WEBVTT - Drive Time: Grayson Murphy Interview and AFC North Preview 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:05.960 To on the move, Going Deep, Speedless peas Doll. From 0:00:05.960 --> 0:00:10.400 the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. 0:00:10.960 --> 0:00:14.680 This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield. 0:00:16.200 --> 0:00:27.280 He's got my hands in the playoffs. What is up? 0:00:27.360 --> 0:00:31.160 Dolphins? And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast. I am 0:00:31.200 --> 0:00:34.240 your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show, the preview 0:00:34.320 --> 0:00:39.360 series continues onto the perhaps funnest division in the NFL. 0:00:39.440 --> 0:00:42.239 The AFC North is up? Is it better than the 0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:44.520 AFC East? Is it the best in all of football? 0:00:44.680 --> 0:00:47.080 We'll discuss that and much more, plus where the Dolphins 0:00:47.080 --> 0:00:49.720 can learn from each of these teams. And I caught 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:52.920 up with Dolphins undrafted rookie the edge the outside linebacker, 0:00:52.960 --> 0:00:55.360 Grayson Murphy. You do not want to miss that. I 0:00:55.440 --> 0:00:57.480 think he has a great chance to make this football team. 0:00:57.520 --> 0:01:00.880 From the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:08.120 This is the Drivetime Podcast. Couple of items off the 0:01:08.160 --> 0:01:10.959 top here. First, you can probably tell my voice, I 0:01:11.000 --> 0:01:12.840 am not feeling well at all. 0:01:12.880 --> 0:01:14.199 It's been a long, long week. 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:16.520 The You know how when you have kids, you basically 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:18.640 just sometimes you get sick for like a full month 0:01:18.680 --> 0:01:20.000 and then you kind of build up a immunity for 0:01:20.000 --> 0:01:21.280 the next six months or so, I then do it 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:23.600 all over again. We are in that in the month 0:01:23.600 --> 0:01:26.280 of June, and so I am struggling big time. Another 0:01:26.319 --> 0:01:28.640 thing was, I saw a new review came in on 0:01:28.920 --> 0:01:32.919 Apple and somebody, and rightly so was dogging the sound quality. 0:01:32.920 --> 0:01:34.720 And I'm guessing you're going back to the Blake Ferguson 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:38.720 Jake Bailey and Jason Sanders podcast, which I know was terrible. 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:40.560 I felt terrible putting it out there. I had no 0:01:40.640 --> 0:01:42.840 other options to clean that audio up. We do have 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:44.840 Adobe Premiere which I run the audio through, and it 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:47.800 doesn't sound great to try to fix that, but when 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:50.040 you have guys that don't talk to the microphones, when 0:01:50.040 --> 0:01:52.960 you have a recording device that wasn't accurately working that day, 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:54.600 like it was just a rough day and we recorded 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:57.680 like twenty interviews that day, So my apologies for that. 0:01:58.360 --> 0:02:00.840 I think otherwise the sound quality mostly pretty good on 0:02:00.880 --> 0:02:02.600 the show. It is just me that does this, so 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:06.120 it comes back to me, So I apologize for that. 0:02:06.240 --> 0:02:09.160 Let's go ahead and get into the AFC North here. 0:02:09.200 --> 0:02:12.280 One of the funner divisions to really dive into here, 0:02:12.280 --> 0:02:15.399 because every team has intrigued to me, even though there's 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:17.200 one team that I think is a far cry from 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:19.639 the other three. At this point, we kick it off 0:02:19.639 --> 0:02:21.280 in order of how it finished last year with the 0:02:21.320 --> 0:02:25.560 twenty twenty three Ravens, who finished thirteen and four first 0:02:25.560 --> 0:02:28.880 in the division. They lost the conference championship seventeen to ten. 0:02:29.560 --> 0:02:32.119 And you guys, listen to these podcasts. No, I'm making these, 0:02:32.160 --> 0:02:34.800 you know, relatable back to the Miami Dolphins. The reason 0:02:34.880 --> 0:02:36.920 I include the score there is because I think it 0:02:37.000 --> 0:02:40.880 can be instructive. It is so hard to reach the 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:43.960 mountaintop in this sport more than any other, because why 0:02:44.160 --> 0:02:47.480 single elimination. I mean, the Panthers just lost three games 0:02:47.520 --> 0:02:50.040 in a row and they are still Stanley Cup champions, which, 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:51.480 by the way, vlmas Scott, it was very cool to 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:54.160 see that you run into one bad matchup one day 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:56.280 where you don't have your a stuff and it is 0:02:56.400 --> 0:02:59.080 saya nara, we'll see you later for the for the 0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:02.480 next season, really foray next year, especially when a young, 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:05.959 already legendary quarterback stands between you and the big game. 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:10.160 And quite frankly, that's been the AFC in my entire existence. 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:12.360 I grew up in the I was born in the eighties, 0:03:12.400 --> 0:03:14.720 grew up in the nineties, and really became a diehard 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:17.600 football fan in the early two thousands. And that's when 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:20.920 freaking Tom Brady arrived and Ben Roethlisberger and Peyton Manning 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:23.760 and now it's Patrick Mahomes. It's just always been that 0:03:23.840 --> 0:03:26.960 way in the AFC. And I say this because look 0:03:27.040 --> 0:03:29.600 at the juggernaut that was the Ravens last year. I mean, 0:03:29.600 --> 0:03:33.320 I remember doing this episode one year ago talking about 0:03:33.360 --> 0:03:35.880 how this team is undeniably the best in the AFC, 0:03:36.200 --> 0:03:38.360 despite the fact that the Chiefs have Mahons, and all 0:03:38.360 --> 0:03:41.120 of a sudden they meet this brick wall, and this 0:03:41.280 --> 0:03:44.320 narrative doesn't just return, it grows. And actually, after I 0:03:44.360 --> 0:03:47.960 wrote this segment down, I saw that no quarterback in 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:50.680 league history has a greater disparity in regular season winning 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:54.920 percentage versus their postseason winning percentage. Then, Lamar Jackson, I've 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:56.640 been thinking about this a lot and just paired up 0:03:56.680 --> 0:03:58.560 with this write up. I know I'm in the vast 0:03:58.560 --> 0:04:03.640 minority here, but it works in basketball, baseball not so much, 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:06.760 but football and basketball in particular, I just don't think 0:04:06.800 --> 0:04:10.840 we should hold players or teams to the standard of championships. 0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:13.040 I lost a lot of you right there already, but 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:15.520 here let me explain that to you. I reject the 0:04:15.600 --> 0:04:18.479 idea that only one team can have a good year 0:04:18.560 --> 0:04:21.479 in a given year, that a player can be diminished 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:24.880 because he didn't reach the ultimate team accomplishment. I think 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:26.960 the best passer in the league, or the best pass 0:04:27.000 --> 0:04:31.359 in the league he's ever seen Dan Reno went seventeen 0:04:31.440 --> 0:04:34.920 seasons and never hoisted a Lombardi Trophy. I think Lamar 0:04:35.080 --> 0:04:39.120 Jackson will be unfairly hit with this label again this year, 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:42.320 or at the very least, it'll be a narrative once 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:45.479 we get past Christmas, right, And I think the reason 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:47.719 that it really irritates me the way it does is 0:04:47.760 --> 0:04:50.480 because what's what is Lamar Jackson? Twenty eight years old? 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:52.279 I'm gonna pull it up live on the spot here, 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:57.080 would I'm okay with the idea of holding out he yeah, 0:04:57.360 --> 0:04:59.839 he's just turned twenty seven in January. I'm okay with 0:04:59.839 --> 0:05:02.839 the the idea of once the career has wrapped, being like, damn, 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:05.320 he didn't hit the mountaintop. It's kind of what happened 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:07.120 to Marino, right, And it's still a story to this day. 0:05:07.160 --> 0:05:08.560 Or trying to see a freaking tweet. But who's the 0:05:08.600 --> 0:05:11.480 greatest athlete who never won a championship? Dan Marino is 0:05:11.480 --> 0:05:13.960 all over that stuff. But he's twenty seven years old, 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:17.359 and all it takes is one time for that all 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:20.159 to go away. I just think it's too hyperbolock. I 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:22.279 think it's two in the moment, because this was a 0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:25.840 team who earned the one seed in the tougher of 0:05:25.880 --> 0:05:28.920 the two conferences. By this is how their season ended. 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:30.880 They beat the Rams, which that was one of the 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:33.200 games of the year. They blew out a Jaguars team 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:35.640 who was at that point like eight and four. They 0:05:35.839 --> 0:05:39.960 dismantled the Niners on Christmas, which was the Niners were 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:42.920 rolling at that point, and they obliterated us, who, if 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:44.960 we had won that game, were the one seed in 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:48.440 the AFC playoffs. That's three playoff teams, two that were 0:05:48.720 --> 0:05:51.720 either within striking distance or holding the top one seed 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:54.080 in their conference at the time, a juggernaut, and then 0:05:54.080 --> 0:05:56.160 they get bounced. I think you should strive to be 0:05:56.279 --> 0:05:58.919 what the Ravens have been and give yourself a crack. 0:05:59.040 --> 0:06:01.760 Just about every single year except those two years they 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:04.000 didn't have their quarterback and they went out in the 0:06:04.040 --> 0:06:06.680 wild card round and didn't get into the playoffs the 0:06:06.760 --> 0:06:10.520 other season. I think that provides stability, and stability gives 0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:13.599 you an edge within a game of inches. Win most 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:15.520 of your games, and we'll figure it out when we 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:18.360 get there. That's sort of the Macro way I view 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:21.880 this sport and league, and few teams have embodied that 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:25.400 better than the Baltimore Ravens five double digit win seasons 0:06:25.440 --> 0:06:28.039 of the last six, and Miami, frankly is just a 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:31.159 notch below that with four straight winning seasons. However, to 0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:33.320 continue it, the Ravens are gonna have to deal with 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:35.200 more turnover than they've had in quite some time here. 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:37.560 But I also like some of the moves they'd made 0:06:37.600 --> 0:06:39.880 to bring guys in like Derrick Henry, who is probably 0:06:39.880 --> 0:06:44.760 the most at pro pro at at PAPRO. How do 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:49.320 you say that app Po pro Apple pro? Derreck Henry 0:06:49.400 --> 0:06:51.200 is just he's in Baltimore, even through and through the 0:06:51.200 --> 0:06:53.400 way he looks, the way he plays, he just looks 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:54.880 like he belongs in that organization. 0:06:54.920 --> 0:06:56.280 I like the Josh Jones addition. 0:06:56.640 --> 0:07:00.200 Deontay Hardy tore hearts out of our chest last January 0:07:00.240 --> 0:07:02.240 in the Week eighteen game he joins the Ravens now 0:07:02.440 --> 0:07:04.880 Kadar Hallman, and then their first round pick was Nate Wiggins. 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:08.160 But look at the outgoing list here, Patrick Queen, Kevin Zeitdler, 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:11.320 Devin do Orne, Odale Beckham, Junior, JK. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:14.320 Ronald Darby, Rocky sin Morgan, Moses Tyas spous Or, Tyler Huntley, 0:07:14.360 --> 0:07:16.960 mac Mike McDonald, and Anthony Weaver. 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:17.920 Holy Molly. 0:07:17.960 --> 0:07:22.040 It's major coaches, a defensive coordinator, major parts of that defense, 0:07:22.120 --> 0:07:25.360 and just overall personnel that they relied upon for a 0:07:25.360 --> 0:07:27.280 lot of big wins and big production over the last 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:27.960 couple of years. 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:29.200 What do they do well well? 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:31.320 The run game has always worked, and it's because of 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:34.960 Lamar Jackson. I think what you see when you had 0:07:35.000 --> 0:07:38.720 like glimpses of JK. Dobbins, you know, flashing elite back 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:41.000 ability which he always has had you just can't stay healthy. 0:07:41.280 --> 0:07:43.760 Then you see like, oh, this is a revolutionary run game. 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:45.560 It goes to one of the more dangerous weapons in 0:07:45.560 --> 0:07:49.200 the league. When you basically only ever get that exclusively 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:51.640 from the passing game, right, Like you don't get dangerous 0:07:51.680 --> 0:07:52.680 explosive run games. 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:53.560 In twenty twenty four. 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:56.840 But the Ravens can do that, and they're pretty unlimited 0:07:56.840 --> 0:07:59.920 with their complminary speed to run, trap power, quarterback Lee 0:08:00.240 --> 0:08:03.000 all the jet sweep inside zone, outside zone stuff from 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:05.760 today's game, and now they get this power element with 0:08:05.800 --> 0:08:08.000 Derrick Henry, and I just think we could see a 0:08:08.080 --> 0:08:10.600 zig of an offense to the rest of the league 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:13.520 zag and if Henry has any juice left, and I 0:08:13.520 --> 0:08:15.520 think he does, this is going to be a team 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:17.880 that I think gives every single opponent fits because of 0:08:17.880 --> 0:08:20.360 their play style. My first thought was, I will say 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:22.560 they have to do that because of the big wide 0:08:22.600 --> 0:08:26.000 receiver investments they made last offseason not paying off, and 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:28.280 now it's over because Beckham is gone. We're still kind 0:08:28.280 --> 0:08:31.560 of waiting on Rashad Batemanseya Flowers looks like an absolute stud. 0:08:31.840 --> 0:08:34.040 But then I go back to them getting Mark Andrews back, 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:35.760 who missed most of that stretch run we just talked 0:08:35.800 --> 0:08:38.360 about where they steamrolled some of the best teams in league. 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:39.920 They also been to the Detroit Lions too, by the way, 0:08:39.960 --> 0:08:40.600 earlier in the year. 0:08:41.320 --> 0:08:41.959 They also have a. 0:08:41.880 --> 0:08:44.480 Budding star in Isaiah Likely, who I don't know how 0:08:44.520 --> 0:08:45.800 the hell he made it to the fourth round of 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:47.480 the draft that year. He was so obvious he was 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:50.680 a great player. And I just say, stay in twelve personnel, 0:08:50.800 --> 0:08:53.280 run an offense. I don't think anybody in the NFL 0:08:53.559 --> 0:08:57.880 with these undersized linebackers is equipped to stop defensively. I 0:08:57.880 --> 0:09:00.600 don't think he'll get wholesale changes as they promote from within, 0:09:01.200 --> 0:09:06.120 simplifying terminology, staying positionless, being deep in your subgroupings, utilizing 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:11.280 one of the strongest defensive interiors with Justin Matdabweke Rokwan 0:09:11.400 --> 0:09:14.480 Smith and Kyle Hamilton down the middle to out physical 0:09:14.520 --> 0:09:17.800 teams and make you play on their terms. What's the 0:09:17.880 --> 0:09:21.520 concern or fatal flaw here if the defense takes a 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:24.760 moment to come together. They have KC, Dallas, Buffalo, and 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:28.120 Cincinnati on the schedule over the first five weeks, and 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:30.800 a slow start in that division might bury you. Then 0:09:30.840 --> 0:09:32.400 you have to go on the road in the playoffs, 0:09:32.440 --> 0:09:35.240 and who knows from there a wide receiver depth. As 0:09:35.320 --> 0:09:37.440 much as I raved about their ability to win, differently, 0:09:37.520 --> 0:09:40.280 to me, it's kinda Zey Flowers and then nobody else 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:42.400 like I don't. I'm not a big believer in Bateman's 0:09:42.559 --> 0:09:44.760 skill set. We saw what happened to them in the 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:47.480 playoffs when they got outplayed at the line of scrimmage 0:09:47.480 --> 0:09:49.280 by the Chiefs. The goal is to win the Super 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:51.200 Bowl for them, right, Like, I know, I just talked 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:53.599 about how that shouldn't be how we judge teams, and 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:54.880 I think the Ravens are one of the best teams 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:57.120 in the NFL because they haven't gotten to the mountaintop. 0:09:57.160 --> 0:10:00.720 That's going to be their narrative. But that's also the 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:03.080 next step for them, Like it's not gonna be, you know, 0:10:03.160 --> 0:10:06.480 considered a huge success every year if you don't eventually 0:10:06.480 --> 0:10:09.760 get there. So that's kind of where you need to be, 0:10:09.840 --> 0:10:11.800 you know, focused towards beating the Chiefs, otherwise you can't 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:14.120 get back to that game. And to do that, you 0:10:14.160 --> 0:10:15.959 know you're gonna need more than ten points. You're not 0:10:16.000 --> 0:10:19.079 gonna beat that team just ten points. So yeah, Kansas 0:10:19.080 --> 0:10:20.720 City is a problem, right, We've established that so far 0:10:20.720 --> 0:10:22.839 in the podcast. Some interesting things about them are the 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:26.439 biggest storylines is fighting narratives of big games and postseason success. 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:28.680 It's gonna come down to you know, it's it's gonna 0:10:28.679 --> 0:10:29.679 be there for them at the end of the year, 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:31.040 just like it is for us, And I think that's 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:34.480 interesting every single year replacing those big names on defense, 0:10:34.520 --> 0:10:37.480 their staff and their personnel. Is it gonna be as 0:10:37.480 --> 0:10:39.480 easy as plug and play there with you know, Zach 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:42.400 or the defensive coordinator and losing a guy like Anthony 0:10:42.440 --> 0:10:45.280 Weaver and losing so many critical pieces on that defense. 0:10:45.559 --> 0:10:47.800 Will they revert back to more of a ball control, 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:49.960 run game offense, because last year they kind of open 0:10:50.000 --> 0:10:51.640 things up a little bit and they were pretty good 0:10:51.640 --> 0:10:52.960 at it too. So whatever they want to do, they 0:10:53.000 --> 0:10:55.400 can probably do, even though they don't have much as 0:10:55.480 --> 0:10:57.440 much weapons on the perimeter this year as they did 0:10:57.559 --> 0:11:00.439 last year. Then special teams in kickoff change and the 0:11:00.480 --> 0:11:02.840 best kicker in the game and Justin Tucker plus John 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:06.079 Harbaugh's special teams background. Just watch the Ravens win a 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:08.680 game or two this year because of weird special teams stuff, 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:10.520 and they won a game on a walk off punt 0:11:10.520 --> 0:11:12.320 return last year, So it's not even that far of 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:14.840 a you know, alleged to go out on some final 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:17.400 roster thoughts. The concerns to me, even though they talk 0:11:17.440 --> 0:11:20.120 about all the losses, are so slim because this is 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:23.160 one of the game's deepest rosters, even with all those losses, 0:11:23.200 --> 0:11:26.200 they just keep developing, replacing, and it's all over Brandon 0:11:26.240 --> 0:11:29.960 Stevens game. It matures as soon as Marcus Peters exits, 0:11:30.040 --> 0:11:32.760 Kyle Hamilton arrives in three years, they say good bye 0:11:32.800 --> 0:11:35.800 Tony Jefferson, Chuck Clark and Gino Stone and they're better 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:39.520 for it. Patrick McCarry makes Morgan Moses expendable. Likely is 0:11:39.520 --> 0:11:41.679 that when Andrews goes down, it's all over the roster 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:43.880 with how they replace. What can they tell us with 0:11:43.960 --> 0:11:46.800 the Dolphins, I'm talking so fast, I can't brie you guys. 0:11:46.800 --> 0:11:47.520 I'm so sorry. 0:11:47.840 --> 0:11:50.320 We already did that. They're in the class. The Dolphins 0:11:50.360 --> 0:11:52.640 now find themselves in a regular playoff team who has 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:54.720 to solve the puzzle of the best team in the 0:11:54.840 --> 0:11:58.000 NFL with the best quarterback we've seen, maybe ever, and 0:11:58.040 --> 0:12:00.400 they have to do it within a tough division features 0:12:00.400 --> 0:12:02.560 teams that can knock them off any single sunday they 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:05.440 face them. They're going to play into massive games within 0:12:05.520 --> 0:12:08.439 massive games every single year, and you just hope you 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:10.400 can stream them together at some point and slay the 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:12.800 giant that is the Mahomes led Chiefs. They can tend 0:12:12.800 --> 0:12:15.360 with Cincy the way the weekn ten with Buffalo, and 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:17.400 these teams are all in the same conference at a 0:12:17.440 --> 0:12:18.760 tough road every single year. 0:12:18.960 --> 0:12:20.040 The AFC is tough. 0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:22.120 Let's go ahead and move down to the Cleveland Browns 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:25.240 eleven and six last year, second in the division, a 0:12:25.280 --> 0:12:28.360 wild card round loss of the Houston Texans and who 0:12:28.360 --> 0:12:31.199 had Joe Flacco coming out of retirement to leave to 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:34.320 lead the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs on their bingo card. 0:12:34.360 --> 0:12:35.280 What a crazy league. 0:12:35.320 --> 0:12:38.720 Every year, not something like this, but something similar to 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:41.360 this happens where a team comes out of left field. 0:12:41.360 --> 0:12:42.800 Whether it's a team that was supposed to be good 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:46.000 or a team that loses their quarterback and you takes 0:12:46.000 --> 0:12:47.920 the Nick Foles to the super Bowl. It happens every 0:12:47.920 --> 0:12:50.840 single year. And there's no denying how great Joe Flacco 0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:53.560 was down the stretch, truly, but make no mistake about it, 0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:56.520 this team was driven by a stellar defense, particularly prior 0:12:56.559 --> 0:13:00.480 to Flacco's arrival, when they were rescuing weekly poor quarterback 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:03.800 performance play by the original starter who has been straight 0:13:03.800 --> 0:13:06.199 booty cheeks since he got there, and all the backups 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:09.600 replacing him throughout an injury plagued season. After double digit 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:12.120 defeats of the Broncos and Rams, and back to back weeks, 0:13:12.320 --> 0:13:15.000 the Browns won four straight to put themselves in position 0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:17.559 to rest their starters. In Week eighteen, they couldn't get 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:19.680 a stop against the Texans in the wild Card round 0:13:19.679 --> 0:13:22.600 and have since gone back to work rounding out yet 0:13:22.640 --> 0:13:26.080 again one of the best rosters and defenses really in 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:27.240 the National Football League. 0:13:27.240 --> 0:13:28.439 This off season is pretty good for these guys. 0:13:28.440 --> 0:13:31.200 They bring in Brian Allen to anchor the interior of 0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:33.960 the offensive line. Deontay Foreman a nice complimentary back there 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:37.200 to Nick Chubb whenever he's healthy again. Not Nick Chub, Yes, 0:13:37.280 --> 0:13:40.760 Nick Job, Nahim Heinz, Jordan Hicks, Quinton Jefferson from the Jets, 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:43.440 they just gave him away. Basically, Tyler Huntley a better 0:13:43.440 --> 0:13:45.880 backup quarterback there. Jamis Winston's there as well. That's a 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:49.160 crazy dynamic in that quarterback room going out. Joe Flacco 0:13:49.240 --> 0:13:51.439 goes to the Colts, Harris and Briant to the Raiders. 0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:54.720 Anthony Walker comes here and Nick Harris goes to Seattle. 0:13:54.760 --> 0:13:56.960 Way more in than out there for these guys, What 0:13:57.040 --> 0:13:59.360 do they do well? I don't think anybody outside have 0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:02.720 probably spat disguise is better between zone and man looks 0:14:03.080 --> 0:14:04.959 with the ability to get pressure from either look of 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:08.920 those from any front from you know, different groupings, and 0:14:08.960 --> 0:14:11.000 it's built around having one of the toughest assignments in 0:14:11.040 --> 0:14:14.120 the National Football League and Miles Garrett and Schwartz has 0:14:14.200 --> 0:14:16.360 always had that in his defense. Going back to in 0:14:16.400 --> 0:14:19.480 Dominicansu with the Lions, they id, they bump, they feel space, 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:22.560 They communicate as well as anybody. Denzel Ward is fantastic, 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:25.560 Martin Emerson is very good, Greg Newsom, Grant Delpitt, Rodney 0:14:25.640 --> 0:14:29.400 McLeod wan Thornhill. They're just one of the deeper secondaries 0:14:29.400 --> 0:14:31.480 in the National Football League and their second level is 0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:34.200 led by one of the best cover linebackers in Jeremiah 0:14:34.240 --> 0:14:38.200 Owusu Corromoa. I'm curious to see does Nick Chubb return, 0:14:38.240 --> 0:14:41.400 because I thought that his balance, albeit Stefanski finding out, 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:44.240 you know, finding other productive backs in his place, that 0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:46.720 Chubb was the elite piece really moving the needle for 0:14:46.760 --> 0:14:50.240 that offense. They're scoring outbursts where the results of mastery 0:14:50.280 --> 0:14:53.040 of play action game and attacking defenses on early downs 0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:56.360 with chunk plays sound familiar. Like Baltimore. They can do 0:14:56.400 --> 0:14:58.160 a lot with their personnel groupings with two tight ends, 0:14:58.200 --> 0:14:59.880 especially since one of them is one of the games 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:03.320 premier players and David Nijoku, what's the concern or a 0:15:03.320 --> 0:15:06.680 fatal flaw, Like we are realistically one more bad year 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:10.440 away from an all time awful move at the quarterback position, 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:11.840 and quite frankly, are probably already there. 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:12.040 Right. 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:15.080 I'd like that they signed two insurance policies and hunting 0:15:15.160 --> 0:15:18.160 and jamis on top of the continued development of Dorian 0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:20.680 Thompson Robinson, but I don't think it's gonna work out 0:15:20.680 --> 0:15:24.160 for him. But I mean, Deshaun Watson fully guaranteed contract 0:15:24.200 --> 0:15:25.680 been one of the worst quarterbacks and leaks he's he 0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:28.080 got there, so it's interesting to see how that plays out. 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:30.360 It can tank the entire team. They did get destroyed 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:32.520 last year by o line attrition by the end of 0:15:32.560 --> 0:15:34.560 the year, but that group is healthy heading into the 0:15:34.560 --> 0:15:36.480 season and I think it's probably just about it. Like 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:38.800 this is a very deep and good roster. Some interesting 0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:40.960 things about them. There's still a bunch of guaranteed money 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:44.320 on Watson's deal. What happens if year three is much 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:45.960 like year one and year two, and then what happens 0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:48.720 if Joe Flacco winds up playing well or playing at all, 0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:52.320 and then playing well in Indianapolis. Indianapolis, Ken Dorsey also 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:54.360 gets another crack and an oc job. Does he have 0:15:54.520 --> 0:15:57.480 the the stones to make this work? And then how 0:15:57.520 --> 0:15:59.640 many elite years can you get out of a defense? 0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:00.680 I asked that all the time. 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:04.160 I just think it's not it's not replicatable across like 0:16:04.160 --> 0:16:05.760 four or five years. You can get two or three, 0:16:05.800 --> 0:16:08.680 but usually it kind of slows down. But you know, 0:16:08.800 --> 0:16:11.600 Jim Schwartz being there for another a second year just 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:13.240 makes me think they can get even better this year. 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:15.560 But how fast does that run out? Some final roster 0:16:15.640 --> 0:16:17.600 thoughts on them. I mentioned the offensive line that has 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:21.240 Conklin Wills, Teller Botonio and then brings in Brian Allen. 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:24.160 Not many as good as this one in Cleveland. And 0:16:24.200 --> 0:16:27.320 that's not including Dewan Jones or Ethan Posik or Hakeema 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:29.920 Denji or Michael Dunn or Wyatt Davis in the holster. 0:16:30.040 --> 0:16:31.960 All these guys have played football, you know, over the 0:16:32.040 --> 0:16:34.040 last couple of years and played pretty well. So it's 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:36.280 a good offensive line. The trenches on the other side 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:39.280 are flat out awesome too. We mentioned Garrett's, Darius Smith, 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:44.080 Shelby Harris, Dalvin, Tomlinson. They've all been hit additions, and 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:46.280 then they add Quentin Jefferson a lot to like there. 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:49.000 What can the Browns tell us about the Dolphins. I'm 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:51.960 not sure there's something here. Maybe it's that it's better 0:16:51.960 --> 0:16:54.200 to commit to a quarterback that you've seen excel within 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:57.440 your program, because we saw Wilson not work in Denver, right, 0:16:57.480 --> 0:17:00.560 that led to a total overhaul rebuild. And why, you know, 0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:04.000 came from a big play hunting you know, kind of 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:06.840 absorb hits in the pocket and try to get the 0:17:06.840 --> 0:17:09.080 ball on the field to this quick strike passing, precision, 0:17:09.119 --> 0:17:12.240 precision passing game that's not really his game and it 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:14.560 hasn't worked out at all in Cleveland. And that's essentially 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:18.359 what's turned a could be Super Bowl contender into a 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:21.320 team that's not made noise beyond getting into the postseason. 0:17:21.600 --> 0:17:23.879 Imagine if they had just gotten that position right, in 0:17:23.920 --> 0:17:26.320 addition to all the other roster building, they would have 0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:29.399 been right there. Either way, the big quarterback deal did 0:17:29.400 --> 0:17:31.240 the opposite of what it was intended to do, at 0:17:31.359 --> 0:17:32.960 least so far in the case of the Browns, and 0:17:33.000 --> 0:17:35.679 the jury is still out in twenty twenty four, unlike 0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:38.280 the Denver Broncos. Should we discuss the whole two a 0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:39.600 tongue of my low thing for I just want to 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:43.240 go ahead and mention this real quick, like y'all, not y'all. 0:17:43.520 --> 0:17:45.240 I see a little bit of it on Twitter. But 0:17:45.359 --> 0:17:47.959 we got to stop accepting things as just truths, Like 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:52.080 there are negotiations that happen within media, there are reports 0:17:52.080 --> 0:17:55.359 that league for certain reasons, like don't take everything as fact. 0:17:55.400 --> 0:17:58.000 Please just don't don't do that. Okay, I don't want to. 0:17:58.119 --> 0:17:59.960 I don't think it's worth talking about anymore. It's so time, 0:18:00.000 --> 0:18:01.480 I think it's going to happen, So just let's just 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:03.480 chill on all that stuff. Let's go ahead and take 0:18:03.520 --> 0:18:05.920 our first break. Comeback on the other side and hear 0:18:06.000 --> 0:18:08.639 from Grayson Murphy, who was a delight to talk to. 0:18:08.720 --> 0:18:11.920