Speaker 1: You were listening to the Miami Dolphins Podcast Network. This
Speaker 1: is Drivetime with Travis Winfield. Back to throw to a
Speaker 1: lookings at Dolca Wade, Dolfan touchdock cuneric kill, unbelievable. Just
Speaker 1: flue fire for the second time to know where he
Speaker 1: was going right away? Wow, ahead of that. The man
Speaker 1: I want to help you soon up on his man
Speaker 1: away Now wattle waddle to a shotgun, back to throw,
Speaker 1: looking thus up fires touchdop again it's waddle. It's six
Speaker 1: touchdown paradown of the tea. Drivetime with Travis Wingfield begins.
Speaker 1: Now check your pulse if you're not furt of what
Speaker 1: is up? Dolphans and welcome to the Drivetime podcast, part
Speaker 1: of the Miami Dolphins podcast network covering your team, your
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins. How's it going everybody? I am your host,
Speaker 1: Travis Wingfield. And on today's shoot show, Shoe, it's part
Speaker 1: two of the Shoe of the Roster Review. We're gonna
Speaker 1: look at the defense, including how one roster evaluator says
Speaker 1: on paper, this is the top defense in the NFL.
Speaker 1: Pass will talk a little bit about Opening Day in
Speaker 1: baseball and my golf game, which I know you guys
Speaker 1: are all here for from the Baptist Health Studios. Check
Speaker 1: that from somewhere in South Florida. This is the Drivetime podcast.
Speaker 1: Maya Gaffe Fish A little bit of a rocky start there,
Speaker 1: but you know, give your boy a break. I've recording
Speaker 1: this on a Thursday here, March the thirtieth, ahead of
Speaker 1: Opening Day in baseball and ahead of Witness podcast drops
Speaker 1: on a Friday. And two things I want to discuss
Speaker 1: real quick is the opening day in baseball and just
Speaker 1: how fired up I am this year. I tweeted about
Speaker 1: it on Thursday and morning that the Mariners have a
Speaker 1: player who I was born in nineteen eighty seven and
Speaker 1: Kikerfree Junior made his debut in nineteen eighty nine, and
Speaker 1: I got to grow up with that every night on
Speaker 1: Fox Sports Northwest Kinkerfree Junior or seven ten pm in
Speaker 1: my living room, me doing the wiggle every single night.
Speaker 1: It's how I fell in love with baseball. It's kind
Speaker 1: of how I modeled my swing after and that's kind
Speaker 1: of how my baseball swing led to what is now
Speaker 1: my golf swing, which talk about here in just one second.
Speaker 1: But I think it's really cool that my kids now
Speaker 1: are all Manors. Fans of a certain age got to
Speaker 1: watch King Gerfie Junior for their entire childhood. Now get
Speaker 1: the benefit of watching Julio Rodriguez. And in that tweet
Speaker 1: I put out from the Player's Tribune a story that
Speaker 1: Julio wrote. He also was featured in GQ. He's also
Speaker 1: the Sports Illustrated cover athlete for the season preview this year.
Speaker 1: Everyone expects this guy to be a multiple time MVP,
Speaker 1: and he just has the charisma and superstar traits that
Speaker 1: you look for across the board in a ball player.
Speaker 1: I think it's super cool that my kids get to
Speaker 1: grow watching that guy, and I'm so fired up. Man,
Speaker 1: He's gonna hit like, probably thirty five home runs this year,
Speaker 1: probably still fifty basses, probably gonna have an OPS around
Speaker 1: a thousand, probably gonna win a Gold Glove. He is
Speaker 1: special and I cannot wait. Speaking of special, you're boy
Speaker 1: in the golf course. I'm just kidding. I do have
Speaker 1: a round tonight that I'm very excited to go play.
Speaker 1: I've mentioned it several times that I am in fact
Speaker 1: on leave right now. Cameron was nice enough to fall
Speaker 1: asleep for a little bit for me to record this
Speaker 1: podcast and get it in. But my wife feels bad
Speaker 1: for me because Cameron just kind of cries all day
Speaker 1: and I've been getting my ass kicked all day by
Speaker 1: this kid. So she said, go ahead and get out
Speaker 1: of here for a few hours and I and go
Speaker 1: play golf. I'm gonna go play the Grand Palms in
Speaker 1: Pembroke Pines. I'm just curious. Has anybody ever really started
Speaker 1: golf at age thirty five and made the PGA Tour,
Speaker 1: because I feel like that's kind of where I'm going.
Speaker 1: That's a joke, but I've mentioned that natural baseball swinging, man,
Speaker 1: I feel it, and I'm consistently getting the driver about
Speaker 1: two eighty off the tea most of the time straight.
Speaker 1: Sometimes I got a bit of a snap hook that
Speaker 1: it just turns a little bit left more than I
Speaker 1: wanted to hitting the greens, and regulation is a fifty
Speaker 1: fifty prop position. You never know what's gonna happen. But
Speaker 1: i feel like I'm putting myself in position on most
Speaker 1: holes to hit from about eighty to one twenty, and
Speaker 1: I'm just not getting the ball close enough to The
Speaker 1: putting is very up and down as well, so I
Speaker 1: feel close. I feel like I'm close to becoming someone
Speaker 1: that just began golf who was consistently in the one hundreds.
Speaker 1: And I feel like getting a eight as a first
Speaker 1: number on my card is very close. In fact, I
Speaker 1: shot a ninety the other day, and I think even
Speaker 1: beyond that, I feel like I'm not far away, maybe
Speaker 1: a couple of years from potentially being able to get
Speaker 1: under double digits in terms of being overpar like plus nine.
Speaker 1: I think it's very possible for you a boy in
Speaker 1: the near future. But I want to play as much
Speaker 1: golf as I can this summer. So, like I said,
Speaker 1: if you're trying to get out there, let me know,
Speaker 1: let's go play some golf. Let's talk some football, shall we.
Speaker 1: Wednesday we did the offensive side of the ball, and
Speaker 1: now we turn our attention to the defense. And frankly,
Speaker 1: I think you could argue which side of the ball
Speaker 1: looks better on paper for your Miami Dolphins. And that
Speaker 1: certainly makes for a fun training camp, doesn't it. I
Speaker 1: do Matchup of the Day, Matchup, Matchup, Matchup of the
Speaker 1: day every single day on the Great Training Camp Practice
Speaker 1: podcast reviews or recaps, and like you know, in the past,
Speaker 1: I had to try to manufacture Shack Lawson versus Austin Jackson,
Speaker 1: a couple players that were certainly fun to watch, But
Speaker 1: now I got like Jalen Ramsey versus Jalen Waddle, I
Speaker 1: got Tyreek Hill versus Xavier Howard. I've got to Ron
Speaker 1: Armstead versus Bradley Chubb and Jalen Phillips like who Buddy.
Speaker 1: There are matchups up and down the board that I
Speaker 1: cannot wait to get into. And before we look at
Speaker 1: our first position group, this podcast will not be as
Speaker 1: long as the Thursday Behemoth or Wednesday Yeah, Wednesday Behemoth. Um,
Speaker 1: it probably will because I'm talking about baseball and golf now,
Speaker 1: but a lot. I think I had four thousand words
Speaker 1: for that one. I got about twenty five hundred for
Speaker 1: this one. But before we get into that, there's a
Speaker 1: guy at ESPN. He's a fantasy football expert, which I
Speaker 1: don't think translates to actual football. And I've actually gotten
Speaker 1: into debate to this guy on Twitter in the past.
Speaker 1: You know, I have a hard time value in an
Speaker 1: opinion from someone that doesn't like, you know, the great
Speaker 1: So the great Mike McDaniel interview with Mike Silver. How
Speaker 1: great was that? By the way, the process of talking
Speaker 1: about how we don't just have this quarterback in two
Speaker 1: like Mike with that film session he talked about in
Speaker 1: that story, we're gonna build the entire program around two
Speaker 1: of strengths. Because I believe he's that good. How freaking
Speaker 1: cool is that? But when you had to explain to
Speaker 1: him what a field side out route was, Oh, I
Speaker 1: just I can't understand. Like doing this profession and not
Speaker 1: knowing the very basics, it's very weird to me. That's
Speaker 1: how I feel about this particular pundint. But each year
Speaker 1: he does his positional grading chart and puts a heavier
Speaker 1: emphasis on certain positions, like we talked about last episode
Speaker 1: with more premium spots. But he has the Dolphins is thirteenth.
Speaker 1: Offensively the hell you're talking about so already kind of
Speaker 1: discrediting my own source here, But defensively number one he
Speaker 1: has Miami and that lands the Dolphins is the number
Speaker 1: three overall roster, behind just Philly and Dallas. And to
Speaker 1: give you an idea of the rest of the teams
Speaker 1: in the top ten, they are the Bengals, Bills, Chargers, Chiefs, Broncos, Browns,
Speaker 1: and Jets. This is under the assumption that Jets get
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers. Teams three through ten in the AFC is brutal,
Speaker 1: but it's goot Miami better than the Bengals and Bills.
Speaker 1: Those are two teams I think most folks will pick
Speaker 1: to compete with the Chiefs this year, who are even
Speaker 1: lower for potential AFC supremacy in a trip to the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl. Let's go ahead and get to the defense, though,
Speaker 1: And as you look at this roster, you can see,
Speaker 1: you know Mike Clay's point, each group has starters and
Speaker 1: I use air quotes around that who are really premier
Speaker 1: type of players. And I use the term starter loosely
Speaker 1: because starter just doesn't mean the most snaps. In the
Speaker 1: era of specialization and sub packages, there just isn't as
Speaker 1: much emphasis on that phrase anymore. And a prime example
Speaker 1: of that is our first position group here on the
Speaker 1: interior defensive line. You get, I guess, a mix of
Speaker 1: starters and guys that contribute in different packages, and the
Speaker 1: game can dictate how many snaps they play based upon
Speaker 1: is it a guy that comes in for pass rush?
Speaker 1: Are you behind early like the Detroit game last year
Speaker 1: when Miami fell behind by fourteen points and didn't recapturely
Speaker 1: until the fourth quarter, it's a passing game or I
Speaker 1: should say a running game in that one, and then
Speaker 1: late when they get the football back down, it becomes
Speaker 1: more of a passing game. Right. But you have this
Speaker 1: front for the Dolphins where we talk about starters versus
Speaker 1: sub packages. This group is so versatile and so flexible.
Speaker 1: If you're in an even front, you could have like
Speaker 1: Christian Zach and then like Emmanuel Ogball and Jillian Phillips
Speaker 1: as you're four down, but you go odd front incomes
Speaker 1: ray Kwon Davis, outgoes Amanual or whoever. But you get
Speaker 1: the idea of how this group and the depth this
Speaker 1: position group has can make this defense really go this year.
Speaker 1: As we you know, assumed going into the offseason, you
Speaker 1: might see a bit of a shift from focus of
Speaker 1: building back to front to more front to back because
Speaker 1: Vic Fangio's defense, we know the principles of it. Play
Speaker 1: lighter boxes, play a lot of two high structures. There's
Speaker 1: lots of disguise that requires smart, quick processing really across
Speaker 1: the defense, but primarily in that defensive backfield. And that's
Speaker 1: where you know Javon Holland and Brandon Jones to me
Speaker 1: stand to make a big jump, and that's why you
Speaker 1: go out and get a David Long, who was one
Speaker 1: of the best processing linebackers in my opinion, in the
Speaker 1: entire National Football League. We break this thing down in
Speaker 1: terms of the front on interior, defensive line, and edge,
Speaker 1: and so let's just go ahead and talk about the interior.
Speaker 1: To me, a blue player and Christian Wilkins, one of
Speaker 1: the best defensive tackles in the NFL, should have been
Speaker 1: a Pro Bowler last year. If he had just been
Speaker 1: listed defensive tackle, he probably would have gone. Zack Steeler
Speaker 1: to me is a plus starter of the green category
Speaker 1: the seventy five percent criteria. If you didn't catch those
Speaker 1: from If you don't know what that means, go back
Speaker 1: to Wednesday's episode. We explained that pretty in depth. On
Speaker 1: the offense, Ray Kuan Davis I have as a gold
Speaker 1: replacement level and then Josiah Bronson and Julan Twyman, two
Speaker 1: players looking to make their way in the league as
Speaker 1: guys in the practice squad futures contracts. But Wilkins has
Speaker 1: been on this type of trajectory that you want from
Speaker 1: a player truly gets better every single year arrived as
Speaker 1: a premier player last season. I think he wasn't twenty
Speaker 1: twenty one as well, but last year pretty much undeniable.
Speaker 1: I think what you have here is Coach Clark's group
Speaker 1: is a pair of really dominant, multifaceted players who are
Speaker 1: so well versed in their craft that they are both
Speaker 1: capable of cheating the scheme a little bit. And what
Speaker 1: I mean by that is they can play within the
Speaker 1: rules of their job, but they're so smart and talented
Speaker 1: that they can go outside the scheme a little bit
Speaker 1: and take themselves into great plays. And we saw that
Speaker 1: with Christian Wilkins really frequently. I'm talking, of course about
Speaker 1: he and Zach Seiler, and that's the benefit of having
Speaker 1: those two guys be so durable, so dependable, and be
Speaker 1: in some of the best condition on your entire football team.
Speaker 1: I'm amazed every single week when I pull up the
Speaker 1: snaps on a Monday morning and it says, Christian Wilkins played,
Speaker 1: you know, sixty five snaps that was nine of the workload,
Speaker 1: and Zach Seeler played sixty three snaps. Like it's a
Speaker 1: crazy amount of basically going through a full workout every
Speaker 1: snap between you know, your arms and your shoulders and
Speaker 1: your core and your legs, and how you engage every
Speaker 1: muscle on every single snap. It's a testament to their conditioning.
Speaker 1: And to me, it's built around those two guys who
Speaker 1: can cheat the scheme, who are smart enough to anticipate
Speaker 1: and understand what their keys say and where it takes
Speaker 1: them in a given play. If this guard down blocks
Speaker 1: the center, I know I can shoot that gap and
Speaker 1: get in there and possibly, you know, shut down a
Speaker 1: front side run or pursue a backside run because I
Speaker 1: know we're going to set a strong edge on the
Speaker 1: opposite side. We saw Wilkins do this time and time again,
Speaker 1: backdoor a two gap responsibility and get the running back
Speaker 1: to the ground for a loss. He's just so technically sound,
Speaker 1: and if you watch the way he plays, he just
Speaker 1: keys off the guy in front of him. It's it's
Speaker 1: so cool to watch him process the play from pre
Speaker 1: snap to when he makes the play in the backfield,
Speaker 1: like his head's on the tackle, his eyes and the
Speaker 1: tackle or the guard, and he makes his reactions based
Speaker 1: upon that. It allows him to hold the point or
Speaker 1: penetrate and just consistently be underneath his man, which leads
Speaker 1: to stops in the backfield. It leads to record setting
Speaker 1: tackle numbers, it leads to interior pressure from the pass
Speaker 1: rush situation. It leads to a great, complete player who
Speaker 1: I'd be surprised if we see go into the season
Speaker 1: without a new contract. For Christian Wilkins. Both he and
Speaker 1: Zach Seiler are capable of playing all the way inside
Speaker 1: the one technique, which is your outside shade off the
Speaker 1: center's shoulders, all the way out to that wide position
Speaker 1: at the five technique where you're off the outside shoulder
Speaker 1: of the tackle, And that type of versatility is so
Speaker 1: damn important to know that you can draw up any front,
Speaker 1: any technique, and you're gonna have these two guys like
Speaker 1: you don't have to worry about scheming up this system
Speaker 1: for your players, Like, hey, we're gonna draw us up
Speaker 1: ninety four and ninety two have got it. They're fine.
Speaker 1: They're gonna play fifty sixty snaps a game invaluable with Seeler.
Speaker 1: To me, it's the strength and length the fourth down
Speaker 1: and short production from Seiler describes his game in a
Speaker 1: nutshell to me, the plower that he plays with often
Speaker 1: puts guys in their heels, and it doesn't just lead
Speaker 1: to production. It can disrupt the timing of the opposition's
Speaker 1: play to the point that it impacts other people from
Speaker 1: doing their job. Like I took this guard and ran
Speaker 1: him back into the up back and now he can't
Speaker 1: go make his blocks. It has a ripple effect as
Speaker 1: this position group tends to do. Ray Kwon Davis is solid.
Speaker 1: I think there could be more plays made at that
Speaker 1: position off the nose, but it's a thankless job and
Speaker 1: he does a good job of eating up double teams.
Speaker 1: Sometimes they do get movement on him, but that wingspan,
Speaker 1: sheer size when it clicks for him, it really shows
Speaker 1: up on those plays. But more consistency and more playmaking
Speaker 1: there would be nice at that nose tackle position. I
Speaker 1: think ray Kuan is capable of that, and then Bronson
Speaker 1: and Twineman can push the roles. But you kind of
Speaker 1: see where there's a route here to add more players,
Speaker 1: more depth. I thought last year they missed the presence
Speaker 1: of Adam Butler. Finding a guy like that. I think
Speaker 1: a veteran nose tackle would be a big addition for
Speaker 1: this Dolphins defense if they can find it. You know,
Speaker 1: I don't know if a Keem Hicks is a guy
Speaker 1: that I keep thinking of that if he's gotten more
Speaker 1: on the tank, could be a good addition here. I'm
Speaker 1: still bummed about Ben Stilly getting plucked off the practice squad.
Speaker 1: Thought he had some good skills to work with and develop,
Speaker 1: but sometimes that happens. Let's go ahead and take our
Speaker 1: first break right there, come back on the other side
Speaker 1: and talk about the edge, the linebackers, the dbs, and
Speaker 1: the specialist. I guess the podcast is going to go
Speaker 1: along today. That's next to Drift Time podcast, your host
Speaker 1: Travis Field, brought to you by Auto Nation. If we
Speaker 1: think that interior defensive line position, gosh, the edge, if
Speaker 1: that's impressive. This edge group is to me one of
Speaker 1: the best position groups, not just on the football team,
Speaker 1: but in the entire National Football League. Because I have
Speaker 1: one blue player, a blue chip, top of the line
Speaker 1: caliber player to meet that, Chelan Phillips. I think the
Speaker 1: next two guys have been in that blue category as
Speaker 1: recently as one or two years ago. Bradley Chubb and
Speaker 1: Emmanuel Ogba to me are in the green category, the
Speaker 1: plus starters, and then I've got I've got above average
Speaker 1: players as well, and Malik Reed and Andrew Van Ginkl
Speaker 1: in my orange category, my third and one of the
Speaker 1: three categories that if you've got that guy, you're happy
Speaker 1: you have him and you feel good about their role
Speaker 1: in the football team. And then Cameron good goes in
Speaker 1: the incomplete category. Hasn't made his NFL debut yet, but
Speaker 1: he has some traits to develop there. But this position group,
Speaker 1: but it's embarrassment of riches. Phillips enjoyed that breakout year
Speaker 1: where he was good for several pressures a game, a
Speaker 1: couple of run stops every game, give him a sack
Speaker 1: every other game, a hit on the quarterback or two
Speaker 1: per game, some ball production here and there. We talk
Speaker 1: about Wilkins and Seeler's inside outside versatility. There are not
Speaker 1: many guys in the league do what Jyalen Phillips does
Speaker 1: from a pass, rush and run game perspective that can
Speaker 1: then also kind of not kind of but kick inside
Speaker 1: and produce and just impact the game from in there
Speaker 1: as well. And it's again more of a thankless job
Speaker 1: to rush a guard. He can't get production from there,
Speaker 1: but typically when he kicks in there, it's to free
Speaker 1: up another edge outside of him. And if we do
Speaker 1: get this roster with Phillips, Chubb and Ogba. I think
Speaker 1: you're gonna see a lot of that, like these pass
Speaker 1: rush packages with those three guys. Put and put my
Speaker 1: league read out there, like come on, man, how you're
Speaker 1: gonna block that stuff? But the fact that Phillips can
Speaker 1: threaten the edge, force the quarterback to flee to the
Speaker 1: other side of the field and then chase him down
Speaker 1: from the back allah Aaron Rodgers. We saw it with
Speaker 1: Kenny Pickett. There was another game he didn't I forget
Speaker 1: which one it was, but to do that and then
Speaker 1: one snap later, kick inside to the three technique, which
Speaker 1: is the outside shoulder of the guard and rush and
Speaker 1: get knocked back and create a laying against a three
Speaker 1: d and twenty pound man to open up space for
Speaker 1: somebody else. This dude's rare. Now. We saw his Pro
Speaker 1: Day workout at Miami back when there was no combine
Speaker 1: that year, paired with the Brett Coleman video where he
Speaker 1: compared on both the Watt Brothers, like watch out. This
Speaker 1: guy is a I think this guy's Defensive Player of
Speaker 1: the Year candidate material in terms of his ability, the
Speaker 1: way he works and the way he puts it all together.
Speaker 1: It just has his head screwed on the right way.
Speaker 1: He's freaking Walter Peyton, Man of the Your nominee, won
Speaker 1: the or Not the d Block Award, the Nat Moore
Speaker 1: Community Service Award his Rookie Season Special Special Player. His
Speaker 1: hustle and effort paired with rare rare traits like the burst,
Speaker 1: the pass rush arsenal, the mental processing where he can
Speaker 1: attack an opponent one way, see the way the opponent
Speaker 1: refutes that attack, and then adjust his game. His pass
Speaker 1: rush production last year, by the metrics say that he
Speaker 1: could have had a lot more sacks. And now with
Speaker 1: Ramsey joined X and Cater, you get Brandon Jones back
Speaker 1: Vic Fangino. Opposing quarterbacks should have to hold the ball
Speaker 1: for a little bit longer. And if that happens and
Speaker 1: JP stays in the same trajectory we saw last year,
Speaker 1: I think he's gonna get double digit sacks. I think
Speaker 1: he's gonna threaten for a sack per game. Talking about
Speaker 1: seventeen sacks, I think he'll be in discussion for Defensive
Speaker 1: Player of the Year. I think very highly of this team.
Speaker 1: I think highly this defense, and this is a player
Speaker 1: that I think could get national recognition for a potentially
Speaker 1: big award like that. And that's just the first guy,
Speaker 1: because next you've got Bradley Chubb, who was the first
Speaker 1: i think defender taken off the board in that loaded
Speaker 1: twenty eighteen class. How did that one go? It went
Speaker 1: Darnald or rather, I'm sorry Mayfield, who went second? Who
Speaker 1: went second after me, oh Saquon Barkley and then Darnald
Speaker 1: and then Denzel Award was fourth, so he was the
Speaker 1: second defender off the board. There's some live podcasting for you,
Speaker 1: but he's one of the best pass rushers in the NFL.
Speaker 1: His speed and counter moves put tackles on an island
Speaker 1: in such peril. And if you want double phillips like
Speaker 1: Bradley Chubb, one on one is not a fun matchup. Frankly,
Speaker 1: having these two guys together is going to force offenses
Speaker 1: on every single play to leave a premier pass rusher
Speaker 1: one on one. And that's how even accounting for what
Speaker 1: happens inside on the interior. And if you go deeper,
Speaker 1: how about a guy who had eighteen sacks in two
Speaker 1: fully healthy seasons here in Emmanuel Ogba went down with
Speaker 1: a triceps injury last year, but he's been the closer
Speaker 1: for this team for a while now, Like any end
Speaker 1: of game situation like go to the Buffalo win. Last
Speaker 1: year Week number three, it was his pass rush that
Speaker 1: caused the hold that really put Buffalo in that position
Speaker 1: where they got tackled in bounds, the clock expires, Dolphins win.
Speaker 1: He's also one of the better run defending edges in
Speaker 1: the NFL. I think where this group could get a
Speaker 1: little better is I saw it with Chubb a lot
Speaker 1: last year. They jump inside sometimes and that kind of
Speaker 1: is something you give and take with pass rush. I'm
Speaker 1: curious to see how much that rushland integrity is part
Speaker 1: of this defense and the core principle of this defense.
Speaker 1: I think it will be, But I wonder how much
Speaker 1: you might be willing to give up in terms of
Speaker 1: and maybe I give up my yap here to get
Speaker 1: better pass rush production. I don't know. I'm just kind
Speaker 1: of speculating. But we'll see, Kerry's see if that changes
Speaker 1: this year, because there were too many instances last year
Speaker 1: where the edge was kind of folded in and there
Speaker 1: were some big runs off the outside. But wait, man,
Speaker 1: like there's more. We broke down Mali Reid's game last week,
Speaker 1: and man, he can get after its speed, I discipline,
Speaker 1: countermoves dropped into coverage. Really nice guy too, by the way,
Speaker 1: I chance to meet him, like please and thank you
Speaker 1: type of guy, which goes along with me, especially being
Speaker 1: a West Coaster on the East Coast where it's not
Speaker 1: that common I learned over my time here. You get
Speaker 1: Andrew van Ginko back, his spatial awareness and ability to
Speaker 1: take advantage of matchups when the opposition slides. His ability
Speaker 1: to beat blocks, I thought has gotten so much better
Speaker 1: from his time in Wisconsin, where he can play through guys,
Speaker 1: not just have to get underblocks. Three down player actually
Speaker 1: four down player's great on special teams as well. What
Speaker 1: a valuable addition, or I should say resigning Andrew van
Speaker 1: Ginkl was deepest group on the team. I would argue,
Speaker 1: one of the deepest position groups in the NFL. You've
Speaker 1: even got a nice developmental prospect there and Cameron Good
Speaker 1: coming into year two after a year on the practice squad,
Speaker 1: and when you work with Austin Clark and what he
Speaker 1: does up front, I wouldn't count anybody out with that
Speaker 1: type of backing in their corner. Let's go ahead and
Speaker 1: move on next to the linebackers. I talked about it
Speaker 1: at length on the Breakdown Pod. I just cannot say
Speaker 1: enough when I think about David Long Junior and this defense,
Speaker 1: I think in this defense you have to have a
Speaker 1: linebacker who can react and beat players to the spot.
Speaker 1: I think you have to have a guy that can
Speaker 1: beat blocks because of the frequency with which you see
Speaker 1: the two high structures with the light boxes against favorable
Speaker 1: run counts. Teams in the NFL nowadays, and this is
Speaker 1: basically Fangio putting his mark on the entire league, teams
Speaker 1: are willing to give up a little bit in terms
Speaker 1: of the running game to better protect against the passing game,
Speaker 1: which you know, four yards per carries a good number,
Speaker 1: eight yards per passes a good number. So which one
Speaker 1: would you choose? Give me the four yards every time.
Speaker 1: I'll take a third and two over a first and
Speaker 1: ten any day after two plays on offense. But David
Speaker 1: Long Junior's ability to both anticipate, get the defense put
Speaker 1: in the right position, and beat blocks makes him the
Speaker 1: ideal linebacker to fulfill that defense. On top of the
Speaker 1: fact that he can rush and drop into coverage as well.
Speaker 1: So with Long and Baker, you've got two three down
Speaker 1: players who have speed, pass rush ability, and coverage skills. Now,
Speaker 1: I think Long is better in terms of all those
Speaker 1: things we just talked about. More naturally, I think Baker's
Speaker 1: speed takes him to a lot of plays in that regard.
Speaker 1: But that's why I have David Long Jr. As a
Speaker 1: green player, a plus starter, and I think that with
Speaker 1: some more recognition and some more exposure, could become a
Speaker 1: blue player, but we'll have to wait a little bit
Speaker 1: on that. I've got Jerome Baker as an orange player
Speaker 1: that third category, the quality starter, and then I've got
Speaker 1: Duke Riley as replacement level but also such an ace
Speaker 1: on special teams. And then the final linebacker in the room,
Speaker 1: which probably could see some additions here in the draft
Speaker 1: and UDFA class is Channing Tendel, who's purple the special
Speaker 1: team slash not there's not enough evidence there yet for
Speaker 1: what he can do. But that's that's a big upgrade
Speaker 1: of what we had in the past. Typically, it's been
Speaker 1: replacement level players pretty much from you know two on
Speaker 1: in that room. And now you've got an adequate starter,
Speaker 1: a plus starter, and some replacement level players beyond that.
Speaker 1: So the two guys that can do multiple things. There's
Speaker 1: just so much more speed in this room now, and
Speaker 1: you don't have a single player here who when the
Speaker 1: offense breaks the huddle, they say, hey, this guy is
Speaker 1: great at this, but what if we can check to
Speaker 1: something else and do that against him and expose his vulnerability.
Speaker 1: Because I think they're also versatile and can fulfill a
Speaker 1: variety of roles within a defensive package. You don't have
Speaker 1: a guy out there who's just a B gap to
Speaker 1: B gap plotting run defender who the Bills on a
Speaker 1: fourth and two down and there on the goal line
Speaker 1: can check to a run and say, hey, if we
Speaker 1: get single tarry on that linebacker, boom touchdown for us.
Speaker 1: Like that's not gonna happen because they can cover those guys.
Speaker 1: I mean, it will happen sometimes because football is hard,
Speaker 1: but you get what I'm saying. It's a better opportunity
Speaker 1: for the defense to make a play when you don't
Speaker 1: have that guy in the field with long The way
Speaker 1: he beats blocks is really going to help in the
Speaker 1: way you try to defend that run from those lighter boxes.
Speaker 1: And it's so prevalent for these teams to play that lightbox.
Speaker 1: The VIC Fangio effect, and he pioneered that type of
Speaker 1: defense and philosophies have spread throughout the entire National Football League.
Speaker 1: The teams that are best at it have linebackers who
Speaker 1: can take on blocks and still make plays. Not to
Speaker 1: mention that you've got the guys up front. We just
Speaker 1: talked about two ninety four that also do that as
Speaker 1: well as any defensive lineman in the National Football League.
Speaker 1: I just think long opens up so much. We know
Speaker 1: about Baker's speed and the angles that he can take
Speaker 1: to the quarterbacks as a rusher. I think maybe he
Speaker 1: gets more of a rushing role this season in this defense.
Speaker 1: And how about how he runs with tight ends and
Speaker 1: backs like Again, I don't think it's the same thing special,
Speaker 1: but he can get in phase and he can just
Speaker 1: run through the route and as long as it's not
Speaker 1: to come back where they come back from the player
Speaker 1: to the football where he gets flagged, he can make
Speaker 1: pass breakups that way. It just gives you multiple options
Speaker 1: for how to attack different teams. And I think that
Speaker 1: Duke Riley was a big resigning because of his ability
Speaker 1: to slide down off the edge. You can stay running
Speaker 1: quarterback like Lamar Jackson, but also come back inside and
Speaker 1: come off the bench and play coverage in a pinch.
Speaker 1: His pass breakup against the Pats in Week one was
Speaker 1: one of the most impressive reps we had by a
Speaker 1: linebacker all year from my money, where it's a Tampa
Speaker 1: two look and he has to bust his butt down
Speaker 1: the seam on it. He was either Hunter Henry or
Speaker 1: John hu Smith and he made a great PBu on
Speaker 1: that play. He's got that type of ability. Then changing tendall,
Speaker 1: he might be the most talented player in the entire group,
Speaker 1: which is saying a lot, just hasn't played a lot
Speaker 1: of football yet. I'm curious if the light comes on
Speaker 1: for him this year maybe next year because of the
Speaker 1: new defense and how challenging this defensive scheme is to
Speaker 1: pick up. But he's so explosive, such a striker and
Speaker 1: so fluid moving in any direction. Man, I'm excited about
Speaker 1: this group in twenty twenty three. I don't think they'll
Speaker 1: be done yet because I think you need more than
Speaker 1: four linebackers to go into a season with. Let's go
Speaker 1: ahead and take our last break. Comeback on the other side,
Speaker 1: do DBS and the specialist. That's next Draft Time podcast,
Speaker 1: Your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Auto Nation.
Speaker 1: Up next, the cornerbacks, the safeties, and the specialists. Let's
Speaker 1: go ahead and start in that cornerback room where the
Speaker 1: Dolphins went out and once again added another Blue player.
Speaker 1: Jalen Ramsey is a premier cornerback in the National Football League,
Speaker 1: if not the premier cornerback. I have Xavien Howard and
Speaker 1: kater coho Is plus is that green category, that very
Speaker 1: coveted green category. I've got Nick Needham as a quality
Speaker 1: starter when he's not even a starter in terms of
Speaker 1: how that goes if you stack it up that way
Speaker 1: based upon last year's production, and who knows, maybe Needham
Speaker 1: does earn a spot back in the starting lineup. He's
Speaker 1: that good and that capable, But what quality depth. I
Speaker 1: keep thinking about how good of a fourth he can
Speaker 1: be for this defense. I think Trill Williams. It's a
Speaker 1: scheme change, so I'm curious see how that kind of
Speaker 1: changes the way he His perception isn't this defense. But
Speaker 1: I know he's got skills. I saw all last training camp.
Speaker 1: Excited about his return. I'm very pumped up about Bethel
Speaker 1: Johnson coming back. I've got both Trill and Bethel in
Speaker 1: the purple category. Bethel because of his special team's prowess,
Speaker 1: Trill because of the incomplete nature of his evidence his
Speaker 1: film there's just not any of it. But for Bethel
Speaker 1: Johnson like he also came off the bench last year
Speaker 1: into pinch and played good cornerback too. Then I've got
Speaker 1: three guys in that kind of rad category, Noah Eguenogny
Speaker 1: keyon Crossing and Tino Ellis. But how about this room
Speaker 1: looking where it does right now compared to back in December,
Speaker 1: when you get need Him back, you get Trill back,
Speaker 1: and you drop in probably the best cornerback in the
Speaker 1: National Football League. Just from those top three guys alone,
Speaker 1: the tackling at the position is so good, which again
Speaker 1: the idea of playing too high requires the skill to
Speaker 1: be sharp. And as listening to Daniel Jeremiah on the
Speaker 1: podcast earlier this week where he talked about how the
Speaker 1: days of Dion Sanders saying you pay me to cover,
Speaker 1: not tackle, are long gone because teams will scheme up
Speaker 1: the running game to basically leave the corner that can't
Speaker 1: tackle unblocked and force that guy to be your force
Speaker 1: defender and come up and make a play with kator
Speaker 1: Coho never have to worry about that. With Xavien Howard
Speaker 1: don't have to worry about that, and Jalen Ramsey, you
Speaker 1: sure as hell don't have to worry about that. But
Speaker 1: kater I can think he can play anywhere. He was
Speaker 1: great in the slot last year. The way he can
Speaker 1: fit the run from that nickel position, it reminds me
Speaker 1: of Ron Johnson and Buffalo and what he affords that
Speaker 1: defense that never leaves its nickel package. Then there's the
Speaker 1: main part, the coverage skills. Think about your ability to
Speaker 1: match up against a given opponent. Last year, most weeks
Speaker 1: we were lucky to have three healthy corners for a game.
Speaker 1: Now you can really pick and choose. We don't know
Speaker 1: how the roles will work out. But Jalen Ramsey and
Speaker 1: that potential star role is super intriguing for his ability
Speaker 1: to move around. Like I think back to the Belichick
Speaker 1: with you Know Vas days when it was like, hey,
Speaker 1: they're best receivers are tight end. Why don't we have
Speaker 1: Revas cover the tight end? Okay, like Ramsey can do that.
Speaker 1: I see him with you know that Gilmore Durell Revas
Speaker 1: type of influence for the Patriots defense and how they
Speaker 1: would use that guy in their best player. I think
Speaker 1: Xavian Howard's ability to lock down one side of the
Speaker 1: field pairs perfectly with that, like, hey, go cover the
Speaker 1: number two receiver. X can do that as good as
Speaker 1: anybody in the National Football League. And then cater Co,
Speaker 1: who's sticky coverage inside on top of rolling help to
Speaker 1: those various positions like good luck man. I feel the
Speaker 1: same way right now that I felt about the offense
Speaker 1: last year, where it's like I don't see the solution
Speaker 1: outside of injuries for the opposition to overcome this team.
Speaker 1: I think it's that good. This is where this team
Speaker 1: can really really get after it. Getting those three guys
Speaker 1: playing up to their skill level with this pass rush
Speaker 1: watch out man, then the depth is just so much improved.
Speaker 1: I can't think of a better fit for that fourth
Speaker 1: role than Nick. Need him. He can play any position
Speaker 1: and you can just basically have him wherever you need
Speaker 1: to come into a game, like hey, Jalen's down, Nick,
Speaker 1: get out there, Caters down, Nick, get out there, Trull Williams.
Speaker 1: I think a lot of upside, we just haven't had
Speaker 1: a chance to see it yet. His injury was so
Speaker 1: early that he'll be twelve months removed from the injury
Speaker 1: come training camp. And then again, don't sleep on the
Speaker 1: Bethel Johnson resigning special teams ace but great in coverage
Speaker 1: last year. Then you've got crossing an Igbo who played
Speaker 1: a lot of snaps last year and got some valuable
Speaker 1: experience and also have some special teams value there as well.
Speaker 1: So deep room one year after it was the opposite
Speaker 1: with the attrition the way it wore it down in
Speaker 1: the secondary or the final part of the secondary. Here
Speaker 1: the defensive backfield, the safeties. Five of those guys as well.
Speaker 1: I've got a blue player in Javon Holland, I've got
Speaker 1: a green player, a plus starter, and Brandon Jones Deshaun
Speaker 1: Elliott I have in the orange category as a quality player.
Speaker 1: And then I've got purple on Elijah Campbell and Ron
Speaker 1: McKinley for the fact that they haven't played a lot
Speaker 1: of defense and just early in their careers and wet
Speaker 1: behind their ears and special teams. Primarily, just getting Brandon
Speaker 1: Jones back alone is such a huge plus to the
Speaker 1: room because his ability to time up his runs and
Speaker 1: blitz both the run and the passes something I think
Speaker 1: he does better than anybody else the entire roster. That
Speaker 1: on top of his ability to play multiple roles and
Speaker 1: how you have to be interchangeable at safety with Javon
Speaker 1: Holland go back last year and watch the defense before
Speaker 1: Brandon Jones got hurt and after, and it changed completely.
Speaker 1: The way they communicate with each other is going to
Speaker 1: help in terms of how this defense can play faster
Speaker 1: and the way they prepare that is invaluable in this
Speaker 1: defense that we've heard described as a safety's defense. I
Speaker 1: thought last year Javon had to play so far back
Speaker 1: to help mitigate some of the injuries outside. But with
Speaker 1: x Ramsey and Cater, I think you could see him
Speaker 1: freed up to do more blitzing, to buzz the middle
Speaker 1: of the field, to spy the quarterback. He can do anything,
Speaker 1: and I think Vic Fangio and this defense and the
Speaker 1: personnel around him can unlock that. It's like samething to
Speaker 1: talk about toua yeah to confidence help to take his
Speaker 1: game to the next level. We saw the confidence Alabama.
Speaker 1: May be it waned a little bit it was back
Speaker 1: last year, and it helps him make those tight window
Speaker 1: throws and ripped that thing time and time again, even
Speaker 1: if you have a miss, go back to up rip
Speaker 1: bit shooter, shoot play with confidence. You'll get the best
Speaker 1: of yourself. I see the same thing with you know,
Speaker 1: Javon Holland in terms of putting guys around him, putting
Speaker 1: it Tyree Kill around him, Jalen Ramsey around him like
Speaker 1: it's gonna make his game even better. To Sean Elliott
Speaker 1: fulfills those roles in a similar way. Also getting to
Speaker 1: know him a little bit here, He's got the mentality
Speaker 1: you want and it matches with his play. A striker,
Speaker 1: explosive as hell, kind of a dog off the bench
Speaker 1: who comes in and gives you a different level of
Speaker 1: energy and spark. Elijah Campbell's a tremendous special teamer. I
Speaker 1: love his addition to some deep sub packages. You're half
Speaker 1: dollar and dime packages. And Verne McKinley got some experienced
Speaker 1: last year. Is that true backup safety? He's kind of
Speaker 1: the only true backup safety on the roster. It's just
Speaker 1: crazy how much the depth has really improved here and
Speaker 1: everywhere across the football team. I've got Sanders and Bailey
Speaker 1: in the orange category for specialists, in Blake Ferguson in
Speaker 1: the yellow category. I don't know much about the fine
Speaker 1: up points of kicking, punting, and long snapping. We've now
Speaker 1: got the twenty twenty All Pro Team kicker and punter
Speaker 1: first team. Both guys have plenty of distance with powerful legs,
Speaker 1: and I don't recall a botch snap last year, but
Speaker 1: there was lots of snaps on the ground that Thomas
Speaker 1: Morse had had to scoop up like a shortstop. So
Speaker 1: hopefully that gets better this year. But there you go.
Speaker 1: We'll do it again at some point later in the summertime.
Speaker 1: But it's hard to not be excited about what they
Speaker 1: have right now on this roster. And that will do
Speaker 1: it for this episode. But I had to log back
Speaker 1: in to talk some golf, and I'll keep it too
Speaker 1: about a minute here. But I wrapped up around at
Speaker 1: Grand Palms and Pembroke Pines and I wasn't aware of this.
Speaker 1: I'd only played there in the morning one time before.
Speaker 1: I played at a four o'clock tea time on Thursday
Speaker 1: night and the course was almost empty. I got to
Speaker 1: play alone, didn't have to go with a partner up
Speaker 1: with anybody. I did pass through two groups of people,
Speaker 1: and of course you're going to say, this is what
Speaker 1: happens when you play by yourself, Travis. But I shot
Speaker 1: a pr a personal best eighty two at the Grand Palms,
Speaker 1: absolutely crushing the ball off the tea, getting my hybrid
Speaker 1: going on the fairways as well, just getting lots of
Speaker 1: distance on those two clubs. Absolutely dialed on the chipping.
Speaker 1: I watched this Bryson d Shambo tutorial I know Worre
Speaker 1: Sky to watch. Everyone says that to me, might tell
Speaker 1: them that, but he taught me about closed face chipping.
Speaker 1: I instituted that and was putting the ball next to
Speaker 1: the cup all day long. Just felt really good a
Speaker 1: man around. That took about two and a half hours,
Speaker 1: and that was with taking several videos to share with
Speaker 1: a couple of my buddies at work and a couple
Speaker 1: of friends. I could have gotten that round in under
Speaker 1: two hours. About to play a little bit more tempo,
Speaker 1: a little more speed, but having that rhythm to play
Speaker 1: off of man freaking awesome and an eighty two at
Speaker 1: Graham Palms. Your boy has the bug PGA Tour coming next.
Speaker 1: All right, that's gonna be my timehal on Draftime podcast.
Speaker 1: Gonna go check out the Mariners game. Let's go Julio,
Speaker 1: Let's go MS. That'll be my time, y'all. Please be
Speaker 1: sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts. Leave
Speaker 1: us a rating, leave us a review. You can follow
Speaker 1: me on Twitter at Wingfield NFL. Follow the team at
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins. Check out the Fish Tank Podcast with Seth
Speaker 1: and Juice. We have a special crossover episode on Monday.
Speaker 1: We're gonna talk about their episode coming out next week
Speaker 1: with Hall of Fame linebacker Zach Thomas. You don't want
Speaker 1: to miss that. Check out the YouTube channel for Dolphins Today, Mediavailability,
Speaker 1: and much much more, and last but not least, Miami
Speaker 1: Dolphins dot com. Until next time, finds up Caroline and Cameron.
Speaker 1: Daddy's already home