- 2 days ago
Miami Dolphins columnist for the Sun Sentinel, Chris Perkins, discusses the latest from today's Dolphins practice including why he doesn't think Cam Smith is ready to be a starter, why there isn't a true backup QB battle and why he loves how Tua Tagovailoa has approached being a leader.
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00:00All right, let's talk some football season, baby.
00:03We got a preseason game in a couple days.
00:05The Dolphins play their first preseason game next weekend.
00:10And joining us now on the Toyota of Hollywood Hotline is our friend, Chris Perkins.
00:17He's a columnist, covers the Miami Dolphins.
00:20You can read his work at the Sun Sentinel.
00:22Perk, what was the temperature like out there?
00:26Those fans working at Dolphins practice?
00:27I imagine it's just hot as hell, man.
00:29Every single day.
00:30Hey, let me tell you, those big-ass fans that they installed, props to them.
00:35Because those things are doing work.
00:36They are keeping us cool.
00:37It's like once you leave those stands and you get out into the atmosphere, you figure out,
00:44wow, it's damn hot out here.
00:46But Mike McDaniel did a great job moving practices up by 90 minutes.
00:50And they installed those big-ass fans.
00:52I'm living the dream.
00:54No complaint.
00:55No complaint.
00:55Hey, Perk, did McDaniel move practices up specifically because of weather?
01:02Or is this, you know, we read and we listen to McDaniel and everybody in that building talking about culture change
01:10and talking about how, you know, guys have to be on time and Tyreek Hill is trying to be a better leader
01:15and he's trying, you know, to be just a better overall person in that locker room.
01:21Did it have a little bit to do with that as well?
01:23Like, hey, this is a new mindset.
01:25This is a new culture.
01:26We're starting practices earlier, fellas.
01:28So, get your asses up.
01:30I think that that's a small part of it.
01:32McDaniel was vague when we asked him about it.
01:34He said their whole schedule has changed and they're doing a lot of things differently
01:39and their whole day has been rearranged.
01:41But, yeah, I got to think it's kind of like, you know, this is a new mindset.
01:46Y'all better show me some new commitment, especially after Bradley Chubb was talking about
01:50we were lying about culture change last year.
01:52And it's like, y'all better be telling the truth this year.
01:56Yeah, but, Perk, you know, I just, you know, Nick Saban, he was scheduling him at 11.59
02:02because he knew the sun was highest at noon because he wanted us to get ready.
02:06I don't know if moving him to a cooler temperature is better.
02:09He put in the bubble.
02:10Nick Saban put in the bubble and would get pissed when we went in the bubble
02:14because it made us soft.
02:17He told us this bubble makes y'all soft.
02:19Yeah, yeah.
02:20And, hey, look, who has a tougher team, Crowder?
02:24Saban or McDaniel?
02:26I think we got our answer, don't we?
02:28And, Perk, that's kind of where the question was is that, you know,
02:32you can say we're getting tougher, but do you see – is he, you know, a little more angry?
02:37Because Nick Saban used to dog cuss people.
02:40Like I said, he wouldn't say, hey, Crowder, watch the screen backside on third down.
02:46He'd be like, you can't cover, and they know you can't cover, and I don't believe in you.
02:50They're going to throw a screen at you because you're the weakest link.
02:52Go meet the tackle.
02:53But that was the way that I was used to coaches speaking to me.
02:57Is McDaniel changing his approach like that, or is it – because I think the coach changed the culture.
03:04Yeah, I agree with you.
03:05It's the same Mike McDaniel.
03:06It's the same nice guy Mike McDaniel.
03:09Look, I'm with you, Crowder.
03:10I'm from the school of Vic Fangio, Ryan Flores.
03:14We're going to put it out there.
03:16Nick Saban, this is the truth, and if you can't handle it, get off of my team.
03:20That's what I like.
03:21I don't like that everybody gets a participation trophy, and you're doing a great job,
03:26and keep plugging away, keep chopping wood.
03:28Stump all that mess.
03:30I like the hardcore truth, reality.
03:33You're out there at 10.30 in the sun, but I am thankful that McDaniel has moved these practices up.
03:39As somebody who is a little more finessed like that team, I appreciate being in some shade.
03:48Perk, what's been the biggest surprise to you so far?
03:51I know we're not too far into camp at this point.
03:54Obviously, the defensive backs have been a huge topic of conversation.
03:58Offensive line is always a hot topic of conversation.
04:01I saw that there were some formations, or maybe they were trying to use Jalen Phillips,
04:06rushing to the middle of the interior of the line.
04:08What's been the biggest surprise maybe that you've noticed so far in camp?
04:13You know, I don't know about surprise, Josh, but I'll say this.
04:17That defensive front seven is getting after it, and every day you see them doing more and more good stuff.
04:24Today, Jordan Brooks and Willie Gay Jr. were on top of their game.
04:29We've seen the edge rushers, Jordan Phillips and Bradley Chubb and Chop Robinson getting on it.
04:36Today, we actually had our first little dust-up of camp.
04:39Kenneth Grant, the rookie defensive tackle, and Andrew Meyer, the senior, the center, were kind of going back and forth.
04:46They got broken up pretty quickly.
04:47But, you know, that front seven is pushing that offensive line.
04:52They are challenging the quarterbacks.
04:55They're challenging everybody.
04:57That front seven, I think, is going to be really, really good.
05:00They could be a game-changing or game-winning front seven.
05:03I have that much faith in those guys.
05:06They have been on their job.
05:09By the way, pads come on tomorrow, and I want to see how much that front seven causes problems for that offensive line.
05:14I think it's going to be massive disruption.
05:18People are rightly concerned, I think, about the Dolphin situation at cornerback right now.
05:23But you bring up the front seven.
05:25It feels like that front seven can make the job of these DBs a little bit easier.
05:29Do you see that developing here as the season goes on?
05:32If the front seven is as good as we think it can be, doesn't that take the load off a bit of what, I guess, they're lacking at corner?
05:38Yeah, yeah, it can.
05:40It can.
05:41And Crowder can talk to this a little bit better, but I think it can.
05:44Now, the issue that I see is if you know how quickly Tua gets that ball out, any quarterback can do that on these corners.
05:53You know, it's not like you have a Jalen Ramsey out there or an Xavier Howard out there to kind of shut things down on one side.
06:02You know, Tater is still going to be the best cornerback out there.
06:05And, by the way, Mike McDaniels said today they still don't know the extent of his knee injury.
06:11But, you know, if you have Jack Jones on one side and Storm Duck on the other, if I'm a quarterback, I'm throwing right at those dudes.
06:18I'm testing both of them.
06:20And, you know, we can throw some short routes and soften them up, and then we can do some double moves and things like that.
06:27I'm still looking at those corners very, very skeptically.
06:31I've still got to see it.
06:32But for the intermediate and deep routes, yeah, I think that front seven can definitely buy some time for the secondary.
06:38Yeah, Perk, I didn't have confidence in Kato Kohu and Storm Duck, and now they're both injured.
06:44And now we're going deeper and deeper.
06:45Wasn't Cam Smith?
06:47We just – they had a report.
06:49Hell, I think you might have wrote the report we read the other day where Coach was talking about Cam Smith.
06:54He's – oh, you know, he's chopping wood and, you know, eating his applesauce and his Jell-O.
06:59Whatever the hell that is, like, you done seen enough.
07:02Can Cam Smith play in this league?
07:05Nope.
07:05Well, I shouldn't say that.
07:07He's not a starter.
07:08He's not a starter.
07:09And this is your second – your second-round pick from three years ago.
07:13He's not a starter.
07:15And so, you know, you guys remember last year when Buffalo went straight at him,
07:21when Storm Duck and Kater Kohu were both out.
07:25And, you know, we had to see Cam Smith out there, and they were going at him with Matt Collins.
07:31They were like, look, Matt Collins on Cam Smith will go to Matt Collins.
07:36Cam is not ready.
07:38I like Cam, and I think that he wants to be better.
07:41Like, his body language is better this year.
07:43But I just don't see it.
07:45I just don't see the improvement.
07:46And I'm not sure what you do with that guy, considering he's a second-round pick.
07:52But he definitely has not shown starting capabilities at this point.
07:56And I'm not sure he's a high-level backup at this point.
08:01Is he better than Jason Allen?
08:04Ooh.
08:05Yeah.
08:06Never mind.
08:07Never mind.
08:07If you have to think, Perkins, you got to think – if you got to think about it,
08:10I don't need to answer.
08:11Don't worry about it.
08:12Right, right, right.
08:13I was going to say, let me not answer that that quick.
08:15Yeah, it's a tie.
08:17It's a tie.
08:18That's not good.
08:19That's not good.
08:21Chris Perkins, by the way, joining us here.
08:23Miami Dolphins columnist.
08:24Again, read his work at the Sun Sentinel.
08:26And Hawk said this earlier in the week.
08:29But, you know, support local journalism.
08:32These guys are all doing a kick-ass job at covering the team, as they always do.
08:36But they deserve our support.
08:38Perk, I'll go to Tua Tungavailoa now.
08:41And the quarterbacks in general, I know Tua hasn't thrown an interception yet
08:45over five practices.
08:46He was given the orange jersey today.
08:49He came out and was the best performer on Saturday.
08:53What's your vibe with Tua?
08:55And, you know, he had those comments regarding Tyreek Hill last week
08:59that everybody was very zoned in on.
09:02Does he look like he's trying to take a larger leadership role, in your opinion?
09:07And just his overall play is demeanor.
09:09Like, what's the vibe around Tua during training camp?
09:14Tua looks more mature on the podium.
09:16And I like what he said about Tyreek.
09:19I don't know about the kind of the narrative of he's calling out Tyreek.
09:24I would say it's nice that he was the one who said something publicly.
09:28I don't know if he called Tyreek out.
09:30But I do like that he was the one who said something publicly because, look,
09:35all the guys last year, Jalen Ramsey, Calais Campbell, you know,
09:42all the team leaders, Teron Armstead, nobody said anything publicly about Tyreek.
09:48So I give Tua a lot of credit for that.
09:51On the field, he looks like the same Tua, which is good news.
09:54I'm not saying that's a bad thing at all.
09:56He's accurate.
09:57He's making good decisions.
09:59He's being a leader.
10:00You see him going around talking to other players and instructing them
10:04and giving them tips and things like that.
10:06But we know the thing with Tua.
10:08He's got to stay healthy.
10:10And both Greer and McDaniel say that that's largely on Tua.
10:13Get rid of the ball and slide instead of trying to run somebody over
10:17and make that extra yard.
10:19So that remains to be seen because you remember Tua has said before that,
10:24you know, he's going to get rid of the ball and he's going to slide
10:27and he gets competitive and he doesn't do it.
10:29So to me, the big thing with Tua is not really how is he throwing the ball
10:35and what are his leadership skills.
10:37Can he play smarter and keep himself out there for 17 games?
10:43That's what we need to see from Tua.
10:44If Tua plays all 17, I've got him as a nine-win team right now.
10:49So they have a good chance of winning 10 if he plays all 17.
10:55Now, will that get you a home playoff game and a playoff victory?
10:59I don't know.
11:00But you definitely need Tua out there.
11:02I would say Tua needs to play like 14 or 15 games for this team to have a good shot
11:08at the playoffs.
11:09And if he can play smart, he's got a good chance to do that.
11:13What about Quinn Ewers?
11:14Has he surprised you?
11:15Because I know, you know, on Saturday there was a lot of chatter about him looking great.
11:20Is it possible that he might end up being like a steal of the draft?
11:24I'm not suggesting he's going to start over Tua.
11:26Like I'm not getting crazy here, Perk, but just in general.
11:28Damn Zach Wilson, though.
11:30Well, is that going to be a battle?
11:33Backup quarterback in your mind?
11:34Like how interesting has he looked?
11:37Quinn has looked good, but I think there's zero chance that he overtakes Zach Wilson.
11:41And look, a lot of it is for political reasons.
11:45You heard Chris Greer and Mike McDaniel say Zach Wilson was our hand-picked choice for
11:50number two, for backup, that we think we can, McDaniel said he thinks he can kind of revamp
11:55him similar to how he did with Tua.
11:58Now, McDaniel was very careful not to compare Zach Wilson to Tua, but kind of that resurrection,
12:04that kind of reclamation project.
12:06They think they can do that with Zach Wilson.
12:10Quinn Ewers would have to play like Tom Brady to overtake Zach Wilson because the Dolphins
12:15would look pretty damn stupid if the seventh round pick ended up overtaking their hand-picked
12:20choice for the backup quarterback.
12:22Having said that, Quinn has looked pretty good.
12:25And the thing that I like about Quinn, you know, one of the things I do at this time of
12:29year when there's no pads on is after the play, when they go off to the sideline to the
12:34coaches, are the coaches yelling at them or are the coaches congratulating them?
12:39And I see a lot of coaches congratulating Quinn Ewers.
12:41I don't see Ewers making the same mistake twice.
12:45He seems to be a fast learner.
12:46He delivers the ball with confidence.
12:48But I see zero chance of that man overtaking Zach Wilson, and most of it is for political
12:54reasons.
12:55Perk, it was reported that the Dolphins are hosting Noah Fant today at the facility.
13:00And I'm curious, do you think that has to do with their confidence level in Darren Waller's
13:06ability to get back to playing shape?
13:08Or do you think if they do bring in Noah Fant, they have a plan for both Waller and Fant to
13:13be part of this offense?
13:14I think there's a question about Waller.
13:18I don't see how, you know, look, Fant is a receiving tight end.
13:24Waller is a receiving tight end.
13:26Janu Smith was a receiving tight end.
13:29I think you've got your blocking tight ends down with Julian Hill and Farrell Brown.
13:34They're trying to find a receiving tight end.
13:36And I think the fact that they're still looking a little bit, even though Waller is on the roster,
13:43it raises a red flag to me about Waller.
13:47Either his preparedness or something that they've seen there gives them pause for concern.
13:53So I thought that was a very, very interesting move that they're going to bring in, no offense.
13:59And it's not a good thing.
14:03And look, you guys know that, you know, the Dolphins had a chance to take, what was our
14:10tight end from Penn State who went number 14 to Indy?
14:14Tyler Warren.
14:16Right, right.
14:16Tyler Warren.
14:17So they had a chance.
14:18I agree with the Kenneth Grant pick.
14:20But if you can't replace Janu, you could kind of raise some questions there.
14:25Did they make the right choice at number 13 in the draft?
14:30Should they have taken Tyler Warren?
14:32And, Perk, with this thing, I had to ask you about Christian Wilkins.
14:35Because he, bro, he invited me to Hamilton with him.
14:38He invited me to Hamilton.
14:39He called me and invited me because we had him on air.
14:43And I was like, bro, I don't watch plays.
14:45He's like, I'm not a play dude.
14:46He called my cell phone and was like, I got an extra ticket to Hamilton if you want to go.
14:51I turned it down because I'm a grown-ass man and I'm not going to play with another grown-ass man.
14:56He just doesn't seem like the story's coming out.
14:58He doesn't seem like the guy that's going to disrespect the team and disrespect the trainers and all that stuff.
15:03Like, do you – I know the story's going to come out, but what do you take from this Christian Wilkins thing?
15:09Because they're about to avoid $32.5 million guaranteed off his deal.
15:15I've got a couple of opinions here.
15:18Number one, I think that for some – you know, there's something more to this than he just didn't want to have surgery.
15:28And I wonder if this is what it is or that he made somebody uncomfortable in the locker room
15:35or if there is still something more to the story.
15:38But it's a very suspicious, funny story.
15:42I don't know if the Raiders are trying to trash the man's name because, you know, we've seen that kind of stuff happen before.
15:51But, man, you just wonder what really is behind this story and why is this stuff leaking?
15:58You know, there's that – I would think the Raiders are the ones leaking this stuff, but why?
16:03Like, what's the point?
16:04Is it to buoy the guaranteed money or are they just trying to trash this man's name as he goes out the door?
16:12So, yeah, but we all know that – Wilkins has given people reason to pause from some situations and pileups.
16:22That's all I'm going to say.
16:23We've seen the videos.
16:24Very well said.
16:27Am I right?
16:28Yeah, yeah.
16:29Yeah, very well said.
16:30Oh, no, I saw him his hand into somebody's booty one time.
16:32I didn't know what was going on.
16:34See, he and Josh Allen have a history.
16:37Yes, they do.
16:38Yes, they do.
16:40Yes, they do.
16:40Yes, they do.
16:41Chris Perkins from –
16:43You got to see me.
16:44You got to – you do that.
16:45We got to see each other after that game.
16:46We got to lock up.
16:47Yes.
16:51That video that leaves you speechless.
16:53Yes, I'll just say that.
16:55Yeah.
16:55Chris Perkins from the Sun Sentinel.
16:58Read his work, sunsentinel.com.
17:00Perk, always appreciate you taking the time, man, and we'll talk soon, I'm sure,
17:05before the Dolphins' first preseason game or after that as well.
17:09Yes, sir.
17:09We'll see what happens to those pads tomorrow.
17:11Y'all take it easy.
17:12Yes, sir.
17:12There you go.
17:13That's Chris Perkins.
17:14Solana, was that your move when you play football?
17:17Listen, man, it's part of the game.
17:19You know, there's certain things.
17:20It's part of the game.
17:21It's the game within the game, Crowder, you know?
17:25I got him, coach.
17:26Don't worry.
17:27Nah, get out of here.
17:28You're telling me you never grabbed the – whatever.
17:31Never mind.
17:31Never mind.
17:32I did a lot of dirty stuff, but I'm not playing with the private parts.
17:36I leave the private parts alone.
17:37All right.
17:38We're more of an eye gouger.
17:40Yeah, I'll poke you in the eye.
17:41The throat, the neck throat area is very sensitive.
17:44You hit that trachea, it tightens people up.
17:47Mm-hmm.
17:48Mm-hmm.
17:48Good to know.
17:49More Hawkman, Crowder, and Solana after this.
17:52Good to know.
17:52Good to know.
17:53Good to know.
17:53Good to know.
17:53Good to know.
17:54Good to know.
17:55Good to know.
17:55Good to know.
17:56Good to know.
17:56Good to know.
17:57Good to know.
17:57Good to know.
17:58Good to know.
17:58Good to know.
17:59Good to know.
17:59Good to know.
18:00Good to know.
18:00Good to know.
18:01Good to know.
18:01Good to know.
18:02Good to know.
18:02Good to know.
18:03Good to know.
18:03Good to know.
18:04Good to know.
18:05Good to know.
18:05Good to know.
18:06Good to know.
18:07Good to know.
18:07Good to know.
18:08Good to know.
18:09Good to know.
18:10Good to know.
18:11Good to know.
18:12Good to know.
18:13Good to know.
18:14Good to know.
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