Speaker 1: Tour Fires touch stop by Waddles knocked into the end
Speaker 1: zone of Miami window. They had to get that touchdown
Speaker 1: on that play, they get it. What is up, Dolphins?
Speaker 1: And welcome to the Drive Time Podcast, part of the
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins podcast network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 1: How's it going everybody? I am your host, Travis Winkfield,
Speaker 1: and as always I am here to bring you your
Speaker 1: daily dose of Miami Dolphins football. And on today's show,
Speaker 1: we're taking a look at the next team on the schedule,
Speaker 1: and that next team is the New Orleans Saints in
Speaker 1: primetime on Monday Night Football, the seven and seven Dolphins
Speaker 1: the seven and seven Saints will go a position by
Speaker 1: position breakdown the matchups, the keys, the tendencies, tell you
Speaker 1: each team's best route to victory, and a whole lot
Speaker 1: more from somewhere up in the Pacific Northwest. This is
Speaker 1: the Drive Time Podcast. Off the top of the show,
Speaker 1: here we gotta go ahead and tell you about coach
Speaker 1: flores Is. Wednesday, media he announced the Javon Holland has
Speaker 1: still not cleared the protocols to return from the COVID
Speaker 1: nineteen less will keep an eye on that going forward
Speaker 1: certainly a big aspect of this game and of this
Speaker 1: team with Javon Hollands availabilities. We'll keep you guys posted
Speaker 1: on that. Let's go ahead and kick off this portion
Speaker 1: of the show as we do every single Thursday, and
Speaker 1: a welcome to the New Orleans Saints. A seven and
Speaker 1: seven team coming off their biggest win of the season
Speaker 1: in a game that they seem to have figured out
Speaker 1: the Buccaneers and in the regular season anyway. So they
Speaker 1: got that victory, they blank the Bucks, and you can
Speaker 1: talk about Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, and Leonard Fournette missing
Speaker 1: the majority of that game, but that would be disingenuous
Speaker 1: of the Saints defense and what they are capable of
Speaker 1: because they can rush the quarterback, they cover it well.
Speaker 1: They have a traffic cop at the second level that
Speaker 1: just does not make mistakes, a ball hawk on the
Speaker 1: back end that can completely change the way a team plays,
Speaker 1: both from a schematic standpoint as well as handling the
Speaker 1: emotional battle in terms of the trash talk with Chauncey
Speaker 1: Gardner Johnson the very best in the game, zero cap
Speaker 1: in that department. But this is a departure of who
Speaker 1: the Saints normally are right. You might believe that because
Speaker 1: of how great Drew Brees was for so long, but
Speaker 1: he had a pretty damn good defense for the last
Speaker 1: four years there with that team, and in general, just
Speaker 1: a loaded roster, and that didn't change overnight. It started, however,
Speaker 1: back in how about this for a draft class. Marshawn Lattimore,
Speaker 1: Ryan Ramcheck, Marcus Williams, Alvin Kamara, Alex Anzeloni, Trey Hendrickson,
Speaker 1: al Quedin Mohammed. Those two first rounders are Royal pros.
Speaker 1: So are the first and third third round picks of
Speaker 1: that group. Marcus Williams, the second round pick, has been
Speaker 1: a starter since he got there. Anzeloni has gone but
Speaker 1: he used to made a ton of plays in the league,
Speaker 1: and Muhammad has gone to have a really good career
Speaker 1: right now with the Indianapolis Colts, and then Hendrickson has
Speaker 1: gone to But yeah, fifteen and a half sex a
Speaker 1: season ago. That set them up for a long time.
Speaker 1: It's one of the greatest draft classes in NFL history.
Speaker 1: Quite frankly, it made them contenders pretty much every year
Speaker 1: after that, playoff runs, playoff wins. Some disappointment to not
Speaker 1: finish with Lombardi trophies, but all but about three or
Speaker 1: four franchises I think would gladly change places with the
Speaker 1: Saints over the last half decade and really, quite frankly
Speaker 1: the last decade and a half with Sean Payton and
Speaker 1: what the New Orleans Saints have done under his watch.
Speaker 1: They did a good job of following the offense through
Speaker 1: the super talented back. They have their an album Kamara
Speaker 1: and typically paired him with a solid robin to the Batman.
Speaker 1: And one area that has taken a hit is kind
Speaker 1: of the skill spots, and that will happen when you
Speaker 1: lose one of the game's premier receivers for back to
Speaker 1: back seasons. So they're a loaded roster. They're down to
Speaker 1: their starting quarterback or down to their backup quarterback, I
Speaker 1: should say from the beginning of the season with Jamis
Speaker 1: Winston and Taysom Hill steps in and that run game
Speaker 1: provides a solid compliment to what that defense can do.
Speaker 1: They're also loaded on the coaching staff. Sean Payton the
Speaker 1: second longest tenured head coach behind Belichick, Pete Carmichael, Dennis Allen,
Speaker 1: Darren Rizzy. That's a that's a murderers row of coaches
Speaker 1: right there, they're gonna be ready. Let's go ahead and
Speaker 1: start at the quarterback position, and just real quick before
Speaker 1: we do that, a quick news update here before I
Speaker 1: published the podcast. Recorded this on Wednesday. It sounds like
Speaker 1: it's gonna be Ian Book, the rookie quarterback, the fourth
Speaker 1: round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints to start
Speaker 1: for them on Monday night, his career debut for the Saints,
Speaker 1: and he was with the Dolphins at the Senior bullback
Speaker 1: and mobile back in February. He's a good leader, a
Speaker 1: guy that can command the huddle and really kind of
Speaker 1: run an offense that way. Has a bunch of mobile skills,
Speaker 1: skills to a skill set, can throw the football in
Speaker 1: timing and rhythm as well too, So the Dolphins will
Speaker 1: have to maintain their rush integrity, their gap integrity when
Speaker 1: they rushed this quarterback because he's mobile, fleet of foot
Speaker 1: and can break the pocket that way too. So let's
Speaker 1: get back to the podcast. It was recorded before the
Speaker 1: news came out, so just keep that in mind. But
Speaker 1: there's still some prevalent details within this podcast. Enjoy with
Speaker 1: the Saints quarterbacks and doll and safeties, and look, we
Speaker 1: know what we're getting in terms of this player, right,
Speaker 1: he's a load in the running game. He gives you
Speaker 1: an extra body to contend with, an extra hat in
Speaker 1: the running game, because the quarterbacks factory into the running
Speaker 1: game all of a sudden. And he threw the ball
Speaker 1: forty one times against Dallas and his first start, and
Speaker 1: since then it's been twenty seven throws. And that's where
Speaker 1: they want to play when he's in the lineup, evident
Speaker 1: by not just the season, but previous starts to their
Speaker 1: one and two and Taysom Hill lead offenses with thirty
Speaker 1: or more pass attempts and four and oh when it's
Speaker 1: less than thirty. And normally I hate those stats because
Speaker 1: obviously you're on the football more when you're winning the
Speaker 1: game late and whind the clock down. But I think
Speaker 1: that's instructive for how the Saints want to play this
Speaker 1: and so in regards to slowing him down, I think
Speaker 1: it starts with the running game, and the key here
Speaker 1: is to not let him build up steam. Do you
Speaker 1: guys are playing Mario Kart as a kid, Remember Bowser
Speaker 1: and Donkey Kong, how they were horrible slow starters, but
Speaker 1: once they got truck and they were the fastest car
Speaker 1: on the track. That's kind of what I see in
Speaker 1: Tasom Hill. Not that he's slow to start, but once
Speaker 1: he gets going forward, he is a load and tough
Speaker 1: to bring down. And we talked about forcing, you know,
Speaker 1: jet sweeps and outside runs to bubble backs to change
Speaker 1: direction before they get to the gap they want because
Speaker 1: they hit it right away. That obviously creates more yards
Speaker 1: and more quick decision making required of your defense. It's
Speaker 1: the same thing here, a man per gap, and we
Speaker 1: need a lot of Ray Kwon Davia stacking things up
Speaker 1: and Christian stack peak and come off into the correct gap.
Speaker 1: We need a land In Roberts to hit those keys
Speaker 1: like he has wanted to do, and to keep cleaning
Speaker 1: up on those running plays like he does. So I'm
Speaker 1: not sure this matchup as much of a Tasom versus
Speaker 1: the safeties as much as it is in the box
Speaker 1: type of game. A bit of a throwback here for
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins. Now, however, it's not like the Saints
Speaker 1: offense is incapable of throwing the football, and one area
Speaker 1: they have not really had any success in is an
Speaker 1: area where Miami has typically been pretty stout, and that's
Speaker 1: limiting the big play. Tast him on twenty plus yard
Speaker 1: throws this year is three for thirteen for a hundred
Speaker 1: yards and three interceptions. On the intermediate throws ten to
Speaker 1: nineteen yards, five for fourteen for a hundred yards, a
Speaker 1: touchdown in a pick. I think it tells a bit
Speaker 1: of a story there. Obviously they play I have a
Speaker 1: ten yard box. Most teams do, but this team really does.
Speaker 1: And when you watch him on tape, a lot of
Speaker 1: those big plays are plays where it's either a bust
Speaker 1: or a created bust based upon their route concept. So
Speaker 1: you get Tasso getting out of trouble, getting out on
Speaker 1: the move, and we saw Zach Wilson bounce off some
Speaker 1: sacks in the game last week. Hill will challenge Miami
Speaker 1: in the exact same way. You have to tackle. You
Speaker 1: have to bring him down. Do not give them second
Speaker 1: and third opportunities to extend plays. And I'm curious about
Speaker 1: the Dolphins game plan going back to Week ten against
Speaker 1: the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson. They had that one
Speaker 1: shot to go up top to Sammy Watkins early in
Speaker 1: the game was unsuccessful and we're really never able to
Speaker 1: get vertical again after that. They also could never really
Speaker 1: get to the perimeter in that game with the speedouts
Speaker 1: we saw Joe Lack will have success. Those are the
Speaker 1: two areas against zero that you can kind of attack,
Speaker 1: the the outside perimeter and the deep shot over the top.
Speaker 1: You have to be precise, you have to be quick,
Speaker 1: and you cannot make mistakes because that can lead the
Speaker 1: turnovers if you're not. But we know that game for
Speaker 1: the Dolphins set all kinds of marks in terms of blitz.
Speaker 1: Is utilizing the safeties in the past rush game or
Speaker 1: factor in the running game with Javon Holland and Brandon
Speaker 1: Jones against the Ravens back in Week ten. So for
Speaker 1: Holland and Jones, provided Holland plays, the key will be
Speaker 1: giving Hill different looks in terms of where the rush
Speaker 1: is coming from, but also taking on the responsibility of
Speaker 1: a gap in the running game because you have to
Speaker 1: be aware of both. Regardless of where the snap goes
Speaker 1: wildcat to the quarterback, lead, power draw like whatever it is,
Speaker 1: you have to be aware of both elements of the game.
Speaker 1: That's a pretty big matchup in this game. How twenty
Speaker 1: nine and eight, Jones and Holland worked to slow Downhill
Speaker 1: some more tastome Hill numbers against pressure ten for thirty
Speaker 1: one for eighty five yards. That's two point seven yards
Speaker 1: per pass and an interception. That's forty five dropbacks with
Speaker 1: six acts and seven scramble. So force him to stay
Speaker 1: in and throw the football. It's kind of like what
Speaker 1: you want to do with Josh Allen. Don't let him
Speaker 1: get outside the pocket, force him inside and force him
Speaker 1: to throw. Now, Alan's an m VP candidate, different story.
Speaker 1: Kept clean forty four for sixty six with five hundred
Speaker 1: and sixty four yards. That's eight point five yards per pass,
Speaker 1: but two touchdowns and four picks. When he's blitzed fourteen
Speaker 1: nine for two hundred yards, that's six point nine yards
Speaker 1: per passing, a pick, no touchdowns. When he's not blitzed
Speaker 1: four forty nine, that's six point six yards per pass,
Speaker 1: two touchdowns, and four interceptions. So almost identical to when
Speaker 1: he's kept clean. Right, when you don't blitz him, you
Speaker 1: keep him clean. But that's seventy seven drop backs with
Speaker 1: three sacks and six scrambles too. So again, regardless of
Speaker 1: whether or not you blitz or get home, he's gonna
Speaker 1: find ways to escape and make plays outside the pocket.
Speaker 1: If you can cut that down, you can really limit
Speaker 1: the Saints offense. Then we go out wide to the
Speaker 1: perimeter and the Saints receivers and tight ends versus the
Speaker 1: Dolphins cornerbacks. We mentioned this off the top. I think
Speaker 1: every team has that one position where they're just aren't
Speaker 1: a ton of resources poured into it, like the Dolphins
Speaker 1: running backs for instance, seventh round draft picks and undrafted
Speaker 1: free agents for the most part in that room. And
Speaker 1: for the Saints it's the wide outs and the tight ends.
Speaker 1: And again they were expecting to have Michael Thomas back,
Speaker 1: so that is a big factor there. He doesn't return.
Speaker 1: That's a second round pick, all Pro player who's not there,
Speaker 1: So that caveat has to be said. But that said,
Speaker 1: they still cultivate some fines. Marquez Callaway and undrafted free
Speaker 1: agent is their target. Leader Camara is next. He would
Speaker 1: be tops on a per game basis, but he missed
Speaker 1: four games. Then Deonte Harris, who was suspended for three
Speaker 1: games and will not play, is also a U d
Speaker 1: f A. Thence Tray kwant Smith, who was drafted in
Speaker 1: the third round. Back in Adam Troutman tight end another
Speaker 1: Day two pick. The tight end rounds out the top
Speaker 1: five before a significant dropping targets to mark Ingram and
Speaker 1: Tie Montgomery. So stylistically, what are these guys present, Well,
Speaker 1: they're only in three receiver sets about half the time,
Speaker 1: so Miami has to make a decision how they want
Speaker 1: to match the many looks the Saints deploy. More on
Speaker 1: that in just one moment, but we've seen Miami roll
Speaker 1: with just about everything in terms of dB usage this year.
Speaker 1: We've seen them go three corners the entire game, three
Speaker 1: safeties almost the entire game, and just about everything in between,
Speaker 1: with six and seven defensive backs getting significant reps on
Speaker 1: this Dolphins defense. Here with the Saints propensity to run
Speaker 1: the football, and not even to mention what you can
Speaker 1: do on the outside with Xabian and Byron Jones, who
Speaker 1: are just playing as good as any corner tannem and
Speaker 1: the entire National Football League, do you just put them
Speaker 1: out there and say, go do your thing. I might
Speaker 1: do that. One of the interesting things to look at here.
Speaker 1: The Saints offense obviously changed when Hill enter the lineup,
Speaker 1: but you can see, you can really see it in
Speaker 1: the average depth of target. Before Hill got to the
Speaker 1: lineup CALLI was over fifteen yards per target. Our fifteen
Speaker 1: yards average depth of target. I should say that number
Speaker 1: has been around ten yards since then. Same with Trake
Speaker 1: wants Smith a few yard dip from twelve down to nine.
Speaker 1: So what I'm getting at here is that Miami's zero
Speaker 1: look I think could be an effective package. Just trust
Speaker 1: X and Byron to hold up on their own and
Speaker 1: you can really influence the way the Saints factor of
Speaker 1: the running game. Now inside they use three different tight
Speaker 1: ends with trout men back off I R and he
Speaker 1: again factors into the running games. So you want to
Speaker 1: match that. But again is a big nickel if it
Speaker 1: is a straight base three four or four three look
Speaker 1: with different variations in terms of your odd even fronts.
Speaker 1: Do we see a landing Roberts all game long with
Speaker 1: a healthy dose of Wilkins and Seiler and Davis upfront.
Speaker 1: I'm so intrigued by what Floraz and Boyer dial up
Speaker 1: in this game. Back to the tight ends. Nick Vanette,
Speaker 1: same deal. He's strong off the edge and factors into
Speaker 1: the quick game a little bit, but he's really more
Speaker 1: of a run game addition at this point, twelve targets
Speaker 1: in five games played this year, and then Juwan James
Speaker 1: is more of their move tight end, your f tight end.
Speaker 1: They'll utilize him inline, nasty split slot, even out wide
Speaker 1: some but some some bits here and there. This is
Speaker 1: a lunch pail type of game, big boy game at
Speaker 1: every level, and it should be fun. Speaking of lunch pail,
Speaker 1: let's get to the real meat and potatoes. The Saints
Speaker 1: offensive line versus the Dolphins defensive line. And this is
Speaker 1: such a solid group even with a pair of all
Speaker 1: pro tackles potentially on the shelf. I mean, they beat
Speaker 1: the defending champions without Ryan ram Check in Toron. O'mstead
Speaker 1: will monitor that this entire week, but if either one
Speaker 1: of them returns, it's a huge get for them. Again,
Speaker 1: they're all pros, but even still they're still solid. James
Speaker 1: Hurst kicks out to tackle, while Calvin Throckmorton's the all
Speaker 1: time greatest offensive line name of all time who was
Speaker 1: part of that Beastie offensive line that Organ has kicked
Speaker 1: inside the garden played pretty well inside. And then Jordan's
Speaker 1: Mills started last week in place of ram Check. We
Speaker 1: remember him. We had him back in camp in twenty
Speaker 1: nineteen and he played for the Buffalo Bills against cam
Speaker 1: Wake twice a year for a long time that went
Speaker 1: to Wake most of the time. James Hurst twenty five
Speaker 1: pressures allowed, five sacks five a combination of five hits
Speaker 1: and sacks. Caesar Use twenty six pressures, seven of those
Speaker 1: have been sacks and hits. Eric McCoy just seven pressures
Speaker 1: all year long. Two of those are hits, no sax.
Speaker 1: Throck Morton has the highest pressure number allowed twenty seven,
Speaker 1: but just six of those are hits and sacks, while
Speaker 1: Mills has four pressures no hits or sacks in two
Speaker 1: games played, and seventy eight pass blocking snap. So Mills
Speaker 1: again played tackle and buffalo for a long time, and
Speaker 1: he matched up with Cameron Wake all the time. And
Speaker 1: the key just about every time that Wake got him
Speaker 1: was an upfield move and then you get that momentum
Speaker 1: sliding too far into the backfield, use the upper body
Speaker 1: strength to swipe and discard him. And I think we
Speaker 1: can see more of that this week, hopefully with a
Speaker 1: guy like Emmanuel Ogba who has similar traits that way.
Speaker 1: McCoy is tough man. He's the key to it all.
Speaker 1: He gets so much push, he gets out in space,
Speaker 1: doesn't really give way on the rush, and he communicates
Speaker 1: it all, he's a big, big part of what they
Speaker 1: do and a big challenge for our guys in the
Speaker 1: middle in this game. It's gonna be vital for Miami
Speaker 1: to do something they've done really well all year and
Speaker 1: prevent movement and stack things up. This Saint's offensive line
Speaker 1: three ten, three six, three oh nine, three oh five.
Speaker 1: It's more of a move line than a power like,
Speaker 1: blow you off the ball type of line. So it
Speaker 1: kind of goes back to what I said about Miami's
Speaker 1: real stout run defenders this season, and Seiler and Wilkins
Speaker 1: really need them to play their best ball in this
Speaker 1: game and help Miami get this big victory. And also
Speaker 1: ray Kuan Davis just played that role of the tree
Speaker 1: stump that would also go a very long way before
Speaker 1: the next possession. Group a quick break. All right, let's
Speaker 1: come back and talk about the Saints running backs versus
Speaker 1: the Dolphins linebackers. And Alvin Kamara, for my money, is
Speaker 1: the best running back in the national football Like Jonathan Taylor,
Speaker 1: really challenging that threshold, but what he does in every
Speaker 1: aspect of the game, he can beat you by himself.
Speaker 1: He's electric as a runner, he's a dangerous route runner.
Speaker 1: He's excellent in the red zone. He'll change the angle
Speaker 1: on you last minute. You have to locate number forty
Speaker 1: one every single play there two and oh since he
Speaker 1: came back from the I R and on add eighty
Speaker 1: four attempts, he has four hundred and eighty yards after contact.
Speaker 1: That's an average of two point six one per rush.
Speaker 1: He has thirty five four Smith tackles this season, thirteen
Speaker 1: ten plus yard runs. Tackle, tackle, tackle, he and hill.
Speaker 1: You have to get them to the ground. If you
Speaker 1: can do it, I like our chances, but if you can't,
Speaker 1: not as much. We need to see the second half
Speaker 1: tackling for the full sixty minutes we saw last week,
Speaker 1: right like tackle like you did in the first half
Speaker 1: last week. They're gonna beat you playing simple. So with Kimara,
Speaker 1: it's a big week for Jerome Baker to write the
Speaker 1: whole group for sure, and what a Landon Roberts does
Speaker 1: b gap to b gap is certainly important, but matching
Speaker 1: up with Camara when he flexes out covering him on
Speaker 1: routes out of the backfield, the former might be more
Speaker 1: of a matchup where the ladder could be more of
Speaker 1: Baker's responsibility. Either way, he needs to access that speed
Speaker 1: and do everything he can to keep pace with Kimara.
Speaker 1: He has eleven forced miss tackles since returning, and that's
Speaker 1: what just eleven attempts in the win over the Bucks
Speaker 1: thirty eight and total, so getting him below the average
Speaker 1: of a forced mis tackle every third or so carry
Speaker 1: something to keep an eye on there. Mark Ingram actually
Speaker 1: played just seven snaps, fewer than Alvin Camaro last week,
Speaker 1: and he's gonna get every yard that's blocked for him.
Speaker 1: He's a professional runner, He's a nifty pass receiver, especially
Speaker 1: in the screen game, and that pair so well with
Speaker 1: the fact that he's a tremendous pass protector. No pressures
Speaker 1: allowed this season between Houston and New Orleans, so some
Speaker 1: of those sacks last week where you had Baker and
Speaker 1: Seiler running through the Jets running back, not gonna be
Speaker 1: as easy this week. For the Saints offense, we talked
Speaker 1: about this earlier. Eleven personnel is forty eight percent of
Speaker 1: the time, the average is six. Twelve personnel is twenty
Speaker 1: percent in the average just twenty one percent, so right
Speaker 1: around the gaverage there. But this is one of the
Speaker 1: most diverse teams in the league. In terms of grouping standpoint,
Speaker 1: and most teams have those packages they sprinkle in for
Speaker 1: a player two here and there from the other packages.
Speaker 1: But the Saints run both twenty one personnel two backs
Speaker 1: or two backs in one tight end, and ten personnel
Speaker 1: that's four receivers. Both of those are eight percent of
Speaker 1: the time. Talk about dichotomy in terms of their personnel usage.
Speaker 1: Then they've got four more packages that they use at
Speaker 1: least four percent of the time this year, twenty two
Speaker 1: which is two backs, two tight ends, twenty personnel which
Speaker 1: is two backs now tight ends. It's lots of heavy stuff.
Speaker 1: It's only going to increase as they get more snap
Speaker 1: under Taysom Hill and removed from the Jamis Winson offense.
Speaker 1: It's a lunch pail game again when you play these guys.
Speaker 1: We talked about how nice it was to run the
Speaker 1: ball well on Sunday when they knew Duke was gonna
Speaker 1: get the football. That's what the Saints do. They don't
Speaker 1: care if you know it's coming. They believe they can
Speaker 1: out execute you, and then Sean Payton will attach some
Speaker 1: wrinkles and get the same place from different looks. Look,
Speaker 1: it's a challenge. Almost happy. We have the extra day
Speaker 1: to prepare for this offense because they are a lot
Speaker 1: to get ready for. On the other side, I think
Speaker 1: Miami's offense is a lot to get ready for in
Speaker 1: terms of the R p O game and the different
Speaker 1: looks they throw at you, in the conflict they create,
Speaker 1: and all those looks the Dolphins quarterback versus the Saints
Speaker 1: safety's But first, real quick, just kind of a nice
Speaker 1: little primer here, a nice test for two. In the
Speaker 1: passing offense, the Saints defense is stingy six and points
Speaker 1: allowed just twenty point four points per game. They have
Speaker 1: nineteen takeaways. That's the same number as US, but they
Speaker 1: really do it in bunches. They have three games this
Speaker 1: year with three takeaways and three more with two takeaways,
Speaker 1: so multiple takeaways. If Miami can commit one or few returnovers,
Speaker 1: I like our chances. They've held opponents six opponents rather
Speaker 1: under two hundred yards passing, and that includes the Packers.
Speaker 1: Opening Day was weird, the Bucks and the Titans, and
Speaker 1: just a weird blip here four hundred and two yards
Speaker 1: of the Giants. What football is weird, isn't it. The
Speaker 1: Eagles went for two hundred forty two rushing yards against them,
Speaker 1: but the next highest was Dallas with the Buck forty six,
Speaker 1: and just five teams have eclipsed a hundred yards on them.
Speaker 1: They also held the Patriots to forty nine yards on
Speaker 1: the ground and a comfortable win in Foxboro back in October,
Speaker 1: and just sixty six to the Titans, and that's post Henry,
Speaker 1: but still still a great total. Their explosive rankings in
Speaker 1: terms of explosive runs and passes offensively and defensively on
Speaker 1: offense twenty nine and running twenty one and passing, but
Speaker 1: on defense fourth fewest running plays explosive and the tenth
Speaker 1: fewest explosive passing plays allowed. Schematically, they play coverage twenty
Speaker 1: two point two percent blitz right, that's twenty the National
Speaker 1: Football League. And while they're tied for second and quarterback
Speaker 1: knockdown rate at eleven point four scent, they're also middle
Speaker 1: of the pack and pressure rate and sacks. And that's
Speaker 1: why I think it would greatly behoove Miami to generate
Speaker 1: some explosive plays. Much like our defense, it's tough to
Speaker 1: work the ball all the way down the field against
Speaker 1: this defense, and there's certainly value to that in the
Speaker 1: field position battle, which will be very important in this game.
Speaker 1: But if you can hit some more explosive and the
Speaker 1: Saints offense can generate, that's a big key to me
Speaker 1: because holdings, you know, false starts, drop passes, missed, whatever
Speaker 1: the case may be. If you try to drive the
Speaker 1: whole field and you have a mistake, it's tough to
Speaker 1: overcome against this defense. So too is numbers this year
Speaker 1: against not against teams that don't against looks when they
Speaker 1: don't blitz him right, kept clean seventy six point four
Speaker 1: on two hundred and sixteen attempts, a good sample size
Speaker 1: seven point one yards per pass. That's one thousand, five
Speaker 1: hundred thirty five yards, eleven touchdowns of two picks when
Speaker 1: he's kept clean, it's great numbers when not blitzed seventy
Speaker 1: one another good number, two twelve attempts, so good sample
Speaker 1: size seven point eight yards per attempt at sixteen fifty two,
Speaker 1: eight touchdowns and six picks. So all those numbers are
Speaker 1: great except for that very last one the interceptions. And
Speaker 1: you see that climb and yards per attempt makes sense right.
Speaker 1: Fewer rushers means more time to scan and survey, and
Speaker 1: the way that Dolphins offensive lines played lately and the
Speaker 1: way too has kind of had some pockets to work with,
Speaker 1: and I think some of his errors have come from
Speaker 1: clean pockets where he didn't expect to have it that way.
Speaker 1: That might be a chance to get more vertical at
Speaker 1: least more second level throws on some of those crossers,
Speaker 1: those digs, those curls, and hopefully some slot fades like
Speaker 1: when we saw to Isaiah four in the game. If
Speaker 1: the Saints showed that cover one look, I like the
Speaker 1: idea of getting some more vertical options into the offense.
Speaker 1: So this position matchup, you know, between the Bills, the Pats,
Speaker 1: and now the Saints too is seeing some of the
Speaker 1: NFL's best secondaries this season, particularly at the safety position.
Speaker 1: Marcus Williams has so much range, and that range allows
Speaker 1: them to buzz play some buzz coverage to rob where
Speaker 1: you have the safety come down and rob the cross
Speaker 1: route because he can erase Marcus Williams a lot of
Speaker 1: those potential matchup losses on the back end. Speaking of
Speaker 1: buzz coverage and the robber roll, few do it better
Speaker 1: than Malcolm Jenkins. Not to mention how he factors in
Speaker 1: the running game. Keep an eye on him. He's a
Speaker 1: great player and whatever the cause behind some of those
Speaker 1: off target balls last week, it cannot happen again. These
Speaker 1: guys are gonna capitalize on it. They're gonna turn you over,
Speaker 1: and they'll put you in more situations where they can
Speaker 1: generate a takeaway than most teams do. So as far
Speaker 1: as the interceptions and pass breakups go for Williams two
Speaker 1: and five, for Jenkins one and four, and for Chauncey
Speaker 1: Gardner Johnson two and three. But the ball hawking does
Speaker 1: not stop there. The Miami receivers and tight ends versus
Speaker 1: the Saints cornerbacks Paulson a debo. What a run He's
Speaker 1: has a pro after coming out of Stanford, A highly
Speaker 1: build prospect who winds up falling to the third round
Speaker 1: after potential first round whispers here and there. He's a
Speaker 1: smart and aggressive corner with great ball skills and recovery speed.
Speaker 1: He plays primarily on the outside. Can Miami get some
Speaker 1: size out there? He's a bit thin. Could Davante Parker
Speaker 1: get some of those balls him. I'll keep an eye
Speaker 1: on that. But on the other side, is all pro.
Speaker 1: Marshawn Lattimore fifty six percent completion this year, forty seven
Speaker 1: catches on five hundred and forty seven coverage snaps, but
Speaker 1: for eight hundred and four yards, so he's not giving
Speaker 1: up a whole lot, but when he does, it's vertical.
Speaker 1: Seven touchdowns and two picks this year, but eighteen pass breakups. Damn,
Speaker 1: it's a lot. He does it all smooth transition in
Speaker 1: and out of his brakes, good physical contest at every
Speaker 1: phase of the rep. He's coming off a three game
Speaker 1: run where he was targeted twenty three times, he allowed
Speaker 1: just eleven catches for a buck sixteen and passer ratings
Speaker 1: of thirty three point three, forty nine point six, and
Speaker 1: sixty four point one. He plays the right corner and
Speaker 1: a Debo plays on the left. Then there's this guy,
Speaker 1: and I mentioned him in the safeties. If you followed
Speaker 1: me in the twenty nineteen round to the draft, there
Speaker 1: were few players I liked more than Chauncey Gardner Johnson.
Speaker 1: A world class player and a world class trash talker. Now,
Speaker 1: one area where he has struggled is in the tackling
Speaker 1: department seventeen point five percent miss tackle percentage. So with
Speaker 1: the Saints based defense operating out of this nickel primarily,
Speaker 1: how does Miami. How do they adapt rather to Miami's
Speaker 1: league high usage of twelve personnel offense because the Dolphins
Speaker 1: have some success with the run, and just force them
Speaker 1: out of that package because you're basically gonna say, hey,
Speaker 1: go take on Durham Smith in the running game. That
Speaker 1: could be a big advantae for Miami. If the Saints
Speaker 1: stay in that look, could really help. But back to
Speaker 1: his coverage. He's feisty, he's crafty, he's springy, he finds
Speaker 1: the football. He'll make some splash plays. You just don't
Speaker 1: let it include the ball going over like. Let him
Speaker 1: make his big hits and his big pass breakups, just
Speaker 1: don't let him jar the ball loose or create some
Speaker 1: some turnovers that way. I'm not gonna look at last
Speaker 1: week's matchups because the Bucks were down Godwin Brown and
Speaker 1: four net. But going back, they played the Jets before
Speaker 1: that too, So let's go back to the Dallas game.
Speaker 1: Lattimore saw Michael Gallop for four targets twenty six yards allowed,
Speaker 1: and Ceedee Lamb for two targets just three yards allowed.
Speaker 1: He's tough. Like I said, a lot of teams these
Speaker 1: days don't travel, and he doesn't travel either. So choose
Speaker 1: wisely with who you put on him. Paulson, Adebo covered
Speaker 1: Michael Gallup, Noah Brown, and Dalton Scholtz. In that game,
Speaker 1: nobody had more than five yards. So you're gonna have
Speaker 1: to work to get open against these guys, and they're
Speaker 1: deep here. Bradley Roby can play, so can p. J. Williams,
Speaker 1: who's a primary slot guy. He held the Cowboys to
Speaker 1: thirty yards on seven targets, and real quick the Bills
Speaker 1: game numbers. Lattamore three of five catches and targets for
Speaker 1: thirty three yards, Adebo four for four for sixty eight.
Speaker 1: C J g J did not play. P J. Williams
Speaker 1: two for two fifteen yards, and then Bradley Roby was
Speaker 1: eight catches on nine targets for eighty eight yards. We
Speaker 1: moved to the critical area of the field where the
Speaker 1: Saints just keep on getting better. The Saints defensive line
Speaker 1: versus Dolphins offensive line. Here's some pressure numbers and run
Speaker 1: stops from their perimeter players up front. Cameron Jordan's forty
Speaker 1: pressures thirty one run stops All pro, Marcus Davenport thirty
Speaker 1: pressures twenty one run stops. Very good player. Carl Granderson
Speaker 1: twenty five pressures, thirteen run stops. To Know Paso six
Speaker 1: team pressures, fourteen run stops. Peyton Turner ten pressures and
Speaker 1: ten runs stops. Do you guys know who those players are?
Speaker 1: Do you see a theme there? It's not hard to spot.
Speaker 1: They are massive human beings. I actually thought Passengo and
Speaker 1: Turner were potential options this offseason in the draft and
Speaker 1: free agency from Miami because they we like big ends
Speaker 1: as well. To eight seven to sixty five to sixty
Speaker 1: one to eight to seventy. I mean they will cut
Speaker 1: down the edges, they will dent it, they will condense
Speaker 1: the formation, and it's tough when you can't win outside
Speaker 1: against them, maybe you try to get y on them,
Speaker 1: but either way they are tough. The work has cut
Speaker 1: out this week for Jesse and Liam, and again this
Speaker 1: could be a situation where that twelve personnel helps you,
Speaker 1: where you can get help on those guys with tight
Speaker 1: end chips and running backs coming up and helping out
Speaker 1: as well. But inside they're also tough. David Ayrmana twenty
Speaker 1: three pressures and nine run stops. Shy Tuttle six pressures
Speaker 1: and sixteen run stops. They'll kick other guys inside to
Speaker 1: play that role too, obviously, but this is a test
Speaker 1: for strength, toughness, and just pure grit because those guys
Speaker 1: are gonna challenge USh and all those departments. They made
Speaker 1: the Bucks offensive line look bad last week, and that's
Speaker 1: the best offense line in football. So you see this
Speaker 1: matchup and you think to yourself, that's their best unit.
Speaker 1: That's the Dolphins offensive line has been a bit up
Speaker 1: and down in pass pro this year. But what if
Speaker 1: I told you this. We've been discussing the growing slash
Speaker 1: improvement of the offensive line for over a month. Now,
Speaker 1: what if I told you that after having the lowest
Speaker 1: pass blocking efficiency score in the NFL per next Gen
Speaker 1: through the first ten weeks at seventy eight point five,
Speaker 1: Miami is second second in the league. Since Week eleven,
Speaker 1: that number has jumped eleven point four percent point or
Speaker 1: eleven point four points all the way up to eighty
Speaker 1: nine point nine. And then finally we finish with the
Speaker 1: Dolphins running backs. The Saints linebackers. Philip Lindsay is back.
Speaker 1: Go watch his media if you have not done so yet.
Speaker 1: He's great as always and coming off a Duke Johnson performance,
Speaker 1: can Miami maintain that rushing success. If so, that could
Speaker 1: open up the passing game, and not to mention having
Speaker 1: a semblance of a running threat from the r p
Speaker 1: OH which prior to this last game has been all
Speaker 1: p and no are over eleven yards passing per attempt
Speaker 1: less than three yards rushing per attempt. I think there
Speaker 1: might be something here for Miami to find a second
Speaker 1: wind in their offense and create more opportunities in the
Speaker 1: passing game and get more balance offensively. I'm very excited
Speaker 1: about what this offense might look like on Monday Night
Speaker 1: as they maybe hopefully hit a second stride and find
Speaker 1: a second wind late in the season. But Duke in
Speaker 1: that game did so well to press gaps, set up
Speaker 1: some blocks, get what's blocked, and then some by shaking
Speaker 1: tackles with power out wide and the explosive first step
Speaker 1: he showed. He and Philip Lindsay and Miles Gascon and
Speaker 1: the Backs gonna have their work cut out for them
Speaker 1: because Damario Davis is one of the very best in
Speaker 1: the league. We keep talking about great players at every level.
Speaker 1: They have them. Thirty four run stops, a billion tackles,
Speaker 1: he's excellent and coverage he just does everything. Well, I'll
Speaker 1: be curious to see how Miami's motion and different ability
Speaker 1: to kind of change the picture will impact what his
Speaker 1: keys and his reeds are. Can they get him to
Speaker 1: take false steps? It's tough to do. Next is Kwan Alexander.
Speaker 1: He's been about the league last couple of years. Just
Speaker 1: twenty six run stops and the eight team point two
Speaker 1: percent mistackle percentage. If Davis has played n seven snaps,
Speaker 1: Alexander four or forty nine, so they take him off
Speaker 1: the field a lot, but they're really a defensive line
Speaker 1: slash defensive back centric defense like so many teams. And
Speaker 1: then also Pete Warner has three snaps and twenty two
Speaker 1: run stops. I actually like his game a little bit more.
Speaker 1: He's a very smart and instinctive player. So for the
Speaker 1: Dolphins to find some success offense will be challenging, but
Speaker 1: I think this could be a good week for him
Speaker 1: to kind of hit that second stride. As far as
Speaker 1: the special teams goes d v O A their fifteenth
Speaker 1: Miami six. Brent Maher is their kicker. He's eight for
Speaker 1: nine with a long of forty two. He's missed his
Speaker 1: only fifty plush our attempt this year. That could be
Speaker 1: crucial in a game where you figure it might come
Speaker 1: down to a possession or two. I don't think it will,
Speaker 1: but if it does, that's big. In the punting game,
Speaker 1: forty eight point two yards for punt from Blake Gillikin
Speaker 1: and the return as es up Winston go coogs Baby.
Speaker 1: He has the most on the team with seven returns
Speaker 1: after Deonte Harris was suspended. Seven punt returns nine two
Speaker 1: yards thirteen point one average. He's very shifty. I know
Speaker 1: his game very well. The three keys this game, but first,
Speaker 1: a quick break alright. Key Number one for the Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 1: Forced the Saints into passing situations by getting them into
Speaker 1: third down and long. That obviously starts with a running
Speaker 1: game on early downs. But if you can force them
Speaker 1: into third and lungs and hem the quarterback in the pocket,
Speaker 1: that could go a long way towards a potential big
Speaker 1: defensive performance for the Miami Dolphins. Number two limit the
Speaker 1: mistakes do not give the Saints offense any advantages by
Speaker 1: going by committing too many penalties, by dropping passes, by
Speaker 1: missing tackles, by turning the football over. If the Dolphins
Speaker 1: play a clean game offensively, they should be able to
Speaker 1: win this game. Number Three, generate explosive plays on offense.
Speaker 1: I think that's where the Saints can can get maybe
Speaker 1: be had a little bit. I don't think you're gonna
Speaker 1: line up and beat them on a down by down
Speaker 1: basis and have a lot of success that way, but
Speaker 1: you generate some explosive which I think is coming off
Speaker 1: some of the looks we've had off the RPO and
Speaker 1: the running game. That can go a long way towards
Speaker 1: a big Dolphins win. The Dolphins will win this game
Speaker 1: if the defense stays hot in plays with the same intensity,
Speaker 1: If they can take out the run game and make
Speaker 1: life tough inside that ten yard box for the Saints.
Speaker 1: That will make them has trying to beat Miami by
Speaker 1: doing something that's been outside of their capacity of this season,
Speaker 1: by going up top. If they do that and they
Speaker 1: beat you, you tipped the cap. Obviously. The Saints will
Speaker 1: win if if they win in the small margins extra
Speaker 1: yards after contact from miss tackles, falling forward through tackles,
Speaker 1: turning third and five into third and two's, winning the
Speaker 1: hitting yardage battle on special teams, and committing fewer turnovers
Speaker 1: and penalties. Those types of things. So that's my Dolphins
Speaker 1: and Saints preview. I like this game this week. I
Speaker 1: like Miami's chances in this game to get their seventh
Speaker 1: straight win. As far as the rest of the league goes,
Speaker 1: some big games around the National Football League, the Week
Speaker 1: six team picks coming your way right now. We're cruising now,
Speaker 1: baby thirteen and three last week after a what was
Speaker 1: it fourteen and one or thirteen in one week the
Speaker 1: previous week. That's one fifty five, sixty eight and one
Speaker 1: with forty eight more games to go, checking in at
Speaker 1: sixty nine point five percent, I want to surpass seventy.
Speaker 1: Let's go and we start on Thursday. This is a
Speaker 1: big game from Miami giving the forty niners over the Titans.
Speaker 1: The fot NAIs are hot. The Titans are not to
Speaker 1: give me the road team there. The Packer is over
Speaker 1: the Browns on on Christmas, and the Cardinals over the
Speaker 1: Colts on Christmas as well. That's gonna be a great
Speaker 1: game to watch. Give me the Falcons over the Lions,
Speaker 1: the Vikings over the Rams. I'll take the Jets over
Speaker 1: the Jags, the Bills over the Patriots. In what's the
Speaker 1: biggest non Dolphins Game of the Year for you Dolphins fans.
Speaker 1: Buffalo needs to win that game. Give me the Eagles
Speaker 1: over the Giants. I went back and forth on this one,
Speaker 1: but I'm taking the Ravens over the Bengals. I like
Speaker 1: Tyler Huntley's game a lot if he plays, and Lamar
Speaker 1: Jackson if he comes back great. Also, give me the
Speaker 1: Chargers over the Texans, the Bucks over the Panthers. I'll
Speaker 1: take the Raiders over the Broncos the Chiefs. Even though
Speaker 1: Hill and Kelsey are on the COVID list right now,
Speaker 1: I hope I think they'll come back. I need hire
Speaker 1: of Hill from my fantasy league too, by the way,
Speaker 1: over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Seahawks over the Bears, the
Speaker 1: Cowboys over the w FT, and the Dolphins over the Saints.
Speaker 1: All right, no show on Friday this week, and the
Speaker 1: Monday show will be the recap version, so that would
Speaker 1: be Tuesday morning. So this is the last time I'm
Speaker 1: gonna talk to you guys until after Christmas. Until after
Speaker 1: the Saints game. Hopefully we're talking about your holiday going
Speaker 1: great and eight and seven mark for the Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 1: But in the meantime that is gonna be my time
Speaker 1: you all, please be sure to subscribe to the podcast
Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts. Leave us a rating, leave us a review.
Speaker 1: You can follow me on Twitter at Wingfield NFL. Follow
Speaker 1: the team at Miami Dolphins across all socials. Check out
Speaker 1: the fish Tank Podcast with Seth and o j our
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Speaker 1: next time, vin Zoe