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Back to throw to a looking clips about the wide Dolphin touchdown turn Riquel unfelievable, just blue.
Fire for a second time. Don't know where he was going right away.
I want to hit that though. Man, I'm gonna help you.
Someone stup on his man away Wattle Wadle to a shotgun, back to throw, looking at them up Myers touchdown right, it's Waddle his sixth touchdown paradoun the team. Drive Time with Travis Wingfield begins. Now we check your pulse if you're not for what is up? Dolphins? And welcome to the Drive Time podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins Podcast Network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins. How's it going? Everybody? I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show,
back to the practice Grind. We've got some notes from the door session here in Miami Gardens, plus a ton of perspective from the assistant coaches and the players. We'll hear from Frank Smith, Vic Fangio, Anthony Campanelli, Austin Clark, Ronaldo Hill, Joe Casper, Deshaun Elliott Kendall Lamb, David Long and so much more with the practice notes weaved in. They're from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This is the Drive time podcast Miami Dolps.
Bring us Home, Kenny Walker. Let's go ahead and start with the news. It's very brief today Tanner Connor, Dolphin's second year tight end, was activated off the pup and was back out there at practice. Also got a look at Miles Gaskin back in the fold, alec Ingold back out there, saw Key on cross and getting some work back in, and also saw Cam Smith back out there
part of eleven on eleven as well. So guys getting healthier as the team continues to prep for the final preseason game and eventually here just what nineteen days away now the season opener in Los Angeles versus the LA Chargers. Sometimes, in this business, or in this job, or whatever the heck we're gonna call it, things just go your way.
And today was one of those days for me. I had questions for the coaches, primarily about like a handful of players, and then those guys after I got really good quotes from coaches and from those guys afterwards in practice as well went on to have some of the best days in all of practice, like Deshaun Elliott, who picked off a pass in a way that I thought was very indicative of how his game has kind of come together in the last week plus or so within
this system, Within this scheme as obviously a handful of guys trying to learn the new system here in Miami. So I wanted to ask questions about Deshaun Elliott to Ronaldo Hill, to Joe Casper, the Dolphins safety coach, as well as DeShawn himself. Why don't we go ahead and kick this episode off with my chat with Dolphin Safety to Shawn Elliott. So, obviously, seeing you get the chance to play a couple of preseason games, I thought you looked fast as hell out there in the Houston game.
How do you kind of feel the system clicking for you now? A few weeks in.
I think that I'm finally starting, like feel comfortable and feel confident in the system. Then when I first got here, I was just kind of like on my place, especially the beginning of training camp, Like didn't get a chance to participating in tas, so like I kind of feel like I got on my up saying excuse my language and being in a training camp, and so I think finally starting to hit my rule. But I think me
and Devan are starting to that's a lot better. I think day of the day, week the week, we'll be ready.
For the season. I think we'll be fine.
What ways do you think the system benefits your positive skill sets?
Big wants to say the us to be aggressive and being aggressive with someone really good at I feel like and I think with the Java being next to me, he can help me ovay my game mentally more, I feel like I've always had aggressiveness.
I think that I can just be a little bit better.
When it comes to like reading routes and whatnot. I think that would help me can get the ball in my hands.
At bit more.
That's something I like in my career.
Maybe I know I've been hurt about like even when I have played, I happened at the ball a lot, and I think.
I could get back to my ballhall waves like I was in college.
That was a pretty good hyeah on the head top one down.
Oh you mentioned Javon, I saw him wearing that helmet. Can today something you guys all used to kind of go back through.
That was our first time. We're used to it on defense, So Mike just wanted to see, I guess, just try it out. But I think he only had it for a couple of periods. But I think he wants to don't have to get it back again. But Michael was like, nah, you're good, I get it.
But we'll see what the footage you're talking about. I think it's pretty cool we looking at looking at it from the quarterback respective, so seeing I can see that.
Yeah, because Mike always hangs out in the post of practice right watching from that viewsic, wants to get that.
I guess Jabon's view.
You know you mentioned Javon, like I've talked to a million people to just praise the way he sees the game and obviously the physical talents too, Like what have you taken from him in your short amount of time with playing with Javon?
He's talking a couple things, especially like breathing because sometimes, like my breathing can be a little bit off the neck and kind of gave me ansty especially I already a jittery you got sometimes, so my breathing helps a lot. Him helped me how to breathe and kind of like help me slow down a little bit, like read things a bit sower.
I mean, yeah, I think I'm a smart.
Guy and I'm good at being a vocal leader on on the field, but I feel like this that like kind of like to help me get settled back in my like not just like having everybody else lined up and beginning me back to why I can make plays myself.
I think that's helped me a lot.
Yeah, so take care of take on routs and match and rouse better when I breathed.
Like that, Yeah, I thought you playing down on the red zone was pretty pretty good. The spreciation is that that fourth that four down stop two players right where you were, you were gonna get there.
But the yeah rush, oh yeah that was gonna be I was getting it pretty close.
Yeah, So just watching practice helped me as an amateur, you know football sabond as I call myself, just trying to kind of read things as they play out. It seems like busts are few and far between. It seems like the roof is always in the defense. And you guys, like I noticed a lot of deep balls that go and completely like you guys are kind of dapping each other up, Like, yeah, that was good ship? Am I seeing that right?
Like?
Are you guys connecting to the defense of what the rules are here? Pretty quickly?
Of course?
I thought, especially now, I think that we are holding each other accountable, because that's the thing like holding it too much accountable, seekhold yourself accountable.
And I think that fees a long way for us.
And I think we know you you lose games the big big is supposed to play, so we always talk about nothing over twenty yards. So make sure you don't give no, not for twenty yards, and just make sure you're just kind of like it, don't break up of defense. And I think once you've been and don't break it, and the ton of overs happened, and the force of offense to mess up once they messed up, you take advantage of those situations.
Last one for you, McDaniel McDaniels, how he hasn't heard that from several of you guys must talked about it, like the guys have talked about it, just kind of talk about how how detailed VIC is and what separates him from you know, he's he's HEROLD is this great all time?
DC?
Why is he in that ranking.
You think, I feel like because he expects perfection and he's not gonna.
Be su He's gonna tell you.
Exactly what it is, gonna be like, oh you did okay?
That he's gonna tell you. I don't like that.
And I think he ain't played this better and tighter, and he's gonna be very on you about certain things, and I think that's best for us. I don't think sugarcoating is good for us. I think as long as he's being himself, that's what's gonna get out get the best out of us. He's gonna play the best players, don't matter who it is as well. If you're gonna have there doing your job and making place, he's gonna
play you. He doesn't care about about status, gonna care about contracts, and but now that he cares about ball, he's all ball and that's what I appreciate abot him.
We know about Deshaun's ability to come down on the lumber both in the running game, you know, from depth at the safety position after the fact or after the catch. I should say, but I think that the way that he's kind of putting himself in position to make those plays in camp has been evident throughout and it just
continues to get sharper and tighter. And you heard him talk about it there, like getting all the mess ups out of the way early as you kind of work your way through OTAs in training camp to fine tune your game and hone in on the things you want specifically drill, you know, come the regular season. I think you've seen that progression with the Sean elliott I think you've seen it with a lot of the players on this defense going back from OTAs all the way through
training camp. And you know it's not learning quickly. You know in this job that training camp results are not the end all be all. But going back to last year and even comparing training camps feels like maybe a little bit disingenuous, But like I said to him in that interview, just the number of deep balls, the communication bust, the things breaking down in the back end. And last year we had all the injuries that certainly piled up,
and there's been even more depth added this year. But it's been a very tangible difference this season, I think against an offense that's pretty similar in terms of the you know, the playmakers haven't had you know Gilen wadloat here for a little bit now, and we've seen some guys banged up in and out of the lineup, but for the most part, I think you can kind of track the defensive progress and the way they've taken to the scheme with the production they've had in these practices
and now through two preseason games of the defense has been really, really good. So you heard from Deshan Elliott there.
I want to play some more sound and kind of play this theme throughout the course of the podcast, because I was really curious to get people's takes on Vic Fangio, one of my favorite Twitter accounts out there at the Honest NFL, and he touched on the idea of how Vic Fangio has installed this defense so many times in his career, or you know, variations or core principles of the defense that that year one, you know, learning curve isn't quite as steep for a coach like him, and
a lot of that is because of the detail and the way he really emphasizes the rules and gives you exactly what to expect or what he expects. So I kind of used that and went about the coaching staff and the players and asked those questions. Let's start here with Dolphin safety coach Joe Casper.
Oh, well, Vick is the best in maybe in the history of the game at details, fundamentals and technique. You know, he's a world class coach that goes without being said.
You don't need you know, you don't need.
Me to tell you that, but he's on top of it in terms of details, fundamentals, techniques, and that's something we try and do every single day. Harp On is, Okay, what's the fundamentals associated with the job? How do we train those in indie, how do we train those in the team periods, how do we comment on those, correct those post practice in the film sessions. But the details is so important to me is it's not just do
your job, it's do your job with savvy. And there's freedom within our schematics to be able to accentuate guys' abilities differently, and we want them to take advantage of that freedom and that detailed understanding to not just do do check a box, but to take it to the next level and do your job with savvy, do the extra that's within yourself to be able to execute at a high level and right now. We've got a group that's done a great job with that through two preseason games and.
Then back to coach caspron the similar idea of how the install can happen quicker when you have an experienced coach like Vic Fangio.
Well, I'll say this, I think that anytime you come in and you're working within a scheme like this, you're definitely going to have some hiccups. We've gone through a lot of those in spring. We had a really devoted group in the spring, and we've come back now in fall camp and these guys, it's on the players. The players have done such a phenomenal job of taking to the scheme, taking to the execution, owning the execution within that.
They've just done outstanding and that's why you don't see those things right now.
Knock on wood.
Yeah, the players have owned that, and you know that's a tribute to them. It's a tribute to Javon's leadership in the room, even guys like Jalen Ramsey's.
Leadership within the room, X's leadership within the room to execute those details so that we can get into some of that that savvy that I'm speaking on because we're not dealing with day one one type corrections as much, and that's that's that's to the players.
Credit to the players credit again that theme of communication on the back end and things just being really buttoned up tightly. Wanted to go to passing game coordinator Ronaldo Hill to get his take on how he's viewed the communication in that back end and how things are coming together. Now, what are we three four weeks in the camp?
Yeah, I mean I really like the way that guys have been progressing. We talk about, you know, having an ownership and quarterback in the back end, and you know, I think those guys have been doing a really good job and they're finding their niche within it. And that's what you want because we know when Sunday hits, you know, to be live bullets and they got to be able to go out there and solve problems, and they're doing a good.
Job with it.
I mentioned we did see camp Smith back on the practice field today. He was involved in team drills and found himself around the football once again. And that's been a theme throughout the course of camp with really the entire defensive backfield. Guys that know how to anticipate what they're about to see and start driving and putting themselves in position to get their ahead of the football arriving
or the player making his break. And camp Smith, you know, you go back to his college tape at South Carolina, and the great Brett Coleman over at the Bootleg Football Podcast just continues to rave about how much he loved his tape at South Carolina on the Dolphins preview episode really kind of put his stamp on approval of the camp Smith pick because of those instincts and how it really translates or is portable to the Vic Fangio defense.
So I wanted to ask cam Smith, how does this defense translate to a player that has instincts like you showed in college.
A lot of kind of you wouldn't You're not really gonna call it help because you're not you really don't think about having the help during the play. But a lot of moving pieces to the defense, So it's a lot of windows that are cut off and stuff like that. So having that and then having a corner like me just having the instincts to go in and go get it, you can just have a lot more pass breakers, a lot more picks with the defense.
That we are running. So there was a very competitive red zone period in that practice today where more of the same, just everything was super tight. Every pass was contested, the offense got some of theirs. I thought Tua did a really good job of finding outlets and finding the short game to the running back, the tight end and putting them in positions to run after the catch. Had a really good throat to Baxton Barrier, Braxton Barrios down
by the front pylon. And I watched the practice today with Oj McDuffie, who loves him some Braxton Barrios go figure right. OJ's skill set kind of translates to what Braxon Barrios does so well from his playing days. And there was a catch where Barrios caught it short of the of the front pylon and of course by the sideline, and just the way he was able to transition kind of flip the hips and pivot upfield and fall forward
into the end zone. I was like, like, that seems so innocuous, Juice, but not many guys like have that
ability to find that way forward. He said that was my game too, was catch the ball near the sticks and make sure you get it past the sticks or in this case the goal line, and we just kind of marveled at how these fine details keep showing up within Braxton Barrios's game and how you can really appreciate that, and how fitting it is that his wide receivers coach is Wes Welker, who that was his entire career, you know, making plays where he was just smarter than the opposition,
put himself in the right spot by his preparation, his film study, and overall just football acumen. I think you're seeing a lot of that with Braxton Barrios. But the defense, like I said, was also very contestant on a lot of these plays. We had hands on footballs. Javon Holland had a pick that was a really nice playoff a deflection from Xavier and Howard working around the top of a route on Cedric Wilson with Skyler Thompson at quarterback. He pokes it into the air and Javon gets the
pick and brings it back for six. We saw the really good Deshaun Elliott picked down the field that was off of a pass from Tua where he got range and found his depth and found the landmark on a deep attempt to Braxton Barrios again, and Elliott really skided over the top of that and made the play in a really impressive fashion where he kind of got up there and you heard me talking about you know, I think he said over the top of the dome on
that interview with him. It's because he skied over the top of both he and the corner and pulled that ball down, really kind of showing the playmaking skills that he alluded to in that interview. So just it's funny how I was really focused on safety today and both Deshaun and Javon got picks, and really the entire secondary just continues to pass things off and understand their rules
and really clamp down. And I think it really shows itself both and how they limit the deep passing game, but also how they defend in the red zone where things do get super tight. Now, Tua did have a couple of absolute seeds Tyreek Hill. You saw the one video on social media where he just took a takeoff route, threw it up top and Ethan Bonnard was in really good shape on that play, but the ball just went
right over the top right and stride. Tyreek catches it takes off for six the play before that I thought was even more impressive, and I want to play some sound for you here in a moment with Frank Smith where I asked him about, you know, how the Dolphins found success throwing the ball outside in that preseason game, and how that can kind of counter what you were successful with last year with all the middle of the field passing, and how this offense now seems to really
have even more capabilities of stressing or stretching the entire field and stressing every blade of glass, plate of grass that forces the defense to defend every blade of grass with all the speed they have. And the quarterback that processes so well and plays the game from the head up or the neck up so sharply, with how he just kind of drills in these fine details and can get the ball out fast and processes things so quickly.
And you know, to OJ's credit again or OJ's point, he talked about how just watching two of these practices compared to last year, looks everything looks sharper, it looks like there's more zip on the ball. He looks faster and more athletic, which obviously you'd love to hear that. So I do want to come back and play that sound from Frank Smith. Let's go ahead and finish up this segment here with back in the defensive backfield. I got sound from Ronaldo Hill on, Javon Holland and Deshaun Elliott.
Let's go ahead and play at first.
On Javon Holland, I think it just gives you the element of other things that what can you do with him within the system. You know, I can say he's a major talent, you know, one of the best I've I've been around so South coach as far as the coverability, tackling boss track and just running the show back there. He has all those elements. So really excited what he brings to the table and excited.
For him for And then of course on Deshaun Elliott.
Yeah, he's He's definitely dove right into the system. He asks a lot of good questions, you know, all the reps that well, you know he's in there with Javon. I see him taking ownership and trying to command his partner. So, uh, you know, everything I've been seeing about him been really positive. You know, we got a you know, some good guys back there that's really been competing and pushing to play opposite Javon, So all right, but everything I've been seeing so far, love of what I'm seeing.
Let's go ahead and take a break right there and come back on the other side. And here from Frank Smith, Here from Vic Fangio, we'll hear from Austin Clark, and Anthony Campanelli played to come here. On the Drive Time podcast,
your host Travis Wingfield brought to you by automation. I mentioned the picks from Deshaun Elliott and Javon holland Elijah Campbell had his hands on a football in the end zone and did not secure the catch, and it was kind of cool to see both Deshaun and Javon really getting on Elijah about getting giving him twenty push ups. And I guess it's supposed to be ten when you don't catch an interception in the field, but when you drop one in the end zone, it's twenty push ups.
So Elijah kind of got on and from the other guys for dropping that pick, but he continues to put himself in positions to make plays and finds his hands on Football's quite a lot that safety room is really developing into something where I think you have a lot of versatility, guys that can play the post, come down and play the box, go line up over a slot and cover there. It's just I think that versatility is very, very, very impressive, and I think there's some depth in that
room as a result of that. So I mentioned on the other side that I was going to hear from Frank Smith on that throwing the ball out for the numbers concept and the idea of what we saw in practice with the deep ball to Tyreek today and one down the scene, one up the sideline. Let's go ahead first, though,
and go back to one last question here. I guess the first question with Vic Fangio, and you might recall on the yet on yesterday's podcast and yesterday's media availability for Mike McDaniel, he mentioned some similarities and differences between he and Vic Fangio. So Fangio was asked the same question, what are some similarities between you and the head coach Mike McDaniel.
I think similarities are. You know, we kind of do look at the schematic part of the game in a like manner. Obviously, our personalities and way way about going about doing things is different but no different than anybody else, are similar in some ways different than others.
All right, So I've touched on it a few times. Now, let's go ahead and play the audio from Frank Smith on how this offense wants to be able to attack all parts of the field. And again we saw it successful last year and multiple parts, but primarily the middle of the football field. And then in preseason in that last game, a really couple of good throws to the outside, you know, working off leverage to durham smyth throwing out wide to Braxton Burrios working off that wall defender in
the middle of a zone coverage. Really impressive stuff there from two end Barrios. Let's go to the Dolphins oc on working all parts of the field to maximize the skills you have on offense.
You know, this time of year, we're obviously working on our execution and all faces of the offense.
So whether it's inside or outside.
The numbers, I mean, if it's vital for us to understand what we're trying to accomplish of the concepts, So I mean, it's all about what the defensive presents, all right, what we're trying to attack, all right, with the inside of it.
So the opportunity to work that part of.
The offense is a great and you know things like this next week, each day we're having emphasis points, so continued growth and after that are he's the great first.
So on that vertical throw that Tua had to tyreek before the one that you saw, he really did a good job of dropping this football, Like I continue to be so impressed by twoa's ball placement, and OJ mentioned this during practice two was just really a raving about the locations that Tua gives his receivers a chance to make a play on. It's fun to watch practice with a guy who did this for almost a decade at this level, who can really appreciate, you know, a quarterback
giving him the maximum opportunity to make a play. There was a throw into the end zone to Eric Azukama down in the red zone period where he and the dB are running towards the back pylon, and it was really well covered. There was really nothing there, but Tua kind of threw it high and behind Azukama and gave
him a chance to make a play. And as Zukama tips the ball one hand and lays out and makes a one handed catch in the end zone and he ended up not getting both feet down and so it's incomplete, and you know it looks if you're just you know, watching as a first time football viewer, like, oh, that ball was behind him, but the intentional placement to put
him into that position to give him a chance. Was he that so often to watch that with OJ, it was just really cool from that perch above the indoor facility. And so then we came back with the two deep shots. And obviously anytime you can drop it in stride to Tyreek downfield for a long touchdown, that's a good play. But there was a play just like two snaps prior, there was a running play sandwich in between the two
of them. But on this one, I was so impressed because Twa rips it right up the numbers and Tyreek is like, there's a corner trailing underneath in a safety right over the top, and he just like I almost would compare it to if you have a car driving past you, like right in front of you down the street, you want to try to throw a football through the driver's side window, Like that's kind of how he had to fit that thing in there. And let's say the car was going, you know, twenty five miles an hour.
Is not an easy throw, right, He just jams this thing into the window. Like the only time he could have thrown it was when he did throw it, and the location was the only place he could put it, and that's where he did put it. And so Tyreek just is able to you know, with the way he has his balance and his speed and the way it all comes together. Basically does like a little drop step pivot, catches it on the back hip and spins out of the tackle and takes off for another long I think
a scoring play. If not, you know, a huge gainer. So those two guys finding their rhythm, finding that downfield attack, and really having answers to everything a defense can throw you seems to be kind of the progression of this training camp and putting a complete offense together in your second year. We heard coach McDowell talk about the running game yesterday and how he feels the development of the running game has kind of come into its own in
the second year. In the system. You see the Dolphins passing attack having multiple answers to what defenses might do to them. I think you're seeing that play out day in and day out here at Dolphins camp and makes me very excited for the regular season. Let's go ahead and pivot now back to the defensive side of the football. Let's see what do I want to talk about here.
Let's go talk about about David Long, because he had himself a heck of a football game on Saturday night and talk to the media today a little bit about that game. And let's go ahead and start here with the tackle for lost play he made where he came downhill and really triggered and and made that huge stuck in the backfield. Here's David Long and what he saw and how it felt to make that big TfL behind the line scrimmage.
It feels good. First, I was excited just to get back.
I haven't played since last year, so I was decided to get back out there. And just I was just trying to like that whole drive. I was just trying to make it play. My my big thing is making
a play behind the line of scremers. So I was just trying to, you know, get a read for the stuff I've uh win against the practice all week and just getting a red for the the tackles stance and his how heavy he is and his in his hands and just you know, just getting back into my you know, uh pre snapreeds and just getting back into his football mode. So it just felt good to actually just trust myself and just shoot and just like just continue to build on that.
I was curious to fall up with David about how the anticipation of really his entire job, how that played out. Is that something you do, you know, is does it come together in the film room? Is it something you have to piece together in the twenty five seconds you have where you know, the offense breaks the huddler, or fifteen seconds whatever it might be, where you kind of read cues and stuff. Here he is talking about the ability to anticipate, which is obviously such a strength of his game.
Exactly, I'm like that play, I'm like this tight end block down, I'm shooting this gap, and then that he's exactly what I'm doing sometimes and then like I think a couple of plays later it was the same play, but I'm like the whole too big. I don't even I feel like, well, I'm just just getting the feel for the game again, you know, just getting back into my style of player.
And I was also fascinated to see or to hear him talk about beating blocks because I saw him sidestep a pulling guard. I saw him take on a center trying to climb to the second level and just beating him with physicality. It's really impressive to watch. How does that come together in the moment when this game and all the stuff happens. It's such a flash.
It's in a moment, but then it's on the run as well. It's just like, I don't know, he's some big guys, so he could get a jump on me as well. Now either have to we're up and run through or square shit. It's just like just being able to get a feel for the game.
All let's go.
Ahead and finish up this topic with coach Campanelli, Dolphins linebackers coach. I asked him the same thing about how David Long's anticipation helps the entire room and really the entire defense make plays.
I think just there's a good communication when those guys are in together and really just collectively all of the guys.
I've been pleased with that in camp, like just everybody kind of first of all, it being a new system for everybody, you know, and everybody's communication really has has been a big part of them getting better and better, and they're doing a good job with that, you know, And and David's really you know, he obviously has been in Tennessee and did a really good job there and sees the game really well, and it's definitely been a good addition for us.
A little bit of chatter there in the background, do apologize for that. Let's go ahead and go right back to camp about the complimentary skill sets of David Long and Jerome Baker, as we saw both those guys make plays in the game on Saturday.
Yeah, I think that, you know, David's an explosive guy, you know, good tackle or the physical guy in the run game, and you know Bake is the same way. So it's it's fun to have two guys in there that can run under your hood. And you know, we're both really sharp guys.
So that's been fun.
Sort of a sidebar here, but since I had Coach wanted to ask him what he's seen so far in the growth of Channing Tyndall, second year linebacker. Here's Coach Camp on the former Georgia bulldogger.
Yeah, I think he's just like I said, with a couple of the other guys becoming comfortable in the system, you know, like anything else, and what reps you get at it, obviously the better you feel. So it's it's a work in progress, but he's doing a good job and definitely see your improvements, you know, incrementally each week.
All right, there you go. Let's go ahead and take our last break and come back on the other side. I still have audio from coach Austin Clark as well as Dolphins tackle Kendall Lamb. Good stuff from both those guys. That's next Draft Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by I don'tation before we dive back into the audios. Let's go ahead and get some more practice notes for y'all. I thought Zach Seeler had one of
his most impressive days of work. The way this guy eats up double teams, the way this guy just plays, you know, pretty much any front or call they want to give him, he just handles all of that. It's really impressive to watch him go about his work, especially you know, taking on someone like Rob Hunt and Connor Williams, two very good players, and he just kind of bangs with those guys and they trade wins back and forth.
But seeler getting hands on football still. I just it's so nice to know what you have in those positions and really across the defense. Like me and OJ were talking about the lineup they run out there, you know with when it goes one v ones and it's just every position you're like, damn, that's a good player. Oh that's another really good player. This guy that could go to the Pro Bowl this year. It's just this defense has a lot of talent. Man. I think it's coming
together for him. One of my favorite plays was they threw a quick route to Eric Azukama and he took off up the sideline after being tagged off. And we've seen in Christian Wilkins do this, We've seen Jaylen Phillips do it. This time it was Phillips who took off after Azukama, and Azukama's was he like a like a four to four eight or a four or five for
just really fast. JP takes off after him down the field and actually like kept with him and caught up to him and you know, kind of like ripped the proverbial or imaginary flag he would have if you're playing flag football. I was like, look at fifteen down there, like that guy's what two hundred and fifty pounds or whatever. He is just running full speed down the field, keeping up with wide receivers. One of the specimen he is.
So they had a bunch of good stuff. Now, Savon Ahmed, as I sit here in praise the defensive line work, he had himself another big run today, not that dissimilar to the big run against the Houston Texans. Man he took off and was out the gate for another big run and I think he might have finished this one with a potential touchdown if he could have ran away from I think it was Eli Apple on the play. So Savon Aachmed continues to hit the big plays. Offense
had some plays. Defense had some plays as well. Let's go back to the defensive side here and hear from coach Clark because the guy that continues to fascinate me is DeShawn Hand and the way that DeShawn Hand has shown up and it really made plays. You know, Vic Fangio praised him in his press conference a little bit. Let's go ahead and hear from coach Clark on DeShawn Han's arrival and the impact he's had already.
Yeah, physical player, heavy hands. You know, obviously he's played a lot of ball. He's come in with a workman's like mentality every day, very very smart, you know, and again, you know, it's only been two weeks with him, but I think he's done a great job so far.
And then, of course in that defensive line room, the coach Clark has you have so many players who've been together for a while. Now, what's it like bringing a new guy and integrating him into a room where there's so much familiarity and so much friendships and bonds that have been developed over the last several years. Here's coach on how DeShawn Hans fitting in.
I'll say what's been great about him is, you know, there's some background being around Raykwana, Alabama, and from a technique perspective, you know, he plays with his hands, he's he's a really physical guy. And I would say the one thing people might not know about him is how smart this guy is. You know, he originally wanted to be a civil engineer at Alabama and he's picked up things so fast, and it feels like he's been here for a couple of months, even though it's only been two weeks.
Lastly, I think that Emmanuel Ogba had a really good game on Saturday night and coming off of a good preseason debut against the Atlanta Falcons, and I think that today's practice we saw another TfL where he just uses those long arms of his to really hold a point and get off blocks and make plays, especially in the
running game. And I talked to Coach Clark about that play in the Houston Texans game where they had those run stuffs after the initial interception that TWOA threw and how they pretty much gave nothing in the ground game, and a lot of that was based upon Sealer and Ogba and ray Kwon Davis and Deshan Hann really holding the point and especially Ogball off the edge. And you think about Ogba's skill set and how he's kind of different from the rest of the guys in terms of
what he offers. I wanted to ask Coach Clark about the value of that and the versatility a manual Ogball offers.
Yeah, his versatility is huge for us, And I would say Ogma's done a phenomenal job learning different roles and to go pop into that game and the first play we're down there and throw that in there. I thought he did a great job, and you know, for him, if you're not as smart as he is, you may not be able to handle a lot of roles. But he's done a heck of a job, and you know he's gonna keep getting better and better, all right.
I wanted to conclude the podcast with a couple of soundbites here from Kendall Lamb, who discussed playing in the second year of the offense, even though it was just thirty two steps a season ago. What's the benefit of coming back in this offense and playing in the second year.
Familiarity with anything helps, especially being with the guys, especially hearing the calls. You know last year when I came in to be completely real with you, when I came in towards halfway through the season, it's like I understood, but at the same time, like not being able to go through this time and this process is major, especially I mean this is being year nine for me. I look forward to training camp because this is the time
where you really get to grind. This is the time where I get to feel, this is the time where I true to get to put the weight on someone each and every day. And then at the same time, like of course when the season comes, we don't necessarily do this as much. So it's like for me hearing the calls, getting on the same page with Isaiah Rob Rob like, I just love being able to do that now. So not having that last year was different, but it's been beautiful to do it now.
And then I asked him, do you look at your own tape, the thirty two steps you did have or do you go back and watch last year's Dolphins tape? How do you ensure that that familiarity within the system can be really drilled down and make it second nature for you at this point in your career.
I mean the biggest thing for me, I look at a culmination of everybody you know. I see it from T's I's last year. I saw from Greg Little's eyes, Bchell's eyes. I always picked their brains and saw what they kind of see it through the same set. But now that I've had the ability to do it more, and now that I've had the ability to put my hand in the dirt on both sides and get you know,
a good amount of reps. I mean, I go off of that, but don't get a twisted I never I never forget what we talked about in those situations because when certain things happen, you always want.
To pull from that.
Finally asked Kendall a question about playing either side both tackle positions, which he's played both of in his career a lot, and he kind of, you know, not unsolicited, but sort of unsolicited, gave me a great an hear about Bradley Chubb and Jalen Phillips. Here's Kendall Lamb. When I asked him, do you get a chance to kind of get different perspectives when you watch or when you see the game from both left tackle and right tackle?
Not really, he says, but he gives you some good stuff here on fifteen and two.
I mean, as I said before, to be honest, left and rights it's on entity. Like I go from left, you go to the right side. It's a brand new place. It's a brand new field.
You know.
That's like you know, CEO the COO, Like that's just how I look at it, because it's completely different. You know, you're timing with your hands, you're timing with your steps, opening up a certain way, you know, kicking a certain way. It just it's beautiful to be put into that conflict to be honest, because to do it now, especially against Chubb and Phillips like they're very good. So it's like when I go to the right tomorrow, whenever I get to see Jalen, when I go back to the left,
you see Chub. So you gotta bring your a game no matter what because they're very good. So it makes it makes you really get away the program real fast.
All right, there we go. We have two more days of can't practice both tomorrow and on Thursday. We'll have you guys cover with that. We'll have our usual Friday kind of pregame podcast where you take a look at the preseason finale. Big set's gonna love that the end of the exhibition season, and then of course Saturday night the game recap podcast on Sunday, and we'll do it all back next week and have some supplementary content for you guys, some interviews we're gonna play here on the show.
Plenty of content coming your way ahead of Dolphins and Chargers on September tenth, it's right around the corner. But until then, until tomorrow, I should say, that's gonna be my time here on the Draft Time podcast. You all please be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast from. Go ahead and leave us a rating, leave us a review. You can follow me on Twitter at Wingfold NFL, follow the team at
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