Speaker 1: Touchdown, Miami Run. What is up? Dolphins? And welcome to
Speaker 1: the Drive Time Podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins podcast network,
Speaker 1: covering your team, your Miami Dolphins. How's it going everybody?
Speaker 1: I am your host, Travis Wingfield and as always, even
Speaker 1: in the midnight hour, I am here to bring you
Speaker 1: your daily dose of Miami Dolphins football. And on today show,
Speaker 1: the Dolphins go off in the lone preseason game this
Speaker 1: August at hard Rock Stadium. We're recapping the thirty seven
Speaker 1: seventeen Dolphins victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Will do five takeaways,
Speaker 1: We'll break down the stats, the big plays on the night,
Speaker 1: go position by position, a big night for the offense
Speaker 1: and Sam Ego Von has himself a legendary stat line.
Speaker 1: All of that in a bunch more on this edition
Speaker 1: of the Drivetime Podcast, coming to you from the Baptist
Speaker 1: Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. I want
Speaker 1: to go ahead and start tonight with the stats from
Speaker 1: the game because they were pretty staggering in Miami's favor.
Speaker 1: And last week we talked about the first half of
Speaker 1: the Chicago game and how the Dolphins were the better
Speaker 1: team on the stat line across the board in that
Speaker 1: first half, and then things flipped the opposite direction in
Speaker 1: the second half of that game. But tonight it was
Speaker 1: pretty much from the start of the game to the
Speaker 1: end of the game, all Dolphins all the way, but
Speaker 1: the first half with the first team offense out there,
Speaker 1: the first team defense with some guys coming in and
Speaker 1: out of the lineup throughout the course of that first half.
Speaker 1: But Miami two hundred and thirty nine total yards to
Speaker 1: Atlanta's one. One hundred and eighty yards through the air,
Speaker 1: thirty seven for Atlanta. Miami had fifty nine on the ground.
Speaker 1: Atlanta had seventy eight, so they won that category. But
Speaker 1: the Dolphins go three for four on third down. The
Speaker 1: Falcons go one for five on third down. Two sacks
Speaker 1: for the Dolphins, one for the Falcons. Miami just two
Speaker 1: penalties for nineteen yards, and in fact, that was their
Speaker 1: game total. So the Dolphins, with ninety players on that sideline,
Speaker 1: working in multiple guys and multiple formations and multiple different
Speaker 1: teams throughout the course of the game, just two penalties
Speaker 1: for nineteen yards. What a remarkable stat that is. Atlanta
Speaker 1: winds up with three penalties for twenty five yards in
Speaker 1: the first half, they attack one on later in the game.
Speaker 1: Time of possession from Miami seven teen minutes seven seconds
Speaker 1: and Atlanta twelve minutes and forty three seconds. And again
Speaker 1: that trend continued throughout the course of the night, as
Speaker 1: Miami with twenty eight first downs to Atlanta sixteen. Miami
Speaker 1: goes seven for nine on third downs. They did fail
Speaker 1: once on fourth down, but the Falcons to for eight
Speaker 1: on their third downs, two for three on fourth. Miami
Speaker 1: with four hundred and twenty two yards on the night
Speaker 1: to Atlanta's two fifty three, not quite doubling up, but
Speaker 1: getting close to it. Two eighty six passing yards to
Speaker 1: just six s six for Atlanta. Through the air, Miami
Speaker 1: had one thirty six on the ground to Atlanta's one
Speaker 1: eighties seven. They ran eighteen more plays, and they also
Speaker 1: had four sacks in the game. The Falcons had just
Speaker 1: the one sack again, two penalties nineteen yards, Atlanta four
Speaker 1: for thirty five in Miami outpossessed the Falcons thirty six
Speaker 1: forty three to three seventeen. And again, this production from
Speaker 1: the offense without a laundry list of players that you've
Speaker 1: seen plenty get production, whether here in Miami or elsewhere.
Speaker 1: William Fuller, Lynn bow Junior, DeVante Parker, Preston Williams, and
Speaker 1: Isaiah Ford all receivers not available from Miami in this game.
Speaker 1: Javon Holland and Brandon Jones, the two young safeties not available,
Speaker 1: Javarros Davis, Vince Beagle, e Landon Roberts, Adam Panky and
Speaker 1: Sethan Carter are your d nps in this game. And
Speaker 1: again it just didn't matter. Miami from the opening gun
Speaker 1: was getting the job done in this game. And I
Speaker 1: want to start off here before the takeaways, just talking
Speaker 1: about some of the explosive plays, because that was one
Speaker 1: of our takeaways on the podcast US last week recapping
Speaker 1: the Bears game. Getting the big past to Mike Gatsicki
Speaker 1: and some third down and long conversions, the touchdown passed
Speaker 1: us Von Akhman from Jacoby Brissette. You could look pretty
Speaker 1: much up at your screen every couple of minutes and
Speaker 1: find a big Dolphins play in this one. I started
Speaker 1: off with the Miles Gaskon runs on that first touchdown
Speaker 1: drive where he was ripping off chunk gain after chunk
Speaker 1: gain and produced a big night for the third year
Speaker 1: running back out of Washington. How about two took a
Speaker 1: siki to convert in the red zone on third and long.
Speaker 1: How about two out of gasking for the eight yard
Speaker 1: touchdown pass to cap off that second drive and eleven
Speaker 1: play sixty six yards, six and a half minute drive
Speaker 1: for the Dolphins. And that was the case all night long,
Speaker 1: just taking the ball up and down the field, getting
Speaker 1: plenty of work in, plenty of plays to put on
Speaker 1: tape to go back and look and and make the
Speaker 1: corrections of the guys are probably doing right now at
Speaker 1: the facility as I sit here talking to you from
Speaker 1: the facility and the podcast studio in the back. Eric
Speaker 1: Rose pass breakup in the end zone Seth Levitt on
Speaker 1: our postgame show on w q A M five sixty
Speaker 1: and available in the Odyssey, by the way, if you much,
Speaker 1: I got that podcast the podcast version of the broadcast.
Speaker 1: He talked about giving Eric Rowe a game ball because
Speaker 1: of that pass breakup he had in the end zone
Speaker 1: and because he took points off the board fourth and goal.
Speaker 1: He gets his hand around like he has wanted to
Speaker 1: do and pokes that thing free. We talked about it
Speaker 1: all week long and the practices really getting a chance
Speaker 1: to go up against Kyle Pitts, and everyone says, well,
Speaker 1: how much does it help your game to go up
Speaker 1: against the guy like Kyle Pitts. I asked the question,
Speaker 1: Kyle Pitts, how much does it help your game to
Speaker 1: go up against a guy like Eric Rowe? Because really,
Speaker 1: in fourteen of the sixteen games last year, Row statistically
Speaker 1: was very very good. In the two games he was
Speaker 1: not as good. Statistically, he was in great position. But
Speaker 1: Travis Kelsey and Darren Waller, a pair of all Pro
Speaker 1: tight ends, they just kind of did their thing in
Speaker 1: those games and made tough, contested catches. So he gets
Speaker 1: another PBu, this one in the end zone, this one
Speaker 1: on fourth down. To me, that constitutes a big play.
Speaker 1: How about the completion to Mac Hollands on third and
Speaker 1: ten for fourteen yards from Ta Tonga Byloa. We'll talk
Speaker 1: more about the quarterback and the receiver slash special teams
Speaker 1: Ace that has really made a name for himself this
Speaker 1: training camp in preseason here in Miami. How about thirty
Speaker 1: yards from Tua Tokisiki. Last week it was fifty three
Speaker 1: or fifty four yards. I mean, how many tight ends
Speaker 1: are making thirty forty fifty yard plays in the National
Speaker 1: Football League today, There's not many of them that do that.
Speaker 1: Mike KASICKI now doing it back to back weeks. Sam
Speaker 1: eg Van. My notes here say back to back sacks.
Speaker 1: Clearly I gotta update that because it was back to
Speaker 1: back to back to back four sacks for Sam Ego.
Speaker 1: Van went totally bonkers in the game. Craivon le Blanc
Speaker 1: forced to fumble, Kirk Merritt had to catch and run
Speaker 1: for twenty seven yards where he ran a little jerk route,
Speaker 1: stuck the foot in the ground, caught the football, ran
Speaker 1: through contact and was off to the races. Also scored
Speaker 1: touchdown later on in the night. That was awesome to
Speaker 1: see because Kirk Mayor has been making big plays all
Speaker 1: training camp long, so to watch him get production in
Speaker 1: the game very cool to see that for him. I
Speaker 1: put Malcolm Brown for six rushes for twenty five yards
Speaker 1: and a touchdown on one drive on that first d
Speaker 1: I've out of the locker room where the offensive line
Speaker 1: was just pushing the Atlanta Falcons off the football and
Speaker 1: Malcolm Brown was running hard and getting those tough yards.
Speaker 1: Big drive there from him. Malcolm Perry had a big
Speaker 1: play up the sideline on a pass reception from Jacoby
Speaker 1: Brissette that gets in here again, a Von four sex
Speaker 1: I guess I put it in here, twice, eleven tackles,
Speaker 1: and a safety shoot. Heading into the fourth quarter, a
Speaker 1: Von trailed the Falcons by himself by just one point.
Speaker 1: Calvin Munson gets an interception. How about that? And then
Speaker 1: I also have the Kirk Merritt touchdown in here as well,
Speaker 1: So plenty of explosive plays for this Dolphins team on
Speaker 1: offense on defense. I also put a note in here
Speaker 1: that the Dolphins continue to find ways to pin the
Speaker 1: opposing kick return unit inside the twenty yard line. There
Speaker 1: was one today at the twelve yard line. Now, of course,
Speaker 1: preseason teams are going to be more inclined to bring
Speaker 1: the ball out because there's no penalty for losing twelve
Speaker 1: yards of field position in a game that doesn't count,
Speaker 1: and you want to get those reps. But good on
Speaker 1: Miami for finding ways to consistently win the hidden yards
Speaker 1: battle and flip the field with they're all pro kicker
Speaker 1: and their kick coverage team. They're in Jason Sanders and
Speaker 1: Danny Croftsman's special teams unit. Takeaway number one, We're gonna
Speaker 1: go to QB one here, who was asked, how do
Speaker 1: you think you've played tonight? And the question also had
Speaker 1: a bit of a caveat in there. You know your
Speaker 1: coach demands perfection, but how do you think you played
Speaker 1: in this game? I think, uh, you know, kind of
Speaker 1: like last week, and he did while we look at
Speaker 1: you didn't. Well. I think offensively, we came out pretty strong.
Speaker 1: I wanted to start fast and obviously going to the
Speaker 1: same drise you conver on third downs, good drives going
Speaker 1: and you know, put points on board. Um, that's that's
Speaker 1: really what we're gonna come back to QB one here
Speaker 1: in just one second. But sixteen for twenty three D
Speaker 1: and eighty three yards at passing touchdown a one oh
Speaker 1: seven point seven rating. And we talked about this in
Speaker 1: the podcast last week about how I thought he demonstrated
Speaker 1: the things in that game that made you really if
Speaker 1: you were a big fan of his as a prospect
Speaker 1: coming out of Alabama, that really made you kind of
Speaker 1: attracted to his game as far as the prospect goes,
Speaker 1: because he was showing the quick twitch getting away from
Speaker 1: the pressure, stepping out of harm's way and into position
Speaker 1: in the pocket where there was some space to operate from,
Speaker 1: so he could make throws and get the football off
Speaker 1: that way too, multiple big plays from to in that aspect,
Speaker 1: the quick decisions to decipher. Here comes a rusher, Here
Speaker 1: comes a blitzer. He talked about Dan P's showing multiple
Speaker 1: different looks this week in practice and the joint practices
Speaker 1: and how it gave him an opportunity to get through
Speaker 1: some of the stuff you have to get through pre
Speaker 1: snap and how to apply that post snap. I thought
Speaker 1: we saw a very good collection of to a picking
Speaker 1: up not just where the pressure was coming from, but
Speaker 1: how to beat the pressure with the quick decisive throws.
Speaker 1: And we're gonna get to that here more than just
Speaker 1: one second. But I want to go back to to
Speaker 1: a now who was asked about the looks the defense
Speaker 1: gave them and the offensive approach to take advantage of
Speaker 1: what the defense was showing. U. You know, on first
Speaker 1: and second down, there some changes within the structure, you know,
Speaker 1: and then now throughout the game, but they gave us
Speaker 1: we handled the ball out and the able to throw.
Speaker 1: You know, they're trying to get guys in the box
Speaker 1: for the re fit nor as poor guys, and that
Speaker 1: right there is a very dangerous option for an offense
Speaker 1: to have. And I spoke about this again on the
Speaker 1: w q A M five sixty post game show about
Speaker 1: how last week and this week to Dolphins down six receivers,
Speaker 1: but last week with all the receivers down and a
Speaker 1: compliment of tight ends available, which she had this week
Speaker 1: as well to a really through the ball to Shaheen
Speaker 1: and Smith and Ghaziki a lot made a bunch of
Speaker 1: plays in the passing game through the tight ends. And
Speaker 1: we saw Jacobe Brissette at the football to running backs
Speaker 1: as well as to to Malcolm Brown last week, but
Speaker 1: now he doesn't a good job of sharing the wealth
Speaker 1: to not just tight ends and backs, but getting receivers
Speaker 1: involved with Jalen Waddle, Mac Hollins, Jechem Grant will talk
Speaker 1: more about the quick game here in just one second
Speaker 1: one of our takeaways. But I thought that was an
Speaker 1: interesting development there, because you go through the course of
Speaker 1: a seventeen game NFL schedule, a full seventeen game NFL season,
Speaker 1: and you're gonna face different defenses that have different strengths
Speaker 1: and can take away different things on your offense. So
Speaker 1: the more ways you can win football games, gosh, that's
Speaker 1: a nice recipe for success. I'm not gonna put too
Speaker 1: much on a preseason game, but that's the idea. And
Speaker 1: I always go back to the was it twenty nineteen
Speaker 1: that range of the New Orleans Saints with Drew Brees,
Speaker 1: when yeah, it was the tail end of his career,
Speaker 1: but he could still get the job done. And we
Speaker 1: saw that in a postseason game against the Minnesota Vikings
Speaker 1: that year. I think it was where he was just
Speaker 1: going up and down the field. In the second half
Speaker 1: of that game, the Saints defense wasn't playing as highly
Speaker 1: as they normally did. Alvin Camaro was not getting going,
Speaker 1: so they said, hey, Breeze, we're gonna need you to
Speaker 1: go out there and take care of this game for us.
Speaker 1: And he went out there and put up a bunch
Speaker 1: of points in a bunch of ats and a bunch
Speaker 1: of yards. And so you have this where the quarterback
Speaker 1: is there and he can hand the ball off and
Speaker 1: play strong defense, but when we need him, you can
Speaker 1: go to that. So multiple ways to win the football game,
Speaker 1: but also the job of the quarterback. It's not just
Speaker 1: the passing plays like people overlook this all time, in
Speaker 1: my opinion, but getting the right look in the right
Speaker 1: count in the running game to what talked about it there,
Speaker 1: that is critically vital as well. And we saw the
Speaker 1: Dolphins run game have a bunch of success tonight, especially
Speaker 1: with that first team set of backs and offensive line,
Speaker 1: and just the first quarter of the second quarter of
Speaker 1: that game really finding success in the ground game with
Speaker 1: two at the controls. I thought that was fantastic to see. Also,
Speaker 1: part of two is takeaway here the third down success rate.
Speaker 1: I mean four for four with forty yards tonight. That
Speaker 1: makes it seven for eight with one and fifteen total
Speaker 1: yards in the two preseason games. A little bit less
Speaker 1: than a full game there, but seven for eight hundred
Speaker 1: and fifteen yards. That's a pretty damn good conversion right there.
Speaker 1: From your quarterback who also through for nine or eight
Speaker 1: yards per attempt today is to give him eight and
Speaker 1: a half yards per attempt. So stretch in the field
Speaker 1: vertically converting third downs and doing it amidst some pressure
Speaker 1: on some of those third and ten places, third and
Speaker 1: eight like, converting these long third downs, and he's making
Speaker 1: it look easy so far through two preseason games. I
Speaker 1: also mentioned the ball placement here in my collective to
Speaker 1: a takeaway just the ability to match up or to
Speaker 1: recognize matchups and where the football should be going. I
Speaker 1: talked about beating the blitz and replacing the blitzer with
Speaker 1: the football. But there was a play where savan Akhmed
Speaker 1: motions out wide at number forty three. The linebacker chases
Speaker 1: him out to the perimeter. And I was sitting there
Speaker 1: in the press box and I said, Achmed's got a linebacker.
Speaker 1: That's that's probably where the ball should go. And we
Speaker 1: tried it to try to savan Akhmed. I'll watch the
Speaker 1: replay later and we'll have the Emissions podcast on Monday
Speaker 1: for you guys. Of things I didn't quite see from
Speaker 1: not rewatching the game seven or eight teen times, but
Speaker 1: on that throw, it looked like the location was pretty
Speaker 1: good and Savon had it in his hands, just a
Speaker 1: hit on the sideline, trying to contest with keeping the
Speaker 1: feet down, But the precision on that throw and that
Speaker 1: catch in that route, it looked pretty good to me.
Speaker 1: So the idea that you can find these matchups, identify them,
Speaker 1: and attack them with this compliment and this arsenal of
Speaker 1: weapons you have, Boy, that's fun to watch for the offense.
Speaker 1: So again to a sixteen eighty three yards and a
Speaker 1: touchdown in this game. And he was also the only
Speaker 1: player so far this preseason to complete of his passes
Speaker 1: in a quarter with five or more passes. So how
Speaker 1: about that for a Bob ker from Major League Type
Speaker 1: of satistic, but it's still a fun one. Takeaway number two.
Speaker 1: I wrote down the quick game as a takeaway because
Speaker 1: on the first four throws of the game I was
Speaker 1: kind of charting this because they were coming out so fast.
Speaker 1: A a quick swing to Waddle, a quick dump off
Speaker 1: to Miles Gascon, a quick hitter to Waddle again, a
Speaker 1: quick jet pass, jet sweet pass to Jachem Grant. The
Speaker 1: first four throws the two had it was catch, fake, fake,
Speaker 1: a handoff, throws to the flat catch, pop pass, catch,
Speaker 1: get that thing out to the curl route to Jaalen Waddle.
Speaker 1: So I think within those four throws he probably held
Speaker 1: the ball collectively for about four seconds. And what does
Speaker 1: that you? I mean that takes away the offensive line,
Speaker 1: like you you're not gonna get home. That's design throws
Speaker 1: that get out of the quarterback's hand, get the ball
Speaker 1: to your playmakers in space. They are extensions of the
Speaker 1: running game. And when you can get the ball out
Speaker 1: wide to the running game, through the passing game to
Speaker 1: a guy like Waddle to a guy like grant Man.
Speaker 1: That opens things up, and it also takes the pressure
Speaker 1: I think off the offensive line, and now the defense
Speaker 1: has to react to lateral motion to going horizontal, a
Speaker 1: false step left, a false step right, the ball goes
Speaker 1: back the other way. Now all of a sudden, I
Speaker 1: can't pin my ears back and pass rush the way
Speaker 1: I want to, and that's going to help the offensive line. Now.
Speaker 1: Coach Flores talked about this in the spring and sorted
Speaker 1: Chris career Dolphin general manager, you know who he is,
Speaker 1: about more ways than just drafting and running back or
Speaker 1: drafting offensive line to improve your running game. And I
Speaker 1: think we saw that tonight. A little bit speed on
Speaker 1: the perimeter, speed going across the field horizontally can really
Speaker 1: dictate the way a defense has to play and open
Speaker 1: things up. This whole entire sport, as coaches mentioned, is
Speaker 1: about complain mentory aspects and complimentary influences. And I think
Speaker 1: the collection of what you have in the passing game
Speaker 1: at the skill spots really benefits what you can do,
Speaker 1: not just in the running game, because when you have
Speaker 1: Wattle and Grant or when Will Fuller comes back, or
Speaker 1: these other speed merchants you have on the roster. They're
Speaker 1: going to force the defense into playing too high unless
Speaker 1: you want to risk single man coverage on a four
Speaker 1: three burner and risk giving up the back part of
Speaker 1: the field because that guy can run by your coverage.
Speaker 1: So if you get forced into too high coverage, all
Speaker 1: of a sudden, now there's room for the running game.
Speaker 1: Right to have mentioned it the box count. If they
Speaker 1: want to stink that defender back, we're gonna go ahead
Speaker 1: and run the football. It's it's a numbers game when
Speaker 1: it comes to the running game. But also there's more.
Speaker 1: But wait, there's more. What about throwing the football down
Speaker 1: the middle of the field to a Mike Gasicki to
Speaker 1: a Mac Hollins. That thirty yard catch down the middle.
Speaker 1: You see it, You see the receiver's release and you
Speaker 1: see the width that gains and Mike Gasicki has access
Speaker 1: over the middle of the field for a great thirty
Speaker 1: yard rip and run. He gets up ended, but hangs
Speaker 1: onto the football and he gets up Okay, a big
Speaker 1: completion there. So that Dolphins quick game and and incorporating
Speaker 1: some of the elements this offense now has with the
Speaker 1: new pieces they've added, because it was a busy offseason
Speaker 1: bringing in pieces to this offense, and man, it was
Speaker 1: fun to watch on Saturday Night. Number three. I'm going
Speaker 1: to take a bit of a turn in the opposite
Speaker 1: direction here, and this is such a minor nitpick in
Speaker 1: my opinion, because it was really one or two runs.
Speaker 1: But Phelippe A. Franks was dead to right a couple
Speaker 1: of times. When he came off the bench for a J.
Speaker 1: McCarron early in the game who was injured in the
Speaker 1: game and had to leave and didn't come back. He
Speaker 1: got loose a couple of times. That's why the Falcons
Speaker 1: out rushed Miami was because of the quarterback running and
Speaker 1: I just put running QBS and he evades that pressure
Speaker 1: and gets out of some third down trouble and gets
Speaker 1: out of a sack and extends a drive that way.
Speaker 1: And you know, to me, this was the one thing,
Speaker 1: and there's never a perfect performance, but this was the
Speaker 1: one thing really standing between Miami and a really really
Speaker 1: really really really really good performance. Like I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: say perfect, but a really really good one. And I
Speaker 1: think if they can sore it, that out and correct
Speaker 1: that and maybe find way to generate pressure on quarterbacks
Speaker 1: with you know, four or five man rushes are just
Speaker 1: find ways to hem those guys in and not let
Speaker 1: them loose the way Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes or
Speaker 1: Kyler Murray, all these explosive quarterbacks you have in the
Speaker 1: National Football League. Now, if you can find a way
Speaker 1: to hem those guys in, man, this defense has the
Speaker 1: pieces and has the parts to really execute and get
Speaker 1: the job done. Like we saw a year ago, and
Speaker 1: they went out and I thought added pieces to make
Speaker 1: them better. So the running quarterback thing is my takeaway
Speaker 1: number three, just because like I said, we're gonna see
Speaker 1: Cam Newton week one most likely, or we'll see if
Speaker 1: it's him or Mac Jones. But I think Cam Newton
Speaker 1: started left the first two preseason games, so right now
Speaker 1: it looks like him, and then week two you get
Speaker 1: Josh Allen. So the running quarterbacks are coming down the pike.
Speaker 1: Takeaway number four, I just wrote down the middle, and
Speaker 1: what I mean by that is on defense, because I
Speaker 1: mean how you've heard the podcast, You've heard the training
Speaker 1: camp reviews. In the preseason review against the Bears last week,
Speaker 1: Christian Wilkins, Zack Seiler, Ray k One Davis, Adam Butler,
Speaker 1: and then I also put Sandag Van but Nardak McKinney
Speaker 1: and although Jerome Baker, I don't think I charged him
Speaker 1: with a quarterback pressure from the press box again got
Speaker 1: to be watched. He's still active and gets We know
Speaker 1: what he can do as a pass russhure and coverage
Speaker 1: against the run. He's everywhere. He's a phenomenal player. But
Speaker 1: the guys I mentioned Wilkins I thought had a hell
Speaker 1: of a football game. We'll talk about that more than
Speaker 1: just one second. Zack Seeler, Ray Kwon Davis. There was
Speaker 1: plenty of reps where those three guys are playing kind
Speaker 1: of a big defensive line front, and then you can
Speaker 1: rush with Van Ginkel or Agba or Jalen Phillips or
Speaker 1: Brandon Scarlett, or when Vince Bagel gets back, you can
Speaker 1: put him out there. You've got all these weapons in
Speaker 1: your arsenal to play with. And those three guys do
Speaker 1: such a good job of eating up blocks, but not
Speaker 1: just that, getting off those blocks and making plays at
Speaker 1: the line and putting pressure on the quarterback. And we
Speaker 1: didn't even have Adam Butler in that conversation because he
Speaker 1: is constantly disrupting the back field as well from that
Speaker 1: defensive tackle position, and those guys do play end and
Speaker 1: tackle as well, so they're so versatile and so deep.
Speaker 1: And it's just like, man, I wish I had more
Speaker 1: are snaps to give you guys because you're all producing
Speaker 1: at such a high level right now. And then see
Speaker 1: him eg Van, I mean, I can't believe we're this
Speaker 1: far into the podcast without really really going in on him.
Speaker 1: But four sacks what eleven tackles a safety? I mean,
Speaker 1: what a night for sam Ego Van who comes back
Speaker 1: off the COVID nineteen or the COVID reserve list rather
Speaker 1: and makes a big splash in this game. Just awesome
Speaker 1: to see. He's a great guy. Did a podcast with
Speaker 1: him last year where he talked a little bit about
Speaker 1: his brother and the Epilepsy Foundation that he supports to
Speaker 1: try to help find a cure for epilepsy. Just a
Speaker 1: really cool game there for samuelg Vana, a cool performance
Speaker 1: to watch him just go absolutely ham in this game.
Speaker 1: And then but Nardrick McKinney also had some pressure up
Speaker 1: the middle on a couple of instances too, So just
Speaker 1: down the middle of this defense. And you can add
Speaker 1: the safeties into that equation too, with you know a
Speaker 1: Javon Hall and Brandon Jones who didn't play tonight, or
Speaker 1: Jason mccordy and Eric Rowe. You have to love what
Speaker 1: you have down the middle, down the heart of your defense.
Speaker 1: And then the five A, have a five A and
Speaker 1: a five beat. Because we're gonna talk about this here
Speaker 1: in just one second. My I've a takeaway is the
Speaker 1: offensive line and Austin Jackson because I mean we talked
Speaker 1: about the rushing. The rushing game for the Miami Dolphins
Speaker 1: to night hundred and thirty six yards. I mean they
Speaker 1: were pushing the pile, getting getting the job done. All
Speaker 1: the backs for the Dolphins Knight averaged over four point
Speaker 1: three yards per carry. That's a great number to look at.
Speaker 1: Miles Gaskin goes for seventy one yards from scrimmage. Malcolm
Speaker 1: Brown rushes for a team high forty three yards. Jared
Speaker 1: Oakes has seven for thirty yards, Gaskin six for twenty seven,
Speaker 1: Jordan's Scarlett has five for twenty two, Tongua Blowa the
Speaker 1: one for eight, Savan Akhma two for six, Patrick Larrard
Speaker 1: one for two, and read Senet two for Mins two
Speaker 1: kneel and the football down there at the end of
Speaker 1: the game. But those backs four point three point four
Speaker 1: point three, four point five, four point four yards per carry.
Speaker 1: That is a recipe for success, especially when you can
Speaker 1: get out to that quick start and that quick lead
Speaker 1: like they did. And it was the offensive line getting
Speaker 1: the job done. We'll talk about this more in just
Speaker 1: one second here in the individual pieces, but the consistent surge,
Speaker 1: the calls in the run game by coach students, fill
Speaker 1: coach Gods and the offensive staff to create space and
Speaker 1: to get lanes, and to to create those lanes from
Speaker 1: the offensive lineman. I thought it was a big bounce
Speaker 1: back game for that group, and also Austin Jackson, who
Speaker 1: I put in the notes here specifically because I kept
Speaker 1: watching his past protection sets and there were multiple instances.
Speaker 1: The first one I noticed was the completion to jakeem
Speaker 1: Grant on a drag route, and it was a great
Speaker 1: compilation of so many things I talked about in training
Speaker 1: camp on the Review podcast, where two puts the ball
Speaker 1: on a location in a spot, kind of throws some
Speaker 1: touch on it and lays it out there to anticipate
Speaker 1: the receiver get into that spot at the same time
Speaker 1: as the football gets there, and he lays it out
Speaker 1: there for Jachem Grant, who runs under it, turns it up,
Speaker 1: gets a first down, and Austin Jackson the line slides
Speaker 1: the opposite direction, keeping him in a one on one
Speaker 1: position to pass block, and he just stands there and
Speaker 1: stone walls the man across from him and gets the
Speaker 1: job done. I thought he got great surge in the
Speaker 1: running game, the hold on the outside run man. That
Speaker 1: looked like a good block, but they're gonna call it
Speaker 1: back on the whole. I was ready to give him
Speaker 1: some praise for that one, but again, the surgeon the
Speaker 1: in game has been evident for me so far from
Speaker 1: Austin Jackson. And then some really good pass pro tonight
Speaker 1: as well. So that's five A the takeaways, two A
Speaker 1: tongue aboo, a big time game, the quick passing game,
Speaker 1: and the offense kind of taking shape. The running quarterback thing.
Speaker 1: I wasn't too thrilled about the down, the middle part
Speaker 1: of the defense, the offensive line, and then five B
Speaker 1: Jalen Waddle is okay, And I was going through it
Speaker 1: on Twitter. You guys know, I'm a big, big Jalen
Speaker 1: Wattle fan and just kind of seeing the sequence of
Speaker 1: events play out there with him exiting the game. At first,
Speaker 1: he gets kind of nicked up where his he so
Speaker 1: he gets rolled up on and he kicks his feet backwards.
Speaker 1: He wasn't planted and that's why I think he was
Speaker 1: wound up being you know, okay was he wasn't caught
Speaker 1: with a planted leg. And then you get that knee
Speaker 1: kind of buckling. He runs over from the ten yard liner,
Speaker 1: so all the way down to midfield, and that's when
Speaker 1: I noticed he was down. I look up with the
Speaker 1: TV scream and the press box and Jalen Wattle looks
Speaker 1: like he's in a great deal of pain on the sideline.
Speaker 1: He then walks off and it looks like a normal
Speaker 1: type of gait, a normal type of walking like that
Speaker 1: looks good. But he goes back into the blue medical tent,
Speaker 1: then leaves there. It goes back into the locker room,
Speaker 1: and very quickly after that, comes back out onto the field.
Speaker 1: No helmet enhanced. I'm wondering, well, this is a good sign.
Speaker 1: And then he starts kind of running through some routes,
Speaker 1: some explosion work and some cutting. I'm like that looks
Speaker 1: really good, and I see him go over and grab
Speaker 1: his helmet, And I tweeted this every step of the
Speaker 1: way because I kind of wanted to go with through
Speaker 1: it with you guys like I was going through it
Speaker 1: soft at Dean Formally of the South Flora Sun Sentinel
Speaker 1: out now with USA Today comes over after the game
Speaker 1: and goes, how much were you crapping yourself there during
Speaker 1: that whole process with Jalen Waddle And he didn't say crapping,
Speaker 1: and I said a lot. Man, I was pretty nervous
Speaker 1: about that. I really hoped he was okay. He gets
Speaker 1: back into the game and looks like he's gonna be okay.
Speaker 1: So good stuff there from the Dolphin's offense. From Jalen
Speaker 1: Waddle getting back onto the field. Some of the individual
Speaker 1: notes we touched on two already. Jacoby Brissette goes eight
Speaker 1: for eight tonight and just balls out and plays really
Speaker 1: well in the game, passing yards, one touchdown, a nearly
Speaker 1: perfect passer rating, shoot reads a net two for two
Speaker 1: seven yards. He didn't throw it any completion, also had
Speaker 1: him so off a touchdown passed, So the Dolphins quarterbacks
Speaker 1: three touchdowns, no picks all over one passer ratings in
Speaker 1: the game. Great job by the QBS. Miles Gaskin mentioned
Speaker 1: him going absolutely nuts, shifty catching the football, getting open
Speaker 1: in the end zone, making a bunch of plays seventy
Speaker 1: one yards from scrimmage, a pair of touchdowns. How about
Speaker 1: Savon Akhmed nineteen more yards through the air in this
Speaker 1: game when a couple of catches as well. And then
Speaker 1: Malcolm Brown we talked about ten carries forty three yards
Speaker 1: and a touchdown run. The eleven yard run was the
Speaker 1: most exciting one on the night where he carried bodies
Speaker 1: and carried the pile. And Jared Dikes seven carries thirty yards.
Speaker 1: I put down the compliment of his shiftiness that he
Speaker 1: showed in this game with the brute force and the
Speaker 1: ability to drop the shoulder that he has shown before.
Speaker 1: That's a great combination for that guy. So a very
Speaker 1: good looking game from Jared Oakes, Jillan Waddle when he
Speaker 1: was on the field playing and healthy, I thought this
Speaker 1: the suddenness, the shift nous, what he does the defense
Speaker 1: to kind of hold their eyes and command their attention.
Speaker 1: I thought that was very notable in this game. And
Speaker 1: the same with Jachem Grant on the pop passes on
Speaker 1: the drag routes. Man, you want to play man coverage
Speaker 1: against those guys, and they can stretch you where they
Speaker 1: run all the way across the field, whether it's going
Speaker 1: horizontal or vertigal, just put so much stress on the
Speaker 1: defense and really forces you to make decisions as far
Speaker 1: as what covered you want to run. And then how
Speaker 1: about the beneficiary of those speed but also the beneficiary
Speaker 1: of just playing damn good football all training camp long.
Speaker 1: Mac Hollins big time catches, first downs, had the juggle,
Speaker 1: but he brought that thing back in, made the catch
Speaker 1: for his teammate and first quarterback rather and talking about
Speaker 1: being a teammate. I guess Seth and O J talked
Speaker 1: about him rescuing Miles Gascon's chain that fell off in
Speaker 1: the end zone, and I guess mac Hallins went and
Speaker 1: grabbed it. I didn't see it, but I'll talk about
Speaker 1: I'll look at it on the replay once more. But
Speaker 1: mac Hollins a big night again catching the football in traffic.
Speaker 1: I think he caught all of his targets or four
Speaker 1: catches on five targets for forty nine yards, a big
Speaker 1: third down in ten conversion, a fourteen yard play on
Speaker 1: that conversion. Kirk Merritt the twenty seven yard catch where
Speaker 1: he runs a little jerk route puts the cornerback in
Speaker 1: some peril. Outside back inside catches that thing, but it's
Speaker 1: still in close quarters, breaks the tackle twenty seven yards.
Speaker 1: Then later in the game catches the ball over his
Speaker 1: shoulder for a touchdown. Good to see a great camp
Speaker 1: there from kirk Merritt translate into game day production. He
Speaker 1: finishes the game with three catches for thirty four yards
Speaker 1: and a touchdown. How about Robert Foster was some catches
Speaker 1: and very nice over the shoulder grab and the end
Speaker 1: zone for a touchdown of his own from Jacobe Brissette
Speaker 1: and the game Foster two catches for sixteen yards and
Speaker 1: a touchdown. And then Malcolm Perry had a big play
Speaker 1: in the game as well, a twenty nine yard play
Speaker 1: catch and run his only reception of the day. But
Speaker 1: good to see Malcolm Perry get loose. How about the
Speaker 1: tight end position with Mike Gatsicki, who continues to make
Speaker 1: big plays. He caught both of his targets today for
Speaker 1: forty three yards and average of twenty one and a
Speaker 1: half yards per catch. There from big Mike and then
Speaker 1: Durham Smith. I put his name in the notes for
Speaker 1: the blocking he showed off the edge in this game,
Speaker 1: creating space for some guys. He was really really good
Speaker 1: in that department. And then also great to see Hunter
Speaker 1: along get his first reception for four yards in the
Speaker 1: game as well. Along the offensive line, I talked about
Speaker 1: Austin Jackson, but his ability off the edge to seal
Speaker 1: that thing and create space in the running game. Some
Speaker 1: pushing the running game, the isolation in the one on
Speaker 1: one situations in the past protection game. That was fun
Speaker 1: to see. Michael Dieter I've talked about his communication and
Speaker 1: double teams on the Training Camp Review podcast. Saw some
Speaker 1: more that tonight. He got some push on a run
Speaker 1: when the Dolphins are backed up where he creates some
Speaker 1: space and the Dolphins got out of the shadow of
Speaker 1: their own goal post because of that run. And then
Speaker 1: Liam Eichenberg I thought, had a fantastic night at the
Speaker 1: right tackle position. Very patient into his sets, low pad
Speaker 1: level driving whether he's kind of down blocking towards the
Speaker 1: middle of the line or kicking out wide and blocking
Speaker 1: out wide as well, the hip to hip, shoulder, shoulder
Speaker 1: feet defeat double team he had with Robert Hunt, who
Speaker 1: also had himself a good night. They pushed a man
Speaker 1: ten yards off the football on that play and that's
Speaker 1: where Malcolm Brown ran behind. And that was where Malcolm
Speaker 1: Brown carried the pile for about three or four extra yards.
Speaker 1: Inspired football. That's gonna pump up your whole team, man.
Speaker 1: I thought Leam Eichenberg was damn good in this game.
Speaker 1: On the defensive side, Christian Wilkins men talking about Dan Good.
Speaker 1: There was we talked about the ala carte menu with
Speaker 1: two a tongue by looa. That's what Christian Wilkins had tonight,
Speaker 1: in my opinion. The pass rush, the quickness, the stack
Speaker 1: and shed, the run game, prowess inside outside, physical finesse,
Speaker 1: penetration to gap, whatever you wanted. He was doing it
Speaker 1: out there. There was a pass rush rep where he
Speaker 1: just instantly punches the man arm over into the backfield,
Speaker 1: quickly forces the quarterback off the spot. And you do
Speaker 1: that enough, you can you can get the quarterback off
Speaker 1: the initial spot. It's eventually going to get there for you.
Speaker 1: And I've been seeing Christian do that a lot. I
Speaker 1: think the numbers will follow, but right now he's consistently
Speaker 1: getting into the backfield, but also doing it against the run.
Speaker 1: What just it's cool to watch the training camp work
Speaker 1: in production translate into the games. And I think I've
Speaker 1: seen that here with Christian Wilkins. I've seen that with
Speaker 1: ray Kwan Davis who continues to throw guys out of
Speaker 1: the club, with Adam Butler who continues to get into
Speaker 1: the backfield, with Zach Steeler who stacks things up and
Speaker 1: just makes plays, had a couple of tackles early on
Speaker 1: in the game. He is so tough to moving the
Speaker 1: running game. That interior defensive line just we mentioned him
Speaker 1: every single day, it seems on the podcast, but they
Speaker 1: earn it every single day at the linebacker position. Talked
Speaker 1: about but Nargick McKinney getting some pressure on the quarterback.
Speaker 1: Duke Riley had a nice run fit where he shot
Speaker 1: the gap and stuff that thing up on a third
Speaker 1: and goal. The Falcon score in the next play, but
Speaker 1: still a great play there by Duke Riley. And then
Speaker 1: Calvin Munson had the pick and some run fitting as
Speaker 1: well that I thought was very good in this game.
Speaker 1: And Sam eg von four sacks a missile of a
Speaker 1: pass rusher. You might recall back in twenty nineteen among
Speaker 1: off ball linebackers, so guys that don't play on the edge,
Speaker 1: like a Von Miller type of player, or I guess
Speaker 1: Jayleen Phillips will be that type this year as well.
Speaker 1: But as far as off ball linebackers, Sam Egbon was
Speaker 1: third in the NFL and quarterback pressures that season, so
Speaker 1: he's done this before the closing spet in the quarterback
Speaker 1: the good angles, but also can play backwards as well.
Speaker 1: How valuable is that to go along with a special
Speaker 1: teams type of player like Sam Edgi van Is in
Speaker 1: the defensive secondary. You're gonna finish up here, I thought. Again,
Speaker 1: the safety play was really good. There was nothing really
Speaker 1: deep in the game from the Falcons passing offense. We
Speaker 1: talked about Eric Rowe and the past break up in
Speaker 1: the run game. Just it's the same old story every
Speaker 1: single week, it seems like with Eric Rowe. But how
Speaker 1: about this one play. I want to go ahead and
Speaker 1: break down a little bit. It was the Falcons first
Speaker 1: drive of the game. They had some success, completed some
Speaker 1: balls there with ag mccaren moved the offense a little
Speaker 1: bit when Xaving Howard and Byron Jones were in the game,
Speaker 1: which didn't last for very long. Xaving Howard came out
Speaker 1: after a series or two. I believe I'll check on
Speaker 1: that for you guys here on a future podcast. But
Speaker 1: in the series, he was in the Falcon's getting a
Speaker 1: field goal range. It's third and eight and you see
Speaker 1: Miami's playing too high and xaviing Howard's to the boundary
Speaker 1: the short side of the field, and the coverage roles
Speaker 1: to the field side of the formation where Byron Jones
Speaker 1: is playing in that part of the field, and Xaviing
Speaker 1: Howard takes away the takeoff route completely like it's completely
Speaker 1: walled off. He's in the hip pocket, could take the
Speaker 1: hand towel out of the guy's waistband if he wanted
Speaker 1: to the entire rep and then Byron Jones can play
Speaker 1: inside because he has help over the top and he
Speaker 1: walls off this inside route. It's just a beautiful looking
Speaker 1: design and beautiful looking executed coverage. That's type of stuff
Speaker 1: you want to see from this top the top players
Speaker 1: in New Dolphins secondary. I thought they executed that very well,
Speaker 1: so fun to see from those guys. Exhabing Howard gets
Speaker 1: some plays. Byron Jones gets some plays as well. Emmanuel
Speaker 1: Ogba was also out there, So I don't really know
Speaker 1: what more you can ask for. I mean, it was
Speaker 1: a very solid game from this Dolphins team, up and down.
Speaker 1: I want to go ahead and mention Nick Needham. I
Speaker 1: forgot his name in there, but he had a tackle
Speaker 1: as well as a pass breakup down around the end zone.
Speaker 1: Another good showing from Nick Needham. Also great to see
Speaker 1: him back on the field after leaving practice on Thursday.
Speaker 1: So again, I just I don't know what you can
Speaker 1: complain about. This is a really good effort from the
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins. They played so well in this game. Offensive defense,
Speaker 1: special teams got more work to do. Obviously, long way
Speaker 1: to go, but we are twenty one days now away
Speaker 1: from Opening Day up in New England, and the closer
Speaker 1: we get, the more I cannot wait. What a fantastic
Speaker 1: showing and a fantastic training camp heading into the final
Speaker 1: game against the Bengals. We're gonna have it all covered
Speaker 1: for you guys here on the Drivetime podcast, including some
Speaker 1: fun episodes coming up down the pike coming your way.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna have Seth and o J here on Drive
Speaker 1: Time writing Shotgun with me for a crossover podcast. We're
Speaker 1: gonna preview the entire season. Coming up, We're gonna have
Speaker 1: a fifty three man roster special episode plenty to come
Speaker 1: here on the Drivetime Podcast. As for tonight, Caroline, Daddy
Speaker 1: is coming home. All of you please be sure to
Speaker 1: subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcast or Spotify or
Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcast from. Go ahead and leave
Speaker 1: us a rating, leave us a review. You can follow
Speaker 1: me on Twitter at Wingfold NFL. Follow the team at
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins, check out the Fish Tank with Seth and
Speaker 1: o J. Also the postgame show on five sixty w
Speaker 1: q a M with me, Seth and o J, and
Speaker 1: of course Miami Dolphins dot com. And until next time,
Speaker 1: fins Up