47.639 you know, he can make the contested catch. You know, 0:18:47.760 --> 0:18:50.680 he has size, you know, he has yack ability. Um. 0:18:51.119 --> 0:18:53.439 You know, and then you sit there and think, Okay, 0:18:53.440 --> 0:18:56.600 well does he have the skill set to um, you know, 0:18:56.640 --> 0:18:58.600 stick his foot in the ground and break away from 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:02.639 people Kenny, Um, you know, run as fast as he 0:19:02.720 --> 0:19:05.200 can to fifteen yards and shut it down, or twenty 0:19:05.280 --> 0:19:09.960 yards or whatever it is, Um, you know how elite 0:19:10.000 --> 0:19:12.879 can he do it? Because usually guys that size they 0:19:13.480 --> 0:19:15.960 have a tougher time being able to break down in 0:19:15.960 --> 0:19:18.879 different things like that. So UM, really getting him to 0:19:18.920 --> 0:19:21.439 open up and different things like that and kind of 0:19:21.440 --> 0:19:24.800 seeing that skill set and and uh some different things 0:19:24.840 --> 0:19:26.720 that we kind of teach at the line of scrimmage 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:30.040 and seeing if he can pick that stuff up and 0:19:30.040 --> 0:19:33.439 and uh, different things like that. So it was, you know, 0:19:33.640 --> 0:19:36.080 I think it's very beneficial being able to you know, 0:19:36.200 --> 0:19:39.240 see that in person and one on one setting. UM. 0:19:39.280 --> 0:19:41.400