Speaker 1: Bold cutdown Miami quarter run. What is up, Dolphans And
Speaker 1: welcome to the Drivetime Podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins
Speaker 1: podcast network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins. How's it
Speaker 1: going everybody? I am your host, Travis Wingfield and as always,
Speaker 1: I am here to bring you your daily dose of
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins football. And on today's show, we're gonna take
Speaker 1: a deep dive in to the Las Vegas Raiders and
Speaker 1: the Week three matchup for your Miami Dolphins. We're gonna
Speaker 1: go position by position, talk about opportunities, challenges, tell you
Speaker 1: how both Miami and Las Vegas can win this game
Speaker 1: from tendencies, personnel usage, advanced metrics, matchups on the tape,
Speaker 1: as well as the three keys to victory for Miami.
Speaker 1: The most comprehensive Dolphins weekly preview matchup show starts now
Speaker 1: from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
Speaker 1: This is the Drive Time Podcast when the big news
Speaker 1: of the day on Wednesday comes from the opening of
Speaker 1: the Brian Flores press conference on Wednesday morning, when he
Speaker 1: stepped to the podium and revealed the twa tongue by
Speaker 1: Looa has fractured ribs and will be out for the
Speaker 1: game on Sunday. Jacoby Brissette will start in his place
Speaker 1: at quarterback under center for the Miami Dolphins. But the
Speaker 1: show doesn't stop. We are still heading out to Las
Speaker 1: Vegas for the weekend and we'll meet the Red Hot Raiders,
Speaker 1: who have a pair of wins in games that they
Speaker 1: entered as dogs, going in a pair of victories over
Speaker 1: a pair of prominent a f C North Juggernauts who
Speaker 1: have been contenders basically every year for the last two decades.
Speaker 1: And that's not been uncommon for this Raiders team under
Speaker 1: John Gruden. Last year they started off to and oh,
Speaker 1: including a big win in the week to matchup over
Speaker 1: the New Orleans Saints, and that team went as far
Speaker 1: as the Divisional round in the postseason. In twenty nineteen,
Speaker 1: the Raiders went into their bye week at three and
Speaker 1: two and that included a loss to the Juggernaut Chiefs.
Speaker 1: So a fast starting team, a team that has began
Speaker 1: the last couple of seasons four and two in the
Speaker 1: month of December. Now, this is the fourth year of
Speaker 1: Gruden on that ten year contract he inked back in eighteen,
Speaker 1: and they've spent a lot of time adding pieces to
Speaker 1: the offense, and it's worked. The offense has had really
Speaker 1: no issues moving the ball and scoring points Undergrouden, and
Speaker 1: I remember scouting this team back in and more most
Speaker 1: notably the quarterback position when Derek Carr was talked about
Speaker 1: an m v P discussions, when I did my breakdowns
Speaker 1: on third and ten dot com rest in peace pouring
Speaker 1: out for the website, I remember battling with Raiders fans
Speaker 1: because I had argued that team had one thing that
Speaker 1: really made it dominant offensively, a line that got consistent
Speaker 1: push in the ground game and could thwart pretty much
Speaker 1: any pass rush that came at them with just a
Speaker 1: bowler after pro bowler upfront and then from their car
Speaker 1: would assess these three or four vertical route concepts that
Speaker 1: he had and ripped one of them to Amari Cooper,
Speaker 1: to Michael Crabtree to Seth Roberts or check that thing
Speaker 1: down to a Jalen Richard or DeAndrea Washington or even
Speaker 1: sometimes Latavius Murray in that backfield, and those guys would
Speaker 1: take advantage of the vacated space from the vertical concepts
Speaker 1: and the strong pass protection like it worked very very
Speaker 1: well for team. So I wasn't a big Car believer
Speaker 1: then or coming out of the draft. And that's kind
Speaker 1: of been Derek Carr's whole career, right. He's he's just
Speaker 1: not respected in the way he should be as far
Speaker 1: as his production compared to the level of respect he
Speaker 1: gets now for me. For me, I think that his
Speaker 1: game has grown as much as anybody, and I'm very,
Speaker 1: very willing to allow new information to reshape my opinion,
Speaker 1: and Car has done that for me. And let's go
Speaker 1: ahead and make that the prelude into the Raiders quarterback
Speaker 1: versus the Dolphins safeties. But real quick, let's finish the
Speaker 1: prelude because we left it open there. The defense for
Speaker 1: the Raiders has been their bugaboo under Gruden over the
Speaker 1: last few years as Car has developed into an absolute
Speaker 1: stud and that offense continues to click on all cylinders
Speaker 1: to beat the Chiefs last year in a shoot up,
Speaker 1: and it tells you kind of how far along they
Speaker 1: are offensively. And so this year Gruden and Mayock, the
Speaker 1: GM formerly of NFL Network, went after the defense hard
Speaker 1: in the draft class and free agency, particularly at that
Speaker 1: safety position. In April's draft with Treyvon Morrig, Tyree Gillipse
Speaker 1: Callispie and Divine Diablo, probably the greatest name in football history.
Speaker 1: Though Diablo is more of a sub package linebacker type
Speaker 1: at this stage of his career. But I really really
Speaker 1: liked the games of Merrig and Gollizpie at safety and
Speaker 1: think Diablo has a chance to really develop into that
Speaker 1: kind of position. Changes you're possible money backer, sub package linebacker,
Speaker 1: a little bit of you know, multifaceted linebacker. They're cann
Speaker 1: play multiple roles, but so far only marrig is playing
Speaker 1: on defense exclusively, where Gillizpie and de Alblow have been
Speaker 1: special teams nearly exclusively. But the point is that they
Speaker 1: really put their eggs in the defensive basket this offseason,
Speaker 1: so we'll see how quickly they can acclimate those new parts.
Speaker 1: But as they do that, to start off two and oh,
Speaker 1: you have to imagine the Raiders are flying high and
Speaker 1: their fans have to be thrilled with those two victories.
Speaker 1: So they come into a home game undefeated off a
Speaker 1: couple of big wins, and the Dolphins starting quarterback is down,
Speaker 1: so they have to be thinking, this is a great
Speaker 1: chance for us to get to three and oh, but
Speaker 1: not so fast. Let's talk about the Raiders quarterbacks versus
Speaker 1: the Dolphins. Safety is here and Derek Carr, you know,
Speaker 1: going back to him, he's processing right now as well
Speaker 1: as anybody in the league. He's executing full field reads
Speaker 1: and he has an absolute comfort in Jon Gruden system,
Speaker 1: something that I think comes with four years together. And
Speaker 1: as a neutral observer, I love the way and this
Speaker 1: goes back sixteen again that they're and that's a different
Speaker 1: coaching staff, but their vertical game is really shaping up.
Speaker 1: They can get to four vertes from any set, which
Speaker 1: is difficult to define end and like if you go
Speaker 1: third team personnel, and they can do that with Derek Carrier,
Speaker 1: Foster Moreau and then obviously Darren Waller, who will talk
Speaker 1: extensively about here on this podcast. But to get to
Speaker 1: that set and to go four verts, it's tough to
Speaker 1: contend with because you can run the football against if
Speaker 1: the defense wants to adjust by going more coverage heavy,
Speaker 1: or you can throw it against linebacker heavy packages and
Speaker 1: get your one on one matchups that way. And especially
Speaker 1: with the way Derek Carr is currently attacking leverage, Like
Speaker 1: there was a throw in the Pittsburgh game where he
Speaker 1: locates the post safety and single high and throws off
Speaker 1: the leverage of the man coverage in the slot. Like
Speaker 1: there's no separation when you look across the board, and
Speaker 1: that's kind of one of the challenges you deal with
Speaker 1: when you go into these tight end heavy sets to
Speaker 1: throw the ball from. It's like, you're not going to
Speaker 1: really create explosive separation because that's just something that's how
Speaker 1: the nature of that position, by how they run routes.
Speaker 1: But even when there is no separation, he just puts
Speaker 1: the ball away from the coverage. They get off their
Speaker 1: man and they can make the catch and it goes
Speaker 1: right into the direction of somebody else's route. But once again,
Speaker 1: because as he's reading leverage, like and when you hear leverage,
Speaker 1: it's all about how is that defender going to move
Speaker 1: based upon their current position. So I talk a lot
Speaker 1: about terms in this podcast. Right, leverage just means if
Speaker 1: my butt is to the sideline and I have a
Speaker 1: step going towards the middle of the field, You're reading
Speaker 1: that leverage as the outside is going to become available
Speaker 1: because I'm vacating that spot. It's all about anticipatory thinking
Speaker 1: in this game and leverage, whether it's blocking coverage pre
Speaker 1: snap look from a defender. Leverage will tell you everything
Speaker 1: you need to know. Once you learn how to read leverage,
Speaker 1: that's when your game can take off from a mental standpoint,
Speaker 1: if you have the physical skills to match. Like, I
Speaker 1: can read leverage, but I have a pop gun arm,
Speaker 1: so I can't play quarterback. And I wait a hundred
Speaker 1: and sixty pounds, so I would get murdered if I
Speaker 1: played behind an NFL offensive line anyway, that's beside the point.
Speaker 1: So reading leverage, he just knows that, Okay, that defender
Speaker 1: has his back to me. He's not going to peel
Speaker 1: off that coverage. If he does, that's an ed read
Speaker 1: level play. We're gonna risk that he's not gonna make
Speaker 1: an ed read level play because only really read ever
Speaker 1: did that. And then the intended target gets his eyes
Speaker 1: back to the quarterback. And then because he can react
Speaker 1: to that past that way, he can come off that
Speaker 1: coverage and get away from the leverage of the defender
Speaker 1: and make a nice catch and contested traffic or slightly
Speaker 1: behind him away from that defender. So Car is adept
Speaker 1: at getting the football out in the face of pressure,
Speaker 1: like he can do that fade away where they kind
Speaker 1: of get to their back foot and just buy as
Speaker 1: much time as they can and loft the ball with
Speaker 1: a lot of air under it on the deep pass
Speaker 1: and plenty of anticipation to throw to a spot. One
Speaker 1: of the things we were very high on this podcast
Speaker 1: with two a tongue by low of this training camp,
Speaker 1: and man, he's been accurate throwing the football down the field.
Speaker 1: And that's gonna be a big matchup in this game
Speaker 1: because Miami does so well to defend the deep ball
Speaker 1: and not allow explosive plays. Through two games so far,
Speaker 1: both opposing offenses do not have the explosive play. There
Speaker 1: was the big one to Emmanuel Sanders and then of
Speaker 1: course the big one on one to Stavon Diggs late
Speaker 1: in that game, but that was a ball at best.
Speaker 1: But in general, this Dolphins defense does not give up
Speaker 1: the deep stuff. So that's an interesting matchup here because
Speaker 1: on balls twenty plush yards, Derek Carr's seven for twelve
Speaker 1: with two hundred thirty four yards, no picks and a
Speaker 1: couple of touchdowns, so really really good deep ball production
Speaker 1: there from Derek Carr. Then on intermediate balls in that
Speaker 1: ten to nineteen yard range. He's eight for nine for
Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty one yards throwing the ball between
Speaker 1: the numbers, so squarely in the middle of the field
Speaker 1: with ten to nineteen yards of depth. He's been on fire.
Speaker 1: And think about Darren Waller in that position. In total,
Speaker 1: he's ten for twenty with a hundred and seventy yards,
Speaker 1: a touchdown, and no picks throwing intermediate. In fact, his
Speaker 1: only interception on the season came on a short throw
Speaker 1: over the middle. You probably all remember it in that
Speaker 1: Baltimore game. It deflected off a face mask and into
Speaker 1: the air for up for grabs and the Ravens picked
Speaker 1: that thing off. Against pressure, Car is thirteen of twenty
Speaker 1: six for two hundred and fifty two passing yards, two touchdowns,
Speaker 1: and a pick. That's nine point seven yards per attempt.
Speaker 1: He's handling murky pockets of very very well. When blitzed
Speaker 1: fourteen four yards and two touchdowns, that's twelve yards per attempt.
Speaker 1: He's been fantastic, and I think Miami's man coverage could
Speaker 1: really serve the defense well this week, as car will
Speaker 1: certainly want to locate the safeties and what they're doing
Speaker 1: to try to find his matchup and find out how
Speaker 1: he can get the ball to Darren Waller or possibly
Speaker 1: over the top to Henry Ruggs, and more times than not,
Speaker 1: the matchup he wants is going to be Darren Waller.
Speaker 1: His twenty six targets are most in the National Football
Speaker 1: League tight ends, receivers, or backs, or otherwise more than
Speaker 1: anybody else for Darren Waller. Let's go ahead and meld
Speaker 1: this segment into the Dolphins defensive backs versus the Raiders
Speaker 1: skill players, and what they've been doing is utilizing the
Speaker 1: speed of Henry Ruggs to force the defense into protecting
Speaker 1: the deep part of the field and then really attacking
Speaker 1: those potentially vacated areas by going after a Darren Waller
Speaker 1: or a hunter Renfro, whatever the case may be. But really,
Speaker 1: regardless of coverage on Waller, they want to get him
Speaker 1: the ball. Gonna throw him the football over and over
Speaker 1: and over again. So if you're on wall or even
Speaker 1: if you're doubled or bracketed or zone or whatever the case,
Speaker 1: maybe car is gonna go after him. Thirteen targets per
Speaker 1: game for the first two weeks, and this is where
Speaker 1: last week's usage in Miami's depth at the position I
Speaker 1: think you know pairs well with these the Week sixteen
Speaker 1: game a year ago. It fascinates me actually because we
Speaker 1: saw mccordy in Holland play more than fifty snaps in
Speaker 1: that game. On Sunday, we saw Eric Rose snap count
Speaker 1: really dropped the most it has since he's been here,
Speaker 1: down to twenty six snaps, and then Brandon Jones was
Speaker 1: also in the twenty snap range. I'll be really curious
Speaker 1: to see the plan for Waller. But the best way
Speaker 1: to really get after Car is well the same way
Speaker 1: you get after pretty much all quarterbacks. You disguise your
Speaker 1: coverage pre snap and force that extra half second delay
Speaker 1: on Car on those anticipation throws. I think that's where
Speaker 1: you can really get him because we saw the sacks
Speaker 1: last year from Andrew van Ginkel. I think he had
Speaker 1: two sacks in that game, and there was some trepidation
Speaker 1: from Car as the pocket began to crumble, and that
Speaker 1: needs to be replicated in this game. So those guys
Speaker 1: is versatility at safety. If it can just cause confusion
Speaker 1: or a beat of hesitancy from Derek Carr, just a
Speaker 1: very very little beat could really pay or play rather
Speaker 1: in Miami's favor. Now moving to the receivers. I mean
Speaker 1: Waller is truly deserving of his own segment. The guy's
Speaker 1: a freak. John Gruden called him the best player he's
Speaker 1: ever coached, and remember Jon Gruden has coached Warren SAPs
Speaker 1: very high praise. Henry Ruggs though, speed guy, vertical skill set, crossers.
Speaker 1: You get that deep over route without a pass rush,
Speaker 1: he can kill you there. He can take screen passes
Speaker 1: and turn those into big plays. But as far as
Speaker 1: playing man coverage on Henry Ruggs, always want to keep
Speaker 1: your eye on the deep portion of the field, which
Speaker 1: is something Miami does so very well. But if you
Speaker 1: go man coverage, you probably want to roll help over
Speaker 1: there because he can take the top off the defense.
Speaker 1: He's as fast as anybody doing it. Hunter Renfroze skill set, quicks,
Speaker 1: reliable hands, toughness, first guy and last guy out type
Speaker 1: of player. Now we saw XAVI being Howard travel with
Speaker 1: digs last week. We've also seen this defense play one
Speaker 1: guy to a side with regards to X you go here,
Speaker 1: Byron you go there. So I'm not sure this offense
Speaker 1: requires a travel. We will see because Waller is that
Speaker 1: primary target and the guy you focus on, But I
Speaker 1: don't imagine that would be a Byron Jones or Xaviing
Speaker 1: Howard asked, maybe it is, we'll find out. I'm not
Speaker 1: sure how the Dolphins want to defend that, but if
Speaker 1: you bracket Waller, who can contend best with Rugs's speed,
Speaker 1: I happen to think that's Byron Jones because he has
Speaker 1: the ability to transition and get up field and get
Speaker 1: vertical and defend those deep balls. He's been very good
Speaker 1: through two games. Justin Coleman, I think is my matchup
Speaker 1: on Hunter Renfro, because you know he played that week
Speaker 1: to game compared to what Nick Needham did in week one.
Speaker 1: It was basically a flop or a swap for those
Speaker 1: two guys. I think Coleman's physicality is a good match
Speaker 1: for renfro skill set. Let's let's really focus on disrupting
Speaker 1: him with physicality and getting hands on him. I like
Speaker 1: Justin Coleman's ability to do that. So where does that
Speaker 1: leave xaviing Howard in this whole thing. I'm just not
Speaker 1: really sure. I mean, you obviously can put him on
Speaker 1: anybody and feel good about it. Maybe it is Waller.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure what it is, but I like the
Speaker 1: way Jones matches up with Rugs. I like the way
Speaker 1: Renfro matches up or Coleman ratches up rather with Renfro,
Speaker 1: And we'll see where X goes. Maybe X does go
Speaker 1: on Rugs. I'm not really sure how that works. But
Speaker 1: in the Ravens game, the Raiders had very little success
Speaker 1: against their man coverage looks, but went to work on
Speaker 1: their zone coverage. Something to keep in mind there, because
Speaker 1: Miami played about man coverage last week and about the
Speaker 1: prior week. But Derek Carr is an athlete. He's just
Speaker 1: not quite the runner that Josh Allen is, so playing
Speaker 1: man coverage is even more viable in this situation if
Speaker 1: you want to bracket both Waller and Ruggs, who again,
Speaker 1: those are the two guys. If you can take them out,
Speaker 1: you're gonna win this game in my opinion, because those
Speaker 1: are the two guys that really make this offense click.
Speaker 1: And that means no blitzing if you want to do that,
Speaker 1: because if you're gonna bracket two receivers, you're gonna have
Speaker 1: to have six defensive backs at least on the field
Speaker 1: to be able to cover up all five options and
Speaker 1: double those guys, which bleeds into our next possession group
Speaker 1: into the trenches. The Las Vegas offensive line versus the
Speaker 1: Miami front and the offensive line changes where the cause
Speaker 1: of much consternation among pundents with this Raiders team this offseason.
Speaker 1: Myself included. I thought Rodney Hudson wasn't all proc. Trent
Speaker 1: Brown's a Pro Bowl lel tackle, thought Gabe Jackson is
Speaker 1: bordering on Pro Bowl level. All three of them are gone.
Speaker 1: Denzel Good and Richie Incongnito both are on i R.
Speaker 1: So a lot of change up front for this Raiders team.
Speaker 1: And here are the pressures by starter as far as
Speaker 1: the guys who played in the Pittsburgh game. Colton Miller
Speaker 1: for me, by far the best player of the bunch.
Speaker 1: Four pressures, no hits allowed. Jermaine illuminoire he was hearing
Speaker 1: with us in camp. One pressure that was a hit.
Speaker 1: Andre James three pressures, one hit allowed. John Simpsons seven pressures,
Speaker 1: one hit allowed. Alex Leatherwood seven pressures, one hit, but
Speaker 1: three of the team's four sacks have been charged to
Speaker 1: Leatherwood allowed so far for the Raiders. However, he exited
Speaker 1: the Steelers game and John Gruden said he'd be question
Speaker 1: Noble to play, but they also signed Jackson Barton off
Speaker 1: the Giants practice squads and maybe some tea leaves there
Speaker 1: as far as who might play in that game. But
Speaker 1: in Leatherwood's place on Sunday was Brandon Parker. And he's
Speaker 1: another one of these big, lumbering guys that his profile
Speaker 1: didn't come out as far as a guy that can
Speaker 1: really really show movement skills. He was more of a
Speaker 1: power player, and that is where the primary matchup in
Speaker 1: this game exists. For me. Emmanuel Ogba has been not
Speaker 1: just one of the dolphins best defenders so far, one
Speaker 1: of the best players in the team through the first
Speaker 1: two weeks, and that goes back to last season as well.
Speaker 1: But pressures run stops sack production. He needs to win
Speaker 1: his one on one matchups when he gets them in
Speaker 1: this game, and I like his ability to do that
Speaker 1: because both Leatherwood and Parker, whoever it might be out there,
Speaker 1: are young players, and Aga can really show them a
Speaker 1: thing or two about heavy hands, momentum, and the arsenal
Speaker 1: of pass rush moves that he has developed over the
Speaker 1: course of two years here in Miami. Now that I
Speaker 1: think bodes well from Miami on the other side of
Speaker 1: the football, Andrew Van Ginkl had his best game against
Speaker 1: Colt Miller a year ago, and that would go a
Speaker 1: long way if both those guys can win those matchups
Speaker 1: to really swinging this thing back in the Dolphin's favor.
Speaker 1: In fact, this is where I really like Miami's entire matchup.
Speaker 1: Their depth and ability to neutralize an offensive line that's
Speaker 1: been effective so far, but I think has some some
Speaker 1: possible cause for concerning the future with all the moving parts.
Speaker 1: Maybe the move is to dial up pressure. And if
Speaker 1: you can get pressure in a way that comes as
Speaker 1: a surprise to Derek Carr, that's gonna go a long
Speaker 1: way towards slowing this offense that's off to a really
Speaker 1: hot start so far. But also Car had that ankle
Speaker 1: injury that I don't know if it's an injury because
Speaker 1: he's a full participant in Wednesday's Raiders practice, but if
Speaker 1: it just slows him a little bit, the extra pressure
Speaker 1: could go a long long way. And I also think
Speaker 1: that Jerome Baker's ability to get skinny and provide pressure
Speaker 1: inside could really come into play big time here. And
Speaker 1: this is the continue to talk about how this matchup
Speaker 1: to me, I think if Miami can really exploit it,
Speaker 1: they can have a good chance to come out here
Speaker 1: with a victory because this is a bigger offensive line
Speaker 1: that's more prone to winning with gap control and size
Speaker 1: and strength and getting pushed. But then the other side
Speaker 1: to that is trying to slow their run game down.
Speaker 1: So it's a fascinating matchup in that regard, and that
Speaker 1: brings us to our finals. Raiders offense first, Dolfin's defensive
Speaker 1: matchup here, and again this is where that size might
Speaker 1: kind of take away from the Raiders advantage because Josh
Speaker 1: Jacobs John Gruden called him very, very questionable in his
Speaker 1: Monday press conference, and Kenyan Drake would get the start
Speaker 1: in the event that he can't go. And I wrote
Speaker 1: Brandon Jacobs here in my notes on accident, but I
Speaker 1: had to correct it because their play styles are so similar.
Speaker 1: But Drake, we know about him quick back, wants to
Speaker 1: search for the home run. He's patient to do that.
Speaker 1: He can hit the home run, but he also can
Speaker 1: give you some TFLs in that way as well. He
Speaker 1: also can contribute in the passing game. One thing I
Speaker 1: might like is the approach the Bills took last week
Speaker 1: too against US to blitz their running back and put
Speaker 1: him in peril, make Kenyan Drake make pass protection decisions,
Speaker 1: make him make tough decisions in the backfield. This running
Speaker 1: game right now averages point one yards before contact. So
Speaker 1: if you can blitz that running game and shut that
Speaker 1: thing down, that's gonna go a long way. Because minimizing
Speaker 1: Drake with some tackles for loss and some run stops
Speaker 1: and putting him in conflict in the past rush plan,
Speaker 1: that's gonna go a long way towards keeping the scoreboard
Speaker 1: operator in Las Vegas board when the Raiders are on
Speaker 1: the field. And I think that's actually one of the
Speaker 1: other key matchups is and what makes Baker a key
Speaker 1: player in this game his matchup on Kenyan Drake. Now,
Speaker 1: if Jacobs does go, then a land in Robert's role
Speaker 1: becomes much more significant. Maybe the Raiders stay away from
Speaker 1: those bigger you know, those bigger packages in terms of
Speaker 1: extra tight ends and backs and adapt more to Drake's strengths.
Speaker 1: We will see about that. But again, regardless of who
Speaker 1: goes point one yards before contact per rush through two games,
Speaker 1: I like Christian Wilkins, Zack Seieler, and Adam Butler's opportunity
Speaker 1: to really get cranking in this game, coming off blocks,
Speaker 1: making plays the line, and controlling and taking over this
Speaker 1: football game from the word go. They need to do
Speaker 1: it now. As far as their offensive usage and final thoughts,
Speaker 1: how do Miami react when the Raiders do roll out
Speaker 1: that third team personnel package. Typically you have to go
Speaker 1: with your base defense because you have to be able
Speaker 1: to handle the elements of the run that puts the
Speaker 1: linebackers in tough spots and coverage. So it's to pick
Speaker 1: your poison type of deal. But that's basically the NFL
Speaker 1: every single week, especially against explosive offenses like the one
Speaker 1: the Raiders have right now. Luckily, it's been just twenty
Speaker 1: two plays from that package, but they've hit the jackpot
Speaker 1: on the passing aspect of it. So it might only
Speaker 1: be two or three plays a game, but two or
Speaker 1: three explosive plays a game makes the big difference. So
Speaker 1: third team personnel packages, vertical throws from those packages, keep
Speaker 1: an eye on that on Sunday, and no surprises here
Speaker 1: for their package deployment. Their primary is eleven personnel, one back,
Speaker 1: one tight end, three receivers. They have fifty plays from
Speaker 1: that package and the average eight point one eight yards
Speaker 1: per play out of that package. It's gonna be crucial.
Speaker 1: Will shut that thing down. Twelve personnel thirty two plays
Speaker 1: seven point three yards per play. They're cooking, but they're
Speaker 1: even more versatile than that. They go two backs a
Speaker 1: lot because alec ing Old is a prominent fullback in
Speaker 1: this league. Personnel as twelve plays, two personnel with two
Speaker 1: tight ends and two backs is six team plays. So
Speaker 1: Miami has a lot to contend with, and they have
Speaker 1: to be cleaning their substitutions. They have to have a
Speaker 1: lot of guys ready to play because Las Vegas has
Speaker 1: similar versatility on their offense that Miami has on their defense.
Speaker 1: But that's the upshot. Having the versatile defense is a
Speaker 1: big thing here. So my guests, and just to kind
Speaker 1: of reiterate this is my guess. I think the Raiders
Speaker 1: we'll want to roll with those heavy tight end slash
Speaker 1: running back packages to force Miami to take their defensive
Speaker 1: backs off the field, because that's our best unit in
Speaker 1: terms in my opinion, and maybe you can counter that
Speaker 1: with more safeties like the big nickel looks and four
Speaker 1: safety packages. We talked about this having four good safeties
Speaker 1: that I've seen significant playing time this year. We saw
Speaker 1: the Patriots do that to Miami, get the defensive backs
Speaker 1: off the field. The Bills did not do it because
Speaker 1: while their strength is their receivers and they're gonna play
Speaker 1: to their strengths. But the Raiders have good backs and
Speaker 1: tight ends up and down the roster, even if Josh
Speaker 1: Jacobs cannot go. As far as safety alignment, they average
Speaker 1: five point six three yards per play against single high
Speaker 1: that's eighty eight plays when you defend them with one
Speaker 1: safety deep and against two split safety's seven point seven
Speaker 1: six yards for players forty six plays. So just there,
Speaker 1: they've been successful regardless. But in general, to me, it's
Speaker 1: a lot of give and take. On paper, some advantages
Speaker 1: their way, some advantages are a way on that side
Speaker 1: of the ball, But how about the other side of
Speaker 1: the ball. We know about one change with Miami's quarterbacks
Speaker 1: versus Las Vegas safeties. Jacoby Brissette will start this game,
Speaker 1: and I like his ability to play a close to
Speaker 1: the vest and protect the football style of game to
Speaker 1: try to get Miami into the winner's circle. He threw
Speaker 1: one interception on Sunday, but he entered the season with
Speaker 1: the lowest i n T rate of any NFL quarterback
Speaker 1: ever with at least nine passing attempts. The Dolphins have
Speaker 1: to get back in this game. It's crucial, absolutely crucial
Speaker 1: to get back to complementary football, and they have to
Speaker 1: be able to find some footing in the ground game
Speaker 1: because they need to extend drives, keep the defense fresh,
Speaker 1: and limit the Raiders offensive opportunities with all those explosive options.
Speaker 1: For Jacoby, I liked his work in the quick game.
Speaker 1: You know he was dealing with bodies in his face,
Speaker 1: dropping the arm, angle down and just finding a way, right.
Speaker 1: That's like the key to playing backup quarterback. Find a
Speaker 1: way to get the ball around this oncoming rusher in
Speaker 1: the face and find a way to move the chains
Speaker 1: and find a way to win the football game. And
Speaker 1: also find a way to extend plays and make plays
Speaker 1: off script. Like think back to his ability to mitigate
Speaker 1: some of the pressure and that Bears preseason game. You
Speaker 1: need that to happen here with Jacoby to hopefully get
Speaker 1: some big plays outside of the structure of the offense.
Speaker 1: But protect the football at all costs. Do not turn
Speaker 1: it over in this game. That's number one and the
Speaker 1: best way to do that is to stay ahead of
Speaker 1: the chains. Now, as for the Raiders safeties, a lot
Speaker 1: of inexperience in that group, as we had mentioned, But
Speaker 1: Jonathan Abram is a missile, and despite some ups and
Speaker 1: downs early in his career, I think he's played pretty
Speaker 1: well so far this season. He's a stick stick of dynamite.
Speaker 1: That is, he'll hit you, but maybe you can get
Speaker 1: some explosive plays attacking the aggressiveness with some double move
Speaker 1: was or even something so much to what we saw
Speaker 1: in the Buffalo game that did not work. We saw
Speaker 1: a Wattle run the slot fade with Kasiki coming behind
Speaker 1: on the wheel. That's a concept every team has, the
Speaker 1: takeoff and the wheel behind. But to Ron Johnson, who
Speaker 1: had a hell of a game on Sunday, did a
Speaker 1: great job falling off his coverage and making the play
Speaker 1: for that pick. Maybe you tried against a less experienced
Speaker 1: Raider's defense. Maybe I don't know. We'll see. Trayvon Marrigg's
Speaker 1: speed and range has to be accounted for the TCU
Speaker 1: or rookie out of TCU. Rather, if you think you
Speaker 1: have a deep ball, keep an eye on him because
Speaker 1: you might load that thing up and he closed the
Speaker 1: space and will bait you. He's a nice young player
Speaker 1: in that way. Now, where I think Miami's best advantage
Speaker 1: on the side of the ball comes into play is
Speaker 1: our next grouping Miami's receivers and tight ends versus their
Speaker 1: cornerbacks are their cornerbacks. Yeah, I put LB on there
Speaker 1: for some reason, But we went in depth yesterday on
Speaker 1: the return of Will Fuller and what his inclusion into
Speaker 1: the offense could do to open things up some of
Speaker 1: the route combinations. With he and Waddle on the same side, like,
Speaker 1: you can really disguise a lot of the things that
Speaker 1: you do. Be because of their interchangeability in terms of
Speaker 1: skill set and some of the pre snap motion and shifting.
Speaker 1: You can get them into stack into bunch, return motion,
Speaker 1: jet motion, running smash, which is an outside receiver run
Speaker 1: a little hitch route or something in breaking to kind
Speaker 1: of clear the deep corner part of the field, and
Speaker 1: then the inside receiver remember two, runs the flag route
Speaker 1: the corner route to take advantage of that space created
Speaker 1: against his own coverage. Now against Cover three might not
Speaker 1: work so well, but that would then open up the
Speaker 1: underneath guy to have a matchup on a linebacker. I
Speaker 1: just don't think you can key on either of those
Speaker 1: guys in either of those instances, or if they're on
Speaker 1: opposite sides of the field, use their speed to stretch
Speaker 1: this defense. Then what I mean by that is picture
Speaker 1: one guy running a takeoff on one side of the field,
Speaker 1: with the other guy on the opposite side of the
Speaker 1: field coming across on a drag or an over route
Speaker 1: to fill that vacated space left vacated by the takeoff route.
Speaker 1: And again either or for how you do this like
Speaker 1: Fuller takeoff, wattle crosser or vice versa, it doesn't matter
Speaker 1: to me. And then from that there space for Park
Speaker 1: or in gisicky, and I really think Fuller when he's
Speaker 1: up to full speed, just changes this offensive look a lot.
Speaker 1: Like you know that. You've heard me talk about that
Speaker 1: all spring and summer now into the fall. As for
Speaker 1: the Raiders defensive backs, Casey Hayward is new and he
Speaker 1: can play, and he's such a good player. He was
Speaker 1: an inside guy for a long long time, but he's
Speaker 1: almost strictly a perimeter cornerback now one hundred and four
Speaker 1: of his one and twenty one snaps this season, or
Speaker 1: as a wide corner. That's the guy the guy in
Speaker 1: the unit. In fact, he has not allowed to catch
Speaker 1: this season and he's only been targeted five times, which
Speaker 1: is you know, partly him locking guys up and being
Speaker 1: damn good, but it's also not being targeted by the
Speaker 1: opposing offense to just avoid him because that's the one
Speaker 1: guy you don't want to go after in that defense.
Speaker 1: He's also got two pass breakups on the five targets.
Speaker 1: We have to a great start for the Raiders in
Speaker 1: his Raider career. Elsewhere, tray Von Mullen and Damon Arnett
Speaker 1: are very similar players stylistically. They're big, physical, imposing corners
Speaker 1: who played a lot of zone turn in college, and
Speaker 1: Mullin plays a lot our Nett has been a sub
Speaker 1: package player so far. Uh Nate Hobbs was actually their
Speaker 1: second leading snaptaker last week at cornerback, and he's an
Speaker 1: interesting player to come back to him and just one
Speaker 1: second Mulin matched up with Claypool well, but Deonte Johnson
Speaker 1: and Juju Smith Schuster got him and those guys, you know, stylistically,
Speaker 1: Waddle and Fuller are more like those guys opposed to Claypool,
Speaker 1: who's more like Parker. You know, something to consider as
Speaker 1: far as the matchups you want to draw for yourself. Now,
Speaker 1: Nate Hobbs is a fifth round draft pick this April.
Speaker 1: He's six ft. He was targeted seven times and allowed
Speaker 1: seven catches last year, but for just forty four yards,
Speaker 1: so good tackling at least. And if you pull up
Speaker 1: the Draft Networks scouting profile and you know that that
Speaker 1: coverage stat you have to take into account the defense
Speaker 1: they play because Cover three bail get out, that's gonna
Speaker 1: allow for underneath catches. That's where Miami can eat though. Man,
Speaker 1: that's that's a possible matchup to look at. And you
Speaker 1: can pull Draft Network scouting profile up and they have
Speaker 1: Hobbs as a scheme. Fit was a Cover three bail
Speaker 1: technique heavy scheme. That's exactly what Gus Bradley runs Cover
Speaker 1: three with almost no blitzing. So we can talk about
Speaker 1: these matchups. So we're blue in the face, but you're
Speaker 1: really primarily going to get zone with a three deep shell.
Speaker 1: And in fact, they they're aligning in single high of
Speaker 1: the time, with too high a quarter of the time,
Speaker 1: and they're in zone. You know, primarily Cover three looks
Speaker 1: more than seventy of the time, So you know what
Speaker 1: you're gonna get, and if they do, go into the
Speaker 1: bail technique and play that umbrella man, those quick hitters
Speaker 1: finding those windows. And then from there where Baltimore and
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh had so much success was going after those linebackers.
Speaker 1: And that brings us to our next matchup, Dolphins running
Speaker 1: backs versus Vegas linebackers, and another key matchup in this
Speaker 1: game because Corey Littleton and Denzel Perriman are both seventy
Speaker 1: plus percent snaptakers in this defense and k J. Wright
Speaker 1: played roughly last week. Nick Kwittakowski missed the game last week,
Speaker 1: but he played just sixteen snaps in the openers. So
Speaker 1: those top three guys we talked about are your primary linebackers.
Speaker 1: What does that tell you? Very few sub packages they'll
Speaker 1: keep linebackers on the field when you go ten personnel,
Speaker 1: when you go eleven with Mike Gisicki, and those linebackers
Speaker 1: play the run or go backwards. They just do not blitz.
Speaker 1: It's not in their DNA. They want to play coverage,
Speaker 1: primarily zone, and they want to try to win with
Speaker 1: a four man pass rush, and it's been working. We'll
Speaker 1: talk about that here in just one second. But what
Speaker 1: becomes so crucial in this aspect. Play action. Baby. Here
Speaker 1: are the passing numbers on Las Vegas linebackers. Perraman seven
Speaker 1: completions on ten targets for fifty seven yards. Corey Littleton
Speaker 1: seven completions on seven targets for sixty nine yards. So
Speaker 1: they are fourteen for seventeen for a I don't know
Speaker 1: math very well about a hundred and twenty yards, but
Speaker 1: to get to that, you have to get them thinking
Speaker 1: about multidimensional offense, run, run, game pass, game play pass,
Speaker 1: because both of them can really play downhill, particularly Peraman,
Speaker 1: he's one of the very best B gap to B
Speaker 1: gap bangers and all the land, and Little ten's a
Speaker 1: little more at depth at getting depth, but they're going
Speaker 1: to read keys, and if you can keep them guessing
Speaker 1: and get false steps, man, you can stay in that
Speaker 1: rhythm and have success. We talked about needed to stay
Speaker 1: ahead of the chains and ultimately have offensive success. As
Speaker 1: far as the total play action numbers against Vegas this year,
Speaker 1: fourteen for twenty a buck eighty three, and the Ravens
Speaker 1: really got to it, with the bulk of that work
Speaker 1: coming off their strong play pass games. We'll go back
Speaker 1: to that tape and see how you attack these linebackers.
Speaker 1: But it's a good time to see what Miles and
Speaker 1: Savon in the passing game can do, because when those
Speaker 1: cornerbacks get out and they bail, that can create some
Speaker 1: openings in the flats, but also bend things back inside
Speaker 1: with the Texas route, the arrow route, the angle route,
Speaker 1: the seam route, the hook up, whatever you wanna call it.
Speaker 1: Over the middle, I would pump the ball to the
Speaker 1: backs because remember remember that play Miles made in the
Speaker 1: game last year, the fifty something you are touchdown reception.
Speaker 1: That's that's what you want to do to this defense.
Speaker 1: Get to him quick, get him in space. And this
Speaker 1: Raiders second level, they're more thumpers than speed. It's one
Speaker 1: of the slowest linebacker groups out there. Try and take
Speaker 1: advantage of that. Then that brings us to where the
Speaker 1: Raiders defense has been flying this season, their pass rush,
Speaker 1: their front against Miami's offensive line. You have to neutralize it.
Speaker 1: And again, how do you do that well? Both the
Speaker 1: stud rushers for this are two pound ends who rely
Speaker 1: upon getting their pressure just based on defensive philosophy, and
Speaker 1: you can run at them to try to peel that
Speaker 1: back a little bit. That's gotta be the best way
Speaker 1: to neutralize them, especially with our big dudes, especially the
Speaker 1: big dudes at the guard position up front. Now Crosby
Speaker 1: and and Gockway have really taken the raider's pass rush
Speaker 1: level to another level. You must control those two to
Speaker 1: compete against the defense. Crosby right now playing out of
Speaker 1: his mind. He's made a bunch of plays early in
Speaker 1: his career through effort, but now he's just straight up
Speaker 1: deconstructing blocks and winning. I think that pairs very well
Speaker 1: with and gock Way off the other side, who just
Speaker 1: has so much speed to contend with like that first
Speaker 1: step might have to be back because he can put
Speaker 1: you in peril immediately. He's got nine pressures of his
Speaker 1: own through two games, and Crosby has nineteen. Wow, what
Speaker 1: a crazy number, wow, Owen Wilson. Then on the interior,
Speaker 1: Solomon Thomas, Quentin Jefferson, Darius File on Jonathan Hankins. That's
Speaker 1: a very nice DT rotation that can help keep those
Speaker 1: guys fresh but also free up the linebackers in the
Speaker 1: run game. And then Carl Nassa a nice change up
Speaker 1: rusher for them. He's got four pressures of his own
Speaker 1: on twenty seven pass rush reps. He's a sturdy run
Speaker 1: defender as well. But it's back to Crosby and Gockway.
Speaker 1: Maybe you help on Crosby, and depending on Gockway's matchup,
Speaker 1: you just have to be ready to get vertical against
Speaker 1: his speed rush and know that he wants to redirection
Speaker 1: and come back underneath you. But I would try to
Speaker 1: find help on both those guys as much as you can,
Speaker 1: regardless of the lineup, and again the interior in this game,
Speaker 1: we'll see who it is out there in the field.
Speaker 1: But I would just run the ball, run the ball,
Speaker 1: run the ball, get wide, stretch him out, go after
Speaker 1: those ends and try to get some bodies in space,
Speaker 1: whether it's Rob Hunt, whether it's Solomon Kinley, Michael Dieter.
Speaker 1: Run the ball, run the ball, run the ball. Special
Speaker 1: teams for these two squads uh D v o A
Speaker 1: ranks the Raiders or fourteen. Miami is nineteenth currently. That
Speaker 1: will get better. I'm sure they're Punter A J. Cole
Speaker 1: absolutely booms the football sometimes beyond the coverage. He's averaging
Speaker 1: fifty point six yards per punt this year. That might
Speaker 1: be an opportunity for Jachem Grant or Jalen Waddle to
Speaker 1: make some big returns and help Miami win the hidden
Speaker 1: yard battle because with QB one down, that's how you
Speaker 1: win football games. And then kicking wise, Daniel Carson Carlson
Speaker 1: is six for six, including four makes in the nine
Speaker 1: range and one from beyond fifties. So three keys to
Speaker 1: the game. Here are your three keys to the game.
Speaker 1: You probably know they are getting the running backs going,
Speaker 1: both in the running game and the passing game. Miles
Speaker 1: and Savan, this is your guys game to go shine
Speaker 1: in Las Vegas. Number two make Derek Carr uncomfortable. One
Speaker 1: beat late on reads and throws can cause some trepidation,
Speaker 1: can cause some picks, possibly some sacks and some negative yardage.
Speaker 1: They have to slow this passing offense down and it
Speaker 1: goes through Derek Carr and Number three win the hidden
Speaker 1: yards battle. Penalties are so crucial in a game like this,
Speaker 1: kicking game when you're make every kick, have good execution
Speaker 1: on the holds and the snaps and all that good stuff,
Speaker 1: and also cover well and return well. Miami has to
Speaker 1: do well in that area. The Dolphins will win this
Speaker 1: game if they run the ball and get the ball
Speaker 1: to the backs. In the passing game, there by negetting
Speaker 1: their to edge presences, which are two lynch pins of
Speaker 1: this defense. Without those two guys, this defense has a
Speaker 1: lot of ground to make up their thin at corner,
Speaker 1: they're young at safety. Slowing and Gockway at Crosby will
Speaker 1: allow you to attack those vulnerabilities. The Raiders will win
Speaker 1: if they can keep Miami in third and long and
Speaker 1: Derek Carr has time to survey the field and stay
Speaker 1: explosive offensively. That's gonna do it. For this preview edition
Speaker 1: of the Drivetime Podcast, we have John Conjemmi and your
Speaker 1: Mail Bad Questions coming up tomorrow, as well as Football Friday,
Speaker 1: picking the NFL games and the three Pack of college
Speaker 1: games and your Prospect Guide. But in the meantime, Caroline,
Speaker 1: Daddy is coming home. Even though you threw up on
Speaker 1: yourself in the car this morning and made us late
Speaker 1: by about a half hour, I still love you you all.
Speaker 1: Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcast.
Speaker 1: Leave us a rating, leave us a review. You can
Speaker 1: follow me on Twitter at Wingfield NFL, follow the team
Speaker 1: at Miami Dolphins. Check out the Fish Tank Podcast with
Speaker 1: Set and o J. They had Anthony Harris on the
Speaker 1: podcast this week another great episode. Go to the YouTube
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Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins dot com. Until next time, Fins Up six