WEBVTT - Drive Time: Teair Tart Interview and AFC South Preview 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:06.040 To on the move Glan Deep Speedways Peace. From the 0:00:06.080 --> 0:00:11.120 Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:18.640 is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield. He's joy Miami has in 0:00:18.680 --> 0:00:29.080 the playoffs. What is up Dolphins and welcome to the 0:00:29.120 --> 0:00:32.400 Draft Time Podcast. I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And 0:00:32.440 --> 0:00:36.479 on today's show, another divisional preview brings us back to 0:00:36.520 --> 0:00:39.920 the AFC with the South, the Texans, the Colts, the Jags, 0:00:39.960 --> 0:00:42.720 the Titans all go under the microscope, and of course 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:47.040 we'll do that through a Miami Dolphins lens. Plus my 0:00:47.280 --> 0:00:49.800 chat with a former Titan and brand new Dolphin. The 0:00:49.880 --> 0:00:53.559 very large, the very enigmatic Tier Tart joins me on 0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:56.800 the podcast from the Baptist Hell Studios inside the Baptist 0:00:56.880 --> 0:01:03.000 Health Training Complex. This is the Draft Time Podcast. The 0:01:03.040 --> 0:01:06.919 AFC South, for so long was the division that everyone 0:01:07.040 --> 0:01:09.480 kind of made fun of, the punching bag of the NFL, 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:12.560 and now it appears that it'll be the one that 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:15.360 kind of has some up and coming talent and some 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:18.679 nice quarterbacks to work off of, and hopefully no longer 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:22.399 be that. Maybe next year, because your Miami Dolphins play 0:01:22.440 --> 0:01:25.240 against this division in twenty twenty four and the good 0:01:25.280 --> 0:01:27.680 news there is I don't think it'll be a whole 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:29.920 lot better than it has been in the past, and 0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:31.560 we'll go ahead and use a half an hour here 0:01:31.600 --> 0:01:34.679 to explain to you why I feel that will be 0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:36.440 the case. We go ahead and start with the defending 0:01:36.560 --> 0:01:39.520 champion Houston Texans, who finished last year ten and seven 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:42.520 on top of the AFC South and lost in the 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:46.280 divisional round to Baltimore after blowing the doors off the 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:52.720 Cleveland Browns. I am so damn fascinated by this team. 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:56.440 They pull me in different directions as much as anybody 0:01:56.480 --> 0:01:59.000 out there. Monday, I talked about the perception around the 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:04.760 Packers really stemming from a few Steam role performances in primetime. Well, 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:08.240 the Texans are that on like Volume eleven, and this 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:11.079 is probably me using the podcast to rebut Twitter it 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:15.120 takes again. But I've seen the discourse around the Texans 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:18.960 rebuild being vastly accelerated beyond the Dolphins have done. And 0:02:19.000 --> 0:02:22.040 that comes to me purely from a single game last 0:02:22.040 --> 0:02:25.400 season where you beat the Joe Flacco led Browns at home. 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:28.600 Because I remember it being a very up and down 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:31.280 season for the Texans, who were a drop pass away 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:35.360 mind you, from losing an indie in the finale and 0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:39.200 missing the playoffs all together. I also remember them scoring 0:02:39.320 --> 0:02:41.640 six and allowing thirty to the New York Jets. I 0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:44.400 remember them losing by two touchdowns that same Browns team 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:47.040 three weeks earlier, or a loss of the Falcons and 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:50.320 the Panthers. And the wins, well, the most impressive one 0:02:50.360 --> 0:02:52.600 was probably the first one of the season. Aside from 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:57.080 the playoff win, a week three jubbing in Jacksonville, jubbing, drubbing. 0:02:57.440 --> 0:03:00.280 They beat Pittsburgh in September. They beat the Saints, who 0:03:00.320 --> 0:03:03.720 couldn't do anything ever, the Bucks and the Bengals, who 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:05.440 did have Joe Burrow in that game, but Burrow was 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:08.440 kind of cheeks last year. The Cardinals, the Broncos, the 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:11.680 Titans twice, and the Colts thinks to a drop pass. 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:13.760 The only one of these wins that was by more 0:03:13.800 --> 0:03:17.240 than five points down the stretch was the second Titans meeting. 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:19.600 They went four and two in a bad division and 0:03:19.680 --> 0:03:24.200 drew the NFC South as their cross conference schedule. Without that, 0:03:24.440 --> 0:03:26.440 they don't sniff the postseason. And I tell you this, 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:29.040 The reason I tell you all this is I just 0:03:29.080 --> 0:03:31.079 don't think it was that special of a year. They 0:03:31.120 --> 0:03:35.160 also did that while being predicted by most to me, 0:03:35.200 --> 0:03:37.440 included to win four or five games, and then it 0:03:37.480 --> 0:03:40.560 had maybe the best offseason in the entire National Football League. 0:03:40.680 --> 0:03:42.840 And I wanted to look this up, and I wound 0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:45.920 up looking at medieval punishments to find the definition of this, 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:48.520 like when they used to tie people to horses and 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:51.920 run different directions as like execution style. It's actually called 0:03:51.960 --> 0:03:54.560 being quartered, where they tie all of your limbs to 0:03:54.560 --> 0:03:56.920 a different horse and send them off in four different directions. 0:03:57.360 --> 0:04:02.480 Holy crap, dude, what a crazy way to go. That's 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:05.320 what this team is doing to me. So let's go 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:07.120 ahead and dive right in and talk about their moves. 0:04:07.160 --> 0:04:10.560 Because they were busy. They brought in three edges that 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:15.080 are really good players, Danil Hunter, Deniko Autrey, and Mario 0:04:15.200 --> 0:04:17.960 Edwards Junior. They also brought in full Russo Faracasi and 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:20.640 Tim Settle too defensive tackles, so I think can really play. 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:24.799 The guitar linebackers Aziz al Shayer and del Sean Phillips. 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:28.440 I'd love the former, I like the latter. Jeff Okuda 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:30.599 has been an interesting player the last few years. He 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:33.240 gets another crack at kind of trying to find that 0:04:33.320 --> 0:04:35.800 second big contract here after playing better than he did 0:04:35.880 --> 0:04:38.880 early on in Detroit and speaking of former first round 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:41.920 buff CJ. Henderson's also there. They bring in Joe Mixon 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:44.719 and Stefan Diggs in big trades this offseason to bolster 0:04:44.839 --> 0:04:47.520 the offensive skill groups. And they bring in Ben Scarnick, 0:04:47.560 --> 0:04:52.679 who was kind of like the alec Ingold slash durham 0:04:52.720 --> 0:04:55.719 Smyth combination for Sean McVay the last few years in 0:04:55.839 --> 0:04:58.600 Los Angeles, and their first pick was in the second round. 0:04:58.640 --> 0:05:00.760 They traded out of the first round to get Mario Lassiter, 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:04.039 the cornerback in with their first pick in the NFL draft. 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:07.880 Out they didn't lose a lot. Devin Singletary's gone, Elite 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:10.920 Collins the defensive tackle was gone. They lose Blake Cashman 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:14.120 and cornerback Kadar Hallman. I mean, we just gave you 0:05:15.080 --> 0:05:18.359 twelve players they brought in and four that left. What 0:05:18.440 --> 0:05:21.080 do they do well, Well, it's a Shanahan system offense, 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:22.480 So what do we say about that. They marry the 0:05:22.560 --> 0:05:24.720 run in the pass, they expand the hook zone, they 0:05:24.720 --> 0:05:27.960 capitalize on one of the best pre snap generals and 0:05:28.040 --> 0:05:31.719 post snap box checkers. We've seen really in some time 0:05:31.800 --> 0:05:34.200 out of the college game. The quarterback and the play 0:05:34.200 --> 0:05:37.040 caller are in perfect sync with how they see the field. 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:39.080 It's a little crazy what they've done with their passing 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:41.200 game weapons in just a couple of years. I mean, 0:05:41.320 --> 0:05:45.000 Tank Dell and Dalton Schultz and Noah Brown were all 0:05:45.040 --> 0:05:47.560 newcomers last year and all had good seasons for the Texans. 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:51.279 Nico Collins in twenty twenty one has really worked out now. 0:05:51.560 --> 0:05:54.000 They drop instaevon Diggs. It's kind of like that meme 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:56.400 with the guy drops the crab is a crab legs 0:05:56.440 --> 0:05:58.240 into the boiling pot and then it blows up. That's 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:00.320 what that reminds me of. They solidify the in the 0:06:00.360 --> 0:06:02.080 run game. In the passing game, they work off the 0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:06.000 bootleg off of that with a top tackle tandem in 0:06:06.640 --> 0:06:10.960 Laromy Tunzel and Tyas Howard. They play situational defense. They 0:06:11.040 --> 0:06:12.880 know how to get into their sub packages and what 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:15.719 matches up well with the opposing offense. They're aggressive and 0:06:15.760 --> 0:06:17.920 they tackle well. Hallmarks of a team coach by a 0:06:18.000 --> 0:06:20.359 former middle linebacker, right, and they have to work in 0:06:20.360 --> 0:06:22.320 a lot of new pieces. But just looking at that list. 0:06:22.440 --> 0:06:24.760 You get the sense that someone gave to Miko a 0:06:24.800 --> 0:06:27.040 bag of money on his desk this February and said, 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:29.240 go get what you need, big dog. There's always a 0:06:29.320 --> 0:06:32.240 chance for growing pains, but this defense will simply be 0:06:32.360 --> 0:06:34.880 a lot better in twenty twenty four. There's no chance 0:06:35.400 --> 0:06:37.919 that it's not. So what are the concerns or the 0:06:37.960 --> 0:06:40.680 fatal flaws for this Houston Texans team that I keep 0:06:40.720 --> 0:06:43.559 leading you back to here? Well? Will there be early 0:06:43.600 --> 0:06:46.520 struggles with continuity? Because there were wholesale changes? I mean, 0:06:46.960 --> 0:06:50.320 getting an entire rush plan together with all new guys 0:06:50.440 --> 0:06:52.680 is not easy. How long does it take for all 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:55.200 that to stick together? And then Stefan diggs Man like 0:06:56.400 --> 0:06:59.680 some of the stories that I've been told about his 0:07:00.120 --> 0:07:03.640 behavior and Josh Allen's behavior and why that thing came 0:07:03.640 --> 0:07:06.480 to a head in Buffalo, like it would truly shock 0:07:06.520 --> 0:07:08.320 some you guys. It's not the appropriate place to do it. 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:09.840 But maybe one day, if you ever see me in 0:07:09.880 --> 0:07:12.040 South foury, you could ask me about what's going on 0:07:12.080 --> 0:07:14.200 in Buffalo between Digs and Allen when they were there. 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:16.280 But he wore as welcome out there, right, and there 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:18.760 was this always there was always this. Will they won't 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:23.560 they tension kind of between those two guys, and gosh, 0:07:23.720 --> 0:07:26.280 it really really boiled over in that in that Bengals 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:28.640 playoff game. I think the first year with a player 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:30.960 like that is usually great, you know, the honeymoon year, 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:33.160 and that's what they need and if it's not right 0:07:33.160 --> 0:07:36.040 in year two, they've built up the appropriate depth in 0:07:36.080 --> 0:07:39.480 that room to be okay. But the locker room dynamic 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:42.000 is imperative. It's not something that gets talked about in 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:44.760 fantasy realms or you know, social media, but it's a 0:07:44.800 --> 0:07:47.320 it's a big deal. I know Buffalo was a bit 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:50.040 egg Shelley the last couple of years with that strange 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:52.520 tynamic between those two players. They're two of their best 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:55.160 players right now. That said, I think Stroud is a 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:57.400 guy that digs will go to War four because he 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:00.400 just kind of approaches things the right way and doesn't 0:08:00.440 --> 0:08:03.640 have a kind of powdy mentality. What else is the 0:08:03.680 --> 0:08:06.440 defensive backfield. I like so many of these moves, but 0:08:06.640 --> 0:08:09.160 a lot of the marquee stuff was upfront for them. 0:08:09.240 --> 0:08:11.640 They need more progress from Derek Stingley Junior, who I 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:13.560 think he'll get it. He'll give it to them. I 0:08:13.560 --> 0:08:17.600 think Desmond King has been okay, but he's not. You know, 0:08:17.680 --> 0:08:19.960 it's he was like the slot dynamo for a one 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:22.000 year and it's been kind of like a regression ever 0:08:22.040 --> 0:08:24.360 since then. And then matching up with teams they're deep 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:27.280 at the receiver spot or the skill group spot was 0:08:27.360 --> 0:08:29.760 an issue and I'm not convinced it's entirely solived right now, 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:33.720 but getting pressure obviously will help immensely for that. Interesting 0:08:33.720 --> 0:08:36.040 things about this team are biggest storylines. A team that 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:39.040 took step one looking to make step two always fascinates me. 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:41.920 A theme on the podcast this time of year Stroud's 0:08:41.960 --> 0:08:45.360 sophomore season. We've seen lots of rookies fail to follow 0:08:45.400 --> 0:08:48.240 it up. And I mean I still hear about Justin 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:50.680 Herbert's rookie season all the time when discussing his prowess 0:08:50.679 --> 0:08:52.839 in the National Football League. I don't think it happens 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:54.800 for Stroud. I think he's too good at the actual 0:08:54.920 --> 0:08:57.520 quarterback position to pose the physical traits. Let that happen, 0:08:57.880 --> 0:09:01.760 but always worth watching. It's you know what, Let's pause 0:09:01.800 --> 0:09:05.280 real quick because that discussion reminds me going back to baseball, 0:09:05.320 --> 0:09:08.680 going back to the Seattle Mariners. I know some of 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:10.480 you guys don't listen to watch baseball all, but this 0:09:10.480 --> 0:09:12.440 will connect with you, I promise. So the Manors have 0:09:12.480 --> 0:09:15.040 this young player named Julio Rodriguez who is twenty three 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:15.960 years old. 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:16.920 He's in his. 0:09:16.880 --> 0:09:18.760 Third year in the big leagues and last year he 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:22.600 signed a contract extension for eighteen years that basically tied 0:09:22.640 --> 0:09:24.280 him to the Mariners for the rest of his career, 0:09:24.280 --> 0:09:26.360 with all kinds of incentives and outs and options and 0:09:26.400 --> 0:09:28.920 all this stuff, but essentially they wanted to get a young, 0:09:29.280 --> 0:09:32.840 promising superstar locked up for his entire career, and he 0:09:33.000 --> 0:09:34.800 loved the city that scouted him and made him a 0:09:34.800 --> 0:09:38.680 major a professional baseball player at age sixteen, and now 0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:42.160 in his third season, not only is he below average player, 0:09:42.200 --> 0:09:45.719 he is like a slap hitting horrible hitter. He can't hit. 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:49.280 And what has happened here is teams have adjusted to 0:09:49.360 --> 0:09:51.400 his two years worth of at bats, and really it 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:53.560 started happening last year, but he had a couple of 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:55.400 good months that erased it what was a pretty bad 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:57.840 season otherwise and put him back in the same category 0:09:57.880 --> 0:10:01.920 statistically this year. Hard grass balls, inside, saw stuff away 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:04.760 and the dude cannot lay off either of those two pitches. 0:10:04.960 --> 0:10:07.320 He hits a lot of weak ground balls and waves 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:09.400 at pitches that are three feet off the plate and 0:10:09.480 --> 0:10:12.120 does not hit well. And when he does their softly 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:15.800 hit singles. I think that's what happens to quarterbacks that 0:10:15.840 --> 0:10:18.520 have physical traits only, and that's why they decline in 0:10:18.559 --> 0:10:20.480 such fashion, especially when they get to a certain age. 0:10:20.480 --> 0:10:23.400 Now Herbert ain't there yet, but I think that that's 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:25.480 when you get a book on player, you can defend 0:10:25.520 --> 0:10:28.120 him better. And that's why I still prefer a quarterback 0:10:28.160 --> 0:10:30.920 that plays the position like Stroud over a guy that's 0:10:30.920 --> 0:10:33.800 more physical traits than anything else. Back to the Texans here, 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:39.000 developing continuity across an overhaul is always an interesting story line. 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:41.400 And then his digs still an Alpha number one receiver. 0:10:41.559 --> 0:10:44.520 I cannot wait to watch that. How does Demiko Ryan's 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:46.680 coach a defense that has more of his guys. I 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:48.839 think that'll be a lot better. I think they'll get 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:51.040 connected to what they want to be in the front, 0:10:51.120 --> 0:10:55.640 especially earlier this year, Bobby Slowick's head coaching candidacy. If 0:10:55.640 --> 0:10:57.319 he does it again this year, he's gonna be gone 0:10:57.360 --> 0:10:58.920 a lot to find out who to replace one of 0:10:58.920 --> 0:11:01.880 the best young coordinators in the National Football League Final 0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:03.840 roster thoughts. There's just so much to like here, the 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:06.520 development of the skill spots, and then you kind of 0:11:06.559 --> 0:11:08.959 push your chips in with the investment right on you 0:11:09.120 --> 0:11:11.200 once you get to a certain baseline there, like, Okay, 0:11:11.440 --> 0:11:13.400 I've built my bank roll up, Let's go ahead and 0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:16.080 put a big chunk of that bankroll in on Stefan 0:11:16.160 --> 0:11:19.080 Diggs and Joe Mixon. I love that approach personally. I 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:21.559 never even mentioned John Metchi, who I think can play 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:24.640 despite you know, going through a freaking cancer diagnosis early 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:26.800 in his career. I think he's going to bounce back eventually. Now. 0:11:26.800 --> 0:11:29.319 I think the interior offensive line in depth is a question, 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:31.719 but again we know what do we know about the 0:11:31.760 --> 0:11:35.160 Shanahan style attacks? Right That's where the concessions usually get 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:38.120 made on the defensive position or at the edge position. 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:39.320 It's just so impressive. 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:39.560 Man. 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:41.440 I mentioned the three editions, but none of them are 0:11:41.440 --> 0:11:43.800 better than the guy that gives them their fastball. Will 0:11:43.960 --> 0:11:46.480 Anderson is going to be the next guy. He just 0:11:46.600 --> 0:11:48.960 is right. I like the defensive tackle additions, and they 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:51.960 needed to get several guys there they so they didn't 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:54.400 get enough. I don't think but they have some compared 0:11:54.400 --> 0:11:56.440 to last year they had none. I love the disease 0:11:56.480 --> 0:11:59.560 al sha'er addition, but I'm not sure if Tamiko has 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:01.960 his dem so to speak just yet at the middle 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:04.800 linebacker spot. And then Stingley and Petray are total stars 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:07.280 on the back end. I love Jimmy Ward, m J. 0:12:07.360 --> 0:12:10.680 Stewart's a good player, but Miles Bryant, Desmond King, Lonnie Johnson, 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:13.320 Jeff Okuda. Which of those guys stands out as someone 0:12:13.320 --> 0:12:15.120 that can play eight hundred, nine hundred STAPs. That's what 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:16.600 you need and I don't think they have that yet. 0:12:16.960 --> 0:12:18.520 What can they tell us with the Miami Dolphins. I 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:20.960 think it's a good measuring stick next to us this season. 0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:23.199 I think we're a better football team. And I'm probably 0:12:23.280 --> 0:12:25.080 in the minority when it comes to the national sentiment, 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:27.920 but I think that the sentiment is jaded again by 0:12:28.000 --> 0:12:30.400 national games versus the full body of work. But this 0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:32.079 is a team that's doing it the right way. They're 0:12:32.120 --> 0:12:34.079 building up the roster, they found their quarterback. They have 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:36.680 an awesome head coach, a great play caller on offense. 0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:39.560 I think I proclaimed the Texans as my second team 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:41.480 last year when I was watching them on the bye week. 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:43.599 I think it was a Jacksonville game, and they was 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:45.200 back and forth all game, and they just played really 0:12:45.280 --> 0:12:47.679 high energy football. And I'm probably using their success against 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:49.200 them a bit here in this whole ride up. I 0:12:49.280 --> 0:12:52.200 just don't think we often see this team, not the Texans, 0:12:52.200 --> 0:12:55.120 but rather the team that is on their arc make 0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:57.800 the leap to title contenders just yet. It might take 0:12:57.840 --> 0:13:00.480 into the year now. The Lions kind of did last year, 0:13:00.600 --> 0:13:02.480 but I think Houston still has tough outs when it 0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:05.040 comes to Casey and Baltimore and Buffalo and Miami and 0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:07.559 the AFC and who else they gonna find the playoffs 0:13:07.559 --> 0:13:09.679 besides those teams. So there you go. There's the Texans, 0:13:09.920 --> 0:13:14.120 the Indianapolis Colts. I mean, the question of who played 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:16.400 more above board than the Houston Texans gets answered in 0:13:16.480 --> 0:13:19.120 the very next team we talk about here, a Colts 0:13:19.120 --> 0:13:21.160 team that went nine to eight and finished third in 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:23.480 the AFC South. But let me go ahead and paint 0:13:23.520 --> 0:13:25.880 you a scenario here. Week eighteen, A win clinches you 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:28.400 a playoff Berth, You trail your division arrival twenty three 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:31.440 seventeen with one ZHO six to play, It's fourth and 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:33.680 one at the plus fifteen yard line. You have a 0:13:33.760 --> 0:13:37.000 rub wheel that sets up your back on a perfect 0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:39.560 line to the first down marker and then some and 0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:42.160 he's wide open. But the pass goes incomplete and your 0:13:42.200 --> 0:13:45.120 season's over. Now this was declared a drop, but the 0:13:45.160 --> 0:13:48.319 throw go Koog's Gardner Minshew could not have been worse. 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:50.800 And that's how the Colts season came to an end. 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:55.320 Total devastation. I'd always sympathize with fan bases that have 0:13:55.400 --> 0:13:57.600 to endure that, like, what have we just caught that 0:13:57.640 --> 0:14:01.720 ball man? But even being there was playing well above board, 0:14:01.840 --> 0:14:04.240 wasn't it? A team that couldn't find a win Late 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:06.920 in twenty twenty two after hiring an ESPN Studio analysts 0:14:06.960 --> 0:14:09.400 their head coach midseason, lose and they're starting quarterback in 0:14:09.440 --> 0:14:11.360 Week four and they win the first game out of 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:13.160 that and then lose three straight. So you're three and 0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:16.719 five just Saturday was your coach nine games ago? Your 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:19.640 backup quarterback is in there on a team that really 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:23.240 struggled that previous season. With ESPN Studio and analysti's head coach, 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:25.480 and then the schedule lightns and they rattle off four 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:29.840 straight wins over freaking Carolina and New England. Tampa's impressive 0:14:29.840 --> 0:14:31.960 and there I suppose well at that time, Tampa wasn't 0:14:31.960 --> 0:14:33.360 a good team last year. They just played into bad 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:35.720 Division two and then the Titans. They traded losses and 0:14:35.760 --> 0:14:37.960 wins the rest of the way until that Week eighteen 0:14:38.000 --> 0:14:40.000 game where they were about to have first and goal 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:42.600 to try to make the playoffs, and that didn't happen. 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:44.480 Much like a lot of the teams we talked about here, 0:14:44.760 --> 0:14:46.880 and this is why it's hard, right, not all of 0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:49.000 these teams will achieve this trying to take the next 0:14:49.000 --> 0:14:51.600 step in twenty twenty four at this time, armed with 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:55.480 their incredibly tracy quarterback, the big moves this offseason, it 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:57.560 wasn't much. They kind of just brought back their own 0:14:57.600 --> 0:15:02.960 guys in Michael Pittman, in Grover Stewart for his first name, 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:06.160 there for a second, Kenny Moore, Taekwon Lewis Zi or Franklin, 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:08.680 Julian Blackman. And they're also counting on a ton of 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:11.960 guys who are coming off injuries, so it means you 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:14.160 don't get many guys coming in, don't get many guys 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:16.440 going out. Ray Kwon Davis was kind of their big 0:15:16.480 --> 0:15:20.160 addition I mean Joe Flacco was the other guy as well, 0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:22.480 and then Laatu Latu was the first round draftick and 0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:25.200 I freaking love his game, as you all know. Exiting 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:28.080 the Colts, Gardner Minshew go Koog's Zach Moss formerly of 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:30.400 the utah Utes and the dead Pack twelve. The Pac 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:32.120 puelb went off the air last night and that someone 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:33.720 like showed a video of it going off the air. 0:15:33.960 --> 0:15:36.120 That kind of hurt my soul a little bit. Defensive end. 0:15:36.200 --> 0:15:39.520 Jacob Martin also in what do the Colts do well, Well, 0:15:39.520 --> 0:15:41.960 they don't employ an ESPN studio and listen anymore. That's 0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:45.160 number one. Shane Steiken, to me, is the best offensive 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:47.800 architect that you're not talking about. I'm not talking about 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:49.920 you specifically, I'm just saying in general, we don't hear 0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:52.080 a lot about Shane Steiken. I think putting a mirror 0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:54.600 up to the Colts and Eagles last year kind of 0:15:54.640 --> 0:15:58.920 proves that, you know, the Eagles scheme was dog poop 0:15:59.160 --> 0:16:02.040 and the Colts was off some. They schemed things open 0:16:02.080 --> 0:16:03.600 and really know how to play it to the strengths 0:16:03.600 --> 0:16:06.000 of their quarterback. That's actually why I think Minshew was 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:09.960 successful Relatively speaking, in in d last year because he's 0:16:09.960 --> 0:16:12.000 a rhythm and timing thrower that wants to anticipate and 0:16:12.040 --> 0:16:14.080 hit those those arcy throws in the middle of the field, right. 0:16:14.320 --> 0:16:17.160 But now Richardson, you can't make those plays or have 0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:19.680 a quarterback that executes that style if your offense doesn't 0:16:19.720 --> 0:16:20.960 know how to do it, which you need a good 0:16:21.000 --> 0:16:22.840 coach to do that, which is why the Dolphins or 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:25.120 they were in twenty twenty one with Tua because their 0:16:25.160 --> 0:16:29.160 offensive play calling was a joke. But now Richardson is 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:32.840 vastly underrated with that. But he is a better physical 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:34.760 version of Cam Newton and if he puts it all together, 0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:36.560 oh man, watch out. 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:36.880 Now. 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:39.560 Jonathan Taylor did not have his usual success last season, 0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:41.560 but the offensive line got back to where it was 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:45.400 after a really strangely down twenty twenty two season, which 0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:48.800 I guess tracks because the ESPN studio analyst that was 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:51.240 coaching their team was a former offensive lineman. I'm sure 0:16:51.240 --> 0:16:53.720 that he was like, I can coach it this way, 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:57.200 Like it just wasn't such a stupid idea. They also 0:16:57.280 --> 0:16:59.360 run the ball into heavy box as well as anybody else. 0:16:59.400 --> 0:17:01.240 They can bring down safeties and they can still you know, 0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:04.200 run duo or inside zone or even gap that's without 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:07.080 Richardson too, and you put him in the equation. Lookout Now. 0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:09.640 On defense, I tried just to put something in here good, 0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:11.480 but it's basically they keep the roof in the defense 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:14.520 because Gus Bradley will see the exact same picture every 0:17:14.560 --> 0:17:17.040 single snap, which I can't wait to play those guys, 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:21.080 even on the road in indoor in an indoor building, 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:24.280 in an indoor capacity, because show the Dolphins the same 0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:26.919 picture over against see what happens, what's the concern or 0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:29.879 fatal flaw At the same time that defense was you know, 0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:33.119 they were bad last year and their solution is counting 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:34.800 on a lot of young guys who have missed time 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:37.760 coming back from injuries. And I actually like Quitty pay 0:17:37.840 --> 0:17:40.479 and de Ode Jingbo. I can't say his freaking name. 0:17:40.520 --> 0:17:41.920 He was a first round pick a couple years ago, 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:44.800 Julian Blackman. But this isn't a unit that screams depth 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:46.880 beyond what was kind of a bad unit last year 0:17:46.880 --> 0:17:49.520 to begin with. Also, Richardson, I've been talking to his 0:17:49.600 --> 0:17:52.160 praises here, but he's got less than five hundred pass 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:54.440 at him since he played high school football. I mentioned 0:17:54.480 --> 0:17:56.560 the rookie quarterback rule, but that applies to him more 0:17:56.560 --> 0:17:58.640 than it does someone like Caleb Williams, for instance, who 0:17:58.640 --> 0:18:02.600 played you know, three thousand, had three thousand college snaps. 0:18:02.840 --> 0:18:05.879 Who's the guy beyond Michael Pittman. Is it Alec Pierce? 0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:09.160 Is it Dona Mitchell? I don't think so. What if 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:13.040 Jonathan Taylor is not good anymore? What if last year 0:18:13.040 --> 0:18:14.560 was who he is now? That would be a huge 0:18:14.560 --> 0:18:17.800 concern for me. Interesting things about them or storylines. I'm 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:19.679 pretty bearish on the Colts, I'm being honest with you, 0:18:19.680 --> 0:18:23.800 but Richardson changes that. Like, if he blossoms the way 0:18:23.800 --> 0:18:25.879 I think he can, it could be a surprise twelve 0:18:25.880 --> 0:18:28.280 win team in my opinion. I know the offense will 0:18:28.280 --> 0:18:30.840 be good and has an identity, but what is it 0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:34.320 on defense? It's like play a cover three umbrella that 0:18:34.400 --> 0:18:36.840 doesn't really get after the quarterback or run games up 0:18:36.840 --> 0:18:39.240 front and just kind of is straightforward like that doesn't 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:41.879 work in today the NFL. This division went from probably 0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:44.080 the worst in the league for several years to all 0:18:44.160 --> 0:18:46.520