WEBVTT - Dolphins Rams Preview 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:15.720 Exact touchdown Miami. What is up? Dolphins? And welcome to 0:00:15.800 --> 0:00:19.960 the Drive Time Podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins official 0:00:20.040 --> 0:00:24.400 podcast network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins, each and 0:00:24.520 --> 0:00:27.920 every day. How is it going everybody? It is Thursday. 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:30.880 I am your host, Travis Wingfield, and I am here 0:00:30.920 --> 0:00:34.159 to bring you your daily dose of Miami Dolphins football. 0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:37.920 On today's show. It is preview Thursday. Week eight kicks 0:00:37.960 --> 0:00:41.360 off tonight in Charlotte for Panthers and Falcons, and that's 0:00:41.400 --> 0:00:46.640 the weekend appetizer for Dolphins Rams Sunday at hard Rock Stadium. Boy, 0:00:46.640 --> 0:00:48.680 I can't wait to get out there for that game 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:51.520 on Sunday. We're gonna preview the game with the matchups, 0:00:51.600 --> 0:00:54.640 personnel scheme. We're gonna hear from Coach Flora's about the 0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:58.600 r p O game, condensed formations, injury updates, and get 0:00:58.640 --> 0:01:01.680 some players perspective on the game as well. All of 0:01:01.760 --> 0:01:04.720 that and more on this Thursday, October, the twenty nine 0:01:04.920 --> 0:01:11.720 edition of the Drive Time Podcast. Drive Time was brought 0:01:11.760 --> 0:01:14.600 to you by Auto Nation. There are so many reasons 0:01:14.640 --> 0:01:17.720 to drive pink, but for Auto Nation, there's only one 0:01:18.000 --> 0:01:21.200 to finish the fight against cancer. In fact, Auto Nation 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:24.679 has helped raise over twenty five million dollars to drive 0:01:24.760 --> 0:01:27.920 out Cancer. To join the fight, visit the Auto Nation 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:31.520 store near you, or drive pink dot com. On a Thursday, 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:33.520 here on Drivetime, we have to get you caught up 0:01:33.520 --> 0:01:36.319 on the latest from Dolphins and Rams with the injury report. 0:01:36.480 --> 0:01:39.880 We'll go ahead and start with your Miami Dolphins and up. First, 0:01:39.920 --> 0:01:43.360 Linebacker Andrew van Ginkle was removed from the injury report 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:46.560 on Thursday. Lynn Bowden was added, but only because he 0:01:46.640 --> 0:01:49.240 did not practice because he had the birth of his child. 0:01:49.320 --> 0:01:53.080 Congratulations Lynn for that. Jakeem Grant did not practice on 0:01:53.120 --> 0:01:56.000 Thursday because of an illness listed on the injury report. 0:01:56.360 --> 0:01:59.360 Dolphins had six players who were full participants on Thursday, 0:01:59.560 --> 0:02:03.880 Ray Kua, Davis, Cavan, Frasier, Commu, grug Hill, Xaviing Howard, 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:07.240 Byron Jones, and Shack Lawson, as far as limited participants, 0:02:07.280 --> 0:02:10.840 five of them Bobby mccame, DeVante Parker, Jamal Perry, who 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:13.800 was upgraded from did not practice on Wednesday, and Kyle 0:02:13.880 --> 0:02:17.239 van Neu was also limited on Thursday. For the Rams, 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:20.399 on Wednesday, we have their report. Four players did not practice. 0:02:20.639 --> 0:02:22.679 Two of those were because of an illness with tight 0:02:22.760 --> 0:02:26.320 end Gerald Everett and wide receiver Tristan Jackson, while veterans 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:29.520 Aaron Donald on the defensive line and offensive lineman Andrew 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:32.600 Whitworth did not practice, but those were not injury related 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:35.480 on Wednesday either. And then Tyler Higbee, the tight end 0:02:35.520 --> 0:02:39.320 he was limited on Wednesday's practice with a hand injury. 0:02:39.400 --> 0:02:41.760 Will have the rest of the Rams updated injury report 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:43.920 for you guys on the Blitz on Friday morning on 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:46.680 Thursday's top news as well, so keep it locked Miami 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:49.359 Dolphins dot com as well as the Drivetime podcast for 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:52.639 the latest on Dolphins and Rams injuries. Let's go ahead 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:56.160 and kick off coach flores Thursday morning media availability with 0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:58.960 the question about release time from the quarterback and the 0:02:59.040 --> 0:03:01.560 system that calls for quick passes holding the ball a 0:03:01.600 --> 0:03:04.800 little bit longer. Here's Coach Flora's talking about his offensive approach. 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:07.280 Regardless of who the quarterback is, there's a lot that 0:03:07.320 --> 0:03:09.840 goes into whether or not you want the ball out quickly. 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:12.720 I mean it's really case by case, team by team, 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:16.120 week by week. So you know, one week you might 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:18.880 want to hold it a little bit longer, get the 0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:21.040 ball down field more. You know, some other weeks, you 0:03:21.120 --> 0:03:22.920 might want to get it out quickly. I think, you know, 0:03:23.160 --> 0:03:25.120 in general, you want a little a mix of all 0:03:25.160 --> 0:03:28.480 those things. So m you know, if Itz did a 0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:30.760 good job of that, and practice I think too has 0:03:30.800 --> 0:03:32.680 done a good job of that. But you know, we'll 0:03:32.680 --> 0:03:34.519 see how this is how it shows up in the game. 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:37.640 And on the same topic of the quarterback position here, 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:42.119 Coach was asked about to managing expectations and keeping his 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:45.200 his focus singularly on the Los Angeles Rams. Here's Coach 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:47.520 on where the quarterbacks focus is heading into his first 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:50.440 NFL start. Think a lot of that has to do 0:03:50.520 --> 0:03:56.240 with to man because his focus is on um, you know, 0:03:56.320 --> 0:04:00.160 this week and really, you know, not much else. I 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:03.320 think he understands that it's it's not two against the Rams, 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:05.360 it's the Dolphins against the Rams. You know, he's a 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:09.119 team guy, and I think his teammates are supportive of him, 0:04:09.120 --> 0:04:13.800 and that's kind of the approach we've all taken. I 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:16.640 think he's staying out approach. Also, go ahead and finish 0:04:16.720 --> 0:04:18.400 up here we're gonna hear more from Coach in the 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:21.240 middle of the game preview section of this podcast. We'll 0:04:21.279 --> 0:04:23.560 go ahead and finish up this initial look into his 0:04:23.640 --> 0:04:28.080 Thursday morning media availability, he was asked about the importance 0:04:28.120 --> 0:04:30.520 of other players winning their one on one matchups when 0:04:30.560 --> 0:04:33.080 you do have to double somebody on the defensive line. 0:04:33.120 --> 0:04:36.000 Coaches talked all week long about how this RAMS defense 0:04:36.120 --> 0:04:38.919 is more than just Aaron Donald. They have several good players. 0:04:39.040 --> 0:04:42.520 Here's coach on that topic. Yeah, I mean they got 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:45.080 they have good They have good players, you know, outside 0:04:45.120 --> 0:04:47.440 of Aaron on with a lot of good players. So again, 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:50.240 it's gonna be a team effort. I think, Yeah, Iron 0:04:50.279 --> 0:04:57.520 Donald is a great player. He's uh, very productive, high energy, 0:04:57.880 --> 0:05:01.760 high intensity, high effort um. But you see that from 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:05.680 a lot of their guys, so m obviously we'll play 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:09.560 close attention to him. Aaron Donald's I'm speaking of. But 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:13.240 like I said all week, you know, I think you know, 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:16.279 Leonard Floyd's playing real good football right now. So it's Brocker's, 0:05:16.520 --> 0:05:21.039 so it's Jane Ramsey, you know Johnson, the BC guy 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:25.440 back there playing good ball as well. So it's a 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:28.240 tough test really across the board. They got good team 0:05:28.279 --> 0:05:31.720 and so there is Coach Flores this Thursday morning media availability, again, 0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:33.599 we're gonna jump back into a couple more of the 0:05:33.640 --> 0:05:36.680 comments he made in the preview portion of the podcast. 0:05:36.720 --> 0:05:38.719 It just kind of drives well with some of the 0:05:38.760 --> 0:05:41.920 topics I covered in the preview portion. And with that, 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:45.200 let's go ahead and preview this Dolphins and Rams games 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:48.600 Sunday at one o'clock Eastern November the first at hard 0:05:48.680 --> 0:05:52.320 Rock Stadium. Three and three Dolphins five and two Rams, 0:05:52.400 --> 0:05:55.839 eighty four degrees, fifty chance of rain. Feels like every 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:57.840 game we've had this year at home has had some 0:05:57.920 --> 0:06:02.200 type of raindity an eleven mile prior wins. So a 0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:06.000 typical South Florida Sunday down here in November. And I 0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:08.400 always like to look at the parallels between the two 0:06:08.400 --> 0:06:11.560 teams in the intro paragraph of my preview piece up 0:06:11.560 --> 0:06:15.000 on Miami Dolphins dot com, and I find it interesting 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:17.120 there are a few coaches in the league right now 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:20.640 under the age of forty. Brian Flores and Sean McVeigh 0:06:20.680 --> 0:06:23.520 both fall into that category. And both these guys were 0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:28.400 popular head coaching candidates as coordinators before they got their jobs, obviously, 0:06:28.720 --> 0:06:31.080 and they met back in that Super Bowl when Sean 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:33.560 McVeigh took his Rams team as the head coach to 0:06:33.640 --> 0:06:36.360 the Super Bowl and Brian Flores was the defensive play 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:38.920 caller for the Patriots and that third team to three 0:06:38.920 --> 0:06:42.279 win for the Patriots over the Los Angeles Rams. And 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:44.680 you look at where McVeigh is now in his fourth 0:06:44.680 --> 0:06:46.680 season as the head coach of the Rams. Had a 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:49.799 good playoff run his rookie season, went to the Super 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:52.120 Bowl and you're number two, and then missed the playoffs 0:06:52.120 --> 0:06:54.599 for the first time last season. But he has had 0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:58.320 the first, second, and eleventh rank scoring offenses and currently 0:06:58.400 --> 0:07:01.400 ranked eighteenth and scoring offense this season. You can see 0:07:01.400 --> 0:07:03.760 where his specialty is, his bread and butter on that 0:07:03.839 --> 0:07:06.360 offensive side of the ball, whereas Brian Flora is now 0:07:06.400 --> 0:07:08.400 and your number two. Kind of like McVeigh did in 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:12.160 Los Angeles with his offense, Flora's has his defense as 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:15.280 the number third ranked scoring defense right now at eighteen 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:18.320 point eight points per game. So as they say, styles 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:20.680 makes make fights, and this is good on good with 0:07:20.720 --> 0:07:23.800 the Rams offense and this Dolphins defense. On the Rams 0:07:23.840 --> 0:07:27.680 defensive side, their first year coordinator Brandon Staley is doing 0:07:27.680 --> 0:07:29.600 a hell of a job on that defense. They have 0:07:29.760 --> 0:07:32.600 the second rank scoring defense right now at seven teen 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:34.600 points seven points per game. And he'll get a look 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:36.960 at rookie quarterback to a Tongue of Valoa who makes 0:07:37.000 --> 0:07:40.160 his first start of his Miami Dolphin's career, and McVeigh 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:42.520 was asked about preparing for a young quarterback like to 0:07:42.640 --> 0:07:45.360 a Tongue of Valoa, and he said, with any quarterback 0:07:45.400 --> 0:07:48.560 in general, it's about establishing a rapport between the offensive coordinator, 0:07:48.640 --> 0:07:51.160 he says chan Gailey and the quarterback to a Tongue 0:07:51.160 --> 0:07:53.440 of Valoa, which he says, I'm sure they've done so 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:55.360 you don't surprise him with anything. But he says that 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:57.840 everything he does starts with the quarterback. That's the first 0:07:57.840 --> 0:08:00.360 thing you start with the offense. On the defense aside, 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:02.960 he talked about Brian floras A scheme and Josh Bowyer's 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:05.040 scheme over here in Miami, and he praised him for 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:08.040 being multiple, for being mixed, saying, quote, they do a 0:08:08.040 --> 0:08:10.320 great job being able to mix up a variety of looks, 0:08:10.520 --> 0:08:13.360 coverage principles, front structures that they had a lot to 0:08:13.400 --> 0:08:15.520 deal with and a very tough thing to prepare for, 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:19.040 especially on a short week. They play hard, they play physical, 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:21.800 They've got good players, but I think they're a really 0:08:21.800 --> 0:08:24.560 sound defense. They challenge you at the right spots, but 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:27.280 I think the mixture and the versatility that Flores can 0:08:27.320 --> 0:08:30.840 activate poses a real challenge for you. So similar to 0:08:30.920 --> 0:08:33.080 the other night, we've got to be fishing in early downs. 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:34.839 We have to have good balance and a good mixture 0:08:34.880 --> 0:08:37.360 of some things we can that we can activate towards them. 0:08:37.679 --> 0:08:40.360 And the Rams do have to come across country, of course, 0:08:40.400 --> 0:08:44.240 in that one o'clock Eastern time zone ten am Pacific 0:08:44.320 --> 0:08:47.360 body clock game for a West Coast team coming east, 0:08:47.679 --> 0:08:50.319 and this is an area where typically you say there's 0:08:50.320 --> 0:08:52.800 an advantage there, but the Rams, like the Seahawks in 0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:55.440 the previous contest we had like this, have been just 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:58.120 fine in that role under McVeigh, coming over from the 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:00.480 West coast to the East coast. The Rams are two 0:09:00.480 --> 0:09:04.160 and one playing in those circumstances this season, and since 0:09:04.240 --> 0:09:07.319 mcveigh's arrival, they are six and two in the one 0:09:07.320 --> 0:09:10.640 o'clock eastern time zone kickoff in the NFL, so they 0:09:10.679 --> 0:09:13.720 handled that pretty well as well as anybody, and they 0:09:13.720 --> 0:09:16.319 also run the football pretty much as well as anybody 0:09:16.320 --> 0:09:18.959 in the National Football League right now. Darryl Henderson, who 0:09:18.960 --> 0:09:20.720 has been kind of in a bit of a time 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:23.040 share there with a couple of running backs with Malcolm Brown. 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:25.880 They also have Cam Akers, the rookie out of Florida State, 0:09:26.000 --> 0:09:28.240 but Darryl Henderson is the leading guy right now. He 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:30.439 has the fourteenth most rushing yards in the NFL with 0:09:30.520 --> 0:09:33.720 four hundred and twelve and he has four four nine speed, 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:35.720 which he really helps used to get to those to 0:09:35.760 --> 0:09:38.360 get to the edge on those outside wide zone runs 0:09:38.520 --> 0:09:41.400 that the Rams are so accustomed to having success on. 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:43.840 He evered just four point seven yards per carry behind. 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:47.719 Pro Football focuses number seven ranked offensive line, so they 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:49.720 move guys off the ball, they get the edge, and 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:52.280 they win it in the running game. And Andrew Whitworth 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:54.560 is like really the market name up front on that 0:09:54.679 --> 0:09:57.480 offensive line. He's in third his thirteen season as a 0:09:57.480 --> 0:10:00.760 professional football player, his fourth in Los Ange List, four 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:04.000 time Pro Bowler, All Pro honors two times in his career, 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:06.880 and we heard coach Hobby on Tuesday talk about Whitworth 0:10:07.080 --> 0:10:10.040 going back to their college days in the SEC. Here's 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:13.120 coach talking about his history with Andrew Whitworth. I'll tell 0:10:13.160 --> 0:10:15.959 you what, He's been a great player in his whole career. Now, 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:18.720 he went through his college days playing against him. Oven 0:10:19.000 --> 0:10:20.760 He's a l S. I was at Old Miss, so 0:10:20.800 --> 0:10:23.840 I've watched his career go through college into the pros 0:10:23.920 --> 0:10:27.000 man he's a pro. You know, he's a savvy vet. Uh. 0:10:27.080 --> 0:10:29.480 He doesn't make a lot of mistakes, you know. He 0:10:30.040 --> 0:10:32.280 he could tell he game plans for each opponent. He 0:10:32.360 --> 0:10:34.680 has a plan. I'll tell you what he He is 0:10:34.760 --> 0:10:36.760 one of the best players in this league. So we'll 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:39.800 see probably Shack Lawson get his fair share of opportunities 0:10:39.840 --> 0:10:42.599 up against Andrew Whitworthy, veteran off the left side of 0:10:42.600 --> 0:10:44.839 the offensive line, but the entire Rams line has been 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:47.320 good for a long time. Rob Havenstein off the other end, 0:10:47.600 --> 0:10:50.120 is another big body, so it's big on big with 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:53.280 loss and all up against Whitworth and having Stein off 0:10:53.280 --> 0:10:55.680 the right side. There At the tight end position, Tyler 0:10:55.760 --> 0:10:58.559 Higbie is fifteen among tight ends with two hundred and 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:01.320 twenty three receiving yards. His three touchdowns are tied for 0:11:01.360 --> 0:11:03.640 seventh among tight ends. But we know that Eric Rohe 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:06.959 Dolphins safety has had his day in the sun against 0:11:07.000 --> 0:11:09.600 pretty much all tight ends he's seen since his switched 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:12.199 to safety last season. Held down Zach Urts to one 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:14.839 catch last year, held George Kittle to one catch, in 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:16.600 the Niners game a couple of weeks back as well, 0:11:16.640 --> 0:11:19.560 for just twelve yards per Pro Football Focus. There the 0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:22.439 Rams receivers, they have two guys in the top thirty 0:11:22.520 --> 0:11:25.280 in the league in receptions and Cooper Cup and Robert Woods. 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:28.120 And Cup from what actually the town that I came 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:31.680 here from, from Yakima, Washington. He is a savvy route runner. 0:11:31.920 --> 0:11:33.960 He is a guy that understands leverage. He knows how 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:36.760 to beat both man and zone defenses. Just a really 0:11:36.800 --> 0:11:39.000 good underneath receiver. They can show the numbers to the 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:42.000 quarterback and make big plays and move the chains that way. 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:44.679 Speaking of big plays, Robert Woods, this guy does a 0:11:44.720 --> 0:11:48.520 little bit of everything, short, deep, intermediate, running that fly sweep, 0:11:48.600 --> 0:11:52.280 jet motion, taking handoffs, taking under routes, doing whatever he 0:11:52.320 --> 0:11:54.560 can to move the football down the field and keep 0:11:54.559 --> 0:11:57.560 that offense on schedule. They also have Josh Reynolds into 0:11:57.720 --> 0:11:59.920 there as well. We'll see about the health of Gerald 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:01.840 writ as both he and Higbee were on the injury 0:12:01.840 --> 0:12:04.800 report as we reported earlier on the podcast today. But 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:07.400 that offense has plenty of weapons in the backfield at 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:10.600 tight end and at receiver. But as far as the 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:13.080 Dolphins are concerned, to be able to combat that depth. 0:12:13.200 --> 0:12:15.480 Since Byron Jones came back from his growing injury in 0:12:15.559 --> 0:12:18.960 Week five, the combination of he and fellow cornerback Xavien Howard, 0:12:19.160 --> 0:12:22.280 they've been targeted twenty two times, giving up six catches 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:26.160 sixty nine yards, two interceptions, and three pass breakups. That's 0:12:26.200 --> 0:12:29.480 a passer rating of two point seven two point seven. 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:32.120 That's it against Jones and Howard over the last two games. 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:34.200 On the other side of the football, the Rams have 0:12:34.240 --> 0:12:36.720 an all Pro cornerback in their own right, Jalen Ramsey. 0:12:36.880 --> 0:12:39.520 He's allowing just fifty three point five percent of targets 0:12:39.559 --> 0:12:42.640 to be completed for five point three three yards per target. 0:12:42.840 --> 0:12:44.679 You want to be up over seven into the eight 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:48.320 there for a good above average receiver. Jalen Ramsey putting 0:12:48.360 --> 0:12:50.760 the clamps on receivers at that spot, and the passer 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:53.280 writing against him is just seventy seven point one. And 0:12:53.320 --> 0:12:57.080 also in that backfield, John Johnsons PFF number nineteen graded 0:12:57.080 --> 0:13:00.160 safety in the NFL this year. We'll jump more to 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:02.719 the personnel and scheme usage there of the Rams, but 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:04.400 first I want to go ahead and jump in to 0:13:04.520 --> 0:13:06.760 the matchup highlights here and where else can you start 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:10.400 besides the Dolphins interior three up against the Rams interior 0:13:10.440 --> 0:13:13.440 pass rush and primarily Aaron Donald, and they do have 0:13:13.480 --> 0:13:15.960 Michael Brocker's involved there as well, another very good player 0:13:16.160 --> 0:13:18.600 been in the league for a long time. But Donald is, 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:21.200 as coach Flores said, one of, if not the best 0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:24.640 player in the entire league, regardless of position, and few 0:13:24.640 --> 0:13:27.280 players really stand out the way this guy does. Since 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:31.760 Donald has finished as Pro Football focuses number one interior 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:35.640 defensive lineman grade wise every season except for his rookie year, 0:13:35.679 --> 0:13:38.440 which he was number two behind J. J. Watt. Back in, 0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:43.640 He's back at it. In quarterback pressures that's more than 0:13:43.679 --> 0:13:47.600 anybody in football, not just interior defensive lineman, edge rushers, 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:50.880 outside linebackers on the football. He has the most quarterback 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:54.319 pressures in the NFL from his interior spot. Also has 0:13:54.320 --> 0:13:57.160 the second most sacks behind Myles Garrett and edge rusher, 0:13:57.320 --> 0:14:01.480 where sacks typically come from. Garrett had nine. Donald has eight, 0:14:01.480 --> 0:14:03.800 that second in the National Football League. He also has 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:06.480 thirteen run stock, which is tied for thirteen along with 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:10.560 Christian Wilkins among defensive tackles and the Dolphins interior offensive line. 0:14:10.840 --> 0:14:13.600 They're set to neutralize interior pressure. They have done an 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:17.080 all season long, stopping the game's most dangerous disruptive force 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:20.280 on the inside on a combined seven hundred and seventeen 0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:23.200 pass blocking snaps for guards Eric Flowers and Solomon Kinley 0:14:23.360 --> 0:14:25.840 and center Ted Carriss among the three of them, just 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:30.360 quarterback pressures allowed one every thirty four point one snaps. 0:14:30.360 --> 0:14:32.560 Of the twenty one pressures, only seven of those have 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:36.120 resulted in quarterback hits. Ideally, you want to get your 0:14:36.200 --> 0:14:39.120 entire front five blocking off and keeping a good pocket 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:41.440 for the quarterback. But if you can keep that interior, 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:44.720 that interior portion of the pocket sound, the quarterbacks more 0:14:44.760 --> 0:14:47.480 likely to be able to navigate edge pressure as they 0:14:47.560 --> 0:14:50.120 kind of condense things inside and force that rusher behind 0:14:50.120 --> 0:14:52.680 the quarterback so he can step up, get off the spot, 0:14:52.880 --> 0:14:54.880 flee the pocket left or right, or go right through 0:14:54.880 --> 0:14:57.600 the middle. So holding up the interior pressure is certainly 0:14:57.600 --> 0:14:59.280 the most important thing when it comes to having that 0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:01.880 solid pot it for the offensive games. That's why this 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:05.040 matchup is so so big. Donald does command the most 0:15:05.040 --> 0:15:07.520 double teams in the NFL per Next Gen Stats, and 0:15:07.560 --> 0:15:09.320 how the Dolphins decided to block him and deal with 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:11.960 the blitzers and rushers operating next to him will be 0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:13.840 an integral part of how this game shakes out for 0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:16.320 the Dolphins offensively and how they move the ball and 0:15:16.360 --> 0:15:19.280 Tugo blows first start. The next matchup here is early 0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:21.480 down runs and this goes for both sides of the football. 0:15:21.760 --> 0:15:24.720 McVeigh comes from the same tree as Kyle Shanahan and 0:15:24.760 --> 0:15:27.320 that forty offense we saw a few weeks ago. They 0:15:27.360 --> 0:15:31.200 both came out of Washington under Kyle's father, Mike Shanahan, 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:34.160 and they really emphasize that outside run and then from 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:36.320 there the play action passing game takes off and it 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:38.800 can really help take advantage of all the misdirection. They 0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:41.880 use a pre snap motion shifting the I candy, which 0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:45.000 is designed to create false steps for your linebackers, for 0:15:45.040 --> 0:15:47.800 your defenders, get them moving one direction, throw the ball 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:51.120 into the window vacated or created by that misdirection you 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:53.920 show them. But the Dolphins were able to successfully thwart 0:15:53.960 --> 0:15:56.440 the forty play action game a couple weeks ago, as 0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:59.480 Jimmy Garoppolo had a season low fifteen point seven passer 0:15:59.560 --> 0:16:02.320 rating in that game. But they're gonna have to one 0:16:02.400 --> 0:16:05.680 up that performance against this Rams offense because Jared goff 0:16:05.800 --> 0:16:09.960 has the most dropbacks three total from play action. He's 0:16:09.960 --> 0:16:12.640 completing sixty eight point eight percent of those throws for 0:16:12.680 --> 0:16:14.920 an average of eight point nine yards per pass and 0:16:14.960 --> 0:16:19.200 a passer rating of one fourteen point six. That passer 0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:23.040 rating is twenty point nine points higher than his general 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:26.600 passer rating of point seven on non play action throws. 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:29.960 So GoF throws off play pass on of his passes. 0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:32.600 A lot of that comes off the bootleg action. And 0:16:32.680 --> 0:16:34.840 the reason they can have success on that is they 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:37.480 are averaging six point five yards per rush running off 0:16:37.520 --> 0:16:40.520 left tackle and nine point one yards per rush off 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:43.480 the right side per pff. That's their two best rushing 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:45.960 gaps by average. And then from there they'll pill Jared 0:16:46.000 --> 0:16:48.360 Goff off and have him kind of work the backside 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:51.400 of the formation, hit up crossers from all those condensed formations, 0:16:51.400 --> 0:16:53.440 which we'll talk about here in just one second. And 0:16:53.480 --> 0:16:55.880 for the Dolphins offense, the play action game is the 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:59.440 best friend of any quarterback, particularly a rookie quarterback making 0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:01.520 his first art and we saw a tongue of Byla 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:03.960 execute the play action bootleg on the first pass of 0:17:04.000 --> 0:17:06.439 his career. Out of that pistol formation against the Jets 0:17:06.640 --> 0:17:08.639 along the end line of the end zone, moving to 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:11.200 his left, throws a strike to Patrick Lair, gets a completion, 0:17:11.480 --> 0:17:13.480 gets out of bounds, and then on the next play, 0:17:13.680 --> 0:17:15.800 the Dolphins moved the chains on third and seven, but 0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:18.480 ideally you would cut that down to third and three, 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:21.399 third and two, right. The shorter distances really increase your 0:17:21.440 --> 0:17:23.520 odds of moving the chains and staying on the field. 0:17:23.640 --> 0:17:25.720 So the Dolphins can have a better third down success 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:28.720 rate in this game hopefully and hopefully keep the kicking 0:17:28.720 --> 0:17:31.080 game on the sideline when it comes to the offense. 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:32.399 But if you can't, if you have to go to 0:17:32.440 --> 0:17:35.119 the punting and field goal units, that's a good match up. 0:17:35.160 --> 0:17:38.280 Here are third matchup between the Dolphins and Rams to highlight, 0:17:38.480 --> 0:17:41.280 and Johnny Hecker is a full blown weapon. Man pinned 0:17:41.440 --> 0:17:43.960 four points down inside the ten yard line on Monday 0:17:44.000 --> 0:17:46.840 Night Football against the Bears. That gives him a league 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:51.160 high sixteen points down inside the twenty yard line this season. 0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:53.960 But Matt Hawk has a little bit better of a 0:17:54.040 --> 0:17:56.800 net punting average at forty two point four compared to 0:17:56.880 --> 0:17:59.600 Hecker's forty two point oh and the Dolphins special teams 0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:03.200 units are collectively ranked third on Football Outsiders d v 0:18:03.359 --> 0:18:07.480 o A. That's defensive adjusted value over average. It removes 0:18:07.600 --> 0:18:09.800 the It's kind of like war and saber metrics and 0:18:09.840 --> 0:18:14.000 baseball removes outside factors that contribute to certain elements of 0:18:14.040 --> 0:18:15.760 the game. I won't sit here and pretend to know 0:18:15.800 --> 0:18:17.879 the mathematic equation behind that, but I know that a 0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:20.080 lot of folks really rely on the Football Outsiders d 0:18:20.119 --> 0:18:22.600 v o A. And Dolphins are third and special teams 0:18:22.600 --> 0:18:26.200 collective ranking. They're on Football Outsiders and running back Matt 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:29.399 Brita and safety Cavan Fraser both lead the Dolphins with 0:18:29.440 --> 0:18:32.399 three tackles each on special teams, and Jachim Grant has 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:34.639 the third most punt return yards in the NFL with 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:37.159 one d and thirty nine. And Jason Sanders, who was 0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:40.679 named the October Special Teams Player of the Month his 0:18:40.760 --> 0:18:42.600 second time in the last three months. He won it 0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:45.520 last December. He did that by kicking eleven field goals 0:18:45.600 --> 0:18:48.680 or eleven successful field goals on eleven tries. He's now 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:51.639 fifteen for fifteen on the season, thirteen of thirteen on 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:53.920 p A t s. And the Rams on the other side, 0:18:53.960 --> 0:18:57.480 recently released kicker Samuel Sloman and brought Kai for Bath 0:18:57.600 --> 0:18:59.679 onto the roster. He has not made a kick this 0:18:59.720 --> 0:19:01.920 season and he has not attempted a kick, I should say, 0:19:01.960 --> 0:19:04.280 but he was successful in all eleven of his kicks 0:19:04.560 --> 0:19:06.800 last year. As far as the Rams schematics that we 0:19:06.840 --> 0:19:10.359 talked about, offensively ranking eighteen and points per game of 0:19:10.480 --> 0:19:13.879 twenty five point one points per game, and total offense, 0:19:13.920 --> 0:19:16.280 they ranked tenth with three hundred and eighty five point 0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:19.639 seven yards per game, rushing their seventh with one thirty 0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:23.000 eight point nine and passing there eighteen with two hundred 0:19:23.080 --> 0:19:25.760 and forty nine points six yards per game from Jared 0:19:25.800 --> 0:19:28.960 Goff and the passing offense. And if play action is 0:19:29.000 --> 0:19:31.919 the Rams bread and butter on offense, eleven personnel is 0:19:31.920 --> 0:19:34.600 the milk and eggs, so to speak. One running back, 0:19:34.640 --> 0:19:37.880 one tight end, three receivers is the Rams preferred offensive 0:19:37.880 --> 0:19:40.600 package by a long shot. They've run three hundred and 0:19:40.600 --> 0:19:44.040 seventeen plays from that grouping. That's sixth most in the NFL. 0:19:44.240 --> 0:19:46.320 So you're gonna get three receiver looks plenty of times. 0:19:46.480 --> 0:19:49.200 Aside from eleven, they really only ever go to twelve 0:19:49.280 --> 0:19:52.200