0:04

All right, welcome back. The Audible's on the air. Kimbo

0:06

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0:10

a little bit about the Senior Bowl and and look

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and Miami Dolphins dot com. Now it's time for

0:38

our look back to present by Morgan and Morgan Lawn

0:41

and John's a big, big week for the

0:43

Dolphins, really last week, um

0:45

and it kind of goes under the radar the Senior Bowl, especially

0:48

this year with COVID and everything, and

0:50

you know, not not quite the impact that it's

0:52

had before, but still had all the NFL

0:54

people out there that needed to be there. You got

0:56

to see all the seniors, got to see some juniors out there,

0:59

and UH a lot of good players. So

1:02

it was an important week for UH,

1:04

for for everybody who was out there with John.

1:06

I can't help, but I can't help but

1:08

believe that having coach Flores,

1:11

Chris Greer and the Dolphins staff coached

1:13

one of those teams, one of those teams, UM,

1:16

I think to me that they couldn't

1:18

have had it any better. Well, it's so valuable,

1:21

bow and I agree with you to the point where

1:23

you're on the field with these players, you're

1:25

in the meeting room with these players, UH,

1:27

you're going to you know, have lunch or dinner

1:30

or a snack or involved

1:32

in meetings after private meetings with

1:35

with every individual player that you

1:37

deem necessary that you want to gather

1:39

a background on so that when

1:41

the individual pro days come up, you can follow

1:44

that up. When the draft comes up, you're

1:46

ready. And when free agency comes up where

1:48

you might have a guy targeted that really

1:52

came under the radar a little bit going in or

1:54

heading into the Senior Bowl, that you go,

1:56

we don't have to spend that much money at this

1:58

position because I'm good with two or

2:00

three of the guys that I saw at the Senior Bowl. If

2:02

we get any one of those guys, we're gonna

2:04

be in a good depth situation, will

2:07

be really good on special teams, and

2:09

he could probably provide us some help

2:11

at wide receiver, at linebacker, at

2:13

running back, wherever that position maybe. And

2:16

you find out a lot about what makes

2:18

a guy tick in those meetings

2:20

and on those practice fields and in those private

2:22

conversations. So I think it

2:24

really was a valuable tool along

2:27

with the rest of the off season. But

2:29

but but really get you get to watch

2:32

him play football, and that's the most important

2:34

thing, you know about those three days of practice

2:36

and then ultimately the game. Yeah, and I

2:38

think also John this year where the

2:40

combine, we're not sure how that's gonna look. It's

2:42

certainly not gonna be the traditional combine. But

2:45

to me, it adds more importance on being

2:47

there at the Senior Bowl with those guys and

2:50

and and give him some of that you know, just that thing

2:52

that those things that you don't see, you know, it's it's

2:54

like it's like you talk to poker players and they

2:56

can tell all that you think this guy's gotta tell I can

2:58

see this. I can see that. Well. Sometimes

3:01

people, you know, they put their best foot forward,

3:03

but you see some little things in them that you go, oh,

3:05

I'm not too comfortable with that, and you

3:08

don't see it sometimes if you're not one

3:10

of the one of the coaches, or you see some guy that you

3:12

think, yeah, I don't think too highly of, and then all

3:14

of a sudden, you go, man, every time I turn around the guys,

3:17

he's around the football, he's asking

3:19

questions, he's watching tape, he's doing

3:21

this, and and then his stock goes

3:24

up. So for players and coaches and everyone

3:26

around the league, I think I think the UH. I

3:28

think this year's Senior Bowl really holds

3:30

a lot higher regard because you

3:32

know, you know, you some some of that's

3:34

gotta be just a leap of faith going into this year's

3:36

draft. Well, you either

3:38

validate or invalidate beliefs that

3:40

you have as a coach when you go to the

3:42

Senior to your point there, you

3:44

know, you get a guy like a Nico Collins

3:47

who opted out. He's a receiver from Michigan,

3:49

didn't play in two thousand and twenty,

3:51

but in two thousand and nineteen he averaged almost

3:54

twenty yards per catch for

3:56

the Wolverines, who weren't known for their offense.

3:59

He's a big guy, six four fifteen

4:01

pounds. You go and you see does he have the

4:04

toughness that you know, how far away is he from

4:06

being a year removed from playing

4:08

a game of football. He he provided

4:10

us a lot of a lot of highlights

4:13

just in practice over those three days

4:15

in Pad. So there's guys like that,

4:17

you kind of go, well, you may may not have

4:19

been on the radar, but now he's right back

4:21

on it for all thirty two teams because

4:24

he had a terrific Senior Bowl week, John

4:26

who jumped out at you when you watch people

4:28

out there, and then the uh that

4:31

in what you got to see from the Senior Bowl,

4:34

there was a couple of positions that jumped out and I'll

4:36

stay at the wide receiver. I mentioned Collins from

4:38

Michigan. He was obviously one of the guys that

4:41

that stood out there. And with you know, some

4:43

of the underclass for not being there. Davante

4:45

Smith and Jalen Waddle were both

4:47

injured. Jamar Chase was under class

4:49

from l s U. He wasn't there. There's

4:52

a guy named Dwayne Eskridge from

4:54

Western Michigan. Diminutive in size,

4:56

but man can he fly and he can

4:58

catch and it just out of track speed

5:00

guy. He he brings that track speed in

5:03

the shoulder pads and can play play

5:05

slot and and hand Tyreek

5:07

Hill. This is what you think about when you see this guy.

5:10

Well, you know, this is a guy that makes you miss

5:12

it the line scrimmage, strong, can break press

5:15

coverage. He was very impressive. I

5:17

thought, uh Tony out of Florida. He

5:19

he lived up to the billing of of

5:21

what he did in college for the Gators. I

5:24

thought Amari Rodgers from Clemson. Another

5:26

guy that can play inside outside. He did a

5:29

lot of really good things at the wide

5:31

receiver spot. So those are the guys that

5:33

kind of caught my wide receiver. Uh

5:35

Dermandre Stevenson. I believe it is

5:38

from Oklahoma, big running back. Really

5:41

played well. He was really good in past protection,

5:43

can run the ball, just wasn't a plotter. He

5:45

was a big guy that could move. So I think

5:48

he caught a lot of guys attention.

5:50

That's some pretty good running backs in the game. They

5:53

did. They had a ton of running backs. They had a couple

5:55

of guys UH, that really stood out.

5:57

That mirror a lot of what the Miami Dolphins

5:59

do. UM, so there's

6:01

a lot of I thought there was a lot of talent. I thought

6:04

they did a great job of acquiring a lot

6:06

of talent. There was a couple other guys too on the defensive

6:08

side that stood out as DBS.

6:11

I thought Keith Taylor from Washington,

6:13

a corner was UH tenacious, he

6:15

was always around the football. And Damar Hamlin

6:17

from pitt who can play safety

6:19

and played close to the line of scrimmage where

6:21

he can play that at center field position.

6:23

He has the size, he has the good

6:26

football intuition, he has that knowledge

6:28

of an instinct of being able to be around

6:30

the football and where the football is on

6:32

the ground and tackle guys in open

6:35

space. So I thought he had a really good week as well.

6:37

You know, I saw some kid from UH. It's funny

6:40

because we have john offered all the program and you

6:42

know, you know Johnny coming out of Western

6:44

Michigan and UH coming with a with a

6:46

French horn into the training camp and then the

6:48

whole thing, and a kid from the offensive

6:51

line, and I was for kid from Wisconsin

6:53

White who

6:55

got a lot of a lot of you know,

6:57

his his name popped up a lot. You know, he's one of those

7:00

guys are coming out of a small school and I

7:02

think he was an All American at that division

7:04

and came out and and and really I think,

7:06

you know, so so you're funny You're look at a guy like John

7:08

or guys who look like from Sandals State

7:11

going out. You know, you get some of these schools that that aren't

7:13

from the traditional powerhouse programs,

7:15

and you see some of those guys come out, and you

7:17

know, and and and one thing and one thing that shows you

7:20

each and every year John is there. There players everywhere.

7:22

It doesn't matter where you're at. It doesn't matter if you're

7:24

in Michigan or you're at you know, Western Michigan

7:26

or Eastern Michigan. If you can play and

7:29

they're gonna find you out there. There's talent

7:31

all over the country. And and it's really over

7:33

the last ten fifteen years it's really come to the

7:35

forefront of being able to just find

7:37

people anywhere. And I

7:40

think there was that at the Senior Bowl you mentioned in

7:42

areas from Wisconsin, Whitewater.

7:44

There was a couple other guys too. You know, you don't

7:46

think of Cincinnati as a power, even

7:48

though they were really good this year in college football.

7:51

But James Hudson, who was an offensive

7:53

lineman, uh, maybe didn't have the notoriety

7:56

of a Creed Humphrey from Oklahoma who was the center

7:58

in the game. But this is a guy that I think

8:00

really his stock went

8:02

up during that seas you know John.

8:05

I think John was one of those guys offered all and

8:07

when you think back at the Senior Bowl, his stock really

8:10

rose, you know, from from after his playing

8:12

days at Western and being able to be

8:15

able to come in and play in the Senior Bowl. That's

8:17

a guy like that. Also, Richie Grant, a

8:19

safety from UCF, I think his

8:21

stock was up there. A guy like Carlos

8:24

Basham, who most of the country had

8:26

no idea, plays wake Forest and plays defensive

8:28

end, uh can get after the quarterback.

8:30

I think he rose up a couple of pigs, as

8:32

well as one other guy, Cameron Sample

8:35

from two Lane. I think he was seventh

8:37

in the country with pressures on the quarterback.

8:39

Every day he was on his game.

8:41

And I think he was the defensive m v P in the game.

8:44

So those are just a few names, uh

8:46

that kind of maybe under the radars.

8:49

Big school, small school, but guys that

8:51

are gonna get drafted now. It's five sit

8:53

down, amplified by hard Rock Hotel

8:56

joining us now former all pro

8:58

kind of a guy who's looking at that hall of same down

9:00

the road. John offered all the number fifty six.

9:03

Nobody woren't better, John, And I'm saying even

9:05

my roommates, Steve to all. My first roommate was

9:07

fifty six. But I gotta give it

9:09

to you, John, Thanks for joining us. Man,

9:12

Kim, I get better every year. Thanks, buddy.

9:15

Isn't that funny? The further away

9:18

you get from your career, the better you get. Well,

9:20

it's amazing how how my memory

9:23

changes. And I tell my kids how

9:25

awesome I was, because every

9:28

once in a while they get they get a little bit of my film

9:30

and they say, Dad, come on man, Yea

9:35

Humbles ready to the squishing

9:37

myself. Hey, yeah, you're real quick. Just

9:39

uh, just a quick thought on on watching

9:42

the Dolphins and the transition they're going through

9:44

and Brian Flores coming in and

9:46

the changes they've made and what you saw

9:48

from them this year, and and more and more

9:50

in the direction of where the team's going under

9:52

this new regime. Yeah,

9:55

so this is something that a couple

9:57

of years ago we were hoping for and I think we got

9:59

a eight taste of it this year, and that was excitement

10:02

and entertainment. Um and for

10:04

fans and you know, us players

10:07

who have worn the uniform.

10:10

Uh, just being competitive on the field

10:12

was something that was really enjoyable

10:14

all the way through the year. Um And

10:17

you know, it was probably the best bang

10:19

for your buck as far as being a fan of anyone

10:22

team. We got to see some amazing

10:24

play by Fitzpatrick

10:27

down to the rookie and uh, you

10:29

know, between the two quarterbacks and the

10:32

and the defense and the turnovers,

10:34

every game was just an adventure or something

10:36

that made it fun to watch football again down

10:38

here in South Florida. It

10:41

must have made you really happy, though, John.

10:43

You know, on offense in the NFL, now

10:45

it's all about explosive place,

10:47

but the Miami Dolphins really were led by their

10:50

defensive explosive place. You know, whether

10:52

it was sacking the quarterback, whether

10:54

it was a sack, force fumble, scoop

10:56

and score one of ten interceptions

10:59

by Xavien Howard. As a defensive

11:01

guy, that hadn't made you feel like when you went into your

11:03

stores or restaurants and people say,

11:05

hey, how about the Dolphins? You had something

11:07

to talk about. Yeah, and we have TVs

11:10

in our restaurants too, so we actually

11:12

keep it on the Sports channel. This year it was pretty

11:15

fun. Um, But I mean, when's

11:17

the last time we watched the football game where

11:19

we were more interested in can the can

11:22

the defense create another turnover to

11:24

keep the you know, the consecutive game

11:26

streak going. I mean, that's that's pretty

11:28

rare for the Miami Dolphins.

11:31

Uh, not only lately but in its

11:33

history. We've had great defenses.

11:35

But this was a very entertaining

11:38

team, and the defense kind of loved the charge

11:41

with the entertainment, the turnovers and the special

11:44

play. You know. I thought it was

11:46

also interesting John and you you could talk to this

11:48

if you can remember back from your rookie year

11:50

to your second year and how much

11:53

of an improvement you made, maybe not so

11:55

much tackling in the open field

11:57

or doing things, but just confidence wise,

11:59

because really transitions into

12:01

how you physically play on the field.

12:03

And I thought a lot of Dolphins took that next step.

12:06

How did it work for you? And when you watch

12:09

like Van Ginkle or you watched Wilkins.

12:11

Those guys kind of take the next step. You can

12:13

say, I understand where that's

12:15

coming from.

12:17

You know, I had the fortunate of playing as a rookie,

12:20

and um, you know, stepping

12:23

into that role, especially

12:25

back in the nineties wasn't

12:27

as expected maybe as

12:30

it is these days. Rookies are almost

12:32

more uh you know, looked

12:35

after and thought than a tenured,

12:37

proven player. UM.

12:39

And I the thing that comes with the rookie

12:42

obviously the youthfulness, the energy,

12:45

the the strength and

12:47

speed of someone who's still fresh

12:49

and young. But there's no doubt that

12:51

the NFL brings a level of experience

12:54

that rookies just don't get. I

12:57

remember my first year having to readjust

12:59

so any things from angles

13:02

to tackle people. I mean, back

13:04

in the Mid American Conference, I could go right

13:06

after the receiver. All

13:08

of a sudden, the NFL, you gotta slow

13:10

down and be prepared for the cutback because you don't

13:12

want to miss a tackle and make, you know, make the

13:14

terrible mistake of taking the wrong angle.

13:17

All of that stuff that experience accumulates

13:20

through the first year. And I just think

13:22

a second year young player who's

13:25

got all the talent the world is gonna

13:27

be a much more talented

13:29

and proven player on the field. So

13:32

every year up to about five or

13:34

six, you just continue to grow as an

13:36

NFL football player. And those first

13:39

years are so fortunate

13:41

to be able to get played time, uh,

13:44

in those first early years because you you get

13:46

to use the experience and the talent that

13:48

God gives you early in your career to make

13:50

an impact. Hey, John, we just we

13:52

just had the Senior Bowl last week. I know you

13:54

had the opportunity to playing the Senior Bowl.

13:56

I had the opportunity playing the Senior Bowl and

13:59

and and really I think it was one of those great experiences

14:01

because it really kind of you got to dip your toe

14:03

in the NFL waters a little bit before

14:05

you actually got into the NFL and

14:08

got all experience. What was your experience at the Super

14:10

at the Senior Bowl and what do what do you remember

14:12

most out of out of your time in Mobile,

14:14

Alabama? Yeah,

14:16

so that was bo. That

14:19

was the most defining moment

14:21

in my life. I

14:23

mean, I got my marriage to my wife,

14:25

and I guess I was born somewhere back then, but

14:28

I'm telling you I turned into a football

14:30

player that January

14:33

nine or whatever in n I

14:37

was on the East West Shrine game. Uh

14:40

just a little kid from Western Michigan

14:42

asked to play in the East West Shrine game, and

14:44

so, oh my gosh, I couldn't wait. I played

14:46

in that game. And immediately after that game,

14:49

I got a phone call that invited

14:51

me. Because the linebacker didn't

14:54

decided not to show up, there was an

14:56

opening for the lineback around

14:58

the North team at the Senior and

15:00

I couldn't believe it. I said, of course I'll play.

15:03

I get down into the Senior Bowl. Dan

15:05

Reeves is the coach, you

15:07

know, as you know, they have NFL

15:10

coaches, so I didn't even know that by

15:12

the time I showed up. I figured

15:14

that out, and within a

15:16

week I'm starting inside

15:18

linebacker signal caller for the

15:21

North's defense. The day before

15:23

the game, we do go line uh

15:26

you know, goal lines. We don't do a scrammage. We

15:28

go to a walkthrough, right and

15:30

and Dan Reeves pulls me aside with along

15:32

with the defense coordinator and says, John, we really can't

15:35

practice us. But Bo Jackson,

15:37

the running back, the as you know,

15:40

uh Heisman Trophy winner running back

15:42

is going to jump over the guard center tackle

15:45

guard center gap. He's gonna be about

15:48

seven feet in there, and you gotta

15:50

jump before you ever see him jump.

15:53

And I just say I was the most coachable

15:55

person during that game, because twice in

15:57

that game the ball was apped

16:00

on fourth down and one on the goal line, and

16:02

I literally jumped before I ever

16:04

saw Bo Jackson and lo

16:07

behold my

16:10

arms wide and I run into Bo Jackson.

16:13

It was the greatest thing ever since the best sunrise

16:15

you've ever seen. Anyways, I couldn't

16:17

believe it. And I end up winning kind

16:20

of the m v P of the game, and I had an unbelievable

16:22

game. Put me, you know, in the second

16:25

round of the Miami Dolphins, and I got

16:27

this picture. I just thought you'd you'd

16:29

enjoy this picture. Bring

16:31

it out there. It is there, it is.

16:34

It is the iconic picture of beautiful,

16:37

right. I don't know if that might

16:39

be ten. I

16:41

mean, Johnny, I know, I know you're a conservative

16:43

guy, but you might want to have that tattooed on your butt

16:45

cheek because

16:48

then you happen with you everywhere and you can show it to everybody

16:51

whenever you want to. I carry that.

16:53

I hear that in my car. Hey. The

16:55

best thing about it is Bo Jackson signed

16:58

it Lucky Tackle

17:00

never again. Hey

17:03

WHOA. Normally when I go into the restaurant

17:06

in Weston, I kind of genuflect

17:08

to that picture and then I ordered my Johnny's chicken

17:10

chowder. He should have that

17:13

you are preaching. I love that, keep

17:15

keep the word up. I love that he should have decided.

17:17

Hey, at least you're no Brian Bosworth.

17:22

Oh. I just think that's the funniest thing anyway.

17:25

So that's my high um, you know, my

17:27

Senior Bowl moment um. You

17:29

know, it certainly took me in from a low round

17:31

draft pick up to the second round pick

17:33

and got me to hang out with kim Bo Camper

17:36

and the Killer Bees for the first Well, I gotta

17:38

tell you this, John, he talks about coming in, you

17:40

know, John, and and then this

17:42

this, this may be I might touch on a little sore

17:44

spot here. You know, John was a holdout. John

17:46

was drafting the second round. He was a holdout, and

17:49

so he didn't come in. And that was my last training camp

17:51

with the Dolphins, and so Johnny

17:53

came in. We were going up to Swanny, Georgia

17:56

to practice against the Falcons for

17:58

two or three days and then and then head back up.

18:01

And so I never met John. I think he

18:03

signed maybe the day before. And

18:06

so we get to Swanny and there's John. Who's

18:09

that is this guy? You know? So John,

18:12

I'm in the defensive huddle. John walks

18:14

in the defensive huddle. They put him right in the in

18:16

the in the huddle with the first group, and

18:19

he calls the first calls the first defense,

18:21

and then and he goes, he goes, He looks at

18:23

me, goes, you got the short outside, you

18:26

got the deep curl, you got watch out. He

18:28

knew everybody, he didn't even know. He didn't

18:30

only know his position. He knew what

18:32

everyone else's responsibility was. So

18:35

don't don't, don't don't John give me that aw shucks

18:37

kind of a guy. What

18:40

we needed to do, you know? That

18:43

was it was it was easy to

18:45

kind of hit you guys on the backside. And this movie

18:47

around up there that I

18:49

loved every second, but I knew we

18:52

were used to being told what we're used to being

18:54

told what to do. The other thing I remember,

18:56

I don't know if you remember the other thing I remember about that

18:58

that trip up there was they had drafted

19:01

Tony Cassius and he was

19:03

the first pick in the draft, nose tackle out

19:05

of Oklahoma, right, So

19:08

he was kind of talking trash before we went up

19:10

there, and then then he met Dwight. He

19:13

went and met Dwight Stevenson the

19:16

first day of practice, I'm telling you,

19:18

and they were always together, one on one, you know,

19:20

first team, first the first team. At

19:23

the end of the first practice, Tony can see us walked off

19:25

the field and had tears running down his eyes. I

19:27

don't think he played that first year. I

19:29

just abut, I mean just abused that guy.

19:32

And Tony was a really good player, end up being

19:34

a great prod. Yeah,

19:37

he took him a year to get get get his feet

19:39

underneath him again, though, Yeah, really

19:41

really quick before we let you go here, John

19:43

Um, Defense in the National Football

19:46

League now be tough, tough to play,

19:48

tough to play in that game with the tools that

19:51

we had or the players before him. And it's

19:53

it's it's changed so dramatically. What do you think

19:55

about what you're seeing on with penalties

19:58

and defense and and all

20:00

the things that make it difficult these days to play defense.

20:04

Well, I think the game itself has just continued

20:07

to increase in entertainment value, and

20:09

so they're doing something right. Uh

20:11

you know, I think it gives the quarterbacks, the receivers,

20:15

the playmakers, uh,

20:17

the best opportunity for magic.

20:19

And so in that respect, uh,

20:22

you know, I give credit to the NFL and it's

20:25

rules and uh, you know, penalties

20:28

and all the changes they've made

20:30

with contact. I understand

20:33

it, um. But as the defensive player

20:35

growing up with a hard head and looking and

20:37

seeking contact, UM,

20:39

you know, I just see, um, I see

20:41

things a little different. You know. I I

20:43

struggle with, uh,

20:45

some of the contact rules and certainly some of the tackling

20:48

and the kind of the form tackling

20:50

that I was taught. You just don't see

20:53

that. It's clear that they're not practicing

20:55

hardened during the weeks.

20:57

So when game time gets rebbed up to a there

21:00

oftentimes out of position, and I don't think,

21:02

you know, I'd love to see some stats

21:04

on injury, but injury preventions,

21:07

and I just see a lot of people out

21:09

of position and oftentimes in a bad

21:11

position for for contact. So

21:13

from the standpoint of contact, like I kind

21:15

of missed the big hits. Nowadays, if

21:17

you see any type of good hit, you're right

21:19

away thinking that's gonna be a penalty, and

21:22

so it kind of takes a little bit of that flavor

21:24

out. But I get it right, I mean

21:26

I I get the moms all

21:28

the way down to you know, the entertainment

21:30

value of making big plays happen.

21:33

It comes when cornerbacks can't

21:35

you know, touch the receiver and linebackers

21:37

can't scare the receivers as they walk

21:40

through the middle of the field. I mean, when's

21:42

the last time you saw a linebacker take somebody's

21:44

uh shoulders off. It's

21:47

just you know, they go, they go through the

21:50

the middle of the field with no fair

21:52

So that was the only way we could

21:54

kind of protect ourselves

21:56

and and intimidate the others was

21:59

that if they came across the middle of the field, they

22:01

were gonna at least have to have their head on this swivel.

22:03

They don't have to have that anymore. Johnny,

22:06

appreciate you spending some time with us. Man. How

22:08

many Johnny, tell me, how many stories you got

22:10

out there? How many john Offerdells grillers

22:12

you got out there. Well, we get when they're

22:14

all open. We have eight you know, the airports

22:17

still close and we're still working

22:19

on getting some of them back up and

22:21

running full throttle. But it's

22:24

still an enjoyable life for me. I

22:26

love being in the restaurant business. As you know about

22:29

the football is kicked off every day

22:31

in the restaurant industry. We don't have a seven

22:33

days to prepare or six days to prepare.

22:35

We're on We're on

22:38

the clock, always

22:40

game date, always game day. But

22:42

I love it. It It keeps me young. Time. Now, let's

22:46

talk a little bit about about about

22:48

the season, you know, and again

22:51

I'm I'm like a lot of people, I'm really shocked

22:53

that the NFL has been able to, you

22:56

know, meander their way through this pandemic

22:59

and get all these games in and

23:02

have a Super Bowl played on the

23:04

date that it's supposed to be played, uh

23:06

here coming up in a couple of weeks. To me,

23:08

John, that's remarkable, and and it was. It

23:11

was different for us, you know.

23:13

It is. It's funny because John, you know, usually

23:15

usually by mid point of this season we both

23:17

have a pretty good handle on the coaching staff

23:19

and you have made some relations where you can talk

23:21

to talk to players and stuff. I

23:23

still haven't met the code new coaches from last

23:26

year, and I haven't met any of the draft picks

23:28

from last year, which is a really different

23:30

year, and and calling the game and reporting

23:33

from the game from the from the third

23:35

deck in uh at hard Rock Stadium. It's

23:37

it's been a little different, it's been a little a little unique

23:40

and uh, but it's been a great

23:42

year. It's it's been fun. It

23:44

was it was odd, but but thankfully,

23:47

you know, the the NFL and the Miami Dolphins,

23:49

I thought did a great job getting the stadium

23:52

ready for the fans. And we were up

23:54

on that third deck and we'd see the same faces

23:56

kind of you know, as we're getting ready for our pregame

23:58

show or fifth quarter show. Uh,

24:01

you see the same faces in the same seats and

24:03

they give you a nod and you kind of nod

24:05

back, and everybody seemed to have a good time. But

24:07

you're right, it was different. You know, it was different not seeing

24:09

you on the sidelines during the game or meeting you down

24:12

on the sidelines in the fourth quarter.

24:14

Are actually you know, standing and introducing

24:16

yourself and shaking hands with two of to

24:19

kind of stay welcome to the Miami Dolphins.

24:21

Other than the zoom calls that we had

24:23

with all the players. So I'm looking forward

24:25

to hopefully in two thousand and twenty

24:28

one. As we as we get looking forward

24:30

to the free agency and the draft

24:32

and the Senior Bowl and all that stuff, when you

24:34

know, you get the new crop of Miami Dolphins

24:36

that we're actually able to sit down and talk because

24:39

you get to know players like that and you get the build

24:41

relationships, and I think that's part of the game

24:43

that that's a big part of the game that I missed and I'm

24:45

sure you did as well. Yeah, it's

24:48

it's it's been a there's been a funny year and it's

24:50

gonna continue to be a funny year. This

24:52

this weekend, the Pro Bowl is gonna be done

24:55

like virtually or they're gonna do with the Madden

24:57

Madden Football you I think got that, and

25:00

uh, you know the the Super Bowl teams, I

25:02

read that, Uh, they're not showing up to

25:05

the Tampa. Tampa will be there because that's where

25:07

their their home base is. But you know

25:09

the the uh you

25:12

know, the Kansas City Chiefs, they're

25:14

not They're they're not allowed to come into town until

25:16

till Friday. I think it is. So you have Friday,

25:18

Saturday's Day for the game and then you play.

25:21

So that's gonna be that's gonna be strange, that's

25:23

gonna be pretty odd. But uh, I guess it's

25:25

just uh, you know, more of the same

25:27

for what this year has been. Yeah, it's

25:29

just par for the course this year. And I think that

25:32

everybody around the league did a very good job

25:34

of actually following protocol

25:37

and following, you know, all the things you needed to do

25:39

to have a chance to play. And and

25:41

thankfully we were entertained with a full season

25:43

and everybody got the games in where at the

25:45

at the finish line with with Tampa Bay

25:47

in Kansas City. So even though

25:49

they're not gonna get to enjoy Super Bowl

25:52

Week as the norm, Um,

25:54

I'm sure they're not gonna miss Media Day,

25:56

but that'll be on Zoom. But I'm

25:59

looking forward to a eight game on Sunday.

26:01

Yeah, I think this is gonna be a great matchup.

26:03

And uh again, Tom Brady. You know, it

26:05

seems like every week it was always matching

26:07

up the quarterbacks and and now it's come down

26:09

to this, Tom Brady versus Pat Mahomes

26:12

for all the marbles and should be a should be

26:14

a great, a great super Bowl and interesting

26:16

to see for the first time ever the

26:19

home team playing or the one

26:22

of the team playing in

26:24

a Super Bowl, playing in their home stadium

26:27

in Tampa Bay. Uh, that's gonna be

26:29

a uh. I tell you, if you're if you're, if

26:31

you're a Tampa Bay place, that that you want to talk

26:33

about a home field advantage going into a Super

26:35

Bowl. To me, that's a big home field advantage.

26:38

It is. And I heard so far in Tampa

26:41

Bay there in the process of taking all

26:43

the Tampa Bay Bucks banners down and all

26:45

the team stuff around the stadium.

26:47

Because even though it's gonna be a home field advantage

26:49

playing there and staying at your own home

26:51

and sleeping in your own bed, it'll be a little

26:54

bit different looking stadium, but I'm sure it's

26:56

still gonna be advantage Tampa Bay. And I wonder who's

26:58

the home team I you know, I don't know they all. I think the NFC

27:01

is this year. I'm not posit, but I think they are.

27:03

So they'd be the home team in their in their home stadium.

27:05

It would be a nice family you know, you make them their

27:08

visiting team and they'd have to go dress in the visiting locker

27:10

room. We wouldn't feel so so

27:12

much the same. But anyway, John,

27:15

anything crazy happened to you with the COVID through

27:17

uh, through all of our dealings with all these with

27:19

all the the protocols and things that

27:21

we had to go through to get through the season. You

27:24

know, nothing, nothing crazy. But I think

27:26

I've I've gotten accustomed. I'm better

27:28

on the computer now both than I ever was. I

27:31

think I have to credit myself with that. Usually

27:33

it was just press a button and I was glad that it turned

27:35

on. But getting getting on all these

27:38

zoom calls and kind of identifying

27:40

people, I think names and faces.

27:42

I've gotten a little bit better because your

27:44

name comes right underneath. So the player

27:46

that I didn't know it was pretty easy, like

27:49

Shack Lawson and Emmanuel Hagua.

27:51

Sometimes it was a little confusing

27:53

at first, but I had the names to save me. All

27:56

right. Yeah, it's it's it's been a it's

27:58

been a year. We're gonna have another one coming up. And you

28:00

know, John, I think I think when you look at the NFL,

28:03

UH, they've kind of hopefully

28:05

gone forward. If everything progresses, you

28:08

know, vaccine wise and everything, they may be

28:10

the they may be the one sport that kind of

28:12

was ms Ghet the low levels

28:14

of the pandemic and then and then getting

28:16

it when it maybe it's closing coming to an end where

28:19

we can you can be a little more free and maybe get

28:21

maybe get full stadiums back together next season.

28:23

I would be a pretty nice deal. Well, I'm

28:25

sure the fans are looking forward to having that opportunity

28:28

because it was an exciting season in

28:30

the NFL and not a lot of fans were

28:32

able to attend games in certain states. And

28:35

I thought, you know, in the state of Florida with the Miami Dolphins,

28:38

they were fortunate enough to at least get thirteen

28:40

thousand in the state at m and and get

28:42

a glimpse of a team that's on the on the

28:44

ascent, you know, that team that's improving,

28:47

you know, go from five wins to ten wins, just missing

28:49

the playoffs. A lot of excitement building

28:51

up for the Miami Dolphins in two thousand and twenty

28:53

one. Now it's time to take a look ahead presented

28:56

by Automation, where Dolphins fans can sell

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their vehicles for cash now visit donation

29:01

dot com. And John, we're kind of looking

29:03

at the Senior Bowl a little bit, and we

29:05

talked a little bit about the combine and how

29:07

it's gonna change. And it certainly

29:09

may put more emphasis on the Senior Bowl,

29:12

but it's also gonna put more emphasis on pro days

29:14

without the combine. And I don't know what iteration

29:16

they're gonna be in the combine. I think it's gonna be

29:19

zoom zoom interviews and those types of

29:21

things, or much like last year where coaches

29:24

didn't get a chance to to get their

29:26

doctors to to to to see see

29:28

players and give them physicals. They're gonna

29:30

make a big change. But as they adapted that last

29:32

year, I'll adapt this year and and and figure

29:35

it out with with the changes coming their way,

29:37

it will be divide and conquer, that's for sure.

29:40

Without you know, everybody getting at

29:42

one place at one time in Indiapolis, Indiana,

29:45

And I think, do you think there won't be as many

29:47

smoke screens bow with sending scouts out

29:49

to some places and maybe not others. Because

29:51

you have already have information, You're

29:54

gonna need to go to different places to gather

29:56

that information. And whether that's via zoom

29:58

or or in person, uh,

30:01

you know, getting tested and wearing masks and watching

30:03

guys work out for their individual

30:05

pro days at different universities. It

30:07

will it will put a stress on the

30:10

scouts. That will put a stress on Chris

30:12

Career and and Brian Floors. And that evaluation

30:15

period is so valuable. And that's why

30:17

going back to what we talked about at the Open and the

30:19

Senior Bowl, you're trying to put the

30:21

puzzle together and all those little pieces

30:24

really count and add up. And and

30:26

that was a big one in the Senior Bowl. Without

30:28

having the Combine and Indie, you're gonna

30:30

have to be able to go around the country

30:32

via video or in person and find

30:34

those guys and get that information to

30:37

make your draft boards what it is. After free

30:39

agency, John's gonna make it more urgent

30:41

on players like it did in the Senior Bowl. It's

30:43

gonna make it more urgent on them when they step

30:45

up on those pro days. Is hey, this is your

30:48

shot. This is your one shot. That you went

30:50

to the Combine and you pushed a good number

30:52

there. Now you're just trying to better it here on your

30:54

pro day. That's that's gone. Now, it's hey,

30:56

this is your one shot to to not only

30:58

show us what you can do physically, but get

31:01

getting to get in and get into a conversation, get

31:03

into an interview so we can find more about

31:05

what makes you tick and let you know they

31:07

look they're all everyone just leaves looking for guys that

31:09

love football and can't can't get

31:11

enough of it. And uh, you know, we've both

31:14

seen guys that are way over the top, and

31:16

we've st seen some people that you think away over the top,

31:18

but when things get tough, they're not so

31:20

not so ready for it. So there's a lot of

31:22

things that these scouts and organizations

31:25

really have to call out of these these pro days,

31:28

much more so than you do during a normal year.

31:30

Well, you know, the underwear Olympics isn't

31:33

isn't gonna is gonna be everywhere this year

31:35

because you just can't go to Indie

31:37

and get it. And the other thing bo I will

31:39

tell you if you ran a great forty

31:41

and Indie, I'm not gonna run it at my pro day.

31:43

I don't want to tweak anything or you know you

31:46

did something, you know I'm not gonna I'm

31:48

not gonna bench press because you know, I'm not feeling

31:50

right today, already did eighteen reps

31:52

of two twenty five. Whatever the case may be. I

31:55

think there's gonna be more guys that are gonna

31:57

want to demand or want to see. Let

31:59

me you run that fort again. Let me see you go out

32:01

and throw the football live. Let me

32:03

see you go out and run routes. Let

32:05

me see a drop into coverage because

32:08

you take that for granted when you're

32:10

in Indianapolis at the combine. But

32:12

you're gonna have more stress and more more

32:15

pressure, I guess on your pro day than ever before.

32:18

Yeah, no, no doubt about it. So it's gonna be it's gonna

32:20

be something that, uh, they've got to figure

32:22

out and they've got to deal with. But uh, it's

32:24

it's it's it's a new day and and

32:27

that's where we're at. Hey, John, appreciate it

32:29

again. Always a pleasure, my man. Hey

32:31

both, thank you. Look forward to the next time with you.

32:33

All right. For John con Jemmy, I'm kim Bo Caamper.

32:35

That's gonna do it. For the Audible. Remember you know,

32:37

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32:55

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32:58

stick around, there's a lot. Come in your a and we'll

33:00

all have it for you on the Audible Until the

33:02

next time. Stay safe out there, m

33:10

um,