Speaker 1: This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield Again. You're damn Ryot's
Speaker 1: Draft Time with Travis Wingfield. What is up? And Welcome
Speaker 1: into the Draft Time Podcast. I am your aforementioned host,
Speaker 1: Travis Wingfield, and on today's show, we are two episodes
Speaker 1: into the summer content series. Your boy is officially on
Speaker 1: paternity leave. If it sounds different, I am recording from
Speaker 1: my home studio, so no more from the Baptist Health
Speaker 1: Studios on the podcast, but I'm gonna say it anyways,
Speaker 1: just to give you guys a heads up, we have
Speaker 1: Bradley Chubb on the podcast today, probably the best interview
Speaker 1: I had of the sixteen you're gonna hear over the
Speaker 1: course of the summer. Plus we're previewing more NFL divisions today.
Speaker 1: The NFC West goes under the clock under the microscope.
Speaker 1: I don't know why I said clock. From the Travis
Speaker 1: Wingfield Studios inside the Travis Wingfield Homestead. This is the
Speaker 1: Draft Time Podcast. Let's go ahead and jumps to art
Speaker 1: this thing. Kick it off with some juice. Bradley Chubb,
Speaker 1: he is the man. He is back. He's gonna wreak
Speaker 1: havoc on opposing quarterbacks this season. But first he talked
Speaker 1: to me. Joining us today on the Draft Time podcast
Speaker 1: is Dolphins outside linebacker Bradley Chubb. Be Chubb. What's up, man,
Speaker 1: It's really good to see you and talk to you.
Speaker 2: Yes, they're good to see as well. Man, feel good,
Speaker 2: glad to be here.
Speaker 1: You talked you had your first media availability and sometime
Speaker 1: a little bit ago. But I kind of want to
Speaker 1: just you know, repeat that here. Just talk to us
Speaker 1: a little bit about the process and where you are
Speaker 1: mentally physically today.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Man, it's a long process. When you know, when
Speaker 2: people tell you, oh, trust the process and everything's greatness
Speaker 2: comes on the other side of the work and all that,
Speaker 2: it's easy to be like, okay, yeah, I hear you.
Speaker 2: But when you actually got to live in and go
Speaker 2: through it, you see it full full face, you know
Speaker 2: what I mean. And having to go through those hard times.
Speaker 2: You know you have your support system, but you know
Speaker 2: nobody's going to do the hard work for you. Nobody's
Speaker 2: gonna hold your hand while you do things. So going
Speaker 2: through it and making the mistakes and you know, coming
Speaker 2: back on the other side and seeing the games and
Speaker 2: all that, it's a it's a beautiful thing. And when
Speaker 2: you sit back and look at it. I'm grateful to
Speaker 2: be where I am now. I'm a really good headspace
Speaker 2: now compared to where I was when I first started.
Speaker 2: So it's a it's a beautiful journey, but I'm glad
Speaker 2: I am where I am now.
Speaker 1: Stuff like that makes you appreciate even even the lows
Speaker 1: right of that entire process because it shapes you into
Speaker 1: who you are really.
Speaker 2: One hundred percent. It's about how you respond. Everything is
Speaker 2: about how you respond. In life and college, we had
Speaker 2: a E plus our equals our was our mantra, event
Speaker 2: plus reaction egals outcome. So each everything is something's gonna
Speaker 2: happen each and every day is about how you react
Speaker 2: to it and how you respond to it.
Speaker 1: How's it failed to get it back on the field.
Speaker 1: I know you had the practices last December, but how's
Speaker 1: it felt to be out there for OTAs?
Speaker 2: It feels amazing because like you said, the practice is
Speaker 2: kind of I'll still put my foot in the water
Speaker 2: trying to figure out, Oh, how's it feeling, how's this?
Speaker 2: What's the call? But like you know, having a year
Speaker 2: and a defense, sitting back and understanding the defense and
Speaker 2: understanding the guys getting to know him on the personal
Speaker 2: level instead of just the football level. So when I
Speaker 2: am on the field, it's more of that brotherhood that
Speaker 2: we've been you know, chasing and looking for. So it's
Speaker 2: been fun, man's and amazing just to kind of like
Speaker 2: just be around the guys go through those hard times,
Speaker 2: like those tough workouts and those hot, hot practices, because
Speaker 2: on the sideline saying oh yeah, it's hot out here,
Speaker 2: VERSU actually going through it. You know, with the guys,
Speaker 2: it's a whole other level of respect and the level
Speaker 2: of a love. So it's been great.
Speaker 1: Man. You just feel like you don't have the proper
Speaker 1: voice when you're not in it right.
Speaker 2: Right, because no matter what your accolades are, no matter
Speaker 2: who you are, people gonna be like, okay, you do it,
Speaker 2: like I'm not here doing it, You're not doing it
Speaker 2: with us. So just being able to do it with
Speaker 2: the guys, it's been amazing.
Speaker 1: When you take that much time down, and I mean
Speaker 1: every football player has gone through an injury, and it's
Speaker 1: a serious injury. For the most part, you always learn
Speaker 1: a lot about yourself. But I'm curious because you know,
Speaker 1: and I'll relay football back to golf. Like I always
Speaker 1: do on the show. The fans are probably stick of
Speaker 1: hearing it by now. But if I take a week
Speaker 1: off or a month off, especially like I almost have
Speaker 1: to kind of retrain the swing. Is it similar in
Speaker 1: terms of football technique? Like what was it like to
Speaker 1: get back on the field, because obviously you're you're you're
Speaker 1: repairing like the muscle and the tendon and everything, and
Speaker 1: then you're trying to get back into football shape and
Speaker 1: it's time to actually go play football. Like how long
Speaker 1: is take to ramp up to get back to where
Speaker 1: you were from the technique and fundamental stuff.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Man, I feel like that just comes with reps,
Speaker 2: and I'm still going through those reps. I'm still trying
Speaker 2: to find how I stepped in this certain situation and
Speaker 2: stuff like that. I find my foot and so I
Speaker 2: feel like that's one of those things. It's not gonna
Speaker 2: be a finished, polished product until after training camp, after
Speaker 2: you know, getting those lives of tackling guys and going
Speaker 2: to the ground and finishing on the quarterback. So I'm
Speaker 2: still got a little ways to go, and I'm excited
Speaker 2: to go through that journey and find out the new
Speaker 2: player I'm gonna become you know what I mean. But
Speaker 2: like you said, man, if you take a week, a
Speaker 2: year or whatever, however long off. Like another thing my
Speaker 2: college coach us to always say the skills, use them
Speaker 2: or lose them, Like you're either gonna use them every
Speaker 2: day or you're not gonna use them at all, and
Speaker 2: you're gonna lose everything that you work for. So being
Speaker 2: down trying to stay on top of the little things.
Speaker 2: But you know, it's hard when you limit it. But
Speaker 2: this whole off season and as I've been like towards
Speaker 2: the end of the season, getting back into the groove
Speaker 2: of things, and this all seasons been been great for
Speaker 2: doing that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm so excited to watch you and the entire
Speaker 1: Edge group play and I kind of feel like, you know,
Speaker 1: it's it's funny you guys are the Edge group because
Speaker 1: I feel like there's an edge to you guys based
Speaker 1: upon recent experiences. How excited you for this group to
Speaker 1: come out, because it seems, you know, last year JP
Speaker 1: was coming back, you were coming back. We didn't know
Speaker 1: what it's gonna look like. And Jalen goes down again
Speaker 1: and that that just sucks so bad. How do you
Speaker 1: think that kind of the way the last few years
Speaker 1: have gone for you, guys can kind of shape the
Speaker 1: group this year, if that makes sense.
Speaker 2: Man, shape it. I mean, like you said, we got
Speaker 2: an edge to us. Everybody in there has, you know,
Speaker 2: been through adversity, been told they can't do something, been
Speaker 2: through an injury. So everybody's just hungry to go in
Speaker 2: there and prove not only people wrong. It's not about that,
Speaker 2: but proving ourselves right, knowing what we can do. And
Speaker 2: you know, we talked all the time about how we
Speaker 2: want to be the engine for the team and how
Speaker 2: it starts and ends with us. But you know you
Speaker 2: can't just talk that. You got to practice it each
Speaker 2: and every day. And that's what the guys in that
Speaker 2: room do. Man. We push each other to be great,
Speaker 2: and we put each other to be better than we
Speaker 2: were yesterday, you know. And that's one thing that's specially
Speaker 2: about that room and that I love so much, is
Speaker 2: just everybody's hungry. Everybody's loving of each other and wanting
Speaker 2: to see the other one win.
Speaker 1: And Coach Crow kind of facilitates all that, right, He's
Speaker 1: the guy that brings you all together for.
Speaker 2: Sure, brings us together. Man, finds ways to make learning
Speaker 2: fun finds ways to make competition fun, you know what
Speaker 2: I mean. And he's been a great ad to the
Speaker 2: room for sure.
Speaker 1: So one of the guys that I mean, Chop, I'll
Speaker 1: just go ahead and say him off the top, Chop.
Speaker 1: Robinson has talked about you and JP a lot in
Speaker 1: terms of the tute legit mentorship. What have you seen
Speaker 1: from him in terms of not just the physical skills
Speaker 1: which are obvious to all of us, but the way
Speaker 1: he approaches the game and leans on you guys.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he approaches it like he's a season vet man.
Speaker 2: And to see a young guy have so much love
Speaker 2: and so much care for the game, and like so
Speaker 2: much care for the technique and the little things about
Speaker 2: the game, it's dope to see because you know, you
Speaker 2: see him getting better each and every week as well,
Speaker 2: like throughout the season where he was in training camp
Speaker 2: versus where he was week eighteen, was a whole different player.
Speaker 2: And to see him during these OTAs now moving around,
Speaker 2: it's like, bro, I told him, you're gonna have a
Speaker 2: long career in this league. Gonn make a lot of money.
Speaker 2: It's gonna be a lot of good things. To continue
Speaker 2: to do what you're doing and never let up, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean. And he's been doing that and
Speaker 2: it's been great to see.
Speaker 1: That's good news for him and Dolphins fans. Bradley. I
Speaker 1: want to go back to something that you and I
Speaker 1: have discussed off the record a few times, and it's
Speaker 1: my favorite highlight. I think of like the draft process
Speaker 1: of all time. I showed it to you one time,
Speaker 1: to flop right, the famous flop and the three rollover
Speaker 1: and you get the flag and the end zone. You
Speaker 1: pulled the flag out of the raft that day. Take
Speaker 1: me through that? Is that like something that you like,
Speaker 1: You just kind of like you're serious about your game obviously,
Speaker 1: but you can joke in the moment as well.
Speaker 2: No, for sure, and especially in college man I was.
Speaker 2: I was a loose cannon man, be mad and be happy.
Speaker 2: I was all over the place. And that was one
Speaker 2: of those things. We were playing Syracuse. I was having
Speaker 2: a decent game, so I wasn't like so like, oh
Speaker 2: I got to do this and do that, you know,
Speaker 2: And we got down to the end zone and I
Speaker 2: forgot what the play was, but I was doing something
Speaker 2: extra in the office. A lineman pushed me. I said, oh,
Speaker 2: this is my chance. I don't know what I'm gonna do,
Speaker 2: but I could try to get a flag or something.
Speaker 2: And so I flopped the first time in a flag,
Speaker 2: and so I rolled over and I saw like my
Speaker 2: teammates playing into us. I just kept rolling over, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean, and ended up getting a flag,
Speaker 2: which was crazy. I don't know how I got the flag,
Speaker 2: but a shame on that office of the line and
Speaker 2: for pushing me.
Speaker 1: Hey, he picked the wrong one correct. So that that
Speaker 1: just kind of takes me to my last question here
Speaker 1: about like personality and sports, because you know, I grew
Speaker 1: up in an era where it was like serious and
Speaker 1: you're you're dialed in and you need to be locked
Speaker 1: in all times obviously, but I do have gotten to
Speaker 1: a place where personalities and the people can kind of
Speaker 1: show more in modern sports than they used to. How
Speaker 1: do you feel about that? And like how does that
Speaker 1: kind of match who you are?
Speaker 2: Yeah? For sure, I don't. I don't know if it's
Speaker 2: ever been a time where I've been so serious and
Speaker 2: locked in on sports, Like I've always approached it as
Speaker 2: a game and you know, and having fun doing it,
Speaker 2: and I feel like that's when I'm my best, So, uh,
Speaker 2: you know, in the past, you know, people like get serious,
Speaker 2: were trying to do this, like it's a level of
Speaker 2: seriousness that you have to have. But at the end
Speaker 2: of the day, you know, it's it's a it's a
Speaker 2: child's game that we get to. You can't be too
Speaker 2: serious about your life, you know what I mean, can't
Speaker 2: take stuff too serious. It's a child's game that we
Speaker 2: get to do at a high level. Yes, but it's
Speaker 2: a child's game, you know what I mean. And if
Speaker 2: you go about it with a frowny face and trying
Speaker 2: to be locked in and all this, it's I feel
Speaker 2: like it takes away from that, from the joy and
Speaker 2: stuff like that. But like I said, there's a level
Speaker 2: of here that you do have to have for sure,
Speaker 2: to approach each and every day. And it's just finding
Speaker 2: the balance.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: It can't be too silly and can't be too serious.
Speaker 2: Just about finding the balance.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that makes perfect sense. It seems like we have
Speaker 1: the coaching staff in place that understands how that all
Speaker 1: that kind of goes together. What excites you last question
Speaker 1: for you here, Bradley, what excites you most about this
Speaker 1: upcoming season?
Speaker 2: Man? Just the doubt that we're getting from the outside.
Speaker 2: That's what excites me most because it's not even like
Speaker 2: we harp on it in here, but like it's a
Speaker 2: known thing, like we feel it, we feel the doubt,
Speaker 2: we feel the oh this team hasn't the Dolphins organization
Speaker 2: hasn't won a playoff game, and yet we feel that,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean. And it's not like we're
Speaker 2: making a big deal out of it, but everybody's working
Speaker 2: towards to changing that. And that's what I love about it. Man.
Speaker 2: Nobody's front running, nobody's doing anything. Everybody's just putting their
Speaker 2: head down, getting to work, and we're sticking together early.
Speaker 2: This is the earliest I've seen a group come together,
Speaker 2: and it's been dope to see. So I have real
Speaker 2: high hopes for the team, man, and I hope that
Speaker 2: we could do what we know we.
Speaker 1: Can do if I could just fall up on that
Speaker 1: real quick. Us. The value of that of all the
Speaker 1: guys being in here compared to where it's maybe not
Speaker 1: as well attended.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's huge value to it, especially when you're a
Speaker 2: team like us man trying to find trying to find
Speaker 2: that last little piece. Because we've been to the playoffs,
Speaker 2: we've been on the edge of winning the game. But
Speaker 2: we haven't done that yet, so it's easy to we'll
Speaker 2: figure it out when camp comes out. It's hard to
Speaker 2: lean into it, figure out what the problem is and
Speaker 2: how we can how we can fix it, and to
Speaker 2: do it this early is amazing too. So it's been
Speaker 2: great to have everybody here. Man. You know, guys missed
Speaker 2: a day or two, but for the most part, it's
Speaker 2: been perfect attendance. So it's been it's been amazing.
Speaker 1: Dolphins alsodlinebacker Belly Chub. Appreciate you, man, thank you.
Speaker 2: I appreciate you.
Speaker 1: Kyle Crabs is a great film. Watch on him on
Speaker 1: his Patreon CHANNELF you haven't checked it out, go ahead
Speaker 1: and do it. Because he talked about how Beachub can
Speaker 1: really give this defense some juice and something they didn't
Speaker 1: have last year in more depth at that edge position
Speaker 1: and give the Dolphins waves of pass rush. We saw
Speaker 1: Chop kind of be the four front guy in that group.
Speaker 1: Obviously Zach and Kalay has big, big pieces inside, but
Speaker 1: to build a get JP and Beachubb back out there
Speaker 1: with Zach and now KG, I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 1: All right, We're gonna take a break right here. Come back,
Speaker 1: and then we have As you guys know, the division
Speaker 1: previews are long, so we'll do that over the course
Speaker 1: of two segments. That's Next Draft Time podcast, brought to
Speaker 1: you by Auto Nation. I love this time of year
Speaker 1: for multiple reasons. One, the golf swing kind of getting
Speaker 1: back on track here a little bit gonna be going
Speaker 1: away for a while. Those I'll probably lose that as
Speaker 1: I say hello to my third child. We still are
Speaker 1: undecided on the name as of today, and she is
Speaker 1: coming next week, so we will see what it comes
Speaker 1: out to be. I have my pick, wife has her pick.
Speaker 1: We have to find out who wins that power struggle.
Speaker 1: But this time of year gives me a chance to
Speaker 1: go look at all thirty two teams, well thirty one
Speaker 1: because I look at the Dolphins pretty much every single day,
Speaker 1: and I love it because it teaches me things like this.
Speaker 1: We're gonna kick this off in the NFC West here
Speaker 1: with the San Francisco forty nine ers, and I think
Speaker 1: the Niners are going to be as we review their
Speaker 1: changes here off the top a sort of litmus test
Speaker 1: for something that has sort of slid for me as
Speaker 1: a football analyst over the last couple of seasons. We
Speaker 1: get all excited about these potential upstart teams, and who
Speaker 1: knows that better than Dolphins fans over the last you know,
Speaker 1: twenty years. I guess the twenty and six team you
Speaker 1: thought was gonna be that team, right with Dante Colepepper.
Speaker 1: I think twenty was it twenty fifteen after the Kenny
Speaker 1: Stills trade with Ryan Tannehill coming off a great year
Speaker 1: under Bill Laser, the kind of felt the same way
Speaker 1: the twenty seventeen team, maybe not justified in that, but
Speaker 1: coming off a playoff year with Tannehill in the first
Speaker 1: year of Adam Gase. You get these you know, contingencies
Speaker 1: of the football cognacenti. Who pushes their chips at the
Speaker 1: center of the table on those teams, and then what
Speaker 1: happens You have an unproven head coaching quarterback combination that
Speaker 1: doesn't unseat the ones that we've seen with proof of concept.
Speaker 1: The Bears last year are a great example of that.
Speaker 1: The Jets each of the last two years are a
Speaker 1: great example of that because who could have possibly seen
Speaker 1: Nathaniel Hackett's offense not clicking and vibing and making Aaron Rodger,
Speaker 1: who's been an MVP quarterback for as recently as three
Speaker 1: or four years ago, not play that great a football.
Speaker 1: And so where everyone fades the Niners this year, and
Speaker 1: where everyone's kind of fading the forty nine ers, your
Speaker 1: boy's gonna double down this year, if you will on
Speaker 1: Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purty. I almost said Kyle Perty.
Speaker 1: I went to high school with Kyle Purty. That kind
Speaker 1: of threw me off there. Let's go ahead and get
Speaker 1: to the changes here for this team, though they are
Speaker 1: vast Robert sala is back. I like that fit for
Speaker 1: him a lot. I think he's one of the best
Speaker 1: moves any team made this offseason. Clay Kubiak, not Clint Kubiak,
Speaker 1: but Clay gets a promotion to the offensive cordator position,
Speaker 1: the first time Shanahan has had an OC since twenty
Speaker 1: twenty one. Go ahead and raise your hands. Anybody out
Speaker 1: there in the class know who that was. Mike McDaniel.
Speaker 1: Kubiak was a past game specialist last after coaching the
Speaker 1: quarterbacks there in San Francisco. Now the personnel changes. Brace
Speaker 1: yourself because there are so many names in here. Gone
Speaker 1: are Traverius Ward, He's out the door. Dre Greenlaw's out
Speaker 1: the door, Javon Hargrave, Malite Collins, Isaac Yadam Rakya, Sin
Speaker 1: Talanoah Hufonga, Elijah Mitchell, Deebo Samuel Aaron Banks, Jordan Mason,
Speaker 1: Jalen Moore, Charlie Heck. These are the guys that have
Speaker 1: all started games for the Niners. Some of those guys
Speaker 1: are star players you know about, and free agency wasn't
Speaker 1: about the brand names for them. Akin to how your
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins approached this offseason. They did snag Richie Grant,
Speaker 1: the former Falcon safety Mac Jones to back up Brock Purty.
Speaker 1: DeMarcus Robinson's a nice little sneaky deep receiver room addition
Speaker 1: there for them. Andre Dillard go Koog's has not worked
Speaker 1: out into the NFL career, and former Dolphins Sir Ran
Speaker 1: Neil the film for the Niners. They're calling cards. So, Travis,
Speaker 1: why are you so bullish on this football team that's
Speaker 1: lost so much star talent? Because I believe in the
Speaker 1: system and the quarterback and guess what, they still have
Speaker 1: some absolute friggin studs there. This reminds me of the
Speaker 1: Patriots will lose talent. Well, that's a bad comparison, but
Speaker 1: the Patriots were a team that used to always lose
Speaker 1: talent every year. And you boy at like eighteen years
Speaker 1: old going on message boards saying this is the Dolphins overtake.
Speaker 1: You like I was wrong, and that's how it usually goes.
Speaker 1: But it's essentially a copy paste of the Dolphins, right.
Speaker 1: Getting Christian McCaffrey back for them, I would say, is
Speaker 1: akin to us landing Jonas savit Naya and James Daniels
Speaker 1: in terms of the boost of the running game. And
Speaker 1: then you get the matchup coverage declaration with horizontal stress
Speaker 1: and creates windows in which Brock can play point and
Speaker 1: shoot quarterback and just keep that thing rolling. He's only
Speaker 1: going to get better as he goes along. It's how
Speaker 1: these quarterbacks that play on anticipation and processing operate. I
Speaker 1: think you'll see them back in more favorable down in
Speaker 1: distances and get their efficiency back rolling. Sound familiar, and
Speaker 1: I know he kind of worked us, But Deebo Samuels
Speaker 1: to Samuel is not Samuels. Samuel is to me additioned
Speaker 1: by subtraction for that offense because he's gotten slow and
Speaker 1: he requires a high volume of targets to be productive.
Speaker 1: And that's just not how this offense works. Just getting
Speaker 1: Trent Williams and McCaffrey back on the field were the
Speaker 1: biggest additions this team could possibly make. But they also
Speaker 1: hit last year on Dominic Puney, a guy that when
Speaker 1: I asked Daniel Jeremiah at his annual draft press conference,
Speaker 1: who's a good interior offensive line fit for the Dolphins,
Speaker 1: he said, Dominic Puney. The Niners snatch him up and
Speaker 1: he goes on to be a really good player for them.
Speaker 1: I think Spencer Berferd, Jake Brendle, Colton mckivitz. It's not
Speaker 1: an eye popping offensive line, but they've gone to the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl with pretty much the same offensive line, and
Speaker 1: that's when they're healthy. There's value in that continuity there
Speaker 1: as well. Brandon Ayuk is healthy, George Kittle, if he's healthy,
Speaker 1: is George Kittle. Ricky Piersol is not going to have
Speaker 1: to recover from a freaking gunshot wound this year. Juwan
Speaker 1: Jennings is a guy that we talked about as a
Speaker 1: possible restricted free agent addition should he shake free from
Speaker 1: San Francisco a couple of years ago. That with the
Speaker 1: addition of Robinson Russell, Gage there's some good route runners
Speaker 1: and guys that can get open and find those soft
Speaker 1: spots for pretty to point and shoot, and they're going
Speaker 1: to score points. I think if all those guys are healthy,
Speaker 1: and then defensively, we have proof of concept here with
Speaker 1: Ta Tada, and I think the way he balanced the
Speaker 1: Shanahan as akin to how we even McDaniel co exists
Speaker 1: so well done here in em and he's so and
Speaker 1: he's still got Fred Warner. So I think their first
Speaker 1: two picks, Mikel Williams and Alfred Collins are going to
Speaker 1: be studds in that defense. To me, Mikel's a dark
Speaker 1: horse for defensive Rookie of the Year. I just think
Speaker 1: that he's was slept on heavily in the draft process.
Speaker 1: I love the Bryce Huff trade. I was a big
Speaker 1: fan of CJ. West out of Indiana in the draft process.
Speaker 1: And now Nick Bosa's back, and I think there's some
Speaker 1: unknown in the secondary, but I trust this coaching staff
Speaker 1: on defense as well as the offense to put up
Speaker 1: twenty eight plus points per game. The question is the
Speaker 1: secondary and is it healthy? You know? Is really it's
Speaker 1: really what comes down to this team is the entire
Speaker 1: roster healthy, and how does the secondary kind of acclimate
Speaker 1: here this season. I think they have the parts to
Speaker 1: play that Sola aggressive scheme and really ease some stress
Speaker 1: on that back end. But there would could be some
Speaker 1: deep teams that stress their matchups, like, for instance, the
Speaker 1: team that we just talked to, or we're going to
Speaker 1: talk about here in a second, the La Rams. But
Speaker 1: really it's keeping McCaffrey, Kittle, Williams, Yuke on the field.
Speaker 1: If they have those four and their quarterback. There's not
Speaker 1: a lot of teams I would pick to beat the
Speaker 1: Niners on any given Sunday. The miscellaneous factors here this
Speaker 1: gets repetitive, but the health of the football team, right,
Speaker 1: But also Shanahan discussed the deep runs and quick turnarounds
Speaker 1: and the overall fatigue of this team, which you can say, hey,
Speaker 1: look at the Chiefs the last eight years. They don't
Speaker 1: get fatigue. They go to the super Bowl every single year,
Speaker 1: but the Niners don't have to. You know, they were
Speaker 1: able to rest and recover all of January because they
Speaker 1: make the playoffs last year. And we've seen this movie
Speaker 1: several times. The Niners have down years solely because of injuries,
Speaker 1: and the next year, they're back to twelve plus wins.
Speaker 1: I also think they're going to start four to zero
Speaker 1: at Seattle and then the Saints, then home for Arizona
Speaker 1: and Jacksonville before a big TNF showdown against the Rams.
Speaker 1: At worst, that's three and one going into a massive
Speaker 1: divisional game there. And they pivot this year to the
Speaker 1: NFC South, which is, you know, to me, four teams
Speaker 1: that are all gettable coming off of a schedule last
Speaker 1: year that was much tougher the trapdoor scenario this year,
Speaker 1: now there's this pretty significant the names I just gave you. Williams, mccare,
Speaker 1: Affrey Kittle, and Ayuk Mistate combined thirty one games last year.
Speaker 1: That's the trap door. The conclusion, I mean, I feel
Speaker 1: like we kind of talked about it already, but very
Speaker 1: very bullish on the Niners on this team, privy to
Speaker 1: the pitfalls that they could face. All in all, I
Speaker 1: think the West is the most likely division to produce
Speaker 1: three playoff teams, because again we'll talk about it with
Speaker 1: every single one of them. Just look at their schedules,
Speaker 1: and the Niners get to play the fourth place schedule,
Speaker 1: which is the Bears compared to the Lions and the
Speaker 1: Giants compared to the Eagles in the East. That alone
Speaker 1: could be a two game swing, and that helps me
Speaker 1: push them over the goal line as a potential division winner.
Speaker 1: Their biggest competition to me is the Los Angeles Rams.
Speaker 1: Let's go ahead and review their changes from a personnel standpoint,
Speaker 1: Those two games against these teams from California are going
Speaker 1: to be pivotal this year in not just the NFC West,
Speaker 1: but the NFC playoff pecking order and who might challenge
Speaker 1: the Eagles and Commanders and the Lions this year. And
Speaker 1: that fourth versus first place schedule I mentioned applies here
Speaker 1: because the Rams are every bit as good as the Niners,
Speaker 1: but they do have to play the Eagles and the
Speaker 1: Lions compared to the Giants and the Bears. And the
Speaker 1: Rams are also in a position I think the Niners
Speaker 1: would like to get to in a year or two
Speaker 1: with the trajectory of their team cycle. Right, They've entered
Speaker 1: this new cycle, and the Niners are sort of beginning
Speaker 1: that process of like soft reset, kind of you know,
Speaker 1: unload some big name value talent and try to go
Speaker 1: back to the draft and re establish our core with younger,
Speaker 1: foundational pieces. But the Rams are already there and they're
Speaker 1: loading up now with guys like Davante Adams. Coaching continuity.
Speaker 1: Chris Shula was awesome last year. Mike Laflora is back
Speaker 1: for a third season after a two year stint running
Speaker 1: his system with the Jets and kind of you know,
Speaker 1: trial and erring it there before coming back to McVeigh
Speaker 1: and running it successfully here. He was also in San
Speaker 1: Francisco four years prior to that. He also worked with
Speaker 1: these guys in Atlanta and Cleveland. He's honestly kind of
Speaker 1: the same track that McDaniels on a couple of years
Speaker 1: ago SAMs. McDaniel never got fired from a job the
Speaker 1: way Lafleur did leaving the Jets, leaving the tree right,
Speaker 1: he left the trust Tree, got out of the Trust Tree,
Speaker 1: the all of Garden, and he got fired for that.
Speaker 1: I think DeVante Adams will be one of the biggest
Speaker 1: additions anybody made this offseason, much like Salah for the
Speaker 1: forty nine ers, him and Puka Nakua with a healthy
Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford. I laugh because that and that run game.
Speaker 1: Who buddy, I like this squad a lot they've spent
Speaker 1: I like this guy. I really like this guy. They've
Speaker 1: spent some time really fortifying the offensive line. Back to
Speaker 1: the changes. They brought back two to at well to
Speaker 1: give them three studs at wide receiver. They loved Terrence Ferguson.
Speaker 1: I wasn't as crazy on him as they were, but
Speaker 1: I trust them more than I trust me. And as
Speaker 1: I was writing this, it was reported that Alaric Jackson
Speaker 1: is dealing with blood clots once again, and I hope
Speaker 1: he's okay, but that could be a big blow. They did, however,
Speaker 1: bring in DJ Humphries, and that's a good fallback plan.
Speaker 1: But you have to have three tackles, and if you're
Speaker 1: already down one here in June, like, at some point,
Speaker 1: you're gonna have to play like a rookie in that
Speaker 1: spot because they don't have anything else besides that for
Speaker 1: left tackle, right tackle, or for the swing tackle. I
Speaker 1: should say, honestly, there's not a ton outside of Adams
Speaker 1: the changes. They're such a young team. They can kind
Speaker 1: of press forward with the progression of the incumbents and
Speaker 1: some rookie contract players that are absolute studs. It's what
Speaker 1: allows them to go get DeVante Adams and his big contract.
Speaker 1: They did swop out Bobby Brown, a guy that we
Speaker 1: highlight as a possible Dolphins fit for poona Ford who's
Speaker 1: even better in my opinion. They lost Michael Hoyt, who
Speaker 1: was really good for them, a guy that popped off
Speaker 1: the tape last year watching the Rams in preparation for
Speaker 1: that Monday night football game. Same deal with Christian rose Boom.
Speaker 1: They also lost Cooper Cup, but I think that he's
Speaker 1: kind of taken a step back. Jona Jackson was available
Speaker 1: for trade. He goes to the Bears. Hunter Long is gone,
Speaker 1: and DeMarcus Robinson, as we talked about, has gone up
Speaker 1: north to sand in front of Soisco the film, you
Speaker 1: know the drill for the calling card here, horizontal stretch,
Speaker 1: displace the passing windows and attack aggressively. However, they made
Speaker 1: a pivot a couple of years ago with more stature
Speaker 1: inside and the incorporation of more inside zone and duo
Speaker 1: with a back who excels at what at that but
Speaker 1: doesn't lose anything when they go to their bread and butter,
Speaker 1: which is outside zone. Kyron Williams is just another one
Speaker 1: of the embarrassments of riches they have with the skill
Speaker 1: spots here and then Matthew Stafford. People sleep for some reason,
Speaker 1: and he's had some years like maybe hasn't been as
Speaker 1: consistent year to year as the Lamars and Josh's and
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrows of the world, although Burrows
Speaker 1: had some inconsistent years too, But he's still a top
Speaker 1: what seven quarterback at worst, Like I would say two
Speaker 1: was like right behind Stafford my pecking order, and I'd
Speaker 1: say Stafford's in that seven to eight range. And that's
Speaker 1: why I'm still so geeked over the tape that we
Speaker 1: had defensively last November. We stomped out a pretty good
Speaker 1: offense that day, and a good quarterback Adams gives them
Speaker 1: just a field flipper they didn't have in the past. Though.
Speaker 1: I don't know how you contend with their power run game,
Speaker 1: their wide run game covering two guys that require double
Speaker 1: teams and Adams and the Kua with the fastest player
Speaker 1: on the field not getting any help because you're not
Speaker 1: gonna help on at Well, then you've got Tyler Higbee.
Speaker 1: Then you've got this guy. They apparently were like, you know,
Speaker 1: they thought he was the key to unlocking the offense.
Speaker 1: Further in terres Ferguson, it's just too much. This might
Speaker 1: be my Super Bowl pick if I don't pick them
Speaker 1: to lose to the Niers in the division. I'm having
Speaker 1: a tough time with that right now. Today, I think
Speaker 1: the most impressive thing about Chris Shula is the way
Speaker 1: his scheme was able to grow and adapt with the
Speaker 1: roster that was similar. Now they'll be able to bank
Speaker 1: on experience of last season and having those highs and
Speaker 1: lows because they had some games where it just wasn't
Speaker 1: very good, and having that further along starting point to
Speaker 1: kick things off. Like we talked about for coach Weaver
Speaker 1: here and the Dolphins defense, they'll play out of a
Speaker 1: lot of odd fronts, which inherently helps shore up inside
Speaker 1: gaps because of the presence of the nose tackle, but
Speaker 1: because of their athletic ability, they can really do more
Speaker 1: true one gapping off a traditional two gap look. They
Speaker 1: play that three three five look with gap and a
Speaker 1: half philosophy, which has some aggression to it, but you
Speaker 1: also have to play discipline. But one of the questions
Speaker 1: will be how they replace Hoyt and rose Boom in
Speaker 1: that second level. Jared Verse, I remember talking to toront
Speaker 1: Armstad about him after that game last year, and he
Speaker 1: was like, dude, they might have another Aaron donald Enuff
Speaker 1: said there, Braden Fisk had a great first year and
Speaker 1: Kobe Turner's probably the better of the three players since
Speaker 1: he got in the league. They mixed their coverages pretty evenly,
Speaker 1: including a ton of hybrid coverages, which is why you've
Speaker 1: heard them attached to Ramsey again, because that's kind of
Speaker 1: what Ramsey's bread and butter in is when he's not,
Speaker 1: you know, being displeased where he is. After a year
Speaker 1: and a half, Omar Spates and Srey Troy Reider figured
Speaker 1: to step in an inside linebacker. And that's kind of
Speaker 1: a question mark there because those were rotational pieces last year.
Speaker 1: Now they might be starting or playing more significant roles there.
Speaker 1: They stole a Kello Witherspoon from the Niners. They brought
Speaker 1: Darius Williams back, and Cameron Curls a pretty versatile, nice
Speaker 1: piece in the safe in the safety room there. The
Speaker 1: other positions are up for competition come camp, and the
Speaker 1: question here is I kind of keep spoiling them ahead
Speaker 1: of the time. But the secondary right, this is not
Speaker 1: just a Dolphins thing. Across the league man like defensive backs.
Speaker 1: As we get this receiver boom and run. You're going
Speaker 1: to see less defensive backs because those are the same
Speaker 1: body types and archityps archetypes, and all these college players
Speaker 1: and high schoolers are going after receiver jobs and leaving
Speaker 1: corners and safeties out there that there's one enough of them.
Speaker 1: The supply and demand is not enough. How they continue
Speaker 1: their momentum though with a young defense after an impressive
Speaker 1: showing in the first year under Chrishula. That's kind of
Speaker 1: the key here the question, right, But man, that offense,
Speaker 1: you guys know, I subscribe to the idea that a
Speaker 1: great offense that scores twenty eight points a game is
Speaker 1: going to win you at least ten games. But I
Speaker 1: think the odds are this defense will be pretty good too,
Speaker 1: And I think how good they are will tell us
Speaker 1: how far they will go. The miscellaneous factors, the continuity,
Speaker 1: the weapons. This probably has a chance to be the
Speaker 1: best team in the NFC, even with some questions at
Speaker 1: a few spots in that defense. That schedule I think
Speaker 1: is going to help them cruise to eleven plus wins.
Speaker 1: They have a stretch beginning in week seven where it
Speaker 1: goes Jags, buy Saints, Niners, Seahawks, Bucks, Panthers, Cardinals. Only
Speaker 1: one of those teams won more than seven games a
Speaker 1: year ago. The trapdoor scenario. We saw what happened when
Speaker 1: Stafford got hurt in twenty two. McVeigh had that burnout
Speaker 1: around that time, but has proven his reinvigoration of the game. Honestly,
Speaker 1: I think there aren't many here for them. The continuity,
Speaker 1: improved veteran talent with adaptable schemes to withstand attrition makes
Speaker 1: the Rams one of the safest bets for the playoffs
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty five. Sands the quarterback getting hurt. That's
Speaker 1: the case for every team across the league. The conclusion
Speaker 1: great coaching, great quarterback, very good roster, adaptable approach, softer
Speaker 1: schedule than last year. Outside of Philly in the NFC,
Speaker 1: I don't think there's a more sure thing to go
Speaker 1: to the playoffs than the Rams. Saquon did run for
Speaker 1: two fifty five and two to oh five in the
Speaker 1: two games against them last year. They have to shore
Speaker 1: that up. Okay, last break, Right there, We're deep into
Speaker 1: the show already, Seahawks and Cardinals. That's next Draft Time podcast,
Speaker 1: brought to you by Auto Nation. Back to the two
Speaker 1: oh six, the four two five, the two five three.
Speaker 1: That's the Pacific Northwest, the Seattle area for my hometown Seahawks,
Speaker 1: not anymore three oh five b B actually nine to
Speaker 1: five to four. I'm whn talking about the changes for
Speaker 1: the Seahawks here. The biggest one occurs at offensive coordinator.
Speaker 1: As they went I guess somewhat experimental last year calling
Speaker 1: up Ryan Grubb from the college game that you go Kooks,
Speaker 1: but that's not the same college. Just fyi. I get
Speaker 1: people tell me, I'm like, oh, you a Husky. It
Speaker 1: got drafted by the team. You're excited about that. No,
Speaker 1: I'm a Washington State couper, not a University of Washington husky.
Speaker 1: Just fyi. But they've pivoted since that to Clint Kubiak,
Speaker 1: which I talked about Klay Kubiak for the Niners, and
Speaker 1: the same structure that we have here in Miami that
Speaker 1: Shanahan Tree offense, McDonald Tree defense. Right, Kubiak had all
Speaker 1: the magic working in the first two games last year
Speaker 1: with the Saints. We have a Louisiana native in our
Speaker 1: staff who was very excited about the Saints two and
Speaker 1: oh start last year. I said, just just temper your expectations.
Speaker 1: Dimper them a little bit. But prior to the car injury,
Speaker 1: you know, they were, they were rolling offensively, and then
Speaker 1: things began to get sideways pretty quick. But that comes
Speaker 1: with a new system and plenty of personnel changes to
Speaker 1: go along with it, and not too often do we
Speaker 1: get this type of veteran movement at the position. Not
Speaker 1: anymore anyway. I'm old enough to remember when the teams
Speaker 1: traded guys like Donald McNabb to an Indivision rival, or
Speaker 1: Jay Cutler got traded like it doesn't really happen that
Speaker 1: way anymore. But Gino Smith got traded here and Sam
Speaker 1: Darnold signed to the Seahawks, and they drafted Jalen Milroe,
Speaker 1: and the Seahawks have already communicated they have a plan
Speaker 1: to use certain packages for Jaln Milrow to get playing
Speaker 1: time as a rookie. I don't think it's that crazy
Speaker 1: that there's a scenario where Millo starts games for them,
Speaker 1: but we'll talk about that more as we go along here.
Speaker 1: They also moved dk Metcalf to the Steelers in a trade,
Speaker 1: and they signed Cooper cup Davis High School in Yakam,
Speaker 1: Washington shout out. They add Elijah Arroyo from the three
Speaker 1: zho five in the draft to solidify their tight end position,
Speaker 1: but also the interior offensive line, which they desperately needed.
Speaker 1: To remember that game last year, Week three, the Dolphins
Speaker 1: beat the crap out of the Seahawks offensive line. That
Speaker 1: was the case for them all year long. They go
Speaker 1: get grays Able to drink rainier beers. That's our Pacific
Speaker 1: Northwest like bush light basically. And to me, in this draft,
Speaker 1: there were two guards that were going to be Coggs
Speaker 1: from day one. They were grays Able and this one
Speaker 1: certain guy named jonas of I Naya. On defense, they
Speaker 1: add to Marcus Lawrence, They extended Ernest Jones after a
Speaker 1: mid season trade from Tennessee. They draft Nicky man Worri,
Speaker 1: which you guys heard me talk about him as a
Speaker 1: Dolphins fit, so of course he goes there. For Mike McDonald,
Speaker 1: they brought back Jonathan Hankins, Jeron Reed, Donald, cup Lawrence.
Speaker 1: With the big additions, they also added Josh Jones. That's
Speaker 1: got to ease Seahawks fans minds a little bit. Last
Speaker 1: year after losing Charles Cross and Abe Lucas, go Koog's
Speaker 1: for big chunks of the season to have an actual
Speaker 1: third tackle there. Remember, Josh Jones is a guy that
Speaker 1: I thought was a fit for us, so that makes
Speaker 1: a lot of sense that he goes to a Koubiak
Speaker 1: system up there in Seattle. They lost Draymont Jones already, Burns,
Speaker 1: Pharaoh Brown, Roy Robertson, Harris and Lake, and Tomlinson addition
Speaker 1: to Gino and DK, so not crazy losses on the
Speaker 1: film they're calling card. I am kind of curious to
Speaker 1: see what it looks like on the surface. You had
Speaker 1: Sam Donald last year go scorched earth on the entire league,
Speaker 1: running a similar system with Kevin O'Connell, but the end
Speaker 1: of their season and dealing with O line attrition. Actually,
Speaker 1: let's go ahead and put a pin in that until
Speaker 1: the questions portion. The strength is the way Sam played
Speaker 1: in rhythm and was able to quickly decipher and distribute
Speaker 1: the football right, and the Vikings run game inherently offers
Speaker 1: some of those strengths. But I think he's got better
Speaker 1: personnel here in Seattle with Kenneth Walker, Zach Sharbona, Damien
Speaker 1: McIntosh and now Damien Martinez all polished outside zone runners.
Speaker 1: And this is where Metcalf and cup the swap makes
Speaker 1: sense because Metcalf, good as he is, has a limited
Speaker 1: route tree, and I remember Dolphins fans talking about him
Speaker 1: as a fit like, No, he never was, because he
Speaker 1: doesn't run the routes we run effectively, doesn't transition out
Speaker 1: of breaks effectively, doesn't settle himself into saft spots, doesn't
Speaker 1: releverage properly. But Cooper cup is one of the greatest
Speaker 1: route runers of all time who can do all those things,
Speaker 1: and maybe the best run blocking receiver in the game
Speaker 1: not named Hines Ward like in the history of the game,
Speaker 1: which you know how valuable that is in this offense.
Speaker 1: And then I think Jackson Smith and Jigba is poised
Speaker 1: for stardom, but they have to be better on the
Speaker 1: offensive line, like way better they played most of the
Speaker 1: year without Lucas and Cross. They'll get those guys back.
Speaker 1: Zabel's a great start inside, but there's still some questions
Speaker 1: about the other two spots, and in fact, Anthony Bradford's in
Speaker 1: line right now as a starter, and Seahawks fans are
Speaker 1: not going to want to hear that. Defensively, I think
Speaker 1: this could be sneaky one of the best defenses in football.
Speaker 1: Their corner play with Devon Witherspoon, Reek Wollen and Kobe
Speaker 1: Bryant is really good. You drop e Man worry in.
Speaker 1: There is a scheme fit that can kind of line
Speaker 1: up all over the place, and how quickly he gets
Speaker 1: acclimated could be a big part of how that defense
Speaker 1: goes this year. And you pair that with Byron Murphy,
Speaker 1: Leonard Williams, DeMarcus Lawrence Hankins, Jaron Reid up front like
Speaker 1: have Mercy. It's a multifaceted sim pressure, aggressive, physical in
Speaker 1: the secondary defense. Talking myself from the Seahawks here as well,
Speaker 1: the question I genuinely am worried about replicating success for Donold.
Speaker 1: That's the big question for this team this year. I
Speaker 1: think that that book from those final two games and
Speaker 1: how to shift and reroute and really disrupt his site
Speaker 1: lines and lanes with pressure and well disguised zones is
Speaker 1: something teams can hone in on him. And they're in
Speaker 1: line to return two interior offensive line stars who quite frankly,
Speaker 1: just did not play well last year, and I think
Speaker 1: that has trapdoor potential there. Defensively, I would say depth
Speaker 1: is the big question. But gosh, I love their scheme
Speaker 1: and the first eleven to thirteen players or so on
Speaker 1: that side of the football. The miscellaneous factors here, same
Speaker 1: schedule deal as the rest of the division, and I
Speaker 1: found this interesting, a tough building to play in. Right,
Speaker 1: they're getting polished veterans in just about every home game
Speaker 1: until like December. It's pretty than the Saints. But so
Speaker 1: that doesn't count because it's probably going to be Rattler
Speaker 1: or Jake Hayner and then Baker or wait, who else
Speaker 1: did they draft sh I should probably look into that.
Speaker 1: Who do they draft? Oh, Tyler Shook? That's right, that's right,
Speaker 1: that's it's right, right, Yeah, it's a rookie, twenty five
Speaker 1: year old rookie, Baker Stroud and then Kyler. Like, it's
Speaker 1: all going to be polish quarterbacks. I think this team
Speaker 1: could start slow and finish strong as they find their
Speaker 1: footing offensively, and with that schedule, the trap doors narrow.
Speaker 1: The offensive line has some of the same hatches as
Speaker 1: last year. If they lose a piece or two, and look,
Speaker 1: I think Sam was awesome last year, but a one
Speaker 1: year outlier, changing cities. It's a similar scheme, but no
Speaker 1: two schemes are the same. I think you have to
Speaker 1: consider that potential for that not working, but I'd be
Speaker 1: very intrigued at the idea of mil Row makes for
Speaker 1: a fun team. The conclusion here, I do think all
Speaker 1: four teams in this division are going to be in
Speaker 1: the playoff hunt come like mid December. But I think
Speaker 1: there's a decent gap between LA and San Francisco and
Speaker 1: then Seattle and Arizona. It's a well rounded division. A
Speaker 1: year ago and I think at least three of the
Speaker 1: teams got better. But also I think Gino was vastly underrated,
Speaker 1: and sometimes you have to wear a little egg on
Speaker 1: your face to realize what you had, not saying it
Speaker 1: will happen, but I do think we could look back
Speaker 1: and say, hey, we had a pretty good quarterback previously.
Speaker 1: Should have hung on to that guy. Let's close it
Speaker 1: up here in the desert with the Cardinals. The change
Speaker 1: is big year for Jonathan again and that staff. Third
Speaker 1: year of the build, it looked like they were starting
Speaker 1: to turn the corner after a surprisingly good first year.
Speaker 1: They were picked to be a last team and they
Speaker 1: only won four games, but they were competitive in a
Speaker 1: lot of games down the stretch, including a game where
Speaker 1: they almost beat the Eagles. When they did beat the
Speaker 1: Eagles in twenty twenty three, I forget and that upturn
Speaker 1: start with back to back wins last year over the
Speaker 1: Chargers and then against US with Tua coming back. Hey,
Speaker 1: Jordan Poyer, just catch the freaking pick and run it
Speaker 1: back for six. They went on to beat the Bears
Speaker 1: and Jets to get to six and three, and then
Speaker 1: proceeded to lose five of their next six and they
Speaker 1: finished eight to nine. Two losses of the Seahawks and
Speaker 1: then the Panthers at on the road. That has to
Speaker 1: haunt those fans still to this day. So Gannon, Drew Petzing,
Speaker 1: and Nick Rayless are all back. They lost a key
Speaker 1: part to an injury this spring and Sean Murphy bunting,
Speaker 1: but the losses in a free agency weren't that many.
Speaker 1: Julian o'quara, Roy Lopez, and Chris Tonga. They brought in
Speaker 1: Josh Sweat, Mike helt Walker, Jalen Jones, Barren Browning, Dalvin Thomlinson,
Speaker 1: a Keem Davis Gathier, and Kalais Campbell. That's a lot
Speaker 1: of lot of names to add to that defense, so
Speaker 1: a lot of help in the pass rush department. They
Speaker 1: also add Jacoby Brissett to back up Kyler. Jake Briskett
Speaker 1: back in Arizona. Their first five picks were on defense,
Speaker 1: Walter Nolan, Will Johnson, Jordan Burch, Cody Simon, and Denzel Burke.
Speaker 1: They told you what they had to get better at
Speaker 1: this year, right it was the defense. The film the
Speaker 1: calling card. Trey McBride talked about the third year in
Speaker 1: the system coming with more window dressing and the same
Speaker 1: concepts they've run in the past, just dressed up differently,
Speaker 1: and that looks like they're gonna get a lot of
Speaker 1: heavy looks to run the ball and then utilize those
Speaker 1: players in the passing game. They had two hundred pass
Speaker 1: targets last year, go to McBride and Connor. They're tight
Speaker 1: end and running back. After Marvin's Marvin Junior's one hundred
Speaker 1: and sixteen of Michael Wilson's seventy one targets. That was
Speaker 1: pretty much it. It's a four player passing game, but they
Speaker 1: want to play the game from those twelve groupings one
Speaker 1: tight end or one running back, two tight ends and
Speaker 1: let Kyler's escapability get him on the edge and try
Speaker 1: to find the big plays. Hunting the passing game or
Speaker 1: with his legs. That way, they don't allow a ton
Speaker 1: of sacks. As a result, They've got a nice rpo
Speaker 1: game with design quarterback runs that kind of holds that
Speaker 1: pass rush at bay, which is a good wrinkle off
Speaker 1: of what they do from their bread and butter. But yeah,
Speaker 1: it's a pretty good skill group. They brought back Kelvin
Speaker 1: Beacham for what feels like his ninety eighth season. Evan
Speaker 1: Brown's back, Jonah Williams is supposed to be healthy for
Speaker 1: the first time in a while. Halty Froholdt is the
Speaker 1: best center you have not heard of, and I'm really
Speaker 1: curious to see what we get from Paris Johnson this season.
Speaker 1: I love that they get Josh Sweat because he was
Speaker 1: the guy that kind of helped Gannon and Realis accomplish
Speaker 1: what they did with the Eagles. Ideally, they want to
Speaker 1: play coverage. They'll incorporate some fire zones. They want to
Speaker 1: rush for and play seven and coverage with a variety
Speaker 1: of zones. On the back end. They keep the roof
Speaker 1: on the defense and play from two deep almost all
Speaker 1: the time. And yes, they'll obviously move Buddha Baker about
Speaker 1: the formation, but they want to defend the run with
Speaker 1: their defensive line and linebackers, and I think I'm getting
Speaker 1: Raylists right. I could be pronouncing that wrong. I am
Speaker 1: aware of that. They add Kalayis Campbell, Walter Nolan, Dallan Thomason,
Speaker 1: and LJ. Collier to go along with Justin Jones, Blala
Speaker 1: Nichols and Darius Robinson. So that tells me they want
Speaker 1: to get big and physical and have two gappers and
Speaker 1: then let a guy like Walter Nolan use his rare,
Speaker 1: rare twitch to get upfield as a one tech and
Speaker 1: a three tech on that defense. They signed Cody Simon
Speaker 1: and MIKEL. Walker, and with Baron Browning they have a
Speaker 1: nice edge group there. I love Baron Browning's game on
Speaker 1: the back end. Baker and Geleen Thompson are in elite
Speaker 1: safety combo. Go Koug's not go Huskies. The UWWSHU backfield
Speaker 1: back there. If they can get Will Johnson up to speed,
Speaker 1: who is just a great zone corner in college but
Speaker 1: already has injuries he's dealing with again, which sounds like
Speaker 1: kind of a thing for him. With Max Melton and
Speaker 1: Garrett Williams. Probably some cornerbacks you aren't familiar with their names,
Speaker 1: but they have some pretty good game there with Jalen Jones.
Speaker 1: They can have a nice group back there. The questions here, Honestly,
Speaker 1: I think this is a pretty good team. They need
Speaker 1: that offensive structure and that quarterback to take a big step.
Speaker 1: They have the pieces and the scheme to I think
Speaker 1: mask what would be construed as a weak spot on
Speaker 1: the offensive line, and they have the parts there too.
Speaker 1: I think you're relying on a lot of first year
Speaker 1: players to be studs on that defense, and that can work,
Speaker 1: but it could go belly up as well. The miscellaneous
Speaker 1: factors here, the de facto schedule comment. Losing Murphy Bunting
Speaker 1: already is a killer for that defense. And man, this
Speaker 1: is six tough division games. If they were in the South,
Speaker 1: I'd call him a lock for the playoffs, but it's
Speaker 1: tough sledding out here in the West. The trapdoor scenario.
Speaker 1: Kyler has some injuries in the past, but he's also
Speaker 1: a sort of plateaued down the stretch. They used think
Speaker 1: it was Cliff Kingsbury's FAO, but Kingsbury got over it
Speaker 1: last year in Washington, Kyler did not had the same face,
Speaker 1: so curious to see how that goes this year, they
Speaker 1: have to find a way to fight through that wall.
Speaker 1: And then the injuries on the offensive line cost some concern,
Speaker 1: and then the melding of a bunch of new parts
Speaker 1: that can be risky on defense. Maybe it's maybe it's
Speaker 1: something that Gannon if it doesn't go well this year,
Speaker 1: doesn't get a chance to see through. When we see
Speaker 1: this team kind of explode into a new coach like
Speaker 1: that could possibly happen. It happens all the time. Right
Speaker 1: the conclusion improved good team, tough division, with an easier
Speaker 1: schedule than last year. But it's all going to come
Speaker 1: down to those six divisional games. You won't make the
Speaker 1: playoffs doing anything worse than three and three division superlatives.
Speaker 1: I have the Niners right now. That could change. Right now,
Speaker 1: I'm going Niners as the winner. The best quarterback is
Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford. The best non quarterback is still Christian McCaffrey,
Speaker 1: even off the injury, although Pooka Nakula says, what's up
Speaker 1: a best defensive player? I'm gonna go Boodh Baker after
Speaker 1: last year over Fred Warner, but I could easily switch
Speaker 1: those two. The best coach that's to me is Shanahan,
Speaker 1: the best rookie. I'm gonna go graz Abel for the Seahawks,
Speaker 1: and the best under the radar stuff from Washington State
Speaker 1: Jalen Thompson. I almost put fro Holt there, but yeah,
Speaker 1: close enough. We'll go with the Cardinals safety from WSU.
Speaker 1: Go Kooks. All right, there you go. Podcast done, two
Speaker 1: divisions done, a couple player interviews done. We're gonna come
Speaker 1: back next Tuesday and do the AFC South. We'll talk
Speaker 1: about the Colts, the Dolphins Week one opponent, plus we'll
Speaker 1: have some more player interviews on that podcast as well.
Speaker 1: But until then, you will please be sure to enjoy
Speaker 1: your summer. On that Tuesday, I'm supposed to be at
Speaker 1: the hospital give welcome to my daughter to the world,
Speaker 1: So uh yeah, that's where I'll be there and bring
Speaker 1: in podcasts to you guys every Tuesday and Friday all
Speaker 1: the way up until the week of training camp. Until then,
Speaker 1: you all please be sure subscribe, rate, review the podcast,
Speaker 1: follow me on social at winked NFL, the team at
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins. Check out the YouTube channel for drave time content,
Speaker 1: Dolphins HQ, media availabilities, and so much more, and last
Speaker 1: but not least Miami Dolphins dot Com Until next time,
Speaker 1: Caroline Caperin Daddy, He's already home.