SI Fan All Dolphins publisher Alain Poupart and columnist Omar Kelly preview the Miami Dolphins training camp with key questions at every position, assess the Connor Williams situation, debate more issues about quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, provide a couple of announcements, and more.
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00:00 Hi everyone, welcome to another episode of Pupar and Omar.
00:06 We're on YouTube.
00:07 Pupino!
00:08 We gotta come up with like a sexier name.
00:11 Pupino!
00:12 Okay, that's fine.
00:13 Anything, whatever you want to call us.
00:14 We don't care.
00:15 We're on YouTube under All Dolphins Podcast, wherever you find your podcasts under Miami
00:19 Dolphins Insider.
00:21 Today we're going to talk about the opening of training camp, which is this week with
00:25 veterans reporting.
00:26 On Tuesday, first off, let's discuss a couple of newsy items.
00:31 The first one, Agent Drew Rosenhaus saying on his weekly appearance on WSVN that Connor
00:36 Williams and Zach Seiler will be there for the start of training camp.
00:39 And the first reaction, of course, is this was to be expected because the CBO calls for
00:44 a daily fine of 50 grand for every day you miss in training camp.
00:48 And that cannot be rescinded.
00:50 So Chris Jones, Chris Jones and Casey's actually doing it.
00:55 But I'm thinking he's guessing he's signing a contract like, I don't know, 80, 90, 100
01:00 million.
01:01 So for him, 50,000 for a few days.
01:03 No biggie for most players.
01:05 They're not putting up with that fine.
01:07 Yeah.
01:08 When the players agreed to this new CBA deal that allowed them to smoke weed, which is
01:14 basically and and better pensions and better health care and weed, it's and less work in
01:22 the offseason.
01:23 In terms of in terms of the practice lengths and all that and and time at time at the facility.
01:31 OK, but more and less time at this facility.
01:33 But more importantly, weed.
01:37 It's you know, one of the one of the big drawbacks.
01:40 And I really don't understand why the NFLPA agreed to this was basically they obliterated
01:47 the ability for players to have holdouts.
01:49 Now, technically, what you can do is you can hold in.
01:54 You can show up for practice.
01:56 You do not have to participate.
01:58 So that is generally what players are doing.
02:01 We've seen that a number of times by Xavier Howard, who is the shakedown artist of the
02:05 century here for the Miami Dolphins and props to Xavier, because when a player has the leverage,
02:13 he needs to use it.
02:14 Now, Connor Williams tried to use his leverage by sitting out the offseason program.
02:19 I I understood why he sat out the offseason program.
02:23 I did not understand why he lost ninety thousand dollars subjecting himself to skipping mini
02:29 camp.
02:30 But hey, everybody makes their own decisions.
02:32 If you decide that you want to give away the price of a Mercedes or a new home down payment,
02:37 my God, be my guest.
02:40 The real issue is if I'm the Dolphins, if his price point is 10, is to be a top 10 paid
02:48 center, we can get a deal done.
02:51 If his price point is to be a top five paid center, I'll see you next offseason.
02:57 And that's the position I'm at.
02:58 OK, important point to make, because you mentioned X, the fines for missing the mandatory mini
03:05 camp in the offseason can be rescinded as it was for X in twenty twenty one.
03:09 So it's not impossible that the Dolphins and Connor Williams through Rosenhaus eventually
03:14 reach a deal where they'll be like, OK, race, race, race.
03:16 Don't worry about the mini camp.
03:19 Fine.
03:20 The fines per the CBA, the fines in training camp cannot be rescinded.
03:24 So that's fifty thousand dollars a day is going to stick, which is why I don't think
03:29 anybody expected Conor Williams to be there.
03:31 And as I wrote on all dolphins like Monday morning, the question now is, is he going
03:35 to be practicing?
03:36 That's that's that's going to be one of the storylines.
03:39 And that's very viable and possible.
03:41 If I'm if I'm Connor Williams strategically, I might not practice.
03:45 I might not practice for the first couple of weeks to run.
03:48 Armstead doesn't practice.
03:49 Why should I have to practice, especially when I'm assuming the risks right now?
03:53 If I'm Connor Williams, I might begin practicing the week before the exhibition season begins.
03:59 And and potentially that might be why the Dolphins worked Lee Heikenberg at center in
04:04 the season.
04:05 So where if they're in this situation where Connor Williams is like, I ain't practicing,
04:10 the Dolphins will say, no problem, we'll put Heikenberg over there.
04:13 And guess what?
04:14 If he plays well enough, he's going to wind up starting and we'll deal with you appropriately.
04:18 So other news item on this Monday morning, word out of Buffalo that Naheem Hines running
04:25 back out for the year in the injury suffered away from the facility.
04:29 What's that have to do with the Dolphins?
04:30 Well, because of the old Dalvin Cook situation.
04:34 Here's the thing, though, where I don't think we should immediately go one plus one equals
04:38 two is the bills.
04:40 Naheem Hines value to the bill was mostly as a returner.
04:44 If you remember, the game last year was against was in New England late in the year had to
04:47 kick off returns for touchdowns, I think in their first game back after the DeMar Hamlin
04:51 situation.
04:53 At running back, the bill still have James Cook, Dalvin's kid brother, Damian Harris,
04:58 who they sent in a free agent from the Patriots and Latavius Murray.
05:01 I don't think there's a crying need for them to go on and sign Dalvin Cook because they
05:04 lost things, but it's easy to make that jump.
05:08 It also what's important to address is the fact that word on the street is that Dalvin
05:15 Cook is not going to Buffalo because he would become a progress stopper for his brother,
05:20 who is the next star, who this is his opportunity to become the Buffalo Bills flagship back
05:26 featured back.
05:28 And if Dalvin Cook arrives, there goes that opportunity.
05:31 So that's why you've heard every team in the AFC East mentioned for Dalvin Cook and strongly
05:37 considered Dalvin Cook.
05:38 And I do believe that it is an AFC East bidding war, except for the Buffalo Bills.
05:44 The other thing with Dalvin Cook is last night, I think it was or yesterday, he put out a
05:49 mystery tweet where it's just an emoji of shades, which, of course, can lead Dolphin
05:54 fans to go up.
05:55 He's going to go somewhere where you need shades.
05:56 That's out Florida.
05:57 That's Miami.
05:58 Is this Dalvin Cook having some fun with Twitter folks?
06:01 Oh, I don't read emojis like that.
06:05 I just I can't I can't hash between what an emoji means.
06:12 I think in my opinion, I think Dalvin Cook is probably going to spend the next two weeks,
06:18 if not three weeks getting himself ready for training camp with Nick Hicks and then maybe
06:24 make a decision.
06:25 If you know, you could wait out the process probably till the first week of the exhibition
06:30 season and see if a back is battling an injury or suffers a setback and the team might get
06:35 desperate.
06:36 I I really don't see that happening at this point.
06:40 But I think either way, Dalvin Cook is fine.
06:42 Dalvin Cook could wait till week one of the exhibition season, I mean, regular season.
06:46 And I think he'll he'll find work.
06:49 I still say to me that the key spot to look at is the jets and what happens to Brice Hall,
06:53 who started training camp on PUP because the Jets, I think, have Super Bowl aspirations.
06:59 And I'm not sure they're getting there or it's realistic for them to get back with this
07:03 backfield minus Brice Hall.
07:05 OK, so let's jump unless you have something else you might want.
07:08 No, no, no.
07:09 We didn't mention it.
07:10 Need them on the PUP.
07:11 That's important from this.
07:12 Right.
07:13 Sorry.
07:14 So my bad, my bad.
07:15 How do you forget Superstar?
07:16 This that's important from this standpoint.
07:22 There are three players that are battling injuries that possibly had the potential to
07:26 begin the season on the PUP.
07:30 Brandon Jones, Nick Needham and Williams, the safety.
07:37 What is it?
07:38 Earl Williams.
07:39 Troy Williams.
07:40 Yes.
07:41 And then we have Ron Armstead, who may or may not have had offseason surgery.
07:44 Oh, you think Ron Armstead might begin the season on a PUP?
07:49 He just he just posted a tweet that he is going to not only be the best Dolphins player
07:53 on the team for his birthday, but he's going to he's going to be one of the best players
07:59 in the NFL.
08:00 Now, mind you, I can't argue with that.
08:03 I mean, I mean, it's hard to say you're better than Tyreek Hill, but you might be just as
08:11 important, if not more important than Tyreek Hill.
08:14 Tyreek Hill is a very important player.
08:16 Top five, easily top 10 player in the NFL.
08:20 Ron Armstead is very important player to the Miami Dolphins.
08:23 I mean, season goes flushable potentially if he's not there.
08:29 So I love the tweet.
08:31 I love the confidence.
08:34 Let's see.
08:35 But you say PPUP?
08:36 Oh, I said I said, would you be floored if he began on PUP?
08:40 Again, here's the thing that people need to understand.
08:43 If you start off on active PUP, you can that means you're just not ready to practice up
08:47 to start.
08:48 You can come off PUP anytime.
08:50 It happens any day.
08:51 Usually we get the notification like eight o'clock in the morning and boom and they're
08:54 on the practice field.
08:56 Not the same as reserve PUP, which means you're out for the first month of the regular season.
09:00 And this is why all those lists with it has the word active and you and you count against
09:04 the roster, but you can come off it any old time.
09:07 So what it would I'm not saying he will.
09:09 I'm saying it would.
09:10 Would it floor me?
09:11 No, I wouldn't floor me.
09:13 Which one did which one would Nick Needham start on?
09:15 He's on active.
09:16 He's on active PUP.
09:18 OK, that's pretty encouraging from the Achilles.
09:22 I'm I'm I'm going to be on Brandon Jones watch from this standpoint.
09:27 I think Troy Williams is ready to begin practicing.
09:29 He suffered his injury back in all in in August, August, whereas Nick Needham and Brandon Jones,
09:38 they both suffered their injury in late October.
09:41 That's going to be a little bit tricky, I think, in the Achilles.
09:43 From what I understand from players in the Achilles is way more challenging than an ACL.
09:49 So that justifies why why Nick Needham is a little bit behind Brandon Jones.
09:54 I'm very curious to see what Brandon Jones is all about and what's going to happen with
09:59 the safety position.
10:00 But it hints to me why I brought it up that Troy Williams and Brandon Jones might begin
10:05 training camp active.
10:06 Well, and and usually what happens with those things, as you know, Omar, is player the veterans
10:12 report on the day they're scheduled to report.
10:14 They go through the physical.
10:16 And this is when you see usually on that particular day, three or four guys, some teams have five
10:20 guys winding up on PUP.
10:23 So whether the Dolphins, they were aware of this with Needham, they didn't wait until
10:26 reporting day.
10:27 They did it, you know, last week.
10:29 OK, I thought it makes a huge difference, but it's, you know.
10:33 Yeah, but also we make the point of the injured guys are here working.
10:38 They're rehabbing.
10:39 They don't get a good month off in the in the program.
10:42 So they know where Brandon Jones is.
10:45 They know where Troy Williams is.
10:46 Troy Williams last week, I believe, tweeted out, got the green light.
10:51 So OK, so I'll see.
10:53 No, which would be good news, because we both talked about how intriguing we find the guy.
10:58 OK, so let's move on to our storylines of training camp, unless there is something else
11:01 you'd like to discuss.
11:02 There is absolutely something else that I would like to address.
11:07 And what might that be?
11:09 Well, in our last podcast, we had a very healthy.
11:15 And I think we do need a 12 round discussion.
11:19 I think we do need a 12 round discussion about where Tua Tonga Wailoa is as a quarterback.
11:28 What are our concerns?
11:29 What are our reservations?
11:30 This is not now.
11:31 This is not what we're going to do now.
11:34 However, we talked about Tua and where his standing was and where what his strengths
11:39 were.
11:40 And you made two statements that really troubled me and perplexed me.
11:47 The first was you bragged that, hey, I wouldn't argue.
11:51 I did not brag.
11:52 I don't brag.
11:53 Go ahead.
11:54 I'm sorry.
11:55 Go ahead.
11:56 I braved it in my face that I wouldn't rank Tua in my top 10.
12:02 I would say conservatively, I was saying conservatively, he's clearly a top 15 quarterback.
12:10 He's in my top 50, but I wouldn't say he's in my top 10.
12:13 And the only reason I wouldn't say he's in my top 10 is because I didn't sit down this
12:17 off season and ranked it how I usually rank it.
12:21 And when I finally did, and you could find that on all dolphins.com, I said Tua was my
12:28 14th ranked quarterback.
12:30 Now you could look at the list.
12:32 Please do before you get your panties in a bunch.
12:36 Everybody look at the list.
12:37 I understand that I grouped everybody up.
12:40 The elites with their fall from grace guys were still ahead of Tua.
12:45 Yes, I put Russell Wilson ahead of Tua.
12:47 I'm sorry.
12:48 Russell Wilson's headed to the hall of fame.
12:50 If he just gets two more seasons like he had in Seattle.
12:55 So Tua is not a hall of fame quarterback right now.
12:58 If you want to say that you'd be lying to yourself.
13:02 Could he be?
13:03 Absolutely.
13:04 Then I still have guys like Dak Prescott, Derek Carr, and yes, Justin Herbert ahead
13:13 of Tua.
13:14 I ranked Justin Herbert ahead of Tua and I explained it.
13:17 If we're just, I would still pick, I know, don't even say anything.
13:21 I don't want a word from you.
13:24 I would still pick Tua over Justin Herbert.
13:28 But if you're asking to me, give this quarterback the exact same team from a skill set standpoint,
13:35 from a health standpoint, I would be a moron if I picked Tua over Herbert.
13:41 Now do I think Tua will have a better career than Herbert?
13:43 I absolutely still believe that.
13:46 Now he's 14.
13:48 Can he get up into the top 10?
13:50 Yes.
13:51 Can he get up into the top five, which is my expectation for Tua this season.
13:56 And I've said that since 2020 before the Dolphins drafted him, I think he's going to be an elite
14:02 quarterback.
14:03 And the reason that I think he's going to be elite quarterback is because he has elite
14:06 traits.
14:07 Now this gets to our second point of the discussion where Mr. Alain Poupard will give Tua a lot
14:17 of credit and will tell you where Tua is elite.
14:21 Please tell the people where Tua is elite in your opinion as a quarterback.
14:24 Okay.
14:25 And this conversation stemmed, this is what a, like a Twitter back and forth with fans
14:29 who were all up in arms because you were, you, you have him as elite in pocket presence
14:35 showing me one player where he, he moves up in the pocket to avoid the rush.
14:40 Where I would make the argument.
14:43 You could, you could get that with every single solitary quarterback that does not.
14:47 Not Ryan Tannehill.
14:48 Is the bar really Ryan Tannehill for pocket presence?
14:52 Come on.
14:53 And that's the thing.
14:54 I think it's pocket presence.
14:56 It's fine.
14:57 I wouldn't call it elite.
14:58 Fine.
14:59 Fine.
15:00 It's fine.
15:01 It's B. It's B.
15:02 Where I would think where, where, where I would rank Tua as elite is short, short range
15:08 accuracy, intermediate range, accuracy, release and touch.
15:15 He throws, he throws like the feather ball over the linebacker.
15:18 Okay.
15:19 Absolutely beautiful.
15:21 Absolutely beautiful.
15:23 And the release is very quick and he gets it out.
15:25 Okay.
15:26 So that's four areas.
15:28 Okay.
15:29 And the other, the other part where I didn't brag, I have not done a one to 20 ranking.
15:35 Shame on me.
15:36 I should do one and I should post it, especially since you did one.
15:39 What I said is the way I've seen it is I see eight or nine quarterbacks clearly better than
15:46 Tua and yes, that includes Justin Herbert.
15:49 And then, but, but, and I would have no issue putting Tua anywhere in the next cluster,
15:55 whether from like 10 to 15.
15:57 So if somebody wants to put them at 10 off the top of my head, I don't have like an,
16:01 I don't think it's outrageous.
16:02 I think it's outrageous to put them at five right now.
16:05 That Prescott.
16:06 I'm not, I, very even, I actually think Tua might be better.
16:11 I'm not a huge Dak Prescott.
16:12 Derek Carr.
16:13 Close to even.
16:14 Who are you picking?
16:24 Based on because, because Tua has a higher ceiling, I think I might put Derek, I might
16:27 put Tua higher.
16:28 Cause I think Derek Carr can get frazzled.
16:30 I would not.
16:31 That's the issue with Derek Carr.
16:32 Derek Carr throws a really nice ball, but he can get rattled.
16:36 Okay.
16:37 And I've seen it many times.
16:39 Is Matt Stafford in your top eight?
16:42 Yes.
16:43 Again, this is obviously guys being healthy.
16:45 Matt Stafford's a hell of a quarterback.
16:47 Last year he had problems with his elbow.
16:49 If his elbow was all messed up.
16:50 No, obviously.
16:51 Russell Wilson.
16:52 I'd probably put Russell Wilson ahead.
16:57 Again, understanding that this is where, you know, Tua fans are going to be like, Russell
17:02 Wilson sucked last year.
17:03 Yes, he did.
17:04 Okay.
17:05 One year.
17:06 Tua was great for one year.
17:07 Correct.
17:08 Russell was great for nine years.
17:09 And that's the same with Aaron Rodgers.
17:10 I happen to think Aaron Rodgers is probably top five, top six right now, even though he
17:14 did not have a great 2022 season.
17:17 Because oh, by the way, he was MVP in 2020 and 2021.
17:21 Deshaun Watson.
17:24 If I'm going back to if it's Houston, Deshaun Watson.
17:26 Yeah.
17:27 And of course, absolutely the argument can be made that he looked horrible last year.
17:31 Yes, he did.
17:32 He hadn't played in one year.
17:33 Correct.
17:34 I think he had one good year.
17:35 I think the best of what we've seen of Deshaun Watson so far is better than with the best
17:39 of what we've seen from Tua.
17:41 Now, like you said, yeah, absolutely.
17:43 Tua can move up.
17:46 Can he move up to top five?
17:47 We'll see.
17:49 And this is where you the difference between you and I, where right now I may again, if
17:53 I if I sit down and do a comprehensive ranking of the top 20 quarterbacks, my guess I'll
18:00 probably have to close to where you have it, maybe maybe 12 or 13, maybe a little bit higher.
18:05 You're adamant that he's moving way up this year.
18:07 I want to see it.
18:08 That's that's one difference that you and I have.
18:10 He was a number one rated quarterback in the NFL.
18:12 And let's again, Brian Tannehill was a number one rated quarterback in the NFL.
18:16 So was Nick Foles.
18:17 I know we keep going on this and I have against people on Twitter.
18:20 He was number one in the NFL.
18:21 The first year in the offense is the first time he's ever going to have the same offense
18:25 since his high school days.
18:27 Justin Herbert had a different offense six consecutive years.
18:31 It happens.
18:32 OK, it's the NFL.
18:33 It happens.
18:34 And the point I was going to make before.
18:35 Hold on.
18:36 The point I was going to make before with this whole thing of like he was number one
18:38 in the NFL and rating passes of 20 yards.
18:41 Dude, I literally sat down over the weekend.
18:44 Did this a project of mine just to try to be fair?
18:47 Did Mize deceive me?
18:48 Do I have this thing against two for some reason?
18:51 Let me rewatch to NFL plus every single completion of 20 yards or more last year that two had.
18:58 And as I said last last week, the Times were his receivers.
19:03 Literally the first one of the seasons against New England, it's a Tyree kill.
19:06 And the announcer, I think it was Kevin Harland's like the first words out of his mouth were
19:10 wide open.
19:11 And you see it's it's Tyree kill on the left side.
19:14 And I and I sent you that that clip and you told me to to a found him.
19:19 Yeah, he had protection of the wazoo.
19:22 Tyree kill has an umbrella of like five yards.
19:25 Nobody around him.
19:26 That's an easy pitch and catch that.
19:28 And every quarterback gets five throws like that again.
19:32 So your point, my point is that the six to say to had the best passer rating on like
19:40 the deep throws, which is 20 yards or more.
19:41 It's not over the top.
19:43 Number one of 20 yards or more by itself is misleading if you don't bring up the fact
19:48 that Dolphins are the two fastest wide receivers in the NFL and they were wide open half the
19:52 season and now they got the three fastest wide receivers in the NFL.
19:55 Are you going to are you going to are you going to just discredit everything that he
19:59 does because no, nor did I discredit everything he did last year.
20:02 I said and I'll say it again.
20:04 He had a very good 2022 season.
20:06 Let okay, hold on.
20:08 Let's put a pin in because we will have this 12 round discussion before we begin the regular
20:13 season.
20:14 We will do this.
20:16 But where we sit, where we divide is you give to a four elite traits.
20:21 I give him five and the fifth is pocket presence and he's had this since college.
20:29 The issue where you say it's not elite.
20:33 I understand and there's validity to it and it goes back to what Nick Saban said about
20:38 him when he was coming out in college.
20:40 Nick Saban's only concern when two was coming out from Alabama was he has a tendency to
20:46 hold on to the ball too long and it puts him in harm's way at risk.
20:52 This is a valid concern.
20:53 It has been a valid concern his entire career and every time he gets hurt, it's because
20:58 he's holding on to the ball too long and he holds on to the ball too long because he does
21:02 have that spidey sense and that sixth sense of feeling pressure stepping up.
21:07 I'm not saying he's Dan Marino, but he is very good at movement, movement up and down
21:13 and evading in the pocket pressure.
21:15 Yes.
21:16 Is he going to get walloped from time to time?
21:18 Yes, he does.
21:19 Dan Marino got walloped from time to time.
21:23 I can hear where you're coming from.
21:25 It's not elite.
21:26 It is good though.
21:28 Now can it be elite if he just- Wait, you just started your point here by
21:34 saying it was elite.
21:35 It is elite.
21:36 It is elite.
21:38 It can be elite.
21:39 No, there's a difference between it can be, because now you're agreeing with me that it's
21:43 not elite.
21:44 It is very, very, very close to elite.
21:49 It is extremely promising.
21:53 Now can he speed that up a little bit?
21:56 I think he personally takes for granted that he's got this pocket presence that he always
22:02 has the knack for finding a way and that puts him in harm's way.
22:06 If he can curtail that a little bit and find some common ground, I think it will enter
22:11 the elite stratosphere.
22:12 Whereas you see it as, "Oh, well, he's just going to keep doing it and he's going to get
22:17 hurt."
22:18 There's some validity to that.
22:19 I never said that.
22:20 I just said, again, if you're going to show me clips of guys moving up and down in the
22:25 pocket, every quarterback does that.
22:28 Not right, I know.
22:31 Poor Ryan, man.
22:33 Jesus.
22:34 No, okay.
22:35 Sorry.
22:36 Three quarters of the NFL starting quarterbacks does that.
22:40 Here's the other thing too, is I see that.
22:43 I shouldn't even go there, but I'm going to go there anyway.
22:45 I am manipulation.
22:46 You've covered the NFL a long time.
22:49 Tell me if that's not looking off a receiver.
22:51 That's what I manipulation is.
22:53 Guess what?
22:54 That's quarterback 101.
22:55 You're not supposed to stare down your receiver.
22:57 You're supposed to look to the side to influence the safety and then create a lane.
23:02 How many quarterbacks do that or don't do that?
23:05 Come on.
23:06 It's not unique.
23:07 Again, this is why for me, the elite traits where Tua stands out among other-
23:14 Yeah, that I will admit.
23:15 The I manipulation, that's not an elite trait for Tua.
23:20 He does it from time to time and he does it well, but every quarterback, it's quarterback
23:24 101.
23:25 It's not an elite trait.
23:27 It's called looking off a receiver.
23:28 Jesus.
23:29 He's an RPO quarterback and there's no shame in being an RPO quarterback.
23:33 RPO is taking over the college game.
23:35 It's going to infiltrate.
23:36 It has infiltrated the NFL and I think they're incorporating more RPOs into this offense because
23:42 it's not part of what Mike McDaniel grew up on to cater to Tua.
23:47 I think it is to his skill set and it is to his strength.
23:51 I've always, when the Dolphins drafted Tua, I looked at Tua.
23:56 He's a phenomenal RPO quarterback.
23:58 They make film breakups and teach high school and college players about the RPO using Tua,
24:06 not Mack Jones, using Tua as this is the prototype.
24:11 I know this because I have friends who are college and high school coaches and offensive.
24:16 There is a blueprint for the RPO and Tua is the prototype in terms of decision-making,
24:22 eye placement and all that good stuff, but that's over there.
24:28 My hope is that he will grow into an elite pocket presence quarterback.
24:33 He has everything that he needs.
24:34 Now that he's added this muscle and body and bigger shoulders and broader neck and all
24:40 this kind of stuff, it'll help him become more durable.
24:43 But does he need to get the ball out of his hand more often and not take for granted that
24:46 he's got good pocket presence?
24:49 Okay, I said good, not elite.
24:51 Yes, he does.
24:53 Okay, but that, and to me, I don't know if the idea of like knowing when to give up on
24:58 a play is, I don't know if it's more decision-making than pocket presence.
25:03 There are times when stop being so stubborn.
25:06 There's nothing there.
25:07 It's okay.
25:08 Especially if on non-thirds down.
25:09 There's always something there for him.
25:11 He always feels like he can get something and that's the problem.
25:16 This is where he gets in trouble.
25:17 By the way, I will add another elite trait to him, throwing over the middle.
25:20 He throws over the middle extremely well.
25:23 Okay.
25:24 Are you fighting me on saying something I'm saying Tua does?
25:29 I'm not gifting him anything.
25:33 You're a Tua hater.
25:36 If you say anything negative about Tua, you're a Tua hater.
25:39 Not me.
25:40 He's a Tua hater.
25:41 Yes.
25:42 Okay.
25:43 We good?
25:44 Can we move on to the training camp, our training camp?
25:45 We will, but we're going to do these 12 rounds, but I want us to actually have watched some
25:50 exhibition season, watch some training camp practice, be able to assess the growth.
25:55 And I want to see the growth with Tyreek.
25:57 Not what we saw in past mini camp, because you know the game changes when Tyreek's on
26:02 the field.
26:03 Like everybody's in a panic.
26:05 So when we see him with Tyreek and with Chosen and with Waddle, I totally forgot Waddle's
26:11 name and maybe with Cook, we'll assess.
26:16 Okay.
26:17 We will.
26:18 And yeah, as a programming note, yeah, we will be doing a podcast.
26:25 Tell the people what the plan is, Pooh.
26:26 The plan is to do a podcast after each and every single solitary practice with maybe
26:32 even episodes in between on days off to recap.
26:36 The week.
26:37 Oh, we'll definitely do a recap of the week.
26:39 Maybe answer some questions.
26:40 Here's the thing.
26:41 We're going to play this by ear.
26:44 And if you want something as a listener or you want to do something, we're making this
26:50 up as we go.
26:51 And if you're not listening to the podcast on a daily basis, we're not going to do podcasts
26:56 on a daily basis.
26:57 So that's just the reality of it.
27:01 I think we will be on the ground, eyes and ears for you as a fans.
27:07 We have been for years.
27:09 Everybody knows how I rock in training camp.
27:12 It's my favorite time of year.
27:14 It's like Christmas for me.
27:16 And I will be there rocking.
27:19 And I've been for those who follow me for years, you know, the only eyes that are out
27:23 of practice that I ever trusted for 15 years is Alan Pooh Park, which is why we're here,
27:29 which is why we're doing this podcast.
27:31 Who part watches practice like a hawk like I do.
27:34 We cross check everything.
27:36 So you know where you're going to get the best training camp coverage.
27:40 So I will say this open platform.
27:43 If there's something that you want from training camp, put it in the comment section of this
27:48 year podcast and we shall discuss it and more than likely deliver it.
27:53 Yep.
27:54 And we will have yet another quick program.
27:56 Bring a note.
27:57 And we also, when we say we'll be at every training camp practice, we will be in Houston
28:00 as well.
28:01 Both Omar and I are going to be in Houston.
28:05 So subscribe, download, like what else is there to do on a podcast or subscribe, download,
28:09 like anything else that doesn't want to find us the written work part.
28:13 If that's on all dolphins dot com bookmark it, please.
28:18 Yeah.
28:19 Make sure you check it on a daily basis.
28:21 OK, so now back to the fun here.
28:25 Training camp will go quickly position by position.
28:28 What to look for a quarterback.
28:29 What I want to see is Mike White.
28:31 I want to see Mike White impress me because I am still of the opinion.
28:37 I am still of the opinion, even though I know that Schuyler Thompson has his group of fans
28:43 and all that, I am still of the opinion that it's a group of fans.
28:48 Sorry, Schuyler Thompson has a group of fans.
28:51 He does.
28:52 But he does who would think he's he could make the move for the number two job.
28:57 I think it's Mike White's job all the way.
28:59 I want to be impressed.
29:00 Dare I say I want to be dazzled.
29:02 Maybe not dazzled.
29:03 I want to be impressed to where I'm going to feel comfortable heading into the regular
29:06 season that the Dolphins are in good hands if something happens to two of them.
29:10 OK, I am going to slow down on the Mike White slander, which I have been accused of.
29:17 I will say.
29:18 I see a training camp battle.
29:21 I'm not impressed with Mike White's arm.
29:23 He's got the worst of the three quarterbacks.
29:27 We'll see how it progresses.
29:29 We got a whole exhibition season.
29:31 Let me let me let me bring it to the quarterback, to the wide receiver position.
29:35 Here's what I'm looking for in camp.
29:38 Hand Braxton burials, Luce and Robbie chosen stronghold on the number three position because
29:44 I think that's the only contender unless Eric Uzucama just comes out of nowhere and is absolutely
29:51 dominant with the number two quarterback.
29:53 And the team has like, oh, well, we got to call him up.
29:57 Chosen is.
29:59 Chosen look good and he's absolutely motivated.
30:02 I'm curious to see how that plays out.
30:04 Yeah, I'm bringing up Braxton burials.
30:09 That's a slot receiver.
30:10 If the Dolphins feel like, hey, we need a slot receiver instead of moving Tyreek inside
30:14 to the slot or Waddell inside to the slot on those three third on those three receiver
30:19 sets, then Braxton burials is in the money.
30:22 But Chosen also played slot.
30:24 Well, correct.
30:25 But to me, it's just more and more and more options for Mike McDaniel where I could see,
30:30 you know, I could see a bunch of guys playing in the slot at different times.
30:33 And, you know, Hill and Waddell are going to be on the field as much as they physically
30:37 can.
30:38 So I can see Chosen and burials getting the rest and running back to one thing is we're
30:42 we're we're getting there and running back to me.
30:47 I want to see Devon A-Chain and exactly how they use them.
30:50 We know what we have in most Wilson, Ahmed, Gaskin, obviously, if Dablan Cook comes in
30:55 at some point, it's a whole different story.
30:57 But for now, I want to see Devon A-Chain and how the Dolphins can utilize them.
31:02 Let me let me give you one thing about Devon A-Chain.
31:05 And I've said this on the Joe Roche show.
31:07 And for those who don't know, I'm going to be part of the WQA and pregame show.
31:13 That's an announcement.
31:14 Devon A-Chain, I'm going to be looking forward to one particular day in practice.
31:20 And that's that one day in practice where they're doing one on one individual work.
31:25 And Devon A-Chain has to do a blocking protection of the blitzing linebacker.
31:32 Backs on backers.
31:33 Backs on, yeah, exactly.
31:35 Backs on backers.
31:36 Backs on backers.
31:37 Huh?
31:38 What is it?
31:40 Backs on backers.
31:42 Yes.
31:43 If he can't hold up, he can't play for me.
31:46 Not in year one.
31:47 And I don't know if he can or if he can't.
31:49 So we'll see.
31:50 No, that's a that's a valid point because you put him in the game.
31:53 Although I don't know exactly how many times he's going to be asked to protect against
31:58 the blitzing linebacker.
32:00 But you certainly like to have him have that ability.
32:02 I don't know that they would completely make him a wash if he doesn't do it.
32:05 But yeah, that's something very important.
32:07 I'm not saying wash.
32:08 Red shirt.
32:09 Not wash.
32:10 Well, I'm sure that's a wash.
32:12 I think he's going to be a gunner year one.
32:14 The amount of special teams work that I saw him do during practice, they definitely plan
32:19 on making him a gunner and probably the kickoff return.
32:24 And that for me would be a disappointing if that's all he does, that would be a disappointing
32:26 rookie season for a third round pick on a team that had four picks.
32:30 OK, tight ends.
32:32 Give me one second.
32:33 Go do your tight ends.
32:34 I'll be right back.
32:35 OK, so tight ends.
32:37 What I want to see is very simple.
32:39 Can anybody there emerge as a pass catching threat among the group that includes Durham
32:44 Smythe, Eric Saubert, Tyler Croft, rookie six round pick Elijah, Elijah Higgins from
32:51 Stanford who like Tanner Connors, a converted wide receiver making the transition.
32:57 It's entirely possible that none of those guys will emerge as a pass catching threat
33:01 at tight end.
33:03 And that's fine.
33:04 You know why?
33:05 Because last year the Dolphins didn't really have anybody who was a major factor in the
33:07 passing game.
33:08 And that included Mike Giesicki.
33:09 The offense is built around the wide receiver and then even the speed at running back.
33:14 Here's my question and concern about the tight end position, which I think is going to be
33:17 minimized.
33:19 We know who Durham Smythe is as a blocker.
33:24 Top shelf.
33:26 Can somebody else give me that blocking and a little bit more of a pass catching threat?
33:31 I don't know.
33:32 I definitely know it's not one of the wide receiver converts.
33:35 Now the question is, can somebody else, Eric Saubert or Tyler Croft, can somebody else
33:42 give me a little bit more than what Durham Smythe can?
33:45 If not, we're just, we're just putting a pin in this position.
33:49 We're just stop gapping it and we're just making do with what we got.
33:53 Because I don't see anybody becoming a 30 catch tight end this season.
33:59 No I could see that.
34:00 Offline we already spoke about Connor Williams and Willy Wanda practicing.
34:04 Obviously the other thing is how does Austin Jackson look at right tackle?
34:07 That's the other key factor.
34:09 What winds up happening at left guard?
34:10 It doesn't really matter because he's going to start the season at right tackle.
34:13 Austin Jackson?
34:14 Yeah.
34:15 No, but I understand that, but you want to, you want to develop a little bit of a level
34:19 of confidence that he's going to get the job done.
34:21 Do you not?
34:22 You know what?
34:23 No, I don't.
34:24 No, I'm, I'm when the bullets are live and real, we'll know about Austin Jackson in,
34:29 in September and then we'll probably be moving on in October.
34:34 What my concern is for that offensive tackle position is I need to know that there's somebody
34:41 competent and capable of holding it down for Toronto Armstead when he sits out all of training
34:47 camp and all of the exhibition season, we're talking about 800 plus snaps that somebody's
34:53 got to go and block to us.
34:56 No, not blindside.
34:57 Block that play that left tackle spot with starters.
35:00 I need to know if somebody's capable of doing it.
35:03 Anybody, somebody, anybody screen whether it's Isaiah Wayne, I don't know where he's
35:08 going to be in the, in the left tackle.
35:10 I think he's the swing man, left tackle and left guard.
35:12 He's going to play on that side, which snaps who knows.
35:16 What'd you say?
35:19 Cedric would be another possibility.
35:21 No, I think he wants to play right tackle.
35:23 He's, he was very clear.
35:24 And he can, he can want, he can want whatever he wants, but I think the Dolphins definitely
35:29 going to give him a look over there again, if it's not going to be Isaiah, when they
35:32 need to, like you said, yeah, they need to have a good backup plan because.
35:36 He's true.
35:37 On Christiansen, the lamb, the lamb kid, Kendall lamb.
35:44 We got Ryan Hayes, which both me and you were just like, somebody, those guys are more,
35:52 those guys are more right tackles though, especially in, especially in the case of Kendall
35:56 lamb.
35:57 Okay.
35:58 We're approaching the two minute warning here.
36:01 So let me move on quickly on defense at every level.
36:03 I'll give you my three things and then you give me your three things in about two minutes
36:06 or less.
36:09 Defensive line.
36:10 I want to see anybody other than the frontline guys emerge because they have no depth on
36:15 the interior of the defensive line.
36:16 They have zero depth.
36:18 So anybody outside of Rick, Juan Davis, Christian Wilkins, Zach Sealer, I want to see somebody
36:22 emerge at linebacker.
36:24 I want to see David Long Jr. make some plays in practice and more importantly, be on the
36:28 field for every practice.
36:30 I don't want to see any hamstring issue pop up two weeks into camp because that's a, that's
36:35 an injury history and that's going to be nasty.
36:37 Are you comfortable with depth at linebacker?
36:41 Not remotely, not remotely, especially given David Long Jr's injury history.
36:47 But in a secondary, I want to see Trill Williams and what kind of steps he can take and whether
36:51 he can pick up where he was last year when he tore his ACL in the preseason opener.
36:56 We have the same, we have the same list.
36:59 David Long Jr.
37:00 I got to see something.
37:02 Depth at linebacker, inside linebacker.
37:04 I don't know where I feel about the Andrew Van Gingle, the inside linebacker thing.
37:08 Okay.
37:09 It looks like a stopgap to me.
37:10 I want something better than the stopgap.
37:12 Which safety will replace Eric Rowe?
37:14 I honestly think it's going to be Trill Williams.
37:18 I'm curious to see what happens there.
37:20 We got Veron McKinley III.
37:23 That's a possibility.
37:26 Also defensively, I'm not even going to say this, Mitchell Gouda, probably a top five
37:34 player in the offseason program.
37:38 And I just need to see, was that real or was that fake?
37:41 Yeah, no, I agree.
37:44 Quickly, last thing for me before we wrap this up.
37:49 Amazing that we never mentioned even Channing Tindall, who was the team's top pick just
37:52 a year ago.
37:53 I mean, that's not good.
37:54 Well, okay, sure.
37:55 Yeah, but it would be a bonus.
37:56 It would be a bonus.
37:57 If he makes five plays, I'm going to count how many plays he makes.
38:05 Anytime he makes a play, the people will know.
38:07 I'm going to like, I'm on Channing Tindall watch.
38:12 We may have a segment on this every day on alldolphins.com.
38:17 So on that note, we're going to wrap this up.
38:19 Again, programming note, we will be doing a podcast every day after training camp practice
38:24 and then the days in between as well.
38:26 Check out the work on alldolphins.com as well.
38:28 He is Omar M. Kupar.
38:29 Thanks again.
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