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A Dolphins training camp preview & discussing our biggest concerns headed into the new season. For Hoch and Crowder, it continues to be the backup QB.
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00:00Dolphins training camp starts next week in earnest.
00:05Rookies reported this week.
00:07The first public practice is Saturday the 26th.
00:14So if you're looking to watch the Dolphins practice,
00:16the first public practice is one week from this Saturday, 9 to 11 a.m.
00:24Saturday the 26th, 9 to 11 a.m.
00:27That's not in Davie anymore, right?
00:29That's at the stadium.
00:31Miami Garden.
00:31All in Miami Gardens now.
00:34So that's the first public practice.
00:37Then there's practices July.
00:39These are public.
00:39July 28th, 29th, 30th, all 9 to 11 a.m.
00:44Friday, August 1st.
00:46They have a couple season ticket holder practices.
00:49There's an open practice to the public that's a joint practice with the Jaguars
00:55on August 21st.
00:57So we're in the zone, man.
01:00I was looking at some of the Dolphins stuff.
01:03The Dolphins preseason games are Sunday, August 10th at Chicago.
01:11That's less than a month away.
01:15Saturday, August 16th at Detroit.
01:20And then the only Dolphins preseason home game this year is Saturday, August 23rd.
01:28Jacksonville Jaguars are in town.
01:33And they get underway, man.
01:36It's funny.
01:37You brought it up.
01:38First thing that pops in my mind is Zach Wilson.
01:40I asked Mike Cunho yesterday, like, are we one of the only teams that are so concerned
01:45with the backup quarterback?
01:46I'm concerned with the backup quarterback.
01:47I'm not going to lie.
01:48And I think it's lame.
01:49Funny that you say that.
01:51I did actually have questions written for a pal that I didn't get to.
01:55One of them was, what's your biggest concern for the upcoming Dolphins season?
01:59Because I think mine is the backup quarterback, which I know sounds silly, but I was on that
02:06at the end of last season.
02:07You were.
02:08I'm going to address that.
02:10And that way, when, you know, the inevitable happens and, and, and when I say the inevitable
02:16happens, by the way, I'm not saying because it's Tua, I'm saying it's because it's a starting
02:20quarterback in the NFL.
02:22They're going to miss a game.
02:24There's short weeks that like, it just happens.
02:27And when the inevitable happens to me, like, you don't want to feel like you're missing a
02:34beat or the drop-off is so great.
02:36Like, that's how I feel about Zach Wilson.
02:39I hope I'm wrong.
02:40I hope Chris career and Mike McDaniel have seen something that I didn't see, but man,
02:46I feel like the drop-off from Tua to Zach Wilson is too great.
02:50But Hulk, you have to, you have to take an account that Kansas city, the Buffalo, the
02:56Buffalo bills don't give a damn who their backup quarterback is.
02:59Like you say, it's inevitable.
03:00It's not inevitable for every.
03:01Well, but I'll tell you why, because the Buffalo bills are going to win.
03:06On a down season, 10 games.
03:09That's how good they are.
03:1011 games.
03:11And if Josh Allen is healthy and playing and everything goes right, they're going to
03:15win 13 games, 14 games.
03:17The dolphins are going to try, I think, to sneak out 10 or 11 games.
03:23And is that enough?
03:2410 or 11 wins.
03:25Is that enough to vault you into the playoffs?
03:27I think a missing win because of poor backup play costs the dolphins a lot more than Buffalo
03:40or Kansas city could decide the season.
03:42What was that?
03:43Green Bay.
03:44What was that?
03:44Tim Boyle throw on fourth and three.
03:46I'm never going to forget that call.
03:48Put Kansas city or Buffalo on the road in the playoffs week one, whatever it's Kansas city
03:55and Buffalo, but the dolphins on the road, rather than at home.
03:58I mean, we saw it a couple of seasons ago, but like that, that's why I think it's more
04:02important.
04:03Like I'm with you.
04:05They don't care, but there's a reason they don't care.
04:08And there's a reason that we care so much about the backup quarterback position, which
04:11is why I'm still perplexed at the Zach Wilson signing.
04:14When there were other quarterbacks out there that seemingly would have been better backups
04:19and, and probably not for that much more money.
04:22Yeah.
04:22And you said something yesterday.
04:23If, uh, was it Mike, it was like, if we see Quinn, you were something went totally wrong
04:28and you joked about it.
04:29Like Zach Wilson sucks.
04:30That's what it means.
04:32If I had to bet money, I think we see Quinn yours in a NFL game next season.
04:37That would be a very bad sign.
04:39It would, it would just be a terrible sign.
04:41What if he just beat, if he flats out, beat out, he'll make Chris Greer and look so bad.
04:47If he beats out Zach Wilson for the backup, then, then they, then they really signed the
04:52worst possible.
04:54What, what round did they take?
04:55When you were seven, seven, it was a lot.
04:57So you just saw, you just totally, I don't know what the noise meant, but you're just
05:01totally saying Zach Wilson is going to beat Quinn.
05:04You were like, it's Zach Wilson still now the week we drafted Quinn yours.
05:08I joked that I'm buying my Quinn yours Jersey and that Quinn yours should start week one.
05:12I joked about that Crowder Quinn yours went seven in a seventh round for a reason.
05:17He's not beating out somebody who has started it in the NFL.
05:20Listen, I'm not a big Zach Wilson fan.
05:22I didn't like the signing either.
05:23I don't hate it as much as you guys.
05:25He's not getting beat out by a seventh round pick.
05:28Like there, this guy can still play in the NFL.
05:32Can he be a good player in the NFL?
05:33I don't know, but he can play in the NFL.
05:36I looked this up during the break after, after yesterday, when we talked about it briefly,
05:40like Zach Wilson's not a good quarterback.
05:44Zach, never has been.
05:46He's like, I mean, really never has been in college, in college.
05:51Yeah.
05:51BYU.
05:52He was amazing.
05:53That's why he got dragged.
05:54What was he like?
05:54Number two pick or whatever.
05:55But he, there's no Zach Wilson game.
05:58There's no time.
05:59You said, Oh, does Zach Wilson got something?
06:01No, that's not true.
06:02Zach Wilson, Zach Wilson and Aaron Rogers won the same amount of games.
06:06No, no, no, no.
06:08Their teams won the same amount of games.
06:10Zach Wilson is not that good a football player.
06:12So I'm not, I can't believe I'm taking the position of defending Zach Wilson because
06:17that's not what I'm here to do.
06:18He loves Zach Wilson.
06:19He hates Kobe Bryant.
06:21I mean, you don't know where this guy's caught.
06:22I mean, what world do you live in?
06:25That's not what I'm trying to do here.
06:26I'm not trying to defend Zach Wilson, but I don't think that, first of all, if you're
06:30going into a season and this was my argument last year, Hawk, and, and it'll continue
06:34to be my argument, if you're going into the season and the backup quarterback is your
06:39biggest concern every year, I understand why it is.
06:42I'm not, I'm not saying you're wrong, but that in itself is a massive problem, a massive
06:47problem.
06:48It's not when you're a middling team.
06:52Last year, the dolphins didn't miss the playoffs, Hawk, because backup, the backup quarterback
06:57was bad.
06:58Would it have been better to have a good backup quarterback so that Seattle and Tennessee
07:02don't look as miserable as they did?
07:04For sure.
07:05But Tua comes back week eight.
07:07They lose to Arizona at home, despite having a lead.
07:10He had just missed a bunch of games, but I'm just saying like you're, you're, you're saying
07:15that would still be a loss.
07:16And I'm saying, well, no, if he was, if he was playing or if they had better backup play,
07:21you could, you could take that loss to get the rust off him because you've won a couple
07:25of games that you shouldn't have lost.
07:27They, they lose that Buffalo and they did play very well in that game to be fair.
07:31But Hey, if he doesn't go out in the first Buffalo game, they come back and win that.
07:35He was just getting it together.
07:36That game, if I remember correctly, then they rattle off three straight wins.
07:40Don't forget about this.
07:41They rattle off street, three straight wins, despite not looking great, but they beat the
07:45Rams on the road.
07:45The Rams won a playoff game last year.
07:47They beat Las Vegas, took them a little bit to get out of the gate, but they won the game
07:52at home.
07:52Like they're supposed to, they beat the Patriots.
07:54Like they're supposed to, they put up 30 points.
07:56They go to green Bay.
07:57Here we go.
07:59December or late November, December football on the road against a playoff caliber team
08:05to a Jordan love the headlines, right themselves.
08:08And the dolphins got laughed off the field.
08:12That's why they missed the playoffs.
08:14Hawk was gold, but that's why they missed the playoffs.
08:16Two was healthy.
08:18They had just won three straight games and he had the worst game of the season on the
08:23road and a must win game.
08:24And then they beat the jets in double overtime.
08:27They need double overtime.
08:28The following week, that green Bay game is not a must win game.
08:31If they don't lose to a couple of crappy teams that they shouldn't have lost to because
08:35they had poor backup play.
08:36They go to Houston, they go to Houston, same exact situation in a dome.
08:42You can't even use the weather situation on the road, must win game against a, a playoff
08:48caliber opponent who last year regressed considering how well C just dropped played the year before
08:52and they put up 12 points in the game and they still had a chance to tie it at the end
08:57and to a through an awful interception.
09:00That's why they missed the playoffs.
09:02That's why they missed the playoffs.
09:03So my biggest question is going into the season, what is this offense going to look like?
09:08Because clearly if you're relying on Tua to win you games in late December, it's not going
09:14to work.
09:14That's proven track record.
09:16We know that's proven.
09:18So you need a run game and it's the offense, the offensive line good enough to sustain a run
09:25game in late December.
09:26That's what I want to see.
09:29I'm with you on that.
09:30And that's a lot on Mike McDaniel evening out and, you know, balancing his offense out.
09:36But Solana.
09:38Three years.
09:40Zach Wilson's best record as a starter.
09:42I think he won what?
09:44Six games.
09:44No, five, five and four is his best record ever.
09:48Four and seven, three and 10, 12 and 21, 23 touchdowns, 25 and a seven.
09:55Zach Wilson is not like, I don't, like you said, arguing for Zach Wilson, arguing that
10:00this offense needs to get back where it was two years ago to Hawks Point makes sense.
10:04Arguing that you're not concerned with Zach Wilson after we know Tua can get hurt, which
10:10he has every year but one of his career, for you not to be concerned with the backup quarterback
10:15position, I think you're putting your head in the sand.
10:17I'm not saying I'm not concerned.
10:18I just don't think that's my biggest concern because I still think even if Tua has to miss
10:21four games, which again, that to me is a bigger problem.
10:25But if he does have to miss four games, the Dolphins should still be in a position to
10:30at the very least sneak into the playoffs as they were a year ago.
10:33Think about how we felt after week two.
10:35Tua goes down.
10:36We know he's going to be out at least four weeks.
10:38We're like, oh my God, season's over.
10:40This is the worst case scenario.
10:41We literally felt as low as we've ever felt as a fan base.
10:46And then five weeks later, Tua comes back.
10:48You lose to Arizona.
10:50You play well, but you lose.
10:51You almost beat Buffalo on the road.
10:52You probably should have, but their stupid kicker made a 60-yard field goal.
10:56And then you win three straight games and you're like, oh, we still have a chance to make
11:00the playoffs.
11:01That's what happens in the NFL because of the parity.
11:05Yeah, but I'm not taking anything away from Tua from those wins.
11:09Because you were blaming the season on him about three minutes ago on your diatribe.
11:12You blamed it on him, but now you're telling me that they were actually in it because of
11:15him.
11:15They were.
11:16They need him to be good.
11:18I agree with that.
11:19They need him to be good.
11:20Somebody texted in.
11:21I'm with Solana.
11:22I think you guys are going to find out Zach Wilson is 10 times better than what you think.
11:26And you're going to remember this text.
11:28So please remember.
11:29I hope Zach Wilson is a thousand times better than I think, but there's no chance I'm going
11:35to remember that text.
11:38Texter, I pray to God he becomes Joe Montana.
11:43We pray to him.
11:45Yeah.
11:4612 and 21, 57% more interceptions and touchdowns in three starting seasons.
11:51No, I'm not convinced he's going to be good.
11:54He has a resume that's embarrassing.
11:56That's why he's a backup.
11:58That's why they gave him one year deal.
11:59That's a two year deal.
12:00That's why he's not making starting money because he's not a starting quarterback anymore
12:04because he's proven that with three seasons starting.
12:06He didn't touch the field in Denver last year.
12:09You know why?
12:10They had a rookie by the name of Bo Nix that outplayed him consistently and took his damn
12:15job.
12:16So if you want to see Zach Wilson a week from Saturday, open practice in Miami gardens, 9 a.m.
12:23till 11 a.m.
12:25I don't like that.
12:26Hens up.
12:27Chris Perkins wrote in the Sun Sentinel.
12:35A story, a column, have the Dolphins finally solved their backup QB issue?
12:40We were just talking about that.
12:42So I'll read you what he writes.
12:45Miami Dolphins backup quarterback, Zach Wilson better be good.
12:48That's not as much of a demand on Wilson, the 25 year old number two selection in the 2021
12:55draft by the Jets, as it is on Dolphins general manager, Chris Greer and coach Mike McDaniel.
13:01Since McDaniel was hired in 2022, the Dolphins have had problems with all of their backup
13:09quarterbacks, numbers two, three, and four.
13:11Whether it's been Skylar Thompson, Teddy Bridgewater, Mike White, Tim Boyle, or Tyler Snoop Huntley,
13:19none has been an adequate fill-in.
13:22Wilson, who the Dolphins signed as a free agent in March, is the Dolphins' hand-picked
13:28backup.
13:29McDaniel called the strong-armed Wilson, who struggles with accuracy, a direct calculated
13:35target.
13:36In light of that, it appears rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers, the seventh-round pick out of
13:42Texas, has little chance to surpass Wilson for the number two job.
13:46The Dolphins hope Wilson can benefit from the same career-salvaging program that helped
13:51starting quarterback Tua Tungavailoa, whose career was floundering before McDaniel took
13:56over.
13:57Not comparing the players at all.
13:59On the record, not comparing the players.
14:01Tua found that this environment helped him through that process, McDaniel says.
14:07Wilson is excited about the opportunity.
14:10What's not to like, right, Wilson said?
14:12Extremely explosive offense, and I think they do a great job, and it starts from Coach McDaniel
14:18and goes all the way down.
14:19You've seen how Tua's development has gone, too, since he's been there, and I think I'm
14:23just excited to be with those guys.
14:25The hope is that the Dolphins never have to play Wilson, who was traded to Denver last season,
14:31where he spent the year as a third-teamer behind Bo Nix and Jarrett Stidham.
14:36The reality is the Dolphins have had problems with their number one quarterback, Tungavailoa.
14:40He missed five games in 2022 due to a pair of concussions and missed six games in 2024 due
14:48to a concussion and a hip injury.
14:49There's a decent chance the Dolphins will need Wilson early in the season and late.
14:55Tua has been injured in both September and December in 2022 and 2024, but they'll need
15:02to be sure Wilson is ready.
15:04In three years with the Jets, Wilson compiled a 12-21 record to go along with 23 touchdowns,
15:1325 interceptions, and a 73.2 passer rating while completing 57% of his passes.
15:21After two listless seasons, Wilson was replaced as the Jets starter in 2023 by Aaron Rodgers.
15:28Wilson's best season might have been 2022 when he had a 5-4 record while throwing six touchdowns
15:35and seven interceptions with a 72.8 passer rating.
15:40In 2023, after Rodgers went down with an Achilles injury in the opener, Wilson had a 4-7 record,
15:47eight touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a 77.2 passer rating.
15:51Regardless, Wilson is a player the Dolphins think they can mold and groom.
15:57If Greer is right, it'll go down among the biggest accomplishments of the Greer-McDaniel era.
16:03If he's wrong, it could cost him and McDaniel big time.
16:08After all, the Dolphins could have signed another veteran quarterback such as Jameis Winston or
16:13Jimmy Garoppolo, neither of which is overly appealing.
16:16In fact, on the whole, the backup quarterback market might not have been very appealing among
16:22players such as Josh Dobbs, I love, Jacoby Brissett, and Mac Jones.
16:28Wilson should get plenty of work in training camp practices and preseason games because
16:32nowadays, starters get most of their work in training camp during joint practices with opposing
16:37teams.
16:38The Dolphins haven't had much success when Tua's been sidelined.
16:42They were one and four in games he didn't start in 2022 and two and four in games he
16:47didn't start in 2024.
16:49It won't solely, it won't be solely on Wilson if called upon to improve on that record.
16:55After all, some might argue part of the problem with the number two quarterback is the Miami
16:59offense is tailored specifically for, and perhaps only for Tua.
17:04Still, if Wilson doesn't find a way to get a couple of victories, if he has to make a few
17:09starts, it might mean the Dolphins still haven't solved their years-long problem of finding
17:15a quality backup quarterback.
17:17And in a way, that could reflect poorly on Greer or McDaniel.
17:24The backup quarterback situation has been terrible for a long time.
17:29Zach Wilson has played two full seasons, 33 starts, and he's 12 and 21.
17:35Every time he throws a touchdown, he's going to throw an interception.
17:38That's what history and resume says.
17:42They're going to fix him into his offense?
17:45I don't believe it.
17:46I am so skeptical about this Zach Wilson thing, I don't know what to say.
17:50I don't think Zach Wilson is about to be anything worth a damn in this offense.
17:54I mean, what Chris Perkins writes there has to give you concern, right?
17:58When he lays out the stats for you, this dude does not throw more touchdowns than interceptions.
18:03No, any season.
18:05And it's not eight games, it's 33 games starting, then getting replaced, getting replaced.
18:11I didn't even think about that.
18:13He's in Denver last year.
18:15Jared Stidham.
18:16So you can say Bo Nix, he's the guy they drafted him early.
18:20They're going to play the young guy.
18:21Then Jared Stidham beats him out.
18:23He's the third string.
18:24Last year, he didn't even wear a jersey some weeks.
18:28Like, come on, man.
18:30I love Perk.
18:31Great job, Perk, because I would rather have Jameis.
18:34I'd rather have, funny, not even to you, Hawk.
18:36I'd rather have Josh Dobbs, Jameis.
18:38Josh Dobbs, all day.
18:39Jacoby Brissett.
18:41Jimmy G.
18:43Justin Fields, no.
18:44He was, you know, he moved, but I wouldn't want Justin Fields.
18:46I'd take him, Justin Fields, for sure.
18:48I don't, not in this offense.
18:49He's a, he can, this offense isn't made for Justin, but like those first three guys,
18:54Jameis, Josh Dobbs, Jacoby Brissett, I'd take them over.
18:57It's a curious choice.
18:58It is, you know, it was curious when we first found out about it and it, and again, I hope
19:05that text earlier was right.
19:06I hope he's a thousand times better than I think he's going to be.
19:08I hope, like you said, he's so good that they can trade Tua because he's the next Joe
19:14Montana.
19:14I hope you're right, but there's nothing on his resume that shows you that he's going.
19:20No, no.
19:21And he was in a bad situation in New York.
19:23I honestly say that.
19:25But then Denver with the offense, they run with, what's his name?
19:29Sean Payton.
19:30Come on now.
19:31But he was, he was there to be a backup.
19:33Like he wasn't, he wasn't there to start anyway.
19:34And he couldn't even be a, he was there to be a backup and wasn't a, he was a backup backup.
19:40My only thing is when it comes to backup quarterback, and I'm not telling you again, that he was the
19:45best available choice and that the Dolphins nailed this.
19:47I don't think they did.
19:48I think paying him $6 million when you compare it to what other backup quarterbacks got.
19:52Some of the guys who just listed is a reach and they probably didn't do the right due
19:58diligence when, when picking their backup quarterback.
20:00But my expectations are so low for backup quarterbacks.
20:04And I don't think you want Zach Wilson to go out there and play the offense that Tua Tunga
20:09Wailoa plays.
20:09You want to know why?
20:10Because nobody can do the things that Tua does in this offense, which is part of the
20:14frustration a year ago where you're going into Seattle and you're like, oh, Skylar
20:19Thompson, go run Tua's offense.
20:21Well, no, like he can't.
20:23So why doesn't McDaniel adjust?
20:25And that's what drove us nuts last year.
20:28Those games that Tua was out, they kept doing the same thing.
20:32They're spinning their wheels, trying to get Tim Boyle, Skylar Thompson.
20:36That's why I would have loved to adjust.
20:38I would love a guy who can just take off.
20:40But Justin Fields is starting in New York.
20:42No, no, no.
20:43I get it.
20:44I get it.
20:44All I'm saying is there were other options.
20:47I'm not certain what they saw in Zach Wilson that, and, and if you go, oh, well, $6 million,
20:52that's commensurate with what, you know, like then overpay, overpay someone.
20:57Like if, if, if you go, Hey, the market dictates about $6 million for a decent guy who's been
21:03back, like then overpay because this position, Chris Perkins wrote it there.
21:09This position has bitten you in the butt specifically McDaniel and Greer.
21:16I would say to that point.
21:18And Salon, I'm sorry.
21:19I know it's your boy.
21:22Them putting three years of money and development into Skylar Thompson to find out he can't play
21:28in this league.
21:29I think that's one of Chris Greer.
21:31You know, he's a friend of mine.
21:32That's one of Chris Greer's biggest misses and McDaniel to co-sign on keeping Skylar
21:36Thompson here for all that damn time.
21:38The boy can't play ball.
21:40No, for sure.
21:40Like I was, I couldn't have been more wrong about Skylar, but to be fair, from my perspective,
21:45well, they're keeping them around.
21:46They're paying them money.
21:47They didn't remember.
21:48They didn't want to put them on the practice squad because they were so sure that other
21:51teams were going to poach this guy.
21:53By the way, someone, they were right.
21:54Like someone would have snapped him up.
21:56Somebody probably would have.
21:58And he's there under their guidance for two seasons, two seasons.
22:03And the one opportunity he gets, he looked like a deer in headlights.
22:08That has to be a huge indictment, not just on Chris Greer, but on the developmental program
22:14that Mike McDaniel's running for a guy like Zach Wilson, by the way, who they're trying
22:18to do the same thing with redevelop his career.
22:20Zach Wilson's not going to look like a deer in headlights.
22:22He's got too many NFL starts to look that way.
22:25So he's, he's got that leg up, but there's nothing in his resume.
22:29Crowder said it like there's nothing in his rec.
22:31Chris Perkins wrote it.
22:32There's nothing in his resume that would lead you to believe that he's going to be anything
22:36special as a backup quarterback or anything better than what we've seen because his numbers
22:44when he gets all the first team reps aren't there.
22:48Hmm.
22:49Hope I'm wrong.
22:50I hope I'm wrong too, but I'm not, I'm not very, I'm not very optimistic about this
22:58one.
22:58If we see Zach Wilson, like, let's be honest.
23:00If we see Zach Wilson, like again, that's, I know.
23:06And I know you guys feel differently.
23:07Starting quarterbacks are going to go down.
23:08Sorry.
23:09I know we love to treat to us like someone different, but starting quarterbacks are going
23:15to go down.
23:16I know you're right.
23:17You're not wrong.
23:18You're a hundred percent right.
23:19You can go through every starting quarterback in the NFL.
23:21They'll miss time a hundred percent, but it's different with two.
23:24It just is.
23:24It's different.
23:25And if we're going to do this again, week three, he's going to be out for whatever reason,
23:29concussion or not anything hip bruised, rib, broken rib, hand, finger, whatever the case
23:38may be like, bro, one season now of five, you play 17 games.
23:43Like at a certain point that you have, you have to say, Hey, we need you out there, which
23:48is what Chris Greer said, by the way, at the end of last year, he did say like Chris Greer
23:52himself said, our guys have to be available.
23:55That starts with Tua.
23:56And I, I, I, I will really be upset really if, if he's missing four or five games again.
24:05Now listen, don't they open on a Sunday and then play Thursday night?
24:08Yeah.
24:09Yeah.
24:09You might see Zach Wilson that Thursday night.
24:11That's a quick week.
24:12That's a quick week.
24:13Anyway.
24:14Kenny this year, big.
24:15I don't know.
24:16I haven't heard anything.
24:17I think he's mid.
24:18I think he's mid, mid, mid size.
24:20You know,
24:20you know,
24:20you know,
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