Flowers Blossoming Into Leader on the Offensive Line
Let us borrow a line from a classic 1980s movie: There's a new Scherff in town ... and his name is Ereck Flowers.
OK, so we took a few liberties with the 1982 classic "48 Hours," but the point remains: Flowers is looking to become for the Miami Dolphins what Brandon Scherff was for him and his offensive line teammates in Washington.
A leader from whom younger players can learn.
The Dolphins haven't played a game yet, but Flowers already has made an impact as a veteran free agent acquisition, spending time trying to help 2020 draft picks Austin Jackson, Robert Hunt and Solomon Kindley, as well as the other young linemen on the team.
And this is where Brandon Scherff comes in.
"I didn’t learn the importance of that — practicing the right things and taking that extra time — it took me about four or five years," Flowers said. "Coming into the league is all about what type of room you’re coming into. Every room isn’t the same. Everybody doesn’t come into rooms with a veteran or a coach that really teaches you the right way of how to become an NFL lineman. The past year I got to play with Bill Callahan, who by far has been the best teacher — not just in football — I’ve been around since I’ve been playing football. He’s taught me so much and being able to play next to a Pro Bowl right guard, Brandon Scherff.
"(Callahan) showed me some of the stuff he did with the Dallas O-line and just his resume, the proof is in the pudding. Going into my fifth year in the league, I kind of just forgot everything I knew and just tried to learn his way and the right way, and be around guys that do it the right way. That’s just how they do. Good players go before practice and stay after practice, and they put in countless reps to get any type of production.”
The way Flowers sees it, the kind of leadership and mentoring he got in Washington played a big role in his breakout season after four disappointing seasons with the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Like Scherff, Flowers was a top 10 pick in the 2015 NFL draft. But Scherff thrived from the start and earned three Pro Bowl invitations in his first five seasons.
Flowers looked like he might be on his last chance when he signed with Washington last year.
“Yeah. I came into the league with Brandon Scherff and he taught me more than all of the older dudes I was with," Flowers said. "I’m just relaying the info that was relayed to me and how it’s supposed to go. I’m just relaying info that I got from somebody else.”
Head coach Brian Flores and offensive line coach Steve Marshall both are to quick point out that Flowers isn't the only veteran offensive lineman who's helping out the younger players, with Jesse Davis and Ted Karras doing the same thing.
But maybe Flowers carries more weight — literally and figuratively — because of his draft status and the fact his 71 career starts represents the highest total on the team.
"Ereck has had a lot of experiences in this league," Flores said. "He was a high draft pick, has played for a few different teams, has had a lot of ups (and) downs over the course of his career. He’s learned a lot. I think he’s really kind of taken those young players under his wing to a degree. To me, what better of a guy to do that than someone who has had as many experiences as he’s had. He’s been in different places, been in different systems and had some success also — success and failures.
"When he talks to a young guy — a young offensive lineman — he’s talking to him with a lot of knowledge. I think if they just do a quick Google search, they’ll read about it and know that he’s been through a lot; and he’s gone through it and he practices hard every day and it’s important to him. He goes about his business the right way. I think he’s learned a lot over the course of his career. That’s been nice to see."
Flowers owes a lot to Scherff, not just in terms of saving his career.
Because of his one big season with Washington, Flowers got himself a three-year, $30 million contract from the Dolphins in the offseason.
The money obviously was great, but so was the chance to return to South Florida after playing his high school and college football in Miami.
And he now finds himself a key member of a Dolphins offensive line with three rookie draft picks. So he's going to do his best to help that group get as good as possible as fast as possible.
"It’s kind of crazy looking at these young guys and they’re actually looking at me," Flowers said. "I’m like, ‘Damn, just yesterday I was the young guy trying to find somebody to teach me how to do something this way.’ It’s been cool, man. All of them are open-minded. All of them are trying to learn. They’re all trying to get better. Me personally, I’m just trying to give them everything I know and take what I know and go on with their own experiences. I’m just doing what I can. They know if they have questions, they can ask me. Anything I see, I just try to tell them and I ask them to tell me what they see on my end. We just work together.”
Oh, and the new Scherff in town thing. Here's the clip for those not familiar:
