00:00Chris Perkins is on the Toyota of Hollywood hotline.
00:03He's a columnist covering the Miami Dolphins for the Sun Sentinel.
00:07You can read his work in the Sun Sentinel or on the Sun Sentinel app
00:10or at sunsentinel.com.
00:12You can follow him on Twitter at Chris Perk, and he is joining us now.
00:17Hello, Perk.
00:18Fellas, what's up, man?
00:19I like what Mike McDaniel showed us yesterday, a little attitude, right?
00:24Running the ball, being not trying to pass it in.
00:26I like that.
00:27So that's what you gleaned.
00:28That's interesting because we started to have that conversation.
00:31Here was my take.
00:33They get down.
00:34I'm talking about the first drive from Tua, which I thought was spectacular
00:37because I thought Tua looked like he was in midseason form,
00:40and I just feel confident when he's back there.
00:43When they get down to the goal line, Mike McDaniel, Crowder says,
00:48you say was kind of trying to make a statement like, hey,
00:50we're just going to jam it in here.
00:52Didn't work, but I didn't have this, I don't know, hopeless feeling like,
00:56hey, that's what would happen in the regular season.
00:59Did you?
01:00No, no, no.
01:01I think he's trying to test out his new toy, right?
01:04You've got Jonas Vaynaya at one guard, James Daniels at the other guard.
01:10You know, you want to see what you've got there.
01:12And look, I thought on the third down, Jonah whiffed on a block, and that's fine.
01:19That's why you do this.
01:20It's the first preseason game on fourth down.
01:23I thought Patrick Hall unnecessarily double teamed and left Sewell to come in there untouched.
01:29But I think the attitude was there.
01:32The blocking could have been there if, you know, to get that corrected by the young guys.
01:37And I'll tell you something else.
01:38You know, you go back to the practice on Friday, or what day was practice?
01:42Friday, when Jordan Brooks and Terrell Dodson got into it.
01:46And then we hear on Terran Armstead's podcast that Jordan Brooks wanted Dodson to light up
01:53one of the Bears players, and Dodson didn't do it.
01:56He just kind of, you know, tagged them like you're supposed to.
01:59But I thought that Jordan Brooks, I think Jordan Brooks has the right attitude.
02:03He lit up Julian Hill on the practice before they left here.
02:08He's trying to get Dodson to light this guy up.
02:10And then you see Mike McDaniel going for it down there on fourth down.
02:14So I like kind of this slant toward physicality from Jordan Brooks, from Mike McDaniel's play calling.
02:21I think to be a tough team, it's not just shoving guys around or anything.
02:25You have to have that toughness off the field, on the field, play calling.
02:31And I thought Mike McDaniel and Jordan Brooks were kind of personifying that through their actions over the last few days.
02:39And Perk, I'm with you.
02:40Like you say, schematically, if they could do some different things.
02:43But you've seen it now.
02:44And also now you've seen them against another team.
02:47The draft pick, Jonah and Brewer and Daniels and all these guys.
02:52Are they more physical?
02:54You're talking about they're trying to be more physical.
02:56But now you've seen it against another team.
02:59Are they more physical than the past McDaniels teams?
03:04Yeah, yeah, I think they are.
03:05Now, would I call them a physical team?
03:08Not yet.
03:08Let's see what happens in Detroit.
03:10But I think they're more physical.
03:12And they're trying to be more physical.
03:15And that's what I'd like to see.
03:16You know, look, Mike McDaniel, don't forget, he has this new toy with Bobby Slowick, the senior pass game coordinator.
03:23Now, I know Tyreek and Jalen Waddell didn't play.
03:27But I thought Mike McDaniel stuck to the run and more of the physicality as opposed to playing with this new toy, this new passing game, which I would have expected him to do in previous seasons.
03:38Again, I wouldn't call them a physical team at this point.
03:42But I think they're moving in the right direction.
03:45You see tendencies through players' actions and through the play calls.
03:48Was any major position battle perk answered in your mind yesterday?
03:55I mean, we all know about, you know, backup tackle and backup guard.
03:59The backups, really, the second unit on the offensive line.
04:02And then the DBs, the cornerbacks.
04:04The big question, I guess, Kendall Sheffield, is he going to end up starting?
04:09Like, was there any position yesterday or position battle in your mind that was defined through just one preseason game?
04:15Actually, Solana, probably number one, might have been backup quarterback, right?
04:20I think Quinn, Quinn, yours struggled.
04:23You know, both of them were under pressure.
04:25I think Zach Wilson was under more pressure as far as the pass rush, not pressure to perform.
04:31I thought Quinn, Zach Wilson was under more pressure.
04:35He didn't have a good game.
04:36Neither of them had a good game.
04:38But I thought Zach kind of stepped up a little bit more in the face of a pass rush and in the face of pressure.
04:44Now, there were those two passes to the tight end, one to Tanner Conner and one to Julian Hill that should have been made.
04:50I mean, both of those.
04:51I mean, come on, Zach.
04:52What are you doing there?
04:54But I thought Zach kind of put himself a little bit further ahead of Quinn yours.
04:59At cornerback, yeah, they, you know, Storm Duck made a couple of plays.
05:04He's going to be a starter.
05:06I don't think anything else was solidified, whether it was Nickel or whether it was the other boundary corner.
05:10I did think it was interesting that they started five DBs and Elijah Campbell was the fifth DB as opposed to Mike Hilton.
05:18But that's probably about it.
05:20It's a shame about Alexander Madison, right?
05:22Because he was really having himself a good camp and now he has the season-ending neck surgery.
05:27And so you're not going to have him.
05:30But he was one of the stars of training camp, him and Willie Gay.
05:33And now you lose Madison, you had already lost Cater Kohu.
05:37So kind of a rough start to the training camp for the Dolphins.
05:41What about what you saw yesterday?
05:44And I understand it's preseason game one and you're not seeing a lot of the same guys who are actually going to be playing in meaningful games.
05:51But did you see anything where you said to yourself, oh, you know what I expected for the season?
05:57I think it's going to be better.
05:59Or conversely, did you see something and you saw, hmm, you know what?
06:04I think I may have overestimated this team.
06:07I think they're this.
06:08Or is what you watched yesterday pretty much what you thought you were going to see from the Dolphins.
06:13And it kind of falls into line with who you think they are.
06:17Yeah, it was pretty much what I thought.
06:19You know, right now I have been at a nine-win team.
06:22I mean, I thought some of the successes and failures were kind of, you know, symbolic of a nine-win team.
06:29You know, I'm very high on that front seven, on that defensive front seven.
06:33And they were only out there to starters for one series.
06:37But we did see Willie Gay get a half sack, him and Benito Jones.
06:41And then the backup edge rushers, Grayson Murphy and Derek McClendon, who have been doing good in camp, they continue to do good.
06:47It was twos against twos, you know, backups against backups.
06:51But that's fine.
06:52That's fine.
06:53They stayed consistent.
06:55You know, we did see a couple of plays by some DBs.
06:59You know, Storm Duck, I see it, made a couple of plays.
07:02But Isaiah Johnson, B.J. Adams, of course, B.J. Adams gave up the touchdown.
07:07But, you know, I was bothered by the receivers running so free at times.
07:13You know, I would like to see the coverage get tightened up a little bit.
07:17But, again, they're backups, and it's the first preseason game.
07:21So, yeah, nothing really surprised me.
07:24It's about what I thought.
07:25The special teams, I thought, looked a lot better, right?
07:28You saw the good returns.
07:29You saw the 56-yard field goal by Jason Sanders.
07:33So, yeah, give Craig Aukerman, the new special teams coach, a little credit right there.
07:38I thought they had a pretty good day.
07:40And, Perk, you were nice earlier when you said, Quinn, you were a struggle.
07:45Does he need a laser surgeon?
07:48Dr. Lascano.
07:49What's his name, Hawk Lascano?
07:51Gabriel Lascano.
07:53He didn't even throw a ball into the damn crowd, Perk.
07:56Like, that's not a struggle.
07:58Yeah, yeah.
08:00Yeah, Quinn is about to get a lot better.
08:02But, you know, it's his first game.
08:04I thought that he did a couple of good things,
08:07but the bad definitely outweighed the good for Quinn Ewers.
08:10So, and that's not what we've seen from Quinn in training camp to this point.
08:15He had been pretty solid,
08:16and everybody kind of describes him as a cool, collected type of guy,
08:21and we didn't see that.
08:22We saw Quinn kind of making some bad decisions out there,
08:26hurrying some passes, being off the mark on some passes.
08:29That's not the Quinn Ewers we have been seeing in training camp.
08:32So, you know, like I said, I thought Zach Wilson kind of took a bigger lead in the,
08:38and look, Zach's going to be the backup quarterback, right?
08:41We already know that.
08:42He's the $6 million man.
08:44He's also the direct calculated target of Mike McDaniel and Chris Greer,
08:49but he did lengthen his lead in becoming the number two quarterback yesterday.
08:55And, Perk, was it very vanilla defensively?
08:58Because I've been, like, my whole thing is that now you have Chubb,
09:02you have Phillips, you have Chop Robinson,
09:04you have all these little fast linebackers.
09:07Like, I think that they could do some crazy twists and stunts up front
09:11with the athleticism.
09:12But it seemed like they were, like, it seemed like they were very vanilla
09:16because they know the weapons they have defensively.
09:19Yeah, yeah.
09:20I think you're right.
09:21And, you know, again, the first-team defense, they weren't out there,
09:25you know, a series together.
09:26I think some of the secondary guys might have played a little bit longer.
09:30But, yeah, but, you know, you did see them trying to do some stuff.
09:35Willie Gay was in there with the starters.
09:37He got that sack.
09:38So, you know, that's a package.
09:40You didn't have Jalen Phillips out there playing.
09:43And so, I mean, we really got some awesome.
09:46Those front seven, yeah, you can do a lot of things with that front seven.
09:49And I'm sure we'll see more of it in joint practice against Detroit
09:54and probably in the game against Detroit if Mike McDaniel chooses to play
09:59the starters this week.
10:00He hinted that he might.
10:01But, yeah, I'm excited, man.
10:03I want to see what that front seven can do.
10:05I'm a little bit – I'm trying not to make too much out of Kenneth Grant
10:09being second team on the depth chart.
10:11And he wasn't out there with the starters yesterday.
10:14Benito Jones was out there.
10:15It was more of a pass rush package and a nickel package.
10:19But, you know, I think Grant has been okay.
10:21I want to see him do more.
10:23I'm not going to panic.
10:24Chop Robinson got off to a slow start.
10:27But, you know, when you talk about the front seven and the stunts
10:30and all that kind of stuff, I do want to see Kenneth Grant
10:34a little bit more involved.
10:36Hey, Perk, do you think the physicality from the Bears in that practice
10:40on Friday led to the Dolphins playing their starters
10:43or I guess all the guys who were available yesterday in the preseason game?
10:47I'll tell you why.
10:48Your old colleague, Omar Kelly, was on our pregame show yesterday
10:51and he basically made it seem like the Dolphins felt like they got punked
10:55by the Chicago Bears on Friday in that practice.
10:58The Bears took cheap shots.
11:00The Bears were dirty.
11:01They were overly physical.
11:03And the Dolphins had something to prove in the game yesterday.
11:07And if you do believe that that practice, that physicality led to the starters playing,
11:12because I heard that Tua, the Bears broadcast or the NFL Network broadcast reported
11:17that Tua had basically begged McDaniel to play him.
11:21Did the Dolphins prove anything with their play yesterday?
11:24Like, did they prove to you that they could be a physical team?
11:27More physical than they were last year.
11:31That's all I'll say, Lana.
11:33I mean, more physical than any team that Mike McDaniel has had,
11:36which isn't really saying a whole lot in the grand scheme of things.
11:39But again, you'd like to see it.
11:41It gets back to that Jordan Brooks, Terrell Dodson thing that, you know,
11:45I do want to see more attitude, more physicality from this team.
11:49I'm glad Mike McDaniel tried to run the ball.
11:52So, no, I don't think – I think this was more strategic than reactionary,
11:56that Mike McDaniel had some things that he wanted to see from the starters,
12:00that he wanted to get them prepared for a game and see them go out there for a series.
12:05And I think that's more what it was as opposed to a reaction to what happened during the week.
12:10But, yeah, according to all accounts, they did get out physical during the week.
12:15And I'm glad that they're at least thinking about having a response
12:19or at least that's a topic because I don't think it should be ignored.
12:22My season preview column is whether this team is tough enough physically
12:26and mentally to win a playoff game.
12:30And I think we're starting to see them move in the right direction.
12:34I don't think they have been the last three years under McDaniel.
12:37Yeah, I feel the same way about this radio show, Perk.
12:40I wake up every day.
12:41I say, is this radio show tough enough physically and mentally to win a ratings book?
12:47And I'm curious what you think.
12:49You've listened to us.
12:50Are we tough enough mentally and physically to win a ratings book?
12:55Man, I think mentally, definitely.
12:57I want to see some more physicality out of you and Solana.
13:00But, yeah, I think...
13:01I'm going to be waiting a while, Perk.
13:03Yeah.
13:04What exactly is my window?
13:07Well, the season opener is September 7th, Hawk.
13:12So, you better, you know, this is why you've got to start lifting all them weights, right?
13:16What exactly do you want to see from me physically?
13:19Can I find that out at least?
13:21Because I think I may not.
13:22Look, just a couple of TikTok videos.
13:25Are you running some stairs or lifting some weight, doing something?
13:28I want to see something now.
13:29How about an escalator?
13:30Can I do an escalator instead of stairs?
13:31I'm pushing the button.
13:33Right.
13:34He's pushing the button on the elevator.
13:36That'll be it.
13:36I don't see it.
13:38Perky walks with a walkman.
13:39He walks to Meisner Park with a walkman on.
13:44That's his physical...
13:46Yeah.
13:47You don't listen to cassette still, Perk?
13:48I do.
13:50I'm on my Nate track now.
13:51Come on now.
13:52I haven't moved back.
13:53Yeah.
13:53That's my guy right there.
13:55Chris Perkins.
13:56So, just on the way out here, you said McDaniel intimated that the starters may play?
14:01On Saturday?
14:03Well, he said he's not sure what he's going to do in these last two games.
14:06He said they could get some time in either of these last two games.
14:11So, he said he's leaving his mind open.
14:13I would like to see him go out there against a physical team like Detroit, especially if
14:17they're going to play their starters.
14:19Let's see.
14:20Muscle on muscle.
14:21Let's see how much progress the Dolphins have made.
14:23Yeah.
14:24That'd be cool.
14:24I'm down with that.
14:25Chris Perkins.
14:26You can read his work in the Sun Sentinel.
14:27The Sun Sentinel app.
14:29SunSentinel.com.
14:30We always appreciate your time, Perk.
14:32All right, fellas.
14:33Thanks.
14:34There you go.
14:34Chris Perkins.
14:35We're breaking down the Dolphins after a game.
14:37I mean, we're back, baby.
14:39Don't tell anybody that we're not back.
14:41It might be the beginning of August, but we're back.
14:43Don't go anywhere.
14:44We're going to keep talking Dolphins.
14:45We're going to keep talking about the Dolphins.
14:46We're going to keep talking about the Dolphins.
14:46We're going to keep talking about the Dolphins.
14:47We're going to keep talking about the Dolphins.
14:48We're going to keep talking about the Dolphins.
14:48We're going to keep talking about the Dolphins.
14:49We're going to keep talking about the Dolphins.
14:50We're going to keep talking about the Dolphins.
14:51We're going to keep talking about the Dolphins.
14:52We're going to keep talking about the Dolphins.
14:53We're going to keep talking about the Dolphins.
14:54We're going to keep talking about the Dolphins.
14:55We're going to keep talking about the Dolphins.
14:56We're going to keep talking about the Dolphins.
14:57We're going to keep talking about the Dolphins.
