Leroy stresses the value of playing in pre pre-season. The guys detail what position groups they are most concerned about... Leroy feels the defense is getting pushed around a little too easy for his liking.
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00:00So, how are you feeling about this season and starting off?
00:09I know like during the summer we all had all these dreams and goals, now it's getting closer
00:15to reality, right?
00:17And you're seeing how all these teams seem to be taking form.
00:23Is there anybody you feel different about or you have more, like I have more questions
00:28with the Dolphins than I did when camp started?
00:31And it's not, it's all of a who the hell's gonna play kind of thing without really knowing
00:36the reality of the injuries or the shape of some of these guys who played no preseason.
00:44Playing no preseason, I'm telling you, playing no preseason scares the hell out of me.
00:50Yeah, but they never do, they never do.
00:52But here, but they still get their work in.
00:55There's guys who haven't-
00:56Well, they did a joint practice every week this year.
01:00That was a little different.
01:01They didn't do that last year.
01:02Right.
01:03Well, and I think that's the new thing.
01:04And I think you can do that now because the off, you got that extra week.
01:10I'm nervous about the wide receivers for sure, outside of Jalen Waddell and Tyree Hook because
01:17none of them are healthy.
01:18Well, but here's, and I'm gonna counter that for you.
01:23Don't underestimate what they're gonna do with John New Smith.
01:27Okay.
01:28Don't just, I'm telling you, just seeing some of the things he does, he is gonna, they're
01:34almost gonna use him like Deebo Samuel, right?
01:38Except he's bigger and he can probably play more positions on the field and they can put
01:41him on the end of the line of scrimmage and he can block.
01:43Yeah, I guess it's-
01:44That is, that is a, he is a unique piece to that.
01:51And his position, much like Tyreek is.
01:53Yeah, I guess it's technicality because he's going to be a target, but it's still, I'm
01:57just saying strictly from the wide receiver because he's technically a tight end.
02:00Right.
02:01Yeah.
02:02Odell Beckham not practicing, Eric Ezra Kama being hurt.
02:04I'm not worried about that because of John New Smith.
02:06Okay.
02:07Because you have a third receiver, right?
02:09A guy who could, and you can do it out of different formations where he might be a primary
02:13target because he's on the end of the line of scrimmage instead of in a slot where those
02:18other guys would be.
02:19So I'm not worried about that third guy, but I'm going to tell you this, and I've told
02:26you this after the second game, they're getting pushed around too much on defense.
02:34Getting pushed around too much.
02:36When the whole mantra of this start of camp-
02:40Bullies.
02:41Was we need to be bullies, we need to be tougher, right?
02:44You know how hard it is to, take it from a running back.
02:48The hardest thing to do in preseason is run the football because you're just running standard
02:55plays.
02:56You're not running real blocking schemes.
02:57Everybody's just aggressive as hell.
02:59They ain't worried about a whole bunch of play action and checks and all this stuff
03:04right there.
03:05It's just line up and play football.
03:07So anytime you get a slight crease in the preseason, it is like, oh, like it's a blessing
03:15To see them get pushed around the way they did.
03:18I have questions about that.
03:19It's only 11 plays though, like for the real starters playing.
03:24I don't care if the whole mantra is your team being tougher and bullies, right?
03:31It doesn't just work with the starters.
03:34That is something that has to go throughout your whole unit.
03:38So granted I get some of those guys maybe weren't good enough to be bullies.
03:45Weren't good enough to be physical.
03:47Okay.
03:48But when every team watches that they're going to come into every game thinking this, let's
03:56run the ball, keep away from the offense.
03:58And there's going to put a lot of pressure on that defense early because they're going
04:02to test them.
04:03Yeah.
04:04Because this is what people think.
04:05Yeah.
04:06That's what they test.
04:07Cause you got ATN and you got James Cook back to back weeks.
04:08But that's so, so that's one of the things that I'm worried about as far as, because
04:14if you run a football, now you got a two way go and now you got play action.
04:20It's a two way, a two way go.
04:23That means you can either run it or pass it.
04:25Right.
04:26There's a big difference in defense when all you, all they can do is pass it.
04:29I thought you're talking about the famous play, the two way go.
04:31Oh yeah.
04:32Made in Texas.
04:33Of course.
04:35Remind me again about that play.
04:39What exactly?
04:40You know, I'm Leroy's explaining his thing.
04:42Don't be rude.
04:43Okay.
04:44Don't be rude.
04:45He's explaining his thing.
04:46I'll do not.
04:47I said to wake up, wake up.
04:48Yeah.
04:49Yeah.
04:50Of course the, you know, made famous with, uh, you know, the Larry Coker's roadrunners.
04:55Yeah.
04:56Actually, I think it's Texas tech.
05:00That's in Waco.
05:01Yeah.
05:02Hmm.
05:03Was it a Mike Leach special?
05:04Huh?
05:05Mike Leach.
05:06Wes Welker knows about the two Waco.
05:08Ask him.
05:09What?
05:10Pistols up.
05:11Dude.
05:12Hmm.
05:13Dude.
05:14Dude.
05:15Is Baylor in Waco?
05:16It's hard.
05:17But here to somebody said, it's hard to be tough when you're dealing with injuries.
05:23And what I ask you guys is this, if they struggle because of the injuries, how are we as fans
05:33going to view that?
05:34Well, I think we all, nobody cares.
05:36I think even last year with, with, uh, Vic Fangio, the defense got off to a really rough
05:41start.
05:42Like they needed about a good five weeks.
05:43And then how about this?
05:45When everybody was hurt and banged up and out the defense still held up this side of
05:49the bargain.
05:50Yeah.
05:51True.
05:52Right.
05:53So they didn't lose because of defense last year at the end of the last year.
05:58I could say I was very impressed with how the defense held up despite all of it.
06:04They lost the three top pass rushers.
06:06I know.
06:07So yeah.
06:09But don't, but one thing that we got to, we got a new captain, you know, a new anchor
06:13because Christian Wilkins is gone, but we, we're going to be different.
06:17They're going to be more pushed the pile than speed and agility and quickness from the middle.
06:22We've handed the reins over to Zach sealer it on up.
06:28You go from pepper to salt.
06:30It's all right.
06:31And also didn't miss a day of practice.
06:34Not one day of camp did Zach sealer miss you want to know why he's a man, man's man, man's
06:40man.
06:41He also hadn't been playing 16, 17 years, man's man's actually didn't miss a day of
06:45practice.
06:46Right.
06:47Um, and one thing, my mom and dad practice because I'm a man for life says Tobin floor
06:54has left us a top five defense in 2022 and Fangio left us a top 10 defense in 2023.
07:00No more excuses, dude.
07:01I'm not, I mean, nobody's making an excuse, but I'm telling you the facts cap, they stunk
07:07on defense the first month, last year, top 10 or no top 10.
07:10I'm just letting you know, with your star pass rushers rounding into the fold and having
07:15rookies that are going to probably play a lot, I would say, yeah, you could probably
07:19like, I'll give them about a four week rough start.
07:23It's still going to be, you're going to get knocked in the teeth.
07:25These first couple of weeks, probably because you got some good running backs that you're
07:28going up against.
07:29Now you do have the benefit of going against two quarterbacks that love to give up the
07:33football.
07:35So I will say, get your paws ready, Jalen Ramsey.
07:39Let's go out there.
07:40Snowman.
07:41So man wants that bread.
07:42Let's pick off some passes from these two dopes.
07:44That's right.
07:45Right.
07:46Now look, and that's, that's the thing, right?
07:52Last year we supposed to, and this, what this team is right now, I experienced, but not
08:03with the defense that you had, right?
08:08I played on a team that if we didn't score 30 points, we lost.
08:16This defense is a lot better than the defense we had when I was 15 and one.
08:23Okay.
08:24So the pressure of having to score 30 points a game is not as important here as it was
08:35when I played.
08:36That being said, collectively and together, they're still going to have to manage some
08:43games and get through some, some, get through some games and win some games where one side
08:51has to cover for the other, right?
08:54Where good coaching decisions are going to have to make the difference in a close game.
09:01And so from that standpoint, don't expect, you know, we got the highest part.
09:08It usually doesn't work.
09:09You score 35 every week, right?
09:11You might hit a 40.
09:13You might hit a 25.
09:14You might hit a 30, but you're going to have against those tougher teams.
09:20And my whole thing with this team, the last couple of years has been this.
09:26When you've played the better teams, very rarely have you gotten blown out, but it's
09:31that adjustment coming out of the second half where you've gotten stifled and shut down.
09:39I want them to see against these better teams when they make defensive adjustments.
09:44How is the offense going to respond to that?
09:47Yeah, it's a big test for migrating down for sure.
09:49So while we're sitting here talking about, well, that's one thing that player needs to
09:52do this.
09:53This player needs to do that.
09:54This player needs to do that.
09:55This player, let's be clear.
09:56A lot of it, a lot of the reason why your offense was stifled is that they came up and
10:04ran the same offenses.
10:05They didn't really make any adjustments.