00:00Dolphins had their rookie minicamp this past weekend, and we haven't talked about it today.
00:05We've been talking about basketball for whatever reason all day long, but your Sun Sentinel column Friday Park was titled
00:11Dolphins new era is obvious on day one of rookie minicamp.
00:17So explain to us what you observe to write that kind of headline.
00:22Well, you know what? First of all, it starts with the lunacy being over because on Friday, Tyreek Hill was
00:29in court, and this was the lawsuit for the plus size model slash social media influencer who sued him and
00:38accused him of breaking her leg while doing football drills in Tyreek's backyard.
00:43That stuff is over, okay? That stuff is over. And Utah, we don't have to worry about that kind of
00:49mess anymore because John Eric Sullivan and Jeff Halfley had their guys on the field, on time, in order, going
00:57through drills.
00:58And look, here's what I also said in that column is that what we saw out there on the field
01:05on May 8th or whatever the date Friday was, it doesn't matter how Caleb Douglas looked running pass patterns or
01:15how Caden Proctor looked going through drills.
01:18That's not going to matter on October 3rd or, you know, on December 2nd when you're well into the regular
01:25season.
01:26What's going to matter is the standard that you hold those guys up to, and that's what had to start
01:33on Friday, day one of rookie minicamp.
01:35So you're not dealing with foolishness like Tyreek. You're dealing with grown folk problems, right?
01:41With lining up and setting a standard and letting these guys know this is how we're going to operate from
01:48here on through the rest of the season, your entire time that's here.
01:52So that's what was obvious to me. This is a new way of doing business.
01:57And to that point with Halfley, can you really see a difference, like, in the approach?
02:01You're talking about, you know, hell, we all walk through plays, and then we jog through plays, then we run
02:05through plays.
02:05Like, every coach, do you see a different approach? Because they seem like more old-school type guys, but from
02:12McDaniel to Halfley, can you already see it even in the Underwear Olympics?
02:17Well, what I saw, Shannon, was, and I'll put this in the column also, these dudes were running sprints after
02:23practice.
02:23We didn't always see that under Mike McDaniel, so that's already a change.
02:28It doesn't mean that this team is going to be better, but it is.
02:32Like you say, it's more of an old-school point of view.
02:35I like the way that Sully and Half talk.
02:37I like the conviction in their voice, the look in their eye.
02:41You know, look, and I'll be honest with you about this.
02:44There was no difference in the way the rookies lined up this year and the way they lined up last
02:49year on day one of rookie minicamp.
02:52But we will see throughout the season, you know, I think those guys thought it was okay to show up
02:58late last year.
02:59They're going to know this year that's not okay because the vets show up on time and they set the
03:04example.
03:05That wasn't always the case in previous years.
03:08So I think those are the types of things that I'm looking for to be different.
03:13And I did see, you know, the sprints are all that I really saw.
03:17But, you know, from hearing these guys and from what we'll see in the future, I think the differences will
03:22become more and more apparent.
03:24Perk, away from the rookies really quickly, Brees Hall on Friday signed a pretty lucrative deal with the New York
03:31Jets.
03:32He's the third highest paid running back in terms of average annual salary.
03:36What does that mean for the Dolphins and this situation with Devon Achan?
03:43I'm not sure the money means anything.
03:45You know, I think that really you were probably going to give Achan a three-year deal that's kind of
03:50closer to a two-year deal.
03:52Because as I keep saying, Devon Achan at his heart is a 191-pound running back who relies on speed
04:00and shiftiness.
04:01And I don't know that you're going to have a six- or seven-year shelf life at the top
04:06of the pile here if you're Devon Achan.
04:10If I'm the Dolphins, I'm thinking probably year five, year six is the peak of, you know, what I'm going
04:18to see from Devon Achan.
04:20And after that, it probably does fall off a little bit.
04:24Let's be honest.
04:25This is the history of 191-pound shifty running backs that you're not going to have that speed forever.
04:32So, you know, I don't think this is going to get – the Brees Hall deal is not going to
04:37get Devon any more money.
04:39It's not going to get him any more years.
04:41I don't think that it really changes his situation.
04:45His situation is his situation.
04:47And for the Dolphins, 191 pounds.
04:50You've got to develop the other guy, Jalen Wright and Ali Gordon and whoever else who takes some pressure off
04:59of Achan.
05:00That's how you extend them.
05:01But if you're giving this guy 25 touches a game, probably three years at the top of the heap.
05:09And, Perk, back to the puppies.
05:12Because I know in 05 when, you know, they drafted a linebacker out of Florida, I jumped off the page
05:17to you.
05:19First rookie minicamp.
05:20You just knew I could play ball.
05:21Does anybody give you the Crowder effect already where you're watching?
05:25You can watch him and be like, okay.
05:30And I brought up with Omar Kelly last week.
05:32He was watching Ronnie Brown the entire time.
05:34He didn't even know you were out there.
05:36I was giving black practice.
05:39But aside to Perk, we joked about Jason Allen where Jason Allen tricked us through OTAs.
05:45I heard that.
05:46I heard that.
05:47Yeah, he tricked us through OTAs and the pads got on.
05:49And we were like, is that your twin brother?
05:52But has anybody just jumped out to you like, damn, this is going to be a good project?
06:00Not yet.
06:01Not yet.
06:01And to be honest, we only saw about 30 minutes on Friday.
06:05So that's all we've seen of him.
06:07I remember Tater Cole who stuck out to me very early.
06:11I don't know if he stuck out to me day one.
06:13But he's somebody who did stick out to me really early.
06:16I'm trying to think, and since Tater, I'm not sure that any rookie really stuck out to me early.
06:23You know, Tam Smith actually did pretty good in OTAs and training camp.
06:29He did stick out for being disruptive.
06:32Of course, that didn't last for very long.
06:34But I think Tater is a guy who really, of the last few years, stands out to me.
06:40I mean, look, I'll say this now.
06:42Caten Proctor looked good just going through drills.
06:44He looked slim.
06:46He looked agile.
06:47He looked light on his feet.
06:49So for whatever that's worth, he looked really good.
06:53But, you know, for the rest of the guys, no.
06:55But Caleb Douglas, nice long-armed kid, very thin.
06:59I mean, there were physical things, but nobody stood out to me like, all right, he's baller.
07:05Day one baller.
07:05What about the, and again, I don't know what a team or a coach needs to accomplish in the rookie
07:12minicamp in May or the underwear Olympics, as Crowder calls it.
07:16But in your opinion, did the Dolphins and Jeff Halfley accomplish whatever they needed to accomplish?
07:24I guess so.
07:26You know, again, to me, you're implementing a standard that's going to have to be met all through September, October,
07:34November.
07:35And so from that standpoint, I guess they did.
07:38You know, you were really basically showing these guys how to line up and how to be a Miami Dolphin,
07:43how to be an NFL player.
07:45And you're very early in the process.
07:48So I don't know if you can do a whole lot of day-by-day judgment.
07:52We'll know more about day one in two months, if that makes any sense.
07:58It's just hard to know right now.
08:00But I did like what I saw out there.
08:03The players were crisp.
08:05There wasn't a whole bunch of, you know, what our coaches used to call playing grab ass, where dudes aren't
08:09paying attention.
08:10I mean, the whole practice looked crisp and efficient like an NFL practice should.
08:16So for whatever that's worth.
08:17That was my nickname, grab ass.
08:22As long as you didn't get arrested for it, that's good, right?
08:28Hey, Perk, we were laughing about this Friday, Crowder and I.
08:32What the hell's going on with these rookie numbers, man?
08:35A linebacker wearing number 10.
08:38You've got Chris Johnson going with number 3.
08:41You've got Kyle Lewis wearing 19.
08:43What are we doing, man?
08:44What happened to the NFL we loved?
08:47I know.
08:48No, this, you know, I'm not a big number guy, but you better ball.
08:53If you're like a, if you're anybody who's like number 19 or 49 or, you know, some oddball 37 or
09:01some oddball number, man, you better ball.
09:04Because you're going to look stupid if you get cut wearing that number.
09:07Like, that's going to be your legacy.
09:09Daddy, what number were you?
09:10Oh, kid, I was 37.
09:12Daddy, why did you pick 37?
09:14No wonder you didn't make it, right?
09:16I mean, so you better ball if you pick one of those oddball numbers, Salon.
09:19But, yeah, I'm not down with that.
09:21I'm more traditional.
09:23Defensive tackle is 72.
09:25Running backs are 32 or 34.
09:26Wide receivers are 88.
09:29Quarterbacks are 12 and 14.
09:31Yeah, I'm not down with all these kids picking these oddball numbers.
09:35Hey, Perk, I'm going to call Jeremiah Bell and tell him you're hitting on 37.
09:39He's going to want to see you.
09:41Oh, yeah, yeah.
09:41No, no.
09:42I don't mess with Jeremiah now.
09:44He's a grown-ass man.
09:45Yeah, okay, I'll make an exception.
09:48I'll make an exception for Jeremiah.
09:49What's next on the Dolphins calendar, Perk?
09:53We got some calls, I mean, some meetings with coordinators tomorrow and Wednesday,
09:59assistant coaches, actually, and offensive, defensive, and special teams coaches
10:04tomorrow and Wednesday.
10:06And then I think next Monday, I think, or next Tuesday, maybe, OTAs start.
10:11So, if I'm not mistaken, Phase 3, they're allowed to get out on the field
10:15and do 11-on-11 drills.
10:17No contact, obviously, but I think that that's what Phase 3 of the OTAs is,
10:22offense versus defense, 11-on-11.
10:24So, we're moving.
10:25We're moving, man.
10:26We're going to, you know, the vets are going to be out there,
10:28so we'll get a better idea of what they've got.
10:31And, Perk, what's the rules, to Hawk's point?
10:33Like, what's the who's here now, and then when does it get into the vets?
10:39I heard it was like guys under four years are here now and rookies,
10:42and then how does that move when they start bringing in the OGs?
10:47They're coming in next week, or maybe at the end of this week,
10:50but I think next week.
10:51But, yeah, this is rookies, undrafted free agents who are also rookies,
10:59camp invitees.
10:59I don't think you can have more than, like,
11:01maybe four games of experience when you're out there.
11:04So, guys, there were some holdovers, some training camp guys,
11:07Alex Huntley, the defensive lineman, Romello Brinson, the wide receiver,
11:11some guys that were here last year for parts of the year
11:15or a good part of the year.
11:16But, yeah, I think you can't have more than four games of experience.
11:20And so, yeah, Quinn, you're on the active roster.
11:22I think it's the active roster.
11:23So, Quinn Ewers was not eligible to be here.
11:26He was on the roster all year and played in at least three games,
11:30maybe four or more.
11:31But, yeah, so, Quinn, if that gives you any idea of who can be here
11:35and who can't.
11:37It's ramping back up.
11:38Follow Chris Perkins on social media.
11:41Read his work in the Sun Sentinel, Sun Sentinel app, sunsentinel.com.
11:44Thank you, Perk.
11:46All right, guys, we'll talk again.
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