Dolphins Round Table Discussion

0:00You're listening to TheDolphinStock.com Podcast Network! You're listening to The FinnFans Podcast. Throughout the off-season, I will be talking about anything going on with The Miami Dolphins. From pre-agency to the draft and the start of the new year moves and just about everything else that's relevant to the football team. We hope to join us and enjoy the show. Here we go. And it's another The FinnFans Podcast, our 480th show. With me today is Lewis and Christopher Goney and we're going to have a bit of a round table. Chris, how are you? I'm good. Fresh off of Hawaii trip went out there for the first time, it was amazing, had a great time. I didn't see as many Dolphin memorabilia as I thought I would, but given the fact that

1:02two is on his way out the door and they probably stop making it, you know? Yeah, they hit it all. Yeah. Lewis, how are you? Boy, did they have jerseys on sale and stuff down there, Chris? Not, didn't see any football jerseys, honestly, and the malls and stuff, but I gotcha. Nobody wasn't looking in the right places. Yeah, that could be, yeah. Wow. I'm doing great, Mike. Yep. Been gone for a while. Two weeks down in Florida, we've got two weeks from now, going back to Florida. We're going to meet up with Doug Betters, AJ Dewey, Lewis Oliver, and that more. Four Dolphin legends, everybody, we're meeting up with them. We're going to try and get them on the podcast. I'm going to talk to them about that. We're doing some autograph signings with them, so I'll be spending a good hour. I want to pick their minds about where the team is, what they like, what they don't like.

2:08I mean, obviously, that more is very much involved with the organization, and I can't wait to sit down and talk to him about everything. Among the other guys, the other guys aren't really involved with them. Team anymore, the other three that I mentioned, they have opinions, exactly. So I'm excited about that in a couple of weeks, talking to them, seeing where their mindset is, because they're still all fans. I mean, Terry Kirby, we did a signing with, when we were down there a few weeks ago, and he had some really interesting things to say about the team, and the fun. The fact that he's very, very excited about all the moves that they made across the board. He was in agreement with pretty much everything that they did, and I'll just leave it at that. Some derogatory comments about some of the players and whatnot, but we're just going to leave

3:12it at that as to where he's very, very happy with all the moves that were made so far in this off season. That's where I'm at. Mike, I think we'd all agree that this had to be done, whether it's successful or not, this had to be done. They had to clean house, and they've done that, and they're not using the word rebuild. They're not using it, but they're telling you they're setting the foundation. They're telling you it may be a slow process. They're doing all the things, but saying it's a rebuild. Right. I mean, you know, what is a rebuild? You know, I mean, it's, you know, nowadays, you know, that word's used quite a bit, but teams are turning it around quick these days. I mean, we've seen examples of it. We've seen plenty of it. Two seasons, and teams are right back to, I mean, look at New England, what they have, two bad years, maybe three, you know.

4:16I think they had two four wind seasons, or they're about, so yeah, it took them maybe three years. Once they got the quarterback, though, it developed quickly. Right. Yeah. And the head coach, yeah, absolutely. Rable is a big difference maker, but, you know, you see it can be done. The only, the only stipulation I would put in there is, you know, we're starting in the whole this year, and those teams weren't, they had money to spend. We don't. So it may take us a little bit longer, but we'll see. You know, a lot depends on how successful, you know, so then it is in the draft. And maybe turning some of those draft picks into more draft picks. Right. Totally agree. I mean, they, you know, I think that, you know, the team has to be built with, you know, with young players and you just fill needs in here and there. And they have a few good veteran players that, you know, I expect to be here at least a couple more years

5:21to where they can help us. You know, Achan is, is a guy you can build around. I mean, he's that dynamic as far as I'm concerned. You know, on the defensive side, you got some players, you know, that they have to make decisions upon. You know, Brooks, what's his contract status, guys? Do you know? Yeah. So Jeremy Fowler actually reported today that the dolphins are expected to begin working on extensions this off season for Achan, Brewer and Brooks. So yeah, Brooks has one more year left, but this season, yeah, that's the report. I was of this morning on now. And he deserves it. He deserves it. He's busted his butt and he's not been a bad example for the younger players. So I would definitely consider extending him a five as them. Uh-huh. Without a doubt, yeah, if some got a sunny style, a guy like sunny styles falls to us who's supposed to be an inside

6:24linebacker, I'm still taking him and pair those two guys up because then you got two stud linebackers in the middle of the field that can create chaos, you know, if you believe building from the inside out, then maybe that's a possibility. Yeah. Yeah. And Brewer, you know, is right there as well. I mean, it's interesting because Mike, you mentioned the fact that, um, you know, he's more, he's a little bit different type of center than what, you know, maybe the new, um, regime would want. But if they're talking about a contract extension with him, then, you know, I guess they're content with, well, well, he's really running more of a West Coast all kinds. Yeah. Right. So he does fit that. Oh, okay. I thought you had said at one point that, you know, that, uh, he may not really fit a power scheme. Those, yeah. But he fits the, he fits the mode that we're going to be in. Yeah, because because of his athleticism, he can go out and take linebackers out of the play.

7:28Right. I mean, I had listened to the guys you mentioned, Chris. I mean, both all three of those guys are definitely guys that you want to have here, you know, during this, um, you know, just take over and bring it in some young talent. Because I think that all three of those guys will still be productive two, three years from now. And, um, you know, people talk about H and, and the fact that, you know, he's ran the ball a lot and stuff. But I'll tell you what. I mean, and I've said this over and over again, he does not take a ton of hits. He just doesn't over the course of the game. You don't see a lot of him, you know, a lot of hits to where he's getting hit square on, you know. I mean, he avoids a lot of, a lot of contact. Um, when he's carrying the football and, you know, I think he's going to be productive for years to come. Um, you know, I think we've got at least another three, four solid years at him before he starts to slow down.

8:31I mean, it's just that good. Go ahead, Chris. Well, now I was just going to say and drafting Ollie Gordon and Jalen right the last two years. I think it's definitely going to benefit that. I just think that they need to go more as of a committee to keep him upright and keep him from not getting hit. Yeah, he does a good job at avoiding it. But, you know, it's football at some point, you're going to get hit. So yeah, now that McDaniel's gone, hopefully we're going to stop seeing HM dives right into the middle of the pack. Well, you know, where he was at most risk was when two of us throwing balls in the flat to him. That were like 10 feet high and leaving them wide or throwing the ball late. We're a linebacker or a safety, you know, it was coming in and bearing down on him. I mean, you know, that's where you, you know, you're like, Oh, God, no, don't, don't throw it. Don't throw it. You know, that's where, you know, I would get, you know, I would get extremely scared about some of those passes in the flat,

9:32especially when they were late. But, you know, when he's running the football, yeah, when he's outside of it, you know, outside of the, um, uh, the box, he's, he's extremely good and he does avoid a lot of contact out there. Um, he's dynamic, simple as that and the other two guys, as we said, I mean, those are three guys you can build upon for sure. I'm not sure about all yet, but I do agree about the other two. I think Wright has some skill and, uh, H and his phenomenal, you know, one thing he's really good at, you know, he's not only fast and he's exceptionally fast, but he is exceptionally quick as well. Right. I mean, Mike, you know, getting back to Oli, you're right on with H amp, but getting back to Gordon. I mean, when you telegraph, what you're going to do and you got two guards playing the way they played last, you know, let's give, let's give Oli the benefit of the doubt because, I mean, they would send in the package and

10:34basically they would run the ball right up the middle and I mean, there was so many situations to where he couldn't even get back to the line of scrimmage before at least one guy, if not two guys were writing his face. So I think Oli's got a lot of talent, you know, they just have to use him in better situations. Now granted, you know, um, you do have to send in a certain package in short yardage, but, you know, the guard play has got to be better. You can't run up the middle with the way our two guards played last year, you know, just can't do it. It's like beating a dead horse and, you know, they proved that over and over again last year and short yardage. They struggled and it had a lot to do with the guard play. So Chris, what are they going to do a quarterback? Well, why is that funny, Chris? Because I mean, there's just been so much that we keep to do we let him go? Are we going to trade him?

11:35Are we going to release him? And I kind of said it, I think it was a couple of weeks ago that I expect us to move on from him, but I don't expect it to be via trade just because of his contract. And why would you trade anything for a guy when you know that most likely the dolphins are going to cut him? And then the dolphins are the ones that are paying them all the money and then all you have to do is pay pretty much the veteran minimal. So it just, it doesn't make sense for a team to trade and then, you know, we talked about this too. I've seen reports that we're saying that if we trade to a, we'd have to give up a third or fourth round pick. So that a team would take on some of his salary and I just, I don't think that that's a smart move. Half or not half a soul of an actually talked a little bit at the combine. They asked him about Malik Willis and he said that, you know, he wishes them all the best, but he made pretty much didn't say that we're like, we're going to be a team that's going to be in for it.

12:38And I'm seeing reports now that he's projected to get between 30 and 35 million a season and we definitely don't have that. I saw a 20 to 25 this morning. Oh, yeah, I mean, who knows? Well, who's offering them that? I mean, look around the league. Is it the Jets? I mean, what it's got a team like the Jets that has a bunch of money or I'm trying to think of, right? Cleveland Cleveland. Yeah. I mean, Cleveland's got four quarterbacks. They are, I mean, yeah, I don't stand that up with Sanders. I mean, you know, I, I don't think Cleveland's going to be part of the equate. Who's got the first? It just depends on what they want to do with Watson. I'm supposedly Cleveland is looking to add another quarterback to the competition. So, you know, they said that they're definitely going to be in on them. And as far as Tua, an anonymous head coach said that that Lena Falcons is a team to watch. I saw another report that said, hey, Kansas City's a team to watch because you don't know my homes is going to start out the season.

13:41So, I mean, there's definitely going to be a market for two. It's just going to be a free agency. It's not going to be through a trade. I don't think. And as far as what we're going to do, I mean, viewers, viewers and then who is, um, what's the kid's name from the writers? We got Cam Miller. Yeah, Cam Miller. And then, you know, they Sullivan talked about drafting quarterbacks often. Yeah. I mean, there's Drew Aller, Garrett Nussmiler, like all these quarterbacks that were supposed to be good prospects. That kind of got hurt or just had bad season. So maybe we take a shot on the guy like that in the fourth or fifth round and let him compete with viewers and Cam Miller. But doing the Kurt Cousins or James or any of these older quarterbacks, I'd rather just ride with viewers. And, you know, if we lose a lot of games, I mean, we're going to have a good pick next year. And supposedly talking Drew Aller and, uh, maybe a corrupt one.

14:43Yeah, I saw Garoppolo was linked to us too. And I have no interest in that. I mean, that guy hasn't played good football in close to five years now. I mean, well, we want that Chris, you know, we don't want to win a lot of games next year. I mean, you know what I don't want to see is him come in and we give him six million. And the chance he gets, he goes out there. He plays a quarter of football and he gets hurt and he's done. Or he does the Fitzpatrick. Yeah, he starts winning football games for us. Yeah. All right. What we're going to do is we're going to take a step back for just a couple minutes and we'll be right back. Listen, you know, we're going to be challenged. I mean, the wide receiver position is, is, is an interesting position on the team because you've got wild, you got Malik Washington and you got Taj Washington. But boy, I'll tell you what, you know, we, I mean, these are, these are our guys on the roster next year guys. I mean, that's our, that is our receiving core as it stands.

15:46And I don't see them attacking that in free agency, you know, for what purpose, you know, what purpose would that serve, you know, bring it in a veteran wide receiver, you know, unless he's, you know, at an extremely low salary. So, I mean, this is your receiving core. There's an, you know, I mean, there's not a lot to work with, you know, so, I mean, there's, you know, at the running back position, we're okay. You know, I think, you know, depending on what they do with Dolsage and Waller, you know, that you've got Julian Hill on the roster as you're starting tight end right now, right? I don't think you're going to reach nine to 32 year old Waller. Yeah, I don't think so either, Mike. But, you know, the bottom line is, is that, you know, we're in a position right now, and that's what I'm getting at, is that, you know, some of these positions, you know, are going to have to be addressed and you only have so many draft picks.

16:48So, you know, there's a lot, there's a lot here that, that has to be, you know, they have to incorporate a lot of players in a lot of different positions. And, you know, it's just not going to happen overnight. So, you know, if you go out there and you sign a few veterans, as Chris mentioned, you know, like a veteran quarterback, I mean, what purpose is it honestly going to serve at this point? You know what I'm saying? You know, there's just so many needs, you know, the guard positions, definitely a need. You know, we got to hope that the rookie, you know, gets a little bit better. Um, you know, Eikenberg is still under contract for next year, correct? Yeah, but they said that his injury might, might have a rear ending. Right. I mean, you know, we already released the guy that didn't play it all for us last year. And his name's James Daniels. Daniels. I mean, so, you know, right now, you've got what?

17:51At the guard position, you got a cold strange. I don't even know if he's under contract for next year either. I mean, you literally have to find a guard if, if I could just come into contract either. No, dole suggestion. That's what I'm saying. Waller and dole right now, Julian Hill is your tight end. You're starting tight end. He's the only guy under contract going in the next season at that position. So, I mean, there's, there's a lot of needs here, guys. And, you know, to go out as Chris mentioned and, and put a lot of money into a veteran quarterback, you know, I, I just don't see the purpose in it. The only reason you do that, I think Lewis, is because you want to have maybe an established veteran to guide yours and guide whoever they draft. Yeah, but do you want Joroppolo guiding somebody, Mike? That's an entirely different point. Of course, Mark, well, I'm just saying. I mean, okay, so out of the veteran quarterbacks, I mean, honestly,

18:52a Kurt Cousins with, with his work ethic, you know, we have to watch in the quarterback, you know, show, you know, he is a guy that, you know, you could say, hey, you know, you look at his work ethic, you look at his knowledge, he would be a, he would be a guy that I wouldn't mind come, you know, and then bringing in to, to show you where's, you know, how to do things. But there's not an awful lot of other guys that, you know, that I would consider, as far as these veteran guys that have bounced around, and that includes Joroppolo. Yeah, I mean, you know, what is he going to bring to the table to offer yours? You know, I mean, go old school on you, you know, I'm, I'm looking for somebody like a done stroke, somebody that can just study the quarterback. Well, do you think about what Shulid did all those years, Mike? With DeBurg and Bernie Kosar, he always brought in, you know, veteran, Ron Jaworski. I mean, think about the guys that backed up Marino. I mean, you had Jawors, all the guys I just mentioned.

19:55And I'm sure there's a few that, you know, that I, that I forgot about. But DeBurg was here, Jaworski, Bernie Kosar, well, Scott Mitchell was drafted, and then he wasn't a veteran, Mike. No, but he backed him up for a while. Right. Yeah, that's so, you know, that's, that's, they, they drift a few other guys too. But, you know, none of those guys panned out. So, I mean, yeah, I mean, but we were always a good quality team, and they were always protecting the fact that if Marino went down, they would have a veteran that could step in. This team, it's not going to serve any purpose to, to bring them in because, you know, we're not going to be competing for, for a playoff position, unless something absolutely crazy happens. We have a phenomenal draft to where we get six starters that blow it up. Other than that, I just can't see this team competing to where we need to waste any money on a veteran quarterback, unless it comes in at a very low salary.

20:57Yeah, no, you're definitely looking, looking for somebody reasonable because you don't have a lot of money to spend. Right. But, you know, there are advantages in having that veteran sit in the film room with them and helping them dissect, you know, the fences and what have you. Right. Tendencies, you know, and so there's some advantages to that. So, I wouldn't discount it completely, but the question is, can they afford to do that? That's an entirely different discussion. We know the answer to that, you know, we're spending too much money at that quarterback position for somebody that's not even going to be here next year. So, put more than likely. So, you know, that, you know, that kind of answer, that question answers itself. So, on the defensive side, you've got sealer. They're going to a one gap scheme instead of a two gap scheme, which to me should be a benefit to him. It should be a benefit to the younger defensive tackles as well.

21:58Uh-huh. How do you guys feel about that? I feel good. I think, hopefully, he's going to have this defense plan at an extremely high level and he reiterated it at the combine the other day that, you know, sometimes it's going to be 4-3, sometimes it's going to be 3-4. So, he's not necessarily sticking to one type of scheme. He's going to need the offense, a bunch of different looks. We got to see a huge jump from Grant, you know. Chop Robbins, and I think this is also a make or break year with this new regime. So, I mean, it's going to be interesting to see what they do with this defensive line, because I think with sealer and Grant and then the other two guys we drafted last year, we should be solid in the middle, but I'm just worried about that edge position. I really am. I think everybody is. Yeah. Without a doubt. I mean, you know, you look at the defensive side and again, you know, we're in the same boat. You know, the edge is a concern.

23:00The cornerback position is definitely a concern. I mean, Russell Douglas was our starter last year. You know, he's not on the contract. You know, Jack Jones, we don't know what his situation is. He's not on the contract either. He's a free agent of course. Right. I mean, you know, how about the... Co-hoes of the free agent. Who's that? Co-ho. Co-ho, right? And what about at the safety position? You know, we've got how long of a contracted mehli sign with us. Was it one or two of the agents, too? Yeah. I think he's a one year. I think he's a one year and they were actually talking about Minka Fitzpatrick being linked to the Jets this morning. I read so. Yeah. I mean, we try to get rid of Minka. Well, why would he go to the Jets? Yeah, I don't know. I mean, he might as well stay here if he's going to do that. Unless they're going to give him a nice contract.

24:00Mike, I mean, he's probably got one decent contract left in him as far as... Yeah, but is he under contract? Is he... Yeah, we'd have to trade him. We'd have to trade him. I think he's only got one year left on his dealer, one year of guaranteed money left on his deal. So, I mean, I see him, you know, maybe a veteran, you know, a team that's competing for, you know, a Super Bowl appearance trading for him. If we can do that and pick up, you know, even a third rounder or something that affect for him, you know, I think the dolphins would definitely move him. But, you know, where my point where I was the point I was trying to make is that it's the edge position. I mean, God, we need a whole secondary, guys. I mean, you know, we're this, again, this is a team that, you know, if you're going to go out and get free agents, you know, maybe a guy that, you know,

25:00three years, two, three years down the line is going to help your football team. You know, a young guy coming off of maybe his rookie contract. But, you know, I just don't say it, you know, I just don't see us being very active for all these reasons. I mean, this is a team that has a million holes in it. You know, they're going to, they've got their work cut out for them. They really do. If they don't trade down in the draft, they have the possibility of taking one of the two better cornerbacks. Yeah. So that's a possibility. And then you may be resigned Douglas. Yeah. I mean, but you know, it's more affordable. Yeah. I mean, you know, Douglas Mike at this point, you know, he's, he's 31 years old. They're not resigning him. That's not happening. I mean, he's, it's a, it's a, this will be his time to see Green Bay when half we was there. So I mean, there is a chance.

26:01Yeah, I mean, there's definitely a lot worse options out there than bringing him back. I mean, no, I get that, but, but, you know, what purpose is it going to serve? Guys, that's my whole point. Well, I get you through next season. Yeah, it gets you through a season. Right. That's just not getting completely toasted every week. You have to listen. There's guys, there's young guys on this roster that, you know, you give the opportunity. And you see, I mean, some of these guys may pan out some of these younger players. Is Marshall is still part of the equation? Jason Marshal. Of course, yeah. Yeah, I mean, exactly. So, you know, you look at these type of guys, you give them the opportunity to play. And maybe some of these guys pan out. I mean, you know, we've seen it happen before to where guys get up. You know, you, you play more than two cornerbacks. So, you know, right. I don't know, I get that regardless. I get that, but, you know, you want them out there as a starter, possibly.

27:04And then maybe you don't have to address that, you know, you have to look at the guys that are on your roster right now and evaluate them. And, you know, this season, you know, whether we like it or not, you know, some of these guys that are under contract and are with the football team and make the football team during the, you know, during the preseason, they have to get opportunities. And, you know, in my opinion, you know, putting our Rasul Douglas out there, you know, at the age of 32 over a young guy and seeing what you have in him is just not something that I don't think they're going to do. I just don't. I think they're going to evaluate what they have on this roster and just toss guys if they're not going to, you know, compete. You know, I mean, Marshall could develop into a good nickelback, like you said, Mike, I mean, obviously you need more than two corners, you know, but they have to have the opportunity to go out there and prove themselves.

28:04And, you know, by, by signing veteran guys, I just, you know, I just think they blocked a way for, you know, some of the younger talent to get those opportunities. Chris, you thought, yeah, I mean, I agree with what you're saying. But just as far as the cornerback position, it feels like every year we get hit with injuries pretty bad. So it's like, we thought we were solid at the edge rush position last year. And, you know, you saw how that goes, you just never know what transpires throughout a season. But, I mean, I wouldn't be against bringing Rasul Douglas back, let him Marshall keep working in the nickel because it seemed like that's where, you know, he was playing well. I mean, Connor, I guess you can see what you got in him, but he didn't put great tape out there last year. And, you know, there's just not too many bodies. I mean, Dante Trader at the safety position, I kind of liked what I saw. So I'd definitely like to see more of him next year. But.

29:05Juju Brence, right? Juju Brence, but I mean, he had a season ending injury last year, right? So it's like, you know, that's been his thing, his whole career. You can't stay healthy. So, I mean, when he was playing for those couple games, he, you know, he definitely looks to parties as big long corner who can run, got good ball skills, but, you know, the durability thing. And that's what's kind of swam me away from one of those top two cornerbacks that are coming out in the draft this year, though, I think his name is Eric McCoy or something like that. He didn't even play last year. So if we were going to draft a corner back at 11, I mean, I hope it'd be that, the little man, sir, I think his name is from. Yeah, that's the guy most people are pointing to or the kid coming off the ACL. Yeah. The kid coming off the ACL who they said would have been a top 10 pick had he not blew his ACL out, but like I said, he didn't even play last year and he didn't run at the combine. So, you know, we'll see. Well, I expect guys that once the cuts are made, you know, they're going to, these guys

30:11are going to, they're out there already, evaluating a lot of talent on different teams. And some of these, some of these teams that are full of a lot of veterans, some of these younger guys wind up getting cut. And I think you're going to see a lot of guys brought in much like we did when Flora's first took over. Remember the revolving door with so many guys coming in and out. I mean, I think that, you know, these guys that that are in place right now are going to have people out there evaluating a ton of talent. Some guys that are actually in the league right now. And they're going to pick, they're going to pick, you know, pick some teams, you know, some players off the teams that are actually solid, solid football players. You know, I just, I mean, again, I'm going to repeat it. I just don't see them going out and spending an awful lot and free agency on veteran guys. Well, I think what you'll see them doing Lewis is rating people's practice squats. Yes.

31:11Exactly. That's basically what I was saying, you know, that, you know, they're, that's what they're going to do. That's those are the type of bodies they're going to bring in. And you know, if you, if you throw, you know, 20, 25 guys up against the wall and, you know, you get a half a dozen that stick, then you've done a good thing there, you know, without a question of a doubt, without spending, you know, any kind of money because Lord knows we can't, we, we just can't right now, you know, we've, you know, the past regime, you know, dug us such a hole that, you know, I mean, it's going to take a while to climb out of it. Well, you know, they did it with dulcets and he looked pretty good. All right, guys, we're going to break for a few moments and we'll be right back. Exactly. There you go. He's a perfect example, absolutely. You know, he's, he's a, he's a guy that, you know, was productive and, and there's a

32:13couple of other examples too, Mike. I mean, I can't think right now because I'm in, you know, I'm kind of in baseball season mode, you know, the football season's been over for a while, but there's a few other guys that, you know, that they picked up that, well, sealer, you know, years ago, they, they picked him up from Baltimore. Yep. Sealers, he turned out to be a pretty good player. So I mean, it can be done. Absolutely. You know, absolutely. Look at our kicker. How about him? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think Sanders could be a cap casualty. How much? I think it's around five million if we cut him. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, I'd expect to see that. I mean, a name that I saw yesterday that there were, or somebody predicted us to go after was Isaiah likely to tie it in from Baltimore. I guess they projected him for a two year, $17 million contract with which, I mean, if you could get him for that price, I'd take him because then that answers the tight end

33:14position. Yeah. He's an interesting player. I mean, who has, you know, underachieved sort of speak, but has a ton of talent. I mean, a ton of talent. Yeah. He had been playing in front of him. So I mean, yeah, that has partial to do with him. Sure. And, you know, Lamar's been in and out of the line up the last two years too. So he's looking for a fresh start. He's definitely a guy who has talent like a Dullsage, you know, but Dullsage, the thing before this year was the injuries. I mean, he stayed healthy last year. He looked good, showed some flashes. So yeah, I mean, you'd be more inclined to bring in a likely Chris rather because Dullsage, you know, you're going to be able to get at a much lower price and, you know, maybe you sign him to a two, three year contract, you know, you'll lock him in for, you know, the next two, three years, you know, I think we can get him for probably half of what they're going to have to pay likely when you're angry. Yeah. Yeah.

34:14Why not bring both though? Yeah. Maybe more than one. Yeah. I mean, it's, you know, it's, I love this time, you know, when's the draft? How many, how many weeks are we away from the drafts in a guy's April? April. Yeah. So we're, you've got free agency starting next week or week and a half. Yeah. Yeah. We had a combine win on this week. So I watched a few guys throw, I mean, you know, it's, I mean, the rumblings start to happen now, you know, this is when we'll hear trade rumors and all type of stuff. So what did you think of the guy's throwing? Who did you like? I liked dollar, dude. He threw his long ball was just effortlessly in the air 50, 60 yards. I mean, after watching to it throw it the last couple of years, it's like to just see guys with the flick of the wrist. I mean, believe it or not Carson, not Carson Beck. I know it is Carson Beck from the, from the hurricanes, he actually threw pretty well

35:15too. I mean, surprise some people. So, but I mean, when these guys are out, you're throwing with, you know, no pads on, no, I mean, they all look good. I mean, that's how Zach Wilson ended up on top three to the Jets. He had that one roll out where he just launched it and everybody was like, oh my God. You know, it's like Sullivan says you have to watch him in pads and you do, but it gives you an idea at least of their arm talent. Yeah. Yeah, the drafts the 23rd through the 25th. So, you know, it's, you know, getting close, guys, you know, it's about six, seven weeks away. So, you know, this is, this is the fun part of the year. I like seeing where, you know, the free agency, Mike said, starts next week, right? Yeah. So, it's going to be interesting to see where, you know, a lot of these free agents land. But, um, the 11th, the new year begins. Okay. The 11th. So, we're about 10 days away. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Interesting stuff. You know, we're, we're going to talk a lot about, you know, some of these guys and where

36:19they sign and how it's going to affect our division, um, more so than us actually being active. I truly believe that, you know, I mean, you know, but hey, you know, I don't mind that. I really don't and, you know, I hope you guys don't, you know, it's good to hear you excited again. Yeah. No, I am. I'm really, I'm really excited. You know, we got, got rid of everybody that, uh, you know, I just had no love for across the board. Yeah. Across the board. No, I agree in it. And, you know, like I one more move to make up, be happy when they make it. I won't mention any names and, uh, you know, yeah, that's going to happen. It's just a matter of one. Yeah. So, yeah, you guys listen to, uh, John Sullivan and happily during their press conferences at the combined. I did, but it's just, it's hard because you can't hear what the question that's being

37:25asked is, and I even put subtitles on and you would only capture like part of the question. So it's like, while I was hearing was just the answer. And he talked about Tyree Kill and, you know, um, Darren Waller, he spoke about and with both of those guys, he kind of said the same thing that we're just looking to get younger and cheaper. Yep. At least for this year. So they're shedding the, the dead weight, though, some of the older guys, you know, I mean, they're like, Lew's talking about earlier. I mean, they want to see what they have in these young guys. And, um, I mean, I, like I said, I said it after their opening press conference, I love everything that I'm hearing from them. So, you know, it's going to be a little bit of a process. I know next off season will probably be a lot more excited when we have some money to spend and, you know, hopefully a top five pick and not just the first round, but the whole draft, you know, because when you get a top five pick, a top 10 pick, it's not just in

38:26the first round, but, you know, you get the first shot at those guys in the second round who some of them are a lot of them are first round talent. You know, there's just so many guys and then teams with different needs. So, exactly. People slept. Yep. And I think half of he's going to have us playing competitive. I don't think we're going to win a lot of games because of the talent we're going to have, but I know we're not going to see efforts like we did last year from teams playing under McDaniel, you know, just rolling over. You think that's what happened? In some of the games, you know, I mean, in some of the games later on in the season, they kind of showed that they didn't completely roll over and weren't given up, but, I mean, some of the efforts we saw from the team last year was just pathetic, you know, so. Yeah. It's tough. It's tough. Well, we'll get a better idea as next season progresses, but I think a lot of that had to do with a lack of talent and no past rush. When you have a good quarterback and there's no past rush, they're going to tear you up.

39:29They had deficiencies all over the place. I mean, you know, it's simple as that. I mean, you know, the coaching, you know, McDaniel, we haven't really talked about a lot. You know, the preparation, you know, leading up to games at certain times, you know, kind of lacked. I felt and, you know, he had a lot of deficiencies that, you know, that he doesn't have to worry about now. You know, as a coach, rather than a head coach. And I'm sure he'll be successful, but, you know, in regard to, you know, how the team was kind of, and, you know, we've had a little bit of disagreements on this as far as, you know, losing the team and so on and so forth. You know, I think that individually, there are guys that are very, very solid individuals on this football team that, you know, just refuse, regardless of the circumstances around

40:32them, refuse to go out there and just, you know, buy into what was taking place. They went out there as individuals and they busted their asses. You know, and I don't think McDaniel really had anything to do with motivating these guys to do that. I think they just self-motivated. And, you know, I feel that the decisions that he made, you know, in regard to it and, you know, and going forward with him and some of the other decisions that they made and, you know, the time it took to make adjustments, you know, there was just a lack of good coaching there as well, you know, on top of the talent. It was a combined problem without a question of a doubt in my mind. I don't necessarily agree with you about the motivation factor. I do think he motivated the team, but where I agree with you is the third quarters.

41:35When they come out at halftime and get spanked every third quarter, that has to fall on coaching and has to. Right. So, you know, we're, and, you know, the other thing is this, Mike, you know, in regard to the motivation thing. I mean, you know, when you see veterans getting away with, with things that they shouldn't be getting away with and just doing whatever they want to do, you know, that, that falls upon him as well, you know, and it, and it, basically, it just, you know, the younger guy see this and, you know, it, it's just not a good look, period. I, I point a career for that. I don't want to go into the coach, man, because those, those players are uncoachable. But, but, you know, the bottom line is, is that, you know, when you're in the locker room and you're in, you're in meetings and, and all these things are taking place, you know, if you have respect for an individual, you know, then, then you're not going to do those things. And I think that there was a lack of respect for him simply because of the way he, you know, he handled

42:38himself. Now, you know, you can say, you know, guys will take advantage of kindness and, you know, maybe that was, you know, a fault to his, but it, it's a fault, regardless of the fact, you know, this is football, this is a profession and, you know, if guys are getting away with certain things, you know, it has to be addressed one way or another, whether you got to sit him down for a game or whatever and embarrass him, I don't give a shit what you do, you know, but, you know, it just went on and you do lose the team to some extent at that point. I read an article this week about an unnamed GM who said he wouldn't touch Tyree Kill with a minimum contract. Yeah, I did see that too. Yeah, and I agree with that. And I think that tells you, you know, the viewpoint of this particular player. Now, somebody's going to take him. Maybe it's Kansas City, maybe it's somebody else, but I think that most guys probably don't want to touch him

43:38because of his winning in the game and all the other things that come with him. Right. So, you know, and then you've got Jalen Randsey who is a mercenary and, you know, I can't blame the coach for that. I have to blame talent acquisition because you made decisions to hire these players, knowing who they were. Yeah, but Megan, you also did say that he was all on board for trading for Tyree Kill. Of course. Well, wouldn't you think? Yeah, nothing necessarily. And I think Tyree's market going forward, I think has a lot to do with the fact that he's probably not going to play until the end of the season. So, when you mix that with the type of the off the field stuff he deals with, I mean, now you're really not touching him with a 10-foot pole. Yeah. But had he not got hurt last year, I think there would have been definitely some suitors. Yeah, there would have been, but let's go back to this whole situation in regard to Tyree and McDaniel and so on and so forth.

44:44Number one, a guy of his character, you do not make a captain, right, which he did two years ago. I agree. Well, the players vote for that, though. Number two, I don't care. As I had coach, you say, listen, this is what we're doing and there's no way that that's happening. Not a guy of that character. Number two, you gave him an extension, okay. Now, if he's, do you think, let me pose this question to both of you guys, do you think with these coaches that are in place, okay? Our head, our new head coach that if Tyreeke is doing and keep in mind, all of the off-season shit that he pulled, okay? All the punch in the guy, smack in a guy in a face, the whole thing with his wives and so on and so forth. This head coach that's in place right now, do you think for a minute that if he's this kind of cancer to a football team, okay?

45:45That they're going to resign him to an extension, okay? After seeing, okay, you may want to bring a guy in and say, hey, I can work with this guy. I could definitely work with him. I can get him to do the right thing. What they did was they knew what they were doing and they gave him an extension on top of that instead of just saying, hey, you know what? This guy is a problem. McDaniel's a head coach of this football team, say, hey, Chris, trade this guy. Get some value for him because he's not the type of guy that is going to help us going forward. He's a cancer to the football team. He's a major problem. He's not a good influence on the younger players. Get rid of him and get whatever you can for him and let's move on from him. But instead, they made the decision collectively to resign this guy and give him a contract extension. Which I didn't agree with, period. I just didn't at that point.

46:45I don't know how you guys felt about that one, but I didn't agree with any of the extensions. None of them, including Ramsey, as you mentioned earlier. But this is what we did. So, you know, I'm not going to blame only Greer Mike. I mean, McDaniel is the head coach. If he doesn't have a say in these things and can't go into the office and work with them because I'm sure these two guys are going to work together much better. It's going to be a much better situation. Well, we're talking about two different things. Number one, these guys have a working relationship already. And there are guys that get along with each other. There's no friction there. You would think that they're going to be able to have some conversations that maybe a McDaniel and Greer couldn't have. Well, we don't know that. Well, we don't know that. But we don't know who made the decision to extend those contracts either. Was it Brandon Shore? Was it Chris Greer? Was it Mike McDaniel? We don't know. Yeah, and that's one thing I actually liked that I heard from Halfway in this combine interview.

47:51Because he was talking about how he didn't choose Miami and Solomon didn't choose him because there were friends. He's like, we have a very good working relationship. But what I would say, he's like a friend. We've never hung out outside the office and stuff. So he's like these conversations that are hard to have. We're comfortable having that with each other. And that's that to me. When I heard that, I was like, OK, like this is the complete opposite, probably of what was happening. We're Greer and McDaniel, you know? All right. What we're going to do is we're going to take a step back for just a couple of minutes and we'll be right back. Yeah, I mean, they gave McDaniel an extension too, guys. Just keep that in mind. So I mean, you know, the bottom line is that they're all gone. And for good reason, because they were all involved in the mess that we're in right now.

48:51Yeah. Simple as that. I mean, you can't tell me that a head coach was not involved in making decisions to give these guys' extensions going forward. I mean, they, you know, if I don't have say in that, then, you know, I don't know what I'm doing. You know, I just don't. I'm sure you had to say, but at the end of the day, that's not his job. That's the front-office job. Right. Exactly. To extend him, you know? Right. And having issue with Tyree killed just because what we extended him, he was coming off a year where he was voted the number one player in the NFL by all the players. Right. And that's when you trade him. Yeah. I mean, I don't know. That's when he's got top value. And that's exactly what I was saying about HM. But the difference is, is the running back market, there's just not like, I don't see a team giving more than a third round for HM. And that, to me, is not worth giving up the type of dynamic player he is. Yep. It would be crazy. I mean, I would prefer not to.

49:54I mean, especially because like we just talked about, I mean, the guy, I think he has one year left on his contract. What are we going to get a fourth or a fifth round? I mean, that's not going to, I mean, it could. But I don't think that's going to equate to the type of play that Minka brings to the table and the type of leadership he brings to the table because now. And not only that, I mean, then that's another hole you have to fill. Then you're looking for two safeties. And we've already gotten rid of most of our veterans. And it's like, you're replacing, you have to replace guys on the field. And then you have to replace the leaders in the locker room. Yeah, we still got broke, sealer, brewer. We still got a few guys left, but I just, I don't know. Listen, if you can get, you know, and you may see a team that's on the verge or thinks that they're that close to competing for a Super Bowl appearance. You may be able to get a third round there out of them for Minka. And if you do that one year rental, I just don't see that. Well, I mean, I don't like that, but I just don't.

50:55We'll see. I mean, I just don't know, you know, I mean, we've seen teams do it before to where they trade for veterans. But, you know, let's go back to the Tyree thing and look at, look at Beckham years ago. The giants, you know, and some of these teams, when these guys were at, you know, what's his name? AJ Brown from Nintendo. See, they trade. I mean, they got value for these guys at a time where they were right at the top of their game. And we were like, man, I mean, why are they doing this because they, they, and sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn't. But if you can trade, you know, and, and if you could have traded Tyree at that point anywhere and gotten, you know, a couple draft picks for them and bring in a good young receiver. I mean, you know, that's, that's what you, you do to some extent. And a lot of teams have done that and it's worked out. You know, I mean, shit, the packers made Devonte Adams walk, right? You know, I mean, you know, teams do do that.

51:56We don't, we never do, you know, we hold on the guys way too long. And now what are we getting for Tyree? We're getting nothing, you know, the same with Toa. We're getting basically nothing back for any of these guys, you know, guys that we invested. A lot of money and yeah, chub, same thing. I mean, it goes on and on and on. And, you know, these are the mistakes that we've made. And, you know, we're going to pay for them now. So, you know, it is what it is at this point. You know, the bottom line is is that, you know, we had opportunities, Chris. And I know, you know, you said, no, I would have given, given him the extension. And, you know, I kind of disagreed with it, you know, I didn't like it. I didn't like the move. I don't remember what Mike's, you know, what Mike's position was on that back then. But, you know, I felt like, no, just let him play out. Call it a day and, you know, or trade him and move on from him. And that's it. I don't care how good he was, you know.

52:58Yeah, and you have to look up what we gave up. You have to look at what we gave up for Tyree too. Exactly. I mean, you know, then, but this is. The first round, the third round, and then if we traded him and got back a second round, that would have been another poo poo in the face for Mr. Greer. And he just wasn't, he wasn't having it. He wasn't good at admitting, you know, they're like, I don't know. The safety is on the roster, guys. We're at Davis. Dante Trader, Jr. Omar Brown. Fitzpatrick, Melifanyu, and Elijah Campbell. I know. I could not find this dude's name, and I'm pretty sure he was in the 2024 draft. Yeah. I don't know. I thought you were referring to Campbell, Chris, but, you know. Oh, Patrick McMorris. Oh, MacMorris. Oh, MacMorris. He wasn't even on the team last year, I guess. No, I think he got hurt. Yeah. Really bad, didn't he? I don't even know if he played in the NFL last year.

53:59No, I don't think so. But yeah, he was a part of that 2024. He was a sixth round pick. And he looked good, right? Yeah. So. All right. Good. There's, you know, there's a lot we could talk about as far as Sullivan and Halfley. And what we think is going to happen. But I think some of that will table. I did enjoy listening to the press conferences. You know, some of the answers are, you know, scripted basically. You know, they know what they're going to say before they come out there. But on the other hand, I feel like Sullivan is a guy who is going to sit in his office and he's going to evaluate. And he's going to evaluate the football team. And if a guy doesn't fit, he's not going to relax. He's going to make a decision. And I think Greer, on the other hand, was a little bit more relaxed. You know, he was a little bit more, well, the coaches are happy. You know, I'll just let it be. And I don't see Sullivan being that way. I think if he sees a problem, he's going to address it.

55:01Yeah. So that's Lewis. Yes. You agreed? Yep. Okay. Just my impression. I mean, I could be wrong. But that's the feeling I get from listening to him talk. He doesn't seem like a guy who's going to pass the buck. No, and the cutting of James Daniels, because remember we were talking about it a couple of weeks ago, I was like, I don't understand. Like, it actually hurts us to cut him. But when you look back at his season last year and you look back at it, I mean, we don't really know exactly what happened. But he does. With the reports of him supposedly being ready and he didn't, you know, play. He basically just took money and just didn't really care. And like, with him and Tyree getting cut, I think Sullivan's like, you know, that's an example of he's not putting up with no bullshit. You know, like, any players with character issues, they're on their way out the door. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see the moves next week once the new, you know, once the new league year begins.

56:01All right. I'm sure we'll have a show around then. Thanks for joining me, guys. Thanks for listening, everybody. And until then, pins up. Pins up. Pins up, doll fence. And that's the end of another show. I want to thank the Believe Network for allowing us to join them this year. And the Dolphins Talk Network, we've been a part of for many years. I want to thank both of these outfits, they're exceptional people. And we're proud and honored just to be a part of it. Until next time, take care.