00:00You can hear Game Day Uncensored beginning at 9 a.m. on Sunday.
00:04Solana, Tobin, Chris Perkins as well, and Omar Kelly.
00:08So, Perk, they have a game on Sunday against an opponent,
00:13probably their easiest opponent of the season.
00:15Do you envision the Dolphins getting their first win of the season on Sunday?
00:21Correct me if I'm wrong.
00:23You've kind of maintained all season.
00:25Five wins was what you were expecting,
00:28and those are becoming harder to envision at this point.
00:33Yeah.
00:33Yeah, every game is more critical.
00:35I'm going to be in Game 7 by Thanksgiving, right?
00:39You know, look, this is a team that they can beat.
00:42They've beaten four of the last five times.
00:44It's a road game, so obviously that adds a little wrinkle to it,
00:48especially for a young team.
00:50However, they're coming off of a bye.
00:52And so I'm putting a lot of this game on the coaches.
00:56It's like, what have you learned about your team?
00:59What can they do?
01:00What can't they do?
01:02The coaches ought to know strengths and weaknesses of their team.
01:05So I would expect them to play their best game of the year on Sunday
01:08and their best coach game of the year.
01:11Not that it's all on the coaches,
01:13but I think more than any other game this season so far,
01:16this one is on the coaches.
01:18Show us what you've learned and show us if you've taught it to the players.
01:22And, Per, we talked about that with the coming off of a bye,
01:25and two of the best coaches coming off of a bye are Andy Reid and John Harbaugh,
01:29which tells you, you know, coaches that have an extra week to get ready
01:32are pretty, you know, coaches that utilize it are pretty good coaches.
01:35But to that point, what you're saying, and I agree with it,
01:37you have extra time.
01:38What do you mean better coach game?
01:40Do you want, like, me, a hockey salon and myself,
01:43and we talk about it all the time, like, can a brother get a flea flicker?
01:46You want to see trick plays?
01:47You want to see a different defense?
01:49You want to see, like, a different blitz scheme?
01:51You want to see less penalties?
01:53What is this extra seven days going to do for good coaches?
01:57I want to see them lean into what they do well
02:00and stay away from what they don't do well.
02:03So not only run the ball, run to the left.
02:06Count that left side.
02:07I mean, we know they're one of the most efficient teams in the NFL
02:12that run into the left side.
02:13Hammer it.
02:14Make other teams stop you.
02:16I don't care if you're predictable.
02:17Make them stop you.
02:19And then you've got to figure out a way to get to the quarterback.
02:22I wrote about that today.
02:25They blitzed 21.5% of the time, which is seventh-fewest in the NFL.
02:31Take some chances.
02:32I mean, see what these young DBs can do.
02:35And I actually like what I've seen from the cornerback trio,
02:38Chris Johnson in the slot and then Jason Marshall and Juju Brintz.
02:42Let's test them a little bit.
02:43The safeties, they're young, but I like what I've seen from them.
02:47Michael Tapp and Dante Trader, there's some times to take some chances.
02:51And if the blitzes don't work, if you are getting burned,
02:54then pull back a little bit.
02:55But I would like to see them take some chances,
02:57and I would like to see them know who they can take chances with
03:01and on what situations.
03:02Again, what have the coaches learned about their team
03:06and have they taught it to the players?
03:08Hey, Perk, to that point, though, about taking chances,
03:11Malik Willis, in his media availability earlier this week,
03:14he said, you know, I'm not afraid of making mistakes.
03:16I'm not afraid of throwing interceptions.
03:19It feels like he's approached this season that way,
03:22where he's taking chances.
03:23He's trying to extend plays when maybe he shouldn't.
03:26He should take the sack or just throw it away.
03:28And I just wonder, do the numbers have to just be flat out,
03:34as simple as it sounds, significantly better for Malik
03:37coming off of the bye week because just one touchdown through five weeks
03:42is just not good enough, Perk?
03:43Yeah, no, some of the numbers have to be better.
03:46And, look, the principal number to me right now is the seven turnovers
03:52to four touchdowns produced, two touchdowns rushing,
03:55two touchdowns passing, four interceptions, three fumbles lost.
03:59You can't be upside down like that.
04:01But I'm not too worried about completion percentage because, look,
04:06he doesn't have Caleb Douglas.
04:08He lost Devon Achan, which was one of his best receivers.
04:13They're finding themselves in the run game.
04:15But I don't think Malik really knows who he is as a starting quarterback yet.
04:20And that's to be expected, right?
04:22He's only made five starts with the Dolphins and 11 starts overall.
04:27So he's really trying to discover who he is.
04:30Bush Hamden, the quarterback's coach, was telling us yesterday,
04:33he does need to check it down a little bit more.
04:35He said that's not the number one problem, but that would probably help.
04:39So I think as Malik starts to learn the do's and don'ts,
04:45he will play better football.
04:47Now, he's got to learn, like, don't hold the ball as much as long as you do
04:52and create sex.
04:54That's one big thing he's got to learn.
04:56But I think that he gets a better feel each game.
04:59I know the Cincinnati game was a setback, but overall he's better in week six
05:03than he was in week one.
05:05And, Perk, Sully got in his bag.
05:08He went out and started making moves.
05:10We brought in Zane Gonzalez, baby.
05:12Oh, yeah, yeah.
05:14Look, Perk, what was that?
05:17Riley Patterson, Zane Gonzalez, what was that move?
05:20Well, look, I have been told that during the Cincinnati game,
05:27after that 81-yard kickoff return that they had to open the game,
05:31that the Dolphins wanted to kick it into the end zone, touchbacks.
05:35And that wasn't executed.
05:37And so that's what I asked Al, and he admitted it.
05:39He said, yeah, that's, you know, we were trying to get touchbacks,
05:42and that wasn't executed.
05:43So you compound that with the unside kick that goes out of bounds
05:48that nobody touches, the missed extra point,
05:51and then earlier in the season missed from 41 yards, missed from 51 yards.
05:56I don't know.
05:58You know, I think they just decided enough is enough.
06:01And, you know, Zane Gonzalez is more of Chris Tabor's guy.
06:05They were together in Carolina and somewhere else.
06:08I can't remember where else.
06:09So this is his guy.
06:12So we'll see what happens here.
06:14But they took care of that problem with the Swissness, didn't they?
06:18I mean, come on.
06:20I want to go back to something you said at the beginning,
06:24because we have all maintained, you know, coming off a bye week,
06:27and this is a winnable game.
06:29This is one of those, feels like one of those games where Jeff Halfley
06:32can get this narrative out of there about being a head coach of a winless team,
06:38which is going to kind of go after him week after week after week
06:41until he gets that win, I think, starting this week.
06:44And you said, I expect this to be their best game.
06:47I expect this to be their best coached game.
06:49What if it isn't?
06:53If it isn't, let's see how it goes down.
06:55Because, look, as we always say, success is not linear, right?
07:00There's going to be setbacks.
07:02There might be two- or three-week setbacks.
07:04But then you look at this team after eight weeks,
07:06and they're a lot better than they were in week two or week three.
07:09So let's see what happens.
07:11But it would be incredibly disappointing if they come out
07:15and they have these mindless penalties and special teams is ragged
07:19and Malik Willis is not sharper.
07:21By the way, Bush Hamden also told us yesterday that Malik kind of –
07:26he made it through that Cincinnati game with the thumb injury.
07:29He wasn't making any excuses at all.
07:31He was given an explanation after being asked about it.
07:34And he said that that's not the only injury –
07:37that's not the only thing Malik has had to fight through this season.
07:40There have been other things that they haven't disclosed,
07:43but he thinks Malik is as healthy –
07:45or the healthiest that he's been all season going into this game.
07:49So, you know, Malik has got to –
07:51you know, again, we're expecting the best version of Malik
07:55that we have seen, right?
07:57And he should have, you know, his best health, his best research,
08:01given that it was a bye week.
08:03But let's see what all these guys can do.
08:05We're starting with half, but Malik is under the microscope also.
08:09Has the backfield been solidified?
08:12Ollie Gordon running back number one.
08:14I know Jalen Wright happily said he's going to play this upcoming weekend.
08:18And then, to be quite honest, Burke, I've lost track of, you know,
08:21the third and fourth stringers because it seems like it's a carousel
08:25with the practice squad.
08:26And then they cut this guy, bring this guy back, cut him again.
08:29But Jalen Wright has lost that ability to be running back number one
08:34to Ollie Gordon, right?
08:35Like, that's been solidified?
08:37Yeah, yeah.
08:38As far as we know.
08:39Now, we don't know Jeff Halfley, but from what I know of Jeff Halfley,
08:42I think he will migrate more and more toward Ollie Gordon.
08:46Maybe you keep giving Jalen a couple of shots just to keep his head in it.
08:50But, really, Jalen can earn a lot of trust if he can just feel those kickoffs
08:55cleanly, right?
08:56I mean, the dude can break the kickoffs, right?
08:58He's showing us that he can break it away, but field it cleanly, become trusted,
09:03and then maybe you'll get some more carries, and then maybe you can make an impact.
09:07But, like I was saying, with run left, I'm running Ollie.
09:10I'm sorry.
09:11He's the man right now.
09:13100 yards two games ago, 88 yards last game.
09:16Let's see what Ollie can do.
09:18Run him left behind Proctor and Patrick Paul and make these defenses stop you
09:23at what you do best.
09:26And, Perk, with the tight end position, man, I'm just thinking about it.
09:29Like, you don't have a prolific offense.
09:31Shouldn't the tight ends get more work?
09:33I see Dolchitz.
09:34You know, Dolchitz gets a couple catches a game, but are they not capable
09:38or are they not part of the offense?
09:41I don't think Malik Willis trusts them at this point,
09:45and I don't think Bobby Slowick is going to force the issue.
09:49I haven't seen anything special out of Dolchitz, quite honestly.
09:52Now, if I'm not mistaken, his stats are pretty similar to Kenyon Sadiq,
09:57who the Dolphins are about to play, the first-round pick for the Jets.
10:00They're tight end, number 16 pick out of Oregon, the physical specimen,
10:04who's got the speed and everything.
10:05But his numbers aren't much better than Greg Dolchitz at this point.
10:12So I would say that if you expected Dolchitz to have a breakout year,
10:19you're going to be disappointed.
10:20But I think he'll have an average year.
10:22I just don't think he's going to do anything special as far as, like,
10:27receptions or yards or touchdowns.
10:29I think he'll be a good, maybe a slightly above average tight end
10:33by the end of the season.
10:35Chris Perkins, you can read his work in the Sun-Sentinel.
10:38Make sure you download the Sun-Sentinel app.
10:40Follow Perk on social media as well.
10:42And subscribe to the Sun-Sentinel.
10:44Support our local journalists.
10:46What have you had there in New York?
10:48Have you had a dirty water hot dog?
10:50Have you had a slice of pizza at Ray's Original?
10:52What have you done?
10:54You know what?
10:55All I've had is two slices of pizza.
10:58But I've had a bottle of water.
11:00I've had a coffee.
11:00But I've walked 5.8 miles, man.
11:03I've just been walking all day.
11:04Look, New York, London, and Paris are like the three cities where I can do 10,
11:0812 miles without even batting an eye.
11:10So I'm on course to do that today.
11:13But I'll probably be slowed down by happy hour at some point.
11:16But I'm going to soldier through it.
11:18I'm going to soldier through it.
11:19What do you get on the Za?
11:22One, I got straight cheese.
11:24The other one, I got a cacio e pepe, which is, you know, the cheese and the pepper.
11:30And they put some burrata and some olive oil and some freshly cracked black pepper on top of it.
11:37Incredible.
11:38It was better than the cheese slice.
11:40Yeah.
11:41I told you, but it was good.
11:42I've said for years, Perk, I hate black pepper.
11:48Oh, man, you're missing one of the best experiences of life.
11:53I hate black pepper.
11:57I just did that to make Crowder laugh.
12:01I just did that to make Crowder laugh.
12:05You too.
12:10Sometimes they launch up an alley-oop, Perk, and no one sees it but me.
12:14I'm running through it.
12:19I'm trying to hit my head on the bottom of the basket on that one.
12:23We'll see you, Perk.
12:25Thank you for making time for us.
12:26Enjoy New York.
12:28All right.
12:28See y'all.
12:29Here you go.
12:30Chris Perkins from the Sun Sentinel.
12:32He's so silly.
12:37Something is wrong with you, man.
12:39I hate black pepper.
12:41I hate black pepper.
12:48My eyes lit up when he said they put some cracked black pepper on the pizza.
12:54I hate black pepper.
12:55I hate black pepper.
