Speaker 1: Field, touchdown, Miami Water Run. What is up? Dolphins? And
Speaker 1: welcome to the Drive Time Podcast, part of the Miami
Speaker 1: Dolphins official podcast network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins,
Speaker 1: each and every day. How's it going, everybody? It is Wednesday.
Speaker 1: I am your host, Travis Wingfield, and I am here
Speaker 1: to bring you your daily dose of Miami Dolphins football.
Speaker 1: And on today's show, it's preview Day. We'll take a
Speaker 1: look at the matchups, the stats, the personnel, the scheme
Speaker 1: and all you need to know before kickoff on Sunday.
Speaker 1: We'll take a look at some of the similarities between
Speaker 1: these two foes. And here from Coach Flores on defending
Speaker 1: fullbacks Exaving Howard and steffon Gilmour, a pair of the
Speaker 1: NFL's best cornerbacks, and wrap this thing up with some
Speaker 1: player media availability. All of that and more on this Wednesday,
Speaker 1: December sixte edition of the Drive Time Podcasts a Dolphins fans,
Speaker 1: The New Year starts now at Auto Nation. Let's skip
Speaker 1: the rest of and get two big New Year's savings
Speaker 1: on your favorite Auto Nation Chevy's, Fords, Toyotas, Hondas, and
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Speaker 1: now today, I want to take a good look at
Speaker 1: this Patriots team, in this Dolphins Patriots game in general,
Speaker 1: and talk about some of the similarities and the key
Speaker 1: to beating a familiar opponent that you've played twice a
Speaker 1: year and you're so comfortable or not comfortable but familiar with.
Speaker 1: But first, some of the similarities. Both the Dolphins and
Speaker 1: Patriots are number one and number two in terms of
Speaker 1: man coverage deployment, calling it at the highest rates in
Speaker 1: the National Football League. That comes from Pro Football Focus.
Speaker 1: They both operate and cover one similarly high. That's the
Speaker 1: single high safety patrolling the middle of the field with
Speaker 1: man coverage across the board. Now that's not all these
Speaker 1: two teams are, as we saw Sunday. A few teams
Speaker 1: can mix it up like the Dolphins do, like Brian
Speaker 1: Flores and Josh Bowyer do. But in a league of
Speaker 1: expanding multiplicity, every team has certain things that they do
Speaker 1: more so than other things and kind of their I
Speaker 1: guess identity or their principles, And you can see it
Speaker 1: with this team based upon how they're constructed. Both of
Speaker 1: these teams. I want to first start here with the
Speaker 1: video I put in Top News earlier this week with
Speaker 1: Dan Orlovsky of ESPN talking about the Dolphins defense, how
Speaker 1: it's not really replicatable unless is that a word replicatable
Speaker 1: unless you make the roster building commitment in the offseason
Speaker 1: the way the Dolphins did going out and signing Byron
Speaker 1: Jones to pair with xaviing Howard. The top three safeties
Speaker 1: on the roster all have cover experience, with McCann row
Speaker 1: being former NFL cornerbacks and Brandon Jones having more slot
Speaker 1: reps last year at Texas than anywhere else on the
Speaker 1: football field, signing multiple defender and I'm using air quotes
Speaker 1: there as he likes to be called. And Kyle of
Speaker 1: van Ney because he doesn't really have a position, he
Speaker 1: places all over the defense to help mix up your
Speaker 1: fronts and your blitz packages and the two sturdy, powerful
Speaker 1: ends off either side and loss in an og ba.
Speaker 1: But it does start with those cornerbacks. As Orlowsky said
Speaker 1: here on kJ Z on ESPN, Miami's got two corners
Speaker 1: that are incredibly physical. You know, Howard and Jones are physical, long,
Speaker 1: violent corners. Three interceptions box score, I get it. Two
Speaker 1: of them are on tips. Okay, one of them is
Speaker 1: a ridiculous play by Ben Ginkle to get down on
Speaker 1: the ground tip the ball up, and the other one
Speaker 1: is a ball off tailbacks hands. It's a little high
Speaker 1: and hot, but so you know that you've got to
Speaker 1: take into context. And then that Howard interception, the one
Speaker 1: hander is a great play. I don't think that there's
Speaker 1: a lot that teams are going to take that my
Speaker 1: that Miami did that you can kind of replicate. You
Speaker 1: gotta have the corners to do it. They don't. You
Speaker 1: gotta have the exotic pressures that that Miami does, and
Speaker 1: a lot of teams don't. And so and then he
Speaker 1: begins to go on talking about the Chiefs from their
Speaker 1: perspective in that game. But what he said is something
Speaker 1: the Patriots have done for as long as I can remember.
Speaker 1: They've almost always had top shelf cornerback play, even when
Speaker 1: you go back to when they had Troy Brown out
Speaker 1: there playing legitimate cornerback positions back in their early Super
Speaker 1: Bowl days, and when the league started tilt towards nicol
Speaker 1: as the base defense with the introduction of more eleven
Speaker 1: personnel in the NFL, one running back, one tight end,
Speaker 1: three wide receivers. When that became the norm in the NFL,
Speaker 1: the Patriots have always found a way to get three
Speaker 1: deep at that position, and they are right now with
Speaker 1: Stefon Gilmore, j C. Jackson, and really it's four deep
Speaker 1: because Jason mccordy has played five hundred and thirty snaps
Speaker 1: and Jonathan Jones has played five hundred sixty four snaps.
Speaker 1: So four cornerbacks that can go out there and lock
Speaker 1: guys down one on one individual matchups and they give
Speaker 1: you strength and those matchups across the board. We've seen
Speaker 1: them say goodbye over the years to Richard Seymour, William
Speaker 1: mc ginnis, most recently Trey Flowers as they round out
Speaker 1: that front seven with versatile players through the draft, guys
Speaker 1: like Chase Winovitch for instance, and put a strong emphasis
Speaker 1: into that secondary, like signing Gilmore to that big contract
Speaker 1: a few years back. And so that's where we go
Speaker 1: between exaviing Howard and Stefan Gilmore, and Brian Flores has
Speaker 1: coached both these guys. So he was asked as Wednesday
Speaker 1: press conference about some similarities between these two very very
Speaker 1: high level cornerbacks. You know, they're both very competitive, obviously,
Speaker 1: very talented, both have very good ball skills. Both both
Speaker 1: excellent players, so yeah, and they're both team first. Guys
Speaker 1: will be the first to tell you that it's not
Speaker 1: about um. You know, they're no personal situation, but more
Speaker 1: about the team. So both both excellent players. So Exaviing
Speaker 1: leads the NFL and both interceptions and passes defense. We
Speaker 1: know the nine interceptions seventeen pass defense for Exaving Howard,
Speaker 1: and the passer rating against him is second best in
Speaker 1: the NFL among qualifying cornerbacks per Pro Football Focus. Last year,
Speaker 1: for the first time in a debt, gade a cornerback
Speaker 1: and Steffon Gilmore one Defensive Player of the Year award,
Speaker 1: and he did it with six interceptions and twenty passes defense.
Speaker 1: So a few less interceptions and Exavian on track to
Speaker 1: get that many past breakups now Gilmore allowed just forty
Speaker 1: completion rate. X is at forty nine point three this season,
Speaker 1: and the yardage allowed us pretty similar with X on
Speaker 1: pace to surrender just a little bit more than what
Speaker 1: Gilmore gave up last year. Another similarity between these two
Speaker 1: teams is the use of a fullback. We know Chandler
Speaker 1: Cox on the roster. He's played something this year, and
Speaker 1: Yakob Johnson for the Patriots has the second most snaps
Speaker 1: played among fullbacks. And we'll jump into this here in
Speaker 1: the preview in just one second, but I want to
Speaker 1: first go ahead and let coach talk about the difficulties
Speaker 1: of facing a fullback and is it more challenging in
Speaker 1: since not as many teams operate with the fullback. Here's
Speaker 1: coach on that it can't be challenging. I mean, they
Speaker 1: had a fullback then when they had a gap they
Speaker 1: had they basically had a gap. So defensively, it's something
Speaker 1: that you know, we've seen and we have a fullback
Speaker 1: as well as so we've seen the you know, those
Speaker 1: types of plays. But they do a good job in
Speaker 1: a run game, they really do, and they've been able to,
Speaker 1: uh pick up chunks of yardage and I want to
Speaker 1: say they're top five in league in the Russian UM,
Speaker 1: so they've done a good job from that standpoint. The
Speaker 1: full back too, a big part of that. So, UM,
Speaker 1: you know, we're gonna have our work cut out for
Speaker 1: us UM as far as getting that defended. H those
Speaker 1: are things will be preparing for it all week, UM
Speaker 1: as well as the rest of the things they do.
Speaker 1: I mean, this isn't just a running football team. You
Speaker 1: got play action and got dropped back. They got you know,
Speaker 1: they leave the league screen yardage. Uh. And then you
Speaker 1: know they played well defensively in the kiding game also,
Speaker 1: so they talked tough test. I did not know that
Speaker 1: about the screen yards. They're good, good factory. They're from
Speaker 1: coach about defending a screen pass, as the Patriots again
Speaker 1: have done for so so long. They've done that so
Speaker 1: well in the screen game. And so with that, let's
Speaker 1: go ahead and jump into the Miami Dolphins verse New
Speaker 1: England Patriots Week fifteen preview. If you guys want to
Speaker 1: see the written element of this up on Miami Dolphins
Speaker 1: dot com, we have it there with some more fact
Speaker 1: toys and notes and nuggets on this game. And you know,
Speaker 1: I was always I'm always looking for a good way
Speaker 1: to begin a serious story. I think the lead is
Speaker 1: obviously what kind of hooks the reader? And I was
Speaker 1: I try to avoid cliches, but in this game, I
Speaker 1: think you have to go back to you have to
Speaker 1: throw out the record books when these two teams get together,
Speaker 1: especially when it comes to playing in this building at
Speaker 1: hard Rock Stadium, in December. The Dolphins have five victories
Speaker 1: since two thousand third team against the Patriots in hard
Speaker 1: Rock Stadium, and that's a five and two record, with
Speaker 1: four of those wins coming in the final month of
Speaker 1: the calendar. Of course, this game will take place on Sunday,
Speaker 1: December twenty one o'clock Eastern hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida.
Speaker 1: Seventy eight degrees, sixty six percent humidity, seven mile priur
Speaker 1: wins Dolphins eight and five, Patriots six and seven, and
Speaker 1: with that record, a Dolphins victory would continue that particular
Speaker 1: trend in December, but the wind would buck another. Beating
Speaker 1: the Patriots on Sunday would secure a superior record for
Speaker 1: Miami to that of the rival from the North for
Speaker 1: the first time since two thousand and two. Standing in
Speaker 1: the way of that accomplishment is one of the league's
Speaker 1: most well coached teams that rarely beats itself and has
Speaker 1: a pensiont for capitalizing on the mistakes of their opponent.
Speaker 1: And we jump right into the matchup highlights here. Number one,
Speaker 1: you have to stop the row with this football team.
Speaker 1: You heard coach Flores talk about it. They are more
Speaker 1: than just the running game but that's where it starts
Speaker 1: with this team, and the Week one meeting between Miami
Speaker 1: and New England probably feels like an eternity to go
Speaker 1: for me. It does on a football timeline. It kind
Speaker 1: of was Week one versus Week fifteen. It's it's different
Speaker 1: eras basically, I mean, the Patriots ran the ball for
Speaker 1: two and seventeen yards on forty two rushing attempts. That's
Speaker 1: five point one seven yards per carry and giving the
Speaker 1: NFL their first real glimpse of what Josh McDaniels would
Speaker 1: do with this new quarterback and Cam Newton going from
Speaker 1: Tom Brady for so many years two decades there in
Speaker 1: New England to Cam Newton a big contrast and style,
Speaker 1: and Newton's one and thirteen carries this year our third
Speaker 1: most among all NFL quarterbacks. You can probably guess who
Speaker 1: else Kyler Murray and Lamar Jackson one and two in
Speaker 1: that category. But since the Week one game, the Dolphins
Speaker 1: defense has tightened up significantly against the run, allowing nearly
Speaker 1: half of that season opening total at one twelve point
Speaker 1: two rushing yards allowed per game on average, and the
Speaker 1: Dolphins defensive tackle play has a lot to do with
Speaker 1: the production of the run defense. Ray Kwon Davis and
Speaker 1: Zack Seiler are tied for fifth with Davis and first
Speaker 1: respectively there for Zach Seiler among interior defensive lineman in
Speaker 1: run stops since Week nine per Pro Football Focus. That
Speaker 1: kind of reminds me of one of those stats from
Speaker 1: Major League You know, Almani is batting to thirty eight
Speaker 1: in the month of September with left handers on the
Speaker 1: mound and the Moon and Sagittarius. But it does contribute
Speaker 1: back to how those guys have elevated their level of
Speaker 1: play to go along with Christian Wilkins, who missed two
Speaker 1: games over that period, but he's ranked seventh for the
Speaker 1: entire season in that category. Withal was within two yards
Speaker 1: of the line of scrimmage, So those three guys up front.
Speaker 1: I talked about it on Twitter and Top News the
Speaker 1: other day, or no, it was inside the Numbers where
Speaker 1: I talked about how all three of these guys are
Speaker 1: under contract for the foreseeable future, with Davis obviously in
Speaker 1: his rookie season, Christian Wilkins in year two of that
Speaker 1: rookie contract, and Zack Seeler just got an extension through
Speaker 1: three season. But I think these three guys have contributed
Speaker 1: big time to the improvements in the run defense, and
Speaker 1: both Wilkins, who is fifth, and Davis, who is ninth,
Speaker 1: they both ranked top ten and ESPNS run stop win
Speaker 1: rate up on ESPN, So good stats there for you,
Speaker 1: and only the forty Niners we talked about this utilize
Speaker 1: a fullback more than the Patriots. The Niners rushed for
Speaker 1: one and twenty eight yards in that Week five loss
Speaker 1: to the Dolphins, but thirty seven of those yards came
Speaker 1: on one where he most dirt run. So Miami did
Speaker 1: pretty good throughout the course of the rest of the
Speaker 1: game to put the Niners in long yard situations and
Speaker 1: that led to what several takeaways in that game as
Speaker 1: the Dolphins thwarted that two back offense with Kyles Check
Speaker 1: and Raheem Mostard and and Jeff Wilson and all the
Speaker 1: backs they have there in San Francisco to create those
Speaker 1: third long opportunities, and on third and seven or longer,
Speaker 1: New England is converting only clip compared to fifty seven
Speaker 1: percent conversions on third and six or shorter, So getting
Speaker 1: that run game stopped forcing third longs will be a
Speaker 1: big key in this game. Up next, special teams and
Speaker 1: ball security. We've we've heard coach Flora's talk about the
Speaker 1: kicking game relentlessly, and we know who else has a big,
Speaker 1: big affinity for special teams up there in New England
Speaker 1: with Bill Belichick. Both the Patriots and Dolphins, as a result,
Speaker 1: have top three special teams units according to pro To
Speaker 1: Football Outsiders d v o A metric. The Patriots scored
Speaker 1: on a punt return and a blocked field goal return
Speaker 1: and their forty five to zip shut out of the
Speaker 1: Chargers back in week third team. But the Patriots have
Speaker 1: a history of putting clamps on a rookie quarterback. And
Speaker 1: here's where the ball security comes in. The over Belichick's
Speaker 1: career with the Patriots, first year signal callers are just
Speaker 1: five and twenty against the Patriots over those twenty one seasons.
Speaker 1: Fortunately from Miami. All five of those victories came away
Speaker 1: from Gillette Stadium, where Belichick is unbeaten against rookie quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: He did put together a great road game scheme the
Speaker 1: other day or the other week that stumped Chargers rookie
Speaker 1: quarterback Justin Herbert to the tune of his season low
Speaker 1: forty three point seven passer rating in that game. The
Speaker 1: Patriots have a plus seven turnover margin and their six
Speaker 1: victories this year, and in the seven losses that number
Speaker 1: dips to negative six. So I mean the name of
Speaker 1: the game's takeaways, right, So a big key in this
Speaker 1: game protecting the football and winning on special teams and
Speaker 1: finally number three, taking what the defense gives you to
Speaker 1: a tongue. Valoa took ownership for some of the mistakes
Speaker 1: that he felt he made in the game on Sunday,
Speaker 1: just talking about how he didn't do enough to take
Speaker 1: with the defense gave him early on in the football game.
Speaker 1: And so I kind of wanted to look at the
Speaker 1: passes thrown under ten yards through the air. And this season,
Speaker 1: Tongue Vloa is seventy six nine with six seventeen passing yards,
Speaker 1: six touchdowns and no interceptions on those throws ten yards
Speaker 1: and in he's also forty two of seventy four against
Speaker 1: the Blitz with four hundred and thirteen yards, six touchdowns,
Speaker 1: one interception, and a ninety four point O passer rating
Speaker 1: against the Blitz per PFF. And the Patriots normally a
Speaker 1: team that likes to ratch it up the pressure, but
Speaker 1: this year they're blot of the ninth lowest clip of
Speaker 1: the time they bring an extra pass rusher. They play
Speaker 1: six defensive backs at the fifth highest rate in the league.
Speaker 1: They use dime or dime personnel of the time, and
Speaker 1: nobody uses more seven defensive backs packages in the NFL
Speaker 1: ont eight up next in that category. The Giants use
Speaker 1: seven dbs fifty one times this season. So the Patriots
Speaker 1: almost three times as much as the second place team
Speaker 1: with seven defensive backs on the field. So you're gonna
Speaker 1: get a lot of opportunities where they're gonna not They're
Speaker 1: gonna play coverage. They're gonna have seven guys back in
Speaker 1: coverage and and force two to find soft spots and
Speaker 1: find openings. And they can mix that man zone hybrid
Speaker 1: look and just do so much to confuse young quarterback
Speaker 1: and get pressure through their schemes, through their their stunts,
Speaker 1: their games up front. It's gonna be a tough, tough
Speaker 1: challenge for a young quarterback and I'm excited to see
Speaker 1: how to can handle it on Sunday. As far as
Speaker 1: their scheme, the Patriots, they are twenty six and scoring
Speaker 1: offense and total offense fifth and rushing and twenty nine
Speaker 1: and passing And this is Josh McDaniels sixteenth season with
Speaker 1: the Patriots, and he's in year number nine of his
Speaker 1: second stint with the team as the offensive coordinator. And
Speaker 1: you know, a few teams have been able to match
Speaker 1: the flexibility and adaptability of this Patriots offense under McDaniel's tenure.
Speaker 1: And this season, no team has more rushing attempts than
Speaker 1: the Patriots four and twenty seven. So they love to
Speaker 1: run the football. They also lead the league in snaps
Speaker 1: out of twenty one personnel. We talked about this Yakob Johnson,
Speaker 1: two running backs, one tight end and two receivers. Who
Speaker 1: and Johnson has those three and fourteen snaps play that
Speaker 1: second to Kyle, you check up there in San Francisco.
Speaker 1: Defensively in New England ranks seventh and scoring tent and
Speaker 1: total defense twenty three and rushing defense and eighth in
Speaker 1: passing defense. They can get after on the back end
Speaker 1: of the secondary and they can move bodies off the
Speaker 1: line of scrimmage with that offensive line, two of their
Speaker 1: staples on this team. And despite blitzing just of the
Speaker 1: time on defense, there twenty seven point for pressure rate
Speaker 1: is third best in the NFL. Per Pro Football Reference,
Speaker 1: this matchup is gonna be fun to watch. It's a
Speaker 1: good a good clash of styles between the Patriots and
Speaker 1: the Dolphins, and we also are getting close to an
Speaker 1: even point here in terms of the season series. The
Speaker 1: Dolphins lead the all time series against the Patriots fifty
Speaker 1: six to fifty four that includes the playoffs, but Miami
Speaker 1: are thirty eight eighteen all time at home against New
Speaker 1: England and Tongue Baowa through his first interception of the
Speaker 1: season last week, that broke a streak of a hundred
Speaker 1: and fifty two consecutive passes without a pick. It was
Speaker 1: the third longest streak in Dolphins history. Not a bad
Speaker 1: start to his career, but after the interception, he bounced back.
Speaker 1: He completed nineteen of thirty one passes for two hundred
Speaker 1: and four yards and a touchdown. After his first career interception,
Speaker 1: we talked about xaving Howard allow. Let's go ahead and
Speaker 1: finish up with a note here on him. His next
Speaker 1: pick will be his tent that would tie a franchise
Speaker 1: record that has stood since nineteen sixties. Evan with cornerback
Speaker 1: Dick Westmoreland. The Dolphins entered Week fifteen for the league,
Speaker 1: are tied for the league lead with twenty five takeaways
Speaker 1: on the season, and they have the best third down
Speaker 1: defense at thirty three point one percent conversion. Man, going
Speaker 1: through this preview, going through and looking at the Patriots
Speaker 1: and comparing these two sides, it got me so much
Speaker 1: more pumped for Sunday. Now, I feel like we're over
Speaker 1: the hump. Its Wednesday, onto the Patriots. I can't wait
Speaker 1: for this game. Let's go ahead and kick off player
Speaker 1: media availability with Dolphins center Ted Carriss, who first was
Speaker 1: asked about the fourth quarter offensive production the Dolphins had
Speaker 1: in the game against the Chiefs and some of the
Speaker 1: cast of characters who stepped in in place of the
Speaker 1: injured Davante Parker and Joachine Grant and Mike get Sicky,
Speaker 1: with Lynn Bowe and Malcolm Perry and Mac Hollins and
Speaker 1: Adam Shaheen and those guys stepping up and making plays
Speaker 1: to get seven team points on the board in that
Speaker 1: fourth quarter, as well as the leadership and ability for
Speaker 1: two of tow to help himself in that regard to
Speaker 1: make that push in the fourth quarter. Here's Dolphins captain
Speaker 1: and center Ted Carriss on that fourth quarter performance and
Speaker 1: the Dolphins next man up mentality they have, Oh, we
Speaker 1: made it a game at the end. I think that,
Speaker 1: you know, it was a tough, hard, fog game. Obviously
Speaker 1: didn't do not to win, especially in the third quarter,
Speaker 1: but to a really you know, show some great leadership,
Speaker 1: a lot of grid. I think the whole offense did.
Speaker 1: I think our whole team did, you know, coming back
Speaker 1: and making it a game at the end. Obviously there's
Speaker 1: a bunch of players that I wish I could have
Speaker 1: back personally, and I'm sure a lot of guys feel
Speaker 1: the same way. But um, you know, we're working hard,
Speaker 1: and you know now we're onto you know, New England
Speaker 1: here and getting ready to roll in in the biggest
Speaker 1: game of the year. And no need for any introductory
Speaker 1: analysis on this. Next question for Ted Carriss because he
Speaker 1: was asked about something we opened the podcast with and
Speaker 1: the similarities between these two defenses and how that might
Speaker 1: help or maybe you know, be a challenge for the
Speaker 1: Dolphin's offense this Sunday against the Patriots. It's pretty similar. Obviously,
Speaker 1: there's gonna be some nuances. Um, you know, a lot
Speaker 1: of the structure may be the same, but they have
Speaker 1: really a lot of really good players. So do we
Speaker 1: I think that you know, um, we're both matched up
Speaker 1: pretty well against each other, and we're you know, kind
Speaker 1: of in the in the same family of defenses at least. Um,
Speaker 1: and we've had some preparation, but it's all gonna come
Speaker 1: down to, you know, in game adjustments and how we've
Speaker 1: prepared throughout the week and then when we get on
Speaker 1: the sideline after you know, after drive, whether we score
Speaker 1: or not, making adjustments to see what, you know, what
Speaker 1: they've declared they're gonna do in the game. So, um,
Speaker 1: that's where we're focused. I think it's gonna be a
Speaker 1: great game and we're ready to roll. Let's go ahead
Speaker 1: and finish up here with Ted for my question for
Speaker 1: him regarding Belichick's record against rookie quarterbacks and how that
Speaker 1: can be a challenge for to in this game, and
Speaker 1: how Ted has a role this week to help get
Speaker 1: to and the offense prepared. Here's Ted on his role
Speaker 1: going up against this Patriots defense and Sunday on Sunday
Speaker 1: at hard Rock Stadium. Yeah, my main job, you know,
Speaker 1: mostly every week is identifying the fronts and helping him, um,
Speaker 1: you know, identify the mic point obviously, as an old line.
Speaker 1: You know, we're gonna have to do our part in
Speaker 1: protection and the run game to make him feel comfortable. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, I think that coach Belichick is obviously, you know,
Speaker 1: one of the you know, greatest coaches to to be
Speaker 1: around the league. And and you know, he schemes it
Speaker 1: up really well, and he you know, he he knows
Speaker 1: his opponents and tries to explore their weaknesses. So, um,
Speaker 1: you know, we're going in with a good plan. I
Speaker 1: have a you know, um where we feel confident with
Speaker 1: our game plan and but it's on us his players
Speaker 1: to go execute it. Let's go a little further out
Speaker 1: along the line there to a player that plays both
Speaker 1: in line and flexes out and Durham Smith, Dolphins tight end,
Speaker 1: who was asked about the possibility of how an expanded
Speaker 1: role if Mike get sick he cannot go on Sunday
Speaker 1: after his injury against the Chiefs, here's Durham Smith talking
Speaker 1: about kind of having the same approach every week, knowing
Speaker 1: the entire game plan that so that in case of
Speaker 1: the emergency break glass, in case of emergency situation, he
Speaker 1: can step in and fulfill whatever roles asked of him. Well,
Speaker 1: I think at this level, uh, you kind of have
Speaker 1: to go into every week with the same mentality, um.
Speaker 1: And that's kind of something that I've I've tried to do,
Speaker 1: you know since college is just you know, the entire
Speaker 1: game plan, um, every role within within our tight end room.
Speaker 1: So I mean, from that standpoint, uh, just kind of
Speaker 1: status quo in terms of in terms of knowing everyone's role.
Speaker 1: And speaking of Mike GA Sicky, I think if you
Speaker 1: don't know by now, those two guys are best friends,
Speaker 1: he and Durham Smith, and they they came into the
Speaker 1: NFL together in the same draft class. And you can
Speaker 1: kind of tell a little bit of ribbing here between
Speaker 1: DRMA and Mike and the best friend relationship they do have,
Speaker 1: because here's Durham talking about coming into the league with
Speaker 1: Mike A. Sicky and watching the evolution of his game,
Speaker 1: his development from year one now to year three. He
Speaker 1: makes a little joke here at the beginning about Mike
Speaker 1: going in the second round Durham going in the fourth,
Speaker 1: and then gives us a great answer about the evolution
Speaker 1: of Mike A. Sicky's game. Well, first of all, you
Speaker 1: mentioned the second round, fourth round thing. I tell him
Speaker 1: every day that they made a mistake in that regard
Speaker 1: and it should have been the other way around. I
Speaker 1: stand by that, so that that was obviously an organizational mistake.
Speaker 1: But um, I guess it's worked out in the long
Speaker 1: run here. Uh No, But I mean he's I mean
Speaker 1: I've known he's he's had this in him since we
Speaker 1: first got here. Uh. Um, He's progressed a lot in
Speaker 1: terms of you know, strength, understanding the game and things
Speaker 1: like that, but he's always had disability. I knew that
Speaker 1: from day one. Um, and you know this year, you
Speaker 1: just kind of was able to show it on a
Speaker 1: consistent basis. Things that you know, I've seen for the
Speaker 1: last three years, everyone's starting to see now. Um. Actually
Speaker 1: he was just talking to him a little while ago.
Speaker 1: I know. Pro Bowl voting starts today, and I mean
Speaker 1: I'm doing everything I can to get that guy in
Speaker 1: because I think he's he's more than deserving of it
Speaker 1: this year. So um, it's it's been fun to watch,
Speaker 1: and uh, you know, I think it'll only continue from here.
Speaker 1: Let's go ahead and finish up this Wednesday podcast here
Speaker 1: with starting quarterback to a tongue of Byloa, who was
Speaker 1: asked about the challenge of facing a Bill Belichick defense,
Speaker 1: that Patriots defense with all those players, all that scheme,
Speaker 1: all the pedigree and success they've had over the years.
Speaker 1: Here's two talking about the Patriots defense. I would say,
Speaker 1: I'm pretty familiar. You know, I grew up watching the
Speaker 1: Patriots play, you know, and a lot of the Super bowls. Um.
Speaker 1: I would also say, you know, I've seen Bill a
Speaker 1: good amount at Alabama. You know, him and Nick are
Speaker 1: pretty good friends. So um, I would say, very similar
Speaker 1: in a way with is coach Saban with how how
Speaker 1: they go by doing things. But I know that there's
Speaker 1: gonna be a lot of challenges that his defense has
Speaker 1: to offer our offense. And we just gotta be prepared
Speaker 1: this week for those you hear to talk about all
Speaker 1: those challenges, all the different mixing of We talked about
Speaker 1: the praise for the different fronts and coverages and blitz
Speaker 1: game or blitz packages and games up front. Gonna be
Speaker 1: the same story with the Patriots defense over there. They
Speaker 1: do a great job of mixing things up up Next
Speaker 1: here with TWA, and we referred to on the earlier
Speaker 1: portions of this podcast some of the similarities between these
Speaker 1: two teams as far as schematics and styles go. On
Speaker 1: the defensive side of the football, too, was asked about
Speaker 1: seeing this defense from the Dolphins scout team and practice,
Speaker 1: getting a good look at it, and really getting that
Speaker 1: repetition down as far as what the Dolphins might see,
Speaker 1: what the looks the Patriots give them on Sunday. Here's
Speaker 1: two on playing against that Patriots defense. Think O, Our
Speaker 1: scout team does a does a good job helping prepare
Speaker 1: us offensively for for the games. It's all dependent on
Speaker 1: on the looks that we're going to get, and you know,
Speaker 1: I think the scout teams a good job at that.
Speaker 1: But there's always gonna be new things that are gonna
Speaker 1: pop up, whether it's a front or something happens in
Speaker 1: the back end. You just got to be prepared for
Speaker 1: it and um, you know, adapt to that change on
Speaker 1: the fly. And up next too was asked about some
Speaker 1: comments that Patrick Mahomes made after the game regarding the
Speaker 1: performance of your Dolphins rookie starting quarterback and was really
Speaker 1: complimentary about Towa's composure being down on the scoreboard twenty
Speaker 1: points and not trying to execute the twenty point play
Speaker 1: that doesn't exist. We heard the coaching staff talk about
Speaker 1: that in the Tuesday press conference. There's no such thing
Speaker 1: as an eight team point play on the field, and
Speaker 1: so TWA did more to to take what the defense
Speaker 1: gave him in that game. Here's two on the on
Speaker 1: where that trait comes from, if it's inherent within him,
Speaker 1: and how he's able to process things and move with
Speaker 1: that pace and really manage the flow of the football game.
Speaker 1: I would say that's that's been our our motto or
Speaker 1: our little mantra offensively, as you take it one play
Speaker 1: at a time, um, you know, how can you do
Speaker 1: your best job up on just this particular play? Um?
Speaker 1: Moving forward? So it's really just the one play at
Speaker 1: a time mentality. Um. And if the play doesn't go well,
Speaker 1: then really it's the next step, um, you know, next
Speaker 1: play mentality. UM. But I think a lot of credit
Speaker 1: goes to our coaches and helping us preparing us for um,
Speaker 1: those things where we're in passing situation. These guys are
Speaker 1: gonna get back. You know, take what they give you.
Speaker 1: They give you a flat, they give you a flat.
Speaker 1: If they give you a deep route, they give you
Speaker 1: a deep route. So truly take what the defense gives you.
Speaker 1: Let's go ahead and finish up here with two of
Speaker 1: with a question about the loss of Mike Gasiki in
Speaker 1: the game on Sunday and the elevation of players that
Speaker 1: came up and played a bigger role in the game
Speaker 1: on Sunday and to us opportunity here to kind of
Speaker 1: grow and expand his leadership role and help these help
Speaker 1: the other guys come up and and be productive in
Speaker 1: the offense as well. Yeah, I think it's hard to replace,
Speaker 1: you know, a guy like Mike. Um. You know, it's
Speaker 1: also hard to replace any of these guys like Davantage,
Speaker 1: Jachim Um. But it's it's next man up. And you know,
Speaker 1: the guys that that are ready to play, they're they're
Speaker 1: hungry to play, and this is just an opportunity for
Speaker 1: them as well. Um. You know, this is great time
Speaker 1: for for me as a quarterback to you know, show
Speaker 1: my leadership to the these guys, these um new guys,
Speaker 1: and then also work my timing with them. And so
Speaker 1: there he goes, your Dolphins quarterback to a tongue of Byloa.
Speaker 1: For the rest of these press conferences, you can check
Speaker 1: them out on the Miami Dolphins YouTube page as well
Speaker 1: as Miami Dolphins dot com. Before we get out of
Speaker 1: here for today, we have the Wednesday injury report for
Speaker 1: you for your Miami Dolphins. Mike get Sicky and Bobby
Speaker 1: McCain the only two players who did not practice on Wednesday.
Speaker 1: We had one, two, five. Six players were limited participants
Speaker 1: on Wednesday's practice. Running back Savan Akhmed, guard Eric Flowers,
Speaker 1: receivers jakeem Grant, Davante Parker both limited, and linebackers Eland
Speaker 1: and Roberts and Kyle van Neu were limited in practice
Speaker 1: on Wednesday. We had some players that were full participants.
Speaker 1: That list includes two a Tongue of Baloa, Shack Lawson,
Speaker 1: Solomon Kinley, Austin Jackson, Xavien Howard, and Cavon Fraser. For
Speaker 1: the rest of the Patriots injury port, go ahead and
Speaker 1: check out top news up on Miami Dolphins dot com.
Speaker 1: I'll have that update for you guys as soon as
Speaker 1: that becomes available. In the meantime, that's gonna be my
Speaker 1: time you all. Please be sure to subscribe to the
Speaker 1: podcast on Apple Podcast, Leave us a rating, leave us
Speaker 1: a review, give me a follow on Twitter. It's at Wingfield, NFL.
Speaker 1: Follow the team at Miami Dolphins. Check out the Fish
Speaker 1: Tank and the Audible podcast, and of course Miami Dolphins
Speaker 1: dot com. Until next time, fins Up