Miami Dolphins Cut Day! What position groups are most concerning?

WQAM-AM / AM 560 Sports WQAM

Leroy stresses the value of playing in pre pre-season. The guys detail what position groups they are most concerned about... Leroy feels the defense is getting pushed around a little too easy for his liking.

Transcript

00:00So, how are you feeling about this season and starting off?

00:09I know like during the summer we all had all these dreams and goals, now it's getting closer

00:15to reality, right?

00:17And you're seeing how all these teams seem to be taking form.

00:23Is there anybody you feel different about or you have more, like I have more questions

00:28with the Dolphins than I did when camp started?

00:31And it's not, it's all of a who the hell's gonna play kind of thing without really knowing

00:36the reality of the injuries or the shape of some of these guys who played no preseason.

00:44Playing no preseason, I'm telling you, playing no preseason scares the hell out of me.

00:50Yeah, but they never do, they never do.

00:52But here, but they still get their work in.

00:55There's guys who haven't-

00:56Well, they did a joint practice every week this year.

01:00That was a little different.

01:01They didn't do that last year.

01:02Right.

01:03Well, and I think that's the new thing.

01:04And I think you can do that now because the off, you got that extra week.

01:10I'm nervous about the wide receivers for sure, outside of Jalen Waddell and Tyree Hook because

01:17none of them are healthy.

01:18Well, but here's, and I'm gonna counter that for you.

01:23Don't underestimate what they're gonna do with John New Smith.

01:27Okay.

01:28Don't just, I'm telling you, just seeing some of the things he does, he is gonna, they're

01:34almost gonna use him like Deebo Samuel, right?

01:38Except he's bigger and he can probably play more positions on the field and they can put

01:41him on the end of the line of scrimmage and he can block.

01:43Yeah, I guess it's-

01:44That is, that is a, he is a unique piece to that.

01:51And his position, much like Tyreek is.

01:53Yeah, I guess it's technicality because he's going to be a target, but it's still, I'm

01:57just saying strictly from the wide receiver because he's technically a tight end.

02:00Right.

02:01Yeah.

02:02Odell Beckham not practicing, Eric Ezra Kama being hurt.

02:04I'm not worried about that because of John New Smith.

02:06Okay.

02:07Because you have a third receiver, right?

02:09A guy who could, and you can do it out of different formations where he might be a primary

02:13target because he's on the end of the line of scrimmage instead of in a slot where those

02:18other guys would be.

02:19So I'm not worried about that third guy, but I'm going to tell you this, and I've told

02:26you this after the second game, they're getting pushed around too much on defense.

02:34Getting pushed around too much.

02:36When the whole mantra of this start of camp-

02:40Bullies.

02:41Was we need to be bullies, we need to be tougher, right?

02:44You know how hard it is to, take it from a running back.

02:48The hardest thing to do in preseason is run the football because you're just running standard

02:55plays.

02:56You're not running real blocking schemes.

02:57Everybody's just aggressive as hell.

02:59They ain't worried about a whole bunch of play action and checks and all this stuff

03:04right there.

03:05It's just line up and play football.

03:07So anytime you get a slight crease in the preseason, it is like, oh, like it's a blessing

03:15To see them get pushed around the way they did.

03:18I have questions about that.

03:19It's only 11 plays though, like for the real starters playing.

03:24I don't care if the whole mantra is your team being tougher and bullies, right?

03:31It doesn't just work with the starters.

03:34That is something that has to go throughout your whole unit.

03:38So granted I get some of those guys maybe weren't good enough to be bullies.

03:45Weren't good enough to be physical.

03:47Okay.

03:48But when every team watches that they're going to come into every game thinking this, let's

03:56run the ball, keep away from the offense.

03:58And there's going to put a lot of pressure on that defense early because they're going

04:02to test them.

04:03Yeah.

04:04Because this is what people think.

04:05Yeah.

04:06That's what they test.

04:07Cause you got ATN and you got James Cook back to back weeks.

04:08But that's so, so that's one of the things that I'm worried about as far as, because

04:14if you run a football, now you got a two way go and now you got play action.

04:20It's a two way, a two way go.

04:23That means you can either run it or pass it.

04:25Right.

04:26There's a big difference in defense when all you, all they can do is pass it.

04:29I thought you're talking about the famous play, the two way go.

04:31Oh yeah.

04:32Made in Texas.

04:33Of course.

04:35Remind me again about that play.

04:39What exactly?

04:40You know, I'm Leroy's explaining his thing.

04:42Don't be rude.

04:43Okay.

04:44Don't be rude.

04:45He's explaining his thing.

04:46I'll do not.

04:47I said to wake up, wake up.

04:48Yeah.

04:49Yeah.

04:50Of course the, you know, made famous with, uh, you know, the Larry Coker's roadrunners.

04:55Yeah.

04:56Actually, I think it's Texas tech.

05:00That's in Waco.

05:01Yeah.

05:02Hmm.

05:03Was it a Mike Leach special?

05:04Huh?

05:05Mike Leach.

05:06Wes Welker knows about the two Waco.

05:08Ask him.

05:09What?

05:10Pistols up.

05:11Dude.

05:12Hmm.

05:13Dude.

05:14Dude.

05:15Is Baylor in Waco?

05:16It's hard.

05:17But here to somebody said, it's hard to be tough when you're dealing with injuries.

05:23And what I ask you guys is this, if they struggle because of the injuries, how are we as fans

05:33going to view that?

05:34Well, I think we all, nobody cares.

05:36I think even last year with, with, uh, Vic Fangio, the defense got off to a really rough

05:41start.

05:42Like they needed about a good five weeks.

05:43And then how about this?

05:45When everybody was hurt and banged up and out the defense still held up this side of

05:49the bargain.

05:50Yeah.

05:51True.

05:52Right.

05:53So they didn't lose because of defense last year at the end of the last year.

05:58I could say I was very impressed with how the defense held up despite all of it.

06:04They lost the three top pass rushers.

06:06I know.

06:07So yeah.

06:09But don't, but one thing that we got to, we got a new captain, you know, a new anchor

06:13because Christian Wilkins is gone, but we, we're going to be different.

06:17They're going to be more pushed the pile than speed and agility and quickness from the middle.

06:22We've handed the reins over to Zach sealer it on up.

06:28You go from pepper to salt.

06:30It's all right.

06:31And also didn't miss a day of practice.

06:34Not one day of camp did Zach sealer miss you want to know why he's a man, man's man, man's

06:40man.

06:41He also hadn't been playing 16, 17 years, man's man's actually didn't miss a day of

06:45practice.

06:46Right.

06:47Um, and one thing, my mom and dad practice because I'm a man for life says Tobin floor

06:54has left us a top five defense in 2022 and Fangio left us a top 10 defense in 2023.

07:00No more excuses, dude.

07:01I'm not, I mean, nobody's making an excuse, but I'm telling you the facts cap, they stunk

07:07on defense the first month, last year, top 10 or no top 10.

07:10I'm just letting you know, with your star pass rushers rounding into the fold and having

07:15rookies that are going to probably play a lot, I would say, yeah, you could probably

07:19like, I'll give them about a four week rough start.

07:23It's still going to be, you're going to get knocked in the teeth.

07:25These first couple of weeks, probably because you got some good running backs that you're

07:28going up against.

07:29Now you do have the benefit of going against two quarterbacks that love to give up the

07:33football.

07:35So I will say, get your paws ready, Jalen Ramsey.

07:39Let's go out there.

07:40Snowman.

07:41So man wants that bread.

07:42Let's pick off some passes from these two dopes.

07:44That's right.

07:45Right.

07:46Now look, and that's, that's the thing, right?

07:52Last year we supposed to, and this, what this team is right now, I experienced, but not

08:03with the defense that you had, right?

08:08I played on a team that if we didn't score 30 points, we lost.

08:16This defense is a lot better than the defense we had when I was 15 and one.

08:23Okay.

08:24So the pressure of having to score 30 points a game is not as important here as it was

08:35when I played.

08:36That being said, collectively and together, they're still going to have to manage some

08:43games and get through some, some, get through some games and win some games where one side

08:51has to cover for the other, right?

08:54Where good coaching decisions are going to have to make the difference in a close game.

09:01And so from that standpoint, don't expect, you know, we got the highest part.

09:08It usually doesn't work.

09:09You score 35 every week, right?

09:11You might hit a 40.

09:13You might hit a 25.

09:14You might hit a 30, but you're going to have against those tougher teams.

09:20And my whole thing with this team, the last couple of years has been this.

09:26When you've played the better teams, very rarely have you gotten blown out, but it's

09:31that adjustment coming out of the second half where you've gotten stifled and shut down.

09:39I want them to see against these better teams when they make defensive adjustments.

09:44How is the offense going to respond to that?

09:47Yeah, it's a big test for migrating down for sure.

09:49So while we're sitting here talking about, well, that's one thing that player needs to

09:52do this.

09:53This player needs to do that.

09:54This player needs to do that.

09:55This player, let's be clear.

09:56A lot of it, a lot of the reason why your offense was stifled is that they came up and

10:04ran the same offenses.

10:05They didn't really make any adjustments.

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