Speaker 1: Looking down down Miami spokes Water drawn. What is up,
Speaker 1: Dolphans And welcome to the Drivetime Podcast, part of the
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins podcast network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 1: How's it going to everybody? I am your host, Travis Wingfield,
Speaker 1: and I am here to bring you your daily dose
Speaker 1: of Miami Dolphins football. And on today's show, it's preview
Speaker 1: Day as we break down the matchup with the Atlanta
Speaker 1: Falcons this Sunday at hard Rock Stadium. Will go position
Speaker 1: by a position, get your key data, talk about the
Speaker 1: film I watched this week. We'll look at the keys,
Speaker 1: how the Dolphins will win this game, and we'll kick
Speaker 1: off the week seven picks tonight with Thursday Night Football
Speaker 1: from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
Speaker 1: This is the Drive Time Podcast best and so the
Speaker 1: Dolphins will attempt to right the ship after a tough
Speaker 1: one in five start to the season and a familiar foe.
Speaker 1: You might say, how is that? How are they familiar?
Speaker 1: Travis will come back to hard Rock Stadium after their
Speaker 1: trip back in August for a pair of joint practices
Speaker 1: and an eventual thirty seven seventeen exhibition victory for Miami
Speaker 1: in the building across the street from me right now,
Speaker 1: and the Falcons didn't play their starters in that game,
Speaker 1: and the Miami Dolphins found their rhythm offensively in that contest,
Speaker 1: and so to the defense too. But of course it'll
Speaker 1: be a lot different this time around, as the Falcons
Speaker 1: are an interesting study coming into this game, as we
Speaker 1: start every preview podcast here taking a look at the opposition,
Speaker 1: how they got to this point where they are in
Speaker 1: their organizational build and foundation, all that fun stuff. And
Speaker 1: we start here with a team that was one quarter
Speaker 1: away from a championship just six years ago three blew
Speaker 1: that lead in the Super Bowl, have had some tough
Speaker 1: times since then, not able to replicate that success or
Speaker 1: really anything close to it. And the interesting aspect of
Speaker 1: it all to me is that the quarterback has been
Speaker 1: the same through it all. How many quarterbacks survived multiple rebuilds,
Speaker 1: and I think the talent of Matt Ryan is the
Speaker 1: reason why he has. And he's been one of the
Speaker 1: best quarterbacks in the NFL of the last fifteen years.
Speaker 1: I think one of the most criminally underrated quarterbacks throughout
Speaker 1: the course of his career. But we'll come back to that.
Speaker 1: Since that heartbreaking Super Bowl loss, Atlanta returned to the
Speaker 1: postseason just once the following season, with a Divisional round
Speaker 1: exit after a victory in the wild card round to
Speaker 1: the upstart Los Angeles Rams and Sean McVeigh. And that
Speaker 1: was coming off a ten win season. After the eleven
Speaker 1: win season resulted in the Super Bowl appearance for Atlanta,
Speaker 1: they followed that up with a pair of seven win
Speaker 1: seasons before really bottening out last year at four and twelve,
Speaker 1: which ultimately cost Dan Quinn his job and resulted in
Speaker 1: Arthur Smith getting the job this year. But even though
Speaker 1: seven win seasons the two years prior occurred in a
Speaker 1: way where despite the fact that they ultimately finished just
Speaker 1: a couple of games shy of the postseason, it was
Speaker 1: over pretty quickly. And they began this season one and four,
Speaker 1: got back to four and four, but then fell to
Speaker 1: four and nine, and in nineteen they started one and seven,
Speaker 1: and in the four and twelve campaign last year they
Speaker 1: began the season oh and five. So slow starts have
Speaker 1: plagued this Falcons team, but this has been the time
Speaker 1: of the year where they start to get things kind
Speaker 1: of going a little bit, and that's going to be
Speaker 1: critical to keep an eye on, do they get the
Speaker 1: offensive weapons going like they should on this Falcons offense.
Speaker 1: Is the defense gonna bounce back and play a little
Speaker 1: bit better football here down the stretch and that's also
Speaker 1: kind of been the trajectory of this Dolphins team in
Speaker 1: the last couple of years. Right, So an interesting matchup
Speaker 1: here Sunday is Arthur Smith brings his team to hard
Speaker 1: Rock Stadium. Let's get into it, starting where we always start,
Speaker 1: with the opposing quarterback and those training camp practices back
Speaker 1: in August. We're a nice example of two guys with
Speaker 1: PhDs in football doing battle. Matt Ryan talked about Brian
Speaker 1: Flores texting with him or it was a phone call
Speaker 1: I can't read all about joking about drawing up some
Speaker 1: new stuff for him since Mattie Ice has seen everything
Speaker 1: this game has to offer, and there was plenty of
Speaker 1: that in those practices. Remember that two minute period where
Speaker 1: Emmanuel Ogba had back to back sacks and another pressure
Speaker 1: that forced Ryan to throw the football away. The Dolphins
Speaker 1: brought the heat in that practice, but there were also
Speaker 1: a handful of times where Ryan threw under the face
Speaker 1: of pressure two spots and made the blitzing Dolphins defense
Speaker 1: pay for it. That was a fun couple of practices
Speaker 1: and a good chess match back and forth between those two.
Speaker 1: But how does how do those numbers bear out for
Speaker 1: a game that actually counts in the standings? Well against
Speaker 1: the blitz this year, Matt Ryan's efficiency, like most good quarterbacks,
Speaker 1: goes up, but he's more prone to the turnover. All
Speaker 1: three of his interceptions this season have come when the
Speaker 1: opposition sends an extra rusher in his face. And to
Speaker 1: incorporate the Miami safety play here, you guys know how
Speaker 1: impressed I've been with Javon Holland throughout the course of
Speaker 1: really his tenure here since getting back arriving back in April,
Speaker 1: and I think his range is already very impressive and
Speaker 1: the ability to disguise will only continue to get better
Speaker 1: each week as we see him get more work and
Speaker 1: more experience and more seasoning. And that play in the
Speaker 1: Jacksonville game to drive on that broken play with the
Speaker 1: Lawrence scramble on the other side of the formation man,
Speaker 1: that was just beautiful. And looking at Matt Ryan's passing chart,
Speaker 1: particularly twenty plus yards, his only completions in that range
Speaker 1: come right down the middle of the field, which typically
Speaker 1: suggests two high beaters right to cover two beaters with
Speaker 1: the two high safeties are not cover two, but just
Speaker 1: having two safeties pie of formation, and you run that
Speaker 1: tight end of your slot right on the seam. And
Speaker 1: then Ryan certainly adept enough to recognize that matchup quick
Speaker 1: enough to get the ball into that difficult location before
Speaker 1: they can rotate and react. And think about two US
Speaker 1: pass to Derham smithe this past Sunday, quick stand up
Speaker 1: and throw it right over the top of the linebackers
Speaker 1: who would be the pipe runner and the old classic
Speaker 1: Tampa two where you had your two safeties kind of
Speaker 1: split wide and then you run that linebacker down the pipe.
Speaker 1: But you can't do that so much in today's NFL
Speaker 1: because there's too much speed in the receiving game. But
Speaker 1: you beat the safeties with the quickness of the release
Speaker 1: and throw the football early to make that happen. In fact,
Speaker 1: the Falcons average five point five five yards per play
Speaker 1: against two high looks and four point nine seven yards
Speaker 1: per play against single high looks, and I think that
Speaker 1: jives with the strength of their offense, which takes us
Speaker 1: into our next matchup. But real quick here Ryan is
Speaker 1: three for six with a two yards passing and a
Speaker 1: touchdown down the middle twenty plus yards beyond the line
Speaker 1: of scrimmage, and then outside the numbers to the left
Speaker 1: over two and right outside the numbers O for four,
Speaker 1: so O for six combined there and a total of
Speaker 1: three of twelve throwing twenty or more yards down the field.
Speaker 1: That's the stat that I think Miami has to maintain
Speaker 1: in this game because the options they have in the
Speaker 1: horizontal game and the intermediate portion of the field with
Speaker 1: Cordurell Paterson and Kyle Pitts, it's really challenging to defend
Speaker 1: those guys, which brings us into the Falcons receivers and
Speaker 1: tight ends verse the Dolphins cornerbacks and Patterson. He's lit
Speaker 1: did as a running back now and he was one
Speaker 1: of my biggest draft crushes back even though he was
Speaker 1: one of the most prolific return men in the history
Speaker 1: of the National Football League the last several years. Can
Speaker 1: I maybe finally celebrated victory on him as a draft
Speaker 1: nick eight years after the fact, even though it didn't
Speaker 1: work in Minnesota's a receiver, but he's got forty one
Speaker 1: catches on the season and carry so he lines up
Speaker 1: in the backfield, but he catches the football ton Four
Speaker 1: of his five touchdowns have come on the through the air,
Speaker 1: I should say, with one on the ground, and he's
Speaker 1: got just four point two yards per rushes a ball
Speaker 1: carrier and eleven point eight yards per catch as a receiver.
Speaker 1: I thought this guy was gonna be a big play
Speaker 1: vertical receiver coming out, but he's found his niche here
Speaker 1: with the Falcons and Arthur Smith, and he dictates a
Speaker 1: lot of what they do as he's used on motion
Speaker 1: so frequently, which obviously helps Ryan get his pre snap
Speaker 1: indicators for the coverage what the defense might do to rotate.
Speaker 1: But he's still much more than that. He's effective in
Speaker 1: the screen game. He's valuable on jet sweeps and pop passes.
Speaker 1: He can straight uptake carries and run behind side zone
Speaker 1: or duo. I mean, he's truly one of the most
Speaker 1: versatile players in the National Football League, and I think
Speaker 1: he creates this conflict between playing bass and sub when
Speaker 1: he's on the field, and that obviously helps Matt Ryan
Speaker 1: to decide whether or not he wants to run the
Speaker 1: ball or pass it depending on his checks or depending
Speaker 1: on his matchups and the other weapon I think you
Speaker 1: focus on most. It's not a receiver, it's a tight end.
Speaker 1: How many teams are tight end slash running back driven
Speaker 1: offensively unique for sure, though I thought the most prevalent
Speaker 1: instance of Pitts and Patterson led offense was in the
Speaker 1: absence of Calvin Ridley, who missed the last Falcons game
Speaker 1: for personal reasons. But he's back, So I want to
Speaker 1: start with Kyle Pitts first, though. Matchup nightmare. We talked
Speaker 1: about this all draft season long, right. He can post
Speaker 1: guys up, he can run routes like a receiver, he
Speaker 1: can attack leverage, he has quickness on the two way
Speaker 1: goes to make you pay for that. He's just a very,
Speaker 1: very skilled player. One of four players and I thought
Speaker 1: were just significantly different than the rest of the class
Speaker 1: in terms of those skill players with Waddle, Smith, Chase
Speaker 1: and Pitts. But he had his coming out party in London.
Speaker 1: In that game that Ridley did not play, nine of
Speaker 1: ten targets were caught for a hundred and nineteen yards
Speaker 1: and you can see the peril he was putting those
Speaker 1: Jets defenders in because if you play him tight, he
Speaker 1: can beat you with that quickness, and if you play off,
Speaker 1: he's gonna just attack leverage and make contested catches when
Speaker 1: you drive on the football. So it's a tough matchup
Speaker 1: and that brings us back to the safety distribution. Seems
Speaker 1: like a good opportunity here to for me to watch
Speaker 1: Javon holl And cover the deep portion of the field
Speaker 1: and load up with a second, maybe even a third
Speaker 1: and big nickel packages or dime packages with your third
Speaker 1: safety on the field down close to the line of scrimmage. Now,
Speaker 1: with Ridley back, it seems like it might be a
Speaker 1: good time to let Xavian Howard travel, provided that he
Speaker 1: plays in the game. He was limited in practice on Wednesday.
Speaker 1: But if he travels with Ridley, that guy's a technician
Speaker 1: and he'll get his because the Falcons will not shy
Speaker 1: away from targeting him. And you know how I feel
Speaker 1: about targeting x double digit times in a game, and
Speaker 1: that's ten plus times you're risking a turnover with the
Speaker 1: best ball hawk in the that sational football league. Good
Speaker 1: on good, Let's see who's good is better. And Ridley
Speaker 1: does go inside to the slot of the time, so
Speaker 1: it's not a Boocanneers situation where Antonio Brown can kick
Speaker 1: in you know, thtent of the time inside he can,
Speaker 1: but he doesn't do it that often. And that's where
Speaker 1: I think you have to consider the press trail with
Speaker 1: a cap a double team technique on Ridley when he
Speaker 1: goes inside. Pits, however, is from the slot, So the
Speaker 1: idea of doubling there makes sense to on both those looks,
Speaker 1: whether it's Pits or Ridley. Otherwise, if Byron Jones is back,
Speaker 1: that could be a good matchup with Russell Gauge, who's
Speaker 1: also questionable to come back for this game. I believe
Speaker 1: he quietly has had a pretty good year and he's
Speaker 1: a pretty good receiver, I should say in his own right.
Speaker 1: So this is a good on good type of matchup here.
Speaker 1: And this number real quick to close up is crazy
Speaker 1: to me. The Cordill Patterson's A dot average depth of
Speaker 1: target is three point eight yards and the averages three
Speaker 1: point nine three yards per route run. That's like almost
Speaker 1: top in the National Football League with one of the
Speaker 1: lowest A dots also averages seven point eight yards after
Speaker 1: the catch on average. Watch out for that guy. Then
Speaker 1: we go into the trenches. The Atlanta offensive line versus
Speaker 1: Dolphins defensive line and their pressure numbers allowed are as
Speaker 1: such Jake Matthews six pressures, one QB hit, no sacks,
Speaker 1: Chris Lyndstrom the exact same six pressures, one hit, no sex.
Speaker 1: Matt Hennessy, the former Temple Owl who had a really
Speaker 1: good Senior Bowl a couple of years back, twelve pressures allowed,
Speaker 1: one sack allowed. Then the right side things get a
Speaker 1: little bit more dicey. Jalen Mayfield, the rookie twenty pressures,
Speaker 1: four sacks, nine hits allowed. And Caleb McGarry, the former
Speaker 1: you dub Husky Go Cougas baby four team pressures, two
Speaker 1: sacks and four hits. They really hit on the left
Speaker 1: side of this offensive line. It was a bit of
Speaker 1: a slow burn for them, but both Matthews and Lyndstrom
Speaker 1: have developed into really really good players on that left side,
Speaker 1: and Hennessey, I think is coming on to now. You'll
Speaker 1: notice the other two players were also high draft picks.
Speaker 1: All five of these guys were. In fact, I think
Speaker 1: Mayfield at pick this past season is the lowest of
Speaker 1: the bunch. But they are not having as much success
Speaker 1: on that right side this season, with the combined thirty
Speaker 1: four pressures allowed off that right side of the offensive line,
Speaker 1: So I look at some of the matchups here. We
Speaker 1: talk all the time about Emmanuel Ogba's hands right, the
Speaker 1: heavy hands, the cross chop, the ability to get that
Speaker 1: tackle upfield, swipe the hands down corner and get to
Speaker 1: the quarterback when you flatten that thing. And that's where
Speaker 1: I think Kayla McGarry has had some struggles on tape
Speaker 1: this year, so I'm very intrigued to see how they
Speaker 1: approach Emmanuel Ogba and if he can go ahead and
Speaker 1: take over this game off that right side. It's the
Speaker 1: same deal inside to the position next to him. And
Speaker 1: we talked about Christian Wilkins hands on the podcast this week.
Speaker 1: I swear he's he's faster and better with the hands
Speaker 1: this year. It's produced more production for Christian Wilkins, but
Speaker 1: that paired with the quickness off the football. I liked
Speaker 1: them a lot as a tandem in the rush game
Speaker 1: this week, especially if you can run some games off
Speaker 1: that side and kind of mix things up. But just
Speaker 1: using both those guys quickness, get off, lateral agility and
Speaker 1: heavy hands could have a good impact off the right
Speaker 1: side of the Falcon's offensive line. And Mayfield just kind
Speaker 1: of look at some of the guys they've played against
Speaker 1: this year. He had his hands full with the Eagles
Speaker 1: early in the season and Fletcher Cox and a couple
Speaker 1: of weeks ago against Washington and Jonathan Allen, two of
Speaker 1: the better interior guys in the league. And his best
Speaker 1: game was against the interior Giants defensive line that has
Speaker 1: a guy like Dexter Lawrence who's more size and power
Speaker 1: than he has quickness and speed. So I think Wilkins
Speaker 1: is a good matchup there. And then McGarry struggles with
Speaker 1: John Frank Lamers of the Jets and Montes Sweat of
Speaker 1: the Football Team, both bigger, heavier handed guys like Emmanuel Ogba.
Speaker 1: Then finally, our last matchup on that side of the football,
Speaker 1: the Falcons running backs. First, the Dolphins linebackers. Mike Davis
Speaker 1: is an absolute bowling ball who offers production the passing game.
Speaker 1: It's a pretty weird dichotomy there as far as he goes.
Speaker 1: He averages like three point three yards per carry, but
Speaker 1: he's also forced sixteen miss tackles on the season. The
Speaker 1: challenge here, I think is going to be those twenty
Speaker 1: one personnel packages, and granted it's like ten snaps a
Speaker 1: game at most, but it tests your different packages and
Speaker 1: what you might roll with my personnel perspective, and that's
Speaker 1: where Matt Ryan can kind of get you to either
Speaker 1: get too many men on the field, maybe you get misaligned.
Speaker 1: That's where he really goes after you with his understanding
Speaker 1: and knowledge of the games. You have to be careful there.
Speaker 1: But I think Jerome Baker and not like he ever
Speaker 1: leaves the field anyway, could have a big role because
Speaker 1: of what they can do with Patterson. But the other
Speaker 1: linebacker reps I think will be interesting to see how
Speaker 1: they divulge those. Do you want to load up and
Speaker 1: stop the run more Land and Robert style of game?
Speaker 1: Are you more concerned with the passing game more of
Speaker 1: a Sam Egbon type of role as well, So how
Speaker 1: they decide that will be intriguing in this game. Some
Speaker 1: offensive notes for the Falcons, they run eleven personnel of
Speaker 1: the time, but six success rate on the past nice
Speaker 1: for them. Success rate on the running game, uh A
Speaker 1: twelve personnel thirty seven percent of the time in that package,
Speaker 1: So you get a lot of Pits, a lot of
Speaker 1: hayden Hurst there as well. Only team higher is the
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins. But they have a seventy seventy percent success
Speaker 1: rate in the past and percent success right in the
Speaker 1: running game. Out of one personnel, they run that twelve
Speaker 1: percent of the time. Think Paterson and Davis together fifty
Speaker 1: percent pass rate success and run rate success. So what
Speaker 1: does that tell you? This team is a passing team first,
Speaker 1: pass first, all the way. And it's really been that
Speaker 1: way since Shanahan left back on the other side of
Speaker 1: the football. Dolphins quarterback and the Atlanta safeties and office.
Speaker 1: First game back in which I thought he was very good. Actually,
Speaker 1: you know what, why don't we go ahead now? And
Speaker 1: here from Dolphins co offensive coordinator George Gatzi, who assessed
Speaker 1: to a tongue about Lowe's first game back from the
Speaker 1: rib injury that had him on injury reserve this last
Speaker 1: week against the Jacksonville Jaguars. You know, I thought that
Speaker 1: for a guy that had quite a bit of time off,
Speaker 1: and uh, you know, it came out firing. We had
Speaker 1: a couple of penalties that you know we were able
Speaker 1: to overcome in the first series and uh, this core touchdown.
Speaker 1: I thought it was an impressive drive, to be Honestum, yeah,
Speaker 1: like I said, coming off of an injury and not
Speaker 1: really being able to practice how he wanted to. I
Speaker 1: thought I was a credit to him and as far
Speaker 1: as you know, his his preparation, and uh, you know
Speaker 1: there's another drive during the during a game where you know,
Speaker 1: we had turned had to turnover, they got the ball,
Speaker 1: we stopped him, and you know I had a really
Speaker 1: impressive touchdown drive. Um, you know, over ninety yards. So
Speaker 1: those two drives are really impressive. Um, you know from
Speaker 1: our perspective, And like I said, he was able to
Speaker 1: overcome some some negative plays offensively or you know, and
Speaker 1: convert third downs, which is you know that that's what
Speaker 1: the quarterback position is about. So um, we're gonna use
Speaker 1: those as as far as uh things to build on
Speaker 1: because um, you know, the more drives we have like that, obviously,
Speaker 1: the better off will overall be. And to also earned
Speaker 1: the admiration of ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky, who said that
Speaker 1: he charted to with four big time reaction throws under pressure,
Speaker 1: three great crossers, four awesome tight window throws, and they'll
Speaker 1: need it again to try to match Matt Ryan and
Speaker 1: the explosive Atlanta offense. As far as the Atlanta safeties go,
Speaker 1: Eric Harris and dron Harmon are their primary safety is
Speaker 1: a pair of vets who are difficult to full, especially Harmon.
Speaker 1: They will operate in three safety looks quite frequently. Jalen
Speaker 1: Hawkins has played of their snaps, and I thought two
Speaker 1: did a fantastic job in his first game back of
Speaker 1: manipulating the Jaguar safeties even in the face of pressure.
Speaker 1: Again twenty pressures and no sacks allowed in that game,
Speaker 1: and that will be the challenge here again for Tuah
Speaker 1: to repeat that success. And one thing I think we'd
Speaker 1: all love to see is to just remove that one
Speaker 1: mistake that has hit to each of his first two
Speaker 1: starts here this season, or two of the full games played,
Speaker 1: I should say, the two picks that take away those
Speaker 1: two plays and TWA has ratings well north of one
Speaker 1: hundred and certainly helps value or elevate all the other
Speaker 1: good plays he has made so far in those two
Speaker 1: full games. Now where to one needs the complimentary area
Speaker 1: of the game to kick in the Dolphins receivers and
Speaker 1: tight ends against the cornerbacks of the Atlanta Falcons. Davante
Speaker 1: Parker was back at practice. Adam Shaheen and Preston Williams
Speaker 1: to all three of them limited on Wednesday, but they
Speaker 1: were out there for the walkthrough, so it could be
Speaker 1: a nice full compliment for two of this weekend, sans
Speaker 1: Fuller obviously, who remains on injury reserve for at least
Speaker 1: one more week. But last Sunday we saw twenty two
Speaker 1: targets to the combination of Waddle and get Sicky and
Speaker 1: tight ends in general saw nineteen combined targets in that game.
Speaker 1: We know the Dolphins run more twelve personnel than anybody
Speaker 1: else in the NFL, and that was heavily featured with
Speaker 1: Waddle and Hollins as the guys, and that grouping four
Speaker 1: catches on five targets for sixty one yards for Hollands,
Speaker 1: by the way. And so now as Mac continues to
Speaker 1: show some of the stuff that I thought stood out
Speaker 1: in camp that really impressed us this August, and the
Speaker 1: possible inclusion of Davante in Preston to us suddenly has
Speaker 1: some of the trees to throw the football too on
Speaker 1: the outside. Not to mention Mike Getsicki, who continues to
Speaker 1: go off the season, but you paired that with the
Speaker 1: skill set of Waddle, we saw Albert Wilson get targeted
Speaker 1: a few times and have his first few catches or
Speaker 1: his second, third, fourth catch of the season. Miami had
Speaker 1: a decent balance of side and speed on the roster
Speaker 1: at this point. And the reason I mentioned this is because, well,
Speaker 1: we always say that styles make fights, right, and we
Speaker 1: always look at the tail of the tape in our matchups.
Speaker 1: Here and Atlanta's three top snap takers at cornerback Fabian
Speaker 1: Monroe or Moreau rather excuse me, six ft tall two
Speaker 1: pounds A J. Terrell six, Isaiah Oliver six ft two
Speaker 1: oh one, So some big dudes out there. And Moreau
Speaker 1: does have the Loan Falcons interception. This season, he's been
Speaker 1: targeted the most twenty four times. Torell on one fifty
Speaker 1: one coverage snaps has allowed just six completions on six
Speaker 1: team targets for forty two yards, and Isaiah Oliver, who
Speaker 1: primarily plays in the slot, nine completions on fifteen targets
Speaker 1: for eighty one yards. And when you look at some
Speaker 1: of their matchups, I always like to go back and
Speaker 1: see which teams gave that group of players fits. And
Speaker 1: it should be noted they don't match up or travel
Speaker 1: like every game you see on their chart. Every player
Speaker 1: has reps against three, four or five even six players
Speaker 1: in the passing options. But the w F game is
Speaker 1: an interesting study because they had a monster passing day
Speaker 1: with their stable of burners. And the one I'm intrigued
Speaker 1: by is a j Terrell. He's been in and out
Speaker 1: of lineup this year, but the production is very good.
Speaker 1: He's got a tremendous pedigree. As far as his prospects
Speaker 1: coming out as a college player, I'll be interested to
Speaker 1: see how Miami plays this. We saw the Jags play
Speaker 1: tons of zone in that game last week, and I
Speaker 1: love the way to was able to distribute the football
Speaker 1: and get guys in the sauce spots of those zones.
Speaker 1: But thinking about when you get behind that second layer
Speaker 1: with Mike Gasicki on those crossers, Waddle in all capacities.
Speaker 1: You guys know how I feel about his game. He
Speaker 1: can do whatever he whatever, in my opinion, and then
Speaker 1: you get Parker and Williams maybe back with mac Hollins,
Speaker 1: they could be able to work the middle of the
Speaker 1: field with some of the space that's created by those
Speaker 1: two primary inside guys and Waddle and Gazicki. Now, as
Speaker 1: far as Dolphins running backs on Falcons linebackers. The coverage
Speaker 1: numbers on the A t L linebackers have not been
Speaker 1: as kind, and since that's where Miami have been kind
Speaker 1: of going all year, it's really our matchup of the
Speaker 1: AIME on this side of the ball. PFF has Dion
Speaker 1: Jones and foisad olakon There's no way I pronounced that right,
Speaker 1: with a combined thirty five receptions allowed on thirty nine
Speaker 1: targets for four hundred and six yards and three touchdown passes. Now, again,
Speaker 1: they play lots of zone coverage, so those can be
Speaker 1: over routes behind them, like we saw from Mike last week.
Speaker 1: They can be shallow crossers that wind up getting at
Speaker 1: the gate. They can be a lot of things, and
Speaker 1: you're going to attribute the closest defender for the catch
Speaker 1: allowed and the yardage allowed. So it's not always, you know,
Speaker 1: everything we talked about here requires context. It's not always
Speaker 1: on those guys, but that's where the opposition has attacked them,
Speaker 1: and that'll be our number one key of the game.
Speaker 1: Spoiler alert. And then just how about some general balance
Speaker 1: from Miami offensively last in the league and rushing and
Speaker 1: some of that certainly has to do with playing catchup
Speaker 1: in so many games this year, but maybe some savan
Speaker 1: akhmed the passing game and utilizing what he offers as
Speaker 1: a receiver. We saw same the same with that in
Speaker 1: terms of Miles Gaston a couple of weeks ago with
Speaker 1: a big game against Tampa Bay and for those guys
Speaker 1: to get going, Miami off pensive line versus lane of
Speaker 1: defensive line is a key matchup here. Dante Fowler is
Speaker 1: a guy you have to pay attention to, although he
Speaker 1: missed practice on Wednesday with a knee injury, but especially
Speaker 1: when he lines up to the offenses right side. That's
Speaker 1: where he's been most productive this season thirteen total pressures
Speaker 1: and nine run stops from that spot. He's long, athletic
Speaker 1: and has a tremendous blend, blend, bend and flattened skill
Speaker 1: set to get on the upfield shoulder, turn that corner
Speaker 1: and get to your quarterback and really force him to
Speaker 1: get off that spot and step up in the pocket.
Speaker 1: And that's where you might meet Grady Jarrett, who's the
Speaker 1: guy that stirs the drink on that defense. He's next
Speaker 1: with eleven pressures on this team. Then there's a big
Speaker 1: drop off the most. The next most pressures is man,
Speaker 1: these names are gonna kill me on this podcast. Here
Speaker 1: we go, uh Ottatonko, We're keeping a baby. He's got
Speaker 1: seven pressures, and then three players have six pressures. They've
Speaker 1: just really struggled to generate pressures this year in general.
Speaker 1: So I'll be curious to see how Miami attacks them.
Speaker 1: Do you go more empty, fewer match protection calls and
Speaker 1: spread them out and test the depth of that secondary,
Speaker 1: or do you really try to ensure you keep two
Speaker 1: upright help on most on the most accomplished past putchers
Speaker 1: they have to offer there in Dante Fowler and Grady Jared.
Speaker 1: We saw Malcolm Brown last week a line up basically
Speaker 1: mugged up into the A gap like we see linebackers
Speaker 1: do on the other side offensively to just kind of
Speaker 1: get an extra body in there, and it was successful.
Speaker 1: Maybe you do that with Grady Jared again this week.
Speaker 1: Either way, I would say you have to make sure
Speaker 1: you give those guys some attention Jarrett and Dante Fowler.
Speaker 1: As far as the Falcons defensive notes, the blitz rate
Speaker 1: is eighteenth highest in the National Football League. There seven
Speaker 1: point six a dot allowed or teams running average depth
Speaker 1: of targets seven point six is the twenty four fewest,
Speaker 1: so they play, you know, take underneath stuff. We're not
Speaker 1: gonna get beat deep. They allow the eighth fewest yacht
Speaker 1: yards in the National Football League. They're a good tackling team,
Speaker 1: fourth fewest missed tackles in the NFL, and they're twenty
Speaker 1: one point one percent. Pressure rate is twenty nine. So
Speaker 1: again chicken and egg, like, do wanna really make sure
Speaker 1: you have your quarterback up right? Or do you want
Speaker 1: to spread out that offense or that defense rather and
Speaker 1: go after them in the secondary. On special teams d
Speaker 1: v O ranks, Atlanta's dead last thirty second d v
Speaker 1: O A special teams Miami improved after last week. They're
Speaker 1: up twenty three now and young way Kup is seven
Speaker 1: for seven this year and ten for town extra points.
Speaker 1: He's off to a tremendous start after a fantastic season.
Speaker 1: And their punter, however, just forty five point five yards
Speaker 1: per punt. I do not know how to pronounce his
Speaker 1: name either, not even gonna try. But they alternate their
Speaker 1: return men and have average just six point seven yards
Speaker 1: per punt return this season, and they have an unusual
Speaker 1: amount of kickoff returns fifteen total. That was surprising to me,
Speaker 1: and they average nineteen point two yards per return on
Speaker 1: those kickoffs. Maybe some opportunities there for Jason Sanders to
Speaker 1: pooch one and pin them deep. My three keys in
Speaker 1: the game continue to involve Mike get Sicky and the
Speaker 1: tight ends. We talked about the linebacker coverage in this game,
Speaker 1: the fact they play a lot of zones. Getting the
Speaker 1: ball out quick always a key to this offense. Stay
Speaker 1: balanced and patient on offense. Take what they give you,
Speaker 1: take those under passes and try to soften it that way.
Speaker 1: Stay on the field, stay on schedule, dominate t op.
Speaker 1: That can go a long way towards victory, especially in
Speaker 1: the Miami heats still hot down here in October. Speaking
Speaker 1: of the heat, go heat to that baby season open.
Speaker 1: Let's go number three. Contain Pits, Ridley, and Patterson. If
Speaker 1: you can take out two of three of them, that's
Speaker 1: a pretty big victory there. So that's the focus here,
Speaker 1: trying to make get a handle on those three players.
Speaker 1: The Dolphins will win this game if they clean up
Speaker 1: the mistakes offensively. The Falcons have played that ben but
Speaker 1: don't break style and it helps them limit explosive plays,
Speaker 1: but opposing offenses have taken the underneath stuff up and
Speaker 1: down the field to produce the thirty four thirty first
Speaker 1: ranks scoring defense in the National Football League. But dropping passes,
Speaker 1: missing throws, missing lanes in the running game, penalties, those
Speaker 1: are the kind of things you can't do against a
Speaker 1: defense like this. It will severely hamper your ability to
Speaker 1: stay on schedule, staying sharp, and offensive success should follow
Speaker 1: if you do stay sharp. The Falcons will win if
Speaker 1: they get those weapons going. It's a pick your poison
Speaker 1: type of deal here from Miami. But if they can't
Speaker 1: find a way to contain Kyle Pitts, Calvin Ridley, and
Speaker 1: Cordurel Patterson, not gonna be a good day for the Dolphins.
Speaker 1: So there you go. As far as Thursday Night football goes,
Speaker 1: we have another week of picks to make. Here. I'm
Speaker 1: taking the Broncos over the Browns. I don't want to
Speaker 1: do it, but I'm gonna do it anyway. I was
Speaker 1: not prepared to make that pick. But without Baker Mayfield,
Speaker 1: without Kareem Hunt, without Nick Chubb, Jarvis Landry's banged up,
Speaker 1: Odell Beckham's banged up both tackles are questionable to play.
Speaker 1: You know, Von Miller had a great comment pregame on
Speaker 1: his Tuesday media where he said, I don't know who's
Speaker 1: gonna play tackle against me. Whoever it is, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: kill him. I love. That was a great comment. So
Speaker 1: give me the Broncos, giving me Von Miller and go
Speaker 1: ahead and just start me. We'll have the rest of
Speaker 1: the picks tomorrow. But another solid week coming into this one.
Speaker 1: I picked the Bengals to lose to the lines. That
Speaker 1: was dumb. I'll wear that one. I did not expect
Speaker 1: to lose the Monday night game. So ten and four
Speaker 1: brings us to sixty five and twenty nine on the season,
Speaker 1: just a hair under seventy. We're shooting for sev but
Speaker 1: on in the meantime, that's gonna be my time. Wall.
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Speaker 1: next time, fits up in Caroline. You guessed it. Gutty's
Speaker 1: coming home.