Speaker 1: Two on the move, Galling Deep, Speedless, peace.
Speaker 2: Dot hell Peas from the Baptist Health Studio.
Speaker 1: This inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This is Drivetime
Speaker 1: with Travis Wingfield. He's goy my avands in the playoffs?
Speaker 2: What is up Dolphins? And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast.
Speaker 2: I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show,
Speaker 2: we're on part two of the eight part summer divisional
Speaker 2: preview series. Staying out West in the NFC Seahawks, Rams, Niners, Cardinals.
Speaker 2: Up today with some predictions, division superlatives and how it
Speaker 2: all ties back to your Miami Dolphins. Plus we'll break
Speaker 2: it all up with a halftime interview with Dolphins rookie
Speaker 2: running back Jalen Wright from the Baptist Health Studios inside
Speaker 2: the Baptist Health Training Complex.
Speaker 1: This is.
Speaker 2: The Drive Time Podcast. We kick off the NFC West
Speaker 2: for twenty twenty four with the defending twenty twenty three champions,
Speaker 2: the San Francisco forty nine Ers, who went twelve and
Speaker 2: five last year, captured another division title, captured a conference championship,
Speaker 2: and came up just short in overtime of the Big
Speaker 2: Game with a twenty five to twenty two loss to
Speaker 2: the Kansas City Chiefs. I'm not sure personally, because I
Speaker 2: haven't experienced it in any sport. How a fan base
Speaker 2: accepts being one play away from a championship gutted right.
Speaker 2: You have to be third and five, two minutes to play,
Speaker 2: Kansas City has two timeouts in their pocket. You convert
Speaker 2: that third and five, you kick the go ahead field
Speaker 2: goal with a minute to play and no Chiefs timeouts,
Speaker 2: or you simply gain yet another first down and then
Speaker 2: you kick the field goal as the clock expires, and
Speaker 2: your world champions instead.
Speaker 1: Not so much.
Speaker 2: No rings to go with this current iteration of the
Speaker 2: forty nine ers peer pain regardless, one of the model
Speaker 2: franchises in the National Football League for the last half decade.
Speaker 2: They're loaded on both sides of the ball. They're brilliantly coached,
Speaker 2: they're in the conversation every single year, and they've had
Speaker 2: a few bumps along the way, but they're kind of
Speaker 2: ticketed for the big game really every single year, or
Speaker 2: at least up until the NFC championship game. But they
Speaker 2: put forth their best performance in those final thirty minutes
Speaker 2: against the Lions this past season, as both Purdy and
Speaker 2: Shanahan sort of bucked some narratives about their inability to
Speaker 2: come from behind. And it happens just like that, right
Speaker 2: if you don't bring it back to the Miami Dolphins,
Speaker 2: they can quickly erase some narratives about themselves in this
Speaker 2: upcoming season. It takes one time before people stop talking
Speaker 2: about it and they'll be right back here again that
Speaker 2: I as will be. Let's go ahead and get into it,
Speaker 2: because first, how does the team internalize that ending get
Speaker 2: even better for twenty twenty four. You know, Shanahan believes
Speaker 2: that Purdy having a full offseason, for instance, will be
Speaker 2: a big benefit for him, talking about how it's the
Speaker 2: first year really in the Niners program where he is
Speaker 2: the guy the entire spring and summer program. They also
Speaker 2: made a lot of moves this offseason, bringing in Leonard
Speaker 2: Floyd as well as yetier gross models to rush the
Speaker 2: quarterback off the edge. I love Floyd's game a whole
Speaker 2: heck of a lot. They also bulked up inside with
Speaker 2: Jordan Elliott. They brought in Rokya sin in the defensive backfield,
Speaker 2: and Devondre Campbell comes over from the Packers to play linebacker,
Speaker 2: and they also swapped out sam Donold for Josh Dobbs
Speaker 2: as the backup quarterback. In the first round, they took
Speaker 2: Florida wide receiver Ricky Piersaw to be yet another weapon
Speaker 2: in this offense. They also brought back Juwan Jennings. So
Speaker 2: you're looking at a roster that has Brandon Ayuk, that
Speaker 2: has Deebo Samuel, that has Juwan Jennings and Ricky pearsall
Speaker 2: with George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey.
Speaker 1: When does it end.
Speaker 2: It doesn't on the way out, however, Eric Armstead a big,
Speaker 2: big loss for them. Randy Gregory is kind of the
Speaker 2: guy that he used to replace or replaced him with Floyd,
Speaker 2: and I think it's a big upgrade for them. Chase
Speaker 2: Young wasn't a good player last year, hasn't been a
Speaker 2: player for a long time. And for a matter of fact,
Speaker 2: they finally get rid of Javon Kinlaw, who was supposed
Speaker 2: to be really the placement for DeForest Buckner and that
Speaker 2: never worked out. They do also lose Sebastian Joseph Day,
Speaker 2: so there are some concerns on the interior defensive line
Speaker 2: in terms of what it can be versus it was
Speaker 2: in the past. Now Javon Hargrave is still there, so
Speaker 2: they have a good number one piece in place. And
Speaker 2: I mentioned it earlier that Sam Donald also exited a
Speaker 2: stage left.
Speaker 1: What does this team do well?
Speaker 2: Because we're doing these categories for these teams up and
Speaker 2: down these divisional previews, well everything, they do everything well.
Speaker 2: They incorporate the run game with the play action game.
Speaker 2: They attack opponent's weaknesses with one of the best skill
Speaker 2: groups in football that can basically play multiple positions in
Speaker 2: any given snap, regardless of his running back, tight end, receiver.
Speaker 2: They stay on the cutting edge of offensive innovation. They
Speaker 2: coach up their offensive line to play nine or football,
Speaker 2: even though every single year going into the season that's
Speaker 2: an offensive line that on paper looks to be an
Speaker 2: achilles heel, and they get to the Final four every
Speaker 2: single year. On defense, they pressure with four as well
Speaker 2: as anybody in the National Football League and think they
Speaker 2: can do that because of their ability to extend the
Speaker 2: hook zone with the rangiest off ball linebackers in the
Speaker 2: entire National Football League and for my money, the best
Speaker 2: linebacker in the NFL. They play man, they can play
Speaker 2: two man. They can flood their two high concepts with
Speaker 2: these well timed blitzes and fire zones and simulated of pressures.
Speaker 2: They just play upfield with their hair on fire and
Speaker 2: one gap the crap out of teams under Chris Kasrik,
Speaker 2: who just has been one of the best offensive line
Speaker 2: coaches in the National Football League for a long time. Now,
Speaker 2: what is a concern of this team. What is their
Speaker 2: potential fatal flaw? Do they have one? I don't think
Speaker 2: they do. If it is, it's offensive line depth in
Speaker 2: the event that injuries accumulate. But even then, I think
Speaker 2: the system and the skill guys they have can still
Speaker 2: mask a lot of those issues that you could potentially
Speaker 2: see per Cup. They lost some pretty good pass rushes
Speaker 2: the last couple of years, but Leonard Floyd steps in,
Speaker 2: and let me tell you about him. I am thrilled
Speaker 2: that he's no longer a Buffalo Bill because he's an
Speaker 2: absolute baller. But they still have Nick bo So they
Speaker 2: still have the linebackers, They still have Javon Hargrave. They
Speaker 2: still have waves of guys that can apply pressure on
Speaker 2: the posing quarterback and play the run, which they don't
Speaker 2: have to do very frequently because they are often ahead
Speaker 2: in football games. Some interesting things about this team or
Speaker 2: big storylines.
Speaker 1: I don't is this still a thing.
Speaker 2: I put it down because I think it gets talked about,
Speaker 2: but is the Super Bowl hangover still a thing? I mean,
Speaker 2: the Eagles were ten to one last year before they
Speaker 2: fell apart after losing the Super Bowl the previous year.
Speaker 2: The Bengals went right back to the AFC Championship Game
Speaker 2: one year after losing the Super Bowl. But I do
Speaker 2: think it is tough to have to go back to
Speaker 2: square one following playing into February the previous year. You're
Speaker 2: behind on so many things because of that, you know,
Speaker 2: compared to the other teams, in terms of your free
Speaker 2: agent planning and your your preparation for the college All
Speaker 2: Star games, Like you still have a game after the
Speaker 2: Senior Bowl, so that makes it tough to get out there,
Speaker 2: although scouts will take care of that for you. It's
Speaker 2: just hard to be entirely sympatico when you have one
Speaker 2: faction of the football team preparing for a game and
Speaker 2: the other part preparing for the off seat, which is
Speaker 2: obviously comes after the game. So I just think it's
Speaker 2: worth watching. We've seen teams kind of creater after a
Speaker 2: Super Bowl loss. I don't expect it to happen with
Speaker 2: this team though, But this is a fun storyline to follow. Also,
Speaker 2: Perty's continued development. You know, how that roster does change
Speaker 2: when his contract comes up in one and a half years,
Speaker 2: because they're gonna go from paying him, you know, seven
Speaker 2: hundred thousand dollars a year to well I was gonna
Speaker 2: say it seven million, but it's gonna be a lot
Speaker 2: more than that. It's gonna be like fifty millions. So
Speaker 2: how they are able to build that roster when that
Speaker 2: comes up, it's not in play this year, but I
Speaker 2: think it's a big year for him, or every year
Speaker 2: is a big year for him, because you just look
Speaker 2: at that roster and like, if you're gonna say a
Speaker 2: one thing that potentially prevents that team from going all
Speaker 2: the way, you have to point to the quarterback, right
Speaker 2: because the defense is elite. The skill group is probably
Speaker 2: the best we've ever seen. I mean, I like the
Speaker 2: Dolphins skill group a lot, but I mean McCaffrey and Kittle,
Speaker 2: we just you know, I think a Chan can be
Speaker 2: a pretty damn good player, but I just don't, I
Speaker 2: don't know, they might be the best in terms of
Speaker 2: like their one through five we've ever seen from a
Speaker 2: skill group position, and then they're finally just a healthy
Speaker 2: team after years of injury plagued seasons that kind of
Speaker 2: depressed those early Shannahan years, which was you know, bracketed
Speaker 2: by a trip to the Super Bowl and another ten
Speaker 2: point lead in a Super Bowl. I mean, they'd either
Speaker 2: be a deep run team or a team that won
Speaker 2: five to six games because they had to play Nick
Speaker 2: Mullins and shoot, who is the other one I can't
Speaker 2: think of now, CJ.
Speaker 1: Bether.
Speaker 2: They would play these backup quarterbacks that didn't belong in
Speaker 2: the NFL, but they were being productive because they played
Speaker 2: under Kyle Shanahan. But in the long run, they would
Speaker 2: only win a few games they weren't supposed to and
Speaker 2: they'd wind up finishing you know, six and ten or
Speaker 2: six and eleven and bow out early on. So I
Speaker 2: think that now they've kind of gotten over this, you know,
Speaker 2: injury plagued seasons that they've had back to back for
Speaker 2: a couple of years there out of a few, and
Speaker 2: they come out the other side of that going you
Speaker 2: know to NFC Championship Game, NFC Championship Game and in
Speaker 2: the Super Bowl the last three years. More on that,
Speaker 2: just one second my final roster thoughts, I think you
Speaker 2: can through the Niners because I just told you they're
Speaker 2: probably the best team on paper in the league with
Speaker 2: their brilliant coaching staff. So what do you want to
Speaker 2: nickpick at here? The potential? Maybe they don't have a
Speaker 2: great fourth pass rusher. Maybe their quarterback is just middle
Speaker 2: of the pack in the NFL, like fifteenth best, and
Speaker 2: that might be a reason you scoff at them, but
Speaker 2: I wouldn't do that. They're the best team in the
Speaker 2: NFC in my opinion, and probably the best team in
Speaker 2: the NFL as well. What can they tell us about
Speaker 2: the Miami Dolphins. Well, that last point on the storylines. Look,
Speaker 2: sometimes you just get unlucky in this sport. I remember
Speaker 2: seeing you know, Fire Shanahan tweets is he the right
Speaker 2: guy for the job? And while yes, those are the
Speaker 2: fanatics that it doesn't mean anything. It was also a
Speaker 2: legit topic of discussion on podcasts and sports shows, which
Speaker 2: again is not reality. It's just you know, fodder that
Speaker 2: doesn't exist since had an NFL building, I'm just saying
Speaker 2: it was to the point when they were three and
Speaker 2: four in twenty twenty two, after a championship game, appearance
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty one, but a six and ten season
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty There was a lack of patience, and
Speaker 2: that is kind of real, I think in terms of
Speaker 2: just how the outside perception is. But now you look
Speaker 2: at them on the other side of that, they gets
Speaker 2: to build you the quarterback position where they're not having
Speaker 2: to go Jimmy G gets hurt every year we have
Speaker 2: find out who's gonna be the back up behind Jimmy G.
Speaker 2: They continue from there to build their core beliefs and
Speaker 2: they're going into their third consecutive season probably penciled in
Speaker 2: for most folks for yet another Final four run. I
Speaker 2: think that's instructive when it comes to your Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 2: How about the Los Angeles Rams, who I am awfully
Speaker 2: bullish on this year. They finish up twenty twenty three
Speaker 2: second place in the NFC West at ten and seven,
Speaker 2: and they bow out in the wild card round with
Speaker 2: probably the one of the best.
Speaker 1: Games of the playoffs.
Speaker 2: It was, if not the best, one of the best
Speaker 2: two or three of this year's playoff or this year's
Speaker 2: bracket with that close loss to the Detroit Lions. One
Speaker 2: of the teams I've been most wrong on to be
Speaker 2: totally frank with you, the last two seasons. I had
Speaker 2: them making another run in twenty twenty two after the
Speaker 2: Lombardi but Stafford wasn't healthy, So I don't consider that
Speaker 2: much of a miss, because if the quarterback goes down, well,
Speaker 2: all bets are off. But I was way off last year.
Speaker 2: I thought they would struggle with a completely rebuilt defense
Speaker 2: that was dependent on several rookies having critical roles and
Speaker 2: a banged up quarterback that we didn't know about his
Speaker 2: elbow behind an offensive line that we also didn't know about,
Speaker 2: and we didn't know about Puka Nakua and Kyrine Williams. Like,
Speaker 2: there's a lot of unknown going into this last offseason.
Speaker 2: But I think their team building efforts are instructive. And
Speaker 2: I'll go ahead and save that point until our final
Speaker 2: bullet point on them. They're big moves this offseason. They
Speaker 2: brought in Trey White from Buffalo. We'll see what he
Speaker 2: has left in the tank. They brought in Jimmy g
Speaker 2: He's flipping back to the NFC West here with the
Speaker 2: a little more southern detour in the state of California.
Speaker 2: They did bring back Darius Williams who had a stint
Speaker 2: there with Jacksonville. After leaving the Rams a couple of
Speaker 2: years back, Cameron Curl comes down from Washington. Jonah Jackson
Speaker 2: probably the biggest get for them. He leaves the Lions
Speaker 2: to come over to the Rams. Colby Parkinson is the
Speaker 2: tight end addition, and then Jared Versus was their first
Speaker 2: round pick on the way out.
Speaker 1: Not a lot.
Speaker 2: I mean, this is the benefit I guess of a
Speaker 2: big time contract retiring as well as you know, kind
Speaker 2: of having so many rookie producers the last couple of years.
Speaker 2: Aaron Dahna leaves, Jordan Fuller leaves, and Brian Allen leaves,
Speaker 2: and that's pretty much it from a big name standpoint.
Speaker 1: What does this team do well? A lot.
Speaker 2: They adjust to attack the weaknesses of their opponents. They
Speaker 2: find running backs who fit what they do, which is
Speaker 2: now more duo and inside zone and power than it
Speaker 2: was in the past. And they developed that running back
Speaker 2: relationship and chemistry with their offensive line in a way
Speaker 2: that just really really jives together. And they pair that
Speaker 2: with a quarterback who probably is the best in the NFL,
Speaker 2: if not number two behind Tua at seeing the field
Speaker 2: and anticipating, you know, his throats and what the defense
Speaker 2: is going to do to move. Also, they separate against
Speaker 2: one on one coverage as well as anybody because they
Speaker 2: have Cooper Cup and Puka Nakua with enough speed to
Speaker 2: threaten vertically with two to two at will in that
Speaker 2: mix as well, and they generate push in the running game.
Speaker 2: Notice I didn't make any comments about what they do
Speaker 2: well on defense because I'm just not really sure what
Speaker 2: they do right now.
Speaker 1: And in fact, if you go to the concerns.
Speaker 2: Or potential fatal flaws, that's probably the side of the
Speaker 2: football that you look at for where the season could
Speaker 2: get off the rails for them, Whereas in the past
Speaker 2: it was the offense that could no longer block for
Speaker 2: Stafford or had no quarterback behind Matt Stafford. Right that
Speaker 2: Baker Mayfield year, I probably won't find a team with
Speaker 2: more of an imbalance in terms of how they're viewed
Speaker 2: on paper on offense and defense. Still a very young
Speaker 2: group that played above board last year, and they bring
Speaker 2: in Darius Williams and they bring in Shrey White, who
Speaker 2: are a lot better on paper than what they've had
Speaker 2: the past year or two. But both of those players'
Speaker 2: best seasons are a handful of years in the rear view,
Speaker 2: so can they find that resurgence? Otherwise that secondary depth
Speaker 2: is awfully thin. Plus Trey White's coming off. Was it
Speaker 2: an achilles or an acli forgot last October?
Speaker 1: So we'll see.
Speaker 2: Is there enough pass rush up front? I don't think
Speaker 2: there is. Those first two picks are going to be
Speaker 2: projected starters in Jared Vers and Braden Fisk. What if
Speaker 2: it takes them to months to get going or a
Speaker 2: full year or two full years. They don't have anybody
Speaker 2: else to really kind of count on beyond two rookies.
Speaker 2: That is a little bit of a dubious position to
Speaker 2: be in. Some interesting things about them are the biggest
Speaker 2: storylines facing the Rams this year. Stafford's career trajectory is
Speaker 2: interesting to me because I remember a lot of folks
Speaker 2: pegging him last year and like constantly to the Jets
Speaker 2: after the Aaron Rodgers injury as a potential trade candidate
Speaker 2: to leave Los Angeles, And now he's back in the
Speaker 2: good graces of the folks as a top five quarterback,
Speaker 2: or at least for my money, he is. I just
Speaker 2: think it's fascinating how quickly thinks changed this league. Maybe
Speaker 2: they didn't change at all. We just kind of jumped
Speaker 2: the gun on some things, probably the ladder there. Speaking
Speaker 2: of that, remember all the talk about Sean McVay potentially retiring,
Speaker 2: He too seems reinvigorated, and I think that he and
Speaker 2: Stafford's next moves are kind of the most fascinating thing
Speaker 2: about this team storylines, even with the likelihood that those
Speaker 2: next moves are again simply not changing at all.
Speaker 1: But it's just it's funny to.
Speaker 2: Me that they were two years ago or a year
Speaker 2: ago at this time, like what's going to happen to
Speaker 2: Stafford McVeigh And now it's like the Rams are good
Speaker 2: for a long time because they have Stafford McVeigh.
Speaker 1: Who are they this year?
Speaker 2: This team has adapted so much, adjusted so much, and
Speaker 2: changed as much as anybody in the last three years.
Speaker 2: What will they present to us this year? And how
Speaker 2: much is the loss of Raheem Morris going to be
Speaker 2: felt because that defense playing above board, getting all this
Speaker 2: development from that much youth you brought in, that's a
Speaker 2: big part about what him got him the job, What
Speaker 2: got him the job in Atlanta? Right, So, how does
Speaker 2: Chris Shula, Chrish Shudra Slott in the next defensive coordinator.
Speaker 2: He's been in that program since twenty seventeen. You know
Speaker 2: the name, it's the grandson of the great Don Shula.
Speaker 2: But how does he fit in with a defense that
Speaker 2: has been really really playing above its You know it's
Speaker 2: on paper projections with Raheem Morris last year my final
Speaker 2: roster thoughts here.
Speaker 1: I love the backs.
Speaker 2: I mentioned Karen Williams, but Blake Korum, the rookie from Michigan,
Speaker 2: looks likely just a clone of him. I also love
Speaker 2: Boston Scott, a third down back, and I love how
Speaker 2: it pairs with their offensive line for power duo inside zone.
Speaker 2: And Steve Avila. Guys remember to be talking about him
Speaker 2: from TCU two years ago. He was a stud as
Speaker 2: a rookie. What do you know, Joe Noteboom and Jono
Speaker 2: Jackson That interior three is so big and so massive
Speaker 2: and gets so much push and they have a swing
Speaker 2: guy in there with Kevin Dotson who can play as well.
Speaker 2: If there is an area maybe you look at as
Speaker 2: a concern, it probably it probably has to be the
Speaker 2: tackle position. But they're still okay there, and I think
Speaker 2: it's a position that doesn't get emphasized by this. You
Speaker 2: know it gets picked up, I should say, by other
Speaker 2: parts of their offense. I mentioned the youth in the front,
Speaker 2: the age in the back. I just want to get
Speaker 2: Ernest Jones' name in here because he's a great player.
Speaker 2: I also want to mention Kobe Durant. We didn't mention Cup,
Speaker 2: but you guys know about him. But how about two
Speaker 2: two at Will's breakout season, that third year explosion. I
Speaker 2: think it's instructive. What can the Rams tell us about
Speaker 2: the Dolphins? I alluded to this in the first topic
Speaker 2: bar We get all these reactions from how teams opt
Speaker 2: to build their rosters right, when to be aggressive, when
Speaker 2: to reel it back, and it's created this illusion of
Speaker 2: teams being all in when that's just not the case.
Speaker 2: And you can see it with the Rams. I mean
Speaker 2: they they were all in for years, right, every year
Speaker 2: they trade their first round pick. Didn't have a first
Speaker 2: round pick for a long time. They didn't, And that's
Speaker 2: probably hurt them in some ways because it's not entirely wrong.
Speaker 2: It's just not the death blow that so many folks
Speaker 2: think that it is. Like, yes, the Rams did take
Speaker 2: some medicine in twenty twenty three, or rather twenty twenty two,
Speaker 2: but that was barred by a major injury to the quarterback.
Speaker 1: Anybody's gonna struggle with that.
Speaker 2: Yes, they lacked draft picks for those long periods of
Speaker 2: those several years in aggressive pursuit of veteran talent. But
Speaker 2: guess what two years later and they suddenly replenished the
Speaker 2: youth on that roster. They have a healthy competent of
Speaker 2: draft picks, and they were successful at finding rookies early rounds,
Speaker 2: mid rounds, and udfas, And it began by signing a
Speaker 2: zillion udfa's last year. They had like forty rookies on
Speaker 2: their training camp roster last year. And the math tells
Speaker 2: you you're gonna hit on one or two of those guys.
Speaker 2: And then if you hit some late round draft picks,
Speaker 2: I mean, it's hard to hit better late round draft
Speaker 2: picks than Pooka Nakua, an already top ten receivers, a
Speaker 2: fifth round pick. And I would also argue the outside
Speaker 2: of Nakua, Kobe Turner might have been the best non
Speaker 2: top seventy five pick in the entire draft last year.
Speaker 2: With that quarterback, with that coach, with that GM, you
Speaker 2: formulate a culture, you have your program in place. Guys
Speaker 2: come in and they say, the three head honchos are
Speaker 2: all in place, and they're all great at their jobs.
Speaker 1: I better fit in and get in.
Speaker 2: They they develop a play style and you funnel decisions
Speaker 2: through all of that. The Rams have done that and
Speaker 2: they appear poised to make yet another run. And what
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, by constructing the same visions. They
Speaker 2: had this idea of how they're going to pair Jared
Speaker 2: Verse and Braden Fitts together because it would create instant
Speaker 2: chemistry because they played together in college. They also pivot
Speaker 2: into a more man gap run approach with bigger bodies inside,
Speaker 2: just further showing the ability to be adaptable and flexible.
Speaker 2: And I think all of that applies to McDaniel and
Speaker 2: the Dolphins. All right, two teams down, two more to go.
Speaker 2: First break right here, We're going to come back on
Speaker 2: the other side and play the audio from my interview
Speaker 2: with Dolphins rookie running back Jalen Wright. That's next Draft
Speaker 2: Time Podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by
Speaker 2: Auto Nation. Well, guys, Travis Wingfold here Draft Time Podcast.
Speaker 2: Another guest today on the show, Dolphins rookie running back Jalen. Right, Jalen,
Speaker 2: what's up man?
Speaker 1: How you doing?
Speaker 3: It's good man, I'm good man. You know, just living
Speaker 3: the life in Miami, you know, just trying to get
Speaker 3: used to the heat and you know, get acclimated to
Speaker 3: this this offense.
Speaker 1: So a little bit warmer than Rocky Top. Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: for sure.
Speaker 2: Yeah. How you're acclimating so far, not in terms of
Speaker 2: the heat and stuff, but just life in South Florida.
Speaker 2: Whether it's you're finding your way around, like I know,
Speaker 2: the highways are confusing, or are you finding wey around
Speaker 2: the building, Like, just tell me about your rookie.
Speaker 1: Season so far.
Speaker 3: I mean it's going good. Uh, you know, you know,
Speaker 3: finding my way around the building. You know, I'm starting
Speaker 3: to know like where everything is, you know, just you know,
Speaker 3: in Miami in general. I mean it's nice here in
Speaker 3: great weather, you know, great scenery. You know, I'm blessed
Speaker 3: to be in this position to be here. You know,
Speaker 3: I'm just I'm enjoying it and it's a process and
Speaker 3: I'm taking it day by day.
Speaker 2: I know it's hot now, but just wait until December
Speaker 2: one is seventy five degrees in sunny every day. You're
Speaker 2: gonna love it. Way, way more than anywhere else in
Speaker 2: the world. So we have that going for us. I
Speaker 2: want to ask you about your fit in this offense
Speaker 2: and your skill set. I know that coach McDaniel is
Speaker 2: really excited about your skills and the entire coaching staff
Speaker 2: for that matter. But man, I think your first day
Speaker 2: here might have been like Rocky Minnie Camp. You had
Speaker 2: a run where you press play side and you kind
Speaker 2: of disappear into the trash and then I'm just watching
Speaker 2: like where did you go? And now you come out
Speaker 2: the backside and you shoot out the backside gap for
Speaker 2: like a long touchdown run.
Speaker 1: That jump cut? Man, where'd you learn that?
Speaker 3: It's just something I always had? You know? Jump cut is, uh,
Speaker 3: you know, something that I've always been good at. There's
Speaker 3: been times where, you know, when I first got in college,
Speaker 3: I always wanted to do a jump cut and you
Speaker 3: know that that wasn't like how we how we ran
Speaker 3: the offense, and you know, uh so, I mean it's
Speaker 3: just something I had. But you know, I've learned to
Speaker 3: control it and you know, be like more controlled when
Speaker 3: I'm making a movement.
Speaker 2: So it's a very beneficial move for his own running
Speaker 2: skin system, right Like the way you can get out
Speaker 2: of those those play side and get to the backside.
Speaker 2: That's a that's a there's a lot of big runs
Speaker 2: available there right right, Yeah, yeah, that makes perfect sense.
Speaker 2: So what about when you get into open space, man,
Speaker 2: because one of the one of the things to watch
Speaker 2: about your game was just putting the putting the gas
Speaker 2: pedal down and showing the defense your tail lights. What's
Speaker 2: your mindset when you get into the open field trying
Speaker 2: to find.
Speaker 1: That that end zone.
Speaker 3: My mindset when I'm in the open field is to score.
Speaker 3: If I'm not trying to score, I'm trying to make
Speaker 3: a big play, you know what I'm saying. You know,
Speaker 3: if there's a lot of people around me, I'm trying
Speaker 3: to have to where like make it to where it's
Speaker 3: three people trying to bring me down. So, you know,
Speaker 3: open space. I feel like I'm very electric, very elusive
Speaker 3: in open space, and I'm trying I'm trying to go
Speaker 3: put put pump points on the board.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, And one of the best ways to do that
Speaker 2: and get on the field is to pass protect. Right,
Speaker 2: being a solid, reliable, dependent blocker in the backfield. What's
Speaker 2: the key to great pass protection? Because I watch your
Speaker 2: tap again Tennessee. Man, Like you're knocking some linebackers on
Speaker 2: their butt.
Speaker 3: Dude, Yeah, I feel like pass protection. It's just some mindset,
Speaker 3: just knowing, knowing who you got, knowing who's coming, you know,
Speaker 3: seeing rotation, seeing how the defense is like to disguise coverages,
Speaker 3: you know, seeing you know, demeanors, you know, the way
Speaker 3: linebackers try to blit. So I mean, I just like
Speaker 3: as a mindset, and then not only a mindset, you
Speaker 3: got to know know who's coming, to know who you got.
Speaker 2: There's got to be a certain sense of pride to
Speaker 2: and keeping your quarterback up right. Like let's say there's
Speaker 2: a free rusher and to us, got Tyreek and you're
Speaker 2: the one that makes the key block.
Speaker 1: You gotta take a lot of pride in.
Speaker 3: The Yeah, yeah, you got to you know, to us,
Speaker 3: you know, we all know somebody who's getting ready to
Speaker 3: get paid a lot of money. So you know you
Speaker 3: got to keep him up, keep him healthy.
Speaker 2: So when you watch him play, what stands out the
Speaker 2: most about to his game?
Speaker 3: Uh, you know he's he's very accurate, you know what
Speaker 3: I'm saying, Uh, just the way he is ball placement,
Speaker 3: you know what I'm seeing seeing him on film, just
Speaker 3: seeing like the crazy throws he made, I'm just like, wow,
Speaker 3: you know that's a's an NFL NFL throw, you know,
Speaker 3: and just he's a great, great player. Uh, you know,
Speaker 3: he can make any throw in the field. You know,
Speaker 3: it's the offense. You know, the offense runs the rim.
Speaker 3: So you know, it's great pay to be around. And
Speaker 3: I'm very excited to be beside him, plan playing with him.
Speaker 1: So yeah, man, we're spoiled.
Speaker 2: It wasn't always like that, watching practice of the balls,
Speaker 2: just on guys numbers and face mess the entire day,
Speaker 2: but it is like that now and we're definitely spoiled
Speaker 2: for it.
Speaker 1: So you mentioned this. I want to say it was
Speaker 1: in your.
Speaker 2: Media availability when you first got drafted here, but it
Speaker 2: could be from time. Not important, but you mentioned playing
Speaker 2: with Jalen Hyatt and you know the other receivers there
Speaker 2: at Tennessee that were you guys were so electric that
Speaker 2: you're do you play I think you played in.
Speaker 1: The Orange Bowl, right Clemson?
Speaker 2: Yeah, that game you guys, you guys, it was a
Speaker 2: good game. Yeah, that was That was a fun game.
Speaker 2: But you talked about how their ability to create space
Speaker 2: kind of taught you the value of space for an offense.
Speaker 1: I was wanting just to hear more of your perspective
Speaker 1: on that.
Speaker 3: Uh, you know, it's just just that season. You know
Speaker 3: that that whole season, You know what I'm saying, we
Speaker 3: had a lot of distractions on the outside. We had
Speaker 3: Jalen Hide, Sagie Tillman. Uh, you know, we had other
Speaker 3: role role player receivers on the team, you know, just
Speaker 3: Jalen Hide and Sagiy Tillman. I mean those are people that,
Speaker 3: you know what I'm saying, you gonna have a lot
Speaker 3: of odds on and I relate that to the situation
Speaker 3: I mean now with Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and then
Speaker 3: not only not only that, we got a new addition
Speaker 3: Odell Beckham. I mean you gotta respect them, you know
Speaker 3: what I'm saying. So you know that's a that's a
Speaker 3: great way, you know, to create space for the running backs,
Speaker 3: you know, to get defenses to not try to load
Speaker 3: the box, you know, to drop and dropping the coverage
Speaker 3: just cover war cover two and you know, all of
Speaker 3: a sudden, it's a gash down the field. So love
Speaker 3: I love it.
Speaker 1: Nothing better than a light box. Right, Yeah, you eat
Speaker 1: those things up.
Speaker 2: So talking about that running back room, you know, two
Speaker 2: of my favorite people in the world, not just in
Speaker 2: the building, in the world or Rahemos are alec Ingele.
Speaker 2: They are such good dudes, the whole room for that matter.
Speaker 2: Jeff Wilson just saw him early here is that he
Speaker 2: was like, what's up, my guy? Like I love Jeff Wilson.
Speaker 2: Savon's a great guy. Private Devon h All.
Speaker 1: These guys are good dudes.
Speaker 2: What's it been like so far early on in that
Speaker 2: running back room in terms of camaraderie and how they've
Speaker 2: kind of helped the rook.
Speaker 3: Come along, It's been great. You know, those guys like
Speaker 3: you just named alec Ingol, Raheem, you know, even Devine,
Speaker 3: Jeff Wilson, all those guys, you know, they've been mentors
Speaker 3: to me. You know, Divine he knows what I'm going through.
Speaker 3: He was just a rookie last year, so he was
Speaker 3: just in my position. You know, he knows what I'm
Speaker 3: going through. You know, they all they all with me
Speaker 3: on the field, and they all corrected me when when
Speaker 3: they see something wrong and they all you know, giving
Speaker 3: me my props and they see something good. So I mean,
Speaker 3: it's just a good, good, healthy room. I mean, I
Speaker 3: know how it gets when it's a lot of talented
Speaker 3: running backs in one room, but it's not like that,
Speaker 3: you know what I'm saying. I feel the next year,
Speaker 3: I feel the family, and I feel everybody wants everybody
Speaker 3: to do great.
Speaker 2: So yeah, so that's that seems commonplace across this organization.
Speaker 2: It's really cool to hear you guys talk about that.
Speaker 1: Let's end on a fun one.
Speaker 2: What's something that you've done already in South Florida that
Speaker 2: was a lot of fun that you didn't really know
Speaker 2: about previously, or something you're looking forward to getting out
Speaker 2: and doing, like going to the Everglades, going to the beach. Like,
Speaker 2: I don't know what's something you've done for fun down.
Speaker 1: Here or want to do.
Speaker 3: I haven't really did anything. I've just been straight grinding,
Speaker 3: you know, locked in this football stuff. But eventually, you know,
Speaker 3: I want to go to the beach, you know, like
Speaker 3: you mentioned the Everglades, I would like to, you know,
Speaker 3: experience a lot of that stuff. You know, South Florida,
Speaker 3: it's a lot of things to do. Not only that
Speaker 3: you got behind us probably like forty five minutes forty
Speaker 3: five minute flight, so you know, I'm just ready to
Speaker 3: you know what I'm saying, experience you know more, and
Speaker 3: have fun out here.
Speaker 2: So all right, man, well you enjoy it, and thanks
Speaker 2: so much for you time today. Dolphins running back dealing right.
Speaker 1: Appreciate you man, Thanks, I appreciate you. And away he goes.
Speaker 2: Another fun chat with the Dolphins rookie that I expect
Speaker 2: to have a big impact on this football team in
Speaker 2: twenty twenty four. Next we'll come back on the other
Speaker 2: side and finish the rest of the NFC West Seahawks
Speaker 2: and Cardinals still to go. Two teams the Dolphins play
Speaker 2: next year, actually all four of these teams. That's next
Speaker 2: Draft Time podcast year host Travis Wingfield, brought to you
Speaker 2: by Auto Nation. The Seattle Seahawks are your Week three
Speaker 2: opponent for the Miami Dolphins. Let's go ahead and review
Speaker 2: last year and talk about what this team might offer
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty four. They were nine and eight last year,
Speaker 2: which was good for third place in the NFC West,
Speaker 2: but not good enough for a playoff. Berth And it's
Speaker 2: a great example of nothing being promised in the National
Speaker 2: Footballleague because the offensive line and the defense in twenty
Speaker 2: twenty two really powered them behind Gino Smith's breakout season
Speaker 2: and what was it like a year nine for him
Speaker 2: to a surprise playoff berth And then you sort of
Speaker 2: assume you have those pieces going forward, right, Well, it
Speaker 2: didn't work out that way because Charles Cross and Abe
Speaker 2: Lucas were injured and or not as effective for most
Speaker 2: of the year last year as they were as rookies
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty two, and the entire offensive line takes
Speaker 2: a major step back. Rieke Wollen, who had a billion pick,
Speaker 2: says rookie season, has a big sophomore slump and all
Speaker 2: of a sudden can't really play football anymore. The Bobby
Speaker 2: Wagner union doesn't work out very well, and they just
Speaker 2: can't get stops on anybody down the stretch at all,
Speaker 2: which was spearheaded by an injury to their best pass
Speaker 2: rusher in Yuchenannuosu. So that's that, you know, produces certain exits,
Speaker 2: it produces a certain coaching change, It just produces change
Speaker 2: in general. I am excited, however, to see how a
Speaker 2: new staff can reshape this football team that I think
Speaker 2: had become antiquated, stuck in its ways, especially schematically on defense.
Speaker 2: Now they do go to a system that is sort
Speaker 2: of the Shanahan McVeigh Laflora McDaniel version of a defensive system,
Speaker 2: and how it spreads all over the National Football League.
Speaker 2: I just think it's refreshing to get, you know, a
Speaker 2: new voice in a place where things had become kind
Speaker 2: of had become kind of stale.
Speaker 1: The big moves to the Seahawks.
Speaker 2: I haven't mentioned the coaching changes a lot so far
Speaker 2: through the first we'll we on our seventh team here
Speaker 2: of the first two divisions going along, But I just
Speaker 2: think that Mike McDonald's a very, very big deal. I'm
Speaker 2: going to have this team playing good foot ball quickly.
Speaker 2: Sam Howe was the new quarterback. Addition, they also brought
Speaker 2: in Lake and Thomlinson to play on the offensive line
Speaker 2: and on defense. Jonathan Hankins is new Jerome Baker. You
Speaker 2: guys know about him very well. Kavon Wallace Byron Murphy
Speaker 2: was their first round draft pick, and then Christian Haynes
Speaker 2: third round pick that gets in the notes here because
Speaker 2: I like his game so much. On the way out
Speaker 2: mentioned Jerome Baker. He is replacing Jordan Brooks. I think
Speaker 2: it's a very good swap for Themamy Dolphins in terms
Speaker 2: of ability there. They also lose Drew Locke, that's the
Speaker 2: Sam House swap out. They lose Will Disley Damian Lewis,
Speaker 2: like Robert Hunt, signs a massive deal to go play
Speaker 2: for the Panthers and lose a bunch of football games.
Speaker 2: They also lose Mario Edwards, Bobby Wagner, and Quandre Diggs.
Speaker 2: As of this taping, remains unsigned. I don't think he's
Speaker 2: going back to Seattle. What do they do well?
Speaker 1: Well?
Speaker 2: Ryan Grubb ran the most aggressive vertical attack offense in
Speaker 2: college football, and I can't wait to see how Young
Speaker 2: corks a group that includes DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and
Speaker 2: Jackson Smith and Jigba. How many different ways can this
Speaker 2: team get to four verts? And how can they further
Speaker 2: unlocked Geno Smith's ability to see the middle of the
Speaker 2: field and throw those anticipation strikes off the backs of
Speaker 2: helmets of linebackers. He is really good in that regard,
Speaker 2: and he can fly out pump the football in that way. Now,
Speaker 2: in the past, they've ground football games away with leads
Speaker 2: down the stretch. Will they have that same identity with
Speaker 2: a different, entirely different philosophy than we saw in the
Speaker 2: Pete Carroll era. But Kenneth Walker Zach Sharperney is a fun,
Speaker 2: powerful combo. I think that's a good place to start
Speaker 2: for in terms of getting your balance and your mix
Speaker 2: On offense. They also play from multiple defensive packages that
Speaker 2: the skuise and utilize one elite cover guy in Devon
Speaker 2: Witherspoon to force offenses into throwing at their best guy
Speaker 2: or into double covered. And I can see the MAXs
Speaker 2: using Witherspoon, not like in a Kyle Hamilton role per se,
Speaker 2: but I could see him getting lots of rush reps
Speaker 2: and playing, you know, fitting into the run game like
Speaker 2: they're gonna find a way to maximize Witherspoon's skill set,
Speaker 2: which is very, very diverse. They also streamlined their rush
Speaker 2: plans for a very deep group up front. I think
Speaker 2: adding Byron Murphy is kind of like dropping in their
Speaker 2: version of Justin Mattabueke. I think he's an absolute monster.
Speaker 2: He's going to be productive right away for them. What's
Speaker 2: the concerns or fatal flaw? Offensive depth is really bad
Speaker 2: and Gino Smith has missed some time and gone through
Speaker 2: some slumps in his two years in Seattle and I
Speaker 2: don't think they'll be able to turn it over to
Speaker 2: Sam Howe and have the same results for very long.
Speaker 2: Sometimes you get that, you know, lightning in a bottle
Speaker 2: for a game or two, but I probably like Sam
Speaker 2: Hall more than most. I just don't think it's gonna
Speaker 2: be a smooth transition to Seattle right away. And if
Speaker 2: they lose any of those weapons, it is not a
Speaker 2: deep group beyond that, it is one, two, three, and
Speaker 2: then out. Not that many teams do have law depth
Speaker 2: beyond that. We saw the Dolphins go aggressively after getting
Speaker 2: fifth and six options this offseason, so maybe there are
Speaker 2: some teams that have that. They also lost Damian Lewis,
Speaker 2: and it appears the plans to replace him with a
Speaker 2: third round draft pick, even though I love him. Christian Haynes.
Speaker 2: That's always an unknown, and they also incorporate multiple coverages
Speaker 2: with a young, somewhat unproven group on the back end.
Speaker 2: It's great if you can funnel everything through Witherspoon, but
Speaker 2: that other spot was a big concern last year. I
Speaker 2: don't think they have a slot position as a defined starter.
Speaker 2: In that role, it's tough to get to all your
Speaker 2: Buttz packages and exolic subpackages where you can't do those fundamentals.
Speaker 1: I'm not saying they won't.
Speaker 2: I could just see some growing pains there with the
Speaker 2: defensive backfield that I'm not really that crazy about. Some
Speaker 2: interesting things about them are the biggest storylines is just
Speaker 2: the the eraror change man going from Pete Carroll to
Speaker 2: Mike McDonald And as I'm singing McDonald's praises in the podcast,
Speaker 2: here one thing I don't love. And a lot of
Speaker 2: teams and coaches will do this, but they like stripped
Speaker 2: out all of the signage and the wallpaper of all
Speaker 2: like the past success, and.
Speaker 1: They're building like, don't do that. I don't know.
Speaker 2: I really think that's a not a great look because
Speaker 2: that last era accomplished a lot, and I get you're
Speaker 2: trying to change the page, but like also tip a
Speaker 2: cap to your history, you know, but one defensive whiz
Speaker 2: of an entire decade and generation in Pete Carroll to
Speaker 2: another one who's trying to become the same thing. I
Speaker 2: think is especially a better version of that for what
Speaker 2: twenty twenty four has to offer. They also have talked
Speaker 2: up Sam Howe a lot, and Gino's contract hasn't out
Speaker 2: at the end of the season.
Speaker 1: Always.
Speaker 2: I just love seeing how teams handle their quarterback situations.
Speaker 2: It's a big storyline every year for every team because
Speaker 2: it's so important, right, especially when it's not ironclad. Now, now,
Speaker 2: don't get that twisted. Gino is playing if he's available,
Speaker 2: he's their best option. But what if he doesn't play
Speaker 2: very good this year?
Speaker 1: Do they move on? Do they elevate Howe in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty five?
Speaker 2: Just curious to watch that. And then of course a brutal,
Speaker 2: brutal NFC West, which is tough for rookie head coach
Speaker 2: to compete in division. I think has two teams that
Speaker 2: could make championship runs in the Rams and Niners. My
Speaker 2: final roster thoughts, just some guys I didn't mention that.
Speaker 2: I love Jeron reed, Leo Williams and Draymont Jones.
Speaker 1: Man.
Speaker 2: You add in Byron Murphy with Boye Mafe and you Chennonewosu.
Speaker 2: That's a really good front and deep and a good
Speaker 2: group for McDonald to get his system implemented into. And gosh,
Speaker 2: I look at the back end and have questions, but
Speaker 2: those two have to be married together. But I just
Speaker 2: think that that front can really help carry them, and
Speaker 2: I should mention I do, like Julian, love the safety
Speaker 2: on the back end quite a lot as well. What
Speaker 2: can we learn about the Dolphins from the Seahawks. I
Speaker 2: think the only parallel here really is how do Mike
Speaker 2: McDonald and Anthony Weaver shaped their respective defenses to their
Speaker 2: visions with their shared history coming back from the Ravens.
Speaker 2: Last team in the NFC West, another team the Dolphins
Speaker 2: will see this year in week number eight at home
Speaker 2: here at hard Rocks Ay and one day before my birthday,
Speaker 2: OCTOVID twenty seventh, is the Arizona Cardinals. In twenty twenty three,
Speaker 2: they went four and thirteen, finishing last in the NFC West.
Speaker 2: The Cardinals embraced, in my opinion last season, the least
Speaker 2: enviable position in all of sports, entering a season without
Speaker 2: their starting quarterback. We embarked on that in twenty seventeen,
Speaker 2: one of my least favorite seasons as a Finns fan.
Speaker 2: But while all of that was happening on a roster
Speaker 2: that had been stripped to the studs, in particular on defense,
Speaker 2: the Cardinals kind of messed around and were competitive. They
Speaker 2: were everyone's pick to be the number one overall pick
Speaker 2: last year, and they were number four in the draft
Speaker 2: this year, and they didn't just win games, they were
Speaker 2: competitive with some other big dogs in games they came
Speaker 2: up short, and especially when Kyler Murray did come back
Speaker 2: and played for him again last year. So in that
Speaker 2: process they identified that perhaps they did make some good
Speaker 2: decisions with the biggest ones you can make. Right on
Speaker 2: the coaching staff. I thought Jonathan Ganna did a hell
Speaker 2: of a job last year, as I thought that he
Speaker 2: and Nick rayalist the defensive coordinator as much as they
Speaker 2: could with the hand they were dealt, which was even
Speaker 2: worse than that Rams defense on paper. Then Drew Petzing
Speaker 2: the offensive coordinator, kind of seems like one of these
Speaker 2: next young coordinators to make that meteoric ascension pace or
Speaker 2: that rise that you could see from him.
Speaker 1: They're armed with.
Speaker 2: More this year and look to make one of the
Speaker 2: toughest jumps, you know, I'll say the second toughest jump
Speaker 2: you can make as a football team, going from that
Speaker 2: competitive darling who is maybe wins a game or two
Speaker 2: as like a touchdown plus underdog, and you're like, oh,
Speaker 2: they could be good next year, wins six or seven games,
Speaker 2: like that's the goal of these teams that pick in
Speaker 2: the top five of the draft right become a seven
Speaker 2: or eight win football team. It's a that's a tough
Speaker 2: jump to make, but of course the biggest challenge is
Speaker 2: going from that to your third year or the next
Speaker 2: step in the process to becoming a true contender, kind
Speaker 2: of like the Lions did from twenty twenty two to
Speaker 2: twenty twenty three. It usually doesn't go that way, right,
Speaker 2: Like the Texans this year, they are a team that
Speaker 2: one expects to make a big run after a kind
Speaker 2: of a mediocre nine win season in the Division Championship
Speaker 2: that gets spoken about in certain praise because they thumped
Speaker 2: a Joe Flacco led Browns team at home, like the
Speaker 2: Dolphins were them that too, So like, I just it
Speaker 2: bothers me, right, But I just I think you look
Speaker 2: at the Texans this year and we're not on the
Speaker 2: AC South yet as a team that everyone's gonna pick
Speaker 2: to make a championship run, It's like, are you sure?
Speaker 1: Are you sure they can make that stuff? Because it's
Speaker 1: a big step to.
Speaker 2: Go from you know, media darling underdog to all right,
Speaker 2: now you're a contender, go win games against top teams
Speaker 2: in the National Football League, So for the Cardinals, they're
Speaker 2: trying to accomplish step two. Here is how I think
Speaker 2: they hope to get there. They made some big moves
Speaker 2: on defense, especially on the defensive line, bringing in Balal
Speaker 2: Nichols and Justin Jones to fortified defensive line that just
Speaker 2: had no defensive tackles last year. I like adding Mac
Speaker 2: Wilson to the linebacker room, and then in the defensive backfield,
Speaker 2: Sean Murphy Bunting was a player that I was interested
Speaker 2: in coming here before the Jordan Fuller sorry, rather the
Speaker 2: Kendall Fuller signing had happened. But the Cardinals get themselves
Speaker 2: a good one there. They also added in Jonah Williams,
Speaker 2: Zay Jones, the receiver who I could take or leave
Speaker 2: desen Riders the backup quarterback now. And then, of course
Speaker 2: in the draft two first round picks Marvin Harrison Junior,
Speaker 2: who I expect to be a monster from the word go.
Speaker 2: And I also love Darius Robinson from Missouri who was
Speaker 2: a player that I was interested in for the.
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins as well.
Speaker 2: On the way out, I have three receivers DeAndre Hopkins,
Speaker 2: Hollywood Brown, and Ron del Moore.
Speaker 1: That is a lot to replace man. That's a lot
Speaker 1: to replace.
Speaker 2: What do they do well? They run from heavy personnel.
Speaker 2: The Cardinals were a second and rush EPA from week
Speaker 2: ten on which we use that landmark because it coincides
Speaker 2: with Kyler Murray. Coming back to the offense, they use
Speaker 2: heavy personnel groupings with Kyler Murray under center, which is
Speaker 2: not what he did in the past under Cliff Kingsbury
Speaker 2: and that horrible offense with power running game behind James
Speaker 2: Connor and spacing because of Murray's ability to extend and
Speaker 2: keep the ball on bootlegs and do all the stuff
Speaker 2: that he does with his feet. Also the oscrip passing game.
Speaker 2: I mean, who's a better elusive quarterback than Kyler Murray
Speaker 2: besides maybe Lamar Jackson. I think this will be even
Speaker 2: more proficient with the remade skill group that features an
Speaker 2: absolute baller and Trey mcbridett tight end, a rookie who's
Speaker 2: going to be a star in my opinion in Marvin
Speaker 2: Harrison Junior, and really nice niche players like Michael Wilson,
Speaker 2: Greg derch Elijah Higgins. I wish we had him still,
Speaker 2: but a pretty nice compliment of players there. For the Cardinals,
Speaker 2: I think the line is a certified strength. They have
Speaker 2: been loading up there Paris Johnson.
Speaker 1: A year ago.
Speaker 2: They signed Jonah Williams, who I don't know about him,
Speaker 2: but he gets big money to basically take over for
Speaker 2: Kelvin Beacham. Does he convert to guard because he can
Speaker 2: still play as well. Plus they hit on Halte Froholt.
Speaker 2: I know, I butchered that name, the former Patriot who
Speaker 2: had a very serviceable first year. And then they've got
Speaker 2: Service Bowl players and Evan Brown, will Hernandez, Dennis Daily
Speaker 2: and Tristan Cologne on the offensive line as well. I
Speaker 2: don't think there's a calling card on defense just yet.
Speaker 2: They've made a clear effort to fortify the middle with
Speaker 2: Nichols and Jones, something that Jonathan Gannon had in Philadelphia,
Speaker 2: and I love, love, love the safety combo of Buddha
Speaker 2: Baker and Nglen Thompson go Kougs. But there's still a
Speaker 2: ways to go here. What's the concern or fatal flaws
Speaker 2: pass rush and run defense? The personnel upfront is just
Speaker 2: full of unproven names, coupled by the fact that the
Speaker 2: draft resources on defense haven't worked out. With Isaiah Simmons,
Speaker 2: Theyven Collins, who both haven't been good players, and Simmons
Speaker 2: is long gone now. I do love the Robinson pick.
Speaker 2: Reminds me a lot of the guys they had in
Speaker 2: Philly with Jonathan Gannon. The corner and pass rush depth
Speaker 2: also not great. They're ability to impact the opposing passing game,
Speaker 2: which is kind of the most important thing you do
Speaker 2: around here. And then are there enough explosive plays on
Speaker 2: offense because the run game looks to be the calling
Speaker 2: card there with that team. But you won't win a
Speaker 2: ton of games without a dynamic passing game, especially when
Speaker 2: you have a defense. It's probably still a work in progress.
Speaker 2: And Kyler threw touchdowns on just three point seven percent
Speaker 2: of his passes last year. That's ten and eight games,
Speaker 2: had a success rate of just forty three percent. That's
Speaker 2: not good, and just six point seven yards per attempt
Speaker 2: off of a year through for six point one yards
Speaker 2: per attempt. That's a tough way to make a living
Speaker 2: on offense. But I suspect he'll be better a full year,
Speaker 2: a move from injury and second year in the system.
Speaker 2: I just worry about the vertical element because you're not
Speaker 2: gonna go twelve play drives, which is kind of how
Speaker 2: this team operated last year. If you don't, you got
Speaker 2: ah explosive plays and you gotta hit long touchdown. That's how
Speaker 2: That's how you can you know, rack up points in
Speaker 2: this league and win games and blowout fashion. Some interesting
Speaker 2: things about this team and the big storylines just Kyler's
Speaker 2: future in his performance, you know, two years into a
Speaker 2: big extension, a major injury in there as well, a
Speaker 2: scheme change, a team still in the middle of a
Speaker 2: transition and rebuild, like if he doesn't play at a
Speaker 2: high level and they're thinking about maybe kicking the can
Speaker 2: down the road on how they could extend this rebuild
Speaker 2: further out. He seems like a guy you might dangle
Speaker 2: on a massive trade package if you get yourself a
Speaker 2: top pick next year. I think that he'll play well
Speaker 2: and he'll be there for a while. But this happens
Speaker 2: all the time in the league, right this is probably
Speaker 2: one of the situations worth monitoring for that potential move,
Speaker 2: kind of like Stafford was last year. Now in hindsight,
Speaker 2: it's not gonna happen, but maybe this is the next
Speaker 2: guy that is on that kind of radar. What else
Speaker 2: we got here? Progress from the sort of free pass
Speaker 2: first year that some coaches and rebuilt situations are given.
Speaker 2: You have real pressure. Now you have to kind of
Speaker 2: start counting your wins this year and losses in a
Speaker 2: tough division. That's a big storyline for this team and
Speaker 2: how they respond to having you know, the games mattered
Speaker 2: last year, but everyone knew they weren't gonna win a
Speaker 2: lot of games. So now that they have to kind
Speaker 2: of win games, what does look like?
Speaker 1: It's harder that way.
Speaker 2: It's like making putts in the on the practice green
Speaker 2: versus making a putt on the twelfth green, Right, it
Speaker 2: actually matters in one of those situations. Jonathan Gann has
Speaker 2: a defensive background and the personnel just hasn't gotten the
Speaker 2: attention of the offense has and if they don't play well,
Speaker 2: then that's when questions about, like, well, if he's the
Speaker 2: head coach and he's a defensive mind and the offense
Speaker 2: is good, then what's the point of having the head
Speaker 2: coach here that's not a defensive coach? Like that's a
Speaker 2: storyline to watch as well. Some final roster thoughts. I
Speaker 2: mentioned those safeties. Just want to go ahead and mention
Speaker 2: them again that Thompson and Baker are studs. I also
Speaker 2: like bj Ojalari off the edge. He's got some real
Speaker 2: burst into his game. Ben Stilly is there, former Dolphin,
Speaker 2: and then Marcus Bailey, guy that I like quite a lot.
Speaker 1: What can they tell us about the Dolphins? Probably not
Speaker 1: very much.
Speaker 2: I like the October match up here with them because
Speaker 2: it's a game before the Bills, which gives us a
Speaker 2: chance to look at a mobile quarterback ahead of seeing
Speaker 2: Josh Allen and then totally different portions of live cycles
Speaker 2: than us. Compare them to us in like twenty twenty.
Speaker 2: But even then there's tons of differences there. Division recap.
Speaker 2: Remember these can change from now until September. I really
Speaker 2: like this division, and when you know it, it's the
Speaker 2: one that we play. I think those Rams and Niners
Speaker 2: games late in the year with US could serve as
Speaker 2: potential Super Bowl previews. That's how highly I think of
Speaker 2: those teams. But the Niners are the clear, clear head
Speaker 2: of class here. I think Seattle has the offense to
Speaker 2: make a postseason push, especially if they get some answers
Speaker 2: in the back seven to complement what they do with
Speaker 2: their good pass rush and run defense up front. And
Speaker 2: then I might like the Arizona quarterback as much as
Speaker 2: any player in the division. I'd like Marvin Harrison Junior,
Speaker 2: and I think they've done well to fortify their offensive line.
Speaker 2: I just think they're a year behind everybody else in
Speaker 2: terms of our team cycle. Well, Seattle probably multiple years
Speaker 2: behind both LA and San Francisco. So my prediction right
Speaker 2: now on June twentieth, I'm recording this Niners thirteen plus wins,
Speaker 2: Rams ten to eleven wins, Seahawks seven to eight wins,
Speaker 2: and Cardinals six to seven wins. The best quarterback in
Speaker 2: the division is Matthew Stafford. The best bet non quarterback
Speaker 2: in the division on offense is Christian McCaffrey. The best
Speaker 2: player on defense is Fred Warner. To me, the best
Speaker 2: coach is still Kyle Shanahan. My favorite rookie, it's too easy,
Speaker 2: it's Marvin Harrison Junior. But for a bonus, I'll go
Speaker 2: Jared versus the Rams. And my fantasy sleeper is Jackson
Speaker 2: Smith and Jigba from the Seahawks. Think it's gonna be
Speaker 2: a number two receiver for the Seahawks this year and
Speaker 2: get a lot of big vertical down the field hits
Speaker 2: from Gino Smith.
Speaker 1: So there you go.
Speaker 2: NFC West in the books, we'll be back on Thursday
Speaker 2: with the AFC South. We'll also have more Dolphins players interviews.
Speaker 2: I have a bunch of those in the can ready
Speaker 2: to go. So that's what's coming up here on draft time.
Speaker 2: In the meantime, you all please be sure to subscribe
Speaker 2: to the podcast on Apple Spotify, where you get your
Speaker 2: podcasts from. Go ahead and leave us a rating, leave
Speaker 2: us a review. You can follow me on social at
Speaker 2: linkol NFL a team at Miami Dolphins. Check out the
Speaker 2: fish Tank podcast with my guys Seth and Juice. Check
Speaker 2: out the YouTube channel for media availabilities Dolphins Today, and
Speaker 2: the Kaleis Campbell interview is now up on the channel
Speaker 2: as well, and last but not least, to Miami Dolphins
Speaker 2: dot Com.
Speaker 1: Until next time, Fin's up on Amuran Daddy.
Speaker 2: He's going home. H