Speaker 1: Book Tail Tuxdown Miami n 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, We've got a busy one. All
Speaker 1: of our focus is on Sunday's game in Orchard Park.
Speaker 1: Will preview the game, get to the matchups, the schemes,
Speaker 1: the keys. Plus we'll hear from head coach Brian Flores
Speaker 1: on the Dolphins preparation, the challenges the Bills present, and
Speaker 1: trying to keep Josh Allen inside the pocket. Plus we'll
Speaker 1: hear from twa Tongue by Loa coach Flores discusses his
Speaker 1: NFL best or lowest interception rate, and we'll hear from
Speaker 1: additional players from their Wednesday media availability. All of that
Speaker 1: and more on this Wednesday, December the thirty edition of
Speaker 1: the Drive Time Podcasts. Hey Dolphins fans, the New Year
Speaker 1: starts now at Auto Nation. Let's skip the rest of
Speaker 1: and get two big New Year's savings on your favorite
Speaker 1: Auto Nation, Chevy's Forwards, Toyotas, Honda's, and a whole lot
Speaker 1: more shops safely at the Auto Nation store near you
Speaker 1: or Auto nation dot com and save. Now, we're gonna
Speaker 1: roll into this Dolphins Bills preview here at which you
Speaker 1: can find also up on Miami Dolphins dot com, with
Speaker 1: the written element taking a look at some of the
Speaker 1: schemes and the matchups in this game that are very
Speaker 1: critical to the result on Sunday. Let's go ahead and
Speaker 1: start here though, with some questions for coach Flora's and
Speaker 1: for Sean McDermott over in Buffalo about how the Bills
Speaker 1: will approach this week's seven team game against the Miami Dolphins. First,
Speaker 1: Sean mcdernot was asked about his approach this week and
Speaker 1: he had two responses, I think, are I guess noteworthy
Speaker 1: here to mention on the podcast. He first said that
Speaker 1: yes and no in regards to asking if the Steelers
Speaker 1: announcement that they'll rest their starters and their game has
Speaker 1: any impact on what the Bills will do. So a
Speaker 1: little bit of ambiguity there, a little bit of discreet
Speaker 1: nature from Sean McDermott, just like his overwriting answer regarding
Speaker 1: that question, he said they're going to keep their plans
Speaker 1: internal for Sunday as far as how players are playing,
Speaker 1: since he hasn't spoken to the players himself yet. So
Speaker 1: that's where the Bills thinking is that currently. How about
Speaker 1: where head coach Brian Flores and the Miami Dolphins mindsets
Speaker 1: that for where Week seventeen will go as far as
Speaker 1: how Buffalo decides to approach this game, Yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: I expect everyone to play. Shawn is a competitor, Brian
Speaker 1: day Ball as a competitor, Josh Howns a competitor, digs
Speaker 1: Poyer High. I mean I expect them all the play.
Speaker 1: That's how and that's how we're preparing. No surprise. Their
Speaker 1: Dolphins always going to prepare for every possible avenue, every
Speaker 1: possible contingency they could see in a possible game, whether
Speaker 1: it's the opposition or for themselves. They've talked all year
Speaker 1: about how they prepare for all fifty three players on
Speaker 1: the roster, regardless of the opposition. So no surprise there
Speaker 1: from coach Flores. Let's go ahead and next here from
Speaker 1: coach about the tough challenges a head coach at any
Speaker 1: level really faces with your guards too. Difficult decisions because
Speaker 1: at the course of a season, obviously the head coach
Speaker 1: kind of overseeing the entire operation will obviously run into
Speaker 1: some decisions that maybe you're difficult to make in the moment.
Speaker 1: But for head coach Brian Flores, his motivation for those
Speaker 1: decisions is very clear and apparent. Here's coach. Look, I
Speaker 1: have a lot of peace with the decisions that UM
Speaker 1: we make because it's sincerely, genuinely and authentically based on
Speaker 1: winning football games and people in this organization, UM our fans.
Speaker 1: That's that's I mean, I have a lot of peace
Speaker 1: with the decision because of that. I mean there's people
Speaker 1: here who work hard, from you know, the ground's crew too, equipment,
Speaker 1: to the medical staff too, people work in the camp
Speaker 1: tire area to Hubert who you know, it was here
Speaker 1: every day. M h. It's important to them, So it's
Speaker 1: important to me that we try to do everything we
Speaker 1: can to win football games. And in order for the
Speaker 1: Dolphins to win a football game. On Sunday, one of
Speaker 1: the keys, Coach Flora says, we'll be keeping Josh Allen
Speaker 1: in the pocket. Let's go ahead and first hear from
Speaker 1: coach Flora's on the challenges this builds offense, Josh Allen,
Speaker 1: Brian day Ball builds offensive coordinator present to this Dolphins
Speaker 1: defense on Sunday. Then we'll go ahead and roll into
Speaker 1: the game preview from there, and then we'll circle back
Speaker 1: to the end of the podcast on a comment Coach
Speaker 1: floor has made about two was low interception rate. As
Speaker 1: we hear from two later on this podcast. But first,
Speaker 1: here's coach on the Buffalo quarterback and keep him in
Speaker 1: the pocket if he gets out, to cover them a
Speaker 1: little bit longer and try to chase him down. Look,
Speaker 1: this guy's, you know, one of the top players in
Speaker 1: the league, and I think he's really he's really made
Speaker 1: a lot of improvement. I think uh Sewan and Brian
Speaker 1: Dabo done a great job with with him, and um,
Speaker 1: these guys he's he's he's tough to deal with, very
Speaker 1: very very good, good player. I mean, I mean, I
Speaker 1: know Dave all well, you know I can see a
Speaker 1: lot of it's almost like day Ball playing football from
Speaker 1: a mind standpoint, So he's done a good job. That
Speaker 1: comment there kind of reminds me back to two thousand
Speaker 1: eleven when Brian day Ball was the offensive coordinator here,
Speaker 1: and I'll never forget that Monday Nights he's an open
Speaker 1: against the Patriots that year when the Dolphins went down
Speaker 1: the field in the opening drive and scored a touchdown,
Speaker 1: and the announcers could not stop talking about the left
Speaker 1: lane offense, the passing offense of Brian day Ball as
Speaker 1: they kind of played up tempo and went aggressive. And
Speaker 1: you've seen that with the Buffalo Bills this year and
Speaker 1: it really definitely marries up well to how Josh Allen plays.
Speaker 1: You heard coach talk a little bit there about trying
Speaker 1: to find ways to keep Josh Allen into the pocket
Speaker 1: because he's so dangerous once he can break that initial
Speaker 1: contain because he has that arm strength to really fight
Speaker 1: through the awkward platforms and awkward arm angles he might
Speaker 1: see when he does escape the pocket, whether it's to
Speaker 1: the left or to the right. We saw that touchdown
Speaker 1: pass in the Monday Night game where he was fading
Speaker 1: away to the left and just through an absolute strike
Speaker 1: to the back of the end zone from like the
Speaker 1: fifteen yard line. I saw twenty five yard throw falling
Speaker 1: away to his left right handed. I mean, just an
Speaker 1: absolute laser. The guy's arm is unreal unmatched in the
Speaker 1: National Football League, and you heard coach talk about the
Speaker 1: challenges of keeping him in the pocket. And when you
Speaker 1: look at how to defend today's modern quarterback, these mobile
Speaker 1: quarterbacks that can make somebody plays off script. Sure, the
Speaker 1: ones that can play within the structure, and Josh Allen
Speaker 1: certainly can, and guys like Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, these
Speaker 1: guys that are having these m v P level seasons,
Speaker 1: you can certainly see them play within the structure. But
Speaker 1: where they're most dangerous, where they most can strike you downfield,
Speaker 1: is when they break that initial rush and break that
Speaker 1: contain and get outside and force the defensive backs to
Speaker 1: cover for an extra three or four seconds, because frankly,
Speaker 1: it's impossible to cover NFL receivers for beyond five seconds.
Speaker 1: It just doesn't happen. And that's why you get so
Speaker 1: many these big plays down the football field. Once the
Speaker 1: core the back breaks contain, if they can manage to
Speaker 1: get to a spot where they can deliver the ball
Speaker 1: down the field to those guys who break off the routes,
Speaker 1: and it just becomes sand lot football from there. Maybe
Speaker 1: that's a little bit of what coaches talking about with
Speaker 1: Brian day ball with his mind kind of working in
Speaker 1: the way Josh Allen plays, because man, he makes these
Speaker 1: highlight level real throws every single week, it seems now,
Speaker 1: and that's kind of who he was back in Wyoming.
Speaker 1: The big playability had him being drafted in the top
Speaker 1: ten by this Buffalo team, and now you've seen it
Speaker 1: kind of come together as he has grown and matured
Speaker 1: and developed into this player that has been just an
Speaker 1: absolute force this season. Now with regards to keeping him
Speaker 1: in the pocket, how do you accomplish that? How do
Speaker 1: you have this rush scheme that hems him in and
Speaker 1: finds a way to make him even if he wants
Speaker 1: to get off that top spot of his drop to
Speaker 1: throw still within the confined areas of the pocket. Well,
Speaker 1: that's part of where this vision for this defense comes
Speaker 1: into play. Guys like a Manuel Ogba and Shack Laws
Speaker 1: and if he can get back for this game on Sunday,
Speaker 1: these big, physical, brute force guys that can rush directly
Speaker 1: through a player to the quarterback. As we know, one
Speaker 1: of the worst places on the football field to be
Speaker 1: is two yards behind the quarterback, especially today with the
Speaker 1: athletic quarterbacks we see in the National Football League so
Speaker 1: you want to rush them and force them to step
Speaker 1: up and through the pocket. Basically, view it as like
Speaker 1: a running system type of thing where you have a gap,
Speaker 1: B gap, C gap. If you can get the quarterback
Speaker 1: to escape through the B gap which is between the
Speaker 1: defensive end and the defensive tackle that way, opposed to
Speaker 1: getting around the outside out the edge where he breaks
Speaker 1: the outside contain off the outside of the defensive end,
Speaker 1: that's when you get these problems because then they can
Speaker 1: attack a line of scrimmage and really work towards the
Speaker 1: line and attack both with the run and with the pass.
Speaker 1: Whereas if they have to slip through that B gap,
Speaker 1: so to speak, they have to attack horizontally and are
Speaker 1: as big as a threat to run and also they
Speaker 1: have to make a much more challenging throw going that
Speaker 1: direction as well. So there are certainly different ways to
Speaker 1: accomplish that. Obviously, coach Flora's and coach Josh Boyer and
Speaker 1: this defensive staff will be working on the ways they
Speaker 1: can find to get that done. But one of the
Speaker 1: ways you also can maybe have some success in terms
Speaker 1: of once you force him off that spot upwards in
Speaker 1: the pocket before he escapes right or left is to
Speaker 1: rush those spots with linebackers like a Kyle van Nei friends,
Speaker 1: it's like a Jerome Baker. Guys that have had success
Speaker 1: bloss in that way. It's gonna be a tough task
Speaker 1: no matter what. You're gonna have to marriage up the
Speaker 1: coverage with the pass rushian find success that way against
Speaker 1: this team. If you want to find victory, let's go
Speaker 1: ahead and hear one more note from Coach on the
Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills before we jump right into the game preview,
Speaker 1: which of course is up written on Miami Dolphins dot
Speaker 1: com as well. Here's Coach on the Buffalo Bills, something
Speaker 1: of a general synopsis plus what the Dolphins have to
Speaker 1: do to go up there and get a victory on Sunday. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean, Buffalo is a good team. They are, you know,
Speaker 1: they play well offensively, defensively in the kid game, they
Speaker 1: well coached, the tough to physical and a good players.
Speaker 1: So we got a great challenge ahead of us, and
Speaker 1: we just got to prepare ourselves the best way we can.
Speaker 1: Ye go up to New York and play our best
Speaker 1: game of the season. We tried to. That's what it's
Speaker 1: gonna take against a team like this and think everyone
Speaker 1: seen him. Great players that well coached, They're tough, play
Speaker 1: good situationally, they play aggressive fakes in the kicking game,
Speaker 1: and the good returners they play well. We'll try to
Speaker 1: play well, which you know starts with our preparation this
Speaker 1: week today and hopefully if we if we can build
Speaker 1: on that on a daily basis, and we'll do ourselves
Speaker 1: a chance. So there is from coach again, Dolphins up
Speaker 1: in Buffalo on Sunday, January. The third season extends this
Speaker 1: year into January before the postseason, for a one o'clock
Speaker 1: kickoff Bill Stadium. The temperature and weather reports kind of
Speaker 1: back and forth a little bit. As I'm told it
Speaker 1: tends to be up in the state of New York,
Speaker 1: but right around thirty thirty five degrees, some snow showers
Speaker 1: and rain off and on nine mile prower winds expected
Speaker 1: out there at Buffalo or Bill Stadium rather so, maybe
Speaker 1: not the most pleasant day, but I suppose it could
Speaker 1: be much worse. We have seen much colder and much
Speaker 1: snow here games up there in Buffalo. And as I
Speaker 1: like to do on the game previews up on Miami
Speaker 1: Dolphins dot com, it's take a look at kind of
Speaker 1: where these two teams are in terms of their progress
Speaker 1: or maybe how they mirror each other or how they're
Speaker 1: different from one another. I look at these Dolphins and
Speaker 1: Bills teams and I see a lot of similarities as
Speaker 1: far as how these teams want to be ran. You
Speaker 1: heard coach talk a lot about Sean McDermott and the
Speaker 1: way he runs his football team and Brian day Ball.
Speaker 1: I think it's interesting to compare the two because Brian
Speaker 1: Flores and Sean McDermott were hired two years apart McDermott
Speaker 1: and twenty seventeen Flora's and twenty nine team. They both
Speaker 1: were aligned with general managers Chris Greer and Brandon Bean
Speaker 1: in those seasons, and they both took these measured, holistic
Speaker 1: approaches upon accepting their respective positions with either club. And
Speaker 1: you saw, you know, we saw trades last year for
Speaker 1: the Dolphins that maybe weren't greeted with the most receptive
Speaker 1: mindset from a national media standpoint, And we saw the
Speaker 1: same thing happen with Buffalo back in seen regarding trading
Speaker 1: Sammy Watkins and Ronald Darby and moving guys off that
Speaker 1: football team that had produced for them in the past.
Speaker 1: Because McDermott and being had this vision in mind for
Speaker 1: how they wanted to build their football team, and they
Speaker 1: wanted to go out and acquire both the cap space
Speaker 1: and the draft capital to make that happen, to get
Speaker 1: the right people to establish a culture that way. Doesn't
Speaker 1: that sound kind of familiar with Brian Floors and Chris
Speaker 1: Career getting the right people, getting smart, tough, disciplined football players,
Speaker 1: established a vision that was based on that culture and
Speaker 1: the right people in your program. Both clubs kind of
Speaker 1: recognized the need to kind of take a step back
Speaker 1: and and view it from a bird's eye perspective to
Speaker 1: find out which moves were necessary to arrive at this
Speaker 1: current position both teams find themselves in and for the
Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills, you're number four. A twenty five year a
Speaker 1: f C East Championship drought ended this year for them
Speaker 1: and a remarkable accomplishment for the Buffalo Bills. They've also
Speaker 1: been to the playoffs three out of the four years
Speaker 1: there with McDermott and Being at the Helm, and this
Speaker 1: is a team that was hadn't been to the playoffs
Speaker 1: since before that two thousand seven in appearance, So three
Speaker 1: out of four years ending a playoff drought in an
Speaker 1: emphatic way. Now for the Dolphins, of course, they are
Speaker 1: two years earlier in their progress in their Brian Floors
Speaker 1: and Chris Greer regime than Brandon Bean and Sean McDermott are.
Speaker 1: But they're just one win away from an eleven win
Speaker 1: season and a first ticket to the postseason. In your
Speaker 1: number two here, we could be on the precipice here
Speaker 1: for the reignition, hopefully of a legendary Dolphins Bill's rivalry
Speaker 1: that really began back in the nineteen nineties with those
Speaker 1: great Marino and Kelly clashes and Marv Levy and Don shula. Um.
Speaker 1: I would love to see that nothing more than the
Speaker 1: Dolphins Bills rival We're getting heated back up. I would
Speaker 1: love to see that here in the a f C East.
Speaker 1: But first this critical game Sunday and what should be
Speaker 1: a frigid Orchard Park on up in Buffalo. Some match
Speaker 1: up highlights to look at here. I want to talk
Speaker 1: about how the Dolphins need to be able to communicate
Speaker 1: upfront on the offensive line, now that that's a new
Speaker 1: thing this week, are compared to any other week across
Speaker 1: the National Football League and in the landscape of things,
Speaker 1: but talking about how this Bill's pass rush is multiple
Speaker 1: and it comes in a way wives and it has
Speaker 1: production throughout the unit, kind of like Miami's in that way.
Speaker 1: They have six players who have at least three sacks
Speaker 1: this season and eight pass rushers who have at least
Speaker 1: six quarterback hits this season, and in the absence of
Speaker 1: pressure from the opposing rush, to a tongue of Byloa
Speaker 1: has ten touchdown passes without an interception this year, and
Speaker 1: per Pro Football Focus, he's the only quarterback without a
Speaker 1: pick from a clean pocket this season. He's also effective
Speaker 1: against extra rushers, with a passer rating of nine point
Speaker 1: four against the Blitz. Now, Miami starts two rookies on
Speaker 1: the offensive line, and the growth has been measurable via
Speaker 1: their production. Over the last two games. Dolphins quarterbacks have
Speaker 1: been under pressure just twenty one of seventy two dropbacks
Speaker 1: in those two victories. Via PFF. There, Buffalo's leader and
Speaker 1: quarterback hits his defensive and Jerry Hughes he has eleven
Speaker 1: this year, but a pair of linebackers again kind of
Speaker 1: like Miami, with Van Noy getting those pressures on quarterbacks
Speaker 1: and Van Ginkel and guys that get pressure from that
Speaker 1: stand up position. Buffalo's two linebackers, Matt Milano and A. J. Klein,
Speaker 1: are tied for second on the team with nine worter
Speaker 1: back hits a piece. So it's a very skilled, very
Speaker 1: multiple pass rush here from the Buffalo Bills and identifying
Speaker 1: where that blitz comes from. This is the eighth most
Speaker 1: frequent blitzing team in the NFL. Passing off the games
Speaker 1: and the stunts and the twist and the delayed blitz
Speaker 1: is the multiple looks. Getting the football into the hands
Speaker 1: of the playmakers early should help Miami sustained drives and
Speaker 1: keep the Buffalo offense off the field, two very important
Speaker 1: elements of this game to find victory. And talking about
Speaker 1: the Dolphins allowing limited pressures over the last couple of weeks,
Speaker 1: we talked about this on Tuesday's Top News column. How
Speaker 1: the running game helps balance and create more of a
Speaker 1: complementary football style. Dolphins have ran the ball for three
Speaker 1: yards last two weeks, and you have that that season
Speaker 1: low to game pressures allowed on your quarterbacks. Those two
Speaker 1: things go hand in hand. Find that balance on offense
Speaker 1: matchup number two, strength on strength man receivers on defensive backs,
Speaker 1: opposing quarterbacks have a cumulative passer rating of eighty five
Speaker 1: point three against Miami this season. That's fourth lowest in
Speaker 1: the NFL. We're just point one points behind Washington at
Speaker 1: eight five point two. That neither here nor there. Josh
Speaker 1: Allen's one and six point four passer rating is fifth
Speaker 1: best in the NFL this season, and in the Week
Speaker 1: two game against Miami, cornerback Byron Jones exited that game
Speaker 1: without growing injury after the first series. He of course
Speaker 1: forced in completion on third down to get the Dolphins
Speaker 1: defense off the field in that game, but would not
Speaker 1: return to that game. He also would miss the next
Speaker 1: two games, and over that course of those three games,
Speaker 1: Dolphins allowed twenty five points per game. In the twelve
Speaker 1: games they've had Byron Jones on the field, seventeen point
Speaker 1: three points per game allowed. So he makes a big,
Speaker 1: big impact on this defense and something we've covered here
Speaker 1: on the podcast at length talking about Brian Baldinger mentioning
Speaker 1: the vision of this Dolphins team to play physical, good
Speaker 1: man coverage and good mixed coverage out on the outside
Speaker 1: with jot with Byron Jones and xaviing Howard kind of
Speaker 1: being the vision of this defense to free up all
Speaker 1: those games and pressures, and Blitz is up front for Miami,
Speaker 1: so he's a very key point. He's back in the
Speaker 1: fold here. Miami's four most frequently targeted defenders Xaving Howard,
Speaker 1: Nick Needham, Eric Row and the aforementioned Byron Jones allowed
Speaker 1: complete collective completion percentage of sixty one point eight. Now
Speaker 1: the Bill's top four wide receivers and targets Stefon Digs,
Speaker 1: Cole Beasley, John Brown, Gabe Davis, they catch seventy one
Speaker 1: point four percent of their target That's best in the
Speaker 1: National Football League among the top four receivers for a
Speaker 1: given team. So identifying which matchups are most attractive is
Speaker 1: one of the many challenges Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer
Speaker 1: faces This week. He discussed that approach on the Tuesday Podcast,
Speaker 1: talking about how a combination of all things, how you
Speaker 1: sometimes have an idea for what you might like going
Speaker 1: into the week, then sometimes can change as you get
Speaker 1: more information and more film, thinking quote, this might be
Speaker 1: a little bit better, but ultimately he says, it comes
Speaker 1: down to putting the guys in the best position to succeed,
Speaker 1: and based upon what they've done and based upon what
Speaker 1: the opponent does. So I can't wait to watch that
Speaker 1: strength on strength matchup and our third matchup in this game,
Speaker 1: going for the Turkey man and bowling. You get three
Speaker 1: strikes in a row, you get yourself a turkey. And
Speaker 1: I haven't been bowling in years, and when I do go,
Speaker 1: I'm absolutely terrible, trying to get just like a one
Speaker 1: fifty at best if I can. But I always loved
Speaker 1: as a kid getting the turkey up on the screen
Speaker 1: if you could find it way to get three strikes,
Speaker 1: which I never did because I was terrible. But you
Speaker 1: can see what I'm talking about here. For the Dolphins,
Speaker 1: another stout showing in the ground game would make it
Speaker 1: three straight. I mentioned three eighty rushing yards over the
Speaker 1: last two weeks at five point seven yards per clip.
Speaker 1: That is big time for your running game. And it's cliche,
Speaker 1: but it's also true. The importance of running the football
Speaker 1: this time of year is magnified. The Dolphins welcome Miles
Speaker 1: Gasking back into the fold in a big way Saturday
Speaker 1: in Las Vegas. The one hundred and sixty nine yards
Speaker 1: from the scrimmage with the most buy Miami Dolphins this year,
Speaker 1: and that of course followed up by performance by fellow
Speaker 1: running back and fellow Gaskin college teammate there at the
Speaker 1: University of Washington, Savon Akhmed, when he went for one
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty two yards on the ground back in
Speaker 1: week fifteen. Speaking of Akhmeded Miles Gaskin keep it locked
Speaker 1: on the Thursday edition of the Drivetime podcast. We are
Speaker 1: going to feature both those guys as well as here
Speaker 1: from the running backs coach at the University of Washington,
Speaker 1: Keith Bonafa. That's a good podcast. You won't want to
Speaker 1: miss that one. But Jan Gilly talked about this on
Speaker 1: his Tuesday press conference about how they're kind of going
Speaker 1: with a hot hand. That's how they've been doing it
Speaker 1: this year. Myls did not start the game on Saturday
Speaker 1: because of Savan's good performance the previous week. Within Miles
Speaker 1: started getting the football, getting some creases, making some plays,
Speaker 1: got the hot hand, so they went in that direction.
Speaker 1: So that's definitely something to keep an eye on as
Speaker 1: far as how this backfield rotation is juggled. But regardless
Speaker 1: of who touts the rock, a strong running game drives
Speaker 1: very well with Miami stingy defense top ranks scoring, top
Speaker 1: third down defense, number or tied for number one and
Speaker 1: takeaways this season. That kind of helps create that level
Speaker 1: of desired balance on offense. If the game situation calls
Speaker 1: for the Dolphins commitment to the ground game could pay off.
Speaker 1: As Buffalo allows four point seven yards per carry this season.
Speaker 1: That's seven in the National Football League. So three matchups
Speaker 1: run the football, communicate up front and get that the
Speaker 1: quarterback protected, and the strength on strength with receivers for
Speaker 1: Buffalo against the defensive backs of the Miami Dolphins. Really
Speaker 1: just the passing game of the Bills against the past
Speaker 1: defense of the Miami Dolphins. Some Bills schema here. They
Speaker 1: are sixth and scoring and fourth and total offense. They
Speaker 1: scored twenty nine points seven points per game and nearly
Speaker 1: four hundred yards per game. It's three point five this season.
Speaker 1: The running game ranks nineteen and they are second and
Speaker 1: passing at two eighty two point nine yards per game.
Speaker 1: Only two teams in the NFL have ran more than
Speaker 1: one hundred offensive snaps from ten personnel. That's one running back,
Speaker 1: no tight ends for wide receivers. The Cardinals lead the
Speaker 1: way with two hundred twenty snaps from that grouping, while
Speaker 1: the Bills are second at They've also ran seven hundred
Speaker 1: five place from eleven personnel, the most ran personnel package
Speaker 1: in the NFL. One running back, one tight end, three receivers.
Speaker 1: It's the fifth most snaps in the league from that grouping,
Speaker 1: which provides an intriguing matchup for a Dolphins deep secondary.
Speaker 1: Buffalo rarely utilizes two backs or three tight ends or
Speaker 1: heavy personnel, which is an extra offensive lineman. Those groupings
Speaker 1: combined account for less than forty snaps collectively, so you
Speaker 1: know what you're gonna get as far as spreading it
Speaker 1: out and throwing the football all over the lot. On defense,
Speaker 1: Buffalo is thirty five point one percent blitz rate, is
Speaker 1: the eight highest in NFL. There twenty two point one
Speaker 1: percent pressure rate is twenty three in the NFL. Their
Speaker 1: defense is tied for fourteenth and scoring their tenth and
Speaker 1: total defense. They are twenty in rushing defense and eighth
Speaker 1: rather in passing defense. Now Miami can finish anywhere between
Speaker 1: fifth and eight in the a f C standing depending
Speaker 1: on how the results of Sunday's action plays out. You know,
Speaker 1: by now a Dolphins win or lost by the Browns,
Speaker 1: lost by the Ravens, or lost by the Colts clinches
Speaker 1: of Dolphins playoff birth for the first time since And boy,
Speaker 1: I'm excited about this game. One more game left to
Speaker 1: go in the regular season, all the marbles on the table.
Speaker 1: I cannot wait to see how this team shows up,
Speaker 1: how they perform, and where we wind up when all
Speaker 1: the chips come down. At the end of Sunday's action,
Speaker 1: let's go ahead and pick it back up here on
Speaker 1: Brian floress Wednesday morning media availability, who was asked about
Speaker 1: two a tongue of by Lowa's NFL low leading the
Speaker 1: most the NFL low interception rate among quarterbacks belonged to
Speaker 1: a tongue of Bylowa. Coach was asked about that and
Speaker 1: how important that is in the evaluation of his rookie quarterback. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean that's a that's a that's a good place
Speaker 1: to start on the quarterback position. Think you've done a
Speaker 1: good job from that standpoint. Obviously, there's you know a
Speaker 1: lot of other factors, like at every every position. That's
Speaker 1: just that's one of them. Um, you know, once we
Speaker 1: evaluate and I think he's done a good job in
Speaker 1: a lot of areas. You know, I think it's like
Speaker 1: every position, there's eighteen twenty different things that you're looking for,
Speaker 1: UM at every position, but obviously the turnovers are are
Speaker 1: a big, big one. UM, and he's done. He's done
Speaker 1: a good job from that thing point. Definitely a very
Speaker 1: good job. With the two interceptions this season from tongue
Speaker 1: Bolo once again the lowest interception rate among quarterbacks in
Speaker 1: the NFL this season. And you look at the way
Speaker 1: too has performed this rookie season, and you know, I know,
Speaker 1: we live in a society of of takes and and
Speaker 1: instant gratification microwave society as it was called, to find
Speaker 1: out whether or not you've got something, or whether or
Speaker 1: not you don't have something and you have to go
Speaker 1: replace it right away. But man, rookie quarterbacks, it's it's
Speaker 1: always been the same evaluation. What can they show you
Speaker 1: from a flash standpoint? What are the traits they exhibit?
Speaker 1: And do they flash those traits and spades? And for me,
Speaker 1: I mean a broken record. Man, I've said this all
Speaker 1: along since his college day, since his freshman year back
Speaker 1: at Alabama. If you see two of strengths, you know,
Speaker 1: if you see to a play, you know his strengths
Speaker 1: have been timing, anticipation, accuracy. He's got that good quick
Speaker 1: twitch in the pocket. We've seen him break away from
Speaker 1: pressure this season with the Dolphins and attackle line scrimmage
Speaker 1: and throw the football downfield. We talked about Tony Romo's
Speaker 1: evaluation of Towa on the Chief's game when he was
Speaker 1: there in Miami to call that game. We talked about
Speaker 1: dan Orlovsky breaking down to his game with his ability
Speaker 1: to manage the pocket and make quick decisions and throw
Speaker 1: the football before receivers are out of their breaks as
Speaker 1: they are still working up the stem on the original
Speaker 1: part of that route. He throws the football with that
Speaker 1: timing anticipation, throws against the leverage of the defense. And
Speaker 1: I think we saw that in college with what made
Speaker 1: him a high level producing quarterback, what made him a
Speaker 1: top five pick in the NFL draft. And to me,
Speaker 1: he's shown plenty of those flashes in a rookie season
Speaker 1: where there was no off season program. Ouse had a
Speaker 1: virtual learning where he was still in the midst of
Speaker 1: coming off that hip injury which occurred just over a
Speaker 1: year ago, so no full offseason workouts or on field
Speaker 1: production or in classroom training outside of virtual learning, and
Speaker 1: he's showing you those same flashes less than a year
Speaker 1: after that injury. And to me, that's everything you want
Speaker 1: to see from a young quarterback developing at the age
Speaker 1: of twenty two, still here in his first season. So
Speaker 1: with twa very excited about his future, very excited about
Speaker 1: his present heading into this week seventeen game, I win
Speaker 1: an in game up in Buffalo. We've been here before.
Speaker 1: Hopefully we get the results we want. We got them
Speaker 1: back in sixteen, did not get them previously in prior years.
Speaker 1: Have another chance here in to make that happen on
Speaker 1: Sunday with a victory. And with that, let's go ahead
Speaker 1: and hear from two A Tongue Baloa, who met with
Speaker 1: the media on Wednesday, and Tool was asked about his
Speaker 1: high school and college experience and all the big game
Speaker 1: he's played, all the big wins he's registered both in
Speaker 1: high school and in college, and how that might prepare
Speaker 1: him for a rookie season in the In the trials
Speaker 1: and tribulations of a rookie season heading into a big
Speaker 1: game in week seventeen, here's to talking about the learning
Speaker 1: experience of every day in the world of football. I
Speaker 1: would say my freshman yet you know I played junior
Speaker 1: varsity because in our league you couldn't play you know,
Speaker 1: varsity right away. Um. But just it's it's all about,
Speaker 1: you know, what you can gain from everything, and for me,
Speaker 1: it's it's learning experience, you know. And like I said,
Speaker 1: you know in all of the previous UM interviews that
Speaker 1: I've had, it's it's not like a one and done thing,
Speaker 1: you know, It's just it's continuous, especially doing you know,
Speaker 1: you know you're rookie here too. And continuing on talking
Speaker 1: about Sunday's game in Buffalo, I'd say for me, there's
Speaker 1: there's really you know, no extra added pressure for me. Um,
Speaker 1: I would say the expectation for myself is very high
Speaker 1: in you know, how I perform and how I go
Speaker 1: out there and try to lead the guys to victory.
Speaker 1: Obviously this past weekend, you know, I didn't play to
Speaker 1: that standard, and you know, it's it's it's it's more
Speaker 1: so like me knowing that you know, we we gotta
Speaker 1: go out there and you got to get the job done.
Speaker 1: And if you can't get the job done, then that's
Speaker 1: that's on you. That's on no one else. Up next
Speaker 1: to a discuss the quarterback decisions of Brian Flores and
Speaker 1: how they've managed that position, that quarterback room throughout the
Speaker 1: course of the season, you know, with with that whole
Speaker 1: with well, like with our whole quarterback situation, I think
Speaker 1: Flow does a good job and in communicating with you know,
Speaker 1: knee fits Um as well as our coordinator and our
Speaker 1: quarterbacks coach, you know, and kind of seeing like, hey,
Speaker 1: are you in a groove or you know, what can
Speaker 1: we do better? And if not? You know, it's it's all.
Speaker 1: It's always communicated. There's really good communication between all of us.
Speaker 1: And you know, I I trust that he has, you know,
Speaker 1: the interest not just for us, but um just in
Speaker 1: in the whole team. He has the best interest for
Speaker 1: those teams. To a couple of questions here for Dolphins
Speaker 1: there Ted Carriss who was asked about playing up in
Speaker 1: Buffalo and also if he was aware of the Dolphins
Speaker 1: playoffs scenarios and how he's approaching Week seventeen. Well, I
Speaker 1: think you know, the fans are two sided with that.
Speaker 1: You know, they have great fans up there, and the
Speaker 1: drive ins always pretty entertaining with you know what they
Speaker 1: got going on in the parking lot, But you know
Speaker 1: it is it is nice with no fans up there
Speaker 1: because they do make a very It's a loud stadium. Um.
Speaker 1: Nice is it still called New era or this year?
Speaker 1: I don't think it is, but great stadium. Um. Gonna
Speaker 1: be a big matchup division opponent Week sevent, team with
Speaker 1: a lot of invocations, were excited, ready to roll. Um.
Speaker 1: I'm aware that if we don't win, we'll need some help.
Speaker 1: But you know, the main thing that I'm you know,
Speaker 1: folksing on is going up there and and and kind
Speaker 1: of kicking the door in on playoffs ourselves. So you
Speaker 1: know we're going up there in a huge game. I'll
Speaker 1: play in game really, and you know we're gonna need
Speaker 1: our player best Sunday afternoon when we am. And we
Speaker 1: mentioned earlier in the preview piece that the Bills will
Speaker 1: bring linebackers on the pass rush and they will get home.
Speaker 1: I wanted to go ahead and ask head Carriss about
Speaker 1: how you get a pass rush block that brings so
Speaker 1: many linebackers on that pass rush on the blitz. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they had great linebackers, Edmunds, Mulano, Klein, Um, you know
Speaker 1: they bring they bring those guys a lot. They're good
Speaker 1: pass rushers. Um, you know, accomplished pass rushers more so
Speaker 1: than a lot of linebacking corps. And you know, we're
Speaker 1: gonna have to set these guys um, you know, with
Speaker 1: good technique and fundamentals and get our hands on him
Speaker 1: and uh, you know, finished blocks. Let's go ahead and
Speaker 1: finish up our Wednesday media availability with Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker,
Speaker 1: who was asked about the challenges the Buffalo Bill's offense
Speaker 1: presents and what he might have learned about them, both
Speaker 1: from a personal standpoint and a team standpoint in the
Speaker 1: game back in Week two in Miami. A personally offer me,
Speaker 1: it's just, you know, my eyes they feel a lot
Speaker 1: of different. I can be my eyes right. Everything goes
Speaker 1: to the line as a team, uh, with a very
Speaker 1: completely different team honestly. Uh, you know we played them
Speaker 1: too too, and we're just a pretty different team and
Speaker 1: awesome needs to have to play together as a team.
Speaker 1: And that's all. Let's go ahead and finish up with
Speaker 1: Bak here with a question about his production as a
Speaker 1: pass rusher going up this year compared to his first
Speaker 1: two years in the NFL. Here's what he attributes his
Speaker 1: pass rush success to this season here in Miami. I
Speaker 1: say it's more credit to our D line. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: just having having Check, have having Kyle the office, have
Speaker 1: to gear until it's blocking them first, and it just
Speaker 1: helped me with more opportunities. And but I say it's
Speaker 1: definitely Dvine. You know those guys they take up sometimes
Speaker 1: two or three guys, and for me, as you say,
Speaker 1: one of one battle is sometimes I'm just free. So
Speaker 1: I definitely give it all credit to D Line. And
Speaker 1: so there he goes Jerome Baker, Dolphins linebacker, finishing up
Speaker 1: this busy, busy Wednesday edition of the Drive Time podcast.
Speaker 1: As for my time today, that's gonna be my time.
Speaker 1: We're gonna come back tomorrow for a New Year's Eve
Speaker 1: edition of feature edition with Vaughan Akhmed, Miles Gascon, and
Speaker 1: the running backs coach at the University of Washington, coach
Speaker 1: Keith Bonafa. Go ahead and check out that podcast the
Speaker 1: rest of the week's podcast. We'll be back with you
Speaker 1: guys on Thursday and Friday as well for the flashback
Speaker 1: and of course Sunday night for the recap edition of
Speaker 1: Week seventeen. Keep it locked here in the meantime, go
Speaker 1: ahead and leave us a rating, leave us a review,
Speaker 1: Subscribe to the podcast Follow me on Twitter at Wingfold NFL.
Speaker 1: Follow the team at Miami Dolphins. Check out the Fish
Speaker 1: Tank and the Audible podcast, as well as Miami dolphins
Speaker 1: dot com. Until next time, fins Up.