March 31, 2025 • 41 mins
Head Coach Mike McDaniel spoke to media at the Owner’s meetings in Palm Beach Monday - we’ll cover it all. Topics include: Tua’s ability to stay healthy, Zach Wilson, James Daniels, team culture and the focus of the 2025 roster construction, and much much more!!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
What is up, Dolphans And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast.
I am your host, Travis Wingfield, and on today's show,
your boy husband to Palm Beach and back. I got
through two different accidents on the freeway. I wasn't involved
in the accidents, but they made my one hour commute
a two and a half hour commute.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Good thing.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
I planned for two and a half hours and made
it there and back to hear from head coach Mike McDaniel,
who addressed all kinds of topics, including the quarterback position too.
Was health Zach Wilson's signing the offensive line position, What
James Daniels means about instituting stricter policies for disciplinary actions
for players and culture building in the draft. Lots and
(00:49):
lots of content. In this episode, We're going to play
some sound bites from coach and then give you my
thoughts on those sound bites and get the heck out
of here from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist
Health Training Complex.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
This is the Drive Time podcast.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Heye, so yeah, early morning at the Breakers in Palm Beach, which,
by the way, I need to get out to that
golf course because my goodness, it is a thing of beauty.
But we had a lot of conversation with coach Mike McDaniel,
who gave the media about an hour of his time,
so very very appreciative of that. And as I was
putting together the episode with my Charles Davis interview, I'm like,
(01:25):
I've got more than a half hour of McDaniel content.
We'll go ahead and bump CD to Wednesday and do
this here off the top. Before we get to that, though,
I want to let you guys know ahead of time
that the Dolphins and myself have agreed to something of
a contract extension, if you want to call it that.
But the long story short here is your boy's not
going anywhere for a while. They like what I'm doing.
(01:47):
I like what I'm doing here for the team as well.
So Drivetime drives on here for the foreseeable future. Very
very excited about that and the future for the wingfields
here in South Florida. All right, so you guys remember
the theme across the player interviews right. In fact, I
want to go ahead and play some sound bites from
those player interviews because it's going to set up a
(02:08):
lot of what Coach McDaniel explained today at his media
availabilities with both national and local reporters here from the
South Florida market that we've talked about on the podcast
for the last couple of months as things that we felt,
I felt were really important notes to hit or moves
to operate under certain concepts and ideals of and one
(02:31):
of those things was creating competition. But the biggest part
of that competition aspect was to get guys who just loved, breathed,
lived football. And I want to go ahead, and just
I pulled my phone up, gonna make this a really quick,
crude sound drop in because it's just a faster way
to do it. And I don't think the quality loss
will be so much that it matters, but that's too
(02:53):
much inside baseball. Just gonna play some sound bites here
real quick from some of the guys I talked to
on the drive time interviews stand by football Man.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
And when I'm on the field, nothing else matters.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
There's so much things that watch that happen, certain plays
that if you you may watch the play three times,
you don't see it. And so like when I'm like
at home, like studying film, like I always try to
make sure like, Okay, I may understand this, but there's
a whole bunch of people like this is.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
Kind of a niche topic.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Not everyone understand this. So like if there's any type
of like even I even send like obvious stuff too,
Like if it's an obvious clip, I still send it, like, Hey,
this is a huge thing that people need to pay
attention to.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
So I'll take a video and look.
Speaker 6 (03:32):
At everybody fees off of that. So when you see
when you're making big plays or when anybody see somebody
getting ran over or just getting dominated, you know, it
just brings the juice. And you know, for me, the
game is all about juice, having juice, and the team
with the most juice wins at the end of the day.
So those sparks, you know, it's kind of like a
snowball effect when you see the moment, like there's just
(03:53):
a momentum, right people getting juiced up, you're making big plays,
and the momentum bills and you know then you just
become stop up before. So uh, whenever I can get
a little ten yard run and juice up the team,
it's always great.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Yeah. I do love for since I was a little kid.
You know, my dad's here. You know, we've been watching
football together.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
You know, we.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
He been training me for to be a football fair
like I said, ever since I was five, you know,
and growing up I didn't playing football every year. And
I got a younger brother now who's on the same path.
You know, he committed to South Carolina, and uh, this
is just this is what my family do and we
we love to play ball.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
So that was Willy Gay, James Daniels, Farrell Brown, and
k J. Britton.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
I mean, in the Willie Gay interview, I told him
there's been a theme around these guys, and you don't
have to hear the coach explain it to see that.
It's just dot in the eyes and crossing the t's,
which is the same concept that you'll hear coach talk
about here, something we've covered on this podcast several times.
And yes, this is one of those times where hey,
Travis is thrilled to get his point confirmed by the
head football coach. And I can hear my co host
(05:01):
and the radio show Seth Levitt talking about this and
laughing about this right now.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
But you'll hear from coach here.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
But what I've been saying about holes in the roster
construction for months about how it's not just the Dolphins
that have twenty or thirty impending free agents, it's the
entire league. So with that in mind, let's go ahead
and hear Coach's first response to a question about the
process of the team's offseason with the acquisitions, what it's
done to the roster, where it sets them up for
the draft. Here's Coach on the last month plus of evaluations,
(05:32):
roster construction, and what's gone down for your Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 7 (05:35):
This been going into year four and working with Chris
was very powerful in that we could, you know, really
every year specifically now where veteran contracts are getting shorter
and shorter, you know, posts their first contract or second
(05:57):
and third contracts are getting shorter, are having to solve
different problems, and you know, I think the way we've
attacked it directly relates to, you know, the lessons learned
both good and bad from.
Speaker 5 (06:13):
The two previous years.
Speaker 7 (06:15):
So when I talk about, you know, the vision that
I have, you know for our team in twenty twenty five,
that includes players that are uh on the upward ascension
of development, players that I think that we can further develop,
(06:36):
and that can contribute to a culture of uh, you know,
a team first mentality that wins down the stretch of
the season.
Speaker 5 (06:45):
So, you know, so far, so good. We still have
a lot of work.
Speaker 7 (06:49):
You know, free agency has gotten a little longer, so
to speak.
Speaker 5 (06:54):
In my opinion, I think that it gets drawn out.
Speaker 7 (06:57):
There's there's a lot of transactions early and then you know,
people are kind of trying to find their best fit.
We're in communication with some players and we have ten
draft picks, and those those guys are unique because you
have the ability to have a four to five year
contracted employee that you know, really really can influence the
(07:22):
character and culture of your team, you know.
Speaker 5 (07:26):
As you progress.
Speaker 7 (07:27):
So I'm really excited specifically for what we have done,
who the types of players that we've added, and uh,
the the scope of how we're going to address our needs.
And you know, I would love to tell you exactly
what what we're doing vaguely, Uh, I think that would
(07:51):
be a competitive disadvantage.
Speaker 5 (07:53):
So I think it is uh, so far, so good. Uh.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
In in lesser that line Man quote, the way we've
attacked it directly relates the lessons learned, both good and bad,
from the previous two years end quote, So you know
what is that? You know, I was thinking about my
thoughts from earlier offseason podcasts, and we talked about this
the first week after free agency. I think I did
a show last week about it, how the run game
had to get better, but in particular how you had
to be better off the perimeter. Insert Pharaoh Brown for
(08:21):
Durhama Smith, which I thought was a massive upgrade in
your outside running game. Insert Nick Westbrook Akine who totally
reinvents the way you can run the football in terms
of your blocking assignments from the wide receivers. They got
more physical with you know, Larry Boram and James Daniels,
even if only one of those guys starts with the
expectation that Jalien Right will play more this year as
a more of a one B compared to being a
(08:43):
three or four back, more physical because of his his
added element to the game. Here's what Coach said about
what those things were, and you know some of those
word things that Travis thought as well.
Speaker 7 (08:54):
It's the execution and the art of finding those things
every season. Of course, you're wanting to have reasons of
why you you the two previous years you've made the
playoffs and you didn't this past season. Outside of the
things that you can point to all the you know,
there's compounding variables and but the key component of football
(09:20):
teams of organizations is to find and attack things you
can get better at. Wellh I'm you know, I've met
a guy at the car wash that told me that
we need to be better at short yardage like and
guess what, like he's on the right track.
Speaker 5 (09:39):
To me, you don't.
Speaker 7 (09:41):
There's always things that you can We're good at other
things well, but.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
You make growth in those areas.
Speaker 7 (09:49):
You focus on those areas, and that's how your team develops,
and that's how teams win. And you know, I also
acknowledged that specifically from like literal reps as a fan
and a fully invested one. The last thing you see
(10:09):
is the Jets game, and then it's space. Well, from
that moment, that last press conference, that last locker room
meeting has been focused on fixing and moving forward. And
(10:30):
so like those scars that are very fresh for everybody,
that's twenty years ago to me because of where we
are in our process, which is ongoing, has a critical
component in the in the draft, but it's all in
(10:53):
the same vein of having a unit of people work
in concert to improve, get better, and that's.
Speaker 5 (11:02):
A strong tonality of the buildings each and every day.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
And then this part, you know, this is a culture
thing and I love it. Remember we had Kyle Crabs
on the podcast to outline some of his beliefs about
how this should go. In my goodness, he absolutely nailed it,
talking about the need for competition and pitting rookies versus
second contract guys that are still hungry, and Coach says, quote,
when I talk about the vision I have for our
team in twenty twenty five, that includes players that are
(11:26):
on an upward ascension of development that can contribute to
the culture of a team first mindset that helps you
wins game, win games down the stretch. And kJ Britt
is a guy that probably thinks he can do more
than he did his first contract. Pharaoh Brown talked about
his juice and some of the will he has to
win after playing for the Patriots and Seahawks last couple
of years. James Daniels is a guy that obviously prioritized
(11:47):
winning in a big way and chose to go to
the Steelers after the Bears, going from a team that
hasn't won a bunch to a team that has has
won a bunch of games. Now he gets to be
a good fit in an offense that could really use
his skill set. I mean really across the or you're
getting guys that fit that mold. Let's go ahead and
hear from Coach more about how that can help define
the culture and not just the guys you bring in
(12:08):
on the second contract, second and third contracts, but doing
that with the mindset that you know you're gonna have
ten draft picks, ten rookies possibly more from the UDFA class.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Who helps at that culture too?
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Because who is hungrier in the NFL than a player
that hasn't made any money yet, that hasn't proven themselves
with resume and film and tape and has a chance
to make a first impression. Those are the guys that
are going to typically should be the hungriest players out there,
and coach wants to pair all that together. Let's go
ahead and hear from Coach on the direct of this
offseason to improve the culture and get hungry football players
(12:39):
on the field.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
Culture is defined by the human beings.
Speaker 7 (12:43):
I think what's unique and I think could be something that.
Speaker 5 (12:48):
I don't know.
Speaker 7 (12:48):
If I investigated, I could write about is that there's
more roster turnover in the National Football League. Now there's more.
There's all our veteran contracts right or the smaller second
and third year contracts. We've seen a lot more three
years or two years or one year. So how do
(13:12):
you have a sustained culture? Well, it's by the people. Well,
draft classes, you know, not only have to be impactful
year one, your draft classes are also your four to
five year commitments that you have the ability to set
(13:32):
the tonality of how your team is or the culture
that it so.
Speaker 5 (13:37):
To me, I was very happy with last year's draft class.
Speaker 7 (13:42):
And we're working, you know, Chris and I are working
day and night to make sure we have this. We
have the same vigor about the opportunity with the ten
draft picks this year because you're talking about in two
years seventeen players that that you have a sustained process
(14:05):
in a league where with parody, it's all about development.
So we're trying to get the right guys to develop
as professionals, and their core value has to be team football,
football winning and they really have to get joy out
(14:27):
of that. That was a component that was consistent among
the different personalities we drafted last year. All these guys
were living and breathing football, and I think that's.
Speaker 5 (14:39):
Even more important as.
Speaker 7 (14:44):
Each team, all thirty two have a unique exercise.
Speaker 5 (14:50):
It has changed in the last couple of years, specifically.
Speaker 7 (14:54):
Of having your football team having an identity that progresses.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
While handling all the roster turnover.
Speaker 7 (15:08):
That's natural with all these shorter contracts that people are
signed up for. So it is I think that the
there's a The draft has always been fun.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
The draft has always been important.
Speaker 7 (15:22):
There's a unique twist to the draft now as I
see a big picture, and you know, very it's very
important that we that we not only take all the
things that we did well from last year and that
draft class, but we we have three more, We have
(15:44):
ten picks, and so that we we try to have
as many contributors to our football team and our culture
as possible with those with those draft picks.
Speaker 5 (15:57):
That we'll be here for a.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Minute back here after a short break, reacting to coach
McDaniel talking about the culture change and shift and cultivating
competition across all position spots and groups. It's not dissimilar
to what the Rams did under Sean McVay back in
twenty twenty three when it looked like a team that
was gonna have to like hard reset, And all I
(16:19):
did was soft reset with like thirteen draft picks and
then twenty seven udfas they gave them forty rookies going
into camp. They cultivated a certain style of player, a
certain culture. And now this is a Rams team that,
through good drafting, through good development of later round draft picks,
has a roster that can afford to go out and
pay Matthew Stafford's big contract, that can extend Puka Naku
(16:40):
when that time comes up here who can give you know,
Kobe Turner and Jared Vers, but they're gonna get here
eventually when their time comes up as well. And it's
a kind of a not just a philosophical shift, but
kind of a culture shift and how you build things.
And that draft pick commentary is just so fascinating to me,
and he's right, and that's why you do draft well,
hit on those picks, then pay those guys. And we
(17:01):
talked in the first Freegency podcast about how the Bills
and Eagles had done a good job of getting guys
done early, and the Bills just did it again with
Christian Benford early and we've seen that here with Tua
and Austin and Jalen Waddle, and we'll see about Phillips
coming up. But if you can do that, and you
compare that with signing the twenty five twenty six year
old who didn't play up to his draft billing in
that first contract and now he's hungry on a short
(17:21):
term slash prove it type of deal, that's the literal
iron sharpens iron definition. Well, not literally, but it's fostering
an environment like that. You reduce complacency, and you cultivate
situations where guys are straining constantly and where guys feel
like practice reps are putting their livelihood on the line
because it is right. And when you get that environment
(17:42):
in practice, well, that critical third and six in the
fourth quarter in November is not a new experience. He's
been through that before. I always joke with my golf buddies,
you know, I wish there was a way to get
me to care about missing putts on the practice screen
because the only time I ever get actual high stress
Birdie or Parr gotta make type of when you're on
the course is when you're on the course, and you
(18:02):
literally cannot replicate that outside of you know, putting money
on your putts with your pals on the practice green,
which we don't do. So the only real putts I
get are the ones in the round itself. So you
can create this sense of urgency on the football field
within players by making their playing time and as a result,
their paycheck dependent on how they play in those practices.
Speaker 5 (18:23):
Right.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
I don't think the process was necessarily bad last year
because you had a good football team on paper. But
we did go into camp with what competitions at like
the guard spots, rotational defensive tackle work, and that's about it, right.
There was a couple other spots maybe, but you knew
what the receiver room looked like to a certain extent,
you knew the tackles in the center, you knew about
the running backs, and you knew Ramsey and Fuller and
(18:44):
Coho and Holland Employer were your top five dbs. Like,
there just wasn't a lot of maybe the best man
win type of stuff. And that's not to say they
didn't compete, but I feel like fostering more of a
competitive environment won't just give you the best player for
the job.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
That's a great part to have from it.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
But we'll also prepare that play for the moments they'll
face in season because they can recall I had to
win this rep against Tyreek Hill to earn this spot
in the first place. Now let's go do it again
in a game situation. In fact, there was another question
about just that. He was asked about Storm Duck cam Smith,
the battle for that next cornerback job beyond Ramsey and
Cater Kohu, and the answer was through the lens of
(19:19):
once again, competition.
Speaker 5 (19:21):
Oh, everyone's competing. You know. I think that.
Speaker 7 (19:26):
What you know, what I think has will prove to
have the residuals to meet the expectations of you know,
everyone Dolphins, is that we were creating a unique environment
(19:47):
where competition is inherent. That you do not think as though,
oh I'm the starter because I'm annoided.
Speaker 5 (19:57):
You know, I think, uh, competition.
Speaker 7 (20:03):
Is a drive, driving force and motivated athletes becoming you know,
elite at their trade, and and within that we we
develop our games. So ultimately, the idea is to be
(20:23):
a much better team when the season ends. Then when
the way everyone that covers or sees the football team
that doesn't see the behind the scenes work thinks we
will be at this point because we're a team that
develops and players get better every year, and you have
(20:45):
to do that through competition. And there's a couple of
different afritues similar to the quite similar to the interior
defensive line market, where there's some options. But what I
what will be the furthest thing. I'll take the depth
chart that I have in my office to the magnets
and I might as well just splatter them like it
(21:08):
does like talk to me in August, because you know
that that that's the that's always been the mindset of
the program. But I think a re emphasis and focus
on on what that is is is the result of
the hard lessons of the three previous years when you
(21:32):
don't you know, every time you're not holding the thirty
one teams, Okay, how do we do that?
Speaker 5 (21:40):
And so every year you try to take.
Speaker 7 (21:44):
What you can from that and then and then press
forward and we will have competition and they will not
know I don't you guys can vote's reps that are
in front of us that are very important. They'll determine that.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Again, he mentioned options there and they said the same
thing about the offensive line back in Indianapolis. You know,
we feel good about a couple of guys we have
interest in with regards to getting a deal done, and
that's what this kind of sounds like to me. I'd
be pretty surprised if they went into August with just
Zach Sealer Benito Jones and then the cornerback room as
it is currently constructed. But we shall see. Now, I
(22:19):
sure think all of this is the right idea in theory.
I think they went back in assess and that's one
thing that I've always appreciated about coach McDaniels that they
do a great job in the offseason of seeing what
went wrong and trying to attack it with what they
see the best fit to do it, you know, for
the following season. And we saw it payoff big time
in twenty twenty three and to a certain extent last
year with how they were able to adapt to the
way teams covered them when they had their quarterback on
(22:41):
the field.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Otherwise was a different story.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
So but I think the idea is the right one,
and we're going to circle back to what kind of
you know, kicked off the entire necessity of all of
this and that presence of your best player causing some
issues at the end of last season by his comments
and actions. But first a follow up on what coach
said about the disciplinary actions or how to better enact
I guess more just discipline and resolve from this team
(23:07):
and how to do his part to enact the change
that he needs to elevate the culture that could hopefully
prevent something like that happening again in the future, even
if that player returns for his fourth season. Right, So
coach mentioned, you know, the act of being disciplinary and
affecting change within the locker room. And I think the
way you wrap this up is it sounds like the
Tyreek Hill situation, as you know, anything that went wrong
(23:29):
informed them for how to approach team building this time around,
and they're taking the action to improve the football team
through the lens with him remaining on the team. And
now is that set in stone. McDaniel did say that
they're fully planning to move forward with Tyreek on the
team this year. He did say they never want to
speak in absolutes, but that's more of a smart guy
just understand the nature of the business and covering his
(23:49):
bases that way to avoid being a freezing cold take.
But you can debate what the right call is here, right,
because I'm sure we all will, But I will say this,
you move Tyreek that receiver room, Suddenly there's a lot
more question marks because you have Waddle and then a
bunch of kind of unknowns with Westbrook A. Kine being
a good role guy on Malik Washington. But I guess
it could be auditioned by subtraction if you had the
(24:10):
same issues, and you could elevate Wattle to a more
prominent role. But you know, perhaps, but if you do that,
you are going to get You're gonna have to get
a big time contribution from a rookie eligible because you're
gonna have to go to the draft to find yourself
a tight end or a receiver that can be a
number like three option behind Wattle and John new Smith
or devone like you're gonna have. You can't just lop
off the star and then say we'll make it up
(24:31):
with you know, Taj Washington who's unproven, or Erica Zuokama
or Malik Washington for that matter. Like you know, you're
not just gonna be just fined. It can be an
addition in a certain way, but you have to address
that position. Still, I think you could have pivoted the
way you did things, and there's some clear signs towards
a pivot, just based on the moves that we've made
and the discussion that we had off the top. But
it came down to, you know, we have to fix
(24:51):
the culture, or at least that this aspect of it.
Can we do it while keeping Tyreek on the football team,
And it appears their answer to that question is yes,
And as a always the case in football, time will
prove them either right or wrong. Now, with regards to Reeke,
McDaniel did say that he's been in the building from
the end of the offseason to now more than he
had the previous three years combined. So take from that
(25:13):
what you will, but it seems like the high end,
you know, I guess the total optimistic outcome is you
get a refocused Tyreek who performs at his twenty twenty
three level and does it for a whole season, because
remember he did say that his attention to detail tailed
off at the end of that year for whatever reason,
and that could help you not just win football games,
but really reset that culture with your best player leading
(25:35):
by example and the total pessimist would say, you know
the guy that spends every waking minute on Twitter complaining
about Chris Career into a tongue bai loa, is that
he's a bad apple. The play tails off and it
blows up. As with all things, it's probably somewhere in
the middle, but I can certainly see the case being
made that tyreek Hill, with what you've invested in him,
the way you've built this offense around him, him playing
(25:55):
at his peak is far far more valuable than what
you would get in draft pick compensation. Now, is that
what I would do? I guess it doesn't matter what
I would do, but I have to believe that that's
the thinking there. And you heard Mike say something to
the effect of the reason we stay on this path
is our belief. And I do appreciate him having a
vision and seeing it through because this organization, you know,
in years of old, would either cut ties early or
(26:16):
just kind of maybe not have a vision in the
first place. But I feel twenty twenty five, no matter
what happens, is going to give you a good feel
on what is needed for twenty twenty six. Also with
tyreek Hill regarding his wrist, Mike McDaniel said that he'll
be available for pretty much everything in the off season
because it's mostly going to be conditioning for him and
the actual catching of passes will be able to ramp
up once training camp gets here. So it sounds like
(26:38):
all systems are go with him there. Let's go ahead
and take our last break, come back and talk about
the quarterback position, the offensive line, and Kalais Campbell all
of that. Next Drive Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield,
brought to you by Auto Nation to a talk for
the final segment here of our Monday, March thirty first podcast.
(27:00):
Let's go ahead and hear coach McDaniel on the measures
being taken to minimize risk for QB one, to a
tongue of by lab.
Speaker 5 (27:06):
I do have confidence based upon.
Speaker 7 (27:12):
Realistically it was every day he didn't play, which was
six and a half NFL weeks right that he didn't
play last season, And I don't want to speak too
much for him, but the stuff that are absolute fact
is he he's become the player who he is, which
(27:38):
is a consistently evolving, developing, improving, a sending player because
he recognizes.
Speaker 5 (27:50):
The world around him.
Speaker 7 (27:52):
He had to see the ramifications of his lack of availability. Firsthand,
there's a ton of ramifications that you know, the old
and wiser you get, the more you're able to okay
well consistent controllables. We can basically play put in the
(28:20):
cat his last you know, injuries of the last two
seasons that have made him there's been a consistency and
a variable that he can control. So start with jiu
jitsu and then now as he extends plays, prioritizing his
(28:45):
health over.
Speaker 5 (28:47):
A frustrated shoulder punch or whatever.
Speaker 7 (28:53):
I have all the confidence, based upon my observation of
everything preceding that he he's going to control those controllables
because it was a.
Speaker 5 (29:03):
Hard real he felt it all.
Speaker 7 (29:10):
And you know, I don't think the only way that
you can do right by anything.
Speaker 5 (29:22):
You learn from whatever that is.
Speaker 7 (29:25):
Wow, is he incentivized to try to stay on the
field and keep himself up of harm's way. Wow? Has
he proven to have a consistent theme of improving and
executing on things that I mean quite literally? You know,
(29:45):
it feels like he's every year he's in the off
season program and he comes out of it and he's
proving a you know, there was a deep ball thing.
Speaker 5 (29:58):
Question before than his.
Speaker 7 (30:03):
UH and his ability to extend plays, I mean the dudes.
So that's where the confidence comes from. He has to
do it. I feel like you know that. That's how
you work with UH, with players on your team and
any any person on the team, is you observe them
and you have you you empower those that that you know.
Speaker 5 (30:25):
I believe that he will do everything.
Speaker 7 (30:27):
It's football, But that's where the confidence comes from.
Speaker 5 (30:31):
I guess it comes from life and facts.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
The follow up to that question was do you want
him playing with more of that play extension style, staying
in the pocket?
Speaker 2 (30:39):
What's the outlook for Tua and twenty twenty five?
Speaker 7 (30:41):
No, that's the it's it's that's why it's so important
for coaches and players to communicate.
Speaker 5 (30:49):
To have a you know, quite literally.
Speaker 7 (30:53):
As a coach, you have to coach him to to
the vision of Okay, what, well, how do I do that?
Speaker 5 (30:57):
Coach?
Speaker 7 (30:58):
Well, it's the art of playing quarterback and utilizing, you know,
a different skill that he's done at times, but you
focus on is the art of knowing.
Speaker 5 (31:13):
When it's the time to take the risk of the
extra hitch.
Speaker 7 (31:19):
And only reserving that for a very specific time and
every other time. You know, it's a difficult task such
as uh, the nature of any franchise quarterback in the
National Football League, so it's something they have to really
articulate and go through and talk through expectations on certain plays.
(31:42):
So so guys can proactively play football, you.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
Don't want them, should I do something or not?
Speaker 7 (31:51):
And I think he'll you know, coach player relationship, coach Bevill,
Frank Smith and all the bogus slow they're all working
tourists making everyone have the same ends, which is a
healthy too.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
I like that answer, and I have nothing to add.
You cannot argue that to what has improved every off season.
And while this offseason it was more about finding ways
to create right, maybe that's an over calibration that needs
to go back to less playmaking because of the health risk.
But man, the quote about him sitting back and seeing
what his lack of availability meant to the team. I
like that because to if we keep you healthy, we're
(32:28):
going to the playoffs. That's basically how it goes. And
with his availability concerns, one other way you can get
back to the playoffs is if he gets hurt, have
a good backup quarterback that is Zach Wilson. What was
it about Zach Wilson that intrigued you?
Speaker 7 (32:39):
Coach McDaniel, We drafted a quarterback in San Francisco the
year he came out.
Speaker 5 (32:44):
I watched every snap of his collegiate play, and like.
Speaker 7 (32:53):
He was a phenomenal talent that in my opinion, didn't
have said an NFL pocket yet like he had at BYU,
he was launching it from about ten to eleven yards
deep and you're not in the phone booth in the
and so for my estimation, there was gonna be some
(33:15):
nuanced growth to his game.
Speaker 5 (33:18):
That I I think it is.
Speaker 7 (33:26):
Close to impossible to excel at that early in that
new form of football that he was playing.
Speaker 5 (33:37):
That's powerful to me in that.
Speaker 7 (33:41):
There's very few people that know what it's like to be.
Speaker 5 (33:44):
Be drafted high in New York City.
Speaker 7 (33:49):
And so then to see his resolve, to see where
he's digested the whole, the whole situation, and it's like
anything for all of us. Okay, if you have adversity
in your life, that can be a source of strength
(34:12):
and growth, or it could be a source of all Right,
that that's that's what defines you, and you can't get
over that. What I see in Zach is the experience
of being the second pick in the draft, being the
starter starter week one, and then not being not fulfilling
(34:33):
the rookie contract that.
Speaker 5 (34:35):
Is behind him. So what that to me?
Speaker 7 (34:39):
That's an exciting prospect, you know.
Speaker 5 (34:43):
Because that's there.
Speaker 7 (34:46):
You can't put a measurement on that human ability that
is huge at the quarterback position, not comparing the players
at all on the rec or not comparing the players
(35:07):
to a found to a found that this environment helped
him through that process. As coaches, we want to offer
literally everything to his game, and I'm excited about about
where he's at based upon him. To be quite frank,
(35:31):
it's an inexact science, but we thought that he was
the best option for us.
Speaker 5 (35:36):
He was, he was a direct, calculated target. We we we.
Speaker 8 (35:42):
Thought that that that was a way that the Miami
Dolphins could get better and are excited to see how
he seizes that opportunity.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
Pretty interesting and there was some very interesting stuff based
on the tape as well. I thought the Jets tape
was a non starter, but that Broncos tape showed you
that there could be something there, right, and it was
just preseason football. But you heard McDaniel essentially describe that. Now,
I personally thought the BYU tape didn't translate because of
the ten twelve yard drops that coach talked about there.
(36:13):
But I think when you consider what Mike would have
seen on tape with him in college, how it would
have fit into his offense. Now you add four years
of maturity and that resolved that Zach has demonstrated over
his you know, resuming his career beyond the Jets. I
imagine that's a coach that has, you know, shown proof
of concept for maximizing a talented quarterback. I mean, that's
what Dolphins fans wanted for years, right going back to
(36:34):
Ryan Tannehill and before that.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
So I get it.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
And again, to use this phrase again, football just requires
time to see if we are right or wrong. But
I think you can definitely explain the thinking behind that,
and that's really all we can ask for. And that
was a stitch together, two part answer if you couldn't tell.
But the follow up that led to the quote he
was a direct target for us was why not go
after a proven veteran, So Zach Wilson, you know, there's
(36:57):
a reason he was the first guy they agreed to
a deal with, right he was someone they prioritized. And
you can say that was the same thing true of
Scaler Thompson and Mike White, or you can look at
it through the lens of what they did with a
talented player and Tua previously. With that, all depends on
your prerogative. I guess are remain cautiously optimistic. So we
shall see a couple more here for you guys to
(37:17):
go ahead and hear about Kalais Campbell in the defensive
tackle position.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
Here's coach.
Speaker 7 (37:21):
He's a very important He's a very important player to
the team last year, and I see his I see
him having the opportunity to be a very important player
on the team this year. I also see within that
position group because of reasons of a competitive disadvantage that
(37:43):
I mentioned before, I can't this. I feel like we
have some options at the position. He has some options.
It is that position in particular has been you know,
a focal point you know of mine this off season,
(38:04):
and I feel good about how it could play out.
And there's a couple of different scenarios that could play out.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
I have a long audio clip here about Liam Miikenberg,
but I'm not going to play it because it's just
too long. But he did say that Liam is going
to have to be the by far the best version
of himself if he's going to start this year. So
that told me that the plan is to not have
him start, because the expectation shouldn't be that Liam becomes
a whole new football player if he does great. But
(38:31):
I imagine that you say that with the thought of, like,
if he works his butt off and beats out some guys,
he can earn that position. But it doesn't sound like he's,
you know, etched in pen by any stretch. Speaking of
guards that are probably etched in pen. Let's go ahead
and here lastly about James Daniels and the unique circumstances
that allowed Miami to pursue this very good player in
free agency.
Speaker 7 (38:51):
You know, through our vision of what we want to
get out of the offseason, it was going to take
a real strong reason and to sign a free agent
that that was coming off injury. And you know you're
in in off seasons there there's every year there's there's
(39:13):
good matches between player need and team need.
Speaker 5 (39:17):
And I think I feel super fortunate and super fired up.
Speaker 7 (39:23):
To get them, particularly because I know by experience, part
of the pros of the you know, the experience not
only my all my career, but being a head coach
is the value of having a U a free agent.
(39:43):
Was something to prove that that has a chip on
his shoulder that feels you know what, I'm not afraid
to say it was, you know, undervalued in my free
agent opportunity for something I couldn't control. I'm a better
player that overlaps and his system, the systems he has
(40:05):
been in and how smart a player is and value
to made him coming out of college. He can do
more as he works back with less on field than
a lot of guys would.
Speaker 5 (40:20):
Be able to.
Speaker 7 (40:21):
So it was a natural fit in the hunger. I
think we got a lot better with that with that sign.
Speaker 5 (40:29):
I'm fired up about it.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
If you can't tell, yeah, I mean I said it
on the Daniels Breakdown podcast that he was a better
player than Aaron Banks who got seventeen and a half
million per year, but that Daniels had the injury tag
that lowered his value or the perception of his value.
But yeah, I mean, smart athletic, It's no surprise this
guy was a big target, and I think there's a
lesson in that answer that nothing in the sport is
black and white. Like James being a smart player who's
(40:51):
played in the system before, it's probably not as imperative
that he gets all those spring reps because that combination
of things being true means he can get up to
speed fast. Okay, long podcast Wednesday, Charles Davis and I'll
do a deep dive on jday Barn, the Texas defensive back.
Until then, you all please be sure to subscribe to
the podcast, leave us a rating, and leave us a review.
Follow me on social at winkfle NFL. The team at
(41:13):
Miami Dolphins. Check out the fish Tank podcast with Seth
and Juice, the YouTube channel for Dolphins, HQ Media availabilities,
and so much more. Last, but not least, Miami Dolphins
dot Com. Until next time, Fins Up, Carolina, Cameron Daddy
Speaker 7 (41:25):
Just coming home.
What is up, Dolphans And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast.
I am your host, Travis Wingfield, and on today's show,
your boy husband to Palm Beach and back. I got
through two different accidents on the freeway. I wasn't involved
in the accidents, but they made my one hour commute
a two and a half hour commute.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Good thing.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
I planned for two and a half hours and made
it there and back to hear from head coach Mike McDaniel,
who addressed all kinds of topics, including the quarterback position too.
Was health Zach Wilson's signing the offensive line position, What
James Daniels means about instituting stricter policies for disciplinary actions
for players and culture building in the draft. Lots and
(00:49):
lots of content. In this episode, We're going to play
some sound bites from coach and then give you my
thoughts on those sound bites and get the heck out
of here from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist
Health Training Complex.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
This is the Drive Time podcast.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Heye, so yeah, early morning at the Breakers in Palm Beach, which,
by the way, I need to get out to that
golf course because my goodness, it is a thing of beauty.
But we had a lot of conversation with coach Mike McDaniel,
who gave the media about an hour of his time,
so very very appreciative of that. And as I was
putting together the episode with my Charles Davis interview, I'm like,
(01:25):
I've got more than a half hour of McDaniel content.
We'll go ahead and bump CD to Wednesday and do
this here off the top. Before we get to that, though,
I want to let you guys know ahead of time
that the Dolphins and myself have agreed to something of
a contract extension, if you want to call it that.
But the long story short here is your boy's not
going anywhere for a while. They like what I'm doing.
(01:47):
I like what I'm doing here for the team as well.
So Drivetime drives on here for the foreseeable future. Very
very excited about that and the future for the wingfields
here in South Florida. All right, so you guys remember
the theme across the player interviews right. In fact, I
want to go ahead and play some sound bites from
those player interviews because it's going to set up a
(02:08):
lot of what Coach McDaniel explained today at his media
availabilities with both national and local reporters here from the
South Florida market that we've talked about on the podcast
for the last couple of months as things that we felt,
I felt were really important notes to hit or moves
to operate under certain concepts and ideals of and one
(02:31):
of those things was creating competition. But the biggest part
of that competition aspect was to get guys who just loved, breathed,
lived football. And I want to go ahead, and just
I pulled my phone up, gonna make this a really quick,
crude sound drop in because it's just a faster way
to do it. And I don't think the quality loss
will be so much that it matters, but that's too
(02:53):
much inside baseball. Just gonna play some sound bites here
real quick from some of the guys I talked to
on the drive time interviews stand by football Man.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
And when I'm on the field, nothing else matters.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
There's so much things that watch that happen, certain plays
that if you you may watch the play three times,
you don't see it. And so like when I'm like
at home, like studying film, like I always try to
make sure like, Okay, I may understand this, but there's
a whole bunch of people like this is.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
Kind of a niche topic.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Not everyone understand this. So like if there's any type
of like even I even send like obvious stuff too,
Like if it's an obvious clip, I still send it, like, Hey,
this is a huge thing that people need to pay
attention to.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
So I'll take a video and look.
Speaker 6 (03:32):
At everybody fees off of that. So when you see
when you're making big plays or when anybody see somebody
getting ran over or just getting dominated, you know, it
just brings the juice. And you know, for me, the
game is all about juice, having juice, and the team
with the most juice wins at the end of the day.
So those sparks, you know, it's kind of like a
snowball effect when you see the moment, like there's just
(03:53):
a momentum, right people getting juiced up, you're making big plays,
and the momentum bills and you know then you just
become stop up before. So uh, whenever I can get
a little ten yard run and juice up the team,
it's always great.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Yeah. I do love for since I was a little kid.
You know, my dad's here. You know, we've been watching
football together.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
You know, we.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
He been training me for to be a football fair
like I said, ever since I was five, you know,
and growing up I didn't playing football every year. And
I got a younger brother now who's on the same path.
You know, he committed to South Carolina, and uh, this
is just this is what my family do and we
we love to play ball.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
So that was Willy Gay, James Daniels, Farrell Brown, and
k J. Britton.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
I mean, in the Willie Gay interview, I told him
there's been a theme around these guys, and you don't
have to hear the coach explain it to see that.
It's just dot in the eyes and crossing the t's,
which is the same concept that you'll hear coach talk
about here, something we've covered on this podcast several times.
And yes, this is one of those times where hey,
Travis is thrilled to get his point confirmed by the
head football coach. And I can hear my co host
(05:01):
and the radio show Seth Levitt talking about this and
laughing about this right now.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
But you'll hear from coach here.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
But what I've been saying about holes in the roster
construction for months about how it's not just the Dolphins
that have twenty or thirty impending free agents, it's the
entire league. So with that in mind, let's go ahead
and hear Coach's first response to a question about the
process of the team's offseason with the acquisitions, what it's
done to the roster, where it sets them up for
the draft. Here's Coach on the last month plus of evaluations,
(05:32):
roster construction, and what's gone down for your Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 7 (05:35):
This been going into year four and working with Chris
was very powerful in that we could, you know, really
every year specifically now where veteran contracts are getting shorter
and shorter, you know, posts their first contract or second
(05:57):
and third contracts are getting shorter, are having to solve
different problems, and you know, I think the way we've
attacked it directly relates to, you know, the lessons learned
both good and bad from.
Speaker 5 (06:13):
The two previous years.
Speaker 7 (06:15):
So when I talk about, you know, the vision that
I have, you know for our team in twenty twenty five,
that includes players that are uh on the upward ascension
of development, players that I think that we can further develop,
(06:36):
and that can contribute to a culture of uh, you know,
a team first mentality that wins down the stretch of
the season.
Speaker 5 (06:45):
So, you know, so far, so good. We still have
a lot of work.
Speaker 7 (06:49):
You know, free agency has gotten a little longer, so
to speak.
Speaker 5 (06:54):
In my opinion, I think that it gets drawn out.
Speaker 7 (06:57):
There's there's a lot of transactions early and then you know,
people are kind of trying to find their best fit.
We're in communication with some players and we have ten
draft picks, and those those guys are unique because you
have the ability to have a four to five year
contracted employee that you know, really really can influence the
(07:22):
character and culture of your team, you know.
Speaker 5 (07:26):
As you progress.
Speaker 7 (07:27):
So I'm really excited specifically for what we have done,
who the types of players that we've added, and uh,
the the scope of how we're going to address our needs.
And you know, I would love to tell you exactly
what what we're doing vaguely, Uh, I think that would
(07:51):
be a competitive disadvantage.
Speaker 5 (07:53):
So I think it is uh, so far, so good. Uh.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
In in lesser that line Man quote, the way we've
attacked it directly relates the lessons learned, both good and bad,
from the previous two years end quote, So you know
what is that? You know, I was thinking about my
thoughts from earlier offseason podcasts, and we talked about this
the first week after free agency. I think I did
a show last week about it, how the run game
had to get better, but in particular how you had
to be better off the perimeter. Insert Pharaoh Brown for
(08:21):
Durhama Smith, which I thought was a massive upgrade in
your outside running game. Insert Nick Westbrook Akine who totally
reinvents the way you can run the football in terms
of your blocking assignments from the wide receivers. They got
more physical with you know, Larry Boram and James Daniels,
even if only one of those guys starts with the
expectation that Jalien Right will play more this year as
a more of a one B compared to being a
(08:43):
three or four back, more physical because of his his
added element to the game. Here's what Coach said about
what those things were, and you know some of those
word things that Travis thought as well.
Speaker 7 (08:54):
It's the execution and the art of finding those things
every season. Of course, you're wanting to have reasons of
why you you the two previous years you've made the
playoffs and you didn't this past season. Outside of the
things that you can point to all the you know,
there's compounding variables and but the key component of football
(09:20):
teams of organizations is to find and attack things you
can get better at. Wellh I'm you know, I've met
a guy at the car wash that told me that
we need to be better at short yardage like and
guess what, like he's on the right track.
Speaker 5 (09:39):
To me, you don't.
Speaker 7 (09:41):
There's always things that you can We're good at other
things well, but.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
You make growth in those areas.
Speaker 7 (09:49):
You focus on those areas, and that's how your team develops,
and that's how teams win. And you know, I also
acknowledged that specifically from like literal reps as a fan
and a fully invested one. The last thing you see
(10:09):
is the Jets game, and then it's space. Well, from
that moment, that last press conference, that last locker room
meeting has been focused on fixing and moving forward. And
(10:30):
so like those scars that are very fresh for everybody,
that's twenty years ago to me because of where we
are in our process, which is ongoing, has a critical
component in the in the draft, but it's all in
(10:53):
the same vein of having a unit of people work
in concert to improve, get better, and that's.
Speaker 5 (11:02):
A strong tonality of the buildings each and every day.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
And then this part, you know, this is a culture
thing and I love it. Remember we had Kyle Crabs
on the podcast to outline some of his beliefs about
how this should go. In my goodness, he absolutely nailed it,
talking about the need for competition and pitting rookies versus
second contract guys that are still hungry, and Coach says, quote,
when I talk about the vision I have for our
team in twenty twenty five, that includes players that are
(11:26):
on an upward ascension of development that can contribute to
the culture of a team first mindset that helps you
wins game, win games down the stretch. And kJ Britt
is a guy that probably thinks he can do more
than he did his first contract. Pharaoh Brown talked about
his juice and some of the will he has to
win after playing for the Patriots and Seahawks last couple
of years. James Daniels is a guy that obviously prioritized
(11:47):
winning in a big way and chose to go to
the Steelers after the Bears, going from a team that
hasn't won a bunch to a team that has has
won a bunch of games. Now he gets to be
a good fit in an offense that could really use
his skill set. I mean really across the or you're
getting guys that fit that mold. Let's go ahead and
hear from Coach more about how that can help define
the culture and not just the guys you bring in
(12:08):
on the second contract, second and third contracts, but doing
that with the mindset that you know you're gonna have
ten draft picks, ten rookies possibly more from the UDFA class.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Who helps at that culture too?
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Because who is hungrier in the NFL than a player
that hasn't made any money yet, that hasn't proven themselves
with resume and film and tape and has a chance
to make a first impression. Those are the guys that
are going to typically should be the hungriest players out there,
and coach wants to pair all that together. Let's go
ahead and hear from Coach on the direct of this
offseason to improve the culture and get hungry football players
(12:39):
on the field.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
Culture is defined by the human beings.
Speaker 7 (12:43):
I think what's unique and I think could be something that.
Speaker 5 (12:48):
I don't know.
Speaker 7 (12:48):
If I investigated, I could write about is that there's
more roster turnover in the National Football League. Now there's more.
There's all our veteran contracts right or the smaller second
and third year contracts. We've seen a lot more three
years or two years or one year. So how do
(13:12):
you have a sustained culture? Well, it's by the people. Well,
draft classes, you know, not only have to be impactful
year one, your draft classes are also your four to
five year commitments that you have the ability to set
(13:32):
the tonality of how your team is or the culture
that it so.
Speaker 5 (13:37):
To me, I was very happy with last year's draft class.
Speaker 7 (13:42):
And we're working, you know, Chris and I are working
day and night to make sure we have this. We
have the same vigor about the opportunity with the ten
draft picks this year because you're talking about in two
years seventeen players that that you have a sustained process
(14:05):
in a league where with parody, it's all about development.
So we're trying to get the right guys to develop
as professionals, and their core value has to be team football,
football winning and they really have to get joy out
(14:27):
of that. That was a component that was consistent among
the different personalities we drafted last year. All these guys
were living and breathing football, and I think that's.
Speaker 5 (14:39):
Even more important as.
Speaker 7 (14:44):
Each team, all thirty two have a unique exercise.
Speaker 5 (14:50):
It has changed in the last couple of years, specifically.
Speaker 7 (14:54):
Of having your football team having an identity that progresses.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
While handling all the roster turnover.
Speaker 7 (15:08):
That's natural with all these shorter contracts that people are
signed up for. So it is I think that the
there's a The draft has always been fun.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
The draft has always been important.
Speaker 7 (15:22):
There's a unique twist to the draft now as I
see a big picture, and you know, very it's very
important that we that we not only take all the
things that we did well from last year and that
draft class, but we we have three more, We have
(15:44):
ten picks, and so that we we try to have
as many contributors to our football team and our culture
as possible with those with those draft picks.
Speaker 5 (15:57):
That we'll be here for a.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Minute back here after a short break, reacting to coach
McDaniel talking about the culture change and shift and cultivating
competition across all position spots and groups. It's not dissimilar
to what the Rams did under Sean McVay back in
twenty twenty three when it looked like a team that
was gonna have to like hard reset, And all I
(16:19):
did was soft reset with like thirteen draft picks and
then twenty seven udfas they gave them forty rookies going
into camp. They cultivated a certain style of player, a
certain culture. And now this is a Rams team that,
through good drafting, through good development of later round draft picks,
has a roster that can afford to go out and
pay Matthew Stafford's big contract, that can extend Puka Naku
(16:40):
when that time comes up here who can give you know,
Kobe Turner and Jared Vers, but they're gonna get here
eventually when their time comes up as well. And it's
a kind of a not just a philosophical shift, but
kind of a culture shift and how you build things.
And that draft pick commentary is just so fascinating to me,
and he's right, and that's why you do draft well,
hit on those picks, then pay those guys. And we
(17:01):
talked in the first Freegency podcast about how the Bills
and Eagles had done a good job of getting guys
done early, and the Bills just did it again with
Christian Benford early and we've seen that here with Tua
and Austin and Jalen Waddle, and we'll see about Phillips
coming up. But if you can do that, and you
compare that with signing the twenty five twenty six year
old who didn't play up to his draft billing in
that first contract and now he's hungry on a short
(17:21):
term slash prove it type of deal, that's the literal
iron sharpens iron definition. Well, not literally, but it's fostering
an environment like that. You reduce complacency, and you cultivate
situations where guys are straining constantly and where guys feel
like practice reps are putting their livelihood on the line
because it is right. And when you get that environment
(17:42):
in practice, well, that critical third and six in the
fourth quarter in November is not a new experience. He's
been through that before. I always joke with my golf buddies,
you know, I wish there was a way to get
me to care about missing putts on the practice screen
because the only time I ever get actual high stress
Birdie or Parr gotta make type of when you're on
the course is when you're on the course, and you
(18:02):
literally cannot replicate that outside of you know, putting money
on your putts with your pals on the practice green,
which we don't do. So the only real putts I
get are the ones in the round itself. So you
can create this sense of urgency on the football field
within players by making their playing time and as a result,
their paycheck dependent on how they play in those practices.
Speaker 5 (18:23):
Right.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
I don't think the process was necessarily bad last year
because you had a good football team on paper. But
we did go into camp with what competitions at like
the guard spots, rotational defensive tackle work, and that's about it, right.
There was a couple other spots maybe, but you knew
what the receiver room looked like to a certain extent,
you knew the tackles in the center, you knew about
the running backs, and you knew Ramsey and Fuller and
(18:44):
Coho and Holland Employer were your top five dbs. Like,
there just wasn't a lot of maybe the best man
win type of stuff. And that's not to say they
didn't compete, but I feel like fostering more of a
competitive environment won't just give you the best player for
the job.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
That's a great part to have from it.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
But we'll also prepare that play for the moments they'll
face in season because they can recall I had to
win this rep against Tyreek Hill to earn this spot
in the first place. Now let's go do it again
in a game situation. In fact, there was another question
about just that. He was asked about Storm Duck cam Smith,
the battle for that next cornerback job beyond Ramsey and
Cater Kohu, and the answer was through the lens of
(19:19):
once again, competition.
Speaker 5 (19:21):
Oh, everyone's competing. You know. I think that.
Speaker 7 (19:26):
What you know, what I think has will prove to
have the residuals to meet the expectations of you know,
everyone Dolphins, is that we were creating a unique environment
(19:47):
where competition is inherent. That you do not think as though,
oh I'm the starter because I'm annoided.
Speaker 5 (19:57):
You know, I think, uh, competition.
Speaker 7 (20:03):
Is a drive, driving force and motivated athletes becoming you know,
elite at their trade, and and within that we we
develop our games. So ultimately, the idea is to be
(20:23):
a much better team when the season ends. Then when
the way everyone that covers or sees the football team
that doesn't see the behind the scenes work thinks we
will be at this point because we're a team that
develops and players get better every year, and you have
(20:45):
to do that through competition. And there's a couple of
different afritues similar to the quite similar to the interior
defensive line market, where there's some options. But what I
what will be the furthest thing. I'll take the depth
chart that I have in my office to the magnets
and I might as well just splatter them like it
(21:08):
does like talk to me in August, because you know
that that that's the that's always been the mindset of
the program. But I think a re emphasis and focus
on on what that is is is the result of
the hard lessons of the three previous years when you
(21:32):
don't you know, every time you're not holding the thirty
one teams, Okay, how do we do that?
Speaker 5 (21:40):
And so every year you try to take.
Speaker 7 (21:44):
What you can from that and then and then press
forward and we will have competition and they will not
know I don't you guys can vote's reps that are
in front of us that are very important. They'll determine that.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Again, he mentioned options there and they said the same
thing about the offensive line back in Indianapolis. You know,
we feel good about a couple of guys we have
interest in with regards to getting a deal done, and
that's what this kind of sounds like to me. I'd
be pretty surprised if they went into August with just
Zach Sealer Benito Jones and then the cornerback room as
it is currently constructed. But we shall see. Now, I
(22:19):
sure think all of this is the right idea in theory.
I think they went back in assess and that's one
thing that I've always appreciated about coach McDaniels that they
do a great job in the offseason of seeing what
went wrong and trying to attack it with what they
see the best fit to do it, you know, for
the following season. And we saw it payoff big time
in twenty twenty three and to a certain extent last
year with how they were able to adapt to the
way teams covered them when they had their quarterback on
(22:41):
the field.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Otherwise was a different story.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
So but I think the idea is the right one,
and we're going to circle back to what kind of
you know, kicked off the entire necessity of all of
this and that presence of your best player causing some
issues at the end of last season by his comments
and actions. But first a follow up on what coach
said about the disciplinary actions or how to better enact
I guess more just discipline and resolve from this team
(23:07):
and how to do his part to enact the change
that he needs to elevate the culture that could hopefully
prevent something like that happening again in the future, even
if that player returns for his fourth season. Right, So
coach mentioned, you know, the act of being disciplinary and
affecting change within the locker room. And I think the
way you wrap this up is it sounds like the
Tyreek Hill situation, as you know, anything that went wrong
(23:29):
informed them for how to approach team building this time around,
and they're taking the action to improve the football team
through the lens with him remaining on the team. And
now is that set in stone. McDaniel did say that
they're fully planning to move forward with Tyreek on the
team this year. He did say they never want to
speak in absolutes, but that's more of a smart guy
just understand the nature of the business and covering his
(23:49):
bases that way to avoid being a freezing cold take.
But you can debate what the right call is here, right,
because I'm sure we all will, But I will say this,
you move Tyreek that receiver room, Suddenly there's a lot
more question marks because you have Waddle and then a
bunch of kind of unknowns with Westbrook A. Kine being
a good role guy on Malik Washington. But I guess
it could be auditioned by subtraction if you had the
(24:10):
same issues, and you could elevate Wattle to a more
prominent role. But you know, perhaps, but if you do that,
you are going to get You're gonna have to get
a big time contribution from a rookie eligible because you're
gonna have to go to the draft to find yourself
a tight end or a receiver that can be a
number like three option behind Wattle and John new Smith
or devone like you're gonna have. You can't just lop
off the star and then say we'll make it up
(24:31):
with you know, Taj Washington who's unproven, or Erica Zuokama
or Malik Washington for that matter. Like you know, you're
not just gonna be just fined. It can be an
addition in a certain way, but you have to address
that position. Still, I think you could have pivoted the
way you did things, and there's some clear signs towards
a pivot, just based on the moves that we've made
and the discussion that we had off the top. But
it came down to, you know, we have to fix
(24:51):
the culture, or at least that this aspect of it.
Can we do it while keeping Tyreek on the football team,
And it appears their answer to that question is yes,
And as a always the case in football, time will
prove them either right or wrong. Now, with regards to Reeke,
McDaniel did say that he's been in the building from
the end of the offseason to now more than he
had the previous three years combined. So take from that
(25:13):
what you will, but it seems like the high end,
you know, I guess the total optimistic outcome is you
get a refocused Tyreek who performs at his twenty twenty
three level and does it for a whole season, because
remember he did say that his attention to detail tailed
off at the end of that year for whatever reason,
and that could help you not just win football games,
but really reset that culture with your best player leading
(25:35):
by example and the total pessimist would say, you know
the guy that spends every waking minute on Twitter complaining
about Chris Career into a tongue bai loa, is that
he's a bad apple. The play tails off and it
blows up. As with all things, it's probably somewhere in
the middle, but I can certainly see the case being
made that tyreek Hill, with what you've invested in him,
the way you've built this offense around him, him playing
(25:55):
at his peak is far far more valuable than what
you would get in draft pick compensation. Now, is that
what I would do? I guess it doesn't matter what
I would do, but I have to believe that that's
the thinking there. And you heard Mike say something to
the effect of the reason we stay on this path
is our belief. And I do appreciate him having a
vision and seeing it through because this organization, you know,
in years of old, would either cut ties early or
(26:16):
just kind of maybe not have a vision in the
first place. But I feel twenty twenty five, no matter
what happens, is going to give you a good feel
on what is needed for twenty twenty six. Also with
tyreek Hill regarding his wrist, Mike McDaniel said that he'll
be available for pretty much everything in the off season
because it's mostly going to be conditioning for him and
the actual catching of passes will be able to ramp
up once training camp gets here. So it sounds like
(26:38):
all systems are go with him there. Let's go ahead
and take our last break, come back and talk about
the quarterback position, the offensive line, and Kalais Campbell all
of that. Next Drive Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield,
brought to you by Auto Nation to a talk for
the final segment here of our Monday, March thirty first podcast.
(27:00):
Let's go ahead and hear coach McDaniel on the measures
being taken to minimize risk for QB one, to a
tongue of by lab.
Speaker 5 (27:06):
I do have confidence based upon.
Speaker 7 (27:12):
Realistically it was every day he didn't play, which was
six and a half NFL weeks right that he didn't
play last season, And I don't want to speak too
much for him, but the stuff that are absolute fact
is he he's become the player who he is, which
(27:38):
is a consistently evolving, developing, improving, a sending player because
he recognizes.
Speaker 5 (27:50):
The world around him.
Speaker 7 (27:52):
He had to see the ramifications of his lack of availability. Firsthand,
there's a ton of ramifications that you know, the old
and wiser you get, the more you're able to okay
well consistent controllables. We can basically play put in the
(28:20):
cat his last you know, injuries of the last two
seasons that have made him there's been a consistency and
a variable that he can control. So start with jiu
jitsu and then now as he extends plays, prioritizing his
(28:45):
health over.
Speaker 5 (28:47):
A frustrated shoulder punch or whatever.
Speaker 7 (28:53):
I have all the confidence, based upon my observation of
everything preceding that he he's going to control those controllables
because it was a.
Speaker 5 (29:03):
Hard real he felt it all.
Speaker 7 (29:10):
And you know, I don't think the only way that
you can do right by anything.
Speaker 5 (29:22):
You learn from whatever that is.
Speaker 7 (29:25):
Wow, is he incentivized to try to stay on the
field and keep himself up of harm's way. Wow? Has
he proven to have a consistent theme of improving and
executing on things that I mean quite literally? You know,
(29:45):
it feels like he's every year he's in the off
season program and he comes out of it and he's
proving a you know, there was a deep ball thing.
Speaker 5 (29:58):
Question before than his.
Speaker 7 (30:03):
UH and his ability to extend plays, I mean the dudes.
So that's where the confidence comes from. He has to
do it. I feel like you know that. That's how
you work with UH, with players on your team and
any any person on the team, is you observe them
and you have you you empower those that that you know.
Speaker 5 (30:25):
I believe that he will do everything.
Speaker 7 (30:27):
It's football, But that's where the confidence comes from.
Speaker 5 (30:31):
I guess it comes from life and facts.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
The follow up to that question was do you want
him playing with more of that play extension style, staying
in the pocket?
Speaker 2 (30:39):
What's the outlook for Tua and twenty twenty five?
Speaker 7 (30:41):
No, that's the it's it's that's why it's so important
for coaches and players to communicate.
Speaker 5 (30:49):
To have a you know, quite literally.
Speaker 7 (30:53):
As a coach, you have to coach him to to
the vision of Okay, what, well, how do I do that?
Speaker 5 (30:57):
Coach?
Speaker 7 (30:58):
Well, it's the art of playing quarterback and utilizing, you know,
a different skill that he's done at times, but you
focus on is the art of knowing.
Speaker 5 (31:13):
When it's the time to take the risk of the
extra hitch.
Speaker 7 (31:19):
And only reserving that for a very specific time and
every other time. You know, it's a difficult task such
as uh, the nature of any franchise quarterback in the
National Football League, so it's something they have to really
articulate and go through and talk through expectations on certain plays.
(31:42):
So so guys can proactively play football, you.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
Don't want them, should I do something or not?
Speaker 7 (31:51):
And I think he'll you know, coach player relationship, coach Bevill,
Frank Smith and all the bogus slow they're all working
tourists making everyone have the same ends, which is a
healthy too.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
I like that answer, and I have nothing to add.
You cannot argue that to what has improved every off season.
And while this offseason it was more about finding ways
to create right, maybe that's an over calibration that needs
to go back to less playmaking because of the health risk.
But man, the quote about him sitting back and seeing
what his lack of availability meant to the team. I
like that because to if we keep you healthy, we're
(32:28):
going to the playoffs. That's basically how it goes. And
with his availability concerns, one other way you can get
back to the playoffs is if he gets hurt, have
a good backup quarterback that is Zach Wilson. What was
it about Zach Wilson that intrigued you?
Speaker 7 (32:39):
Coach McDaniel, We drafted a quarterback in San Francisco the
year he came out.
Speaker 5 (32:44):
I watched every snap of his collegiate play, and like.
Speaker 7 (32:53):
He was a phenomenal talent that in my opinion, didn't
have said an NFL pocket yet like he had at BYU,
he was launching it from about ten to eleven yards
deep and you're not in the phone booth in the
and so for my estimation, there was gonna be some
(33:15):
nuanced growth to his game.
Speaker 5 (33:18):
That I I think it is.
Speaker 7 (33:26):
Close to impossible to excel at that early in that
new form of football that he was playing.
Speaker 5 (33:37):
That's powerful to me in that.
Speaker 7 (33:41):
There's very few people that know what it's like to be.
Speaker 5 (33:44):
Be drafted high in New York City.
Speaker 7 (33:49):
And so then to see his resolve, to see where
he's digested the whole, the whole situation, and it's like
anything for all of us. Okay, if you have adversity
in your life, that can be a source of strength
(34:12):
and growth, or it could be a source of all Right,
that that's that's what defines you, and you can't get
over that. What I see in Zach is the experience
of being the second pick in the draft, being the
starter starter week one, and then not being not fulfilling
(34:33):
the rookie contract that.
Speaker 5 (34:35):
Is behind him. So what that to me?
Speaker 7 (34:39):
That's an exciting prospect, you know.
Speaker 5 (34:43):
Because that's there.
Speaker 7 (34:46):
You can't put a measurement on that human ability that
is huge at the quarterback position, not comparing the players
at all on the rec or not comparing the players
(35:07):
to a found to a found that this environment helped
him through that process. As coaches, we want to offer
literally everything to his game, and I'm excited about about
where he's at based upon him. To be quite frank,
(35:31):
it's an inexact science, but we thought that he was
the best option for us.
Speaker 5 (35:36):
He was, he was a direct, calculated target. We we we.
Speaker 8 (35:42):
Thought that that that was a way that the Miami
Dolphins could get better and are excited to see how
he seizes that opportunity.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
Pretty interesting and there was some very interesting stuff based
on the tape as well. I thought the Jets tape
was a non starter, but that Broncos tape showed you
that there could be something there, right, and it was
just preseason football. But you heard McDaniel essentially describe that. Now,
I personally thought the BYU tape didn't translate because of
the ten twelve yard drops that coach talked about there.
(36:13):
But I think when you consider what Mike would have
seen on tape with him in college, how it would
have fit into his offense. Now you add four years
of maturity and that resolved that Zach has demonstrated over
his you know, resuming his career beyond the Jets. I
imagine that's a coach that has, you know, shown proof
of concept for maximizing a talented quarterback. I mean, that's
what Dolphins fans wanted for years, right going back to
(36:34):
Ryan Tannehill and before that.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
So I get it.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
And again, to use this phrase again, football just requires
time to see if we are right or wrong. But
I think you can definitely explain the thinking behind that,
and that's really all we can ask for. And that
was a stitch together, two part answer if you couldn't tell.
But the follow up that led to the quote he
was a direct target for us was why not go
after a proven veteran, So Zach Wilson, you know, there's
(36:57):
a reason he was the first guy they agreed to
a deal with, right he was someone they prioritized. And
you can say that was the same thing true of
Scaler Thompson and Mike White, or you can look at
it through the lens of what they did with a
talented player and Tua previously. With that, all depends on
your prerogative. I guess are remain cautiously optimistic. So we
shall see a couple more here for you guys to
(37:17):
go ahead and hear about Kalais Campbell in the defensive
tackle position.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
Here's coach.
Speaker 7 (37:21):
He's a very important He's a very important player to
the team last year, and I see his I see
him having the opportunity to be a very important player
on the team this year. I also see within that
position group because of reasons of a competitive disadvantage that
(37:43):
I mentioned before, I can't this. I feel like we
have some options at the position. He has some options.
It is that position in particular has been you know,
a focal point you know of mine this off season,
(38:04):
and I feel good about how it could play out.
And there's a couple of different scenarios that could play out.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
I have a long audio clip here about Liam Miikenberg,
but I'm not going to play it because it's just
too long. But he did say that Liam is going
to have to be the by far the best version
of himself if he's going to start this year. So
that told me that the plan is to not have
him start, because the expectation shouldn't be that Liam becomes
a whole new football player if he does great. But
(38:31):
I imagine that you say that with the thought of, like,
if he works his butt off and beats out some guys,
he can earn that position. But it doesn't sound like he's,
you know, etched in pen by any stretch. Speaking of
guards that are probably etched in pen. Let's go ahead
and here lastly about James Daniels and the unique circumstances
that allowed Miami to pursue this very good player in
free agency.
Speaker 7 (38:51):
You know, through our vision of what we want to
get out of the offseason, it was going to take
a real strong reason and to sign a free agent
that that was coming off injury. And you know you're
in in off seasons there there's every year there's there's
(39:13):
good matches between player need and team need.
Speaker 5 (39:17):
And I think I feel super fortunate and super fired up.
Speaker 7 (39:23):
To get them, particularly because I know by experience, part
of the pros of the you know, the experience not
only my all my career, but being a head coach
is the value of having a U a free agent.
(39:43):
Was something to prove that that has a chip on
his shoulder that feels you know what, I'm not afraid
to say it was, you know, undervalued in my free
agent opportunity for something I couldn't control. I'm a better
player that overlaps and his system, the systems he has
(40:05):
been in and how smart a player is and value
to made him coming out of college. He can do
more as he works back with less on field than
a lot of guys would.
Speaker 5 (40:20):
Be able to.
Speaker 7 (40:21):
So it was a natural fit in the hunger. I
think we got a lot better with that with that sign.
Speaker 5 (40:29):
I'm fired up about it.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
If you can't tell, yeah, I mean I said it
on the Daniels Breakdown podcast that he was a better
player than Aaron Banks who got seventeen and a half
million per year, but that Daniels had the injury tag
that lowered his value or the perception of his value.
But yeah, I mean, smart athletic, It's no surprise this
guy was a big target, and I think there's a
lesson in that answer that nothing in the sport is
black and white. Like James being a smart player who's
(40:51):
played in the system before, it's probably not as imperative
that he gets all those spring reps because that combination
of things being true means he can get up to
speed fast. Okay, long podcast Wednesday, Charles Davis and I'll
do a deep dive on jday Barn, the Texas defensive back.
Until then, you all please be sure to subscribe to
the podcast, leave us a rating, and leave us a review.
Follow me on social at winkfle NFL. The team at
(41:13):
Miami Dolphins. Check out the fish Tank podcast with Seth
and Juice, the YouTube channel for Dolphins, HQ Media availabilities,
and so much more. Last, but not least, Miami Dolphins
dot Com. Until next time, Fins Up, Carolina, Cameron Daddy
Speaker 7 (41:25):
Just coming home.
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