Drive Time - Eric Rowe Exclusive, Offensive Assistants Speak

bring you your daily dose of Miami Dolphins football. And on today's show, we are getting a break from the sunshine as we'll hear from each of the Dolphins offensive assistants as well as safety Eric Rowe. Plus I'll tell you what lessons I've learned from my first month here in South Florida. All of that and more on this Thursday,

August twenty edition of the Drivetime Podcast. Dolphins. So no practice on Thursday, but we are going to hear from the Dolphins offensive assistance chan Gaily, Robbie Brown, Eric Studisville, George Godzy, Steve Marshall, and Josh Grizzard. A little tidbit on Gailey's evolving offensive system, some research I did last night, and get to my exclusive interview with Dolphins safety Eric Row which you can also find on our debut episode of the Drivetime Training Camp Special, which is on the

Dolphins YouTube channel right now. But first before any of that. As the official wellness provider and sports medicine provider of the Miami Dolphins, Baptist Health is ready and committed to continue caring for you safely. This pandemic has reminded us that crisis doesn't build character, it reveals character. It's also taught us that our health is truly what matters most. Who do you wear a mask for? Mask up, South Florida, Keep caring, Live healthy, stay strong, and learn more at

Baptist Health dot net slash coronavirus Alright. The Drivetime Training Camp Special is a video show. Again. You can find it up on YouTube or on Dolphins social media. We originally plan to shoot the thing outside, but as we'll talk about here in the lessons I've learned in South Florida's segment, whether changes plans quickly down here, so we did it inside. Keep an eye out for that show.

I'll be sure I tweeted out like crazy, and on that show, we had an exclusive interview with Dolphins safety Eric Row which we're gonna go ahead and roll right now on the Drivetime podcast. Alright, and joining me now is Dolphins safety Eric Row. Eric first, I want to ask you, man, how's camp going, how you're feeling, So, I mean Campbell was going good, though, I'm excited to

get back out there put on the pads. I mean, we haven't played football since December, so I mean it was a long break, so it's always feel good to get back out there. Well, it's year two for you here in Miami. Do you get any sense of comfortability in the heat and humidity in the second year or is it just always hot? No, it's it's always high. I mean, I mean because the last time legit do we practice, you know, and this heat probably like in

probably last September. I mean, it cools off after a while, and you know, after you adjusted the heat the minute it's you know, maybe like eighty five and feel good outside. So uh so now it's back up there and it's hot. We're up in the shape up there on press row for the media, and I go stand by that fan and even then it's still really hot. So I even have that working for me. And I can't imagine you guys down there with all the gear on the in the Sunshine. It's it's brutal, but I do want to

go back. I talked about the beginning of your time here in Miami. You come here as a cornerback. Now you're playing safety and playing on a second contract with the team. When they approached you about the change, what was that like for you? What was your initial reaction to, hey, we want you to play some safety. Uh, you know, my insty action was. I mean, I understood at the time, we were you know, we were down. We're down, We're

really low on debt with safeties. Uh, it wasn't a lot of depth going on, and we had some good depth that corner. So at the time I was like, hey, you know, I was still playing corner at the same time, so I was kind of flip flopping back and forth, and I mean that that was kind of hard. But then when they're like, hey, you know, I guess I did a good job. We want to keep you at safety. I know because I know Rachard was her and shoot, we really have any safe after that, like strong, So

you know, I understood. Then I guess a game by game, you know, I was getting a lot more comfortable with it, and you played some safety back in college at Utah, right, Yeah, yeah, it was mainly free safety though, so that was that's the difference. Can you talk a little bit about the difference between that free safety and strong safety role and

what you have to do to prepare for that position. Yeah, I mean back in college, I was mainly free so I really didn't have any like you know, run fit responsibility, you know, taking on some linemen. And now it's strong. I mean, you you know, to prepare for a game, and I only got to study routes, you know, route skiing whatever for the tight end. I mean I have to study some run game like I mean because that corner. I mean, honestly, like corner. I I didn't go through

the rule. I mean I didn't go through the run clips, like if it came to me, it came to me. You know, I was on the island. Now it's strong, you know, I have to study the run game because you know, I have to watch if you know, how to tight end, but box or online pools. You know, I got different jabs at different schemes. So I mean it's it's a lot more you know, a little broader studying.

And is it a bigger challenge for you when it comes like on the practice field, like out there today, for instance, you're going through different drills when it comes to playing safety and cornerback. I'd imagine, right, yeah, yeah, I got I think I have some like god, some run kiss drills I gotta do now, Uh, you know, learn how to come out blocks. Uh you know, other than corner was working on your man technique. Uh you know, yeah, just working on different stuff. So I mean there's different

drills out there now for me. So I wanted to go back to this note. I put my notes here for you, Eric. I was gonna try to talk some crap to you here because I was curious to see how your Utah career went up against my Washington State Cougars. But you guys were two and two, So we'll go ahead and just shake hands on that one to call it even. I gotta get my Pack twelve action here whenever I can, because we don't have any of it out here with the Dolphins, so I had to bring

it up. But we'll come back here to the Dolphins. Another Pack twelve guy. We had g a drill Alexander on this weekend for media availability, and he talked a lot about the importance of communication, especially at that safety position. Is there a big increase in your level of comfortability now that you're in your second year as a safety in this defense, Like, do you feel more comfortable communicating to the defense this year than you did last year? Yeah?

There's uh, I mean there's there's there's a little bit different calls, but I mean I have a lot of better understanding of you know, kind of when to make that call and you know how to make that call other than I mean, I was comfortable last year, but last year I didn't have too many calls. I think the coach knew like, hey, you know, man up on the tight end and you'll fit in the run game kind of when you fit in. But now this year, uh,

you know, I have run you know, responsibilities fits. You know, I'd a cast to the line calls, the linebackers, calls to the corners, I mean, even to the other safety, to Bobby. You know, there's a lot of different calls.

But I'm a lot more confident this year though, And so one of the things I think that kind of contributes to that is the ability to communicate with new teammates and we got you guys have brought in a few new defensive backs over the last couple of weeks, and I want to kind of tie that into last year again, because you played all sixteen games last year and you oversaw plenty of turnover in that secondary from week one to week seventeen. You mentioned the injuries being

down so many guys. Did that experience kind of accelerate your ability to communicate and assist in helping the other new guys on the roster? Yeah, I mean it shoot started last year when we were getting new corners every probably like every other week, and we're doing right in the game, and you know, there's couple plays like hey, like you know what I got. I'm telling them, you know, con tell them like, hey, you know you have this. Make sure you don't stay outside leverage or you have this.

So so now with this year, you know, you know, we got kind of got the guys like so I have to make kind of like tell them what to do. But you know, if they need me, like I know what they're doing, like, you know, especially if it's like a rookie, like hey, like make sure you know, I don't know you stay outside. You know, I got your helping here. Blah blah blah. But yeah, this year, I mean I I kind of did accelerated though. I watched

some of the breakdowns on like Twitter. For instance, Darius Butler does a bunch of good stuff with that, and he talks about the communication you guys have to go through. It all happens so lightning fast. It blows my mind how quick you guys are able to read and react to that stuff. And speaking of the new guys, you mentioned the rookies. Wanted to get your take here. I've seen quotes on both Noah egit Agay and Brandon Jones, the two rookie defensive back draft picks for the Dolphins

this year. I've seen quotes from their ex coaches and teammates. They cannot say enough about their competitiveness and dedication. Are you seeing the same thing here in Miami? Yeah, I mean I see it on the field, you know, with the way they you know, both of them, they run to the ball. I mean I can see how hard you know, they want to. They want to get the defense down like you know, they want to get perfect

with it right now. But even though it doesn't really happen like that, I mean, you know, you can see it in their eyes and their actions. You know, I see the way they take the field, So I mean they yeah, they're both really competitive. Eric. Want to finish up here with the question for you about last year and kind of where your career came to those cross roads here in Miami because you previously had missed a

lot of time with some injuries. I was curious to get your take on how it felt for you to get that contract extension last year and to kind of have your football talent finally be able to show itself on the field. What was that moment like when you got approach with the Dolphins with a new contract. Oh man,

so it's so great. I mean just one you know, you know I want to be here, you know, I want of you would flow and Josh, I mean this reason why I came here, uh, you know, to get that extension and then yeah, plus like the years passed, so just you know, injury after injury, you know, something that you can't control. Then you know them to you know, giving me, you know, final shot too, you know, kind of show my talent and you know kind of all the Harvard kind of like you know, pays off me.

You know, sending my family up and you know, being a place that I want to be at. I mean, it's so great. I have to imagine the only thing that felt better than that was the pick six last year in Foxborough. Right nice, Yeah, especially, I know I knew it all right there. He is Eric Roe, your Dolphins safety, leader of the secondary, leader of this defense. Eric.

We appreciate your time today, man, I appreciate it. I always love talking to Eric Row because he always gives such a unique perspective and just such an honest, transparent perspective on football, on life, on his career so far. You heard him talk about the injury past he had, their the injury history, and how important and how special it was to him to get the contract extension here at the Miami Dolphins, and how he wanted to be here with Brian Flores and Josh Boyer and these guys

down here in Miami. Looking at his his NFL Pro Football Reference game logs. Over the course of his career, he played all sixteen games as a rookie in Philadelphia. Then he was traded to phillip to New England, and he missed seven games that year. He missed eight games the following year and then twelve games and eighteen. So you hear him talk about things out of your control, injuries that just they just happened to guys sometimes, Like it's not a knock on how a guy works or prepares.

He obviously works very hard at his craft. Sometimes you just can't control the way injuries pop up. And for Eric Row, he's had bad luck with that in his past. But last year started sixteen games, or rather started fifteen games, played in all sixteen games, had the interception, had eight pass breakups, forced to fumble, eighty one tackles. He was a really valuable asset for this Dolphin secondary. Last year.

He earns the new contract in Miami, and you can hear you can tell why by hearing him speak and the way he communicates and how he leads this defense on that back end. Very very happy for Eric Row, and I cannot wait to watch him on Sundays this year. And we'll go ahead and pivot here from the guys Eric Row was playing with on defense. So the guys the defense are trying to stop on the offensive side

with the assistant coaches. The players are off, but the coaches are here and we're gonna hear from each of the Dolphins offensive assistance, and we're gonna play some sound from each of those coaches here in just one second. But first, before we do that, I went ahead and did some research on offensive personnel groupings and production from previous Chan Gailey offenses, and the only one I can

go back and find was with the Jets. And but I wanted to detail this interesting fact toy that I found on Changailes offense from those two years there with the Jets, and the difference in personnel packaging and how the numbers bear out a cliche we hear from coaches all the time, right, we're gonna adapt our personnel or our play calls rather to our personnel, and the numbers between these two seasons, Chan's last in the NFL as a play caller in twenty seen with the New York Jets,

they proved the old adage to be true for Chan Gaily. For instance, in the Jets ran twelve personnel that's one running back to tight ends just two percent of their offensive play calls. In sixteen, that number jumped up to sixteen point four percent, for a fourteen and a half percent change in terms of twelve personnel usage, so we found more tight ends and called on them, called on

the tight ends more often that season. The story was saying, with twenty one personnel, that's two backs, one tight end. In twenty fifteen, the Jets went fourteen point eight percent time out of twenty one personnel and only point five percent a half percentage in twenty one personnel in sixteen, so another fourteen percent drop off there in usage. In the Jets ran ten personnel four hundred snaps. The next highest and up ball that year was one hundred and

thirty six snaps. Only two other teams had more than forty snaps from that package, so that's more of a spread out for wide type of offense. One back, no tight ends, four receivers. The Jets ran that four hundred times that year, and again the next highest was one d thirty six snaps. In they ran eleven personnel three hundred and eighty three times fewer than anybody else in

the National Football League. So he is not really beholden to any one specific offensive scheme, and he's proven that with his play calls as personnel groupings in the past.

Let's go ahead now and get to audio from Chan Gailey, who talked to the South Florida media on Thursday afternoon and up first, he talked about the rotation of reps and practice between the quarterbacks and the rest of the players on offense and how they worked that rotation to make sure everybody is getting even reps with the right players. We try to get different guys. We have a quarterback rotation, and we try to put different people in with those quarterbacks.

Rather than saying, you know, first group, saying third group. We just have a quarterback rotation and we mix a lot of different people in with those with when those quarterbacks, when the quarterback rotation is so that we um know

how many plays we're getting with everybody. And on the topic of quarterbacks, coach Gailey was asked about the knowledge between quarterbacks that play under multiple offensive coordinators in a short number of years, talking about Josh Rose and bouncing around from different play cars for the first couple of years of his career. But he also talked about two a tongue of VLOA at Alabama and playing with three different coordinators. They're really interesting answer here from Shan Gailey.

There's really only x amount of plays in in football so what you're trying to do is teach him a new language. How quickly can he learn a new language and get to where he can speak it fluently rather than he's memorizing what something means. And so the biggest thing is to try to get him to put things in the past, terminology in the past, put it away, put it over to the side, and grasp the new terminology.

It's okay in your brain to say, well, that used to be called this, but now it's called this and use that as a reference. That's a good thing, but not to get it where it's clogging up learning what new is going on. And that's that's true with I mean two has got the same issue. He had three coordinators is three years in college he's got the same issue.

And Um. The great thing about um, you know Fits, is Fits has done put different offenses out of his mind so many times in his career that he's kind of used to it. It takes a while to learn to do that, put it all away and start something new. Man. I tell you what, I'm really enjoying the transparency of these Changuille Press conferences, especially his answer here talking about the value having size on the offensive line and how maybe that's not the most important thing. You have to

be able to use it for it to matter. There are a bunch of four hundred pound people around out there that can't play football. Okay, so size is not the only factor. It's like people used to tell me, Hey, you got to you got some great speed at receiver. Well, if speed was the only factor, we go signed the Olympic team to come play football. So size is not the only factor in the offensive line. But the key is to get those guys using that strength in that way,

going in the right direction, doing the right things. Uh, and that's the challenge for us. Bigger is better only if it's better. Bigger is better only if it's better. What a quote to end that question up. Next, Chance was asked about the progress of rookie Malcolm Perry and his offense so far and what he's seen from the former Navy star. Malcolm is is an interesting guy, having played quarterback in the option and um, he's got some good quickness. Uh, he's got a feel for the game.

He's played tag growing up. You know he knows how to make people miss and make him get out of the way. You know, he he learned early on how to do that, how to look look at a guy and know when he's off balance, so he's got his foot in the wrong place and he can make a move the other way. So he's got a little unique talent there. And that's one thing that gives me hope that he can, you know, play receiver for us because he does have a feel for getting people off balance,

finding holes. He understands the game pretty well. Probably playing quarterback helped him understand the game fairly well. So he's an interesting guy, uh to work with. And um, the other guys are working. You know, we hadn't had but what three or four at it. I don't even know. They run into each other now, three padded practices. We've got to We've got a lot of work to do

in a short time to do it up. Next, coach evaluates another wide receiver on his roster, a player who's come out of the gates hot and training camp picking up where he left off last season. He's had excellent hand eye coordinations, got route running skills. He's got the speed and the size to make a difference on the football field, especially when he's one on one. He can

be physical with guys. Um. I'm I'm really looking forward to working with him and see what he develops into UM and hopefully we can build on what he how he finished the year last year. Hopefully we can build on that. That of course about Davonte Parker, Dolphin's wide receiver. To finish this up here with chan Gailey, he was asked about how he adapts the offensive personnel he has and how you want to emphasize the strengths of the players you have and put them in a position to

really show those strengths on Sundays. As a coordinator, you get excited about what guys can do. You don't fret about what they can't do. Uh. So you take the guys and take their skill set and the things that you're excited about, and you try to put them in position to be successful. And I think we have an a set of guys on our football team. They give me some excitement about what we might be able to

do with this crew. Up next, we got coach Studentsville, who of course coaches the running backs, and he started off with the question about evaluating both Jordan Howard and Matt Brita so far through the first week of training, camp. Well, I think you think you see them is that they're both competitive people, which is one of the things you know we really want is we're looking for guys who want to come in and compete and work. Those guys feel those those roles for us for sure. Um, you

know you see Matt bursting speed. We've seen a couple of times in the open. You see, Um Jordan's got really good feed, in line, vision, in line, all the things you expect. I think they both you know, will be able to contribute as m pass protectors. We started to do some more drills with that in practice as far as rush drills, so we're seeing that. We got to continue to develop that. But we're just we're continuing

to get them doing everything. I just don't have enough of a feel for them on a big volume to know what exactly their whole packages are right now. But you love everything about both of those guys on the field and the classroom. They're smart, they understand football, They're they're passionate about it. They want to be good, they want to work, and so we just gotta keep developing

and building up. Next, coach talked about the benefit of size up front on the offensive line and how the offense can go through the running game to create play action opportunities, and how the entire balance of the offense depends on itself. Well, hopefully it's gonna help us overalls and offense. You know those big guys too, they gotta pass, protect and and those kind of things. So I think it's gonna factor into the run game as well as the pass game, and then hopefully we have some play

actions in there too. So the better we run the ball, the more we'll be able to play action ass off of it, and we'll still be able to drop back, pass and do some things. So I think, uh, you know, we've gotten better, I think in that, but again we don't know really how much better yet until we start doing some more things and pass. We've only had a few days in past, so we gotta keep building this.

But um, I like the direction that goes. I think there's a good mix with what the offensive line and the backs are figuring out from each other right now. We just we still gotta keep working on And as I record this podcast, I'm drinking a diet pepsi out of my Washington State Cougars Cuzy. Here is coach talking about Washington Husky Miles Gaskin, and I'll go back to crying into my die PEPSI thinking about those four Apple cups he once ruined for Washington State Cougar fans and

alumni everywhere. You know, Miles. Miles has done a great job. I think, uh, so far and what we've done, I think he's, you know, head and shoulders above where he was at this time last year. I think, you know, the work and the effort that he puts into the game, and the passion that he has to want to work and to want to be good at this and to get everything, I think has started to really show. And he invested in himself last year and is paying off

for him now. He's playing more confident, he's playing faster, and I think we're seeing some of the skill set that that he's had in the past. We're starting to see now what really some of his potential is. And we'll go ahead and finish this one up with a question from yours truly. Hey, coach, you want to go back to Jordan Howard here again. You touched on his

vision a little bit there in the first question. Is that something that's just inherent in the back or can he kind of help impart some of that wisdom on the rest of the room and the way he reads blocks and sets things up. Well, a lot of it is is reactions and what they do. But certainly we have things that we're looking at as to what how a play is designed. I mean we talked about that a lot of times and meetings. Hey, where what are

eyes doing? What are we thinking here? Um? You know, there's a lot of people that can know what the place you're doing, and there's a difference in the guys that can make the play do what it's supposed to do. And Jordan's has that ability to find holes to create for himself. He's got good feed in line. Um, he has. He has what we call vision and be able to find things up. Next, we have Coach Marshall the offensive line.

And at yesterday's practice, I noticed Eric Flowers coming out of the building with this band and harness apparatus that he was carrying all by himself out there, and I didn't think much of it, But then late on Wednesday night, I saw a tweet from Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun Sentinel where he talked about the Dolphins offensive line working every day after practice and Eric Flowers kind of being the ring leader, the leader of that group,

getting those young guys the extra reps. And I went back and found this quote that I found from Bill Callahan, the interim head coach last year and former offensive line coach up in Washington with Eric Flowers. Here's what he had to say about Flowers quote. I love Flowers. I loved him coming out of the draft. I think the world of him. He's physical, He's been really good in past protection. He's a strong, square force in that respect. I just love the kid. I just like the way

he works, how he goes about his business. Sometimes it's a breath of fresh air. I've had a lot of guys in my career, a couple of different places that sometimes a different exposure to new techniques, a different system, it kind of revives them. He'll hit the free agency market and I think he'll do well. It's just going back to the work ethic and the fact that he's all about business. We see on the practice field and the extra reps and him getting work with the younger guys.

We also hear it here from coach Marshall talking about his new offensive lineman and Eric Flowers. Well, I mean, yeah, it's huge, not only Eric and Ted and Jesse and some of the guys that have played in this league. Uh, it's it's really guys like that and help guys, you know, because those young guys, you know, they've had you know, three weeks work and it's a whole different ballgame. The speed is different, the obviously the size and the physical movement.

Uh So yeah, every day, Uh, that not only helps them, they they give them a little uh tidbit and help him do with with fundamentals and technique and some of the things we're asking them to do. And then you know, that's what that's what that's what old line do. That that helps build camaraderie and all all the different aspects that that goes into playing offensive line in this league. Up next, coach talks about the evaluation so far of his three rookie draft picks along the offensive line, and

Solomon Kinley, Robert Hunt and Austin Jackson. Uh, those three guys, if I have taken the role, you know, they're coming in and they're learning every day. Every every play is a new adventure for those guys. Uh, there were very good players at the last at college level, and uh, they're they're getting better every day. Uh their bright eyed, they learn and uh they're they're competing heart you know,

I mean they're they're we've been pleased a gout. It's just starting three days of pads and the flow in the hot Florida sun is Uh. He's a little bit of an eye opener for some of those guys, but uh uh they're fighting through it. And you're gonna kind of notice a theme here on these press availabilities, as these guys will talk about football and break the game down for you in a way that's easy to understand.

Coach Marshall was asked about how he evaluates offensive lineman because there's not really a way to quantify how they perform. Here's what coach had to say about how he evaluates his offensive lineman. Well, it goes the skill set, it goes to smarts, that goes to toughness. Uh uh is he a team guy? And you know Cam uh is it Cameron? Yeah? He? Uh, those guys usually our team guys because you know they obviously as you know, they

don't there's no stats involved with offensive line. You know, they try to make them with all these different different things. But the end of the day, the the best five guys that can block them all right, you can do it intelligently and do it over a long period of time are the ones that are very successful in this le And uh, that's what kind of we're trying to build filled with these guys. And that's the best I can tell you. There's they got to have the skill set,

you know that it's it's bigger, faster, stronger. But there's a lot more that goes into an old line is all about intelligent, being able to work on your feet, being able to change, you know, doing things quickly, uh, mentally and physically. And here's some further evaluation on Dolphins fourth round draft pick out of Georgia Solomon Kinley. Well, Solomon is a guy. You know, if you went back and looked at him at Georgia, you know, he's a big man, he's smart, he's you know, he's a smart guy.

He loves to play the game. And that's the one thing I think that uh, you know, for a twenty one year old kid that's that left college early to come to the NFL, he's got to want to be a very good player. But obviously he has physical attributes and skill set that that you know, my grandmother can see that. He's, you know, a big man. But the thing about Solomon he comes to work every day so far he is not we put a lot on him.

We want to see where he is, and he's not back down a bit, and uh, you know, every days an adventure for him. Joe, he's guy that you know, like you said, it's a whole new thing for him, a whole new Norman Clakes are a whole new thing. And and you know, uh, as rookies do, they have good plays, they have bad plays. And my job is to eliminate the bad ones and keep making the good ones better. And that's really where Solomon is, as is Rob and a j and some of the other young

guys that are playing on the offensive play. And we'll go ahead and finish up with my question for coach Marshall, who I happened to see. It seems like daily run the facility always give them what's up? And here's coach Sam what's up to me? And answering my question about how the Dolphins offensive line can benefit from seeing all the multiple looks up front. Of Brian Flores and Josh Bowyer's defense. Good morning, coach, how are you. What's up, Dravis.

I We're doing I'm doing well. I wanted to ask you about the communication and protection calls up front and seeing a defense like the one that Flores and Boyer run with all those fronts and different rush packages, does that kind of help accelerate the growth of your young line up front. Oh, there's no doubt it starts. It starts, not just the young line, but you know, the whole group. You know you've gotta be and as as we've all documented, part of offensive line play, you know, was more of

the pre snap stuff than the post snap stuff. You come out of the huddle. Uh, they give you a specific look we have to make a specific call based on that can pass, especially in past protection, but also in the run game. So yes, there's a huge communication um uh factor that we go through, making sure it goes from the guard to the tackle, to the guard in the center of the guard to the tackle. UM and making sure when when we get different looks like

our defense does, they're very multiple. They give you a lot of different uh problems and it's it's really part of the whole maturation process and learning process to get the line to come together, and a lot of it is just time on the job over and over again and seeing the different things that we've got to see and be able to handle and pass protection and and not andy obviously in the run game too, but past protection is really where that's the difference between pro ball

and as opposed to kind of college ball. You know what these young guys have, but not only for that, but for the Ted Carresses and Eric Flowers and Jesse's and the guys that have had who are basically young veterans that you know every year. Again, the Norman clature and the different ways we say things and the different language that we use has got to be practiced in meetings and practiced in games to be able to handle

all the different looks and pressures you get. And we go hot change here and bringing coach Robbie Brown, the coach of the quarterback room, and we start with the question once again from yours truly. You know, I find the personality dynamic in that quarterback room pretty intriguing. And

my question here is sort of two pronged. One, how are those personalities meshing and do you find yourself not just teaching, but also kind of learning from the cerebral guys you have in that room there and Fits and Josh and too a well, the room does have a lot of personality, is fun to be in. And most quarterback rooms you go into, you gotta be on your toes because they're witty there. You know, you gotta know what you're saying, be ready for all kinds of comments

and things like that. So it's a lot of fun being in there, being around them. It's fun watching them in her act together learn from each other. And yeah, you I mean, obviously you're gonna learn something from every single guy, how they see things, how they process things. Uh. So it has been a good time learning, seeing teaching

all three of those guests. Up next, Coach was asked about a play that occurred on Wednesday where two US hungle Voloa escaped the pocket and slid down and gave up on the play quote unquote as Coach would talk

about it. And here he is talking about that learning experience, not just for two but for Josh and Fits and all the quarterbacks in that room and how they can apply the knowledge of the offense and knowing the right time to execute certain plays or certain ideas like giving up on a play, throwing the ball away, sliding down to the turf, things like that. That's a learning situation for everybody. I obviously remember the play. If you're out there,

you saw it. That's a learning situation for everybody. It's not just him. Obviously he's the one that did it. Had it been had it been Fits or Josh, we would have done the same thing. But you're always talking about pocket presence, knowing when to throw it away, when to give up, when to get down. And it's a fuel thing, you know. And you've got a guy that's how many of your year Vet Fits is you know. He talks through that, Uh, Josh talks through it to it,

talks through what he sees. Chan talks through what he sees in the meeting. But that's always a process, and it's more about uh, when to give up, when to throw it away. But it's not just to Every quarterback lives through that. It doesn't matter who you are, where you are, Uh. In the process, that's always a decision and you're a competitor, so it's always a decision of

what to do and when to do it. I told some of the people in the building here how much I love Coordinator Day on the podcast or on media availability because you get so many inside techniques or inside ideas about how coaches think and how they evaluate. Here's Coach Brown talking about the quarterback room, quarterback play in general, and how they think and how they're wired in that competitive mindset. You see some good, you see some throws

that they wish they could do better. Um, And and that's the way practice is, and that's the way games are. Every NFL quarterback is extremely competitive. So if they're fifty nine and sixty, they're worried about that one. And it doesn't matter if it's Josh or Fits or two or whoever it is. Uh. But I tell you, it's just been fun to get out there and be on the grass and see all three of them throws, to see, uh see a practice go. I'm sure it's been fun

for you guys as well. But UM, you know, we just gotta try to get better each and every day, and all three of them in every aspect, whether it be calls and throws, footwork, everything, just trying to improve every single day. And we wrap up with Coach Brown here with an evaluation on Josh Rose and entering your number two here with the Miami Dolphins, he has come in mentally really trying to learn the offense, understand the offense. Uh. And just like the other two guys, he's made some

good throws the past few days. He's made them not so great throws the past few days. But his effort to improve every day has been really good. Uh. Improve mentally, Uh, improve his throws, improve his footwork. He's always thinking through

those kind of things. Um. And and I think really the mantra that that flow has put out, Hey, let's go out there and get better today, I think he is really trying to do that and live him by that rule and talking about the quarterbacks to the guys they throw to in the receivers and coach Josh Grizzard here is coach answering my question to start things off about Isaiah Ford. I wanted to ask you about Isaiah Ford.

In a comment that Ryan Fitzpatrick made last December about his knowledge of the offense, went as far as to call him special on the way he prepares and studies. Can you tell us what you see from Isaiah Ford in terms of a preparation standpoint, and how he's able to really absorb the offense so comprehensively. Isaiah is a very very smart football player. He completely understands not only his job, but the guy beside him. He might even be able to tell you what the old line is doing.

He might tell you what the protection is. So he knows that because he studies it. He loves the game. He and I can see this guy coaching one day down the line and he Um, he does have elite knowledge of what we're doing, what his role is, and he just enjoyed to be around because he understands it from our level. And next a question about coaches, focus on Devonte Parker and what he wants to work on and get better at this season to improve upon last

year's breakout season. Yeah, the fact that he was healthy last year and had all that success. It's beautiful to see this year that he's now more vocal. Um. You can tell that's coming along. Um. The first couple of weeks of camp really the same thing. And and guys gravitated that. The young guys that are around, they see that,

they see the way he works. Um, he now understands I think more than ever that not only is your job to get open to catch the ball, but if it's a concept that you need to go get doubled or you need to be in this spot to open it up for the next guy. He understands that side of it too. I think he understands defenses more than ever. So just seeing him take those stripes has been good. Kind of just going down the roster here we did Isaiah Ford, DeVante Parker and now coach will talk about

both Matt Cole and Gary Jennings. Yeah, so Matt, Um, it's been good to actually get a chance to work with him and get to the point where putting the pads on and what you see from Matt is Matt is a strong player. Um, He's an explosive guy. He can get in and out of breaks quickly and and we've been able to see that over the last few practices on the field. So just seeing that in person, and really the same thing of going from talking about this thing on zoom to give him the field of

doing it has been has been good. And then to Gary, Uh, Gary's a tough player, he's physical, Um, a lot of the same things where sometimes you rather run through a guy than around him. So it's good to see that aspect of the game as well. And we'll just go

ahead and keep on rolling here with Preston Williams. Yeah, I think that he's really just focused on the last few months of just getting back to where he was and and now that he's working towards that, it's how can I run this route slightly differently, or if I'm seeing this coverage the same thing. To the point I was making about DeVante and really the rest of the group on it's not always me, I gotta go beat this guy, but let me be in this spot so

that this play is effective. So the Dolphins move the ball down the field, and I think he sees that more. He's seeing more defenses. He's just putting that in his mind on catalog and they're like, Okay, I can reach back to this at some point down the line. On I've had that experience, so um, he's done a good job with that and just getting that feel for it. Ums has been his main thing and one more coach to get here to the tight ends coach George Gods.

He talked about Adam Shaheen to kick things off here, but just in general, the way coach breaks things down from a football perspective. Really good insight here from the Dolphins tight end coach. Here he is talking about new tight end Adam Shaheen. Well, yeah, you know, he's he's gradually grasping the offense. You know, Unfortunately for Adam, uh, you know, it wasn't here in the springs to be able to digest that amount of time that we spent

in these virtual meetings. He's put He's put a lot of effort and uh, you know, really commend him on on catching up honestly from a mental standpoint, and then you know physically, Uh, there's there's obviously some history of him not being out there on the field. He's been working hard in the training room and to get out there, continue to improve his reps and then continue to show some production from especially a blocking standpoint. Um, you know,

it's hard in the preseason to get everybody the ball. Um. He has definitely some uh you know, touchdown background, let's call it in the NFL, so we know he can he can catch the ball. Um, But you know, when you're trying to evaluate, you know, uh, an extra group of running backs, some extra receivers, Uh, you know, all the different quarterbacks trying to rotate that. There's it's complex

and getting you know, the ball distributed to everybody. So um, we're gonna take it, you know, one day at a time. But you know, you bring up some good points there as far as him improving data day, and we've got about two more weeks for that to to keep going before it's you know, season time. Last week, Coach joked with Cameron Wolf of ESPN about his backdrop in the balcony and how inviting it looked. Cam didn't have that backdrop this time, but Coach did joke with him about

his traps and how they're looking better. A George don't have a balcony in the backdrop this week, but that's where I traps look. Rettle bigger though, Um, I want to ask you, I guess you got you got? It seems like you have guys that may not necessarily be in your room full time, but may play some some h back or some move tight end. You know, maybe like a mac Hollins or like a Chandler Cox. How do you work with those guys? Google? Like you said, like I said, may not be in your room full time,

but maybe play some tight end roles. Yeah, that's a this is a very complicated thing with really every club. It's you know, the hybrid players, um, you know, and being able to um, let's say, adapt to another another role. So you know, potentially could Chandler cor to carry the football, so he's got to learn some running back stuff from a protection standpoint, from a running back landmark standpoint. Um.

And then the tight end role. You know, obviously there's on the line, there's extended as a technically they are tight ends in the in the media guy, but they could be extended and play essentially a receiver or detached eligible position. So um. And then you know, as a tight end, as you get off the ball and get into a position to to block as a fullback, so um. You know, it takes obviously a lot of extra time.

And you know, when we're talking about being physical, obviously the fullback and the tight end, those two positions have a lot of merging roles. So those two guys essentially or those two positions are are in this room, and it's it's you know, something that I say, I may be talking to Chandler, but I'm really speaking to the

whole room. So that they hear the point because you know, and I always bring up as you may get up to bat and face you know, three A fastballs, but you know at some point you're going to face the curveball. And if you're not listening to a correction that was made to another player, then you know we're not going to be ready for that pitch or that defense. So to say so, Um, it's definitely a burden for those guys when they're sitting there in the meeting room and

you're really addressing a certain player. But for them to process that information and put them in that spot, um, you know, that's how that whole room improves from like you said, a toughness or physical standpoint, especially in the run game. And the next question for coach had to deal with Dolphins third year tight end Durham Smith and an overall evaluation of what he brings to the Miami

tight end room. Yeah. I mean the whole room is essentially a young room, and so I see those guys improving, um in all phases, uh, every day. And you know there's a certain degree in the run game, uh, or if we're speaking to Derham specifically, that he's able to provide for us maybe a little bit differently than um, Michael, uh say. And then there's also some things that he can do, um that maybe Michael you can't do. So Um, he's concentrating on, you know, some of the weaknesses from

last year and improving those. But professional and mental standpoint, this guy is as sharp as anybody in our offensive room. Um. You know, he understands defenses, he understands techniques. Um. And again to Cameron's question, when you're blocking all those different angles, inserta and as a fullback on the point of attack as a tight end. You know, that's just that's not like a one stop shop like and and to process

that and understand what exactly those players are doing. Um. You know, I tip my hat to Durham because sometimes it's a thankless job because it doesn't show up in the staff book. Eight catches um uh you know for whatever yards. But he's a big part of us of

being successful. Run play action and you know, when the ball is thrown him, he gets his opportunit unity, he's got to take advantage of it, which you know he's shown a little bit of that here in these first few days with paths up Next, a question from once again yours truly, Hey, coach, I want to kind of continue that theme about talking about the way Mike and Durham kind of balance each other because we saw the versatility last year with Mike playing a lot out wide

in the slot in line, and I'm curious, when you're in twelve personnel there with two tight ends, how important is it to have some type of balance in both play style and body type and those two tight ends

on the field. It's it's extremely important. UM. You know, you don't want to loaded boxes what we say when everybody just comes down there and plays and run, and you know, if you're if you're facing a defense that UM wants to respect your ability to threaten them vertically essentially in the passing game, then we need to have you know, enough hands on hands or hats on hats from a blocking standpoint to be able to allow us

to run for some yards. So the tight end position, you know, it's it's a threat initially because we're on the line of scrimge for the most part, Um, and we're able to get into the defense a little bit different from a full back position because we're now you know, at let's call level two, level three, in the backfield depending on exactly the position. Um So, the tight end position is a vital position to providing that pass and

run threat. Um So, it's it's it's extremely important for both of those guys to excel at both run and pass. You know, albeit they're they're blocking different players at certain times, sometimes dvs, sometimes defensive alignment. And you know, that's our job to put those guys in positions where we feel like the most effective versus that defense. And now you

have it. If you want to hear these in their entirety, go ahead and check out Miami Dolphins dot com or the YouTube page, and we'll also have all the written recaps up on Miami Dolphins dot com for your daily written content on your Miami Dolphins. As the official wellness provider and sports medicine provider of the Miami Dolphins, Baptist Health is ready and committed to contin and you caring for you safely. This pandemic has reminded us that crisis

doesn't build character, it reveals it. It's also taught us that our health is truly what matters most. We have the power to protect each other by wearing a mask. So who do you wear a mask for mask Up South Florida. Keep caring, live healthy, stay strong, and learn

more at Baptist Health dot net slash coronavirus. Okay, it's been about one month since I got here into South Florida for this job, moving my family across the country, and I've learned a few things about the difference between life in central Washington State and South Florida, and there are plenty of them. Let's go ahead and rip off the notes that I wrote down for this real quick signals and speed limits on the road are optional. You can go like seventy miles in forty five and no

one's gonna care. You can jump four lanes without using a turn signal and nobody cares about that either. So it's the wild wild West out here. Wacky races in South Florida. You can host an Animal Planet show from the garage at the Nova Southeastern campus where we park for Dolphins Facility, Dolphins practice everything dolphins related. I found a raccoon in Iguana. There are stray cats out there,

there's ducks walking around. I have seen pretty much every kind of animal you can imagine out in that garage. Might have to pull Steve Irwin Side episode here of the Drivetime podcast one of these days. Number three. Always be privy of the weather report, because I've been caught out in the rain on jogs, on my walk from the facility out here to the podcast studio, I get caught in the rain as much as anybody I feel like,

and that's a South Florida lesson. Number one. Be aware of the weather report and probably always have an umbrella. Also enjoy the tame temperatures. Number four here because on Wednesday's practice the sun was a little bit of cloud coverage out there, there was a cool breeze, and my goodness, it was so much more enjoyable than sitting out in the hot, baking sun. And that just thick heat and humidity. So when you get those days, you really have to

enjoy them. Number five. This is probably not South Florida, but more of just living in a gated complex. Do not order food delivery service. If you live in a gated complex, it never gets there. I'm oh for three, I'm just gonna have to go start driving to places, which is kind of a bummer because I get home late. I don't want to go cook, I don't want to go out to a restaurant, so I need that delivery service,

but it's just not working out for me. Number six, being a fan of a West Coast team is just not possible if you have an alarm clock to wake up to the next morning. Trying to watch my marriage games, I fall asleep in the fifth or sixth ending almost every single night. They started most of those games at nine forty Eastern time. I just can't make it because I'm in bed by eleven eleven at the latest. And this one from my wife. I was surprised by this comment.

She said, people out here are nicer. Do you guys have that same experience? People in South Florida are nicer than other parts of the country. That's what she said. She said that, that is what she said. She said that was her experience at Target and place different stories she went to, like home Goods. She said, everybody was super nice and like greeted her and was very kind to her that way. So those are my South Florida lessons so far. Let me know what you think about

those on Twitter. Let me know if you think they're wrong, if I should change those, if I should add more to them. I want to hear your takes on South Florida from the folks that live here. As for today's podcast, that is going to be my time you all, please be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcast, Leave us a rating, leave us a review. Follow me on Twitter at Wingfield NFL. Follow the Dolphins at Miami Dolphins, check out the fish Tank and the Audible podcast, and

of course Miami Dolphins dot com. Until next time finds up