The Audible Ep. 80 | Jerome Baker

thought the defense came out. Uh, you know, New England gets the ball first drive, takes it down the field and you go, well, here we go, we go again, and then all of a sudden they buckle up. And I thought guys were in their gaps, guys were holding their you know, holding stand stand where they're supposed to stay. Tackling was a lot better, Awareness was a lot better,

all those things. So I think when you look at the game, if you're looking for things to pull out of it, that would be the first thing that I would pull out on an offense, a defense that you know gave well, gave up fifty nine points the week before. Not how you go out and you do you know, you held them to nothing at halftime and you're feeling

pretty good about where you are. And so I think that's something that that the team, the coaches, you and I and fans can kind of start wrapping their arms around, because you know, in the last month, John, I think probably the last two preseason games, first two regular season games, the roster con is continuing to change and and people are coming in and communication is hard to manage because

guys are coming in out. But even along that line, you're starting to see a little incremental growth to this football team. Well, the thing I pulled from it was exactly what you said, You're trying to look at schemes defensively because the Baltimore Ravens had it so easy. You know, two Sundays ago, throwing the ball over the top of the Miami Dolphin defense, being able to run it at will.

You know, the first play was for forty nine yards or fifty yards, And you look back at New England on Sunday and you go, yeah, they may have dominated a little bit on off fense in the first half, but then you look to scoreboard and didn't tell that tell I think the Dolphins defense was out there for thirty four first half plays and only gave up thirteen points in that last touchdown, you know, the push off with Antonio Brownie gets the touchdown, there's no call there,

makes it thirteen nothing after the missed extra point, and you're going to the locker room thinking, okay, we're one explosive play away from actually making this a one score game. And now, if the offense was able to do anything on that day, you might have had a chance. And that's taken away all the turnovers that turned into touchdowns. I mean, anytime you have two pick six is in a game, the chances of the percentages of winning that game go down drastically. But staying in the football game

and having a chance. If the Dolphins offense, which came out in the second half and go three and out, three and out, you know, they just kept giving and setting the table for Tom Brady and you knew it was only a matter of time because that defense was getting worn down. So if you look for positives from week one to week two, I will say the defense showed improvement. It looked like they played closer to the scheme that Patrick Graham was trying to get get out.

You know, they made significant changes in terms of hey, you know, we've seen the ball go over our heads a number of times. Let's not make that mistake, especially against this group, you know, with with a B on one side and Josh Gordon and the running attack and the way they can Tom Brady can manipulate a defense with his eyes and with his feet, and the velocity and the accuracy throws the football with. So I thought

those are some encouraging signs. The one thing that you still I feel like need needs repair is upfront in terms of being able to get up any semblance of a running game going on offense. You know that that to me puts added pressure on a passing game that you weren't gonna feel like that was gonna be carrying

the Miami Dolphins. You felt like you'd have to play uh, you know, four yards and three yards get in good third down situations because if you if you're not successful on first and second down, your chances of converting, especially see for a team that's limited in what they're doing offensively right now or the success that they've had is

the percentages are behind your are against you. So you know, you convert maybe one one third down conversion in the first half, and your numbers look like that for the rest of the game because you're not putting yourselves in good positions. But I will say at least you found some semblance of a pass rush. You got to Tom Brady twice, Jenkins had a sack and and and that

was good to see from from the inside. Uh. But but you want to be able to do that offensively on a more consistent basis, be able to win on first down. I don't know how many times I looked in as wow, it's second eleven. You know, it's uh, you know, it's a situation that's tough for good teams, and teams that have established offensive line, established running games have guys that are difference makers. You get them in space. Dolphins right now are searching for that on office. Well

belong that line, John. I mean, you know the after the after initial touchdown by the Patriots, uh, that the defense made him work, that they didn't work. There was no there were no gimmese to them. They were you know, they fought, they worked for whatever they got, and the Dolphins made him work forever whatever they got. And had there been one of those drop balls with the Devonte

Parker drop and I'm not point. But it's just at the at the time of the game, if you make that catch, you're in the red zone, you're gonna at least come away with three points, maybe a touchdown, and all of a sus you know, maybe that's the spark that gets your offense a little one of those plays, you know, you know that that that this offense for the first two weeks needs something they can rally around, something that's gonna give them a little Hey we're contributing. Now,

Hey we're part of this team. We're playing comment. Yeah, we're doing this. And so you know, one of them, you know, you catch. There were six drop balls out there, John, Each and every one of them could have changed the complexion of the game at that given moment. Now, a couple at the end it was too late. But some of those early, early, early balls that were dropped, you know, keep you in the football game, keep you you know, keep you know, keep your tension, keep you going there.

And so they've got to get that done. But you're but you're right. The other thing is he is the running game. It's just it's non existent. It is non existent, and you can't play football in this league. As much as people want to talk about Now, it's a passing league. It's a passing it's a passing league. Well, you know what every coach every week when you're asking what do you gotta do? We gotta run the football, we gotta

stop to run. Well, if every coach says that, you know, the bell should go off on your head that hey, it's important to be able to run the game, run the ball, important to try to stop the running game. And this team, you know, it hasn't been very difficult to stop the running game on this football team, which puts a lot of pressure on that secondary, especially because you don't have a pass rush up front that's putting

the type of pressure. Now you say, got a couple of sacks on on Brady, but you know, much like the week before against Lamar Jackson, you know, you you got your guy standing back there. Wait wait, let that guy cross the whole field. It's tough to cover for that long And and the Dolphins found that out in

week one. Week two is a different animal because I think, I mean, when you look at New England's passing game, you put Tom Brady aside, and you look at the players you're trying to defend at wide out, at slot, and in the offensive backfield, when you've got three guys that can catch the football in space and make somebody miss. So that's why I was saying the offense could sustain some drives and stay on the field. It takes some pressure off of the defense that actually played two good

quarters of football to start the game. You know, I felt like it was a win going off the field, you know, I would. I think that the A. B touchdown came with under two minutes left to go in the quarter and the half and it only made it thirteen nothing. So, like you said, if if one of those plays down the field, one of those drops early in the game could have had an effect, you get a little confidence on offense. Maybe you build from there, but you feel like, hey, those those dark clouds are

moving in again. We can't run it. We're punning you know, three and out at least seven or eight of them in the game. That's that begins, that begins to take over your demeanor, you know, and you have to find some play or someone to rise above those those inabilities

to to stay on the field. Now that that being said, you know, you have another game where you go in and and now you have a new right tackle and you know, we've talked about this a little bit, and uh, the you know, if there's any position on a football team where communication is paramount, it's had offensive lines, and

this is an offensive line. Really for the last month, really, really for the entire training camp, you really haven't had five guys in there that we're gonna you know you, I mean, I think early in the season, we're gonna try to find those five guys. Let him stand there, let them get to know each other, let them get there that communication, let you let him understand you know where I need help, where this guy needs help to do all that stuff. But they haven't. There haven't been

no consistency in the players that play there. You know, another guy in there this week, and you know I was talking to to Daniel Kilgore in a in a postgame interview and said, how do you communicate when you got new guys? It's it's it's hard, but you know, we we try. We do the best we can, you know, and then we're doing it as well as we can. But you know, so it's it's it's a little it's

it's really tough on them. I'm not saying there. I'm not saying they're a physically dominating offensive line or they ever will be a physically dominating offensive line, but almost feel at one point it's something like they're playing with one hand time buying their back because two new guys next last week and one guy switching positions from left

or right. Now you've got another right tackle that comes in, a new guy coming in, and you know they's just trying to fit his way in there, and and you still got a guard in there that they hardly played it all during the preseason and you're still trying to learn. And so it's what you talk about, really putting yourself behind an eight ball with a unit that really is gonna dictate what your entire offense is going to be like weekend in weekends, right, And I think the know

the plan was going in. Okay, let's throw the two young guards in there, you know, with Kilgore and Shaq Calhoun, and see how if they can sink or swim. Well, one of them was swimming and the other one has been replaced, and he's been replaced with uh, you know, new talent in Issodora. So he comes in, didn't get a whole lot of playing time for the Dolphins in

training camp. If any he comes in the first week of the season and you're pairing him up with a new guy in Davenport that goes down the New England week, so you have web coming in to start, So you've got a lot of flux up there in terms of knowing how a guy a double team somebody when to come off on the second level, what angles do they want me to take, you know, And it's very difficult

to get that synergy going on offense. It's very difficult to call basic running plays and to feel like as a runner you're gonna be able to press that hole because before you're getting to that hole, you're having to adjust because there's penetration in the offensive backfield. So I would say that's the first thing that needs to be addressed.

You can't have as much penetration over the last two weeks that we've seen, you know, against Baltimore and against New England if you're gonna have any semblance of establishing a running attack. So that's the biggest thing for me.

I want to be able to get those five guys if it's the same five guys that are going on the road against the Dallas Cowboys, you want to see those guys play with a little bit more synergy, a little bit more togetherness, and have the confidence of the running backs to know if I'm gonna hit the whole in between you know the garden tackle that there is a window of opportunity that he can press and get two or three or four yards on first down, if

not get to the back end of that hole. To make the running game, have a little confidence and that kind of feeds into your passing game, feeds into your protection. That you guys are staying on the field for five, six, seven, eight plays and maybe you've got some more consistency upfront. That gives you the confidence that, hey, we're okay. You know we're not searching when it's tough to as a play caller, it's tough to know what to get to.

If your basic maybe two or three plays that you have on your call list, you know those are out the window after the second. Along along with that, John you you also have the situation where if you can't run the football, is tough to throw the ball because guys are pinning their ears back and I mean you look at Ryan Fitzpatrick. You know, God bless. I mean, he was fighting for his life again back there and and just doing whatever he could, and at times he

got out time. You gotta made room and and do to get things going. But well, we'll talk about that a little bit more as we move on. Jerome Baker is gonna just stopping by to just say, hell eose, We're gonna talk to him. We'll get back to this here in a little bit. By Joan. Welcome back to the to the audible. Hey, lets let's talk about the start of this season. Uh, a couple of tough games, but uh, it's about growth. It's about getting better each

and every week. I think the from week one to week two from a defensive standpoint, where your game really changed. Seemed like you guys were ready to set the tempo of the course of the game and and put some pressure tackling with sharp again with sharp. What was the difference between week one and week two. Um, we just got back in. Uh. Throughout the week, we just side what we wanted to do. Um, that's tackling, that's running to the ball. Just a simple things, get back to

the basics. And uh, you know, Sunday it was just a chance for us to go out there and show ourselves what we can do. So we definitely moved in the right direction. You know, definitely still have a long way to go. Well, what's the attitude of you guys? Uh is a group you know, trying to get better and and and and Like on the offense, guys are coming and going trying to get people the combinations of

people they want back there. So you're dealing with a lot of things as you're as you're playing some very good opponents week in week out. Um, it's definitely a beat. Um, we see it as a challenge. You know, we kind of settle into our roles and everything, so when it's a chance for us to go out there and perform, we kind of take it as a challenge and really show what we got. So we're definitely finds the defense we're just constantly is getting better. So you lead the

team and tackles this week against New England? Are you getting more accustomed to what the scheme is all about? Defensively, it looks like everybody the Fits are getting a little bit more where you're reacting instead of thinking about where you are going. When you watch yourself on film. Did you see that from week one to week two? Oh yeah, definitely. Um. I mean it's nothing like you know, game rep so uh. The second game, I definitely felt more comfortable I understood, uh.

And sometimes the practice angles don't seem right, but at game time, you know, you have a good U feel for it. So I'm definitely filling out the defense as a whole, and um, just constantly getting better every week. Are you getting more accustomed to being in the middle of the defense because it seems like there's a lot of room out there, you know, when you look to your right, you look to your left, there's a lot of space and there's a lot of room to cover.

Are you getting more comfortable with what you need to be to be at your best every week? Oh yeah, definitely. Uh. I kind of just lean on you know, other players really h the D line and sometimes I can just align a certain way, uh, and they kind of helped me more than anything. So just understanding where my help is at, understand what's you know, the challenges I'm gonna have in certain calls. Uh, And that's pretty much you know what I do. So, UM, just as far as

I understan and defense, we can't watch him. I had a pretty good idea of you know, the plays I didn't make or I missed. Uh, I understood what I didn't I did wrong. So that's always just a positive to me. Does that hold true a lot? When you're in a game, you go, man, I can't wait to watch that one on tape because I know I did my you know, I did it perfectly. And then others that you go, oh, yeah, that'll be one. I gotta lean back in my chair a little bit. Oh yeah, definitely.

I mean sometimes I make a mistake and I try to tell PG or somebody before, uh, but you know they don't have that. So um, it's always good when you know the mistakes you make, just so you don't have to really uh. I don't say coach it up, but you understood that you messed up on end. The next time it happens with NFL, if you make one mistake, they're gonna come back to it and see if you can fix it. So it's always good when you can

just figure out the mistakes before you watch film. Well, this last week got a chance to spend a little more time in the field with the with your pal O Pal Ray Kuan McMillan. He's getting back healthy again and back on the field. How does it feel to have him end up next to you out there in the on the field. Oh, it's always good. Uh when he's out there. I mean, I've been playing for so many years. It's really just um a field thing, you know. I al really don't have to say much. I can

kind of just feel his presence. So um, it's definitely he's back healthy and you know, getting out to So it's definitely fun. Different scheme this year, doing doing different things. Do you do you like the way this defense sets up that the scheme sets up for for you, and then the rest of the guys are on there listening, just like see a lot of different looks, a lot of different fronts, and it changes up there, and uh, it's gotta be it's gotta be kind of a fun,

fun defense to work within. Uh as you keep moving on. For me personally, I love it. It's so many different Um, there's so many different styles, so many different ways you can just confuse the offense. Sometimes I can be dropping, sometimes I can be rushing as a d n um. Sometimes I'm just covering it tight end or back For me personally, it's exciting because you never know exactly what I'm doing until the bass snap, so uh and just as deep as the whole we just throw so many

friend looks. Um. You know these past two weeks you kind of just want to focus on, uh, the basics and get back to I'm doing the basic things right, stopping the run, um, you know, get off the field on third and long. Simple things like that that you need to do in this league. That's what we're kind of focusing on now. You know, both mentioned with ray kuon back in the lineup. It was a nice goal line stand. You guys teamed up on a on a

tackle right at the goal line. Um, take us through how things are different down in the red zone compared to you know, things happen a little bit quicker and you have to trigger probably a little bit faster, especially at the line of scriment. Yeah, goal one. It's one of those places. Uh, if you see something you literally you have to do it, like you have to go

shoot it. Um. Whatever you see, you have to believe it, um because just if it's you know, third and goal at the one of one hard games a touchdown, so you kind of really have to. If you see it, you have to go. You can't wait, you can't catch um. So uh, you know it. Just the goal on everything is just to tensifying every you know more, so you

really have to just focus on the little things. And just you know, Bo and I were talking earlier in the program, and what was the feeling like at halftime, because you had to feel pretty good about where you guys stood in terms of, you know, you give up a late touchdown, should have been probably passing interference, a little push off right on on wilts, but you go down thirteen nothing. What was the feeling like for you

guys coming back out here. If we can get a three and out give our offense, or we can get a defensive score, we can cut the field in half. We're one score away from getting back in this game. And that's really that was the you know what we were thinking. Um was definitely in it. It was definitely close. Uh. We just kind of just had to do our part. As far as the defense we can control, we can control and that's playing good defense. So um that that

was our spirits. Just go out there and just continue we're doing um no, uh, focus on a little thing that we mess up on, but awesomely we're in it. So, um, you know, awesomate didn't go away. But as a defense, it was definitely up to beat, you know, halftime and just being a young defense, I think it was just uh, you know, just to be down the way we was playing, just to be down that a few points. It was. The field was different. We can stand up to anybody.

Day was you know, super Bowl champs, So we definitely had it defending super Bowl champs that get the collar of Antonio Brown comes into have that offense and like you said, you held them pretty putting your check. Now you go to Dallas, you go on the road, different situation away from home, in an environment where the fans are crazy in Dallas. They love that football team and they'll let you know. And you got Dak Prescott, you got Zeke, You've got a big offensive line, you got

a really talented offense there. So there's gonna be another big challenge for you, uh, and a chance for you guys take another major step forward. Um. Ultimately, it's it's another chance to go out there and just play football. Uh. You know, everybody has good old line, everybody has you know, receivers. Uh, we kind of just have to focus on the little things that we do well. Um, and that's the little

things we can fix before the players even started. That's line up right, that's communication, simple things like that that goes a long way in this league. So uh that that's pretty much our main focus this week is we'll just focus on the things that we know we have to get, you know, handling when when it's time to play, just play. So uh, it's definitely be a good challenge and I'm excited to go up there and you know,

hopefully get a win. So you were when you were growing up, you were was there a team that you followed? Would you follows? A Um? I was a Browns fan and I was a Steelers fan, which is kind of weird. Uh. I love the Stealers defense, but I mean hometown. You always have to. So you told the Browns fans you were a Browns fan, and you told the Steelers fans you're a Steelers fan. Correct? Correct the reason I as it seems like everyone I told you when they said when I was a kid, when I was a kid,

I like the Cowboys. Everyone seemed like the Cowboys. You get a chance to going going to Dallas and then see the Cowboys in that. Have you played that poys? Yeah? I played college. Yeah, in college, I played there a few times. So I'm definitely familiar with the stadium. So it's definitely be fine. So is it one of those stadiums you make a play and you look up, Oh yeah, I mean that screen right there you have to go.

You can't help, but when you're in the sideline just watching, you tend just to look up and just stare because it is definitely a beautiful stadium. You Usually when I'm when I'm standing out there, I look, I look for players. I look along the right, along the sideline. That's how I look on the bench because usually the players are sitting on the bench looking at the at the scoreboard

because you can see it up there. But it's a it's a great place to play in, a great place to go in, a great place to shut up a crowd too. If you can go in there and walk out of that building and with those guys murmur and upset, that's uh. That's to me is one of the great things in in in playing football, going into someone else's house and and shutting their crowd down in there. That'd be that'd be a lot of fun. Oh yeah, definitely.

I mean it's kind of cool. This is our first test of you know, away game, so just to go on somebody else's home and um take with stairs. Uh, that's gonna be a fun just a fun uh, just a fun feeling really. Uh. And we're young, we know that. So this is our first test and we're just gonna give you everything we got. And they named you a captain this year for a for a second year player. Um, you gotta know pretty good about that. It says a lot about what the staff with the players, what your

teammates think about you, and uh, congratulations for that. But it's gotta feel gotta feel pretty nice for you. Oh yeah, definitely, it definitely feel good. Uh. I had been a captain since I was like in high school, so it was definitely fun. But also I just kind of just wanted to do the right things, um, and for other guys. I wanted to be the example if I just try to just the right thing as much as you can.

Whatever they asked me to do, I want to do it, um and just pretty much just be the example for the team. And uh, it's definitely honored for especially your teammates to choose this captain. So I'm definitely grateful. Yeah, you're uphold they're playing well and doing doing good things out there. Appreciate you stopping by and wish you the best of luck this week and throughout the rest of the season. I'm sure we'll see you again for sure.

Thank you, Thank you. App Jeron Baker, you know, good guy, and and and you know here's a guy that boy. You know, when he first beginning of the season last year, he was well, he was a little bit a little bit too quick, a little bit too anxious to get to the ball and in order. But now I tell but now he is playing is as good at football as anybody in this football team. And and he's gonna be He's gonna be a linebacker in this league that you're gonna keep an eye on for a long time.

It's gonna gonna do some pretty good things out here. Well, if you could pick a player to fit this scheme in the middle of the defense, it needs to run sideline to sideline, that needs to be communicative with the other ten players on the field and look to as a leader. I mean, in his second year he's a team captain. I mean it just says what his teammates and his coaching staff and this organization thinks of the player, the young player they got out of Ohio State. I

just I just like his work ethic. I like the way it goes about his business. He likes to have fun, but when it's time to work, he works. And I think that gets contagious, especially on a young team, whether it's or his peers are looking at him, how he's approaching the game, how he's not making as many mental or physical mistakes, and how he corrects from week one to week two. I mean, you could just it. He

was all over the field. He was all around the football in the running game, he did a really good job of being able to, uh, you know, play without hesitation. And he just is a is a guy that you want to have here for a long time. And I just I just feel like, you know, if more guys can can play and emulate the style of the way Jerome plays the position at their particular position, you know

you're onto something now. You were a little surprised with m ray kawon McMillan because it seemed like for a while you know, he missed training camp with an injury, didn't didn't really practice much, and then game one didn't see see much action, and then you kind of wonder, if you know, where, where does he fit into this whole scheme. And then all of a sudden in Game two, they put him in and he played a number of snaps,

played well. He did, He played well in the game, and and I think he's kind of getting himself back into football condition and back into the space where where we'll see him more, which all may not be in the allot because a lot of times they like to you know, they want to have more want the two linebackers set in there. But you know, like you talk about goal line, some of those short you already the

middle of the field situations, running situations. I think where though, they'll they'll accommodate him a little bit more in there. And uh and I like way quant too. I think that you know, it's been tough for him, you know, physically physically trying to get back, but now he's here, and I know he's happy to be playing out there. Um and and and I think he can be one of those other guys that can really help help this defense to be to take that next step forward where

they want to be and really become a very competitive group. Well, I think it's one of those he falls into the category where I know coach Flores spoke this week at his press conference after the game, you're trying to identify as many players with that young talent that you want to build around and that have character off the field and on the field that you can count on that you don't have that many missed assignments, that you know you you teach you to him once or twice and

that's all you need, you don't You have to keep pounding that philosophy of where you need to be at. You know where you need to uh, you know your angles and your body placement and being able to get leverage. And I think he comes from the same cloth although they you know, they obviously went to the same college at Ohio State, but I think the same type of

football background and mentality. Whereas whatever it takes, it doesn't have to be about me, but if I can do my job to allow somebody else to make a play. I think both of these guys are selfless when when it comes to playing the game of football. I mean Jerome happened to get seven tackles, but you saw what happens down on the goal line when you need a physical body, a bigger body to be able to reject somebody that's trying to score a touchdown. And I think

ray Kawon fit that bill quite nicely. And now going into the Dallas game with Ezekiel uh in the backfield, you know, there there's a there's a different running style where a guy that's gonna run with power, he's gonna run with some speed and quickness, and you've got to be able to to take that guy down. And I think both those guys are very capable. You know. Let let's talk a little bit about the Dallas Cowboys to the opponent for the Dolphins this week, UM, very talented

football team. Uh. Dak Prescott is a guy that can he can run, he can throw the football, he can throw flat footed, deep deep down the field. He does a lot of good things to tell you understands this offense. I think I think he's a great leader on that team. And then you talk about Ezekiel Elliott and you know, maybe one of the best running backs in the national football he can run through you he's got speed, does

all those different things. They've got some good receivers out there, and when they got that big, big offensive line that they've been they've had for a long time, that that they really rely on. And and this is gonna, you know, no doubt in New England was a major test against his football team. This is gonna be another major test. Different style, not quite the same style, not that quick hitting kind of an offense, more of a you know,

physical grind you down. And I wouldn't be surprised to see the Cowboys come out and try to use this as a game where they're just gonna try to, you know, stuff the ball down their throats and uh and run the football and try to pound it from the opening uh, from the opening kick. That was the big thing New England. I mean time of possession. I think we lost by

twelve or thirteen minutes. You know, you go back over that game and you allow twenty seven first dounds, you know, throughout the game, and the defense didn't do poorly and the defense played fairly well. So that's saying a lot for New England. Now when you turn the page to Dallas,

I'm gonna work backwards. I think what you hit on. Lastly, in terms of the offensive line, I think that's probably the most important part of the game for the Miami Dolphins, because one from Week one to Week two, the Miami Dolphins front seven, let's say, didn't get close to Jackson and being able to pressure him or make him elude the pocket or make him feel rattled at any time. I thought they did a better job, you know, getting two sacks against Tom Brady. But you're gonna have to

be able to affect the running game. You have to be able to hold your own and not get pushed off the line of scrimmage. Because if the Dallas Cowboys start going downhill, they're gonna go downhill, uh the intent for four quarters, you know, and they'll do a little play action. They won't have to do too much offensively.

So the key to the game for me is being able to stop, not stop the running game, but slow it down to the point where you have a chance to get after Dac in the passing year, you got them put it, put them in long situations you can't have you know, second and four, second and three, third and two, third and one. You know, you gotta get them in situations where they've they've got they've got to work.

They've got to work, you know, third and third and twelve, third and eight, third and nine where hopefully you can find a scheme or some way to get get some some some pressure on them, which you know, quite frankly this scene that they've they've got to get a little more out of their defensive ends. They've got to get more pressure up the sides. I mean, you see in the middle kind of get a little push up the middle. But but but you're not much coming around the outside.

And you know, and and against the Tom Brady, against the Deck Prescott, against some of these quarterbacks that that they're gonna face. You got Philip Rivers coming. When when you face these quarterbacks, you can't you can't. You can't live on the blitz. You because those guys they say have blitz coming, they know exactly where the ball, you know where the hole is, and know where the weaknesses. They're gonna go right there and they're gonna burn you on it. Um. But but you gotta get him in

those situations. You gotta get them in the situations where you can you know, where where you can dictate what what you want to do and not let them be the ones that are gonna you know, have that run pass option, whether it's or play action comes into play because they've been pounding the ball so much on you that everyone's starting to crowd the line of scrims. Now

all a sudden, you go over the top. Those types of situations, Uh, those are all things that, um, they're gonna you know, they're gonna hurt a football team that continues to give up too many yards on first and second day. We talked earlier about negative plays, and I think you know, besides the two sacks the Dolphins had on Tom Brady, those are the only two negative plays in the game. Now, on the other side of the football, there were a lot of negative plays offensively that you

have to stay away from. I think if you're gonna try to play winning football on the road against a very good, undefeated Dallas Cowboy team, you're gonna have to stay away offensively from those negative plays, those negative runs, those those drops down the field, all all the things that kind of, uh bring your offense to a stalemate. And then on defense, you have to find a way to get those tackles for loss when you when you have those opportunities. When you get penetration, you have to

find a way to get Elliott on the ground. You have to find a way to get Dax Prescott in the pocket and not only harass him, but get a sack or two early in the football game to get that momentum going. Those negative plays do a lot for your defense and on offense if you stay away from him, least you're getting positive yards where you're not in those second and thirteens and second and elevens where this team

is having uh is struggling mightily on third down. Hey, John, when you look at when you look at Ryan Fitzpatrick, and I know there's you know, after after last week's game, there's talk about Ryan is gonna be Josh, who's gonna start, who's gonna play, And quite frankly, at this point, I don't know that it really makes that much of a difference between one of those two guys, because I think it's it's difficult to it's difficult to evaluate them in

a true sense because there's so much pressure, because there's because a running game has been almost non existent, because when they do go back to throw teams no, and then they're coming at you and and and you're kind of fighting for your life back there. So the evaluation is tough, but it's what it is. And and and for Ryan, who we assume is going to get the

start going into this game. And coach Floria said on Monday and his in his press conference that you know, he's the guy right now, and but that's Monday and we'll see. Um, they got to find some way to to keep him upright. I gotta funds find someone because last week when he had time, he threw some nice balls and he had was able to move the ball down the field, was able to fit balls in and

do things. It was when he was, you know, scrambling for his life, where your balls come out the wrong way, or you can't you you miss the target, or or you don't identify or defense on the run, and it's difficult to account for everybody. That's when the trouble starts. And I agree with you, it's very difficult right now for the Miami Dolphins to get a true sense of evaluation. But I will say, uh, the one thing that you're fearful of when you put Josh Rosen into the football game.

Now granted he's been in two fourth quarters, and he's played a little bit of mop up duty and he's he's had some passes dropped, but he has held onto the football. And that's something in the early in a game where you you stay away from those negative plays because quite frankly, Ryan's anticipating some of that pressure and he's able to elude. The thing you'd like to see fits do is throw the football way and just say, hey, the play is over. There's nothing else to get out

of it. Um let's throw it away and put it away now. Now the pick six is you know, those are just things that the tip ball from Kalen, you know, those things you just can't even imagine happen to you on offense where that should have been a completion first

down and the Dolphins are still on offense. But I would say the one thing, the one fearful thing I have uh for Josh is his propensity to maybe hold onto the football and retreat instead of maybe you know, the play is over, I'm gonna burn this one and try to get on second down. But you only get better at that the more reps you get. And I think I think it would be it would be a disservice, and I think that the clock is ticking a little

bit bow. I felt like, maybe after the bye week, let's take take a look at where the Dolphins are at, Let's take a look at how the offense is going. I think that timeline has has escalated a little bit quicker in terms of maybe we do need to see a full game out of Josh Rosen before you get

to the bye week. Well, maybe maybe it's you know, maybe it's younger legs, you know, maybe it's a guy in here that okay, if he gets to start, whether it's this week, next week, when whenever it happens to be where it is, well, maybe he can work better in the circumstances. Maybe he's been a little more nimble, Maybe he can, you know, find different ways to get out of the pocket. And he's seen it from the sidelines.

W is a lot better than having to live it going through it in terms of when things aren't going well, sometimes when you're the backup and you're looking, you have a different perspective on maybe I would have thrown that one away, or maybe you're you're taking those mental reps from the sidelines and you're learning without even being you know, under center or in shotguns. So maybe that's to his advantage. He watches, you know, another game or another week, and

and then he gets his opportunity. Whichever quarterback it is, whether it's Ryan or whether it's Josh, they need better help from their receivers. You need to catch those footballs. I know they're tough. I know they're fifty fifty balls. But you've got two guys six four and over that can jump, that can catch, that can do that. Uh and and and you've got a guy that can can take it to distance whenever you're throw in Jachim and he's got to catch the football. You know, he's had drops.

That whole crew, that whole crew that that pick up their game. You know, if you know this week, you hope that this week that that that that crew, after watching those tapes and watch it, spend a lot of time out there catching footballs. And because they've got to be you know, I know, I know, you maybe catching one of those balls a small thing, but small things sometimes lead to big things. And so they've got to be This offense, this football team isn't good enough to overcome.

You can overcome some things. You can't overcome things like that multiple times during the course of a game and stay in the game and keep it competitive till the very end. So so that that is that to me. Of of the biggest takeaway from Sunday's game to me were those six drops because and and look, there was a couple of them late in the game when when it was the game was pretty much said and done, but there were some of them in the first half.

There were meaningful and meaningful times fifty yard games that you're you're doing everything you can to get stay on the field as an offense, and you're all we always talk about hidden yards and penalties. Well Dolphins did a better job in penalties, but is hitting yards on the drops? Are are going to number one, get you into the red zone or closer to the red zone. You cut off the field by fourty or fifty yards and now

you've got a little bit of momentum built. You know, you're putting a little bit of fears like this guy can go up and get the football and I had them covered perfectly. You know, there's two guys going up and he's he's the one catching the ball, or you hit a guy dead and stride down the sideline. If you catch it, you've got a big game. Now, you've got the crowd back in it. You're you're feeling like, hey, we're on we're getting on a little bit of a roll.

But when those things don't happen, it's deflating for a team. It's not only deflating for the offense, it's deflating for the defense because they're sitting on the sidelines looking at the boards, going, hey, come on, a little bit of help here. We've been out here, you know for a number of plays in the first half. That play, you know, gets us another three or four or five plays of rest.

You know that that that defense, I mean, you know when you when you look at the stats after the game, they don't look that lopside in time of possession, in in a number of snaps, But if you boil it down to the first three quarters, then it's a major The amount of time that the defense was on the field, and that was a hot day out there, the amount of time they were on the field throughout the course of the game, the number of snaps that they had

opposed to the to the offensive snaps was double triple the amount at the end of the third quarter in New England already had twenty three first downs to Miami's two total yards that the Dolphins had thirty eight to three thirteen. And on third down the Patriots were five of nine, the Dolphins were one of nine, and they already had four sacks against Well. I can remember looking at halftime stats, I want to say, I think, I want to say, they had fifty seven yards of offense

maybe in that first half. And then next thing I know, I'm looking up at the scoreboard in the third quarter and they're down to thirty seven because they had a couple of sacks and all that, and so they they lost you already, man, and not not only are not picking up yards every they were going backwards and so.

But but then at the end of the game, you know, they're able to throw the ball down the field a bit, got some offense going to make it look when you when you if you didn't see the game, just looked at it, you Jesus was pretty pretty respectable there. But the score get there, but it was far from that when the game, when the game was in, you know, was it was and you can't you know, you talk about we talked to Jerome about, Hey, you know there there's been a lot of time, but I've been on teams.

You You've been on teams, even on teams where I'm sure the offense was ahead of the defense. Again, if you gotta score because you got your defense, likewise for for defense, when the defense is that our offense isn't isn't moving, we gotta you know, if we gotta shut these guys out, we gotta shut them out. That's that's

just one of those days, one of those things. And so you can do that, but against a team like New England, you can only do it for so long, and and granted against the Dallas Cowboys for so long, because eventually those teams are gonna you know, they're they're gonna get there, they're gonna execute, they're gonna get their traction,

and then they're gonna start rolling. And if you can't match them point for point, or if you play to play, or if you're scoring and you can't stop him, so so somehow they need to get in sync and and and the offense needs to Now again, you know, we may be talking, we may being here in a month from now saying hey, you know you have defense, you know, the officers scoring points. Now, defense you need to pick

it up. But it's it's you know, it's gonna be that kind of goes in cycles like that, and you really like it where you're you're playing complimentary of each other. You know, you get a stop, you couple that with a score, and the defense, you know, finds a way to cut the field in half, and the and the offense takes advantage. And if you kick a field goal, you're taking advantage of how the table was set for you. So that that's the when good teams are on a roll.

That happens quite frequently. Right now, it hasn't happened yet for the Dolphins. H It's another thing that's that's going on, is is this whole you know, and and you know outside the team that there, this guy's going, that guy's going, this guy is he's asking, this guy doesn't want to be here, this guy wants to ask to be traded. And you know all the names, you know where one

they're talking about. And and you know, for me, I tend to you know, you know what I hear when I hear that John, I hear agents speak, you know, I hear agents speak, because dude, we we talked to these guys. We talk these players, and we know, we know what they're about. And some of the guys are talking about just don't seem to be don't that, don't don't fit that m O to me, Yes, it's you know what, you know, I put my nose Jim Manage, you said, I put my nose to it, and she's

gonna smell so good. I put my nose to some of this stuff and it doesn't smell so good. And it strikes me as agents speak, where an agent comes and says, you know, why do you want to player? Why don't you Why don't we try to get you somewhere else? Whyn't you know? And and then next thing you know, they're talking to a reporter and this and that, and so you know, I, I, you know, I don't know. Maybe maybe I'm wrong, but but but but it kind of looks that way to me. Fist things. You know,

it's kind of swirling right now. It's been swirling since training. You know, I've never been around a team, whether I played on it or whether I've been covering this team, and for the time I have, and I'm sure where more changes have happened every single week since training camp began, and here you're going into week three and people are still changing on this roster. I walked through the locker room. I pick up a broke pick up. He used to pick up a roster in the beginning of the beginning

of the season. And okay, now and then now every week I gotta come get a new roster because I don't know who the hell's on it. It's and there was I gotta, I gotta be honest with you. The guy John Jenkins, I saw him get a sack. Who the hell is that guy? I don't even know when the all I got here, you know what I mean? Second, John tak was close. Tank was coming from the should have got a little so so along with all the stuff, I mean, there's a there's a lot of changes going on,

and I can understand Guy's frustration. But but um, you know, I guess, I guess the specy alation really bothers me, you know, the speculation of of what. And then you go right to the guy that goes, I'm happy being here. Yeah, Well it waters down to where you were in college football now and they have the transfer port right so that kind of doesn't sit well with me, because you know, you should have a legitimate reason, you know, to to transfer, and a lot of guys are just looking for the

easy way out. Now you go to the NFL and all of a sudden, everybody you know supposedly wants to jump ship, and hey, this is your job, this is this is what you get paid to do. And if you don't have pride in being able to, I don't know, lace it up, pull up your your pants and go to work every day, then maybe, you know, maybe it wasn't cut out for you if you have that attitude. Now, it doesn't strike me that the players that have always been mentioned in this have that attitude. I watch him work,

I watch him, I see him every day. These guys go to work and they're they're trying to perfect their craft. And I don't think that you know that outside noise is sometimes it's brought upon by agents and and some

of the people that are always in your ear. But I've always been to the of the school of you know, I'm gonna just I'm gonna stick to what I do with what my job is, and if I can do my job, it's gonna make the person all the people around me much better, because that's all I'm concerned about is doing doing something that's gonna help this football team. That means by me, you know, doing everything I need to do to be prepared to go out and work and and do my job, because if I do that,

it's gonna give everybody else a chance for success. So I I just I don't know where that comes from, you know, you know, I just just from my personal experience, you know, having played on a team here with with with guys and and you know, like I said, I've told us what we were at the tail end of the great team, the seventeen and oh guys, and and the team was down a little bit and all of a sudden we had a young group of guys and and we struggled a little bit, struggled for a couple

of years and finally got into playoffs and didn't play better and better and better, and and you know what, there was there was something to have something that I remember about having gone through tough times with those guys and fought through the tough times with those guys and got two good times where you really appreciated that whole and and and the in the game was different then. There wasn't free agency and really wasn't a lot of

trades there is now. But I still think that value of of of building a team with guys going through the tough times, and then in three or four years you're sitting there looking with all these guys you're with and saying, yeah, man, I remember how bad it was, and but but but it's it's it's a character builder for you. It's a character builder for you as a individual, and it's a character builder for a team as a

whole to to go through that. And well, so that's why it's so important right now for Brian Flores and his staff and Chris Greer and his staff to make sure they identify the people that want to be here, the people that are going to fight through these tough times because everyone pretty much knew this was gonna be a tough road, uh in the two thousand nineteen season. Now things fall right and things that you get on a roll, you know, you win a few games, you

feel like you know where we can compete. But right

now it's tough. Right now, it's pretty lean, and you have to identify the guys that are still going out and doing their job the way it's been coached on a on a Wednesday and Thursday and Friday, and they do it on Sundays or Monday night or Thursday night whenever they're gonna play and and be able to feel like that's the nucleus of where we want to go with with these ten, twelve, fift eight teen players that you can identify that you add that number to those

guys and they're that much better. Yeah. Well, and then you know, and they we're talking about these guys are coming, these guys are going, and we talk about it. You know. I look at the team that the Dolphins just played in New England. There's always people coming and going on that team. They come in and go and maybe coming for a year or two and they moving around. But there's enough guys that were there to the bill that that that I couldn't tell you who played offensive line

from doing a page. I I was looking at him. I didn't look at him yesterday when they came out. I don't know where these guys are, but you know what they all played. When a guy went down and never really really knew about it, they played well. And then you know, and and you know they but you know, there's a there's a lesson to be learned by watching football teams like that that that just you know, bring

people in. As long as you step in and and and and follow the follow the plan that's set out for each and every position, you're gonna be all right. And I think this team is getting this one. And I think that's exactly what Brian Flores and his staff are doing. But I think just right now, whether they're at and look I'm not I'm not telling secrets out out of class here, They're they're an underman football team.

I mean, look at the number of quality players that have exited Miami, uh South Florida in the last month and a half off of this football team. And all you need to do is turn on a foot, turn on a game on playing, and they're playing, and they're talking about him and Kenny Stills and learning other Kenny Still exactly. I mean, so you see these guys, and so you know those are guys who were making place in your team, and so you know they're looking for

other guys. Now some of these young guys, some of these young guys that we don't even know now, I guarantee him two years. They're gonna be starters in this football team, and they're gonna be making plays for a team that's this competing and competing at a high level. But it's it's it takes time. It does and it's one of those things where you're just looking right now. You know, how good would a wind feel for the Miami Dolphins right now? You know, you go on the road,

maybe that maybe that's it. You know, you get on the road and you got us against the world. You're you know, people are yelling and screaming at you. Everybody doesn't give you a chance. Maybe that that sets the stage for a better opportunity for these guys. And it's another opportunity. And that's all your that's all you're you know, you're giving in the National Football League. You know, you

have these games on the schedule. You're giving another opportunity to go out and put your best work forward and and let's see what what happens in Dallas on Sunday. You know. The funny thing about is I was having this conversation or earlier in the day, you know, and there's a good example this week. You know, everyone remember when everyone talks about when the schedule comes out, Oh, look at the schedule. Got a tough schedules. Look at

the tough schedule. Well, well, you know what everybody, everybody prior to Sunday looked at the New Orleans Saints. He said, man, that's a tough team to be. All of a sudden, Drew Brees goes down. Now they're not not Now they're not so tough. But Pittsburgh, Ben Love Rosie, he goes down not so tough. So you know, don't don't count your chickens before they're hatched. In the National Football League,

because it's a week, it's very fluid. Teams change, schedules change, you know, the the quality of teams change as as in as injuries play their party in this league. So you never know, and you never know when that opportunity is gonna da gonna fall in your lap. And you know, here's here's another chance for the Dolphins. And you know what, I expect to be better on offense. I expect and

be better on defense. Do I can I promise you they're gonna win, And I can't promise you're gonna win, but but I do feel like they're gonna be they're gonna be coached up better because I think the coaching staff is understanding what they're doing more and and understanding the way that their schemes can work within the players that they've got as summer going and summer coming, and they adapt to it. Uh And the more the less movement,

the better they'll get. But as we saw the improvement on defense at home against New England, you want to see that that you want to You want to see it on the offensive line. That's where it has to start, because you can't run it, you can't protect unless those guys are are gonna play better than they played over the past two weeks. Now, I saw it on defense. The scheme was much better. The ball didn't seem to travel over anybody's had as as frequently as did in

Week one. They were better tackling team on defense. I want to see that type of execution kind of filter in on the offensive side in week three. All right, that's gonna do it for the audible. This week is the Dolphins and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. We'll be back next week to go over that. Hopefully we've got some good news and uh, you know, hey, stick with it. It's gonna be we we all know this. It's gonna

be uh, you know. I kind of feel like, kind of I kind of feel like we're going on one of those cross country vacations with your parents when you're a kid and you had a station wagon with no air condition and you have the two kids in the back of looking out the back window, you know, and you're and are we there yet? Are we there yet? And then finally you get that stop where you go to a motel and they got a pool. We got

a pool. One of these days we're gonna have a pool and it's gonna be a win and we're gonna be enjoying it. I hope it's on Sunday. I hope it's on Sunday. We do we do for John kN Jammy, I'm Kimbo Camper. This is audible. We'll catch you guys next week.