SI Fan All Dolphins publisher Alain Poupart and columnist Omar Kelly break down a busy Tuesday before the first practice of training camp, including Terron Armstead's PUP status, Tua making the Top 100 list and his contract status, comments from Xavien Howard, Jalen Ramsey and Raheem Mostert, and more.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 - Hi everyone, welcome to a special edition
00:04 of the All Dolphins podcast on YouTube,
00:08 the Miami Dolphins Insider, wherever you get your podcasts.
00:11 We weren't planning on doing anything today Omar,
00:13 but too much happened.
00:14 We were gonna wait until practices started at training camp,
00:17 but too much happened on this Tuesday.
00:19 And where should we start?
00:22 - Let's start with the Saquon Barkley trade.
00:25 We've got a number of things to discuss.
00:28 Justin Herbert's new deal, Saquon Barkley's trade,
00:32 Xavier Howard saying F them to the fan base.
00:36 - To Ron Armstead, to Ron Armstead on PUP I think is big.
00:40 - To Ron Armstead, but I think the most intriguing thing
00:43 is the Saquon Barkley trade offer
00:45 that Miami allegedly made.
00:47 It's been reported by, who was it reported by Pupar?
00:50 - It was the New York Post.
00:51 I just put a story up on alldolphins.com.
00:54 It's a story out of the New York Post citing leak sources
00:56 that the Dolphins made an offer to trade
00:59 for Saquon Barkley in the off season,
01:01 meaning a little further back.
01:05 - Yeah, I'm curious at what stage are we talking?
01:08 Are we talking after veterans were signed
01:12 in terms of Mo Sturt and Jeff Wilson?
01:14 Are we talking before the draft?
01:16 Are we talking after the draft with Devon A. Chain?
01:20 The one thing I know about Chris Greer
01:23 and this organization is they allegedly,
01:26 and say the word with me Pupar, do their-
01:29 - Due diligence.
01:30 - Due diligence.
01:32 We may have conversations, we make trade offers,
01:37 we inquire, we question about pending free agents.
01:41 I don't know how this makes any sense from this standpoint.
01:46 Dolphins don't have any assets.
01:48 At what point did they have any assets
01:49 to make this trade offer?
01:51 And if we're talking about assets for,
01:55 let's say 2024 second or first round pick,
01:59 I don't know what you would trade Saquon Barkley for.
02:02 Why don't you just wait till next year
02:05 when he's gonna become an unrestricted free agent?
02:07 - Yeah, and that brings up part two of the equation
02:11 is Barkley wanted money.
02:13 So this happened, he just signed now,
02:16 one year deal that's gonna be worth
02:17 like up to $11 million.
02:19 Dolphins are gonna pay a running back $11 million
02:21 the way their offense is constructed.
02:24 I'm with you, the whole thing is kind of weird.
02:28 I mean, this is a major outlet,
02:31 the New York Post citing league sources,
02:32 which is why I wrote about it.
02:35 There's a lot of things that don't make a lot of sense.
02:37 The whole thing with the running back situation
02:38 is kind of weird 'cause the Dolphins went
02:41 into the off season with a clean slate.
02:42 All guys had expiring contracts
02:45 and it becomes Barkley, Dalvin, Cook,
02:48 but they wound up resigning everybody.
02:50 Not only that, then they drafted Devon Achain
02:52 in the third round of the draft
02:53 for an offense that's built on the passing game.
02:57 So I don't understand this.
03:00 - Not sure if he wants it to be built on the passing game.
03:02 I hate that's what, you know.
03:03 - Well, but to me, as long as you have Tyreek Hill
03:05 and Jalen Waddell, the offense is gonna be built
03:07 around the passing game.
03:08 - I think Mike McDaniel, and this is a question
03:10 that I will ask him tomorrow.
03:12 He wants to be, this is his DNA.
03:15 Run game is in his DNA.
03:17 He's like the last of a dying breed.
03:20 So yes, he's straight away from it.
03:23 That doesn't mean he wants to be away from it forever.
03:26 - But I might make the argument,
03:28 did he ever have this kind of passing game in San Francisco
03:31 when he was the quote unquote running game guru
03:34 and the Kyle Shanahan protege?
03:36 - I mean, let's not even go, let's not,
03:38 here's the thing.
03:40 Don't just, I don't just look at San Francisco
03:42 as who Mike McDaniels is.
03:44 I also look at Washington.
03:45 I also look at Atlanta.
03:47 I also look at his background, which comes from Houston.
03:51 All of those teams, if you connect the dots
03:52 wherever he's been, they've been a top 10 rushing team.
03:57 So it's part of his DNA, but let's go besides that point.
04:02 If you're gonna ask me if I wanna trade a draft pick
04:05 to take Juan Barkley and then give him a max deal
04:09 as opposed to sign Alvin Cook for nothing
04:12 and give him a respectable deal, give me Alvin Cook.
04:16 - Without question.
04:17 But again, this was done in the off season.
04:20 Also at a time when the Dolphins reached out to the Vikings,
04:22 oh, what's it gonna take for Alvin Cook?
04:25 So I think they were exploring a lot of possibilities.
04:28 Now, maybe they put that on the back burner
04:29 when they resigned, everybody drafted a chain.
04:32 And now when Cook got released, all of a sudden it's like,
04:35 oh, oh, well, let's consider that.
04:38 - I mean, but Cook being released
04:39 was never a surprise to them.
04:41 I mean, they were waiting for it.
04:44 Let's be real about the situation.
04:46 - Well, here's the thing though.
04:49 If it was such a done deal,
04:51 then why would the Dolphins bother even reaching out
04:53 to the Vikings in the off season?
04:55 - And that leads to the question,
04:56 I need to know what period that was.
04:58 I need to know when that was.
05:00 And I have to think, Chris Grier makes those calls
05:03 during the draft time,
05:05 and maybe it was a conversation before,
05:07 had before the draft.
05:09 You know how he's making those calls.
05:10 He's trying to sell you Cedric Wilson
05:12 and trying to get you to go and make monogamy at a discount.
05:17 So I just, I don't, outside of them doing their due diligence
05:22 this just doesn't make any sense to me.
05:24 Neither does Saquon Barkley's one-year deal,
05:26 which that was just okay.
05:28 - But there's no market for running backs.
05:30 And one final point before we move on,
05:32 'cause we don't wanna make this all about
05:34 kind of a non-story 'cause it didn't happen.
05:37 But the fact that the running back,
05:38 the deal that Saquon Barkley settled for,
05:41 let's not kid ourselves,
05:43 to me plays well for the Dolphins
05:44 if they do want Dalvin Cook,
05:46 because it basically should be a signal to Dalvin Cook,
05:49 you may wanna get paid what you think you're worth,
05:52 all you want, you're not getting it.
05:54 - Alan Pupar, give me a fair price for Dalvin Cook
05:58 on a deal you'd offer right now.
06:00 - If he gets 7 million, he should be happy.
06:06 - You're giving him a one-year deal, $7 million.
06:09 You would make that offer.
06:10 - Oh, I don't make that offer from the Dolphins.
06:12 I don't think, I am not-
06:14 - I'm asking you what offer
06:15 would you make from the Dolphins?
06:17 You or Chris Greer,
06:18 what offer are you putting on table for Dalvin Cook?
06:20 - Four.
06:22 - What?
06:22 - Four maybe incentives to push it up.
06:24 - One year, 4 million?
06:26 - And maybe for possibly of adding incentives,
06:30 but they have to be like,
06:31 likely, they're likely to be-
06:36 - Unlikely to be achieved.
06:40 - Me personally, I am giving him the exact same deal
06:43 and offer that I gave Chase Edmonds.
06:46 He's a far less accomplished running back.
06:48 Two year, $12 million, second year is my option.
06:51 I'll even throw in a million dollars in incentives
06:54 if you make the Pro Bowl.
06:55 I think that that's fair.
06:58 I think it's reasonable.
06:59 Now, could less be on the table?
07:02 Absolutely.
07:03 But I'm not, if I'm Dalvin Cook,
07:06 I'm not just looking for a one-year deal.
07:08 I'm looking for a two-year deal
07:09 because I need injury protection.
07:12 - Okay, fair enough.
07:13 Let's move on.
07:14 'Cause we've talked about Dalvin Cook ad nauseum.
07:18 The biggest news for me from a Dolphin standpoint today,
07:21 while normally is not a big deal
07:24 for a player to start training camp on active PUP,
07:28 the fact that Teron Armstead is back there,
07:31 that's troublesome to me.
07:33 - Is it troublesome considering you predicted it yesterday?
07:38 - I kind of said, don't be surprised if it happens.
07:41 But no, I am not shocked by it,
07:45 but it still bothers me because again,
07:47 there are no words to describe just how important he is
07:52 to that offensive line.
07:53 I checked some more numbers.
07:54 Did you know here, Tua played five quarters
07:58 without Teron Armstead in the lineup,
08:00 the entire game against San Francisco
08:02 and about a quarter in the Houston game
08:05 toward the end of the second quarter,
08:07 early in the third quarter.
08:08 In those five quarters, he was sacked seven times.
08:13 And if you remember that Houston game,
08:15 it was like, it was a free for all
08:19 for the Houston defenders to get the 201,
08:21 once Armstead left.
08:22 The Dolphins need Teron Armstead on their offensive line.
08:25 And the fact that he's not ready
08:27 for the start of training camp.
08:29 We know all these injury issues last year,
08:32 including the toe and he revealed to us
08:34 before the playoff game in Buffalo,
08:36 that he had been advised to get surgery.
08:38 Now he revealed on a New Orleans football podcast last week
08:43 that he did not have surgery this off season
08:45 because the surgery would have come
08:49 with a 10 month recovery period,
08:52 which he didn't wanna go through.
08:54 So is that the issue that we don't know that for a fact,
08:58 but yeah, it's troublesome to me.
09:00 Not that I need to see him practice,
09:03 but this is how we're starting training camp
09:05 number two for him?
09:06 - Yeah, I mean, you know what you signed when you got him.
09:11 So let's put it in perspective.
09:14 He's an elite player.
09:16 Teron Armstead is that player where I'm saying,
09:19 put him in bubble wrap until two weeks
09:21 before the regular season start.
09:23 And then we'll be ready to go
09:26 and we'll get ourselves in physical football shape
09:28 during the season.
09:30 But I'm concerned a little bit about the toe injury.
09:33 Will this be something that will linger
09:36 for the rest of your career?
09:37 Like there are certain injuries that do end careers
09:40 and toes happen to be one of them.
09:42 - Yeah, no, it's troublesome.
09:44 The good news.
09:45 So for those who may be not aware,
09:48 again, it's all over the oldoffice.com
09:50 'cause we're on top of it.
09:52 It wasn't just Armstead,
09:53 it was also new offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn.
09:56 - That was my biggest concern.
09:59 I mean, you kind of hinted it,
10:01 Teron Armstead being on PUP.
10:03 I was like, I didn't think about it.
10:05 I mean, there's no downside to putting him on PUP.
10:08 You're not gonna practice him anyway.
10:10 But Isaiah Wynn, like that's a little bit troublesome.
10:14 I'm a little bit concerned, wondering, worried
10:17 because to me, Isaiah Wynn was going to be my left tackle
10:21 until Teron Armstead was out of bubble wrap.
10:23 So now guys like Kendall Lamb,
10:26 Teron Christensen, who-
10:29 - Christian, Cedric O.
10:31 - Cedric O, James Tunstall, Turnstall.
10:36 The guy's name, Turnstall?
10:38 - It's not Turnstall.
10:38 I hope it's not Turnstall.
10:39 That would not be-
10:40 - It's not Turnstall.
10:41 It's Tunstall, but I'm gonna call him Turnstall
10:44 until he proves otherwise.
10:46 Cedric O, all of these guys are gonna have to,
10:51 less for cotton.
10:53 Like, as I said in my breakdown of things
10:55 that I'm looking for,
10:56 somebody's got to raise their hand and say,
10:58 I want to be on this team.
10:59 - That is true.
11:01 The third player who was put on PUP was Tanner Conner.
11:05 And for his sake,
11:07 if he's hoping to beat Elijah Higgins for a roster spot,
11:09 that better not be a long stay on PUP.
11:12 On the good news though, no Brandon Jones on PUP,
11:16 no Trill Williams on PUP.
11:17 - Those are all encouraging.
11:20 We've got Nick Needham on the PUP,
11:22 but I'm also, even though they're not on the PUP,
11:26 I'm pretty certain that they're probably
11:28 gonna bring both of those guys back slowly.
11:30 So it's not gonna be a full go.
11:33 It's probably gonna be individuals at first
11:36 and no team and then work our way into team.
11:40 - No, but the fact that they're ready
11:42 for the first practice is encouraging.
11:45 And conversely, it's kind of disappointing
11:48 that it didn't happen for the other guys.
11:50 Next topic, do we want to address?
11:54 - Herbert's new deal?
11:56 - We could do Herbert's new deal
11:57 and well, we got to tie it into the Dolphins
12:00 and this is where, again-
12:01 - I mean, that ties into the,
12:03 there's nothing more important than Herbert's new deal
12:06 because it sets the benchmark for Tua's new deal.
12:10 Do you think Tua is going to take a dollar less
12:13 than Justin Herbert?
12:15 - No, but the important point we need to make
12:18 is the Dolphins don't have to do anything with Tua
12:20 because they have them on the fifth year option next year.
12:23 And then if they want, they can do the franchise-
12:25 - The Chargers, the Chargers didn't have
12:28 to do anything either.
12:29 - Well, this is where I'm going to tell you
12:32 that the Chargers did not have any reservation,
12:36 hesitation, calls for concern whatsoever with Herbert
12:40 that the Dolphins have with Tua,
12:42 even if it's just health related.
12:44 - Okay.
12:46 - Am I saying anything that's not completely obvious here?
12:50 - I mean, you're right.
12:54 Yeah, I mean,
12:56 if he has a healthy season,
13:01 do you see him getting a Justin Herbert-esque deal?
13:04 That thing looks really, I got to see the fine print
13:08 because $52 million a year.
13:11 - Oh, the guaranteed money, there was a report out there.
13:14 It's, I think it could reach,
13:16 the guaranteed money could reach 219 or something.
13:18 I mean, it's crazy.
13:20 Yeah.
13:21 - Yeah.
13:24 And Joe Burrow's going to get us like actually probably
13:27 a slightly better deal than that.
13:28 - Absolutely.
13:30 But these are, here's the thing about those situations,
13:33 the Chargers and Cincinnati, they're not liquid like that.
13:38 They're not fat, hot, deep and rich.
13:43 But when you got a quarterback, you got to do what it takes.
13:46 Now the question is, when the Dolphins acknowledge
13:50 that they have a quarterback, are they going to do
13:51 what it takes?
13:53 - 200, Dave.
13:55 - Correct.
13:56 And the question becomes at what point do the Dolphins
13:58 decide, okay, we have our guy for the next,
14:01 look, 'cause Herbert's deal is five years.
14:03 I believe it's tacked onto the last two years.
14:06 He's got Levi, as I read, if I read it correctly,
14:10 so now he's tied to the team for the next seven years.
14:13 At what point do the Dolphins decide, okay,
14:17 towards our guy moving forward for the next five, six,
14:20 seven, eight years, we're going to pay
14:21 whatever we need to pay.
14:23 And again, this is why the Dolphins don't have,
14:26 they're not technically in a rush because they have him
14:29 on the fifth year option next year.
14:31 And if they want, they can apply the franchise tag in 2025.
14:33 - But that's not how you treat a quarterback.
14:38 - Correct.
14:40 - You date them differently than you date everybody else
14:44 in the NFL.
14:46 - Correct.
14:47 But Dolphins clearly are not at that point
14:50 where they were willing to spend the big bucks
14:52 on Tua right now, because Tua is eligible
14:56 for a new extension right now,
14:59 and he's not getting it this off season.
15:02 Herbert's getting it, Joe Burrow's getting it.
15:04 - I don't know if Joe Burrow, we'll see.
15:06 I mean, obviously, woo, this market is hot right now.
15:11 So-
15:12 - Joe Burrow's going to get it,
15:13 and it's probably going to be instead of-
15:13 - He's going to get it, he's going to get it.
15:15 I don't know if he's going to get it this season,
15:17 but he's going to get it.
15:18 - It's five days.
15:20 And it's going to be probably 5265 instead of 5262.
15:23 - Yeah, man, hey.
15:27 - That's how it goes.
15:29 - That's how it goes.
15:30 They need a million dollars more than the last guy.
15:34 But that's how the league takes care of itself.
15:37 - Of course.
15:39 - And then we'll see if Tua gets to jump over Joe Burrow.
15:42 We shall see.
15:45 - If he continues to ball out,
15:47 and then there are no more concerns about his health,
15:50 why not?
15:51 - Hey, he's the 82nd best player in the NFL right now.
15:54 - Which brings us to our top 100.
15:56 Dolphins had three.
15:57 Today they unveiled, what was it?
16:00 80 to 89 or 81 to 90, whatever.
16:02 Whatever it was, the Dolphins had Christian Wilkins
16:04 at 81, Tua at 82, Taron Armstead at 83.
16:08 Not a surprise that those three players made it
16:12 from where I sit.
16:14 - His Alabama boys got him on.
16:17 That's just how the league works.
16:19 - Well, the way it works is that this vote was done,
16:22 what, late last season,
16:25 and Tua had a really, really good 2022 season.
16:27 So he got rewarded for it.
16:30 I kind of, like I said,
16:32 not a surprise here that he wound up on that list.
16:35 - Not a surprise that he wound up on the list.
16:40 You all know how, you know how the list goes
16:43 and how players vote for it.
16:44 And it's really just a voting for your friends.
16:47 So congratulations.
16:49 And not saying that he doesn't deserve it,
16:52 but Justin Fields is on the list too.
16:53 I'm not naming him a top 100 player.
16:56 Are you naming him a top 100 player?
16:58 - Well, certainly not ahead of Trevor Lawrence,
17:01 which he was, which to me is completely ridiculous.
17:03 But again, here's the thing,
17:05 this is based on last year.
17:07 And I think Justin Field opened a lot of eyes
17:09 with his running and certainly Dolphins saw that.
17:11 And when he ran for what, 178 yards against them.
17:14 But no, Justin Fields in no world for me
17:18 is he ahead of Trevor Lawrence.
17:19 But for those who like those things,
17:23 those are fun things to get fans talking and all that.
17:26 In the grand scheme of things,
17:27 it means squat or a little more than squat.
17:31 And the Dolphins are gonna wind up with Tyreek Hill
17:33 is gonna be on that list as well.
17:34 Jalen Ramsey is gonna be on that list as well.
17:36 Probably Jalen Waddell.
17:39 - I heard some guys in the media room throw out Javon Holland.
17:42 I'm not sure 'cause he didn't have
17:43 like a lot of splash plays last year.
17:46 Xavier Howard clearly is a top 100 player in the NFL,
17:49 but he didn't have a great year last year.
17:50 Pro Bowl or not,
17:52 I don't think he's gonna wind up making the list,
17:53 which brings us to our next thing,
17:55 the Xavier Howard media session today,
17:58 which was very interesting,
17:59 highlighted by the old F them when he was asked
18:02 if some people are sleeping on him in 2023
18:04 because of his Madden rating.
18:07 - I don't know if it was all of just his Madden rating.
18:10 Xavier is not oblivious to the fact
18:12 that Dolphins fans have him penciled in
18:15 as a guy that they're gonna release
18:17 at the end of the season
18:18 just to create cap space to release,
18:20 relieve the $32 million of tension that they're under.
18:24 And as you know, Xavier is a very good businessman.
18:29 So he knows he's in a contract year.
18:33 Xavier is gonna ball out this year if he can stay healthy.
18:36 And he's playing in a perfectly fitted scheme,
18:40 with Vic Fangio's cloud coverage,
18:43 which allows Xavier to be facing the ball a lot more
18:47 and in zone a lot more.
18:49 And also he brought up the point that he likes the fact
18:51 that he's not gonna have to shadow
18:53 the opposition's best cornerback.
18:55 They're just probably gonna stay left and right,
18:57 which he said something that I'd never heard before.
19:02 And it's true, teams would put,
19:04 because he was shadowing,
19:05 teams would put him in a motion trying to tire him out.
19:08 And it's a great strategy.
19:11 And shadowing, I think it's never beneficial.
19:16 Like guys wear it as a badge of honor,
19:19 but they don't wanna do it.
19:20 They'll do it, but they don't wanna do it.
19:24 Where you covered the opposition's best player,
19:25 you think they wanna do it, Boop?
19:28 - I think at certain times they do
19:30 because it's a badge of honor
19:31 and it's basically, it's a pride type of thing of like,
19:36 you know what, bring me your best,
19:40 I'm better than your best.
19:41 But there are times, especially if you're not,
19:44 if you're dealing with some stuff,
19:46 like, and you might get exposed.
19:48 And again, for those who don't know,
19:50 Xavier Howard dealt with groin issues
19:53 pretty much all of last year.
19:54 - Multiple, so both his balls were hurting.
19:56 Am I lying?
20:00 - Definitely not suitable for kids on this video here.
20:04 No, I had never seen that before last year.
20:06 One week he was on "India Report" with groins.
20:09 I had never seen that before.
20:11 It's always groin.
20:12 But no, and he, no, he wasn't right.
20:15 He didn't play great.
20:16 To me, I say he's just as good as Jalen Ramsey is.
20:19 And Jalen Ramsey got a 99 on the Madden rating,
20:22 whatever you wanna think of those.
20:23 And X got like an 84 or something.
20:26 And I know you pointed out to him at the press conference
20:28 that he wasn't even in the top 10.
20:31 - Listen, X is a shoot it straight kind of guy.
20:34 I shot it straight.
20:35 And X doesn't need any, you know what motivates X?
20:40 Money.
20:41 There's no secret about Xavier.
20:47 You know what motivates him?
20:48 Money.
20:49 He plays well.
20:50 He gets his 18 and a half million dollars.
20:54 And to be honest with you,
20:55 because all the guarantees are gonna be up,
20:57 if he plays well, he's coming back to the table
20:59 to say, "Hey, give me more, more guaranteed money."
21:02 So, and if he doesn't play well,
21:06 he'll either be released or he'll be traded.
21:08 And then he'll go and try to get the most money
21:10 that he can get.
21:11 Xavier will be fine.
21:12 I think he's, I think there's,
21:14 he's gonna have one of those seasons
21:16 where you're gonna be like,
21:16 we thought this guy had fallen off.
21:19 And I mean, think about it.
21:21 Who leads the NFL in interception since 2016
21:23 when he entered the league?
21:25 It's Xavier. - Hold on, hold on, hold on.
21:26 Xavier Howard.
21:28 - Yeah, and keep in mind,
21:29 Jalen Ramsey entered the league in 2016 as well.
21:32 So- - I agree.
21:33 And to me, if you're gonna pick like
21:36 the best Dolphin candidate
21:37 to be defensive player of the year, to me, it's X.
21:39 I'm a big fan of his game.
21:42 I think he's a hell of a player,
21:44 even though he didn't have a great year last year.
21:47 What else do we have on the table?
21:50 - Raheem Oster widely welcomes Dalvin Cook.
21:57 But we knew Raheem was gonna do that and say that.
22:00 And I did find it interesting that Raheem basically said
22:03 that he wants to be,
22:05 he wants to carve out a lane for himself
22:07 as a pass catching back.
22:09 - He wants to be an elite pass catcher.
22:11 - An elite pass catcher.
22:13 And he certainly has the speed to do it.
22:16 What I like about Raheem Oster
22:18 is that he's a blocking back where he can block,
22:20 he can pass block.
22:21 So he can certainly play third downs.
22:23 Even if Dalvin Cook is added to this team,
22:26 I can see where he can become the third down option
22:28 on this team.
22:29 I don't know what's gonna happen
22:32 from a Dalvin Cook standpoint,
22:33 but I'm fine and I'm comfortable with Raheem Oster
22:35 being the starting running back.
22:37 - No, I am too.
22:39 And if he's your guy,
22:40 and then I'm fine with him being your starter,
22:42 and then I'm fine with Devon Aitchen
22:44 being the third down back.
22:45 I know you wanna see him pass protect against linebackers.
22:49 We're gonna start seeing some of that
22:50 when practice begins tomorrow.
22:52 But I think it's a good setup.
22:54 - You're not gonna see it against without pads.
22:56 They're not gonna do that drill.
22:59 - Why you think it's technical on me?
23:00 I meant once practice starts
23:03 and once they get to that point
23:04 where they become a little bit more physical with pads,
23:07 then you're gonna see it.
23:08 - You know why I'm being very peculiar
23:10 because a Dolphin fans,
23:11 I go back to the days of Koa Misi.
23:14 I'm critical on rookies.
23:19 I don't pretend to not be critical on rookies
23:21 because I don't want Dolphin fans have a tendency
23:25 to hype them up way more than they should be.
23:28 And until you start flashing and make it plays,
23:31 I'm not gonna glorify you.
23:33 And Devon Aitchen, as talented as he is,
23:35 as fast as he is,
23:36 if he cannot protect this fragile quarterback,
23:39 he can't play for me.
23:41 Or he'll be a gimmick player.
23:43 And that's cool if you wanna be a gimmick player
23:45 going ahead.
23:47 I don't know what he can do.
23:49 And I won't know until I see him in that pad in practice,
23:54 one-on-one linebackers versus running backs,
23:58 bang, bang, bang, bang.
24:00 You know the collision day I'm looking for.
24:02 - No, I agree.
24:03 But here's the thing though, Omar,
24:04 you're a columnist, you're not a fan.
24:06 Fans wanna get excited about the rookies
24:07 because they're new faces.
24:08 And what you don't know is like,
24:10 excites you 'cause the potential is unknown.
24:15 Whereas if a guy's a third or fourth year veteran,
24:17 you know what they are.
24:19 So that's why I completely get it.
24:22 And look, with the number of running backs
24:24 the Dolphins have on the roster, Dalvin Cook or no,
24:26 I certainly can see a situation where Aitchen
24:30 absolutely is a specialty player on offense
24:33 when they're not using most other Jeff Wilson
24:35 or Sivan Ahmed, and then he's your kickoff returner
24:38 whenever on those three out of 75-
24:41 - He's gotta be ahead of Sivan Ahmed.
24:42 Don't be in denial.
24:43 He's gonna be ahead of Sivan Ahmed.
24:45 Let's not be in denial.
24:47 - Not if he can't pass block, he won't.
24:50 - I say Sivan can't pass block either.
24:53 So-
24:54 - Not great.
25:01 - Not really.
25:02 - Not great.
25:02 But I think Sivan Ahmed's gonna get some touches.
25:05 My point is, I wouldn't be surprised in the least
25:08 if Aitchen's a specialty player kickoff returner
25:11 when there's no touchback, which is-
25:13 - I'm gonna make a prediction right now.
25:15 He's a guy.
25:16 He's a gunner.
25:17 - Yeah, I know you mentioned that as a gunner.
25:19 Does he have the size to be a gunner?
25:21 - He's got the speed.
25:22 - In the NFL.
25:23 - All you gotta do is get back there.
25:25 He's got the speed and shiftiness and wigglability.
25:29 So now if he's easily blocked, okay, yeah.
25:32 If he's easily blocked as a gunner,
25:34 we got bigger problems.
25:36 - Yeah, he's gotta get past two guys
25:38 at the line of scrimmage to get downfield.
25:40 And again, does he have the size and the strength
25:44 and the physicality to do that?
25:46 - Okay, well, if I'm having a doubt that he does,
25:49 then he ain't for me.
25:50 - Wow.
25:53 - That is like-
25:54 - You think it's a good thing you're not the coach?
25:56 - That's true.
25:57 I mean, you can be obsessed with speed as much as you want,
25:59 but toughness wins football games, in my opinion.
26:02 This ain't Madden.
26:03 This ain't fantasy football.
26:06 This is like, the survivor,
26:08 football is a game of survival, is it not?
26:13 - Do you think for a millisecond they drafted him
26:15 because of toughness?
26:17 This was like, this was a toy that Mike McDaniel was like,
26:21 ooh, I want that speed, bring me that speed.
26:23 Am I right?
26:25 - You're right, but you know what?
26:27 Speed is cute, but I don't think it wins you games.
26:33 I don't think Tyreek Hill would be anything in the NFL
26:38 without toughness.
26:39 Yes, he's dynamically and tremendously fast,
26:42 but he's also tough.
26:44 So if you like, and that goes to the whole Jakeem Grant.
26:49 The gimmicks are cool.
26:50 They're cute.
26:51 They put play defenses on alert
26:55 when you come onto the field,
26:56 but ultimately, you know what I'm gonna do
26:59 if I'm a team and Devon Aitchein is in my backfield
27:02 on third downs, I'm blitzing my linebackers.
27:05 - Absolutely.
27:06 - And I'm going to attack your quarterback
27:09 and force your running back to stay in and protect.
27:12 And if he can't do that,
27:14 you're gonna not put him on the field.
27:16 What lie did I just tell you?
27:18 - That you don't win any games with speed
27:22 when the Dolphins won a lot of games with speed last year.
27:25 Do we think they come back against Baltimore
27:27 if Hill and Waddell are not getting freed down the field
27:31 and Tua's getting in the ball?
27:33 - Listen, you're right to a certain extent.
27:40 I don't think speed wins you games in December and January.
27:45 - Now, that's a great point, my friend.
27:48 And that's part of where the Dolphins need to have
27:52 maybe a little bit more balance.
27:53 It's interesting, I don't know if you caught Julian Edelman.
27:57 I don't know where he was.
27:58 And he made the comment of-
28:00 - Yeah, he was on the Kelsey's podcast.
28:04 - That's right.
28:05 And he pegged the Dolphins as a team
28:06 that he could see taking a step back.
28:07 And then he mentioned specifically winning
28:09 in December and January.
28:11 There needs to be some of that balance without question
28:15 where the toughness-
28:17 - And for those who don't understand,
28:19 in December and January, where your bodies are beaten up
28:24 and it's survival of the fittest
28:26 and you need to run the ball more to finish out games
28:30 and to finish out the season,
28:31 that's where the running game sort of ratchets up.
28:34 And there's a reason for it because the bodies are on fumes
28:39 at the end of the year.
28:40 So those teams that can run and can be physical,
28:44 it gives you an edge.
28:45 It gives you an edge and it gives you an edge in the playoffs.
28:48 Now, if you can't do that, cool, you might make it there.
28:52 But the question is, how long will you survive?
28:55 And as we all saw last year,
28:57 Dolphins were booty cheeks in December.
29:01 - Booty cheeks.
29:02 - Booty cheeks.
29:04 - Were they not?
29:05 - They were not good.
29:06 No, no, no, they were not good.
29:08 And then they almost pulled off the UJF set at Buffalo
29:13 in part because they did.
29:15 Dude, they lost by three points.
29:17 They had the ball driving
29:18 for a potential game-winning touchdown
29:20 around midfield until their drive fizzled.
29:22 And part of the reason was
29:24 because their defense created turnovers.
29:26 That's another thing that also has to come into play.
29:29 And this is where the Vic Fangio addition,
29:31 completely different topic,
29:32 but the Vic Fangio addition and that of Jalen Ramsey
29:35 could make a big difference
29:36 'cause the Dolphins were not great
29:37 at creating turnovers last year.
29:39 They were the year before and the year before that.
29:41 They need to get back to that to complement the offense.
29:44 And that's gonna make a difference down the stretch.
29:46 - So we also had Jalen Ramsey join us
29:51 and talk about the fact that he is a elite cornerback.
29:55 He's on, and people gotta understand,
29:58 there's a different level of confidence that corner,
30:00 the great cornerbacks have to have short memories
30:04 and arrogance because the whole system
30:06 is set up for them to fail.
30:07 Like the system is set up for every defender to fail
30:11 and cornerbacks more so than others
30:12 because their big plays are produced on them.
30:15 You gotta have a short memory
30:16 and you gotta be absolutely tremendously confident.
30:19 Jalen Ramsey is not shy on confidence.
30:23 Neither is X.
30:26 - No, he's just more subtle about it though.
30:29 Jalen Ramsey is in your face cocky, which is fine.
30:33 I have no issue with that.
30:34 That's fine.
30:35 - I don't think a cornerback outside of,
30:40 outside of not Richard Sherman, probably Richard Sherman,
30:45 has marketed themselves better than Jalen Ramsey.
30:48 And because, you know, you're not supposed to have name
30:53 and glory and be considered a marquee player
30:57 in this league as a cornerback.
30:59 You're not.
31:00 Like even Revis didn't, you know, Revis had a name,
31:03 but it's set up for you to fail.
31:06 I look at this team and the top position to me
31:10 is cornerback on this entire team.
31:12 I know they got some hella wide receivers as well,
31:16 which is why these wide receiver,
31:17 these wide receiver cornerback battles,
31:19 they're gonna be real good.
31:21 If all of them practice,
31:23 and Jalen Ramsey said he's going to practice,
31:26 I don't believe him.
31:27 - Did he say that or he said,
31:28 "These all go and I'm sure they'll have a plan for me."
31:30 He kind of tap-danced around that question.
31:32 - Yeah, yeah.
31:34 Oh yeah, he said, "These will go
31:36 and they'll have a plan for me."
31:37 Yeah. - Correct.
31:38 - Yeah, so. - The biggest plan
31:39 is gonna be for him not to practice.
31:41 So who knows?
31:42 I mean, like I said, he completely tapped in.
31:43 - Xavier said he'd practice it too.
31:45 I don't believe that either.
31:47 - I asked Xavier, okay.
31:51 Here's the thing you gotta remember always.
31:53 The last few seasons is, except for last year,
31:57 the ex had the contract situation
31:59 that he wasn't necessarily thrilled with.
32:01 So that played a role in it.
32:03 That got settled.
32:04 I think last year he practiced a good bit.
32:07 - I would like to see the cap on both of them
32:10 practicing at 15 snaps in team drills.
32:14 Like past that, what are we doing?
32:16 - But all of them against Hill and Waddle.
32:18 I want it from a selfish standpoint,
32:21 I want that matchup.
32:22 I don't want it, no offense,
32:23 but I don't want to see Jalen Ramsey covering
32:26 Eric and Noah. - No, no, yeah.
32:27 You don't want to see Tyreek Hill roasting Noah Igbenagany.
32:31 We've seen that over and over again.
32:32 - You have to take a shot at my man, Noah.
32:34 You have to take a shot.
32:36 - Listen, as I always say,
32:41 there's that one cornerback on every training camp roster
32:45 where the quarterback breaks the huddle,
32:46 looks at the defense, and he sees,
32:48 he's looking for a certain number.
32:51 I believe that number is number nine on this roster.
32:55 Yes, that number is number nine on this roster.
32:58 Wherever number nine is, whoever's covered him,
33:00 that's where the ball is going.
33:02 And that's you, am I lying?
33:06 Has that been Noah his whole career?
33:08 Has he been picked on?
33:10 - I plead the fifth or the ninth in this particular case.
33:13 - (laughs) Thank you.
33:15 I want to see Noah not be that player.
33:18 And full disclosure, Noah Igbenagany
33:23 was on my man crush list in the 2020 draft.
33:27 I had him pegged as a second round pick.
33:29 I wanted the Dolphins to select him.
33:31 I thought he was going to be a star.
33:33 He has not been.
33:35 And it is tremendously bad ball awareness.
33:39 Just always in position.
33:43 No ability to identify or recognize wherever the ball is
33:47 or that it's coming at him.
33:48 And he should expect the ball to be coming at him
33:51 every time he's on the field.
33:53 - Yeah, and also early on,
33:56 easily, easily beaten by double moves.
33:58 And I still,
33:59 you want, 'cause we talk about players being mismanaged
34:03 at times by the previous regime.
34:05 And I'm going to go back to that 2020 game
34:06 when they throw him in the lineup against Stephon Diggs
34:09 after Byron Jones pulls a hammy against the Bills
34:11 in like week three.
34:12 And Diggs is turning him every which way.
34:15 - Oh, then the next week where he gets picked on
34:18 by Russell Wilson and cost them the game.
34:22 No, no.
34:23 I think the majority of what's going on with Noah is mental.
34:27 That's my personal opinion.
34:28 I think that he needed to be,
34:31 and I said this to his agent last year,
34:33 you need to get him traded.
34:35 Because if he's going to have a respectable NFL career,
34:38 he needs a fresh start.
34:39 Now, from what I heard,
34:41 he is a defensive, who's the former head coach?
34:48 - Oh, Brian Flores.
34:51 - Yeah, Brian Flores advocated, Brian Flores wanted him.
34:55 And then when he became a failure,
34:57 Brian Flores was extremely abusive to him
35:00 from what I understood, from what I learned.
35:03 - I find that hard to believe that could happen, sorry.
35:06 - And that destroyed his confidence as it would.
35:11 Now, the problem is he's had plenty of opportunities
35:13 to regain and rebuild that confidence.
35:15 And it just hasn't happened.
35:18 - Doesn't have the instincts.
35:19 - That to me is what's been glaring from day one.
35:23 You look at some guys,
35:24 even though they may be lacking physically,
35:26 they just have a feel, they have a feel for it.
35:29 And with Noah, it's the other way around.
35:31 They make, he's got good size, he can run.
35:33 He just got no feel.
35:34 One quick point I wanna make,
35:36 we go back, going back to the Ramsey Howard thing.
35:38 I look at those two and the comparison is gonna come up
35:41 throughout the year to Madison and Sertain
35:44 because they're two really high end cornerbacks.
35:46 And it's interesting to me
35:48 because Jaylen Ramsey is Madison.
35:50 Sam was not shy in terms of the personality.
35:54 Sam was not shy about talking his game.
35:57 And Patrick was like the quiet low key guy, just like X.
36:02 And both of them, all four of those guys,
36:04 really, really high end cornerbacks.
36:07 - This is a better duo though.
36:09 And I love Sam and Pat.
36:11 - Is it though?
36:13 - What?
36:15 - Sam and Pat at the top of their game
36:17 were the best cornerback tandem in the NFL.
36:19 I mean, those two were really, really, really good.
36:22 I mean, damn, they were good.
36:24 - They were good.
36:26 But if we're gonna match them up player for player,
36:30 Jaylen Ramsey is the best press cover cornerback
36:33 than Sam Madison, is a better press cover.
36:36 Jaylen Ramsey is on a Hall of Fame trajectory.
36:38 Are we right?
36:39 Yes?
36:41 - Sure, I'll give you that.
36:43 - Sam Madison probably might make it in as a legend.
36:47 - Hmm, I don't think that, yeah, that's quite enough.
36:51 - So right now we're at Dolphins present day,
36:54 better press cover and ball skills, please.
36:57 I've never seen anybody like Xavier Howard.
37:01 28 interceptions.
37:02 - Did you see a lot of Sam in his prime or was that-
37:04 - Yes, absolutely.
37:05 Absolutely, I saw Sam in his prime.
37:06 - Sam was great playing on the ball.
37:09 - I don't even know if Sam's got 28 interceptions
37:12 in his career, I'm looking it up right now.
37:13 - Yeah, go ahead and look it up.
37:15 - Pat Sertain.
37:16 - Yeah, but I thought the comparison was Madison.
37:20 Bottom line-
37:21 - No, no, I would say Pat Sertain.
37:23 I don't think Sam Madison's got 28 interceptions either.
37:26 Anyway.
37:29 - Can we just settle for the both really, really-
37:34 - 38 interceptions.
37:35 - 38, that's more than 28, unless I'm wrong.
37:38 Anyway, both really, really high-end cornerback tandems
37:44 and this is a luxury.
37:45 And I'm with you, I think top to bottom cornerback.
37:48 And I don't know if you've noticed,
37:50 we're running down here, we're about a minute left here.
37:54 I don't know if you've noticed,
37:55 at every chance he gets, X is pumping Caterco's tires.
38:00 I mean, he-
38:02 - No, he's been on these tires, I don't know.
38:05 But yeah, X is a big Cater guy.
38:08 - Big time.
38:09 - Listen, I didn't cover the team last year,
38:13 but I'm very, I did cover training camp and he was okay.
38:18 I would like to see him this training camp
38:19 and see the growth in his game.
38:21 - To me, he was really, really impressive last year.
38:24 The only issue I had with him, he was very handsy.
38:27 And it came up to bite him a couple of times
38:29 in the regular season, including sadly,
38:32 at the end of the Buffalo game and the Saturday night game,
38:34 where he got called on basically the game deciding play,
38:37 not only for defensive holding, but for DPI as well,
38:40 where he was all over, was it Isaiah McKenzie?
38:42 I think it was, but the kid can cover
38:46 and he's a really, really good tackler as well.
38:48 And this was as a rookie free agent.
38:50 No, he's got a nice future.
38:53 So with that, we're gonna wrap it up.
38:54 This wasn't planned.
38:57 Omar and I just decided to go ahead and do this
38:58 'cause a lot of things were happening.
39:00 Tomorrow we start with the full training camp practice
39:03 recaps.
39:05 - And we will have a recap.
39:06 - We will have a recap.
39:07 Download, subscribe, like, share, do all that good stuff.
39:10 Omar, we'll see you tomorrow.
39:12 See you tomorrow practice.
39:13 [BLANK_AUDIO]