A trio of Miami Dolphins met with South Florida media on Wednesday, as Austin Jackson, Elandon Roberts and Mike Gesicki were all available for questions, each providing clarity in several areas.
Jackson, the young offensive lineman heading into his third NFL season, immediately spoke about his excitement for 2022 and the Dolphins’ new-look offensive coaching staff.
“I’ve talked to Mike [McDaniel] and Frank [Smith] a bunch, and I’m really excited for what we have in place,” Jackson told reporters. “I’m even more excited for the work we’re about to start. First things first, it starts now. That’s why we’re meeting and training together and getting the details down really of our concepts of what we’re going to do.”
Jackson was asked about his position, as he was drafted in 2020 as a left tackle yet moved around the line in 2021 and was even inserted at guard. Adding the big-splash free agent signing of Terron Armstead, Jackson is placing his chips on the right side.
“I’ve actually played right tackle,” Jackson stated. “This isn’t the first time playing a new role for me. I played it in high school, I played it in college – actually collegiately, like starting at it.
“It’s not completely new for me, but at the end of the day, I have to make sure I’m 100% right in my techniques and my fundamentals because what our offense does is if you get the technique down and use that same technique, it’s supposed to be the same at every position.”
Jackson also described the newfound energy in the facility stemming from the strength of the new head coach hiring.
“It’s a great feeling in the building,” he said. “At the end of the day, the front office or whoever brought us all in together did a great job of bringing in a bunch of like-minded guys who are willing to work hard, want to work hard, and are willing, hopefully, God-willing, reap the benefits of that.”
He then added, “and we do it with a smile on our face.”
Re-signed veteran linebacker Elandon Roberts stepped up to the podium as well, and no time was wasted in asking him about the new coaching situation and the defensive structure.
When asked about Brian Flores no longer being in Miami, yet defensive coordinator Josh Boyer being retained, Roberts was short and to the point.
“I think Josh is going to do a great job and do what he’s been doing since he took over the last two years,” Roberts said. “That’s it.”
He has ties with Boyer as they were both with New England before making the jump to the Dolphins. Roberts went on to talk about the reasons he returned to Miami, and the team captain from the last few seasons didn’t pull his punches.
“To be fully transparent, I just felt like this is my defense,” Roberts answered with ultimate confidence and conviction. “I’m a leader on the team and a leader on the defense. It was kind of a no-brainer for me, to be honest with you. I love being in Miami. My family loves it out here. I have a good relationship with everyone in the building. It was kind of a no-brainer.”
Roberts spoke as definitive as he hits offensive opponents, and he looks to build off his 2021 season where he made a career-high 83 tackles and forced a pair of fumbles. He also had four passes defended and took the only NFL interception he ever recorded to the house for a score against the Las Vegas Raiders back in Week 3.
Mike Gesicki is simply living his best life. A wedding, a franchise tag, a honeymoon and a trip to The Masters made for a remarkable month’s run for the fan-favorite tight end. Gesicki seemed nearly as happy to be back in Miami for 2022 as the fanbase was back in March when he was tagged.
While happy to be back, Gesicki alluded to it not being the exact plan, as it seems a long-term stay in Miami is desired.
“It’s obviously not the goal, the end-all, be-all goal,” he said when asked about playing on the tag. “It’s definitely more team-friendly than it is player-friendly. But it just gives me more reason to continue to come back here, work hard and continue to be motivated, get back to work and help this team win football games and hopefully, eventually, get what I deserve moving forward.”
Gesicki has improved in his receptions and yardage statistics in each of his first four NFL seasons. 73 catches and 780 yards in 2021 came despite arguable misusage on a consistent basis by last season’s Miami offensive staff. He was seldom used in the red zone, and as the Dolphins got closer to paydirt, he was unfathomably targeted less.
It’s a brand-new offensive scheme and coaching staff that could have Gesicki not only have a career year but a potential run at a Pro Bowl.
“Yeah, it’s definitely a different scheme as to what we’ve played in, but at the end of the day, football is football,” Gesicki said with his trademark swagger.
The Penn State product certainly has a tight end coach to help him shoot for the moon in Jon Embree. Embree has had Tony Gonzalez, Chris Cooley, Cameron Brate and George Kittle under his watch. He even turned Jordan Cameron into a Pro Bowler, his only such honor, back when they were in Cleveland together.
Gesicki’s skill set along with Embree’s coaching could be a lethal combination. Embree was with McDaniel in San Francisco and is the Miami assistant head coach, and Gesicki seems rather excited about it.
“I think having coach Embree here and he’s kind of a guy that helped – I’m not saying that he’s the reason that George [Kittle] is where he’s at or that George is the reason that Jon is the coach he is, but they worked together and did a very good job together, so he was able to help him in a lot of aspects and obviously George is the player he is now,” Gesicki said. “So I’m happy to have Coach Embree here, and it’s definitely some good tape to watch, watching Kittle out there.”
As for his new head coach, Gesicki seems to relate to him, which is pretty important one could assume.
“Yeah, funny dude,” he said about McDaniel. “I had a meeting with him last week and it went well and just talking with him just about everything – the atmosphere in the building, the guys, the locker room everything. So, he’s awesome.
“It’s been great and I’m excited to play for him and work for him and do everything I can to earn his trust for some big-time opportunities coming up this fall.”
Seems like there is a match made in heaven, and that doesn’t mean nuptials. Hopefully, it means touchdowns.