Speaker 1: To our Removedlin Deep Speedways, Peace do Hell. From the
Speaker 1: Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
Speaker 2: This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield. He's got my ad
Speaker 2: hands in the playoffs?
Speaker 1: What is up Dolphins? And welcome to the Drift Time Podcast.
Speaker 1: I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show,
Speaker 1: we are going to hear from Caroline Hendershot from the
Speaker 1: Jets as she helps us get a first look at
Speaker 1: the opponent this coming Sunday. But before that, we did
Speaker 1: the Jekyl was Jeckell the good guy? I forget? We
Speaker 1: did the Jeckyl Podcast yesterday taking a look at how
Speaker 1: the Dolphins can make it a December to remember. But
Speaker 1: today is going to be the Hide episode where we
Speaker 1: take some look at some ugly truths about where the
Speaker 1: Dolphins are today and how we got to this point.
Speaker 1: We'll talk about where the fixes are and we'll just
Speaker 1: kind of give you guys a bridge into what to
Speaker 1: look forward to when this season eventually does go belly up.
Speaker 1: From the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
Speaker 2: This is the Drive Time Podcast.
Speaker 1: Ye, So I think the best way to do this
Speaker 1: is to first assess what happened this off season, and
Speaker 1: I want to start with the hits and talk about
Speaker 1: who has a future as part of the core of
Speaker 1: this roster before we get into philosophical changes in how
Speaker 1: to make things better in twenty twenty five. So, first off,
Speaker 1: I think the offense has two surefire offseason hits. They
Speaker 1: are John Newsmith and Aaron Brewer. Aaron Brewer is the
Speaker 1: perfect quintessential outside zone heavy Mike McDaniel offense center, and
Speaker 1: they got him for three years. They got him for
Speaker 1: relatively cheap. He was an upgrade on Connor Williams. The
Speaker 1: snapping issue has been resolved, his ability to get out
Speaker 1: in space has been phenomenal. He's been good in pass pro.
Speaker 1: He's a good unicator and leader. That is a five
Speaker 1: star home run acquisition in Aaron Brewer. I would put
Speaker 1: John Smith in the exact same category because of the
Speaker 1: way he has maximized what this team wants to create
Speaker 1: with all the space with Waddle and Tyreek, and his
Speaker 1: ability to catch the ball, get upfield and be a
Speaker 1: difficult tackle is exactly what Miami needed at that F position.
Speaker 1: Now the tight end the Y position, they need something
Speaker 1: more there we'll get to that one second. Kalaias Campbell,
Speaker 1: especially when you factor in the savings at the position
Speaker 1: and who they had to replace there, I don't think
Speaker 1: there's been much of a drop off. There's a definite
Speaker 1: snapcount drop off going from Christian Wilkins to Kalaias Campbell,
Speaker 1: but in terms of the production, at one twentieth of
Speaker 1: the cost has been a home run signing. He's still
Speaker 1: a great player even at fifty sixty percent of the
Speaker 1: snaps in a given game. I think Jordan Brooks is
Speaker 1: going to fit the mold of we're going to talk
Speaker 1: about later on the show in Temperature Changers.
Speaker 2: He's a tough dude.
Speaker 1: He brings a certain mentality, and he is the type
Speaker 1: of guy that can lead your defense and be a
Speaker 1: cornerstone for a long time. Good cover backer, good rangebacker,
Speaker 1: all the things you need. In twenty twenty four, Kendall
Speaker 1: Fuller has been fantastic the way he maximizes the flexibility
Speaker 1: in the secondary, his cover skills, his instincts to play
Speaker 1: not just his man, but the entire route concept. I
Speaker 1: think he's a very good defensive back who can do
Speaker 1: it for a long time. Because of his position flexibility,
Speaker 1: and then Chop Robinson's the one draft pick right now
Speaker 1: that looks like a surefire home run in that first round.
Speaker 1: I know the sack production hasn't been great, but he's
Speaker 1: been building, he's getting better, he has the right makeup,
Speaker 1: he's leaning on veterans and coaches. I think you're gonna
Speaker 1: see a big, a big second year from Chop Robinson,
Speaker 1: even if he doesn't finish up strong this year, which
Speaker 1: I think he'll do that as well. And then we'll
Speaker 1: see on Jalen Wright and Lake Washington. But I do
Speaker 1: feel very good about those guys, especially the former In
Speaker 1: Jalen Wright. You had two massive misses, and they were
Speaker 1: two spots where you kind of had to get better at.
Speaker 1: And it's Jordan Poyer and Odell Beckham Junior who I
Speaker 1: think it's safe to take the L there. I think
Speaker 1: I'm gonna have to be the one that eats that
Speaker 1: L because I was telling you guys how great of
Speaker 1: a pickup he was going to be and turn out
Speaker 1: to be. John Smith was the guy that kind of
Speaker 1: gave us what I was looking for from Odell Beckham
Speaker 1: in terms of that next option. Beckham was supposed to
Speaker 1: be the other guy that could stretch the field. He
Speaker 1: has not been that for the Dolphins this year. And
Speaker 1: the effort, the complaining, the body language, lack of celebrations
Speaker 1: after big plays from his teammates, all of that just
Speaker 1: don't love it. And I don't have to tell you
Speaker 1: guys about Jordan Poyer because you've seen it on film
Speaker 1: every single week. I think you have a bunch of
Speaker 1: future core pieces here at primary positions. Your quarterback is
Speaker 1: locked in. In my opinion, I think Waddle is going
Speaker 1: to be a Dolphin for life. I hope Devon a
Speaker 1: Chan's in that group. He has shown you some bell
Speaker 1: calibility despite some I think lapses in vision this year
Speaker 1: that has cost him some potential big runs and even
Speaker 1: some grinded out yards. I would like to see him
Speaker 1: be more of a quasi receiver and running back with
Speaker 1: a lesser role in the core concept of your running
Speaker 1: game and get more from that from Jalen Wright next year.
Speaker 1: But we'll see how that plays out. And then I
Speaker 1: put Johnny in the category. Even at his age, I
Speaker 1: think he can play for two or three more years
Speaker 1: as a core piece here. Brewers obviously in there. I
Speaker 1: think Austin Jackson has shown you what his absence has
Speaker 1: meant at the right tackle position. I put one player
Speaker 1: in here that doesn't match the rest of the players
Speaker 1: because he's only played like fifty snaps in his career,
Speaker 1: and as Patrick Paul, simply because he has to be.
Speaker 1: You can ask to Ron Armstead back next year, but
Speaker 1: you know what you're signing up for with that, so
Speaker 1: we'll see what happens. But I think Patrick Paul has
Speaker 1: to be part of that Zach Steeler, even at his age,
Speaker 1: I consider him to be a guy that can do
Speaker 1: this for a long long time. I mean guys like
Speaker 1: Brett Keesol and Cameron Hayward. Why not only talking about
Speaker 1: Steelers here, but those guys played deep into their thirties
Speaker 1: and at that position and played a really, really good
Speaker 1: football for that long. Jordan Brooks talked about him Jalen
Speaker 1: Phillips despite the injuries, which I understand you can't count
Speaker 1: on that going forward because of two major season ending
Speaker 1: surgeries the last two years, but I still think he's
Speaker 1: a guy that can come back and be what he
Speaker 1: was before. I have Chopp in this category as well.
Speaker 1: At defensive back, I have Jalen Ramsey, and I think
Speaker 1: that he can be at Charles Woodson down the stretch
Speaker 1: of his career. Now will he want to endure what
Speaker 1: I'm going to propose here in one second? We will see.
Speaker 1: But I do think he's part of that core. And
Speaker 1: then I have cater Co who is part of that,
Speaker 1: and I Kendall Fuller, I don't. I think the cliff
Speaker 1: is closer for him than it is for Jalen Ramsey.
Speaker 1: So I did not include him in that position there.
Speaker 1: But I think that cater if you can get him
Speaker 1: on a cheap contract, is really good as number three
Speaker 1: four cornerback on your roster to be part of that core.
Speaker 1: So there's a lot there to work with. I mean
Speaker 1: I talked about quarterback, receiver, tackle. I mean there's two
Speaker 1: tackles in that list. I talked about two edge rushers
Speaker 1: to two corners in that group. So we're talking about
Speaker 1: some of the premier positions in the league that cost
Speaker 1: the most, and you're well set up in those spots
Speaker 1: despite the fact that you kind of have to pay
Speaker 1: for a lot of those because you're already paying for
Speaker 1: Tua and waddle John who's got his contract, and you
Speaker 1: know Phillip is going to have to get a contract
Speaker 1: chopped down the road in four years. Ramsey has his money,
Speaker 1: but you're pretty well set in terms of the players
Speaker 1: you have at those core positions.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: I think it's enough that I think that you can execute,
Speaker 1: And this is the plan I'm kind of teasing out here.
Speaker 1: You could execute a soft rebuild this offseason and put
Speaker 1: yourself right back in the playoffs, while you also mount
Speaker 1: a deeper core that can do what the Lions are
Speaker 1: doing right now and what I thought we could accomplish
Speaker 1: even just two or three years ago. Go and be
Speaker 1: a team that is so deep at every position that
Speaker 1: you can withstand the highs and lows of the game.
Speaker 1: You can withstand a poor performance from your quarterback or
Speaker 1: from your defense, and you can win football games when
Speaker 1: not all of your core pieces are working because you're
Speaker 1: so deep and so well built.
Speaker 2: I thought we were going to get towards that. We
Speaker 2: are not that.
Speaker 1: But I think you have enough core pieces right here,
Speaker 1: with enough draft picks and capital down the road to
Speaker 1: put yourself in position on a soft rebuild to get
Speaker 1: back into that position to be one of those teams
Speaker 1: that you were in last year in terms of preseason.
Speaker 1: Is this team with the Ravens and the Bills and
Speaker 1: the Chiefs in terms of their ability to contend late
Speaker 1: in the year. I think you can get back to
Speaker 1: that with a soft rebuild, and let's go ahead and
Speaker 1: put a pin in that and come right back to that,
Speaker 1: because look, you know, time for like a Meya Kolpa
Speaker 1: kind of fall on my sword here a little bit.
Speaker 1: I've been the biggest proponent of this is a good roster.
Speaker 1: They built it properly. Then I thought things kind of
Speaker 1: took a turn in basically twenty twenty two. And it
Speaker 1: coincides with getting aggressive when they were on the cusp.
Speaker 1: You look at a team that last year was nine
Speaker 1: to three with a two touchdown lead with three and
Speaker 1: a half minutes to go against the Titans and games
Speaker 1: coming up against the Jets and Cowboys at home with
Speaker 1: one more win or two more wins from that position
Speaker 1: from being yea, one more win from being division champions,
Speaker 1: and you could say, like it was perfect. You were
Speaker 1: in the position that you wanted to be in to
Speaker 1: be a deep, you know, contender down the stretch into
Speaker 1: late January. But then we blow that game, we lose waddle.
Speaker 1: A couple of weeks later with an already banged up Tyreek,
Speaker 1: we lose Connor Williams, Rob Hunt's not been right the
Speaker 1: entire year. Then Bradley Chubb goes down, then Andrew van
Speaker 1: Ginkel on top of losing Jalen Phillips a few weeks earlier.
Speaker 1: This is where the thread was lost, and it goes
Speaker 1: back to the twenty twenty two to twenty twenty three
Speaker 1: offseasons where you didn't re you know, you basically did
Speaker 1: not refill the hopper with quality, perspective talent. And while yes,
Speaker 1: I agree that getting proven talent is great, especially for
Speaker 1: a team that has some of the best drafts in
Speaker 1: the league in twenty twenty two and twenty twenty one
Speaker 1: and had a quarterback rookie contract, I think that was
Speaker 1: a good approach. But then you stopped refilling the cupboard
Speaker 1: and you missed basically on the entire draft in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty two. At this point, I don't I'm not so
Speaker 1: sure that we obviously Tendall and Azukama where big misses
Speaker 1: and you know, haven't been part of this team for
Speaker 1: three years now, and then it's getting that way with
Speaker 1: Cam Smith, where in twenty twenty three you didn't get
Speaker 1: much outside devon a chance. So where it was good
Speaker 1: to be aggressive, it was probably too aggressive. And it's
Speaker 1: only too aggressive if you also miss on your picks.
Speaker 1: Like that's where things kind of get wonky, and where
Speaker 1: it worked for the Rams in the f M picks
Speaker 1: model because they kept getting contributors on day two and
Speaker 1: three of the draft, and that just hasn't happened enough
Speaker 1: here to refill that hopper with prospective talent like the
Speaker 1: great Kyle Krabs made a really good point to me
Speaker 1: in one of our private text messages about how the
Speaker 1: Vikings had that fugaisey of a thirteen and four year
Speaker 1: right that was not a true thirteen win team, and
Speaker 1: we learned that by them getting beat by freaking Daniel
Speaker 1: Jones on the wildcard round and rather than pushing it
Speaker 1: with a roster that was kind of lucky to get
Speaker 1: there and try to go the Mike tannenbaumb route and
Speaker 1: just fill holes with names on a free agent list.
Speaker 1: I think that's where we got off the rails a
Speaker 1: little bit, because the push of the accelerator was the
Speaker 1: move when it was probably time to kind of pull
Speaker 1: it back a little bit and go status quo and
Speaker 1: refill the depth and youth of the roster. And I'll
Speaker 1: tell you this, losing a first round and third round
Speaker 1: draft pick sure as hell didn't help in that pursuit.
Speaker 1: So the question is, now, what do you do? Travis.
Speaker 1: It's back to what I think they can do to
Speaker 1: make this all work. And I think about the options,
Speaker 1: and the other one that makes the most sense to
Speaker 1: me is a soft rebuild, and it pairs with the
Speaker 1: philosophy shift and it's centered around the quarterback. And you
Speaker 1: might say, well, Travis, he's four and three this year,
Speaker 1: and so what good is that going to do us.
Speaker 1: He still hasn't had the signature win in his career,
Speaker 1: and that's where I'd start to push back, because I mean,
Speaker 1: I've been on this crusade for a while now, but
Speaker 1: you know, to his maturity into the position where even
Speaker 1: two years ago I didn't know he was capable of this,
Speaker 1: the way he's taken ownership and the way he is
Speaker 1: the one that gets everybody wrong in the right direction.
Speaker 1: He is the type of quarterback that I think you
Speaker 1: can oversee bringing in younger parts of the roster, the
Speaker 1: two can get in line. He can be kind of
Speaker 1: the de facto principle of the group there with obviously
Speaker 1: the head coach being the superintendent, but you have to
Speaker 1: have that at the quarterback position. And I think it's
Speaker 1: what can allow teams to go soft rebuild opposed to
Speaker 1: full rebuild. But you can also back to the four
Speaker 1: and three record point. You can point to three losses
Speaker 1: and just say like, well, yeah, the quarterback was gone.
Speaker 1: Then you get him back, and there's two more losses
Speaker 1: you know we took because of the defense. And like
Speaker 1: in the Cardinals and Bills losses, if we have you know,
Speaker 1: Jalen Phillips and Bradley Chubb and Zach Seeler, those games
Speaker 1: are different dynamics and you know, oh weird they get
Speaker 1: up on teams and can't close them out late. I wonder,
Speaker 1: I wonder how losing three of your best pass rushers
Speaker 1: will do that. And I think that was my biggest
Speaker 1: personal heir in assessing the roster this offseason was I
Speaker 1: thought the edge group would be okay, but they haven't been.
Speaker 1: They've they've been depleted by injury, right, But that also
Speaker 1: doesn't take into account you know, Jordan Poyer hacking away
Speaker 1: at JP's knees. Even just having him would be a
Speaker 1: game changer. You know, I thought we'd have Chubb by
Speaker 1: the bye week. That obviously did not happen. I was
Speaker 1: counting on Shaq Barrett, who had really good tap with
Speaker 1: the Bucks last year. But all of that's gone, and
Speaker 1: then you add a poke in the eye of your
Speaker 1: best interior defensive linemen in practice to miss the two
Speaker 1: most important games of the year at that point, Like,
Speaker 1: I'm convinced we win those games with just Zack Seeler.
Speaker 1: Imagine having JP and Chubb and Shaq Barrett like that
Speaker 1: would have helped you close those games out.
Speaker 2: And you know, there's that.
Speaker 1: There's the Chris Kaufman, the three Arts per Carry podcaster
Speaker 1: had the great tweet about Fangio and the points that
Speaker 1: he made and how in hindsight, Fangio was kind of
Speaker 1: spot on, even though he was a grumpy old screwge
Speaker 1: around the building. And luckily I trust Anthony Weaver. But
Speaker 1: I think that we need to see more personal upheaval
Speaker 1: on that side of the ball and the guys that
Speaker 1: we've prioritized in Jordan Brooks in Anthony Walker to a
Speaker 1: much less degree, but he's been productive in his his role.
Speaker 1: Kalaeis Campbell, like these guys have been hits. Chop Robinson's
Speaker 1: been a hit, so I think that his input's quality
Speaker 1: and valuable. But here's what I really want to talk
Speaker 1: about is the offensive shift that I'm kind of pining for,
Speaker 1: and about how the Chiefs a couple of years ago,
Speaker 1: after winning championship, right, they moved on from Tyreek And
Speaker 1: you always look back at that and say, well, of
Speaker 1: course he had two seventeen hune yard seasons. He's been
Speaker 1: a big part of what this team has accomplished the
Speaker 1: last couple of years. But an organization like the Chiefs,
Speaker 1: you know, Brian Winhors, why would they do that? Why
Speaker 1: would they move off Tyreek Hill? And this is where
Speaker 1: it goes back to the quarterback position, because I think
Speaker 1: what the Chiefs noticed in twenty twenty two was this
Speaker 1: new trend of defenses refusing to give up the vertical
Speaker 1: passing game, defenses inviting more of the run game ie
Speaker 1: Isaiah Pacheco, and of course the investment in the Clyde
Speaker 1: Edwards lair that did not work out, and rounding out
Speaker 1: that receiving corps with more ancillary short options and using
Speaker 1: the resources you got from your game breaking receiver to
Speaker 1: fill out the defense and the offensive line with draft
Speaker 1: picks and the money you saved from that position, because
Speaker 1: teams are going to stay in those two high coverages
Speaker 1: regardless of who you have these days. So I would
Speaker 1: follow that mold, and I would move off the superstar
Speaker 1: receiver and replace him with the rookie contract and spend
Speaker 1: your new resources on a couple of things. I would
Speaker 1: categorize it this way. Athletes guys that move different than
Speaker 1: other people, especially on the defense side of the football,
Speaker 1: where I feel like the Dolphins lack big time explosive athletes,
Speaker 1: and then temperature changers on defense. Your Derwin James types,
Speaker 1: your Brian Branches, you'r Roquan Smith, you're Max Crosby's. You're
Speaker 1: guys that don't take no ish off of nobody, like
Speaker 1: the Jamaican Bob sled team on Cool Runnings. Right the
Speaker 1: bathroom scene, like when he wants to punk the guy
Speaker 1: in the bar. I see a bad mother effort who
Speaker 1: don't take nothing off nobody. Let's adjust the offense though,
Speaker 1: to more suit the style. Play off the quarterback, because
Speaker 1: what I look at here is a league trending in
Speaker 1: the direction with all these two high shelves and all
Speaker 1: these different coverage looks that can you know, force teams.
Speaker 1: I would throw in the deep ball and it's all
Speaker 1: gonna be played within ten yards of line of scrimmage
Speaker 1: these days. Well, to me, like Tua's game translates to
Speaker 1: the future of the league in that way more than
Speaker 1: just about anybody, because he's so sharp at hitting those small,
Speaker 1: fine windows in the short passing game. So if I
Speaker 1: can have a rookie, you know, I think like a
Speaker 1: Tae Kwon Thornton from a couple of years ago, who's
Speaker 1: been nothing in paige in New England, but a player
Speaker 1: that has straight line speed, it can get vertical. Maybe
Speaker 1: Xavier Worthy is a better choice for that. But if
Speaker 1: I can replace the thirty million dollars a year guy
Speaker 1: with that for three million bucks a year, that can
Speaker 1: get the same impact, and I can round out the
Speaker 1: rest of the roster as a result and really lean
Speaker 1: into my quarterback strengths where maybe it is time to
Speaker 1: go run game, short passing game, offensive line protection, because
Speaker 1: Tua does mitigate offensive line play in a lot of ways.
Speaker 1: But you can also maybe say that like his ability
Speaker 1: to play this way and get through progressions, you can
Speaker 1: add to that by getting more upfront. I still think
Speaker 1: that I would take the resource that you get from
Speaker 1: that and put it on defense and still continue the
Speaker 1: way you do with the offensive line. In some sense,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't neglect it entirely, but I think that you
Speaker 1: don't go Chiefs level investment or our bucks level investment
Speaker 1: on the offensive line because of what tua strengths are,
Speaker 1: and you should lean into the fact that he can
Speaker 1: help you mitigate some of that, not all of it,
Speaker 1: but some of that. So adjust the offense to this
Speaker 1: current model. And people always ask him why is they're
Speaker 1: not more short routes for wreaking Wadle. It's because they
Speaker 1: want those guys running the intermediate and vertical stuff and
Speaker 1: not put them in those shorter routes. And I think
Speaker 1: you can get that from other guys as well, and
Speaker 1: maybe you do have an adjustment where it's like, hey,
Speaker 1: we are going to run stick with tyreek er or
Speaker 1: waddle here and get more completions to those guys in
Speaker 1: short areas. Build them into the game plan and get
Speaker 1: them more confidence and get their stats going and all
Speaker 1: that stuff that breeds more production from those guys. So
Speaker 1: adjust the offense to suit the modern style of football,
Speaker 1: especially with how it coincides with the strength of your quarterback.
Speaker 1: And invest in the running game, because when this offense
Speaker 1: is really cranking, it's the running game. And the tackle
Speaker 1: position has been a big fall off at right tackle
Speaker 1: and the tight end position. We have to find our
Speaker 1: Darnell Washington. Gosh, he was on the board for US
Speaker 1: back in twenty twenty two. I wanted that or twenty
Speaker 1: twenty three. I wanted that guy so freaking bad. So
Speaker 1: invest in the running game with an actual, y, classic
Speaker 1: tight end, with maybe a little bit better investment in
Speaker 1: the offensive line, maybe one more bigger type of back
Speaker 1: that can run those cold weather days. And I think
Speaker 1: Jalen Wright probably is that guy. In exchange a week
Speaker 1: for a deeper, younger, cheaper slew of wide receivers. Does
Speaker 1: that work for you, guys, Let's go ahead and take
Speaker 1: a break right there, come back and I have more
Speaker 1: to get to on the other side, including my chat
Speaker 1: with Caroline Hendershoot Hendershot rather from the Jets. That's next
Speaker 1: Drive time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you
Speaker 1: by Auto Nation. So that's the plan laid out, and
Speaker 1: I want to just continue the same exact topic a
Speaker 1: full two segment segment here in one segment and or
Speaker 1: one segment in two segments.
Speaker 2: And you know what all this w.
Speaker 1: Affords you the opportunity to do when your quarterback is
Speaker 1: your best player. And first, you know, and I know
Speaker 1: this is a small fraction of Twitter that I need
Speaker 1: to not generalize as the entire fan base, but I
Speaker 1: see people suggesting blowing this whole thing up and offloading Tua. Like, guys,
Speaker 1: if you're out there, well, first of all, we know
Speaker 1: that you're not older than eighteen years old, because anybody
Speaker 1: who's watched the Dolphins for a decade or more knows
Speaker 1: how long we waited for just competence at the quarterback position,
Speaker 1: because without that, you are a non starter in terms
Speaker 1: of competing in important football games, like we've had important
Speaker 1: football games last five years because we've had a good
Speaker 1: quarterback play.
Speaker 2: You can't have one without the other. So we've got that.
Speaker 1: And he's twenty six years old, and he gets better
Speaker 1: every single year, and his skills are the type of
Speaker 1: skills that increase with experience. And to put a bow
Speaker 1: on the whole professional thing, this entire little segment here,
Speaker 1: I think often about something I was told a while back,
Speaker 1: and how this team operates, and there's like a certain
Speaker 1: threshold of effort that gets hit where people hit that level,
Speaker 1: and it's like, that's not my job, that's for somebody else.
Speaker 1: And that's how I kind of think this team is
Speaker 1: outside of everybody except for number one, is what I
Speaker 1: was told, And it reminds me of the story about Somebody, Anybody,
Speaker 1: everybody and nobody. Do you guys remember that postgame after
Speaker 1: the rams Ta mention that this he said, I would
Speaker 1: say for us, it's sort of the it's not your
Speaker 1: job mentality. I don't know if you guys have heard
Speaker 1: the story about of the four people Everybody, anybody, somebody
Speaker 1: and nobody, And he says, well, I can't tell the stories.
Speaker 1: I don't have the exact quote, but sort of it's
Speaker 1: the mentality of it's not your job, and so let's
Speaker 1: go ahead and cut off to us quote there, and
Speaker 1: I'll read you guys the exact story.
Speaker 2: So I found the story.
Speaker 1: This is a story about about four people named Everybody, Somebody, anybody,
Speaker 1: and nobody, and there its an important job be done,
Speaker 1: and everybody was sure that somebody would do it. Anybody
Speaker 1: could have done it, but nobody did it. Somebody got
Speaker 1: angry about that because it was everybody's job. Everybody thought
Speaker 1: anybody could do it, but nobody realized that everybody wouldn't
Speaker 1: do it. It ended up that everybody blamed somebody when
Speaker 1: nobody did what anybody could have. I think that's kind
Speaker 1: of what you have here in terms of how this
Speaker 1: whole thing shakes down. And look the injuries for Tua,
Speaker 1: I get it.
Speaker 2: I do.
Speaker 1: That's where you can push back and say you can't
Speaker 1: go forward that and I would understand that.
Speaker 2: I totally do. I shoot back when he got hurt.
Speaker 2: I was like, we can't risk this again.
Speaker 1: But I've bought back in because he's taken some hits
Speaker 1: and he's hopefully never does that again where he drops
Speaker 1: his head into a tackler. But he's what you've been
Speaker 1: searching for for years, guys, and he's developed in the
Speaker 1: type of quarterback that you can run things by, right,
Speaker 1: like the kind of de facto GM alongside the head
Speaker 1: coach and the GM. And if you ask Tua, I
Speaker 1: think he'd agree with me. There's more of a clear
Speaker 1: pivot you can make this offseason in the way McVeigh
Speaker 1: did with the Rams to kind of load up in
Speaker 1: those areas and be less concerned about the deep vertical
Speaker 1: passing game. You can maintain your core offense and you
Speaker 1: can add to it to get potentially some addition by
Speaker 1: subtraction in the locker room. Now you might have to
Speaker 1: do it without the highest paid receiver in football and
Speaker 1: just have one of those guys, and you will have
Speaker 1: to hit on a cheap receiver who provides more value.
Speaker 2: I mean, think about this.
Speaker 1: For what you're paying Tyreek, his net value is kind
Speaker 1: of a negative for his production this year because he's
Speaker 1: not producing that much. If I get his production at
Speaker 1: three million bucks a year or whatever, you're paying a
Speaker 1: high round rookie or a low level free agency receiver
Speaker 1: that doesn't really exist anymore, then it becomes a boon
Speaker 1: of value and I can divvy up those resources elsewhere.
Speaker 1: So it starts with moving off of ten. We should
Speaker 1: lean into to his new skill set. Replace Reek with
Speaker 1: a less polished burner, make Wallle the centerpiece of the
Speaker 1: entire offense, keep pounding it with eight Chan and John
Speaker 1: Hui Smith, and use those Reek resources to give you
Speaker 1: a jolt on the defensive side. Of the football, further
Speaker 1: develop Jylan Wright and Malik Washington a new number two receiver.
Speaker 1: I want a true why. I think you get that
Speaker 1: in the draft and invest in some mid round capital
Speaker 1: on the offensive line, across the interior, do that with
Speaker 1: the returning players and who help you with that continuity
Speaker 1: and let's get that pipeline turning. And then defensively, just
Speaker 1: I want temperature changers dogs. When I look at free
Speaker 1: agency and I see Buddha Baker available, a guy like that,
Speaker 1: a Derwin James type of personality who comes in and
Speaker 1: just rises all tides. What what do they do when
Speaker 1: the pile gets stacked up on defense? How do they
Speaker 1: arrive to piles? What motivates them? Do they run through
Speaker 1: it and make the tackle or do they just kind
Speaker 1: of patty cake it on the back end? Is there
Speaker 1: an edge to the player if emby When Trevor Lawrence
Speaker 1: said that he doesn't really need football.
Speaker 2: It's just something he does.
Speaker 1: Doesn't that kind of attract the way his career's gone,
Speaker 1: Compare that to how two was obsessed with the game,
Speaker 1: refuses to retire just by multiple like serious injuries. You know,
Speaker 1: I was talking about this guy on social media but
Speaker 1: Shamar Stewart from Texas A and M watch him play.
Speaker 2: That's the kind of guy I'm talking about.
Speaker 1: Someone that physically violently goes out and attacks people and
Speaker 1: gets mad when it goes wrong, and celebrates when it
Speaker 1: goes right and chirps it guys when it goes right.
Speaker 1: Edge dog a certain mentality, same exact thing, the way,
Speaker 1: same one defense, the way, two obsesses over knowing every
Speaker 1: coverage and rotation. I need somebody who has a screw loose,
Speaker 1: whose only medicine is dishing out punishment to make guys
Speaker 1: feel that effect. Quite frankly, it's a player like Deshan Elliott.
Speaker 1: Let's take our last break rate there, come back on
Speaker 1: the other side and talk to Caroline Hendershot from Jets
Speaker 1: dot com. That's next Draft Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield,
Speaker 1: brought to you by Autoation. Welcome back into the Baptist
Speaker 1: Hell Studios as we get ready for another Dolphins game
Speaker 1: with the New York Jets in town. Time to go
Speaker 1: across enemy lines here and welcome in Jets reporter Caroline Hendershot.
Speaker 2: Caroline, welcome in and how was your holiday?
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me so excited to
Speaker 3: be here.
Speaker 4: Holiday was good. It was very quick.
Speaker 5: I feel like Thanksgiving came and went before we even realized.
Speaker 3: And Christmas is ride around the corner.
Speaker 5: So I feel like this next chunk of games is
Speaker 5: going to absolutely fly for everyone.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean, this time of year always seems to go
Speaker 1: by fast, especially with little ones like my kids make
Speaker 1: the Christmas season go by faster. I feel like, so
Speaker 1: the games go by faster and the holiday season all
Speaker 1: intertwined into this crazy time of year. And you know, Caroline,
Speaker 1: I almost never go backwards on my show here, but
Speaker 1: I have to do it here because I watched that Jets,
Speaker 1: Jets and Seahawks game kind of in the corner of
Speaker 1: my eye. It was one of those rare Sundays where
Speaker 1: you don't have your team playing, so you get to
Speaker 1: watch the rest of the league. And it seemed like
Speaker 1: every time I looked up at that you know, off
Speaker 1: off screen Jets Seahawks game, when I looked up, something
Speaker 1: crazy was happening. Can you tell me what it was
Speaker 1: like to watch that roller coaster ryde go through those
Speaker 1: highs and lows there at MetLife Stadium on Sunday?
Speaker 4: It was insane.
Speaker 5: I feel like a lot of times when you're watching
Speaker 5: an NFL game, the momentum switch that you can actually
Speaker 5: feel is not that common, Like maybe there's one or
Speaker 5: two a game where you can actually tell. Okay, this
Speaker 5: was the point where the momentum really changed for the team.
Speaker 4: It was back and forth.
Speaker 5: It was truly like a ping pong match for the
Speaker 5: first half.
Speaker 3: It was crazy.
Speaker 5: Everything that you thought could happen did happen, so all
Speaker 5: the bases were covered. But yeah, it was definitely very
Speaker 5: back and forth on who had the momentum in the
Speaker 5: first half, and then of course the second half just finished,
Speaker 5: finished the game out and the Seahawks took over. But yeah,
Speaker 5: it was a crazy momentum swing.
Speaker 1: How do you feel like the Jets, I guess changed
Speaker 1: or came out of the bye week, because it seems
Speaker 1: like oftentimes, who was it that I saw earlier this
Speaker 1: year someone came out for the bye week. It was
Speaker 1: the Raiders playing the Dolphins, actually is what it was,
Speaker 1: and they just had like a different approach, like everything
Speaker 1: was different than what they showed on tape. How do
Speaker 1: you think the Jets took the bye week and how
Speaker 1: do you think they changed from that week off?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think the bye week. I feel like people
Speaker 5: are always kind of like, oh, you know, it's the
Speaker 5: perfect time.
Speaker 4: To self scout, but truly like it is.
Speaker 5: And this was the first time that the Jets had
Speaker 5: that opportunity all year because the schedule for them this
Speaker 5: season has been insane. They played five games in October,
Speaker 5: they only played two in November, but then September was
Speaker 5: filled with prime time Sunday night football, Thursday night football,
Speaker 5: so it has been pretty chaotic for them.
Speaker 3: So I feel like the chance.
Speaker 5: To actually watch the tape catch their breath really helped them.
Speaker 5: And one thing that coach Olbricks said going into or
Speaker 5: coming out of the bye was that he wanted to
Speaker 5: get special teams going. That was one area that he
Speaker 5: noticed maybe wasn't giving enough pressure and maybe there were
Speaker 5: some things that they could tweak. And I mean you
Speaker 5: saw it with kinay one Wu. He just absolutely took
Speaker 5: off with that ninety nine yard kick return touchdown. And
Speaker 5: special teams as a whole, I feel like had one
Speaker 5: of their best games of the season.
Speaker 1: Not to mention was that three Seahawks fumbles on kickoffs
Speaker 1: and two the Jets got in that game. I just
Speaker 1: I could every time I looked up, it was like,
Speaker 1: what's going on in the metal lands right now?
Speaker 2: Because that game is out of control?
Speaker 1: And yeah, it's interesting to see how teams come out
Speaker 1: of the bye week and despite you know, the record,
Speaker 1: despite the loss, despite all the ups and downs of
Speaker 1: that game. I felt, and to your point that you
Speaker 1: just mentioned that, the Jets like showed you, you know,
Speaker 1: as they have all year, these moments that kind of
Speaker 1: validated some of the preseason hype they got this summer,
Speaker 1: and that's obviously not been a consistent thing, but they've
Speaker 1: shown that time. So I guess my question is, Caroline,
Speaker 1: from a ten thousand foot view, how would you describe
Speaker 1: what happened and the difference between the expectations, you know,
Speaker 1: a popular preseason Super Bowl pick to the reality of
Speaker 1: three and nine. What's been the disconnect between those two
Speaker 1: things being what was supposed to happen or you know,
Speaker 1: predicted to happen versus what has happened.
Speaker 5: I think it's so hard, but really what it comes
Speaker 5: down to is so many little moments like those.
Speaker 4: Just they say football is a game.
Speaker 5: Of inches, right, and they were not lying when they
Speaker 5: said that, because there were so many times in so
Speaker 5: many games where if a ball bounced one way, or
Speaker 5: there was a catch that was made or a tackle
Speaker 5: that was made, the game would have gone completely differently
Speaker 5: and the Jets would have come out as winners instead
Speaker 5: of losers.
Speaker 3: Or vice versa.
Speaker 5: So I just think that there have been a lot
Speaker 5: of little moments for them that haven't been what that
Speaker 5: like the standard that they would pride themselves on, and
Speaker 5: they'll be the first to tell you that. But I
Speaker 5: think one thing that every player has brought up has
Speaker 5: definitely been penalties.
Speaker 3: That has been something that they have.
Speaker 5: Been trying to correct and coach Ulbrick has been emphasizing.
Speaker 5: But I think a lot of it has just been
Speaker 5: these little little moments that then add to that add
Speaker 5: up and then end up making the game go not
Speaker 5: the way that they had hoped.
Speaker 1: That's the beauty of this league, right I think I
Speaker 1: saw a tweet earlier the eighty percent of the league's
Speaker 1: games this year have been within eight points, So one
Speaker 1: score contest for you know, four out of five games
Speaker 1: that get played, and Dolphins fans can do the exact
Speaker 1: same thing in the Cardinals game, the Bills game, the
Speaker 1: Colts game. There are there's one play in each of
Speaker 1: those games you can point to and say, if that
Speaker 1: had just gone the other way, Dolphins have three more
Speaker 1: wins right now, But that's not the reality of it.
Speaker 1: At five and seven, trying to keep their playoff hopes
Speaker 1: alive with the win over the Jets on Sunday. My
Speaker 1: guest is Caroline Hendershot from the Jets reporter. I should say,
Speaker 1: and I talked to coach McDaniel this week about the
Speaker 1: connection between Rogers and DeVante Adams because they've he's you know,
Speaker 1: coached in San Francisco for so long, he saw those
Speaker 1: guys in the playoffs pretty much every single year, and
Speaker 1: he really described kind of the chemistry between those two.
Speaker 1: But as you talk about those little moments, I'm wondering, like,
Speaker 1: how far along has Rogers and Adams in the Jets
Speaker 1: chapter of their story careers together come along Because as
Speaker 1: much as they have that you know, built in synchronicity,
Speaker 1: I kind of feel like, as you get there for
Speaker 1: the trade deadline and you know, mid season, it's probably
Speaker 1: tough to pick that up right away. How have you
Speaker 1: noticed those guys this connection together and how? And then
Speaker 1: I guess the follow up to that would be, how
Speaker 1: does Garrett Wilson factor into, you know, the receiving pecking
Speaker 1: order with DeVante Adams arriving there in October, right, I.
Speaker 5: Think you said it best, like people almost immediately assumed like, oh,
Speaker 5: it's like.
Speaker 3: Riding a bike.
Speaker 5: They're gonna pick up right where they left off in
Speaker 5: Green Bay. But of course it takes a little bit
Speaker 5: of time with anything to just get back to that level.
Speaker 5: But I really feel like people saw it against the Seahawks.
Speaker 5: They had a couple first downs that were made possible
Speaker 5: because of that connection and that chemistry, like Rogers would
Speaker 5: just find Avante and it would just click and he
Speaker 5: would catch the ball when he needed to, and there
Speaker 5: were some really pivotal first downs that were made because
Speaker 5: of that connection. I think the beauty of it is
Speaker 5: that Garrett Wilson, the way that now you have to
Speaker 5: view it as a defender is, Okay, we can't double
Speaker 5: team both of them, so you kind of have to
Speaker 5: pick your poison when you have both of them on
Speaker 5: the field at the same time.
Speaker 3: And that makes it even much that much more dangerous.
Speaker 5: Because obviously Garrett Wilson has made insane catches in his career,
Speaker 5: not just this year, but then you're kind of only
Speaker 5: leaving him against one defender, and that just creates a
Speaker 5: whole another slew of problem. So I do think that
Speaker 5: it's only beneficial. I know people originally were trying to
Speaker 5: kind of create a story that like, oh, he's going
Speaker 5: to take away from all the other wide receivers on
Speaker 5: the team, But I don't think that that has been
Speaker 5: the case at all. I think it's only enhanced the receivers.
Speaker 1: It's funny because you know, you see three and nine
Speaker 1: on the record going into this game, You're like, Oh,
Speaker 1: that should be a team that you should be able
Speaker 1: to beat. But then you look at the roster and
Speaker 1: it's like, I don't know, man, Like they have so
Speaker 1: many guys that can still do it and can still
Speaker 1: beat you in a moments.
Speaker 2: Notice that's all it takes. To your point.
Speaker 1: You know, one play here and there in games can
Speaker 1: be the difference between winning and losing in this league.
Speaker 1: So it's definitely a fun matchup for those reasons. And
Speaker 1: I want to go back to the other side of
Speaker 1: the BA the Jets defense here real quick for a
Speaker 1: couple of questions, Caroline, because I was doing the math
Speaker 1: on this, and the Dolphins have averaged one hundred and
Speaker 1: forty yards on the ground against the Jets since McDaniel arrived,
Speaker 1: or they find a way to get the ball off
Speaker 1: the edge and run the ball very successfully. And then
Speaker 1: I got more intrigued by the matchup of this system
Speaker 1: versus that defensive system. And I went back this year
Speaker 1: and looked in the Niners and Texans, which is Kyle
Speaker 1: Shanahan and Bobby Slowick two of the Shanahan offshoots or
Speaker 1: one as the originator, and they had the two highest
Speaker 1: rushing tolls against the Jets this year as well. So
Speaker 1: I'm curious, how have you kind of taken or I
Speaker 1: guess evaluated the Jets run defense this year, and how
Speaker 1: is it preparing to stop this Dolphins run game that
Speaker 1: hasn't been great the last couple of weeks, but in
Speaker 1: history has gotten lost success against the Jets run defense.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 5: I think the run defense has been something that the
Speaker 5: entire defensive staff, all of the defensive players have been
Speaker 5: emphasizing as something that they want to improve on and
Speaker 5: really set the edges better and just contain those backs.
Speaker 5: I think it's been something that they have emphasized, but
Speaker 5: they also have been emphasizing their own like they want
Speaker 5: to get the run game going for the Jets offense.
Speaker 5: So it's kind of twofold in that regard, But I
Speaker 5: do think that something people were maybe saying was, Oh,
Speaker 5: that's because CJ. Moseley isn't in there the linebacker and
Speaker 5: a captain for the Jets, but Jamie and Sherwood has
Speaker 5: really come into his own this year.
Speaker 3: He has taken that.
Speaker 5: Role over as Mike linebacker for the Jets, and he
Speaker 5: has been performing at a really high level and has
Speaker 5: been getting the defense organized and doing the job to
Speaker 5: really the highest standard in my opinion. So I think
Speaker 5: that while they can continue to improve upon the run defense,
Speaker 5: that it's definitely made strides throughout the season.
Speaker 1: Sherwood's one of those guys that I remember watching Jets
Speaker 1: back in the preseason being like, who is that guy?
Speaker 1: Then here he is in the regular season making all
Speaker 1: kinds of plays. So the Jets seem to always find
Speaker 1: their off ball linebackers, that's for sure. And something else
Speaker 1: they have plenty of two is good cornerback play, and
Speaker 1: that's kind of the premier matchup in this game. And
Speaker 1: how we'll close before our final question, which is how
Speaker 1: the just can find a way to win this game
Speaker 1: in Miami. But can you preview this Reek and Wattle
Speaker 1: versus Sauce and Reed and Michael Carter matchup because I'm curious.
Speaker 1: I know that for Tyreek and Wattle, they look forward
Speaker 1: to the challenge, you know, every year against these guys.
Speaker 1: It's gotta be the same way for the Jess cornerbacks
Speaker 1: against the Dolphins receivers.
Speaker 3: Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 5: I think these cornerbacks pride themselves on their level of play,
Speaker 5: their physicality, and just what they are capable of doing
Speaker 5: as a trio. And of course I think the nickel
Speaker 5: cornerback always gets maybe a little overlooked. Michael Carter is
Speaker 5: just he blows my mind. I think he is so smart,
Speaker 5: he's so good at the position, and it's very underrated
Speaker 5: in my opinion. But yeah, Sauce and DJ, that combination
Speaker 5: I feel like has been really aggressive this year. They
Speaker 5: I think will be the first ones too to tell
Speaker 5: you like, there's been some plays where maybe the communication
Speaker 5: wasn't up to their standard, or things got away from them,
Speaker 5: or there have been some penalties, but that doesn't mean
Speaker 5: that they're not holding themselves to the high standard continuously.
Speaker 3: And excited for that challenge.
Speaker 5: I know that it almost feels weird that the Jets
Speaker 5: and the Dolphins haven't faced each other yet already, and
Speaker 5: it's already Week fourteen, like I feel like usually it's
Speaker 5: comes earlier in the season, So I feel like this
Speaker 5: has been long awaited for both the DB's and probably
Speaker 5: the Dolphins.
Speaker 3: Wide receivers as well.
Speaker 5: But yeah, I will say, obviously the quarterbacks are the
Speaker 5: big discussion. But someone who has come on to the
Speaker 5: scene for the Jets who has been making quite a
Speaker 5: name for himself, safety Jalen Mills. He was part of
Speaker 5: a goal line stop last week against the Seahawks that
Speaker 5: was really really important, and so he too has been
Speaker 5: playing at a really high level too, so that's been
Speaker 5: interesting as well.
Speaker 1: Does Jalen have the green hair still? Yes, he does, Okay,
Speaker 1: I remember for the Eagles he had that. Then I
Speaker 1: think he went to the Patriots and he might have
Speaker 1: gone with the red hair. If not mistaken, I know
Speaker 1: he's always had his hair match the team colors.
Speaker 5: Yeah, No, he is fully has the green hair, and
Speaker 5: I love it. It's a great addition to the uniforms.
Speaker 5: So it brings out the green on the uniform quite nicely.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he flies around and hits quite a lot. And
Speaker 1: to your point about these matches being so late in
Speaker 1: the year, I kind of feel like the you know,
Speaker 1: the schedule makers were like Jets and Dolphins, the Bills
Speaker 1: maybe kind of regresting a little bit. This could be
Speaker 1: the division, you know, for the division down the stretch,
Speaker 1: didn't work out that way. One team gonna play out
Speaker 1: the string, the Dolphins hanging on to playoff hope still
Speaker 1: with with you know, the last five games to go
Speaker 1: and hopefully trying to find a way to win all
Speaker 1: those games. But the Jets can put us off to
Speaker 1: that right here with this game on Sunday. How do
Speaker 1: you think that the Jets can come up with a
Speaker 1: victory on Sunday over the Dolphins, Caroline.
Speaker 5: So, I think for them it really just comes down
Speaker 5: to limiting those self inflicted wounds and those self inflicted mistakes,
Speaker 5: like the penalties. I think if they can limit those,
Speaker 5: that will be a big aid for them. But then
Speaker 5: also I really think the special teams plays a really
Speaker 5: large role. I know that obviously the Seahawks Jets game
Speaker 5: was an anomaly, maybe with all of the special teams
Speaker 5: action that happened but I I do think that because
Speaker 5: they highlighted the special teams unit as something they wanted to.
Speaker 3: Get going, and then Knae one Wu came in and.
Speaker 5: Really has just electrified the kick return. I think that
Speaker 5: has played a big role. So I think that while
Speaker 5: people might overlook that aspect of the game, I think
Speaker 5: that could be a big factor in a Sunday's matchup
Speaker 5: between the Dolphins and the Jets.
Speaker 1: Looking forward to it one o'clock here from hard Rock Stadium,
Speaker 1: Dolphins and Jets. It's one hundred and sixteen times in
Speaker 1: the making here this arrivaly, so looking forward to the
Speaker 1: renewal of that for the first time in twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1: Caroline Hendershot Jets reporter at CG Hendy on Twitter.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 3: Thanks so much.
Speaker 1: All Right, that was a fun, fun podcast taking a
Speaker 1: look at or using the extra days I should say
Speaker 1: this week, to take a look at maybe the future.
Speaker 1: And in the meantime, we are going to press forward
Speaker 1: with Dolphins wins. Hopefully in each and every win pushes
Speaker 1: us one step closer to run the table and getting
Speaker 1: back into the posts. And that's the focus for now.
Speaker 1: When we are eliminated, we'll start getting the draft prospects
Speaker 1: and do all that stuff. I thought you guys deserved
Speaker 1: a little taste of it right there on today's episode.
Speaker 1: So yesterday optimist, today pessimist. But in the end, it's
Speaker 1: all gonna be okay, was the general message of these
Speaker 1: two podcasts. In the meantime, you all please be sure
Speaker 1: to subscribe, rate, review the podcast, Go ahead and follow
Speaker 1: me on social at Wingfield NFL.
Speaker 2: The team at Miami Dolphins check out.
Speaker 1: My guys, Seth and Juice. They had Tim Ruddy on
Speaker 1: the fish Tank podcast this week. You don't want to
Speaker 1: miss that. Also the YouTube channel for Dolphins, HQ, Media
Speaker 1: Availabilities and much much more, and last but not least,
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins dot com. Until next time, Fins Up, Carolin
Speaker 1: Kamran Daddy means coming.