Tag: Jason Taylor

Jason Taylor questions Dolphins’ play-calling at the end of the game

The former Dolphin was perplexed

The Miami Dolphins lost their Week 8 matchup with the Buffalo Bills by a final score of 26-11 on Sunday. This was the Dolphins’ seventh straight loss on the season with their lone victory coming in the season opener against New England.

Buffalo is clearly the more talented team, as they’re among the best in the league on both sides of the ball, and the standing show just that. However, there were a couple of things in this game that caught some people a little off guard, including Miami’s play-calling in the last two minutes.

The decision to not take a knee or just run out the clock caught the attention of former Dolphin and current broadcaster Jason Taylor during the radio broadcast.

“If you’re gonna run a play here, in this situation, there’s a minute left, obviously you’ve lost the game, you’re gonna run a play, and that’s the play you run,” Taylor asked. “If you’re just trying to get out of here, turn around and hand the ball off or take a knee. That’s the play you run? You run a play for a three-yard loss?”

Taylor has a point here. Miami wasn’t going to come back and win this game down nine points with less than two minutes to go. Buffalo’s defense had completely shut them down all game. They should have saved their guys from potential injury.

“There are one or two things you do here,” Taylor continued. “You either take a knee and go home without getting anybody hurt, or you run the football twice and go home with no timeouts. To motion your back out of the backfield to an empty set and throw a bubble to your running back for a three-yard loss? What is that?”

This is not the first time that co-offensive coordinator George Godsey’s play-calling has been questioned, and unless this was his last game with the Dolphins, it won’t be the last time it’s questioned.

[vertical-gallery id=440830]

Which Miami Dolphin is most likely to join ranks of All-Pro for first time in 2021?

Which Miami Dolphin is most likely to be an All-Pro for first time?

The 2020 season brought plenty of good fortune for the Miami Dolphins as a team, although the year ended with the most anti-climatic ending you could possibly dream up. Yet as the dust settled and it became easier to digest the full body of work for the Miami Dolphins in 2020, it became clear that there was plenty to take pride in. The Dolphins have long been a team lacking in individual accolades — and yet the Dolphins finished the season with two first-team All-Pro players in 2020:

  • CB Xavien Howard
  • K Jason Sanders

The duo became Miami’s first pair of All-Pro teammates on the same year since 2006, when two guys named Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor were named first-team All-Pro under the watch of Nick Saban on defense. Between 2006 and 2020, only Cameron Wake (2012) and Jake Long (2010) received All-Pro recognition in any season.

Think about that. Miami has played one game this decade and equalled the number of All-Pro honors the team collected in the entirety of the 2010s all together.

That’s progress, even if one of them is a special teamer. And if the pair are able to repeat in 2021, then the question becomes who is most likely to join them? Miami hasn’t had three or more All-Pro players on a single team since 2002, when Ricky Williams, Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas and Patrick Surtain all brought home All-Pro recognition. That Dolphins team somehow finished 9-7, 3rd in the AFC East and missed the playoffs.

Miami nearly missed three All-Pros this past year, believe it or not. Punt returner Jakeem Grant finished with second-team All-Pro honors; missing out to New England’s Gunner Olszewski.

So which member of the 2021 Miami Dolphins has the best chance to make the leap? It is difficult to see an offensive player with any threat to make that kind of a leap other than maybe Mike Gesicki — and even then he’s need an offensive explosion and down years from Kansas City’s Travis Kelce and Las Vegas’ Darren Waller. A big breakthrough will be needed on defense. Perhaps LB Jerome Baker can continue to fill up the stat sheet and make the improvements against the run that he’s said he’s hoping for. That feels like the most likely choice. Nose tackle Raekwon Davis is trending towards being a top option in the NFL for such a role but he likely won’t fill up the stat sheet in a manner that will tempt voters to place him in over penetration-style 3-technique defensive tackles.

Finding another elite player that can lay claim to the top of the mountain in the entire NFL won’t be easy. Perhaps another special teams contender (Noah Igbinoghene, Jaylen Waddle or someone else?) can emerge this season.

Miami would trade it all for team success; you can say that for certain given the type of players Brian Flores has gravitated towards. But having their cake and eating it too for once would sure be nice for the Dolphins.

Changes announced to Dolphins’ preseason broadcast team

Changes announced to Dolphins’ preseason broadcast team

The Miami Dolphins are set to return to the field for exhibition games next month after missing the 2020 slate of games on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. And with the team’s preseason schedule having been set for months, it’s now been announced who will be on the call for the Dolphins’ three preseason showcases against the Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals.

CBS4 Miami announced that former Dolphins star and NFL Hall of Famer Jason Taylor will be returning to the broadcast booth once again in 2021, joining Kim Bokamper as a familiar face for Dolphins fans. But the pair of former Dolphins players will be joined by a new face on the call — tabbing Florida Panthers play-by-play broadcaster Steve Goldstein to serve in the same role for Miami’s preseason broadcasts.

Goldstein is an accomplished voice — he’s called numerous Olympic Games, Stanley Cup Finals and Super Bowls for Westwood One.

Miami’s preseason schedule is currently scheduled as follows for next month:

  • Preseason Week 1: at Chicago Bears (1:00pm EST)
  • Preseason Week 2: vs. Atlanta Falcons (7:00pm EST)
  • Preseason Week 3: at Cincinnati Bengals (4:00pm EST)*

*Nationally broadcast game

Is Giants rookie Elerson Smith a Jason Taylor clone?

Ourlads scout David Syvertsen views New York Giants rookie Elerson Smith as a potential Jason Taylor clone.

The New York Giants took a huge gamble on Northern Iowa linebacker/edge rusher Emerson Smith when they selected him in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL draft.

The 6-foot-7, 255-pound Smith was a dark horse in the draft due to his lack of reps at the college level. That didn’t scare off the Giants, who saw a load of potential in Smith, who many have given solid grades on.

This is some stunning analysis by Ourlads scout David Syvertsen who, full disclosure, also serves as the draft expert at The Giant Insider, where I also contribute. He called Smith a Jason Taylor clone, which is extremely high praise.

 

For those who may have forgotten, Taylor is a Hall of Famer and six-time Pro Bowler whose frame (6-foot-6, 245 pounds) was similar to that of Smith’s.

Smith has the length and the pass rush gene that teams crave, and the athleticism to become a solid DE/OLB. The comment that Smith has a higher upside than the Giants’ second-round steal, Azeez Ojulari of Georgia, who many experts see as a potential NFL Pro Bowler, is eye-opening.

Smith is seen as a bit of a project whose traits fit that of a 4-3 defensive end more than a 3-4 down lineman. At 6-foot-7, he doesn’t quite fit as a three-down outside linebacker, either.

Smith entered college at just 215 pounds and played very little football in his time at UNI. He redshirted his freshman year and then didn’t play any games the next season as a redshirt freshman. As a redshirt sophomore, Smith made only 19 tackles but 10.5 of those tackles went for a loss and 7.5 of them were sacks.

In his junior campaign, Smith recorded 63 total tackles with 14 sacks, 21.5 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles. He was named first team All-MVFC and also earned first team FCS All-American honors.

“I think there’s a lot of potential,” said Giants director of college scouting Chris Pettit. “The biggest thing with the smaller school guys, we always start at step one, do they dominate that level. They have to dominate that level of competition to get in the conversation.

“And the great thing about Elerson that, again, reference the Senior Bowl again, but we got to see him on the same playing field with guys from Power Five schools and the higher levels and he fit right in. He competed his butt off and looked the part. You got to compare apples-to-apples there. That was a great venue for us. There were times when he had to play a Division I team. He played Iowa State this year, played over 90 plays in that game and competed to the last whistle and it was really impressive to see. But I think there’s big upside there.”

[vertical-gallery id=670124]

[listicle id=670190]

Relive Jason Taylor learning he’s Canton-bound on 4 year anniversary

Relive Jason Taylor learning he’s Canton-bound on 4 year anniversary

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is set to get a little bit bigger this weekend. Tomorrow, a slew of the NFL’s great players will all await to learn their fate as only a select few are given the honor of joining football immortality in Canton, Ohio. Among the players expected to make the jump are first-ballot candidates like Peyton Manning and Charles Woodson. There is no greater honor than to not only be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame but to be deemed so great that you get in on your first try.

Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor is among those to receive such an honor. And today marks the 4-year anniversary of Taylor learning his fate as a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee — and to mark the occasion, Taylor’s sister, Joy, shared the video of her brother being informed of his induction.

It’s an emotional moment, for sure; one well worth reliving in the buildup to tomorrow’s newest round of inductions.

Perhaps we’ll see another staple member of those early 2000s Miami Dolphins teams make the leap this weekend with linebacker Zach Thomas. Thomas won’t have the same honor of being a first-ballot inductee, but he was just as much a part of the Dolphins’ identity defensively throughout those seasons as Taylor. The duo played a respective 12 and 13 seasons with the Dolphins and shared the field together from 1997 to 2007 — combining for 13 Pro Bowl selections and 8 first team All-Pro selections as a Dolphins duo over that stretch.

Tomorrow may just be Zach Thomas’ day. But thanks to the events of four years ago, February 5th will always be Jason Taylor’s day.

Relive Jason Taylor learning he’s Canton-bound on 4 year anniversary

Relive Jason Taylor learning he’s Canton-bound on 4 year anniversary

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is set to get a little bit bigger this weekend. Tomorrow, a slew of the NFL’s great players will all await to learn their fate as only a select few are given the honor of joining football immortality in Canton, Ohio. Among the players expected to make the jump are first-ballot candidates like Peyton Manning and Charles Woodson. There is no greater honor than to not only be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame but to be deemed so great that you get in on your first try.

Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor is among those to receive such an honor. And today marks the 4-year anniversary of Taylor learning his fate as a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee — and to mark the occasion, Taylor’s sister, Joy, shared the video of her brother being informed of his induction.

It’s an emotional moment, for sure; one well worth reliving in the buildup to tomorrow’s newest round of inductions.

Perhaps we’ll see another staple member of those early 2000s Miami Dolphins teams make the leap this weekend with linebacker Zach Thomas. Thomas won’t have the same honor of being a first-ballot inductee, but he was just as much a part of the Dolphins’ identity defensively throughout those seasons as Taylor. The duo played a respective 12 and 13 seasons with the Dolphins and shared the field together from 1997 to 2007 — combining for 13 Pro Bowl selections and 8 first team All-Pro selections as a Dolphins duo over that stretch.

Saturday may just be Zach Thomas’ day. But thanks to the events of four years ago, February 4th will always be Jason Taylor’s day.

Watch: Jason Taylor’s son with 100-yard pick 6 in prep game

How far was the pick-6 return by Jason Taylor’s son, Isaiah?

The saying is the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. In this case, the football genes have been passed along in a similar fashion.

Watch as Isaiah Taylor shows he can play defense like his Hall of Fame dad, Jason Taylor. He intercepts a Venice HS pass and returns it 100 yards for a pick-6 to give St. Thomas Aquinas a 29-0 lead after the PAT en route to a 21-point victory Friday.

Isaiah Taylor is a 5-foot-11, 195-pound senior safety at the Ft. Lauderdale school.

Isaiah Taylor said he was winded after the run.

Jason Taylor was a defensive end with the Miami Dolphins, the Washington Football Team, and New York Jets. Despite playing the D-line, he had a penchant for the end zone, scoring 6 TDs in his career.

He was promoted to defensive coordinator at St. Thomas Aquinas this year.

Jason’s sister and Isaiah’s aunt, Joy Taylor of FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd and many other sports media platforms was thrilled by her nephew’s effort.

Dolphins legend Jason Taylor narrates hype video ahead of home opener

Dolphins legend Jason Taylor narrates hype video ahead of home opener

If you weren’t ready for today’s home opener against the Buffalo Bills before, you’re about to be. The Miami Dolphins have dropped a hype video featuring an all-time team legend on the call in Hall of Fame defensive end Jason Taylor. The Dolphins’ 2019 season was one that didn’t necessarily inspire expectations — so this year feels different. Recent Dolphins seasons haven’t had much in the way of hype. 2019 was a tear-down. 2018 featured Ryan Tannehill fatigue ahead of 2017, in which Tannehill went down with a knee injury in training camp.

And, despite the lack of a win in Week 1 against the New England Patriots, there’s still a feeling of optimism around this Dolphins organization that things are moving in the right direction.

The Dolphins have a rare opportunity in Week 2 to welcome fans into the stadium for today’s contest — and hopefully each and every one of them is ready to welcome the Dolphins back into action and embrace the expectations around the team. And hopefully the Dolphins are ready to embrace them as well.

Our two cents? Show ’em all the Jason Taylor hype video before kickoff — that should do the trick.

Which early 2000s Dolphins standout would be best under Brian Flores?

Which early 2000s Dolphins standout would be best under Brian Flores?

Watching Brian Flores-led defenses has become a very fun exercise — the man knows how to light a fire under his players and he certainly knows how to draw up gap fits and coverage combinations. As far as schematics go, Flores is one of the NFL’s bright young coaches with a defensive pedigree — a rarity in today’s wide-open, passing oriented NFL. And with Flores welcoming half of a starting defense in 2020 with all of the new players this team has added into the fray, things should only continue to get better for Flores’ defense.

But if the Miami Dolphins were given the chance to drop a former legend into the fray with these 2020 Miami Dolphins, which star would shine the brightest under Flores’ watch?

Defensive Jason Taylor

Taylor, by the end of his career, proved he could do a little bit of everything. His primary quality was acting as a devastating pass rusher, but Taylor’s 2006 campaign under Nick Saban was a tour de force as he went on to log the AP Defensive Player of the Year award for doing everything under the sun.

Taylor went on to become a 1st-ballot Hall of Fame inductee and is one of the NFL’s all-time sack leaders.

Linebacker Zach Thomas

The cornerstone of Miami’s early 2000s defensive teams that smothered opposing offenses, Thomas was revered for his film study, preparation and football intelligence — all things that would endear him to Brian Flores faster than you can blink an eye.

Thomas was a vacuum cleaner in the middle, ascending above his physical limitations to log five 1st-team All-Pro honors and seven Pro Bowl appearances during his 12 years with the Dolphins.

Cornerback Sam Madison

Madison exploded onto the scene for the Dolphins in the late 1990s and early 2000s, at one point logging 20 interceptions over a three-year stretch of play and helping provide a stout anchor on the back end to put the clamps on opposing receivers.

Madison in total played 9 seasons in Miami and accounted for 31 interceptions with the Dolphins before finishing his career with three years in New York with the Giants. We all know how much Brian Flores loves a good, physical man-cover corner.

Which standout would Brian Flores love the most? Jason Taylor doesn’t necessarily meet the trench standard the Dolphins are looking to impose, whereas Sam Madison would step into a group that already has a slew of talented coverage options. Zach Thomas feels like the best fit — but if your defense can’t accommodate Jason Taylor, you find a role for him. Flores would love all three — but Taylor’s big play ability and value as a pass rusher is too good to ignore. He’d be the best puzzle piece for Brian Flores’ 2020 defense.

Does anyone have a time machine?

Hall of Famer Jason Taylor is buying the Miami Dolphins’ rebuild

Hall of Famer Jason Taylor is buying the Miami Dolphins’ rebuild

Jason Taylor knows what the formula for success looks like in the NFL. Taylor, who is one of the league’s all-time leaders in quarterback sacks, experienced individual and team success throughout the course of his pro career. No, the twilight of his NFL career didn’t flourish and produce prominent results in terms of team wins; but Taylor was a part of seven consecutive winning seasons to start his Dolphins career.

So if the current Miami Dolphins regime has his endorsement; that’s one heck of a supporter to have in your corner — and yet that’s exactly where Jason Taylor stands as Dolphins fans near and far hopefully watch this coaching staff and scouting department hope to build something Miami hasn’t seen in quite a while: a winner.

Taylor spoke recently with Will Manso of WPLG and shared his thoughts on Miami’s rebuild:

“I absolutely do (see the Dolphins trending in the right direction). I’m excited about Coach Flo being here last year — people were a little bit upset or whatever, not upset but a little uneasy about ‘oh, they won too many games, they took themselves out of the spot to get the No. 1 quarterback that they want!’; I think they still got the quarterback they wanted,” said Taylor.

“I thought Chris Grier did a fantastic job … I’m optimistic. I think they have the right guys at the head of the organization in Coach Flores and players are responding. I love that Fitzpatrick is still here with Tua. Tua will come through his physical stuff and be ready to go. And the best part of it? I know everyone is excited about the quarterback, but they got a lot of fat guys! You’ve got to have fat guys to be successful — offensive linemen, forgive me for saying you’re fat; but they are a little bit. Defense they’ve got some big boys on the defensive line, too. So if you can sure up where the guys always get their hands dirty, then you’ve got a good football team.”

Forgive Taylor’s candidness with the offensive linemen — one has to imagine it is in his nature to badger them as he likely would after beating them to the quarterback for all those years. At the root of Taylor’s excitement is that the Dolphins are invested in fixing the trenches, which has long been a sore spot for the Dolphins. With more added attention and investment there, Miami can dictate the pace of play accordingly — and yield wins at a rate that would make the teams Taylor played on early in his career proud.