Phinatics.com - Interviews

Todd Perry

Todd Perry was a guard for the Miami Dolphins from 2001-2003. Todd played college football for Kentucky and was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1993 (4th round). This interview was conducted on February 25th, 2005.

Phinatics.com gives Todd Perry a special "THANK YOU" for his participation.

photo compliments of miamidolphins.com

phinatics.com: Please tell me a little bit about what you're doing now that you are through with football.
Todd Perry: I started a company with Matt Branum. It's called IronHorse Capital, and we are a money management firm. We cover all aspects of financial needs -- investments, insurance, trusts --- just basically anything a client might need on all levels. It's almost like a true money manager, but we have third party money managers that actually handle the investment side.

phinatics.com: What's your main role at IronHorse?
Todd Perry: Matt has done my finances for years and he went to Kentucky where we played football together. He was a center and I was a guard at Kentucky, so we've been friends for fifteen years. He's been working on me over the last couple of years to join up with him when I retired. Basically, I am just a resource for clients. We are focusing on offensive lineman, but we have clients from all positions, and some that aren't athletes. From my perspective, I am focusing on offensive lineman. I am a resource for the clients on and off the field. I get enjoyment out of it for a lot of reasons. I get to help with the college guys that are making the transition. I get to help them avoid huge mistakes that I've made, or mistakes I've seen other guys make. I played 11 years, so I've kind of seen it all. So, it gives me a lot of satisfaction to be able to help guys make the transition into the NFL ... get them established ... get them where they can focus on football. I can also get my coaching bug out by being able to help them actually with football stuff.

phinatics.com: Let's talk some football and try to clear up some rumors. There were some rumors that you and Tim Ruddy did not receive any offers after the Dolphins did not retain you guys. What really happened?
Todd Perry: We both received offers. I know Tim had received an offer from New England, and I'm sure he was in contact with some other teams. I know he actually turned down an offer from New England --- the way I understand it. Myself, I had three teams that were interested. I had been thinking of retirement for the last couple years anyway, so when the Dolphins released me, I gave myself about a month to see what kind of opportunities might be out there.

phinatics.com: Why did you decide not to join another team?
Todd Perry: I was looking for those handful of teams that were in a position to compete for a championship because that's the only reason why I would continue to play, and the teams that were interested in me were not those teams. So, I made the decision to go ahead and retire probably in Mid-April, sometime after the draft, first part of May. I had played 11 years, and the body had definitely had enough, but I was prepared to play another year or two at max. I would have loved to play for the Dolphins, but that didn't work out, and they went in another direction, so I gave myself a couple of months to see if there would be a Philadelphia or New England --- you know, one of the teams that had been a perennial playoff team. I figured I'd sign a one-year deal, or two years, tops. So, I was looking for that specific situation to come about, and when it didn't, that made my decision pretty easy.

phinatics.com: After your last season, the offensive line you were a part of became a main focus for Coach Wannstedt to change even though the Dolphins running game was breaking team records and the Quarterbacks were not getting sacked near as often as most other teams. Why do you think that happened, and was it justified?
Todd Perry: That's a hard question to answer totally. The biggest thing that was surprising to me was how they got rid of all of us. I can definitely understand … that's the nature of the business, but making wholesale changes was something I never really understood. I don't know who made that decision … Coach Wannstedt, or Rick Spielman, or a combination of both, or whoever whatever. I wasn't surprised that changes were going to be made -- it was just the extent of it. You know, to let all of us go, and rebuild the line from scratch, that's something that's difficult to do. I don't care if you have Ricky Williams in the backfield, you don't just replace five starting offensive lineman -- four or five -- that takes a lot of time and it's a big risk to think that might work.

phinatics.com: Why do you think though that there was so much negativity towards that offensive line considering the success you had statistically?
Todd Perry: It was a tough year --- that whole last year. It was a situation where we thought Mark Dixon would be ready to play and he wasn't. They put Wade Smith in a situation where he's a third round tight end whose been a tackle for 2 years and put him in there at left tackle. That made it very difficult. It was a situation too where they were trying to get Seth McKinney in the lineup, and I know the first month of the season they were alternating Tim and Seth. Those things didn't make our job any easier. It was a combination of factors. I look at it as we were doing the best we could under those circumstances. I don't know if that answers your question.

We were struggling early on and those were some of the reasons. We had individual breakdowns. But, a lot of it was having to make those kinds of adjustments. You know, it's difficult to rotate a center because that's basically the quarterback of your offensive line and it just made everyone's job harder -- coaches, players, everybody. We just looked at it as veterans --- we were going to do the best that we could with the situation we were put in. Tim and I just kind of put our heads together and did the best that we could to get Wade Smith and Seth up to speed, and it just made things even that more difficult.

phinatics.com: I watched Jamie Nails manhandle some defenders before his injury. When he returned it seemed like the Dolphins and the NFL never really gave him a chance to fully recover. What do you think happened there?
Todd Perry: It upsets me just thinking about it because here's a guy that had fought to get back in the league and then had a fantastic 2002 season until he blew his Achilles at the end of the year in December. An Achilles injury for a small guy is an eight-month to a year process, so here is Jamie in a situation as a 340-pound man in training camp in July and he was nowhere near 100%. He made the decision he was going to play through it and do the best he can, and he wasn't even close to healthy. That's what's unfortunate because you don't get many opportunities in this league and the decision for him to come back and play hurt ultimately … I guess teams just figured that he would never recover from that. That's one of those question I don't even have an answer for -- why he's not back in the league -- it's just an unfortunate situation. That's another factor we were having to deal with -- Jamie was out there playing and giving it everything he's got -- which I respect tremendously -- but he wasn't 100% and that it made it difficult for him and it made it difficult for all for us. We all have our injuries throughout the year and that's something that's a fact of the NFL. Everyone plays with injuries and you deal with them, but it was just one more factor that we had to deal with.

phinatics.com: Speaking of Jamie Nails, he is now the Offensive Line Coach for the Miami Morays indoor football team that is owned by Oronde Gadsden. Do you have any desire to coach football in the near future?
Todd Perry: Yeah, I do. I think down the line I will ultimately be involved with football somehow. Right now, my focus is on IronHorse. I'm going to get away from football for a while. I've been playing football since I was seven years old. It's who I am. It made me who I am. It's my passion. So, I know at some point I'm going to get back into it. I have three young children, and right now if I was to get into coaching -- I'm in a situation where if I'm in coaching it's almost as insecure job security-wise as players, and you have to be able and willing to move around to be successful. I perceive possibly doing something with a small college … something where I can post up for a lot of years and not have to worry about job security. Right now, my children are young and I'm going to enjoy watching them grow up. My boy is eight years old, so I'm helping out with some flag football and eventually some Pop Warner football, so that's where my focus is right now.

phinatics.com: Would you agree with most fans that the Dolphins offense was too predictable back in 2003?
Todd Perry: Yeah, probably. I think we relied a little too much on Ricky. Honestly, we had a very conservative system, and when we had a lead, we tended to run the ball and try clock control, which was Wannstedt's philosophy. Would we all have liked to have seen it more open? The answer is probably yes. But, on the other hand, that's not our job. Our job was to execute what's called, so we executed to the best of our ability. Would we have liked to see more balance and a more open offense? Sure.

phinatics.com: Former Dolphins Offensive Line Coach Tony Wise was quoted as saying last season that it would take the offensive line until December to gel; what are your thoughts on how long it takes a new offensive line to gel?
Todd Perry: I would agree with those thoughts. The offensive line is such a difficult position to play as an individual, and what makes it even more difficult is that it's kind of a team within a team. You have to rely on each other. A lot of times there's not a lot of time to make calls or to make adjustments -- you just have to know. The best offensive lines that have ever played this game are lines that have played together for a long time. That's a fact. You have to have talent -- absolutely. What's just as important, if not more important, is the ability to have the same front guys play together. The best lines I ever played on were the lines that were together 3, 4, 5 years. It gets to the point where you don't even have to communicate because you've played and seen every situation and it's just automatic. This situation with the Dolphins --- where they get rid of four and then ultimately five new starters--- I don't care if they were all seven to eight year veteran guys, it's not going to click overnight. It takes time, and that's just a fact of offensive line play.

phinatics.com: After seeing the Phins OL this past year, what area do you feel needs immediate upgrade, and which players do you think will be better this year?
Todd Perry: I think, in general, everyone of those guys is going to be better. Last season -- we had some rough seasons in Chicago --- but, the stuff those guys went through last year -- no team has really gone through that kind of stuff. I mean, it was one thing after another, both on the field and off the field. They were fighting a losing battle from day one. I don't think that all those guys are as bad as they looked. I think it's a situation where it's going to take time. Obviously, they have some veteran guys, which is good. Those guys will be better. They brought Jeno in, and he's going to be better after another year of being down here in Miami. The number one thing is to find the five guys they want, and find it day one, so they can get the reps and the continuity that they need to perform. There's other stuff that goes on that other people don't see with an offensive line. There are so many complex blocking schemes -- things that the tight ends, the running backs, and the entire offense are involved with. The biggest thing I see with those guys is that they have talent, and they have more talent than they showed last year. I think just by having another year under their belt, and making a definite decision of what five guys they are going to go with, they will be better off.

phinatics.com: What do you think the main reason was for what appeared to be some confusion on blitzes last season? Did you get to see some of that?
Todd Perry: I saw some of it. A lot of it is hard to know. Even me, being aware of it, a lot of schemes were changed. They had turnover with the coaches, too. Norv Turner was gone. From a player perspective, you don't know if it was an offensive line breakdown, a tight end breakdown, or a back who had a blocking responsibility, or whether it was a quarterback --- it was a hot throw, and he should have thrown the ball. There are so many other factors. The situation that I saw was that early on they showed that they couldn't pick up the blitz, and teams started throwing everything at them. When that happens, it makes it hard on everybody. Any time you show a weakness --- from my experience of playing --- any time you showed a weakness that you couldn't pick up a certain type of blitz --- it's a copycat league. You're going to see teams blitzing you 60-70-80% of the time because teams know there is a problem with the protection or whatever. Until you prove you have it handled, they are going to keep coming and coming and coming. I think it's just a situation where everything snowballed.

phinatics.com: You had to practice against Tim Bowens and Larry Chester and also play against some really good NFL defensive tackles. How would you say those two stack up against other DTs?
Todd Perry: Tim Bowens is hands down, without a doubt, the strongest guy I had to go against --- the guy is incredible. He is one of the few guys in this league that can single-handedly take two offensive linemen by himself. Larry has a lot of similarities. I didn't have a chance to play against Larry as much because I played against TimBo most of the time. TimBo is highly, highly underrated. He doesn't generate the numbers as far as sacks and tackles, but he is truly a freak. Obviously, he's getting older --- we all get older --- but he is hands down one of the toughest guys I've ever had to play against. I know losing him and Larry --- those were some of the biggest losses I think the team had last year --- obviously from a defensive standpoint, but also a team standpoint. I know Bryan Robinson from Chicago, and I know Jeff Zgonina. Those guys did a heck of job under those circumstances of having to come in and play as many downs as they had to play. But, it definitely hurt the team when those guys went down early.

phinatics.com: What was your favorite line call with the Dolphins, and would you describe to me how it worked?
Todd Perry: Well, I'd have to say my favorite thing to do was the run block. Pass blocking is one of the most difficult things that we do, and you almost have to do it passive-aggressively. Most offensive lineman, myself definitely, enjoy run blocking. It's one aspect where you can really take over and dominate the game. Basically, any type of double-team block where we were at the point of attack and the ball was coming right up --- any time you can really get a double team on a guy and dominate at the point of attack --- that is probably the best feeling as an offensive lineman.

phinatics.com: There's been a lot of talk about new Dolphins Coach Nick Saban and discipline. How would you describe a disciplined football team?
Todd Perry: I think a big part of it is being unselfish … guys that are willing to play their role, whatever that is, and do it willingly. That encompasses a lot of different things, be it sacrificing something on the field in terms of stats or what have you. It's just guys that are willing to be where they are supposed to be, when they are supposed to be, all the time. It's just a mindset. It's something that if you can get it established --- I think the Patriots are a perfect example --- if you can get that established on your team, the combination of that is going to make your team so much better than it should be. It's a matter of guys just truly buying in on a professional level. There are so many different personalities and egos. When you get guys doing their own thing, and they are not on the same page, it's a distraction to deal with. I think a lot of it has to do with veterans too. I think it's more effective when it comes from your older guys on the team … guys that establish that behavior --- here's what we're here to do, and we're not going to put up with less than 100%. It's more of a philosophy. It's a matter of every man being unselfish and buying into what everyone is trying to accomplish and putting your ego aside and doing the right thing every time. What the Patriots have done, I think more than anything, is a tribute to the discipline that team has --- whether that came from coach Bellichick, or the veteran guys on that team, or a combination. I think it's a little bit of everything. When you get a team that buys into that, you win three championships. So, I think that's a big part of it.

phinatics.com: There's been a lot of talk about new Dolphins Coach Nick Saban switching the defense to a 3-4 scheme. When you were playing against the 3-4 versus the 4-3, was one more difficult than the other for you as far as blocking goes?
Todd Perry: From my perspective there was a huge difference. Playing guard, it meant from a 4-3 I had a 340-pound Defensive Tackle on my nose from where in a 3-4 I had no one. Obviously, I enjoyed playing against 3-4 defenses because of the situation where I got to double team with the tackle, or I got to double team with the center, or I got to go up on linebackers. There's more stuff that you get to do in space. It poses its different challenges, but as far as preparation, it does make an extreme difference for an offensive line and for guards particularly. And, centers have the same problem. They go from not being covered in a 4-3 to being covered in a 3-4 defense usually by a 350-pound Ted Washington-type player or a Tim Bowens-type guy. That's a world of difference for a center. It definitely presents challenges, and there are pluses and minuses going against each defense.

If a defense can run both of them --- I hate to keep going back to the Patriots, they run every defense known to football, and they have the ability to run it at any time. That's one other thing that makes it so challenging to play against the Patriots --- you would literally walk up to the line and have a 4-3 defense, and the next series have a 3-4 defense, and the next series have a bear defense. So, I think the more a defense can do, the better it's going to be. In terms of the Dolphins, if they can come up with a system where they can run both, that's even more ideal.

phinatics.com: Sorry, but I have to ask you this --- what is your take on the whole Ricky William's situation?
Todd Perry: It's just sad to me that Ricky is obviously in a situation where he is not thinking clearly. In terms of what he did --- absolutely wrong --- in terms of leaving the team at the start of training camp. What a guy does on his own is his business until it affects the team and his profession. I don't know how much it affected Ricky when I was playing with him, but obviously it had to have some affect. I just hope that Ricky is happy, and that he gets through this, and that he is not making decisions that are going to have major effects on him. That appears to be the road he is going down. I hope that the story doesn't get worse as it goes on --- that's the biggest thing.

What he did --- for any team to overcome that -- it's as big an obstacle as you could throw at a team. From a teammates perspective, I would have been very unhappy. If he had done something where he would have retired in February or March --- I can definitely understand why guys don't want to play this game anymore because it takes a lot of abuse on your body. But, like I said, with his situation he is obviously not thinking clearly. It was tough to have to watch because I knew everyone involved in the situation. My heart went out to the guys on the team because that's a situation where you can't pretend it doesn't affect your team, but you have to go on anyway. What the Dolphins went through last year, I think everyone in that organization could write a book from their perspective. The stuff they had to go through on and off the field, it might take five to ten years for a team to go through that, and they did it all in one year. It was a difficult situation. I felt for the guys because obviously I have played, bled, and sweated with them, so it was definitely hard to watch.

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