To on the move, going Deep, speedless Peace Dad.
From the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield.
He's got Miami has in the playoffs?
What is up Dolphins? And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast. I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show, that is it. That is a rap last practice from here in Miami Gardens. As far as training camp is concerned. We are back on the grass tomorrow in Tampa. But today we get some notes. We heard from the coordinators and I had to chat with Eric Azuokama from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This
is the Draft Time Podcasts lover Miami's office. Plenty of updates with regards to who was available and who was not on this practice Tuesday. Almost forgot what day it was again. Ethan Bonner was back in a red medical jersey, so was Chris Brooks and running back Jalen Wright as they all got their work in with no contact. Jalen Waddle back on the field, mostly in individual drills, but he had his helmet on, which is a good sign for his progress. And I thought he looked fast and
quick in some of his releases and route running. Both Jalen Ramsey and Jordan Poyer back at practice. Both participated in team drills that's a great sign, and Tyreek Hill dressed down but did not participate. It was a light day of practice. It is a travel day as we head out to Tampa Bay. Right after this recording is over, I am on the road over Alligator Ally and into Tampa to watch practice tomorrow with the Dolphins and Buccaneers
ahead of the preseason finale on Friday. We'll have a podcast on Thursday that covers that game as well as my final camp thoughts, and then we're on to basically the regular season cut down day, some more press conferences, some season preview content. We'll have plenty of coverage heading up to Week one against the Jacksonville Gaguars, and then it's on from there. I mean, it's an eighteen week sprint to the playoffs. Plenty of shows, plenty of film
to break down, plenty of games to preview. Beat writer guests will have national broadcasting guests, all that fun stuff
here once the regular season gets here. But for today, pretty light day, Although we did get a chance to watch Tua do the things that he does best, which is just play really good quarterback, and that opening period of practice I saw him do a few of the things that kind of were cool to see in a bookend type of way, and how he punctuated camp and all the progress that I think he's made and quick spoiler on the Thursday podcast, I'm going to talk about
five overarching takeaways, five big picture items, and one of them is going to be that I think Tua has improved his game in a variety of ways that can have a big impact on this team going forward. And what I thought we saw in this short amount of practice time on Tuesday was him stringing together a few plays that kind of showcased that complement of skills and tools. So first he had a deep shot dialed up or
trying to get to a deep shot. I should say, where both safeties Jordan Poyer and Elijah Campbell did a good job of helping the corners and kind of capping the vertical shots on this route. And what do you typically have when you try to throw the ball deep? You have options in the short area in case they are not there. And what I saw too ad was pump this deep shot that he was never going to throw because it was very well covered, and then immediately
got to his checkdown. And I keep talking about this skill set for a quarterback, and you know, I go back to the year that I watched every quarterback and graded all their film and kind of put together a website that I thought gave my name a little bit of recognition outside of the Dolphins fan base. What was
the idea of the project at least? And one of those quarterbacks I stud he was Derek Carr, and that was the year that he had you know, he was in the MVP consideration till very late in the year when he got hurt. And when I went back and watched the tape, it was one of the best offensive
lines in the NFL. And then a bunch of three and four vertical routes and then five seconds to pass and then checkdowns and then big plays after that, and I was like, it looks good in the results aspect of it, but as far as like carrying a team, I'm not really seeing that. And the reason I bring it up is because this route reminded me of that
he had all data throw. He pumped the ball deep down the field to kind of get some displacement in the second portion of the field, second level of the field, and then found Devon ah Chan in the flat for like a fifteen yard catch and run. And with how
this offense can lift the shells off defenses. Man, if you have that in your back pocket, and if it's by the way, a sprinter Olympic speed type of running back into von ah Chan, you can not just pick up seven and eight yards, you can possibly pick up fifteen twenty yards. You can possibly score touchdowns on those plays. So I'm excited about the options there in the passing
game at all three levels of the field. And I think that we saw that with Tua and eight Chan on this play, and then just a couple of plays later, they moved down into the red zone and Tua extends this play where pressure wasn't there quickly, but the coverage
was good. And that's kind of an expectation with where the Dolphins receiving core is right now, right especially with all these defensive backs that came back in practice today, I wouldn't expect to get a ton of separation on Jalen Ramsey when you have guys that have signed within the last week or two kind of as two as primary targets, but he did find a guy that has been here for longer than anybody, and it was durham smythe where he got pressure and extended the play to
his left and threw this shot on the move on to the left where he put the ball right on the outside shoulder with coverage underneath drham Smyth for a touchdown. So I thought that was a good example of his off script ability. So you have the mental capacity and how far that's come in his you know, age twenty six, fifth year in the NFL season, as well as the physical traits that we've seen him kind of take a step with that you guys got a short glimpse of
in the game on Saturday. And then finally the play that you know that was the primary skill his entire career that led to over forty six hundred passing yards and leading the NFL last year was his ability to manage from the pocket, which on this play is my favorite type of play a quarterback can make when you can win and execute the offense from inside the pocket, and on this play he had Braxton Barrios to the far side of the field, so a field throw right
the wider part of the field compared to the boundary
where it's short side, and Braxton has this route. I might have been fifteen eighteen yards down the field, and cater Kohu has eyes on this pass, and I think that he probably thought, you know, without trying to go inside his mind too much, I might have a pick six right here, and he tries to undercut this shot that Tua threw, and I was sitting next to Orlando Alzegarian Wolf is kind of locked eyes, like, WHOA, that was something special because Tua put the ball high and
away outside and Barrios not the tallest receiver, he kind of had to, you know, rip this football with the way you would throw it over the middle of the field, you know, over linebackers and under safeties. But throwing it on a fifteen yard outbreaker to the far hash over an undercutting slot cornerback who has a pinch it for big plays. I'm like, Okay, that was a throw that I'm not sure was in his bag in the past,
you know, maybe as much as last year. And he put this ball right on location for barriers to catch it, turn it up field for a big play. Gosh, it's impressive and everything that he does continues to show growth
and should inspire confidence for this entire Dolphins operation. And we had a chance to speak with offensive coordinator Frank Smith before practice today and I asked him about the you know, in specific terms, the John hus Smith jet sweep pop pass in the game on Friday night where you kind of not kind of you definitely saw the entire commander's defense. Key on two was run fake action after the ball was already out of his hands, which is built in part from the design of the offense.
But two was ball handling. Takes this offense and what they do with the misdirection and the false keys and really allows it to go to a different level. So I asked Frank Smith about that and in particular two was ball handling. Here is the Dolphins OC.
I think that's just ultimately something we try and do in different phases of the run game, different actions we do. It's you know, their ability to see the ball and play the ball is things that we try and utilize to using all the players we use, whether it's run game, play, action, pass, or you know, different things we use like that with Johnny.
So I think ultimately our ability to do multiple ball handlings helps a lot because I think in the run game, that's how you can get you can manipulate defenders and try and create space to attack. And it's great to have, you know, different guys to be able to use in different ways to you know, really challenge the defense and make them defend all with of the field.
Also wanted to run this sound from Frank Smith because it was a theme on the podcast quite frequently last week here on Drive Time talking about this concept of year three. And you know, Dolphins fans just of this generation don't really know what continuity looks like, especially on the offensive side of the football. I mean, you have to go back to I guess Dave Wanstead was the last time there was consistency at the cordator position, or even before that, Jimmy Johnson all the way back to
Don Shula. We just haven't really experienced having a third year in an offensive system in a couple of decades now, and we're starting to see some of the benefits and the fruits of that labor. And I just loved the way after we talked about with alec Ingold, with I think even Mike McDaniel and so many players last week, I think this is a good way to kind of put a bookend on that concept as we get closer
here to September. Here is Frank Smith on what it does or what it looks like when you push limits of the offense in the third year together with all this continuity, I.
Think it comes down to when you have the guys understand more of the core principles of what we're looking to do, and then now you know we're when we're trying maybe a different movement to you know, execute this similar things we're doing, so they understand the core principle of what we're doing. But now as we had different wrinkles understanding of how this can impact defense's reaction and
be able to execute what we're doing. So I think as you understand you know what the play is and how you fit, and then now, okay, what if we move to it from this way or if we line up in this formation and try and do it this way, so the defense's recognition of us might be different. I think that's the big thing that like they can understand now because they understand when you're first learning an offense, you're trying to figure out, Okay, where do I need to be? What are we trying to do in your
second year? Okay, I know where I'm supposed to be, kind of know what I'm supposed to do, but now I'm really kind of taking that next step of really understanding it now as they know where they need to be, what they need to do. Okay, what if we try and attack this way? You know what I mean? They go, oh, because they already know those baselines, so now they can see this next layer and how it fits, and then they can own their element of Okay, I see where
it fits. So if you guys want to move from this formation to try and do that concept, okay, I see the reaction because like they're beyond looking at they're part of the puzzle, like you know, being right, they're now seeing the reaction of oh, I see now what the defense is trying to do and how we're trying
to manipulate it. So like that's the layer and that's what you get through the you know, the consistency of being able to get into year three of the program, and the guys are just we have a group that's
really hungry to hey, let's challenge the threshold. Let's make it hard now, so that way when we get to the season, there's more carryover of things we're doing as opposed to, you know, trying to limit like, hey, this is new maybe in October, as opposed to now, hey we're pushing the envelope, trying to make it new now. So it's just more repetition as we get into the season.
All right, there you go. We're gonna go ahead and take a break for the first segment on this edition of the Draft Time Podcast. Come back and continue to do this with more soundbites from Frank Smith. We're gonna hear from Anthony Weaver. I also had a fun chat with wider Eric Azokama. And we'll go ahead and sprinkle in the practice notes throughout all of this. That is next Draft Time Podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you
by Auto Nation. I mentioned earlier that Jalen Wright returned to the practice field in the red medical non contact jersey. And while it's tough to score touchdowns for a running back who can't be touched, which almost seems like an oxy moron, I do think he had one of the now dubbed vintage Jalen Wright mid red zone touchdown runs that I've seen all throughout camp. His ability to maximize this offense, his run schemes and give you more versatility
that I continue to be impressed by. I thought we saw another one of those where he just hit the line with pure conviction and broke through into the second level for a nice ten or so yard touchdown run. He caught some passes, Devon Ah Chan caught some passes. Alec Ingold had a swing route that produced a big play, a big catch and run from two as well. Just
really impressed by all of that. And Jalen Wright made a catch on a ball that we'll come back to here and talk about, but he ran this route where he crossed face on a linebacker and just looked really smooth.
And his ability to catch the football I think can translate in terms of the same way we talk about with a Chan and Moster, like, if these running backs can get involved in the passing game and take advantage of some of the overplay and the open grass in the you know, underneath and intermediate areas, man, you can really just give defenses more and more to think about and to see. Wright who has picked it up so quickly.
In my opinion, in terms of the running playbook, I think he's a ready made and this was him coming out of college as far as the prospect goes, already made pass protector. Man, if you start catching passes like that and be effective in the in the route tree, it's going to be hard to keep you off the field. So I continue to be impressed by Jaylen Wright. Even in the red medical non contact Jersey durham Smyth caught that touchdown pass that I spoke about earlier from Tua.
I thought he had a nice little day getting some blocks off the edge and catching the football. We you know, we saw Julian Hill and John new Smith continue to just make plays and over the weekend and in today's practice, and this tight end group is really really kind of I think, when the standout group of camp, and maybe not in surprising terms, because I thought we knew we had in John neu Smith and we obviously know we haven't Durham Smythe, but Julian Hill kind of taking that
next step seems apparent at the stage. And so Frank Smith was asked about this tight end group and man, he's impressed by it. You go ahead and hear him talk about John new Smith right here in his time coaching him at the Senior Bowl.
Just start tight end group in general, I mean guys that have physicality, who really enjoy playing the position of the blocking you know, play action passing game. To keep everything that we ask him to do, they do a
great job. And John whu. I mean, it's funny for me to see him because I coached him at the Senior Bowl on the team he was on, So to watch him and see how his career has gone, it has been awesome because you know, when you work with those guys at that time, you kind of like okay and him, you knew like, this guy's gonna be a good pro and he's gonna have a long career. So to have him on our team and using his skill set,
it's been awesome. And just seeing how he's fitting with the guys, fitting into you know, knowing what he's going to be able to bring. You know, he's really excited for this season and.
So are we.
And there was a follow up question there for coach Smith about what he noticed about John new Smith at that Senior Bowl, and he discussed just how quickly things
were kind of able. He was able to grasp things very quickly with regards to you know, picking up the system or picking up little tips from coaches and just applying it and calling him a confident and hungry player even from that stage, and to me, that tracks with how he's you know, coming here and made an impact right away even though we haven't had a game yet.
It's pretty clear to see that this guy has a big role in the offense and you saw the other night in the game can be a difference maker for this offense. Speaking of past catchers, Erica Zukama had a really nice catching practice today and it continued off of a strong night on Friday. I keep for you know, Saturday, see I keep forgetting what day of the games where we play a Friday game, then a Saturday game, and
they're back this week in Tampa on Friday. Just get me to the regular season schedule, mans, I'm losing track of the day here. We're getting closer and closer to that. But Eric Azukama, I had a little chat with him one on one after practice and just kind of talk to him about some of the things that he's had to overcome that wind back run, and also where he feels he is in terms of his knowledge and the offense.
In the third year, Eric, You've been vocal about how much you've been looking forward to getting back out and making some plays. I'm just curious, like, take me through the mindset or I guess your headspace when it came to going down in camp and then having kind of I guess the jubilation of making some plays other night.
Man. You know, it's been a long journey, you know, ups and downs. But you know, when I step out there on the field, you know, it's a different feeling. There's something that just goes through my body. It's like just locked in and the ball is either in the air in my hands. I just you know, try to make the most of every opportunity.
Typically when we see a guy reverse field at this level, it doesn't work out that well. Like in high school and college it might but and then it felt not usually, but you made it happen in the night. What goes through your mind when you're trying to reverse fill on a screen pass where it looks like you're dead in the water and you make a positive play.
Man, Really just instinct I feel like I've been doing that since Peelee. So usually dvs really don't want to tackle, so when they when they wrap you up, they wrap you up to make sure that the big guys come and finish you off.
But you know, I just spend and I.
Was able to get out of it and and just run the grass.
Is there any benefit you think from obviously you know haven't had a lot of time on the field in games, but the any benefit of being able to be around you know, these coaches, these players and soak in the system for a couple of years here.
Man, It's it's night and day.
Being able to just listen and hear the plays over and over again, it just gets easier and easier to you know, know the concepts, know what the offense is supposed to do and what we're trying to attack.
I mean, you heard him say it right there, night and day, right, and I thought that was important to ask him, especially on the heels of all the questions we've asked other guys and coaches about growth in this offense.
I mean, Asukama was the first rookie receiver they brought in as a staff here, and I just continue to look at his game and think about what it could do for this offense from a versatility standpoint, from a creating flexibility, from your other weapons standpoint like Reek and Waddle obviously, but also the tight ends and backs too. And you know, I mentioned on the podcast in the in the Recap podcast on Sunday, like his vertical skills are there. He caught that that deep shot from Mike
White on a double move from the slot. That's a very important role that I don't think a lot of guys on this team or in this league can fulfill that, you know, ability to go vertical from that position. And then how that pairs with a guy that can take carries out of the backfield and you know, be a screen pass guy that can reverse the field and make a play like that and can be a blocker for you too. Like I think the skills are all there.
I think that you kind of know how they feel about those skills, and that's why they drafted him in the fourth round a couple of years ago. And I'm just hoping that he can get healthy and stay on the field because I think that he has all the ability in the world to make a big difference for a good football team that we all expect to do good things this year. So excited about Azukama. That was
a fun chat with him. Let's move inside to the trenches, to the line play, if you will, Jack driscoll Man, I keep talking about him on the Game Recap podcast, and it's offensive. Line play is always so much easier to evaluate off of a broadcast or tape, especially, but when you just have a video version where you can rewind and go see who made what blocks, and who's on what angle, and who gets you know, displacement and who gets you know, attachment detachment and then climbing to
the second level for further detachment or attachment. I should say I just see him pop every time I watch him, And I tried to q in on him a couple
times in practice, and both times I did it. That's what I saw him, firing off the snap, him making that first contact, him getting connected on double teams, finding a route to the second level, kicking out guys that are trying to get upfield as one gap penetrators been very impressed by what I've seen from Jack driscoll We saw Tron Armstead back out there again today getting some
live team reps and he looked good. I thought he was, you know, classic veteran stuff from Armstead and mixing up his past sets getting out and base in the running game. And you know, I compared that great Patrick Paul block where he kind of took a corner back off to the side Michael o'er style from the blind side, where he buried a dB on the white perimeter off the side of the field and came off the block like screaming.
And anytime you watch a guy react to a play like that, like, just know that he made a play that was really special, because guys don't react like that unless they know what they've just done. But there was some plays where Tron Armers had got out wide and practiced today and did some of that, and I compare it to it because if you go back to his Saints tape, there is all kinds of reps where he is making key blocks, you know, on the hash marks,
off the sideline, the perimeter of the field. So those comparisons are fun to see. I did see a particular rep where Testead got movement on a player that didn't locate his number, but the second player he tried to contact Wastelan Phillips, who was having none of that and he shut that thing down. And just watching fifteen out there operate today was like, Okay, he's he looks pretty good.
In fact, we asked coach Anthony Weaver today what they what Jalen Phillips looks like has returned to the lineup, and he said, he looks like we'd expect Jalen Phillips
to look. And I thought it was important to mention that because I'm watching these individual drills and who is you know, they've talked about how just hungry he is to get back out there, and you know they're if he if his body is not in the same place as his mind and spirit with regards to returning, they're gonna have to be the ones that tell him that because he's gonna do as much as he possibly can and do what he's allowed to do to the max.
And we saw that on Tuesday's practice where they were going through individual drills and who was the first person in line every single time but number fifteen hitting the
bag and making plays. So he did that, he shuts down this outside run where Armstead can't get movement on him, and then do you guys remember the play against the Packers on Christmas Day a couple of years ago, when it was a third and medium situation and Rogers broke contain and it looked like a surefire first down, and here comes the edge from the other side of the formation, number fifteen, chasing him down and get him down short of the sticks. He did that on Tua today, but
not the physical aspect of the tackle. But I was a player where I looked at the guys around me like that was Phillips, that was the guy coming off of an achilles nine months ago, Like, holy moly, he looks really really good. All Right, We're gonna go audio heavy here as we continue through the defense. Because Anthony
Weaver I could have played the whole press conference. He was just so full of energy, so full of optimism, and I like the way he communicates, you know, about his players that he clearly they clearly mean a lot
to him. I want to go ahead and start the linebacker play because I've been dying to ask somebody this question since I saw it for the first time on the field in the game with how Jordan Brooks and David Long kind of set a tempo or set, you know, set the tone I should say for how games are going to be against this Dolphins defense, because you saw it. I mean, hitting everything, playing fast and physical, and of
course with elite techniques. So I asked him, how do Long and Brooks fit the principle of fast, physical with elite technique? Here is coach Weaver.
Yeah, those guys exemplify all of those terms, right. I think you saw that they not only were out out there communicating and trying to take command of the defense, but they were hitting everything moving and whenever you have that the inside back position, that's intimidating, and ultimately that's what we're looking for.
Speaking of fast and physical changing, Tendall checks those boxes. He had another sack and practice today after some good pass rush work in the game, and I just think
that he continues to see it better. I think the special teams reps probably help him do that as well, just playing more football, running around, feeling more free, and I think this defense is really suited to kind of maximize what he does well, which if you can run, you know, that's a big principle of this defense and really any defense in the Marron game because of how fast offenses have gotten. But we asked coach Weaver about
the growth of changing Tendall. Let's go ahead and go to the Dolphins defensive coordinator.
I'm so proud of that kid, just because I know nobody puts more pressure on himself than he does because of where he was drafted and what he wants to be in this league. So he's just come out every day and gotten better. Coach Barry coach O'donald Dave invested in him, and he's just he's soaking it all in and now you see the results of that on the field.
So incredibly proud of that kid in the strides he's made, and I think he's still he still is on the ascending, he's still on the climb, So just really excited for him.
Earlier, I mentioned that run after the catch by Jalen Wright, and what I didn't mention to you guys was that he actually got stripped on the back end of it. And it was a pure punch, a clean punch by linebacker Curtis Bolton who put that thing on the turf, and then Jason Matrie, the rookie cornerback, picked it up, scooped it up and took it in for six more on that play and that moment for Matre in just a second. But I wanted to mention it because Curtis
Bolton's the linebacker. We're talking about linebackers. Let's go ahead and go back up front here with Kaleis Campbell, who was an issue in the in the plays they ran today, he and Zach Seeler just kept denting things in the middle. And you know, I've we've seen the speed rushes, We've seen the blitzer, We've seen those guys get momentary reps in games. And you know, Campbell played a feuse now
the game on Saturday. But seeing him out there with Zach Seeler and thinking about how that just sheer massie inside pairs so well with the speed you have off the edge. I wanted to go ahead and play this audio because I think at pairs so well with what these two guys feature. Chop Robinson and Mohammed Kamara, who got effusive praise from coach we were this morning.
Those two, let me go back to the Atlantic game. I've never seen two people so disappointed that they weren't able to take the field like they were, like genuinely distraught. Now when they got into the lights like nothing changed for them. They just went out and continue to do the same thing they've done in practice, which try to apply the coaching and let your technique and fundamentals allow you to make plays.
Now.
I joked with mo because Chopp has his TfL and then maybe like a few plays later, Mohammed Muhammad makes his playoffs like, oh, you felt like you had to catch up, right, it felt like you were behind. So they have a little bit of a healthy competition between each other. They love each other, they work together, but you need that you're always chasing something and just that little internal rivalry between the two of them is pretty cool.
Last edge note here I have is that Wyatt Ray made a couple of plays in practice and that was something that tracks with what he did in the game against the Commanders this weekend as well. So I just wanted to put that note in there because he is new. He's the new number forty seven for the Miami Dolphins, and he has a flash a little bit here so far since arriving in Miami Gardens. All right, time for our second break, right there, come back on the other side.
We'll talk about the defensive backs, and we have a lot more sound here from Coach Weaver. All of that. Next Drivetime podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Autoonation. One more position group to discuss, and we
have lots to discuss within this. I want to go ahead and start with audio from Coach Weaver because he was asked about any concerns you might have in the defensive backfield with Jordan Poyer missing so much time, with Javon Holland being out for a little bit, with Jalen Ramsey missing a few practices, and Coach Weaver had no concerns about that because of collective football IQ. Let's go ahead and hear from Coach.
Yeah, we certainly have to. We have to get the defense as a hole out there together, right, And there's a couple guys that are battling through some small injuries. But I have the utmost facing all those guys because they've played so much football, right, The collective football IQ of all those guys is so high that I don't think it will take long for us to get on
the same page and gel together. So even though they're not necessarily out there taking full speed reps all the time in practice, they are getting a ton of jog through reps. I mean they're always talking, communicating in meetings and you try to steal reps that way.
Speaking of football, IQ, Jordan Poyer was back at practice and looking good out there. He and Elijah Campbell had some good work capping deep routes, and it reminded me of how Poe and Holland look together when they're operating together in terms of how they you know, vary their coverages, how they play off each other, how they know if he robs, I can go to the post if he does. You know, if you can kind of play off each other instinctively, it allows this defense to cover more grass.
I think we saw some of that with Ployer's return, even though Javon was on out there at practice. And speaking of Javon, man, if you hear what coach we has to say about him, he's talked about how you'll hear it in this answer about how the safeties can impact this defense as a whole. You kind of get the sense that Hollands is a guy that they really think highly of in terms of what he can do to take this defense in the system and take it to the level. Here's Coach Weaver on Javon Holland.
Javon wants to be great, right, And there are examples that I showed the defensive guys where literally he'd be on like say, like the ten yard line and run to the opposite pylon like in pursuit, just trying to make a play. And when you're constantly preaching uncommon effort from your players and your leaders like Javon are showing you now visually like this is what it is, Like how easy is that for me as a coach to
now hold everybody else to that sceame standards. So dealing with some things right now, but when he's out there, you can see the impact that he he's going to have on his defense. The safety position is incredibly important. I think if you look back at the Baltimore tape and just the history of the Ravens, you know how valued that position is. So there's certainly there's certainly excitement for what he can do when he gets out there.
So those are the safeties and these young cornerbacks man that they all have skills like, they all have different things that make them stand out. They all keep making plays.
I mentioned the Curtis Bolton strip and recovery off that punched out football from Jalen Right, Jason Maytrie was the one that scooped that thing up and ran it back for six and who else ran down there beside him and celebrated with him in pure euphoria then Jalen Ramsey and I thought that was great to see in a good sign of UDFA cornerback and the best cornerback in the National Football League. Doesn't matter where you came from,
how you got here, we are all one. And kind of saw some of that today with how Ramsey reacted on that Matrex touchdown. Before we get to Weaver on those guys, I want to come back here and talk about a guy that I have been very impressed by for his range, his hitting, his versatility, and what he did in the game on Saturday, especially in Marcus May. And let's go ahead and hear from coach Weaver, who had very high praise for the Dolphin safety.
I mean, god, you talk, I mean did you see him in the game. The guy was flying around hitting everything. I love Marcus. I love his professionalism, I love his toughness. He is a guy that is incredible. He started, he started for seven years in this league. Yet he approaches practice like he's a rookie and he's learning and he has something to prove. So I think that says everything
about him. If you're a young player and you don't look to Marcus Man as an example of what it means to be to be a pro, then you're doing yourself a disservice.
All right, So one last SoundBite here from coach Weaver, going back to those rookie cornerbacks we talked about. He was asked about Storm Duck, Isaiah Johnson, and he threw Jason Matree and Patrick mc morrison. The answer. You're gonna love what he had to say about these guys and the way they work, which is helped put them in positions to go out and make plays.
They're very different in terms of skill set, right. I think Isaiah's big, tall and long. Storm's a little bit shorter, but he's quick as great, long speed. But all those young guys you can throw Jason Matrie, right, Patrick Morris. That young defensive back groups. I tell you what, they're
here early every morning. They're doing everything they can to try to digest as much information as possible, and typically when that happens there's a little bit of paralysis through analysis, but these guys have been able to take that information and then have it translate on into the field fairly quickly. So, man, I tell you what, I'm not counting any of those kids out to potentially help us this season. We'll see
how the roster shakes out and things like that. But however it shakes out, those kids should have zero regrets about the work they've put in thus far.
And to just conclude the podcast, you know, I think about these guys that don't get a lot of run in like obviously not national media, but even you know, probably local practice reports because they're you know, twos and threes and playing the fourth core of the preseason game.
But this is where you can develop guys and turn them into future assets on your roster, which ultimately gives you more flexibility to be aggressive and to go get yourself a John new Smith to go get yourself an Odell Beckham, to go get a Kendall Fullward and Jordan Brooks. When you can develop, you know, roster the back end of your roster and bring these guys along and contributing players that come through you know, UDFA or third day
three picks in the draft. That's where you get this ultimate flexibility that can help you sustain your success throughout the course of time. And you know, I think that we were seeing that. I mean, some of these groups are so deep. I think with the modern practice squad rules, you get more expansion of the development of these players, and you might lose a guy or two. You know, we lost Elijah Higgins last year, the tight end that went to the Cardinals, and that was a tough pill
to swallow. But for the most part, you don't typically get guys plucked all that frequently. But the good thing about all this is they have tough decisions, and what creates tough decisions, it's a good roster. And I just keep thinking about, you know, different things they can do to develop for further, you know, future Dolphins rosters, like for instance, Julian Hill's a guy we keep talking about that's really taken off and taking his game to a
different level this year. And you see that reflected. I mean, he started the game on Saturday against the Commanders, he and Jonas Smith getting that first series of run together with some durham Smyle sprinkle in there. But I keep thinking to myself, like, Okay, John who's here for a couple of years, Julian is up and coming in his second year, and a guy that I don't know if
there's room this year on the roster. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe there is a spot for him, but it's certainly a question for anybody you know, watching or outside of
the decision makers. Is Hayden Rucie, who's been a really good blocker, is there a spot for him on the roster, because if there's not, you can probably get him on the practice squad and then if he has a full year to develop in the way Julian Hill kind of did while he got those game reps, of course, that can be a guy that what if that you're tied end three down the road, Like these are the types of things that are valuable on these back end of rosters,
on these guys that develop that maybe don't make the roster, but you can see positive things. That's why I want to bring it up because Rouchie fits that mold. You know, Duck Johnson, Matrie. I think all three of those guys are NFL players, and I just you know, you can't keep three rookies because you have Ramsey co who you have camp Smith, you have Kendall Fuller, Like, you can't keep eight cornerbacks, right, So I just continue to think about not just for this year and what this team
looks like, and that's obviously our main goal. But I think you can take this entire training camp process and try to find ways to say, we have a lot of good things going on right now, but also we're developing some guys for down the road, and the modern day practice squad rules really help you do that. So encouraging exciting stuff. That's it, man. That's it for training camp practices here from Miami Gardens. We'll be back tomorrow
from Tampa Bay. The podcast should come out in the evening, just depends on when everything happens as far as practice time and stuff, so keep a lookout for that. We'll have the camp notebook tonight and tomorrow as well, and then Thursday we'll have a podcast for you guys taking a look at the game itself and my training camp thoughts so far. Friday night into Saturday morning, we'll have a game recap podcast and come back next week and
kind of get into more of a regular schedule. We'll have some press conferences to cover, cut down data cover. We'll do our NFL Prediction podcast as well, So plenty of content coming your way here. But in the meantime, you all please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, rate review it all that fun stuff. Follow me on social at wink with NFL the team at Miami Dolphins. Check out my guys Seth and Juice on the fish
Tank podcast. The Gus Farott episode just dropped. Gosh, I have a special relationship with that two thousand and five team. It was the first year always a Dolphins fan, but the first year that I really began to like go onto message boards and take the game like obsessively seriously. So I have a special connection of that year and if you do as well, you'll love to hear Gus for on that podcast. Check out the YouTube channel for drive time content, media availabilities, and so much more. And
last but not leads to Miami Dolphins dot com. Until next time, fins up Carolin and Cameron Daddy, He's coming home.