Speaker 1: Well, welcome back to the Audible of John K. Jemmy.
Speaker 1: I can see you, John, I know this is great.
Speaker 1: Almost forgot what you look like. It's nice to see
Speaker 1: that your clean shaven. I thought maybe you'd have one
Speaker 1: of those COVID beards going on like a lot of
Speaker 1: other people. I like your your choice and shirt though.
Speaker 1: Bo yeah, yeah, well, you know, I only wear what
Speaker 1: they give me free for us comes to buying, I
Speaker 1: who knows what I'm wearing, but if that's that's what
Speaker 1: I'm wearing. So anyway, good, We're back with the Audible.
Speaker 1: It's nice to be on the air. It's nice to hope,
Speaker 1: I hopefully have our fans see us, and hopefully as
Speaker 1: we go along we can have more interaction with them
Speaker 1: as we move along with this kind of video version
Speaker 1: of the Audible back being on in front of people.
Speaker 1: And sure there's a lot of people who don't want
Speaker 1: to see our our pusses on the on the air,
Speaker 1: but that's that's too bad. It's you're gonna have to
Speaker 1: see us, and that's just the way it is. You
Speaker 1: know what. It's actually fun to to correspond with somebody
Speaker 1: and talk about football. Seems like we've been on, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, out of out of the media spotlight for
Speaker 1: about four or five months now and talking with friends
Speaker 1: and families. You see people in public, you've got a
Speaker 1: mask on, you're you're trying to talk through your masks.
Speaker 1: So this is this is much better for you. And
Speaker 1: I guess no, no doubt about it. And then we've
Speaker 1: got a good show lined up today. We're gonna start
Speaker 1: off with kind of news around the league. You know,
Speaker 1: normally we would have guests right now, but you got
Speaker 1: the rookies in being tested prior to training camp started starting.
Speaker 1: Training camp starts in July for everybody in the league. Now,
Speaker 1: I just saw moments earlier that I think it's the
Speaker 1: San Francisco forty Niners have pushed their start date back
Speaker 1: a couple of days. And I think depending on where
Speaker 1: teams are, John, you may see a little shift, a
Speaker 1: little movement here and there with how things go. I
Speaker 1: don't I don't think anything right now, he said in Stone. No,
Speaker 1: And I think that's pretty fluid for every football team,
Speaker 1: you know, whether you go from college football to the
Speaker 1: NFL to locally at high school levels. Everybody's kind of
Speaker 1: in that flux right now where you're not sure where
Speaker 1: you're gonna start, when you're gonna start, how long you're
Speaker 1: gonna go. But the good thing is, I think each
Speaker 1: at every level, uh, they've given themselves a little bit
Speaker 1: of PAD in terms of time with the NFL, especially
Speaker 1: now that they've eliminated what would be four preseason games
Speaker 1: down to two now zero preseason games, I think they're
Speaker 1: gonna have a little bit of a blend of O
Speaker 1: T A sh learning via Skype, learning in meeting rooms,
Speaker 1: getting in shape, and then finally putting helmets on and
Speaker 1: going out in practice. I think that gives each NFL
Speaker 1: team plenty of time to get to know you yourself
Speaker 1: as a team, get to know your assignments, get to
Speaker 1: know and be more acclimated to being an NFL football
Speaker 1: player if you're a rookie number one, and then for
Speaker 1: the veterans to mix in, uh, kind of get their
Speaker 1: schemes down on both sides of the football, and then
Speaker 1: after probably a good eighteen to twenty days, finally get
Speaker 1: into the rigors of a regular practice with pads. So
Speaker 1: I think that the planning on the NFL in terms
Speaker 1: of time and the way they're gonna go roll out
Speaker 1: in into September when the regular season starts. It gives
Speaker 1: them some flex there with with the scheduling. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: you know, the preseason games to me, if to me
Speaker 1: over the years have gotten to be more. You know,
Speaker 1: two would be enough, especially if you did those pre practices.
Speaker 1: We practice against those teams for a few days the
Speaker 1: play and but this is forced to to to really
Speaker 1: no preseason games. And I think really, you know, with
Speaker 1: no preseason games, it gives them a lot it kind
Speaker 1: of before that, before those eighteen or twenty days of
Speaker 1: padded practices that they're gonna have leading into the start
Speaker 1: of the regular season. I think it'll give them time
Speaker 1: to make up for what they lost in the off season.
Speaker 1: Like you talk about O t s, you know, get learning,
Speaker 1: get some of these young guys and John, I think
Speaker 1: one of the other things it's important, and it's you know,
Speaker 1: it's important. I think it's helpful, but it's also disappointing
Speaker 1: is that they've taken rosters and dropped them from ninety
Speaker 1: players to eight players. Now I understand it, because you
Speaker 1: can get more reps for the guys that are gonna
Speaker 1: be playing, you can accelerate the pace at of learning
Speaker 1: and how and how things go. Um. But you know,
Speaker 1: there's thirty two teams out there, ten guys, ten guys
Speaker 1: per team that aren't going to get the opportunity to
Speaker 1: to fulfill their NFL dream. So three guys out there
Speaker 1: that aren't gonna be able to go to training camp
Speaker 1: because of of the COVID virus that we're all dealing with.
Speaker 1: Uh and and it's unfortunately because John, you know that
Speaker 1: some of those guys in that three, three and twenty
Speaker 1: player group would would would make a team, and who knows,
Speaker 1: one or two of those guys may become a Pro bowler,
Speaker 1: some of them may become Hall of famers. We've seen
Speaker 1: it before over the course of the NFL. But well,
Speaker 1: it's just a it's a tough time when you've got
Speaker 1: guys that have worked, prepared and hope to get an
Speaker 1: to an NFL camp after their college season, only to
Speaker 1: find out that they're gonna be in the outside looking in.
Speaker 1: And it really is a shame lost opportunity for a
Speaker 1: lot of guys that have NFL caliber talent. I think
Speaker 1: that's what it comes down to. Look at the way
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins built their roster last year. There were
Speaker 1: a lot of guys that no one knew who their
Speaker 1: names were, what they what college they attended, what their
Speaker 1: level of expertise was as a corner, as a linebacker,
Speaker 1: as an offensive lineman, and they ended up playing and
Speaker 1: playing significant snaps for the Miami Dolphins. And now they've
Speaker 1: turned there are no names into into into resources that
Speaker 1: are gonna be dependent upon. In two thousand and twenty,
Speaker 1: you lose that opportunity for three twenty guys. And I'm
Speaker 1: not saying that of those guys are gonna make rosters,
Speaker 1: but that tend to twelve or fifteen percent. Uh. It
Speaker 1: maybe not have made the Miami Dolphins roster, but they
Speaker 1: may have been good enough to make the Cincinnati Bengals,
Speaker 1: or they may have been able to, you know, go
Speaker 1: to Seattle and be able to fit a niche that
Speaker 1: Pete Carroll was looking for. So there's a lot of
Speaker 1: lost opportunity. Let me look at Preston Williams, the prime example.
Speaker 1: Here's a guy that we really came into training can
Speaker 1: it really wasn't on anyone's radar, so to speak. But
Speaker 1: then as soon as he started playing, all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: you know, you you start to see something and you
Speaker 1: got in a preseason game. So yeah, it's unfortunate, but
Speaker 1: look that's the way it is. And uh, you know,
Speaker 1: it's it's it's life this year, and who knows how
Speaker 1: it's gonna go. But um, you know, it's just nice
Speaker 1: to see that they're getting started, uh and getting going. Now. Uh,
Speaker 1: we're into our exes and bows. We're gonna talk about
Speaker 1: the running backs a little bit of the Dolphins of
Speaker 1: all their rookies signed. Robert Hunt just signed, uh, the
Speaker 1: last guy to sign his contracts. They've got all their
Speaker 1: rookies under under contract, which is a good thing to
Speaker 1: a talk of Viola has been here. Um, he's ready
Speaker 1: to get to work. He's talks about him being healthy.
Speaker 1: So I think as we go into training camp, John,
Speaker 1: with this roster and I've this training camp and coming
Speaker 1: out of this training camp and playing the way that
Speaker 1: the coaching staff wants, the fans want they want, it's
Speaker 1: gonna be difficult on this team, John a little more
Speaker 1: because man, it's just been so much turnover in this
Speaker 1: football team, beginning with last year where they just kind
Speaker 1: of you know, took a lot of starters, a lot
Speaker 1: of you know, a lot of big time players, jettison
Speaker 1: off to other teams via trade or whatever. Uh, and
Speaker 1: brought in a lot of it that a lot of
Speaker 1: people coming in out of the door last year during
Speaker 1: the season, and you had a big change in this
Speaker 1: roster during the off season. So there's a lot of
Speaker 1: new faces, a lot of people that haven't met met
Speaker 1: each other yet, a lot of people haven't been with
Speaker 1: each other. You got whole offensive line to reshuffle, You've
Speaker 1: got almost a whole defense that looks quite different than
Speaker 1: it did last year. Um. And other than probably the
Speaker 1: wide receiver position and tight end, you got a lot
Speaker 1: of changes being made on the offense. So, UM, there's
Speaker 1: a lot of work to be done for this football
Speaker 1: team for them to get off to start that they
Speaker 1: want to when they face New England in September. I
Speaker 1: think there is a lot of workbode But but I
Speaker 1: do think this team starts ahead of where the Miami
Speaker 1: Dolphins started last season because of the way they strengthened
Speaker 1: this roster in free agency and in the draft. Now,
Speaker 1: in the draft, you feel like you've you've improved your
Speaker 1: offensive line on paper. We're hoping that that happens quickly enough.
Speaker 1: In training camp that week one that some of those
Speaker 1: rookies are are up to play and can't play a
Speaker 1: full NFL season, But especially on the defensive side, I
Speaker 1: think we're much better at defensive end. You've got guys
Speaker 1: that have NFL experience. Were much better at the linebacker position.
Speaker 1: With Kyle van noy I mentioned, you know on the
Speaker 1: edge you have od bun Loss and that that are
Speaker 1: two guys that you know can just put a Miami
Speaker 1: Dolphin uniform on and play, and if they play up
Speaker 1: to their expectation or even close to it, it's going
Speaker 1: to be years better than what it was last year.
Speaker 1: At the beginning of the year. At corner, you're gonna
Speaker 1: have two of the most dynamic corners in the league,
Speaker 1: hopefully play for the Miami Dolphins in tandem. So that
Speaker 1: strengthens your defense. So I think when when you started
Speaker 1: with the x's and bow and you talk about running backs,
Speaker 1: I think that's where the Dolphins have to find a
Speaker 1: way to use that nucleus to to match what they
Speaker 1: did on defense and free agency to kind of match
Speaker 1: what they're hoping to get at the offensive line in
Speaker 1: the running back uh and the wide receiver corps. Because
Speaker 1: you've got two guys in in Jordan Howard and in
Speaker 1: Matt Brita that give you a little bit of something different.
Speaker 1: And I think you haven't really scratched the surface with
Speaker 1: a guy like a big guy like cal Blange. You
Speaker 1: don't know really what he is and how he's gonna
Speaker 1: fit now in this in this season in two thousand
Speaker 1: and twenty, and you still have two young guys on
Speaker 1: the roster in Layard and Gascon and Perry you know,
Speaker 1: you you draft in the seventh round that are a
Speaker 1: little bit different. But they're all dynamic in their own way.
Speaker 1: They all have speed, they all can catch it. You're
Speaker 1: hoping Perry can kind of catch on and and be
Speaker 1: something in special teams. So I think there's a good
Speaker 1: one to punch at the top of that list with
Speaker 1: experience and speed and power that can do a little
Speaker 1: bit of everything. But you still have a lot of
Speaker 1: question marks out there and how each guy is going
Speaker 1: to fit their role and who's gonna be the odd
Speaker 1: guy out. You know, one of the previous shows, we uh,
Speaker 1: we went over the offensive line of Nexus and Bows,
Speaker 1: and we're going over the running backs now, and they
Speaker 1: couldn't be more tied together, and they couldn't be more
Speaker 1: closely associated with the two. The success or failure there
Speaker 1: within with both of those units they're equally is important.
Speaker 1: And John, when you look back at this football team
Speaker 1: last year and and what the season was, probably the
Speaker 1: most the two most glaring numbers that jump out to
Speaker 1: me were the lack of sacks. I think it was
Speaker 1: twenty three twenty three sacks by the Dolphins as a team,
Speaker 1: and the lack of yardage from the running backs. When
Speaker 1: you've got um, Ryan Fitzpatrick, You're you're leading rusher to
Speaker 1: forty three, Caleb Blage, Um, you know, really didn't give
Speaker 1: you much of anything. Uh, Mark Walton two hundred yards,
Speaker 1: Patrick Laird hundred sixty eight yards. This team didn't have
Speaker 1: seven hundred yards or eight hundred yards in total yards
Speaker 1: for your entire running back group. And John, that that
Speaker 1: is a very very unacceptable and very very disappointing number.
Speaker 1: That is gonna take this offensive line and this running
Speaker 1: back You know they're gonna have to get a big
Speaker 1: effort out there to get it done. But but I'm
Speaker 1: with you, and I like the addition to Jordan Howard.
Speaker 1: He gives you experience, he gives you carries He's been
Speaker 1: on a number of teams, and I just remember watching
Speaker 1: the forty Niners early last year and watching Matt Breda,
Speaker 1: and you know, this guy is maybe as fast as
Speaker 1: anybody in the National Football League. Uh. He can break
Speaker 1: it from anywhere. Uh. You know, he's got he's got
Speaker 1: a he's got a quick get to the hall and
Speaker 1: if he gets to that second level, he can really
Speaker 1: do some good things. So I think those to really
Speaker 1: add a punch. Now. That the the one guy that
Speaker 1: I look at. And I'm not sure if last year
Speaker 1: was the real thing or if we can expect more
Speaker 1: out of Kalin Blage, but you know, you saw some
Speaker 1: sparks of him prior to last year. But boy, last
Speaker 1: year was I think any garage wo under two yards
Speaker 1: per rush. Uh, and that's not gonna get it done.
Speaker 1: Patrick Laird late in the season showed you a couple
Speaker 1: of flashes of doing some things. But you know, I
Speaker 1: think it's gonna take a lot for him to really
Speaker 1: become part of a rotation in that running game unless
Speaker 1: there are some injuries. And the guy, I think that's
Speaker 1: that's that's that should interest everybody, whether you're looking for
Speaker 1: a slot receiver when you're looking for a running back wherever,
Speaker 1: where you're looking for a kick returner is is Malcolm
Speaker 1: Perry the rookie out of out of the Navy who
Speaker 1: can do a lot of different things And it might
Speaker 1: be a guy that can be uh, you know, can
Speaker 1: can show you a lot of different things. Put use
Speaker 1: him and put him in a lot of mismatch is
Speaker 1: whether it's at the slot, whether it's at the running
Speaker 1: back coming out of the backfield and doing some different
Speaker 1: things like there as well as running the football. If
Speaker 1: you want to create some kind of a little option
Speaker 1: package with what he's come when when he's coming out
Speaker 1: of from the midshipment, and what they've done during their
Speaker 1: their time there. Well, I agree with you. It was
Speaker 1: highly disappointing what the Miami Dolphins did last year, and
Speaker 1: it starts it stems from that offensive line with Caleb
Speaker 1: Blaje getting hit behind the line of scrimmage before he
Speaker 1: could even get going. It seemed like he was going
Speaker 1: sideways instead of forward and pressing the whole So I
Speaker 1: think there's a combination in that. And you're hoping, uh,
Speaker 1: we're all hoping that the offensive line improvement will help
Speaker 1: the running game. So that Ryan Fitzpatrick does not have
Speaker 1: to be the leading rusher of the Miami Dolphins. That
Speaker 1: I think that's a a statistic and something he wants
Speaker 1: to take off of his back and shoulders this year
Speaker 1: in two thousand and twenty. I do believe that combination
Speaker 1: though at the top of the list Howard and Brita.
Speaker 1: Brita gives you that explosiveness. He gives you, uh, that
Speaker 1: lightning in a bottle. He can hit, you know, a
Speaker 1: home run from sin yards away. And I think Howard's
Speaker 1: more of the consistent plot or that's really good in
Speaker 1: the red zone. Good and short yardage can get you
Speaker 1: yards after contact. But I don't think we we quite
Speaker 1: know what we have in calin balage. But it was
Speaker 1: disappointing last year. Whether that's on him, the offensive line,
Speaker 1: or a combination of both. It just wasn't good enough
Speaker 1: to sustain and help out with play action, to help
Speaker 1: out with the passing game that you're looking for to
Speaker 1: offset what you need balance, or just take some pressure
Speaker 1: off the passing game to be able to get some
Speaker 1: yards after contact. And with the other guys, I thought
Speaker 1: they were pretty good. I thought Gaskin came along late.
Speaker 1: I thought Laird came along late. They have some flashes
Speaker 1: of what they can do. It's all how they mesh
Speaker 1: with the guys that are at the at the top
Speaker 1: of the food chain right now in the backfield. And
Speaker 1: that's the two guys with experience. So somehow this team,
Speaker 1: whether it's one guy or whether it's four guy, is
Speaker 1: somehow out of that offensive, out of that running back room.
Speaker 1: They've got to get fifteen hundred plus yards on the ground.
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, whether it's you know, it's you know,
Speaker 1: whether someone's gets someone gets a thousand, or two guys
Speaker 1: get five hundred, another couple of guys in both. I
Speaker 1: would even say, you know, throw in run after catch,
Speaker 1: opportunities on screens and dump backdowns and all that stuff
Speaker 1: that it has to add up, you know, to being
Speaker 1: much more productive than it was last year year. You
Speaker 1: know this, It doesn't need to be a team that's hey,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be Jordan Howard's our starter. And you know,
Speaker 1: they put put them both in the backfield, put gas
Speaker 1: you know, mixed, you know, and I would expect this
Speaker 1: offense under chan Gay, we should do some of that.
Speaker 1: Put them in situations where you've got a Jordan Howard
Speaker 1: or a Matt Greed and Malcolm Perry in the backfield
Speaker 1: and send them out and do different things. I know
Speaker 1: one thing that's got to happen with these guys, John,
Speaker 1: It's gotta happened pretty quickly, especially with if two are
Speaker 1: depending on what his you know what, what what his
Speaker 1: starting day is going to be, whether he's gonna start
Speaker 1: at all this season, whether he's gonna start later in
Speaker 1: the season, whether they go through training camp and he
Speaker 1: beats out Ryan fitzpatrickin is to start at the beginning
Speaker 1: of the season. Whenever that happens, you know, that offensive
Speaker 1: line or that offensive line in conjunction with that, with
Speaker 1: that that group of running backs, you know, they've got
Speaker 1: to protect. They've got to be better protecting the blitz.
Speaker 1: The running backs in particular, they've got to have you know,
Speaker 1: you know how it is, John. You can have a
Speaker 1: guy that can give you some nice yards every now
Speaker 1: and then, but if he can't step up and protect
Speaker 1: your quarterback in the blitz, he's really not that good.
Speaker 1: They're not not very good for you. So along with
Speaker 1: the running game, along with trying to give this this
Speaker 1: team opportunity to be second and four second and three
Speaker 1: second and six those types of situations. You know they're
Speaker 1: gonna have to run the football well, but they're gonna
Speaker 1: have to do their job when it comes to protecting
Speaker 1: on blitz blitz pickups, and they've got to stick their
Speaker 1: head in there and prove that they want to get
Speaker 1: the job done. Yeah. Well, rounded at the running back position,
Speaker 1: you have to do a little bit of everything, and
Speaker 1: that includes stepping up sometimes and taking on a safety
Speaker 1: or a linebacker. And it doesn't have to be dominant
Speaker 1: all the time. You just have to be able to sustain,
Speaker 1: to be able to be in the right place at
Speaker 1: the right time, and give your quarterback that room in
Speaker 1: the pocket just to be able to move and maneuver
Speaker 1: and find some room within the pocket, be able to
Speaker 1: get rid of the football and get it out on time.
Speaker 1: And I would expect Howard to take the majority of
Speaker 1: that stuff, Brita as your third down kind of scatback,
Speaker 1: doing some things like that, but all of them at
Speaker 1: some point are gonna be asked to step up and
Speaker 1: do that job. So I'm quite sure with with the
Speaker 1: limited time and pads and without preseason, those guys are
Speaker 1: gonna have to get real proficient in protecting the quarterback.
Speaker 1: Deeper into training camp, a lot a lot of a
Speaker 1: lot of communication between that offensive line and what they're
Speaker 1: doing in these guys, and and you know, it's just
Speaker 1: you know, these guys don't now I've all played in
Speaker 1: like Brita and how are they've all played in this
Speaker 1: r p O you know, run pass option type of offense,
Speaker 1: spread offense, so they know what to do. Maybe some
Speaker 1: of those offensive line and some of the young guys
Speaker 1: need to kind of get gonna take them a while.
Speaker 1: But you know, I'm excited about the group. I'm excited
Speaker 1: about both groups on paper. I just hope that after
Speaker 1: four weeks of training camp, I'm still as excited about
Speaker 1: because I am right now because I think I think
Speaker 1: from a personnel standpoint, I think this team has done
Speaker 1: a good job both in free agency and the draft
Speaker 1: when it comes to running backs. And they've done the
Speaker 1: same thing on the offensive line, adding adding free agents
Speaker 1: and then peppering in those those those young guys that uh,
Speaker 1: you know you've got you know you got a first
Speaker 1: round first round guy contribute your starting left tackle. Uh,
Speaker 1: you've probably got at least one more hunt or one
Speaker 1: of these other guys that's gonna start either at the
Speaker 1: left guard or left tackle. Uh, and then some other
Speaker 1: guys to compete. So uh, you know, I think with
Speaker 1: Austin Jackson in that group coming in and the with
Speaker 1: the veterans so that they've signed in free agency, Uh,
Speaker 1: there's no reason that that offensive line shouldn't be much
Speaker 1: better and and I would be disappointing this offensive this
Speaker 1: group group of running backs is a lot more productive
Speaker 1: than what we saw last year. Well, I think so bo.
Speaker 1: I think that there's only one way to go with
Speaker 1: with both groups, and that's up because the Dolphins can't
Speaker 1: win with any consistency if they're going to be as
Speaker 1: poor as they were on a consistent basis weekend and
Speaker 1: week out. With the running yards per carry, yards after
Speaker 1: first contact and being able to protect your quarterback and
Speaker 1: lastly be able to create a crease and the offensive line,
Speaker 1: you know, somewhere along the line of scrimmage where those backs,
Speaker 1: whether it's Brita hitting it quickly or Howard bouncing off
Speaker 1: a couple of people, or you know it's Millage kind
Speaker 1: of getting going without getting hit behind the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 1: I mean that those two units work in unison and
Speaker 1: it's not going to work at the guy's up front
Speaker 1: can't do it with any more consistency. So you're right there,
Speaker 1: tied at the hip both offensive line and running back.
Speaker 1: And we're not gonna be able to go from you know,
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia preseason game to the New Orleans say we
Speaker 1: made great improvement there. This is going to be from practice,
Speaker 1: the scrimmages to walk throughs to week one on the
Speaker 1: road against the New England Patriots. So this is gonna
Speaker 1: be a big jump for some of those guys. John
Speaker 1: the one guy we didn't talk about, Chandler Cox, the
Speaker 1: fullback that they brought in last year and then I
Speaker 1: kind of had high hopes for him, uh, and it
Speaker 1: kind of the season went along, he became more distant
Speaker 1: and more distant. Uh in the in the package, you know,
Speaker 1: he didn't see him that much and and I don't
Speaker 1: think he I don't think his production was quite what
Speaker 1: they expected. I think his playing time, uh, you know
Speaker 1: reflected that. UM, and I don't know where he fits,
Speaker 1: you know, I you know, to me a fullback, I
Speaker 1: like a fullback. But with today's game, is it needed?
Speaker 1: I mean, they're basically obsoletely for the most part in
Speaker 1: National Football League. The question is can he do enough?
Speaker 1: Can he improve enough? Did he improve enough between the
Speaker 1: end of last season and with training camp starting on.
Speaker 1: Has he done enough to make himself more valuable in
Speaker 1: somebody that they say we can't get rid of him.
Speaker 1: He just, you know, he provides something that we don't
Speaker 1: get from somewhere else, whether it's at lead block and
Speaker 1: short yardage, whether it's carrying the ball at short yardage,
Speaker 1: whether it's coming out of the backfield, whether it's protecting
Speaker 1: you know, he's it's gonna be up to him to
Speaker 1: earn his spot, and and and and basically create a
Speaker 1: spot for him this year, because I don't think it's
Speaker 1: a spot of me. I don't think it's a necessity,
Speaker 1: but they've got one. I know they weren't happy with
Speaker 1: I know they weren't overjoyed with him last year. So
Speaker 1: I think there's gonna be a big leap forward if
Speaker 1: he wants to establish himself as part of this roster.
Speaker 1: I think the biggest question with with Chandler cons is
Speaker 1: is he a viable option? And what Chain Gallant Gaily
Speaker 1: wants to do with this offense. You know, is does
Speaker 1: he have a spot uh in a in an r
Speaker 1: PO type of setting. Is he more blending in to
Speaker 1: a tight end slash special teams guy that's going to
Speaker 1: be a lead blocker on on certain formations, either goal
Speaker 1: line or shore yardage. I think he has the athletic
Speaker 1: ability to do a little bit of both and and
Speaker 1: quite frankly, the Dolphins are kind of slim at that
Speaker 1: tight end spot for what he gives you. You know,
Speaker 1: you have big bodies, you got some guys that strictly block,
Speaker 1: but this is a guy that did a little bit
Speaker 1: of everything when he was at Auburn, didn't have a
Speaker 1: chance to do it last year in the Dolphins offensive scheme.
Speaker 1: Now what is coach Gailey going to do and what
Speaker 1: is he gonna put on Chandler's plate? Does he have
Speaker 1: enough opportunity to make this roster and are they gonna
Speaker 1: use that position a little bit more this year than
Speaker 1: last year. I think those are all questions we're gonna
Speaker 1: look for at training camp, and we'll find out pretty
Speaker 1: soon as they get out in the field. And I'm
Speaker 1: not sure if we're gonna be They're not sure what's
Speaker 1: gonna happen. I think everything still if it, because it's
Speaker 1: right around the corner and everything is still up in
Speaker 1: the air, and that's you know, one knows anything, but
Speaker 1: we know they're gonna be out there working. And whether
Speaker 1: we're there or not, and whether we get to see,
Speaker 1: how much we get to see, we'll find out. I
Speaker 1: know the fans aren't gonna be available and they're not
Speaker 1: gonna be allowed to training camp. And it's really a
Speaker 1: disappointment for the fans and not for the players too
Speaker 1: to have the fans around. But looking it is what
Speaker 1: it is. We're gonna play football and and this and
Speaker 1: then and talking about a couple of other things to
Speaker 1: clean up here, John, before is just a couple of
Speaker 1: things too. You know, the practice squad is gonna be
Speaker 1: a lot more flexible this year, allowing guys to come
Speaker 1: and go from that practice squad with a lot more
Speaker 1: fluidity back and forth. And John, I believe I think
Speaker 1: I heard that the Injured Reserve is gonna then number
Speaker 1: is gonna expand uh into where um if my if
Speaker 1: what I've heard and read is correct, that if somebody
Speaker 1: does test positive during the season, they can go on
Speaker 1: i R for three weeks once they once say test
Speaker 1: negative for two tests, then they can come back after
Speaker 1: a three week period, And I think that's I think
Speaker 1: that's a pretty good decision by by the people running
Speaker 1: the league. Well, you have to have some kind of
Speaker 1: resource when when guys are going to get sick, guys
Speaker 1: are going to get hurt, and you're you're gonna have
Speaker 1: to have some flexibility both in the practice roster and
Speaker 1: guys that are on I R. And I think that's
Speaker 1: a perfect blend of what you need because you have
Speaker 1: to have that flexibility. If a guy didn't have an
Speaker 1: a c L, he didn't have an achilles, he didn't
Speaker 1: have a career or a season ending injury, he's gonna
Speaker 1: be able to come back from COVID and be able
Speaker 1: to go on I R for a couple of weeks,
Speaker 1: hopefully be able to test negative and then come right
Speaker 1: back on the roster. And you're gonna have guys that
Speaker 1: are gonna have the regular flu that aren't gonna be
Speaker 1: down for maybe a week or two, So you're not
Speaker 1: gonna want to have guys uh in the locker room
Speaker 1: in the room. You need a bigger roster on that
Speaker 1: practice squad to be able to pull guys from and
Speaker 1: other teams can't kind of pluck your best players. You're
Speaker 1: gonna have some kind of stability on I R or
Speaker 1: stability on a practice roster that you're not used to
Speaker 1: in years past. Now, John, we normally wrapped this thing
Speaker 1: up a little story time and might as well talk
Speaker 1: about running backs, and uh, I was fortunate to uh
Speaker 1: to spend ten years with the Dolphins and played against
Speaker 1: a lot of great running backs. I still say Erro
Speaker 1: Camerell maybe the best player I've ever played against, But
Speaker 1: against Chuck Munsei, O J. Simpson, Frank o'harris um. I mean,
Speaker 1: you to go on and on and on some the
Speaker 1: great running backs. But when I think about the Dolphin
Speaker 1: running backs, also had the opportunity to play with some
Speaker 1: great running backs, Delvin Williams, Larry Zack when he came
Speaker 1: back for a year, Benny Malone played with Betty for
Speaker 1: a for a couple of years. But the guy that
Speaker 1: I I that that that to me was, you know,
Speaker 1: it was the most productive back that I think that
Speaker 1: I had the opportunity to play with, and really one
Speaker 1: of the great guys and really one of the great
Speaker 1: Dolphins of all time. It was number twenty two Tony Nathan.
Speaker 1: Tony came out of Alabama. I believe he was a
Speaker 1: second or third round draft pick. Um that came in
Speaker 1: came to the Dolphins, and I was in an era
Speaker 1: where we picked up uh Dwight Stevenson, Don McNeil, and
Speaker 1: Tony Nathan, three guy and Bob Bob Hour all out
Speaker 1: of Alabama, and all of them played a major, major
Speaker 1: part in the success that this football team had in
Speaker 1: the seventies and eighties. But you know, Tony to me
Speaker 1: is one of those guys that, um it just doesn't
Speaker 1: get the credit he deserves. I mean, he did everything.
Speaker 1: He blocked well, he caught the ball as well as
Speaker 1: anybody who was They used to run. We used to
Speaker 1: run that half back short option, which I hated, and
Speaker 1: I had to try to cover him that letter couldn't
Speaker 1: do it, or Usy trying to grab his jersey and
Speaker 1: trip him or or do something stupid like that. But uh,
Speaker 1: you know, Tony Matson had some big games and big
Speaker 1: times and really really a good runner for us. And
Speaker 1: I just remember sitting back and I get him the
Speaker 1: plane and Tony always said, on the very back of
Speaker 1: the plane, last seat right back by the by the
Speaker 1: bathrooms back in the bulkhead and you have two seats
Speaker 1: to himself. And always used to go back there, and
Speaker 1: I used to get it was the I called it
Speaker 1: the ice room. Tony would be. Tony would have so
Speaker 1: much ice wrapped around him you could hardly see him sometimes.
Speaker 1: But but that's how he played, you know, he played
Speaker 1: every down. Uh. He was a three down guy. As
Speaker 1: I said he would. He would block as hard as
Speaker 1: he would run. Uh. And he was a smart player,
Speaker 1: knew everything. And and I'm really fortunately play with with
Speaker 1: a guy like Tony Nathan to the career who would
Speaker 1: really had a lot of great success with his football team.
Speaker 1: Like I said, I think, to me, probably one of
Speaker 1: the more underrated players that the Dolphins have had on
Speaker 1: their uh, on their roster, in the in the entire
Speaker 1: history of the football team. And uh, you know, he
Speaker 1: had a he's got a movie out in a movie
Speaker 1: out that came out a couple of years ago called
Speaker 1: wood Lawn. And it's a great if you know, watch
Speaker 1: it look at I mean, look, hell, everyone's all I
Speaker 1: gotta do is watch TV, now, you know, I know
Speaker 1: lan and and look it up. Wood Lawn and uh,
Speaker 1: it's the story about Tony coming out of high school
Speaker 1: and segregated, segregated Alabama and that whole situation and and
Speaker 1: his commitment to uh TO, his commitments to to um
Speaker 1: to to to to his his UH his God can could,
Speaker 1: commitment to his family, his commitment to his wife when
Speaker 1: she met her in high school, and his commitment to
Speaker 1: be the best player that he could be for whoever
Speaker 1: he was playing for. And it's just a story, and
Speaker 1: it's a great story about one of the great Dolphins
Speaker 1: of all time. And if if people haven't seen it,
Speaker 1: I would I would recommend it highly. During this time
Speaker 1: where Becky I know to do but watch TV, watch
Speaker 1: something that's really good, uh, and then take a look
Speaker 1: at a woodlawn with Tony Nathan. You know what's cool.
Speaker 1: You know you mentioned the uh the list of running
Speaker 1: backs that you were with BO at your time and
Speaker 1: the Dolphins either just when you got there just after
Speaker 1: and Tony Nathan is one of those guys that it
Speaker 1: seemed like he did everything and he and he kind
Speaker 1: of opened up that type of position for a Miami
Speaker 1: Dolphins running back. You know, you go back to the
Speaker 1: early years and you think about you know, Merk and
Speaker 1: Zonk and Jim Kick and the way that that that
Speaker 1: trio kind of got it done for the Miami Dolphins
Speaker 1: over their heyday, over the glory years of the Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 1: And then you got to that next that next set
Speaker 1: of running backs, and Tony Nathan really made what Jim
Speaker 1: Jensen did made it look easy because Tony Nathan did
Speaker 1: all of those things, uh, for Don Strock and for
Speaker 1: David Woodley and whoever was playing quarterback, you know, at
Speaker 1: the at the beginning, and then all of a sudden
Speaker 1: that that position kind of everybody had to have a
Speaker 1: guy like Tony Nathan because you were running those options routes,
Speaker 1: and you had guys in space, and you had you know,
Speaker 1: linebackers that weren't weren't really used to going out and
Speaker 1: covering a guy man to man. It was always zone,
Speaker 1: you know, basically zone. Then you got a chance to
Speaker 1: go man to man. It was more of a mismatch
Speaker 1: for certain guys. So I always remember watching Tony and
Speaker 1: just being in awe of how easy he made everything look.
Speaker 1: And you're right, I don't think he deserved He got
Speaker 1: the credit he deserved because he did just about everything
Speaker 1: a running back could do, and he did it at
Speaker 1: a high level. And there's been so many great running backs,
Speaker 1: you know, through the history of the Miami Dolphins. But
Speaker 1: well I put my I put Tony Nathan up against
Speaker 1: any of them. Say he did just about everything you
Speaker 1: wanted to do. Yeah, no doubt about. Just just a
Speaker 1: wonderful guy. So good to good to remember and reflect
Speaker 1: on Tony Nathan. Then good to talk about. It's good
Speaker 1: to talk about football. Right around the corner, John, I
Speaker 1: don't know what it's gonna be next time we come
Speaker 1: on next week. Uh. Things could be dramatically different, that
Speaker 1: could be the same. Uh. Another thing, John, before we go,
Speaker 1: Um is the uh, you know, the the the Washington
Speaker 1: franchise changing their name. And I think it's I think
Speaker 1: it's due time. You know, I grew up, you know,
Speaker 1: you know, we played against Washington in the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: I remember, you know, watch growing up watching Washington Redskins
Speaker 1: when they know Sonny Jurgensen and Billy Kilmer and and
Speaker 1: those guys and those great football team that they had
Speaker 1: up there. Um, but I think they're they're doing the
Speaker 1: right thing. Uh, not really, you know, not really, you know,
Speaker 1: I was looking for a little snazzy, snazzy nickname to rechange.
Speaker 1: But the I guess they're gonna go with the Washington
Speaker 1: football team for a while. I guess is which to
Speaker 1: me is pretty asinine. But I know it's short order,
Speaker 1: and I know that's not gonna be the the name
Speaker 1: is going forward. But uh, changes are happening, and uh,
Speaker 1: you know, change you're happening all around the world, and uh,
Speaker 1: and this is just part of it. And I think
Speaker 1: it's for the better. Everything's better for the league, it's
Speaker 1: better for the Washington franchise, and I think it's better
Speaker 1: for uh, for the fans and everybody involved. I just
Speaker 1: hope that they're they're able to come up with a
Speaker 1: nickname that people can all embrace and they like. You know,
Speaker 1: I know that the Seattle hockey franchise just came out
Speaker 1: with a nickname, and I was kind of scratching my
Speaker 1: head about that one. But I'm just hoping that, you know,
Speaker 1: the fans of the Washington team now you can't embrace
Speaker 1: the nickname and and come together around it, because I
Speaker 1: guess as a kid, I never really took much credence
Speaker 1: in nicknames. I always, you know, felt like that was
Speaker 1: just an athletic name for for something, you know, And
Speaker 1: I never really uh felt passion one way or the other,
Speaker 1: because I just thought it was a name of a
Speaker 1: franchise at a form of entertainment that I was watching,
Speaker 1: you know, like the Vikings were always my team, uh
Speaker 1: you know when growing up, But I didn't realize that
Speaker 1: what really a Viking did way back when, you know.
Speaker 1: So I was just a fan of the team and
Speaker 1: the colors and and and that's how easy it was
Speaker 1: for me. Yeah, you know, my my first I remember
Speaker 1: you growing up in the Bay area. Um, I was
Speaker 1: a Stanford fan. I like Stanford. The only reason I
Speaker 1: like Stanford's because it was the first place, first college
Speaker 1: football game i'd ever gone to see a big stadium,
Speaker 1: you know. And Stanford they're playing in the USC or somebody,
Speaker 1: and I want to go to Stanford. And then and
Speaker 1: then I set up my transcripts. And by the way,
Speaker 1: I'm still way be hear back from them. Send them now, bone,
Speaker 1: send them now. You've much smarter now than you were then.
Speaker 1: I'm guaranteed a letter from them. They said, can you
Speaker 1: send your transcripts? And that's the last I ever heard.
Speaker 1: But I remember when I went when I want to
Speaker 1: watch Stanford. They released Stanford Indians originally, and I never,
Speaker 1: I never I like their uniforms, like the colors, I never.
Speaker 1: But then and then they have actually changed it to
Speaker 1: the Stanford Cardinal because you know, they're some of their
Speaker 1: students and people that you know fell to was so
Speaker 1: so this is this is nothing new. It's it's done,
Speaker 1: been done before, and it's been done a number of
Speaker 1: times at the collegiate level, less so at the at
Speaker 1: the professional level. But uh, you know, it's it's it's up,
Speaker 1: it's it's it's it's about time where the NFL and
Speaker 1: these resting sports get up to get up to the
Speaker 1: whatever center were in that one. I don't even know
Speaker 1: what's event you were, because whatever it is, I ain't
Speaker 1: gonna last to the end of this one. So we've hatter.
Speaker 1: But um, just getting up to date, I guess. And
Speaker 1: then uh, and and changing with the times and and
Speaker 1: doing what's right more importantly, doing what's right. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: I echo that, and I just I'm so happy that
Speaker 1: we're able to start getting closer to some semblance of
Speaker 1: football and training camp and hopefully, you know, the COVID
Speaker 1: nineteen around the country starts to calm down a little
Speaker 1: bit more and we can we can open up a
Speaker 1: little bit more and and start to enjoy human to
Speaker 1: human uh, you know, correspondence and being able just to
Speaker 1: do things a little bit closer to normal, and which
Speaker 1: football will be I know that. You know, hockey starts
Speaker 1: around the corner, Baseball is gonna start very soon. Basketball
Speaker 1: is in their kind of preseason playing games, and uh,
Speaker 1: the NFL right around the corner with training camp. So uh,
Speaker 1: you know, it's a good time right now for hopefully
Speaker 1: the country if that can just get those numbers down
Speaker 1: a little bit and and people can enjoy what's out there. Well,
Speaker 1: you know what it's and and I know it's a
Speaker 1: it's a it's a touchy subject out there, but you know,
Speaker 1: you you know, I've come to I don't say embrace it,
Speaker 1: but you know I wear a mask everywhere I go,
Speaker 1: everywhere I'm in public with people, I wear a mask.
Speaker 1: And I think if if all of us would do that.
Speaker 1: And I know there's a segment of our population and
Speaker 1: populations around the world and just are completely adamant against it.
Speaker 1: I don't understand why, but you know, you you believe
Speaker 1: what you believe. But I think if you know, if
Speaker 1: everyone would would bite the bullet and just put the
Speaker 1: masks on whenever, whenever you're around people, maybe this thing
Speaker 1: will be over sooner than later. And if not, sure
Speaker 1: hope so it can be wait and see what happens.
Speaker 1: I sure hope so because it seems like for everyone
Speaker 1: it's been very difficult, you know, for four months, five months,
Speaker 1: and and you're hoping that uh, you know, any anything
Speaker 1: in every individual can do to help suppress it. What
Speaker 1: would meet your menuts? Well, I know football is riding
Speaker 1: around the corner. July training camps start it all. It
Speaker 1: will be watching. But more importantly, John, you and I
Speaker 1: we're back on the air. You understand listening they can
Speaker 1: look at our other pushes every once a week ago
Speaker 1: for those guys doing here and I can't get there, well,
Speaker 1: we're here, We're not going anywhere. We'll see you next year,
Speaker 1: next week on the audible again you can see us
Speaker 1: face to face. Then for God, John, Ki, Jamie, I'm
Speaker 1: Kimbo Camper for Logan to call, Jeff Griffith, Carol, thanks
Speaker 1: for all your help and Johnny will catch up with
Speaker 1: you next week. It sounds good. Both Hi,