Dolphins Chargers Preview, Replacing Preston Williams' Reps, Tua Talks

On the Wednesday edition of Drivetime, we'll dive into the Dolphins and Chargers matchup with the key schematics, personnel usage, and the matchups that can go a long way and decide the outcome of the game. On Sunday, Plus, we'll hear from Coach Flora's and some Dolphins players on their Wednesday media availabilities. All of that and more on this Wednesday,

November the an edition of the Drivetime podcast. The Drive Time is brought to you by Auto Nation, where Dolphins fans can sell their vehicle for cash now visit auto nation dot com. Let's go ahead and kick off. Brian Flores is Wednesday media Availability with a special shout out to all the veterans out there, as all of us here at the Miami Dolphins, wish you a happy Veteran's Day. I'm gonna start by today's Veteran's Day. So I just wanted to shout out Adam with chances on our strength

and condition and staff. He's a veteran, and I wanted to thank him for his service and all the veterans for this service. So there is Flora's his opening message at his Wednesday morning media availability. Up next, he was asked about the offensive line. We heard coach Flora's speak earlier in the week about how they have six guys that really they feel great about they could put out there in a moment's notice. Here's coach talking about the

offensive line, the weekly competition and different combinations they have. Well, I mean, it's always an open competition. We've got you a number of guys we feel very it about. There's a few different combinations you can go with. Jesse's Jesse Davis is someone who's played multiple positions and played him at a good at a good level. Also working in the young guys Hunt, Tom and Austin. You know, we

feel good about all of them. We'll see how practice goes this week and we'll see the group that's south there on Sunday. And we did see seven offensive lineman play in the game on Sunday against the Cardinals. Solomon Kiley had fifteen snaps, Julian Davenport played one snap in the game. Then you had Austin Jackson get in for I think it was forty three snaps in the game on Sunday. Then the other three guys played every snap offensively for Miami. So plenty of options, plenty of combinations.

You heard him mention Jesse Davis's versatility. Guy worked at tackle, guy works at guard. He even talked about playing some center in the offseason this training camp, So plenty of combinations, plenty of options for the Dolphins with good offensive lineman both in the top five and on the bench for Sunday.

And by now on this Wednesday, I'm sure you've seen NFL at work, ESPN, major major sports outlets talking a lot about the Miami Dolphins in recent days, in recent weeks, and they've been one of the one of the headline stories so far. And coach was asked about managing the hype of the outside noise and and lot letting them outside noise, get inside the building. Here's coach Flora's on dealing with the hype and outside noise. I think the

focus is and we all understand. I understand that it's there um that that you know, we're being talked about. But really the only thing that matters is what's going on in our building. I'm not sure how much, um, anyone outside of our building really actually knows what's going

on inside the building. So the way we practice, the way we prepare, how we walk through, UM, the only people who can really tell them the truth about you know, how they played in a game, or how they played in practice, or you know how they did in a meeting is the people that are here. So that's that's kind of my message. You know, I'm going to tell them the truth. I mean, I'm not gonna blow smoke up anyone's behind. I think they know that. And look, we've got a whole half of the season left, so

I think we need to focus on that. And you

know even more than that this week. Uh, you know, good team that we're playing this week and the Chargers, and you know, putting our energy anywhere else or listening to anything else in a lot of ways is less energy on a good opponent with a lot of good players, a lot of good coaches, and maybe they're gonna wish they were Maybe hopefully it doesn't get to the point where they spent too much time on something else and not en not for on the Chargers, and they would

feel the effects of that on Sunday. So that's my message and up next for coach Flora's On this Wednesday morning media availability, he was asked to talk about the progress of two a tongue of Baloa and what's impressed him most as far as how far he's come through the first half of his first season. It's the same thing that but he did earlier in the year, and

his preparation is focused is one of his assets. The way he asked questions, I wanted to learn, so m you know, all that you know leads into I think to me, in my opinion, gives you an opportunity to a success on the field. So I think if he just continues to prepare the way he has and even taken up a notch, because as a rookie, you know, you don't know what you don't know. So in a lot of in a lot of way a lot of instances, he's learning how to prepare and how to prepare better.

And I think that's that's been the case relieving and with a couple of weeks so e fectly he's a sponge. I mean that I like and he's open to learning different things and I'm learning from different views, whether it's a defensive coach or offensive coach or something to kicking game,

he's doing well. We'll go ahead and follow up on the to a tongue of volow a note there as on Tuesday, offensive coordinator Chan Guilly talked about the difference as far as athletic ability and physical nature of his game from to US College tape to what he saw this last Sunday against the Cardinals, and coach was asked the same question about the things that Chan had seen. Here's what coach has to say about two is physical or physical nature of his game and the athletic ability

he displayed on Sunday. I think he looks good. I mean, I mean, I hadn't seen a dead leg from from in college. I thought that was a nice movie made the other day. So he's uh, I think he you know, physically, he looks good. I mean, we just got to continue to take care of himself. I mean that's part of being professional. Um. From a nutritional standpoint, from a weightlifting standpoint, again, obviously, from a preparation standpoint, all those things are important, you know.

Is there a difference. I don't know. I guess I'm not really thinking of it about it in those terms. Um, I just think he's he looks like he's healthy, you know, doing a good jobs preparation and leading the offense. And it looks he looks healthy to me. And on the topic of health, we'll go ahead and finish out. Coach flores is Wednesday morning media availability with some talk about Preston Williams, next man up, mentality, the skill positions on

offensive the Dolphins. First, here's coaches update on Preston Williams. I mean, look, we ran some tests. Preston is gonna go to ir UM, so it's a little bit more significant than we initially thought. Coach was then asked to follow up about players that can step in and fulfill the role left in the vacancy of Preston Williams and the magnitude of his loss at wide receiver. It's a big loss. I mean, Prestons, you know, made a lot of plays for us um were the first half of

the season. Um, but you know we got you know, guys who will step in. Jokim stepped in for him last week. Mc hans stepped in. And then you know, I had a big play. You know, Kirk Merritt was up last week, played well in the kitting game, played a little bit offensively. So um, and you mentioned Lynn and so yeah, these guys, you know, I think we u I think it's kind of how we have to approach this. You know, someone could be down for COVID,

someone gonna be down due to injury. You know, we need the next person to step in, player, coach, you know, whatever, whatever it may be. So that's kinda as a team, you know, So take that approach, and I think those guys will step in and get him coached up, put him in positions to have some success. And so this obviously one of the bigger stories of the day around the Miami Dolphins, and we cover this in the top

news story up on Miami Dolphins dot com. And I went back and looked at some of the some of the stuff Coach talked about there with players stepping up and fulfilling the role there of Preston Williams. I went back to last season and actually this announcement, this injury comes at the exact juncture last season when Williams went down with the a c L. Obviously, coach mentioned the

gravity of the injury. He wouldn't go any further into it than what it is, just at Preston's on injury reserve, which of course he can come back for him he's eligible to come back from in three weeks. But in that rookie season, Williams was tied for the Rookie league with thirty two receptions. He was third among rookies and receiving yards with four and twenty eight. The catches was thirty two, and he also was tied for third with four touchdown catches at the time of his Week nine injury.

This season, also in eight games, Williams had eighteen catches, two hundred and eighty eight yards and four touchdown receptions. So coach Flora says, it's a big loss Preston mates

and big plays. Over the first half of the season, we saw some of the vertical passes from both fits and to Ah going up top to Preston trusting him to make those big plays, and he came down with the football and losing a player of Williams caliber and production is never going to be easy, obviously, but Miami's next man up mentality has served this team well under coach Flora's You just heard him talk about that the team played the fourth quarter without the services of running

backs Miles Gascon and Matt Brita. Tight end Durham Smith was out. Receivers Williams and Lynn Boone Jr. Were not available at that point of the game, Bode missing the game entirely, Williams injured in game, and that group of skill players accounts for nine hundred and sixty one offensive snaps through the first half of the season, and still Miami mounted ten fourth quarter points to go down there

and win that football game. You heard coach talk about some of the players that can step up and fulfill that role and replace those reps of Preston Williams. He talked about the depth not just on your roster, but obviously you're coaching staff throughout the course. This last week with the COVID restrictions and protocols and being forced to play in that game, down a few coaches and obviously down a few players as well, but the Dolphins provided an early example in this game for the strength of

the roster from top to bottom. After Williams exited the game, Miami had five possessions that produced one hundred and seventy six yards and thirteen points, not including the final drive, the kneeled down victory formation drive, and that thirteen points on five possessions. That's good for two point six points per drive. That's point one points better than Miami season average this year at two point five points per drive.

So they fulfilled the next man up mentality and produced when they had to with what they had available, and several players picked up their performances in William's absence. Davante Parker pulled in five of his six receptions in that game for sixty one yards after press and left. He also had a twenty one yard pass interference call against him after Press and left, So really eighty two yards of production and basically a half of football without Preston

Williams out there. And recall last year, Parker really took off in thee and half of the season as well. When Williams was lost for the season, so he has a way of elevating his game when the team needs him that way. All four of Jechem grants receptions for thirty five yards occurred after Williams had to exit, and you heard coach talk about mac Hollands making the big play. The first reception of his Dolphin's career is a game

tying touchdown in the fourth quarter. Malcolm Perry Lynn Bowden also factor into that equation as you hear Coach answer the questions about those guys. Perry made his NFL debut two weeks ago against the Rams. He's played thirty offensive snaps and fellow rookie Bowden Jr. Has twenty three snaps on offense of playing time after coming over from Las

Vegas in that trade back in September. Go back to what Shan Gailey said on October twenty about Lynn Bowden, he kind of broke his game down a little bit. He said. Bowden has some natural route running ability, he has some natural athletic talent. He's still just in the process of learning everything the nuances of playing at this level.

It's not the athletic talent, it's just learning the nuances and being of being able to compete and quote, and I go back to a quote here from Josh grizz Hard, Dolphins receivers coach on Malcolm Perry saying, quote, he's just worked so hard since he's gotten here, and he's kept his head down and just keeps improving from week to week. You can tell that he's committed to the details. End quote. And it's not just wide receivers that step in to fill that void left by Williams after his foot injury.

Flora's also talked on Wednesday about the usage of Perry and Boden, but how Miami can get creative in their groupings, whether it's receivers, tight ends, or backs to help fill out those reps. I think it's, you know, nothing changes on our end from that standpoint. I don't think you can just you know, hey, somebody went down, so you go from playing ten places to plaint in sixty and that I think that's how it goes. I think we'll try to split the reps in some form of fashion.

I think some of the guys have already been up and practice in some of those roles. You know, like I mentioned a Keen mc collins um. You know, Malcolm Perry's been in there a little bit. I think, you know, to mix those with those other young guys. Um, you know, there's a few different ways we we can do this. You don't have to only just put one grouping in there.

We've got some tight ends who can play, got some backs who can play, so you can only play eleven at a time, so it doesn't have to be three and full wide receivers. I think everyone expects it to show up that way, but doesn't necessarily have to be that way. So I think we can we can handle that, um with the rest of the team. Again, it's a team game. We need, you know, the tight ends, the backs, the receivers, and like I said, I it's it's it's a it's a it's a different year. It's the year

of COVID. So we've had some other teams who have been down, you know, multiple people at positions, and you don't not play just so well just if we need to, and look, no one is down playing the loss of Preston Williams obviously a big time playmaker for this Dolphins offense. But you heard coach talk about the ways they can find find ways to fill out those reps. Talking about how no one's gonna go from ten snaps to sixty snaps. They're gonna find different creative ways to get different personnel

groupings on of the field. Like, for instance, let's say you go twelve personnel. You've got two tight ends on the field, which means you only need two receivers. If you would have had Preston and Parker out there, you're kind of bigger body guys. Maybe mac hollins can fill that role in that big body roll of the two receiver sets. Maybe you go more speed looks like we've seen recently with Malcolm Perry and jakeem Grant on the field.

In those twelve personnel packages, they have different groupings, different body types, different prototypes for those specific packages, but they also have multiple packages they can go to, Like, for instance, the Dolphins have called exactly zero plays out of O, O, one, oh two or ten personnel. Those are all your five and four receiver sets. Zero play calls out of those

looks this season. Eleven personnel, which is your three receiver look, you're one tight end, your one back, your three receivers. Miami has two two plays out of that package. That's the second fewest in the National Football League ahead of the Minnesota Vikings and just a few snaps below the Cleveland Browns, which Kevin Stefanci coming from that Minnesota Vikings

twelve personnel heavy package. So we talked about twelve personnel, right, Dolphins every a hundred and seven team plays out of twelve personnel, and that is tied for eleventh most in the National Football League. With your two tight end personnel, Dolphins have also ran ten plays out of thirteen personnel. That's tied for eighteenth in the NFL. Not the most, however, Miami's twenty personnel package, which is two backs, no tight ends on the field, they've run that grouping twenty eight times.

That leads the National Football League. They've gone to twenty one personnel, two backs, one tight end. They've ran that one sixty one times. That is the sixth most frequent calling of twenty one personnel in the NFL. And finally, twenty two personnel, two backs, two tight ends, I mean, just one receiver on the field. The Dolphins have gone to that twenty four times. That's the eleventh most in the National Football League. They've also called twenty three personnel,

two backs, three tight ends. That's no receivers on the field, and they've also gone on some heavy personnel as well, with extra offensive lineman on the field. So Miami has different offensive packaging and grouping and player types and positions in general that they can use to replace those reps from Preston Williams. That's what Coach Flores is talking about there by saying it's not just plug and play receiver

and keep the same package and same offense going. We have different ways in different contingencies to replace guys in the event this happens. That's building depth, that's building a next man up mentality. That's your Miami Dolphins here in So there you go. Coach Flora's as Wednesday morning media availability, let's go ahead and jump now into the week ten preview. Dolphins will host the Chargers at hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, November the fifteen. It's a four oh five kickoff at

Miami Gardens, eighty three degrees mostly sunny. Might get our our best sunshine game of the season this year. Sevent humidity and twelve mile prior wins for the five and three Dolphins hosting the two and six Chargers, and you know last week was a really heart pounding game that maybe took a couple of years off your life. As Dolphins fans, We've been there before as football fans in general. That's what this league does to you, these tight wire,

high stress games. They're fun when you come out victorious, but man, they are stressful when you're going through it. And the Dolphins will welcome another tough test to hard Rock on Sunday as rookie quarterback Justin Herbert and that high powered Chargers offense comes to town. And like Miami, the Charger spent a top ten pick in this past April's draft on a quarterback and they're enjoying the fruits of that selection. So far, Herbert has been on fire

to this point in his career. That offense is putting up yards and points on the scoreboard, which creates tight games down the stretch. But victory has found a way to elude this team this season and last year in the strangest ways imaginable. You saw the game last week with the fade into the back of the end zone. Looked like the tight end came down with the catch, the ball hits the ground, they wave it off and

listen to the Move the Sticks podcast this week. That was the third time this year Matt money Smith, the Chargers play by play man, had claimed victory and had to go back and correct it because the change, the call was changed by the officials, or something happened where

the play just didn't work out in their favor. They are seemingly an impossible three and four team over the last two seasons in these one score games, but it tells you about the quality of this team and how they can compete with pretty much any team in the NFL. They're just working on finding a way to close out those games. So for Flores and the Dolphins, playing for sixty minutes and finishing will once again be the message

for this team for this game. The Dolphins have won four straight now, with the latest win coming down to the wire, but they are going to be focused on the task to hand. Nothing has been accomplished yet. As Byron Jones had earlier this week, We've still got eight more games against a bunch of really good opponents. So the challenge for us is, yes, we've won a couple

of games in a row. It feels nice, but how we got here was through hard work, and we're going to continue to do that end quote and the season lined up. Miami schedule to see both a f C and NFC West divisions this season, which means lots to travel from Miami, but also lots of travel for the

opposition coming from west to east. The Chargers are one and two this season playing in the Eastern time zone and three and three over the last two seasons combined, whereas the Dolphins are one and two at hard Rock Stadium over the last two seasons playing against teams at home from the Pacific time zone. That's a stat for you there, the good old he's batting two three off left handed pictures and dome stadiums in the month of September fund inside Baseball type of stat for you there.

The matchup highlights in this game. First, I put shoring up the edge because this Charger's pass rush can get after you. Nobody in the NFL Blitz is less than the Chargers under defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, and he came up in that Peat Carol system. We talked about it in the Jacksonville game back in week three. We talked about it in the Seattle game in Week four. Obviously there, but it's a heavy emphasis on zone looks, lots of Cover three where you have three deep defenders taking one

third of the field each. However, Bradley has shown his flexibility to his personnel in the past. With the ability to adapt to his personnel. You go back to a f C Wild Card round against the Baltimore Ravens. He shows you plenty of dime defense on that day and puts pressure on Lamar Jackson relentlessly and stopped to Baltimore offense in that game that hadn't been stopped previously under Lamar Jackson. But the one constant for Bradley is getting pressure with the four and pass rush. He did it

in Seattle, he did it in Jacksonville. He's doing it here with the Los Angeles Chargers. And making matters easier for his rush scheme are the presence of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram to edge rushers that just wreak havoc on opposing offensive lines with a physical brand of football paired with a crafty rush. Arsenal Bosa is one of five edge defenders with more quarterback pressures thirty seven than

the Dolphins defensive end Emmanuel Ogba. His thirty four. Ingram also has twenty three pressures, despite the fact that he missed three games this season. The Dolphins played seven offensive lineman on Sunday in Arizona, with Jesse Davis and Austin Jackson and Robert Hunt all getting work at tackle. Perhaps one of the best ways to help shore up the edge with the tackle position is through strong play on

the interior. Guard Eric Flowers and center Ted Carriss have played a combined six four snaps this season in pass protection and have allowed just fifteen quarterback pressures. Really good work up the middle from Miami's offensive line. Maybe you can help the tackles with tight ends and backs and chips that way. Because of that stout performance inside for Miami, the key matchup number two is limit the Chargers offensive lightning. A little bit of word play there for you guys,

Bolts lightning, get it. Despite playing one game fewer than all of his his competition in this category, Justin Herbert is sixth in the NFL with five hundred and ninety seven passing yards on throws twenty or more yards down field. His nine touchdown passes on such throws ranks second behind only Russell Wilson. Of Seattle and for Miami. Coming into that game against the Cardinals, the Dolphins three previous opponents were over fourteen on passes twenty or more yards downfield.

But we saw Christian Kurt get downfield a couple of times for some big play. So that'll be a fun matchup to watch as the Dolphins try to match the Chargers deep threats and they come in varying forms. Man Mike Williams has that kind of Davante Parker gene about him where he's gonna go upen and rebound those fifty balls and really make them more like balls. He's thirteenth in the NFL with two hundred and thirteen receiving yards on throws twenty or more yards down field, and fourteenth

in the league. Right behind Mike Williams is Jalen Guiton. He has two five receiving yards on balls twenty or more yards down the field. More than half of Guyden's receiving production this year, fifty two point nine percent has come from deep passes. He's the only player in the top forty five of deep ball receivers per Pro Football Focus with better than fifty of his yards coming on

deep shots. Down the field. Forcing the Chargers to drive the field and execute in the red zone could be a winning recipe because for all the big players, they make Los Angeles three in the red zone right now with a fifty seven point one conversion rate down in the red area. This is a defense that bends but doesn't break, says Byron Jones. Usually we don't like to have a team sport something like thirty points in the game, but it's good that we found a way to win

that game in that circumstance. End quote, talking about a ben but don't break defense. The third and final point here, heat up Herbert Man. The best way to limit a vertical passing game is to make that quarterback uncomfortable with constant pressure. And Herbert comes equipped with an absolute howitzer attached to his right shoulder and enough athletic ability to make plays outside the pocket. So it's easier said than done.

But the Chargers offensive line has allowed a hundred and eleven pressures this year, while Miami have created one and fifty one pressures of their own from sixteen different players. Different guys come, different guys get pressure. It's a team effort up front, and when kept clean Herbert is completing of his passes for eight point one yards per throw and ten touchdowns and just three interceptions under pressure. Though

still very productive, there's a slight drop off there. He's completing fifty of those passes under pressure for seven point seven yards per pass, seven touchdowns and two picks. Still pretty good, but you get the sense that pressure is a way to limit his production at least a little bit. And right tackle Brian Bulaga has been a steadying force for those Chargers offense. He's allowed only four quarterback pressures this this season, far and away the fewest among l

A offensive lineman. If ag Ball can draw Bolaga, that's a name matchup nightmare right there, and get some extra attention that way, it will be come imperative for Shack Lawson and company to get after the quarterback with other one on one matchups and some more Chargers personnel. For you here, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention Keenan Allen's name. He is so dependable and that short to intermediate option area when the vertical game is not there.

Arguably the best route runner in the NFL. For my money, he is the best route runner. He's second this year in receptions with sixty two and eleventh in receiving yards with six hundred and fifty one, and the Charger's edge rush is more than just Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa. Defensive tackle Jerry Tillery is second on the team with quarterback pressures. He's on the interior to Chenna no Wos,

who comes off the edge with more depth there. He has twenty one quarterback pressures this year, and Lynval Joseph back inside kind of completes that powdered blue wall as I've called it here. He has sixteen quarterback pressures and fourteen run stops this season. Linebacker Denzel Perriman at the second level, is PFF's highest graded Chargers defender. He's a big, hitting, aggressive off ball linebacker who contributes both in the running and passing game and staying on that defensive in the

back end. The top two corners for Los Angeles have both been on the field for more than of the defensive snaps this year. In the absence of veteran Pro Bowl cornerback injured Chris Harris Jr. Michael Davis and Casey Heyward have combined to allow just fifty catches on eighty seven targets. That's fifty seven point five percent for six hundred eighty five yards. That's seven point eight yards per pass, five touchdowns, and one pick on those two primary cornerbacks.

The Charger scheme offensively, they rank seventeen in the NFL with twenty five point six points per game, but second in total offense at four hundred and twenty yards per game. The rushing offense is eight with one hundred and thirties five point six yards per game, and they are fifth and passing at two eight four point four yards through the air per game. And most teams run eleven personnel primarily that's one running back, one tight end, three receivers.

Only four teams run eleven personnel more than the Chargers, who have called that package one of their offensive snaps. The most frequently called package for them as twelve personnel that's one running back, two tight ends, and two receivers. They've run eighty four plays from that look and also utilize two running back sets more than the NFL meme with sixty four snaps with two backs on the field.

We heard Josh Boyer on his Tuesday press conference say it didn't really matter who the Chargers running back is. They get production out of all their guys there from Los Angeles, and the Chargers defense utilizes Nickel defense with nearly the same frequency of the eleven personnel tech. Kind of a match up there, you go eleven personnel, you go nickel on defense and kind of match out three receivers,

three cornerbacks. They call on five defensive backs seventy point eight percent of the time and half of the league calls dime defense less than ten percent of the time sixteen teams. The Chargers are right at the medium there at nine point one percent of their snaps coming with six defensive backs and nobody blitzes at the lower rate and the Chargers once again, they bring the extra rusher on just eleven point nine percent of their snaps per

Pro Football Reference. They showcase their strength in the front four with a twenty two point nine percent pressure rate, eleventh best in the NFL. So good coverage with a good pass there. The defense allows twenty seven points per game, that's twenty one in the NFL, their fourteenth and total defense with three hundred fifty eight point five yards surrendered

per game. The rushing defense is sixteenth, and so is the passing defense, rushing one eight teen point three yards per game and through the air two hundred and forty point three yards per game on this Chargers defense. And to finish out this preview piece, a couple of notes for a couple of players who can hit some landmarks in their career. First, the Dolphins lead the all time series with the Chargers eight teen to sixteen. That includes

a two and two mark in the postseason. And on Friday's flashback podcast with kim Bo Camper, we're gonna talk about the nineteen eighty one and nineteen eighty two Divisional Round playoff games against these Chargers. Those games were split one apiece up to twenty. Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins needs thirty four tackles to reach one hundred and eighteen in his career. That would be the most tackles in the first two seasons of an NFL defensive tackles career since

at least two thousand ten. Linebacker Jerome Baker needs just four tackles, so probably get there this game, if not the following game, to become the first Dolphins player since at least two thousand to total at least two hundred and sixties seven tackles in the first three seasons of his career, and the next start for guard slash tackle Jesse Davis will be the fiftie in his career so far, and as we always do, we'll have postgame coverage for you guys up on Miami Dolphins dot Com with the

Sunday Night Spotlight, the recap story, the written version of that on Miami Dolphins dot Com, as well as the five Takeaways John Conjemmy individual performances, and audio from coach and players after the game on the Drivetime Podcast with yours truly Travis Wingfield. Let's go ahead and finish up this podcast with player media availability from Wednesday, and we will go ahead and start with wide receiver Davante Parker, who was asked about the injury to Preston Williams and

how the Dolphins will overcome that injury. I would say, you know is this next man up is the town that we have to have. Man, you never know your name will be calling. You gotta be ready at all times and we'll hear from quarterback to a tongue of Valo in just one second, how did Davante feel about watching to a run in open space as a scrambling

quarterback on Sunday. That was great to see. You. I know he had it in them, but he put on good moves against them, and I know, like I said, I'm happy for him, and you know, we just gotta continue to keep getting better. And next we got to hear from Austin Jackson again for the first time since before his injury. Up. First, Austin was asked about playing guys like Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa and what those two guys do best. Oh, you know, Inger's real shippy guy. Um,

great at reading leverage. I know, that's when he's really good at. And then I would say both on the other side the same thing. Um, both very technicals, both very technique sound defensive ends. So that means like, you know, they're gonna read like shorter leverage and all that stuff. So, uh, I think that's what they do best, or that's what they do one of the things they do best, and not much of us that up you did for this one. Austin was asked how he felt he played in his

first game back off the injury. So, I think I think I played. I think I played well. Um, there's definitely always things, um, you can work on. For example, I got I got chripped up by my sack. I think it was the only second I gave a little I got chripped up. But um, that's just stuff. You know, learning the spatial having that spatial awareness that you kind of getting a sense of, you know, where you're moving in the pocket and stuff like that for an offensive

lineman is big. So getting my first game back and getting back used to that was it was a challenge. Um, But for the most part, you know, I felt like I, you know, prepared myself to go in there and not leave a drop off of the team. So I think I knew pretty well. And the next one here from

Austin the final one. I was really curious to hear from him because we heard Byron Jones earlier in the season talk about really missing games for the first time in his NFL career and the preparation of game week when you know you're not gonna play. He talked about getting more mental reps. Here's Austin Jackson on that same category.

And then I would say when I was out, you know, not being able to practice with the team, I got, you know, more chance to look at the film to really study and memorize and learn a bunch of new things. You know, just studying NFL defensive to really um learning defensive movement's, defensive assignments. You know, stuff like that helped me a lot. And I studied that a lot. And you know, extra extra extra hours in the weight room and in the training room. Uh two, those those helps

as well. While I was out, let's slip it over to the guys that try to rush on players like Austin Jackson and talk to Shack Lawson, who of course had his first scoop and scores first touchdown of his NFL career on Sunday and the win over the Cardinals. Shack was asked to kick off his media availability. What's the latest fastest forty time he's ran? Um, My last for the time was like a folk six eight when

I ran at the combine something like that. But yeah, that's what I had in my mind, Like, man, that's how I was thinking about. I cannot get caught, Like it's my first opportunity. I can't get caught. Shack was also asked about if he had visions of DK Metcalf coming in from behind to get that tackle on him. See, I was thinking about that. Then I was like a man, they don't got nobody like DK that fast. And then how far I was in front of a lot of people like they had like at least big team or yards.

I only think I've seen was the offensive line. I've seen too offensive line. And then next day, you know, I've seen my boy Brandon come with a big block. I say, oh yeah, I needed that. Let's go ahead and finish up here with your starting quarterback to a Toungo by Loa, who first was asked kind of a theme of the day, how do you guys compartmentalize and block out the noise from the outside with all the outside hype and praise from major networks. Here's too, I'm

blocking out the outside noise. But I think as a team, I mean, the way we go about doing things every day is is it's kind of hard to get complacent, and so the way we go by doing things, um, you know, it's just with what Flow says, is just you know, keeping our head down, continuing to grind. Um. You know, the feeling of winning is is good, but you know that the feeling of losses. I mean, it's

it's it's the opposite, and we don't want to feel that. Um. And so we know that in order to to give us the best chance to be successful, we gotta we gotta go in, you know, and we gotta work hard in preparation, um as well as executing you know, you know, like I said, preparation for the team that we're we're up against. Let's get some evaluation here from two on the jump, from his first career start to a second career start, how he felt he progressed over those two

games against the Rams and the Cardinals. Yes, start start one, um to start to I mean, I would say we were able to to to push the ball down field a lot more. We were able to get into a group offensively with the past game, um, you know, as well as the run game. UM. But I think there's just continuations of what you can improve on. That's that's the best thing, and that's that's the best way to go about it. You know, when we feel like there's nothing else you can improve on, then that's not good.

And the inside the film or inside the NFL Films crew caught that moment between both two and coach Brian Floors is into the game when they were kind of given the game ball back and forth to each other, but two eventually gave it to Brian Flores. Here's two on that moment between he and coach Flores. You know, I I seen Flows Flows waiting and I had the game ball and when I when I went up to him,

they're just one of those like, I don't know. For me, it was like, thank you for taking a shot on me, Um, because like I said, a year ago, I mean, who would have known. I could have had a season ending uh injury. But you know, Miami Dolphins decided to take a chance on me. And in that game, the Dolphins had to overcome some injuries and some players not available

at the start of the game. Here's two on the Dolphins loss of Preston Williams going to the injury reserve and how he feels the team can respond and rebound from losing Preston Williams. Yeah, it's stuff, Um, losing someone like Preston Um who's kind of been a game changer, you know for us while he's been in there. Um, he's been targeted a lot more. I feel like this year,

Um in our offense. But I mean it's next man up, um, you know, and really it's pretty much all the guys that you guys have seen, um, you know against well what when we played the partners. That's pretty much the guys that you need to step up. And then you know there's probably gonna be some other guys as well, but um, it's it's just really a daily competition for all of us um receiving cores quarterbacks. The list was on UM and so nothing really changes as far as

who I'm going to target more and whatnot. It's I gotta go through my progression and you know, if that's the open person, then that's that's where are the bondings goes. And one last fun note I think Dolphins fans will

love to hear. On the Drive Time podcast, I mentioned a few weeks back that I was walking from the building over to the podcast studio, far away from the practice field, but in the distance I saw Miles Gasing getting extra work on the ladder and doing some of the work that we heard Jerome Baker talk about with regards to him coming in on his off day on Tuesday, which is player's day off across the NFL this Tuesday, made the same walk far side away from the practice field.

And who do I see out there besides two of walking out at nine thirty in the morning with a football in hand, getting ready to some extra work. So I thought that was cool. Thought it was a cool nugget. So there you have it. Plenty of information and detail on this Wednesday edition of the Drive Time podcast. As for my time today, that's gonna be my time. Come back with us tomorrow and check out the feature with

Adam Shaheen talking about the Dolphins tight ends room. And we'll also get some more media for you guys as well, all ahead of flashback on Friday with Kimbo Camper talking about one and two playoff games against the then San Diego Chargers. Plenty more to come here this week on Drive Time, but in the meantime, you all please be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcast, Leave us a rating, leave us a review, give me a follow on Twitter. It's at Wingfield, NFL. Follow the team

at Miami Dolphins. Check out the audible and the fish Tank podcast. You do not want to miss the Brandon Marshall episode of The Fish Tank and of course Miami Dolphins dot com, the written preview up there right now on the website until next time. Fins up