WEBVTT - Drive Time: Dolphins 2025 Schedule Breakdown 0:00:09.280 --> 0:00:13.520 What is up, Dolphins, and welcome to the Draft Time Podcast. 0:00:13.600 --> 0:00:16.639 I am your host, Travis Wingfield, and on today's show, 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:19.319 the schedule is here. You have certainly seen the list 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:21.680 of opponents by now, but we're gonna go through this 0:00:22.079 --> 0:00:24.720 and talk about how the schedule plays out in terms 0:00:24.760 --> 0:00:26.880 of when the games are played, our rest and the 0:00:26.880 --> 0:00:29.760 timing of the matchups, and all the quick hitting analysis 0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:32.599 on the Miami Dolphins twenty twenty five schedule. If from 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:35.640 the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:38.680 This is the Draft Time Podcast. 0:00:41.360 --> 0:00:43.320 So before we get going here, this is part one 0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:47.000 of a two part schedule release podcast series we're going 0:00:47.040 --> 0:00:50.440 to do. I was putting my pre show notes together 0:00:51.000 --> 0:00:53.480 throughout the course of the week and realized you're gonna 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:55.560 have like an hour and fifteen minute episode here, bub 0:00:55.560 --> 0:00:56.920 So let me go ahead and break it into two. 0:00:57.120 --> 0:00:59.360 We're gonna really get into the nitty gritty behind the 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:02.920 actual skeedule itself, like how these were, how it plays 0:01:02.960 --> 0:01:05.039 out in terms of the timing of these games, and 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:07.600 then tomorrow on the podcast, I'll drop it first thing 0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:10.200 in the morning. We're going to do a week by 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:14.240 week prediction breakdown, matchup, all that stuff of the teams, 0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:17.600 and give you a record for the eighteen week schedule. 0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:20.360 Seventeen game schedule, so let's go ahead and just off 0:01:20.360 --> 0:01:22.480 the top, give you the entire schedule. We opened the 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:27.440 season on the road in Indianapolis September seventh, Sunday, one 0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:30.560 o'clock kickoff against the Colts. Week two, we're back home 0:01:31.360 --> 0:01:34.960 for the opener against the Patriots on September fourteenth, also 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:37.520 a one o'clock kickoff, and then it's a short week 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:40.680 on the road in Buffalo to face the Bills excuse 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:44.160 me for an eight to fifteen kickoff on Thursday night football, 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:47.760 So you get Buffalo. We've gotten Buffalo early really every 0:01:47.760 --> 0:01:50.240 single year recently. I mean, twenty twenty was back in 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:52.760 week two, twenty twenty one was later, but twenty twenty 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:55.240 two was in week three, twenty four was in week two, 0:01:55.320 --> 0:01:57.960 and now twenty five was in week three again. Week four, 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:01.480 we're hosting the Jets on Monday now football, a September 0:02:01.520 --> 0:02:05.480 twenty ninth game, a seven to fifteen kickoff, so it's 0:02:05.520 --> 0:02:08.080 a nice little earlier start than usual. And then back 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:10.359 on the road on October the fifth for the Panthers, 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:13.080 and Week five a one o'clock kickoff, the first of 0:02:13.200 --> 0:02:16.119 four consecutive one o'clock kickoffs. Week six, we're back home 0:02:16.120 --> 0:02:19.080 for the Chargers on October the twelfth, a one o'clock 0:02:19.160 --> 0:02:21.320 kickoff there, and then we're on the road for back 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:24.720 to back games at one o'clock. Week seven, October nineteenth 0:02:24.760 --> 0:02:28.720 at the Cleveland Browns, Week eight, October twenty sixth at 0:02:28.760 --> 0:02:31.280 the Atlanta Falcons, and then another short week for a 0:02:31.280 --> 0:02:34.080 home game, this time against the Baltimore Ravens for an 0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:37.520 eight to fifteen kickoff here in Miami on Thursday Night 0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:40.640 Football the night before Halloween. And then a nice little 0:02:40.680 --> 0:02:43.880 long layoff extended ten days rest for the Buffalo Bills 0:02:43.919 --> 0:02:46.679 at home here, a one o'clock kickoff on November the 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:48.920 ninth for Week ten, and then week eleven we're on 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:51.680 the road in Spain for a home game to face 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:54.960 the Commanders, the last international game of the season. I'd 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:57.639 say nine to thirty am kickoff here in the East. 0:02:57.880 --> 0:03:00.919 Week twelve is the bye, that's the Sunday, November twenty third, 0:03:00.960 --> 0:03:03.880 will be off that week also the week before Thanksgiving, 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:08.079 so you get a game international game, you get the 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:12.040 next Sunday off, and then you roll into Thanksgiving, so 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:14.000 you're gonna get a lot of football between that Commander's 0:03:14.080 --> 0:03:16.720 game and your next Miami Dolphins game, which is the 0:03:16.760 --> 0:03:20.280 Week thirteen game November thirtieth against the New Orleans Saints 0:03:20.280 --> 0:03:22.600 a one o'clock kickoff. Then we're on the road for 0:03:22.680 --> 0:03:25.200 back to back games December the seventh and Week fourteen 0:03:25.280 --> 0:03:28.280 at the Jets for one o'clock game, and then another 0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:31.680 Monday night football game in Week fifteen, December the fifteenth 0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:35.440 against the Pittsburgh Steelers eight fifteen kickoff there on Monday 0:03:35.520 --> 0:03:38.720 Night Football, and then another primetime game here a home 0:03:38.760 --> 0:03:42.040 game Week sixteen, twelve twenty one, the week of Christmas 0:03:42.080 --> 0:03:45.240 at home against the Bengals on Sunday Night Football, and 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:48.280 then a one o'clock kickoff the following Sunday against the 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:50.960 Buccaneers here at home as well. That's twelve twenty eight, 0:03:51.000 --> 0:03:53.920 Week seventeen, and we finish up on the road in 0:03:53.960 --> 0:03:56.720 New England, the first time finishing the season in New 0:03:56.760 --> 0:04:00.560 England since the twenty nineteen season when Ryan Fitzpatrick Company 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:04.760 led that big time upset win there in Foxborough. So 0:04:05.160 --> 0:04:08.760 at Colts Home, Patriots at Bills home Jets at Panthers, 0:04:09.080 --> 0:04:13.360 Home Chargers at Browns at Falcons home Ravens Home Bills 0:04:13.480 --> 0:04:16.640 home Commanders in Madrid home Saints at the Jets at 0:04:16.680 --> 0:04:20.440 the Steelers home Bengals home Buccaneers at the Patriots, And 0:04:20.480 --> 0:04:22.799 of course that Patriots game can be flexed to whatever 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:25.720 time they deem Necessarily, there's always a double header on Saturday, 0:04:25.960 --> 0:04:28.920 and we also get the Sunday Night flex there, which 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:30.279 is usually the last game of the year, which has 0:04:30.320 --> 0:04:32.320 playoff implications, So we'll see when that game winds up 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:34.520 getting played. Let's go ahead and go through the entire 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:38.000 thing here and talk about how these games impact the 0:04:38.040 --> 0:04:44.080 Dolphins from a timing standpoint. Starting with Week one, September seventh, 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:49.720 at the Indianapolis Colts one o'clock Lucas Oil Studium. 0:04:50.880 --> 0:04:51.279 That was me. 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:54.000 So they have a new defensive coordinator, with a new 0:04:54.040 --> 0:05:01.080 starting cornerback and potentially two new starting safeties, and early 0:05:01.120 --> 0:05:03.159 in the season I try to look at those types 0:05:03.160 --> 0:05:09.200 of parts of rosters to forecast where things could possibly 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:12.000 go wrong in a season opening game or even Week two, because, 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:14.560 like going back to the Week two game in twenty 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:17.400 twenty two, a lot of those big plays that led 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:19.640 to the one of the best comebacks in NFL history 0:05:19.960 --> 0:05:23.000 happened because the Ravens had communication busts on the back end, 0:05:23.200 --> 0:05:25.240 and we took advantage of that and won the game. Accordingly, 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:29.200 you get that sometimes when you have new parts working 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:31.240 in together. And let me just first say that I 0:05:31.279 --> 0:05:33.040 think that lou An a Arumo was one of the 0:05:33.040 --> 0:05:35.800 best hires of the entire offseason or the best gets 0:05:35.800 --> 0:05:39.760 by anybody, coach, personnel or otherwise. So I don't say 0:05:39.800 --> 0:05:42.560 that to disparage the Colts for that, but early on 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:44.560 with you know, cam bind them their new kind of 0:05:44.560 --> 0:05:47.279 signal caller in the back end there with Tarvarius Ward, 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:51.679 with potentially you know, a younger cornerback if Juju Brants 0:05:51.800 --> 0:05:53.559 is not up to is not ready to go yet 0:05:53.680 --> 0:05:54.120 like there. 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:55.919 Could potentially be a whole new. 0:05:57.400 --> 0:06:00.800 Nucleus being built into that secondary and with the offense 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:03.000 and continuity, that could be a bad recipe for an 0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:06.240 opposing defense, especially in an indoor fast track like that. 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:09.640 This does remove the potential of a late game, a 0:06:09.760 --> 0:06:13.279 late season road game that would get you out of elements. Right, 0:06:13.600 --> 0:06:15.799 you want to play at the Colts in December because 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:18.440 there's no weather element to that. Also, who's their Week 0:06:18.440 --> 0:06:20.760 one quarterback going to be? I have a feeling it's 0:06:20.760 --> 0:06:23.400 going to be Anthony Richardson, But they also benched him 0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:25.840 last year pretty early in the season when he needed 0:06:25.839 --> 0:06:28.320 those reps right, and that was a decision they probably 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:30.920 didn't take lightly. I imagine we'll come back with him, 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:33.320 But is he going to have the confidence and get 0:06:33.320 --> 0:06:35.599 ready to roll here right away? I don't know, but 0:06:35.680 --> 0:06:37.359 I think it's I don't want to think there's an 0:06:37.360 --> 0:06:40.840 advantage to either starting quarterback between him and Daniel Jones. 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:43.800 I just mention it for a potential storyline for us 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:46.600 to track as you watch the Colts this preseason and 0:06:46.640 --> 0:06:50.000 see who wins that battle. But really, the lack of 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:53.520 continuity in the secondary is probably the best part about 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:57.520 drawing this matchup early on in the season. Week two, 0:06:57.680 --> 0:07:01.760 September fourteenth versus the New England Patriots, one o'clock kickoff 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:05.000 at hard Rock Stadium. I thought getting them early was 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:07.320 one of the quote unquote breaks that we could get, 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:11.040 just because it's a massive overhaul for them this offseason, 0:07:11.040 --> 0:07:12.720 the same way as for the Colts on the back end, 0:07:13.040 --> 0:07:15.080 tons of new talent, breaking in a new system with 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:18.040 a new coaching staff. They have a new receiver one 0:07:18.120 --> 0:07:21.160 and receiver two and Kyle Williams Stefon Diggs. It's how 0:07:21.160 --> 0:07:23.120 I think it's going to go. A new running back 0:07:23.160 --> 0:07:26.560 one in Traveon Henderson, in a new offensive system and 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:29.840 a new defensive system. The Patriots have traditionally struggled down here, 0:07:29.920 --> 0:07:33.640 even with Brady, especially early on in the season. We 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:36.280 beat them here in twenty twenty two on opening Day. 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:39.360 It's our home opener that usually comes with a bit 0:07:39.360 --> 0:07:41.120 of a little added boost. 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:41.640 For the home side. 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:44.160 It's a short week on the horizon though for us 0:07:44.240 --> 0:07:47.200 after this game with our biggest foe the last handful 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:49.520 of years in the Buffalo Bills. And it was a 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:54.600 while back that I checked this, But it's the records 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:57.840 and the records against, like spreads and whatnot that kind 0:07:57.840 --> 0:08:00.160 of determine who's the favorite to win the game. It's 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:01.880 not great for the team that has the short week 0:08:01.920 --> 0:08:07.040 coming up. And also when there is a international trip 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:08.800 coming up is a big one to look at too. 0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:11.400 But when you play on Sunday before a Thursday game, 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:13.360 that can kind of be like a trap game spot 0:08:13.680 --> 0:08:15.360 just something to keep an eye out here as you 0:08:15.400 --> 0:08:16.720 look into that one. But man, if you get that 0:08:16.760 --> 0:08:18.840 win against the Colts and then you're a win against 0:08:18.880 --> 0:08:21.320 the Patriots at home away from starting off two to zero, 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:23.160 that could be a pretty nice landing end of the season. 0:08:23.200 --> 0:08:27.080 To kick things off Week three, September eighteenth at the 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:30.400 Buffalo Bills for an eight to fifteen kickoff on Thursday 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:33.840 night football. Going there on a short week is brutal 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:37.559 playing in front of that crowd in primetime, which is 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:40.079 already raucus, one of the most in the entire league. 0:08:40.320 --> 0:08:42.360 Not much else to doing Buffalo besides get drunk and 0:08:42.360 --> 0:08:44.160 go to a football game, right, but now they have 0:08:44.240 --> 0:08:46.200 all day to drink a posted just drinking until one 0:08:46.200 --> 0:08:49.160 o'clock in the afternoon, with their five am wake up 0:08:49.200 --> 0:08:51.520 calls and getting after the tail getting early in the morning. 0:08:51.840 --> 0:08:53.880 It does mean, though, we are not going to have 0:08:53.920 --> 0:08:55.840 to go up there in the cold weather. And if 0:08:55.920 --> 0:08:57.840 you find a way to steal this, it means you 0:08:57.880 --> 0:09:01.280 get a chance to sweep them at home in November, 0:09:01.640 --> 0:09:05.280 which is obviously would be fantastic. You'll also catch them 0:09:05.360 --> 0:09:08.600 sans Joey Bosa and Michael Hoyt, who were kind of 0:09:08.640 --> 0:09:10.960 two of their massive additions off the edge, trying to 0:09:10.960 --> 0:09:14.160 replace Leonard Floyd uh and Von Miller who wasn't very 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:16.199 good for them. But they're I mean, they're going to 0:09:16.280 --> 0:09:19.000 be pretty short on edge guys in that Week three 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:22.000 game because two of their big offseason acquisitions were suspended 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:25.040 for the first six games of the season. Week four, 0:09:25.400 --> 0:09:28.679 September twenty ninth versus the New York Jets seven point 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:35.160 fifteen kickoff Monday Night Football. Bet Up it up long 0:09:35.240 --> 0:09:38.360 rest coming into this game eleven days between the previous game, 0:09:38.360 --> 0:09:40.320 which is always a nice thing to have. Still going 0:09:40.400 --> 0:09:42.480 to be hot and human for a team from the Northeast. 0:09:42.679 --> 0:09:45.640 It's the first primetime test for a new Jets regime 0:09:45.920 --> 0:09:49.679 and on the road against Arrival. The pressure is kind 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:51.760 of on them in that spot in my opinion, especially 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:53.760 if we're two to one or maybe even three and no. 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:57.160 Probably probably more accurate to predict two and one going 0:09:57.160 --> 0:09:59.160 into this game, and the Jets have a pretty rough 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:01.920 h to start the season with, so maybe they're kind 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:04.800 of reeling a little bit here. It's still pretty early 0:10:04.840 --> 0:10:07.520 in the season for a new head coach, offensive coordinator, 0:10:07.520 --> 0:10:10.480 a defensive coordinator, quarterback combination, so maybe they haven't hit 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:11.640 their stride quite yet. 0:10:11.920 --> 0:10:13.040 And by the way, with. 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:15.600 This game, depending on how the Cowboys schedule works, the 0:10:15.679 --> 0:10:18.720 Dolphins will surpass the Cowboys in terms of the all 0:10:18.760 --> 0:10:22.640 time Monday Night appearances. Our ninetieth appearance on Monday Night 0:10:22.640 --> 0:10:25.280 football or I think the second oneild be the ninetieth appearance. 0:10:25.559 --> 0:10:28.360 But us and the Cowboys the most Monday Night games 0:10:28.360 --> 0:10:30.800 in NFL history. We get two more of them this year, 0:10:30.840 --> 0:10:32.960 so we'll probably surpass the Cowboys. I'll take it back 0:10:33.160 --> 0:10:34.680 and on and on and on. We have three home 0:10:34.679 --> 0:10:38.880 primetime games this year. It's the most enfranchised history. Week five, 0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:42.920 October fifth at the Carolina Panthers, one o'clock kickoff from 0:10:43.600 --> 0:10:46.560 Bank of America Stadium. I don't know what do they 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:48.400 call the state of change every year these days? 0:10:49.040 --> 0:10:52.640 This could have been a warm weather, late road game. 0:10:53.679 --> 0:10:54.760 That's all I really have here. 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:57.000 Their secondary has a bunch of changes, but they're a 0:10:57.000 --> 0:10:59.920 month in the season at this point with the same dcs, 0:11:00.040 --> 0:11:02.720 I don't expect continuity issues to really exist there, but 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:04.560 I will mention this is kind of where the first 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:06.400 quarter of the season ends. To me. I like to 0:11:06.520 --> 0:11:08.560 now that we don't have sixteen games. I like to 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:10.880 add one to the first quarter of the season and 0:11:10.920 --> 0:11:14.880 go five four four four. So if you make it this, 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:17.680 this is an opportunity for a hot start, right. I mean, 0:11:17.720 --> 0:11:21.520 the Panthers picked what was it, eighth, the Jets picked seventh, 0:11:21.679 --> 0:11:25.040 the Patriots picked fourth, and the Colts picked fourteenth. So 0:11:25.080 --> 0:11:27.040 you have three teams that were in the top eight 0:11:27.120 --> 0:11:29.240 of the draft, one team in the top half of 0:11:29.280 --> 0:11:29.720 the draft. 0:11:29.960 --> 0:11:31.199 Those are teams you should be. 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:32.600 And the only reason that we were ahead of the 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:34.760 Colts was because we missed our quarterback for six games. 0:11:34.760 --> 0:11:35.960 And I will get into that. 0:11:36.000 --> 0:11:38.600 My whole point is you should be a better team 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:42.960 on paper than four of the first five teams that 0:11:43.000 --> 0:11:46.600 you play. And if you chalk up a short week 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:49.480 road trip to Buffalo on Thursday night as a scheduled loss, 0:11:49.520 --> 0:11:51.439 which you know every team kind of has a couple 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:53.839 of those in their schedule here and there. But you know, 0:11:54.160 --> 0:11:56.319 if you steal that one like you should have done 0:11:56.360 --> 0:11:58.280 last year, if not for that Jordan Puler late hit, 0:11:59.360 --> 0:12:00.960 you could start off five and oh and I'm not 0:12:00.960 --> 0:12:03.280 gonna get like you know, they should be five to oh. 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:06.880 Just it's a possibility. There's only one playoff team in 0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:09.120 my opinion, in the slot I mean, coming off last year, 0:12:09.120 --> 0:12:10.800 there's one playoff team. But to me, only one of 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:12.400 these teams will be back in the playoffs this year. 0:12:12.440 --> 0:12:14.960 It's the Buffalo Bills. As long as we have our quarterback, 0:12:15.000 --> 0:12:16.839 I think we win those games. And before you bring 0:12:16.920 --> 0:12:19.120 up a Titans game in twenty twenty three, please go 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:20.720 back and I have a tweet about this. I have 0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:22.880 to update from last year. But go back and look 0:12:22.920 --> 0:12:25.360 at Twoa's whole career and tell me our record in 0:12:25.440 --> 0:12:28.520 games where we are favored, Professor lewis not gonna go 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:29.199 well for you, my man. 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:31.319 Everyone points like the Dolphins could lose any game. 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:33.719 It's like, well, they really can't because they've been very 0:12:33.720 --> 0:12:36.760 good in those spots. So can you contest that we 0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:39.920 need to play better against the better opponents. Absolutely, But 0:12:40.000 --> 0:12:42.680 I hate the argument that the Dolphins are no sure 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:44.719 bet against anybody, because they have been a very sure 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:47.240 bet against bad teams for a long time. Now, okay, 0:12:47.240 --> 0:12:49.040 if kicking off quarter number two, let's go ahead and 0:12:49.080 --> 0:12:50.600 take our first break. Come back and do that on 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:53.480 the other side. Draft Time Podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:59.400 brought to you by Auto Nation first quarter of the 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:02.640 season in the books here for our schedule review and 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:06.800 quarter number two kicks off on week number six, October twelfth, 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:10.240 first of Los Angeles Chargers a one o'clock kickoff at 0:13:10.360 --> 0:13:14.840 hard Rock Stadium, early home game at one o'clock, our 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:17.360 second of the season. Two out of the first three 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:20.160 so far as not bad, but we pretty much only 0:13:20.200 --> 0:13:23.160 get two of these before November, so that's not great. 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:26.280 It was similar last year we had the Jags for 0:13:26.280 --> 0:13:28.319 the opener. Then Buffalo is a night game, Titans a 0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:30.960 night game, Like it seems like that's kind of something 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:34.000 they want to do across the league, primetime games early 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:36.480 down here in Miami. But I don't love it because 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:38.640 our biggest advantage is playing those games at one o'clock. 0:13:38.920 --> 0:13:43.120 But playing the Chargers are only West Coast team at 0:13:43.160 --> 0:13:45.960 a one o'clock kickoff, ten am body clock game for them. 0:13:46.040 --> 0:13:47.320 I like that quite a lot. 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:50.319 This figures to be a pretty big factor for a 0:13:50.400 --> 0:13:54.360 Chargers team who plays in a pretty cool climate, plays indoors. 0:13:54.600 --> 0:13:56.440 They have a long travel A five hour flight to 0:13:56.440 --> 0:13:57.640 get over here is going to be a lot more 0:13:57.720 --> 0:14:00.600 human here than it is in Los Angeles. And yeah, again, 0:14:00.640 --> 0:14:02.600 the West Coast team coming for a ten am body 0:14:02.600 --> 0:14:05.040 clock start. That used to be like a pretty big deal. 0:14:05.360 --> 0:14:07.839 Maybe not so much anymore, but it's a factor. I 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:10.680 wouldn't want to wake up at five o'clock in the 0:14:10.679 --> 0:14:12.280 morning my body clock time to get ready for a 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:14.880 football game. That's a bubbly guts if you asked me. 0:14:15.160 --> 0:14:19.680 But I digress. Week seven, October nineteenth at the Cleveland 0:14:19.680 --> 0:14:23.440 Browns one o'clock kickoff from First Star Stadium. I don't 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:25.440 know the stateium names they change every year. 0:14:25.440 --> 0:14:25.960 I feel like. 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:30.000 This could have been a cold weather game. Maybe it's 0:14:30.080 --> 0:14:32.200 rainy and windy, but it's not going to be freezing temperatures. 0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:33.440 It's not going to be like it was last year, 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:36.480 which was pretty cold. A decent chance there's a quarterback 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:38.640 change at this point in the season, because who the 0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:40.720 hell knows who opens the season. Will it be one 0:14:40.760 --> 0:14:45.400 of the two rookies, will it be freaking can you 0:14:45.440 --> 0:14:47.400 pick it? Or will it be Joe Flacco? Who I 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:49.560 My money is kind of on Joe Flacco because Kevin 0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:52.560 Stefanski's best version of his offense was run through Joe 0:14:52.560 --> 0:14:55.080 Flacco a post. When he had to adjustice system for 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:58.000 Deshaun Watson, who was not a West Coast style, quick 0:14:58.000 --> 0:15:01.000 trigger quarterback. He's a big play hunter, hold football and 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:03.720 take big shots in the pocket type of quarterback. I 0:15:03.720 --> 0:15:06.760 think that Flacco could have the Browns offense, maybe surprising 0:15:06.800 --> 0:15:09.080 early on, but will he be there in week seven? 0:15:09.160 --> 0:15:11.400 Will they be winning enough games to justify going with 0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:14.320 him over a Dylan Gabriel or a Shador Sanders or 0:15:14.320 --> 0:15:16.720 even a Kenny Pickett who still has I guess some 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:21.000 developmental upside. Does Flacco stay healthy for six weeks? I 0:15:21.040 --> 0:15:23.240 also think there's a pretty good chance that we start 0:15:23.280 --> 0:15:25.960 to see this Browns team deteriorate at this point of 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:27.840 the schedule because they have in the past. We'll talk 0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:31.720 about on the preview podcast tomorrow, but their offensive line injuries, 0:15:31.920 --> 0:15:34.600 it's the same guys coming back have just wiped out 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:36.520 the last couple of seasons in terms of like having 0:15:36.560 --> 0:15:39.160 eighty percent of their ow line down. Does that attrition 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:41.760 begin for a group of offensive lineman who's all pretty 0:15:41.800 --> 0:15:44.640 much on the wrong side of thirty that's worth tracking here. 0:15:45.280 --> 0:15:48.720 Week eight, October twenty sixth at the Atlanta Falcons one 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:52.520 o'clock kickoff from Mercedes Benz Stadium, I know that one. 0:15:52.800 --> 0:15:57.160 This is another game that could have been late in 0:15:57.240 --> 0:16:00.680 a dome on a road game, which could have reduced 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:03.160 a cold weather game for you. It's also another game 0:16:03.160 --> 0:16:04.720 that comes before a short week, as we have a 0:16:04.760 --> 0:16:05.720 Thursday game after this. 0:16:06.080 --> 0:16:07.240 That's really all I have here. 0:16:07.320 --> 0:16:09.880 I think you kind of have to get fat on 0:16:09.960 --> 0:16:13.200 these five games post Buffalo, because you go Buffalo for 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:14.960 a short week on Thursday, but then you're home for 0:16:15.040 --> 0:16:17.760 the Jets, at the Panthers, home for the Chargers, at 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:19.440 the Browns, at the Falcons. I think you're a better 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:22.560 football team than all of those teams except maybe the Falcons. 0:16:22.920 --> 0:16:24.960 And we can argue with the Chargers building who they 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:26.600 are for you know, until we're blue in the face, 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:29.080 but that I think we're a better team. Plus the 0:16:29.080 --> 0:16:32.040 fact that we have that game at home on the 0:16:32.040 --> 0:16:34.000 ten am body clock time for the Chargers, that I 0:16:34.120 --> 0:16:36.080 like that advantage. So those five games is a good 0:16:36.120 --> 0:16:38.520 chance to really kind of get yourself fat for the 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:40.680 stretch because it gets tough right here. 0:16:40.920 --> 0:16:41.840 If you get past. 0:16:41.640 --> 0:16:44.600 Buffalo four and one, you know minimum hopefully a two 0:16:44.640 --> 0:16:46.880 and oh start, and then maybe you drop the Buffalo game, 0:16:46.920 --> 0:16:48.360 win the next couple of games and you go into 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:51.640 the stretch at no less than five and two, hopefully 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:52.960 maybe six and one. 0:16:53.160 --> 0:16:55.280 Hope hopefully, because. 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:58.520 At week nine, October thirtieth, first the Baltimore Ravens at 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:01.640 eight to fifteen on Thursday nine football. It's a tough game. 0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:03.800 I think it's the best team to play this year. 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:08.119 I always love getting a good team when you're hosting 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:10.840 them on a short week. It's a big advantage, I think. 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:13.200 And last time we played them in the spot right 0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:15.560 around this time too, back in twenty twenty one, we 0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:18.639 upset them. Now, sometimes I'd probably rather play teams like 0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:20.600 this early in the season, just because they tend to 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:23.199 find themselves later on. I think the best teams, you know, 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:25.679 the old Patriots, the current Chiefs and Bills do this. 0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:27.600 They get tougher as the year goes on. And for 0:17:27.640 --> 0:17:30.479 the Ravens, they seem to find their defensive like mojo 0:17:30.680 --> 0:17:33.000 this time of year every single year. Last year they 0:17:33.000 --> 0:17:35.600 struggled early on, just like in twenty twenty two when 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:37.840 we beat them with forty four points whatever. It was like, 0:17:38.800 --> 0:17:41.520 this is a team that usually finds itself, you know, 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:44.679 past October and plays their best football beyond that. 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:45.560 So that's not great. 0:17:45.600 --> 0:17:48.240 But I think if you look at this quarter as 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:50.800 another like three to one after hopefully a four to 0:17:50.920 --> 0:17:53.120 one stretch to kick things off, you know, in terms 0:17:53.119 --> 0:17:54.640 of the teams that you're favored against and the game, 0:17:54.680 --> 0:17:57.119 I assume where Dogs in is at home on a 0:17:57.160 --> 0:17:59.960 short week, This Ravens game, the Chargers in that early win. 0:18:00.000 --> 0:18:02.199 So the Browns are, you know, they're kind of a 0:18:02.240 --> 0:18:04.760 disaster going into the season right now. The Falcons, I'm 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:07.000 not really sure what they are yet, but I think 0:18:07.080 --> 0:18:09.399 we can score on them in that dome and then 0:18:09.440 --> 0:18:11.520 a real test against the Ravens. But this quarter ends 0:18:11.520 --> 0:18:13.760 with a test and leads to another massive test and 0:18:13.800 --> 0:18:16.520 a bigger game than the Week three game in my opinion, 0:18:16.520 --> 0:18:18.239 because you're home for the Buffalo Bills for a one 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:21.520 o'clock kickoff, and if you can win this one, you 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:22.920 will at least split. 0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:23.400 That season series. 0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:25.560 I think if you win this game, you'll I would 0:18:25.680 --> 0:18:27.760 venture to guess you'll get at least four division wins 0:18:27.760 --> 0:18:30.680 if you can pull that off. But it's a week ten, 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:34.120 November ninth, kickoff against the Buffalo Bills, one o'clock at 0:18:34.119 --> 0:18:37.040 hard Rock Studium. It's nice to get them coming off 0:18:37.080 --> 0:18:39.080