Speaker 1: You're listening to the Miami Dolphins Podcast Network. This is
Speaker 1: Drive Time with Travis Wingfield. Back to throw to a
Speaker 1: looking clips about the wide Dolphin touchdown timeriquel uncolievable, just
Speaker 1: blue fire for a second time. Don't know where he
Speaker 1: was going right away?
Speaker 2: Want to hit that man.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna help you.
Speaker 2: Someone will step on your bandwagon.
Speaker 1: Wattle, Wattle to a shotguns, back to throw, looking at
Speaker 1: them up fires touchdown, It's Waddle his six touchdown parasom.
Speaker 2: This thing.
Speaker 1: Drive Time with Travis Wingfield begins.
Speaker 3: Now check your pulse?
Speaker 1: What is up? Dolphins? And welcome to the Drift Time Podcast,
Speaker 1: part of the Miami Dolphins Podcast Network, covering your team,
Speaker 1: your Miami Dolphins. How's it going everybody? I am your host,
Speaker 1: Travis Wingfield. And on today's show, the Great Mike Reese
Speaker 1: from ESPN Boston joins us a break down this matchup
Speaker 1: on Sunday Dolphins and Patriots. Plus we'll hear from Dolphins
Speaker 1: assistant coaches, and we'll also do the game picks for
Speaker 1: week number eight. All of that and more from the
Speaker 1: Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This
Speaker 1: is the Drift Time Podcast ye, dafirs. Let's go ahead
Speaker 1: and start the Thursday show as we do each week,
Speaker 1: with my guest Mike Reese and joining me now for
Speaker 1: the second time. And what is it about seven weeks?
Speaker 1: It's been that long, this far into the NFL season.
Speaker 1: Here in twenty twenty three is ESPN NFL Nation reporter
Speaker 1: covering this week's opponent, the New England Patriots. Mike Reese, Mike,
Speaker 1: Welcome back in my friend.
Speaker 2: Great to be back with you, Travis. How are we doing?
Speaker 1: Uh? The cold bug is going around this part of
Speaker 1: the country, so I've caught that. I think it's probably
Speaker 1: my kids' daycare. So I'm really struggling today, but excited
Speaker 1: to talk to you about some Dolphins and Patriots because
Speaker 1: one of my favorite matchups on the calendar every year,
Speaker 1: Even going back to the Patriots twenty year run of dominance,
Speaker 1: Miami always seemed to find some success in this series.
Speaker 1: So we look forward to this game quite a lot
Speaker 1: every year, or twice a year, I should say, But
Speaker 1: I think that a Dolphins fan who may have caught
Speaker 1: the Patriots one in five record prior to last week,
Speaker 1: might say this game could be a little bit of
Speaker 1: a walk in the park. But Mike, after last week
Speaker 1: they had a bit of a turnaround. Can he tell
Speaker 1: us why they were able to get things going offensively
Speaker 1: against the Bills?
Speaker 3: Yeah, A big part of it was stability along the
Speaker 3: offensive line, better performance. They moved their starting right guard
Speaker 3: Mico Winnu out to right tackle, and they got their
Speaker 3: starting left guard Cole Strange back in the lineup after
Speaker 3: he had missed three straight games. So much of football,
Speaker 3: to me, Travis starts with the offensive line, and that's
Speaker 3: one place to start. Another place would be the emergence
Speaker 3: of a rookie receiver, de Mario pop Douglas, a sixth
Speaker 3: round pick out of Liberty. He played thirty seven snaps
Speaker 3: and he was their most dynamic playmaker, also a punt returner.
Speaker 3: So I'd say those were two things that helped the
Speaker 3: Patriots quite a bit. And then bigger picture, they were
Speaker 3: plus one in the turnover differential, first time this year
Speaker 3: they had been on the plus side in turnover differential,
Speaker 3: so that was a big thing.
Speaker 2: And they started fast.
Speaker 3: You know, they've been getting behind in games and so
Speaker 3: this one they were able to play the game a
Speaker 3: little bit more on their terms.
Speaker 1: I'm looking at my notes that I wrote down because
Speaker 1: we played on Sunday night, so I was able to
Speaker 1: watch the Patriots and Bills game, and I have like
Speaker 1: five different notes here. The third one is to Mario
Speaker 1: Douglas has game changing speed. I just noted that from
Speaker 1: I think an end a round that he took at
Speaker 1: one point in the game and found some space off
Speaker 1: the perimeter. And he's kind of the guy that I
Speaker 1: suppose they were hoping Taekwon Thornton might be right because
Speaker 1: they were an offense that didn't have a lot of speed,
Speaker 1: but it sounds like they found it there in Douglas.
Speaker 2: So Douglas is like a smaller, shiftier guy.
Speaker 3: And so he's five foot eight, one hundred and ninety
Speaker 3: two pounds, sixth round pick, two hundred tenth overall, and
Speaker 3: he's sort of like he would fit well in the
Speaker 3: Dolphins offense. Yeah, you know, you see and you see
Speaker 3: a lot of the movement right. And I think it's
Speaker 3: actually really interesting discussion, Travis, because you know Devonte Parker,
Speaker 3: Dolphins fans know him well, Patriots traded for him, and
Speaker 3: he's really been the Patriots like number one receiver in
Speaker 3: terms of playing time. And think about what DeVante is like,
Speaker 3: he's a big target, runs good slants, you know, maybe
Speaker 3: can make some plays down the field, but he's not
Speaker 3: the fastest guy, right And I think to me, the
Speaker 3: contrast there is notable in that the Patriots is need
Speaker 3: more juice at receiver and to Mario Douglas is juice
Speaker 3: and so he's he's definitely a player Dolphins fans should
Speaker 3: be watching on Sunday.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's good to note. And you know, I've always
Speaker 1: I've always fancied a speed receiver as well, even before
Speaker 1: the Dolphins acquired Tyreek Hill and Jelen Waddle. I just
Speaker 1: like the threat to go take the top off the defense,
Speaker 1: and of course threat in the edges in the running
Speaker 1: game as well. And speaking of that running game, Mike,
Speaker 1: I thought that was the most impressive part of the offense.
Speaker 1: And touch on mac Jones Harris because I thought he
Speaker 1: had his best game as well of the season. But
Speaker 1: I'm curious to kind of hear your take on the
Speaker 1: evolution of this Patriots run game, not just from this season,
Speaker 1: but the start of last year. And they wanted to
Speaker 1: implement some more of that wide zone and the traditional
Speaker 1: stretch zone offense that so many of these really good
Speaker 1: offenses in the league run, and they kind of scrapped
Speaker 1: that went back to some more man gap scheme. Where
Speaker 1: are they at right now in terms of how they're
Speaker 1: creating space in the running game. I know the health
Speaker 1: on the offensive line is a big deal, but from
Speaker 1: a schematic standpoint, the running backs are making the biggest impacts.
Speaker 1: Just kind of summarize all of that for us if
Speaker 1: you can.
Speaker 3: Well, Travis, I'm gonna stay within my my sort of
Speaker 3: scope here in ters of the schematics stuff. And I'm
Speaker 3: gonna be careful this because I don't want to say
Speaker 3: something that's wrong. I think what they're doing this year,
Speaker 3: I wouldn't compare it too much to last year, just
Speaker 3: in terms of, like it's a whole new really going
Speaker 3: back to their old system right when Josh McDaniels was here.
Speaker 2: It's a new offensive line coach.
Speaker 3: So I think I'll go more broad in terms of
Speaker 3: like the schematics, sir, but I will drill down more
Speaker 3: on like I watched these games over Treuse, like I
Speaker 3: watched like the what you call the coaches tapeer, the
Speaker 3: All twenty two. I don't always can't say for sure
Speaker 3: I know exactly what I'm seeing. But I do know
Speaker 3: when I watch the end zone angle and I see
Speaker 3: that there's not a lot of There haven't been a
Speaker 3: lot of consistent holes for Ramandre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott
Speaker 3: up until last week, you know, And I think part
Speaker 3: of that was the Bills defense, the way they play
Speaker 3: a lot of four down linemen zone coverage behind it.
Speaker 3: Like the Patriots sort of knew what they were getting
Speaker 3: and they were able to block it up pretty well.
Speaker 3: So I think, to me, it's something for them to
Speaker 3: build off of. But you know, the Dolphins aren't going
Speaker 3: to do that. It's going to look a lot different,
Speaker 3: and I think it's gonna be a lot harder for
Speaker 3: them to achieve what they achieved this past Sunday Sunday
Speaker 3: in Miami.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it seems like the Dolphins have also kind of,
Speaker 1: you know, bounced back after a couple of rough games
Speaker 1: against the running game or early in the season and
Speaker 1: really played good in the front in terms of both
Speaker 1: their pass rush and run defense. But you know, Mike,
Speaker 1: watching that game, my first note early on because that
Speaker 1: the Patriots offense had some success, but they had some
Speaker 1: you know a little bit of a roll down the
Speaker 1: middle part of the game, and I thought the pass
Speaker 1: rush kind of impacted Mac and maybe dropped his eyes
Speaker 1: a few times. But dang it if he didn't get
Speaker 1: back to what I thought he did so well that
Speaker 1: rookie year where he threw with that timing in touch
Speaker 1: over the middle with like you know, whether it's against
Speaker 1: the blitz and kind of a spot throwing too guys
Speaker 1: to put them in positions to run after the catch,
Speaker 1: like it seemed like he was really just putting the
Speaker 1: ball on the money down the middle of the field.
Speaker 1: I'm curious if you think maybe you've heard just more
Speaker 1: confidence from Mac, Like what did you see from him
Speaker 1: in that game that was allowed him to really, you know,
Speaker 1: break a bunch of slumps in terms of beating a
Speaker 1: team that scored twenty five points, the game winning drive,
Speaker 1: all the fun stuff that he now has under his belt.
Speaker 1: Why do you think he was able to get that
Speaker 1: accomplished last Sunday.
Speaker 3: Well, Travis, your read of it was exactly mine. You know,
Speaker 3: I thought through the first three quarters of the game,
Speaker 3: I thought, you know, he played solid, but there were
Speaker 3: times where he was looking down at the rush, and
Speaker 3: it was the fourth quarter where he elevated to a
Speaker 3: point that I hadn't seen him before. I thought it
Speaker 3: was maybe the best quarter that he's played in his
Speaker 3: career in the NFL.
Speaker 2: And what was the difference to me?
Speaker 3: I think part of it was like the first play
Speaker 3: of that final drive was really just a quick screen
Speaker 3: to ramondre Stevenson thirty yards right, So I mean to
Speaker 3: put it all on Mac, that's you know, we got
Speaker 3: to mention the guys around him, ramondre Stevenson, big on
Speaker 3: the screen, Hunter, Henry terrific, you know, on a catch
Speaker 3: over the middle, Pop Douglas with his catch, you know,
Speaker 3: the touchdown to Gaseki. So I think a combination of
Speaker 3: the guys around him, you know, stepping up, but Mac
Speaker 3: also elevating them with his poise, with his confidence and
Speaker 3: making a play like sometimes one play in my experience,
Speaker 3: can sort of manifest itself in to the next play,
Speaker 3: into the next play. And they finally developed that rhythm
Speaker 3: and consistency that quite frankly, Travis, I felt like was
Speaker 3: always there.
Speaker 2: But you can't keep talking.
Speaker 3: About it, like at some point you just got to
Speaker 3: go out and do it, and they did it.
Speaker 1: It was impressive, and you know, for someone that's you know,
Speaker 1: maybe pulling against the Buffalo Bills, the second place team
Speaker 1: in the AFC East. It was fun for Dolphins dance
Speaker 1: to watch that drive materialize and wind up in the
Speaker 1: end zone with the former Dolphin and Mike Gaziki and
Speaker 1: him doing his former Dolphins greed dance that he would
Speaker 1: do and Mac following along with him there and that
Speaker 1: play actually reminded me a lot of the Dolphins twenty
Speaker 1: nineteen winner in New England from Fitzpatrick to Gasiki in
Speaker 1: the back of the enzone. Pretty similar route and throw there.
Speaker 1: So I guess history repeats itself once again there for
Speaker 1: the Patriots. But let's go over to the other side
Speaker 1: of the football here, Mike, because you know, last time
Speaker 1: the Dolphins and Patriots met, y'all had a pass rusher
Speaker 1: who was one of the NFL's top sack men last year.
Speaker 1: If was he, did you not lead the league in
Speaker 1: sacks last year?
Speaker 3: He didn't know, he wasn't the leader, but he had
Speaker 3: fourteen and a half, which is still he led the Patriots,
Speaker 3: that's for sure.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that as a bunch of sack production. How are
Speaker 1: the replacing that this year with his absence?
Speaker 2: So it's interesting.
Speaker 3: They were really going deep into their depth, you know,
Speaker 3: this pass game, because it wasn't just Matthew Judon that
Speaker 3: they were without the pass game this most recent game.
Speaker 2: And I do want to correct myself.
Speaker 3: Judaan had fifteen and a half sacks last year, not
Speaker 3: fourteen and a half. Josh Uce would be the next
Speaker 3: man up, but he was out this pass game with
Speaker 3: a knee injury.
Speaker 2: And then Keon White, their second round pick.
Speaker 3: He also missed the game with a concussion, so they
Speaker 3: were down to basically their next guy. Anthorty Jennings, a
Speaker 3: fourth year player out of Alabama, played very well, played
Speaker 3: sixty nine snaps out of seventy one. And then they
Speaker 3: had Dietrich Wise, who's sort of a hybrid defensive end,
Speaker 3: you know, defensive tackle.
Speaker 2: He sort of was on the edge on the other side.
Speaker 3: But those those guys have different styles of play than
Speaker 3: Matthew Judon and so they have to do it a
Speaker 3: little differently. But they were effective, you know, in terms
Speaker 3: of what they were.
Speaker 2: I will do against the Bills.
Speaker 1: It seems like they've had the same front for so
Speaker 1: long there with Lawrence guy, Dietrich Wise, now Devon Godshaw
Speaker 1: getting up there in the years with the Patriots after
Speaker 1: playing here for the first four years of his NFL career.
Speaker 1: But I saw Belichick's press conference this morning where he
Speaker 1: comes to the podium and just says, Dolphins week. You
Speaker 1: guys already know. So it's like same thing over here.
Speaker 2: Man.
Speaker 1: We've pled these guys so many times at this point
Speaker 1: that it's just kind of a you know what, you're
Speaker 1: gonna get there. And so that brings me my last
Speaker 1: question for you here, Mike, because you know, and you
Speaker 1: talked about injuries at the edge position. I know, the
Speaker 1: defensive backfields a little bit banged up with Christian Gonzalez
Speaker 1: being out. He had his first career pick in that
Speaker 1: game against Miami back in Week two. But I'm really
Speaker 1: curious what I mean, you know, schematics. You and I
Speaker 1: are not, you know, coaches by any means, but I'm
Speaker 1: super curious to see what it might look like for
Speaker 1: the Patriots this week because we saw them back in
Speaker 1: Week two run that three high safety you know, basically
Speaker 1: roof on top of the defense all game long to
Speaker 1: limit this Miami explosive offense. But we also saw last
Speaker 1: week the Eagles issue a different type of game play
Speaker 1: or I even go back to the Vikings game on
Speaker 1: Monday with Brian Flores dialing up a bunch of you know,
Speaker 1: zero blitz is against a similar offense in San Francisco,
Speaker 1: and it's got me thinking about all these options that
Speaker 1: Belichick has to choose from to issue a game plan
Speaker 1: to try to slow this Dolphins offense. What do you
Speaker 1: think you might be cooking up over there?
Speaker 3: So I love this conversation because I remember us talking
Speaker 3: about how, you know, and how they would defend Tyreek,
Speaker 3: and I think I used the example of you know,
Speaker 3: I've seen Bill Belichick put like vices around Tony Gonzalez,
Speaker 3: the old chief tight end, right, and and so how
Speaker 3: did they end up doing that with Tyreek?
Speaker 2: It was the you know, not all game, but like
Speaker 2: a lot of the.
Speaker 3: Three three safeties across the back line there, right. And
Speaker 3: so what I would think is it's going to be
Speaker 3: they'll do some of that, I would think, but I
Speaker 3: wouldn't be surprised if they spin the dial with a
Speaker 3: little bit more pressure. I'd have to go back and
Speaker 3: see how much pressure they you know, put on Tour
Speaker 3: or how much.
Speaker 2: Pressure calls they made in that Week two game. I
Speaker 2: don't have that up the top of my head.
Speaker 3: But I will say, like, like they pick their spots,
Speaker 3: Like even against Josh Allen in this last game, that's
Speaker 3: that touchdown to Stefan Diggs. I mean that was an
Speaker 3: eight man blitz right like, so so they'll do it, Travis.
Speaker 3: It's just picking their spots. And I think so that
Speaker 3: to me is gonna be like the plan. Like you know,
Speaker 3: they're gonna still make Tyreek the top priority.
Speaker 2: So I expect to see that. But then it's like it's.
Speaker 3: Gonna be like a small handful of plays where they
Speaker 3: roll the dice right and they bring pressure, and I'm
Speaker 3: curious and those might end up being the plays that
Speaker 3: ultimately decide the game.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm curious to see how that.
Speaker 1: Unfolds, whether it's you know, a sack fumble or something,
Speaker 1: or a bust in coverage that goes for a touchdown
Speaker 1: the other direction. I tend to agree because these games
Speaker 1: always follow the same script where both teams kind of
Speaker 1: you know, slow playing offensively. It limits the drives like
Speaker 1: eight or nine per team. It comes down to red
Speaker 1: zone executioning to wind up with like a twenty four
Speaker 1: to twenty two game. Every single time these two teams meet,
Speaker 1: it seems like. And so with that in mind, mic
Speaker 1: question here for you. I lie that that was the
Speaker 1: penultimate question, the last one that I ask every time
Speaker 1: on my Thursday podcast. The Patriots will win this game
Speaker 1: if and then you can fill in the blank.
Speaker 3: So they're going to win the game if they can
Speaker 3: create two or more turnovers on defense.
Speaker 2: I think that's the first thing I would say.
Speaker 3: Now it's sort of weak, you know, because anyone can
Speaker 3: go to the turnovers.
Speaker 2: But I think so let me say how they would
Speaker 2: do it.
Speaker 3: It'll be by speeding up to and disrupting the rhythm
Speaker 3: of the passing game.
Speaker 2: So that'll be key. And I think offensive line, I
Speaker 2: keep coming back to that.
Speaker 3: I mean, Andrew Van Ginkle is probably wondering, you know, hey,
Speaker 3: can I duplicate that Week two game against Calvin Anderson
Speaker 3: at right tackle? Like they can't have blocking like that
Speaker 3: in this game if they're gonna win.
Speaker 2: So I'd like to add that in there as well. Travis.
Speaker 1: That's a good a good matchup preview there, and it
Speaker 1: could potentially be you know, I don't think the Dolphins
Speaker 1: are gona take anybody lightly this year because that's just
Speaker 1: not how the NFL works, but the Dolphins have been
Speaker 1: on a role against this Patriots team, but we expect
Speaker 1: to get their best come Sunday one o'clock at hard
Speaker 1: Rock Stadium. He is Mike Reese at Mike Ese on Twitter.
Speaker 1: You can find him across a variety of ESPN shows,
Speaker 1: including Game Day Right, sorry, countdown on Game Day correct, Mike.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I enjoy it when they call on me to
Speaker 3: do that.
Speaker 2: Travis.
Speaker 3: It's not like every week, but whenever they need something,
Speaker 3: I'm there for him.
Speaker 1: Well, you can find them on ESPN across a variety
Speaker 1: of shows. There again at Mike Griese on Twitter. Mike,
Speaker 1: appreciate your time and look forward to meeting you finally
Speaker 1: on Sunday, my friend, I look.
Speaker 2: Forward to it. Travis. Way to play through the pain
Speaker 2: this week.
Speaker 3: I'm impressed I had the injury report, I had you
Speaker 3: as probable with the illness, and I'm impressed the way
Speaker 3: you gut it through it.
Speaker 2: So looking forward to seeing.
Speaker 1: You the old Tom Brady distinction every single week. Right
Speaker 1: probable before the game.
Speaker 2: That's right right shoulder probably there you go.
Speaker 1: Appreciate it, Mike, Thank you man, You're the best. Thanks Travis,
Speaker 1: and away he goes Let's go ahead and take our
Speaker 1: first break right there. Come back on the other side
Speaker 1: and hear from the Dolphins coordinators and a couple of
Speaker 1: assistant coaches. That's next Drive Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield,
Speaker 1: brought to you by donation. We're gonna hear from Dolphin's
Speaker 1: assistant coaches here in just a second. And before I
Speaker 1: do that, a segment idea came to me on Thursday morning,
Speaker 1: And those of you that listen to the podcast every
Speaker 1: day know that yesterday I was not feeling the best
Speaker 1: and that has carried over into Thursday, into me staying
Speaker 1: home from work, so I was not able to go
Speaker 1: to the press conferences to see what the coordinators and
Speaker 1: assistant coaches all said on Thursday ahead of this Patriots game.
Speaker 1: We will play some audio at the end of the
Speaker 1: segment for you guys there. But something came up that
Speaker 1: you know, made me almost Jordan flu game inspired to
Speaker 1: jump on the podcast here and do a rant despite
Speaker 1: the fact that I can't breathe out on my nose
Speaker 1: and I probably sound like crap to you guys, and
Speaker 1: you know I don't. I'm not in the business of
Speaker 1: amplifying nonsense. That's what drives. These take machine content creators
Speaker 1: and whether you're talking about a callin Cowherd or a
Speaker 1: skip Bay list, or whoever it is that does it
Speaker 1: really successfully for millions and millions of dollars, and tip
Speaker 1: of the cap to those guys. For every one of
Speaker 1: those guys, there are twenty Joey Jets out there right,
Speaker 1: And we don't speak of Joey Jets on Twitter because
Speaker 1: we just don't provide a platform for someone who, like,
Speaker 1: you know, how, people are born with inadequacies, whether it's
Speaker 1: a physical inadequacy or maybe they're socially awkward. Some people
Speaker 1: were born with soup where their brain should be, and
Speaker 1: that's someone you probably shouldn't give a whole lot of
Speaker 1: credence to. But in this instance, Joey Jets created a
Speaker 1: piece of content for me that I think was really
Speaker 1: worth talking about here on the podcast because I've seen
Speaker 1: it not just from Joey Jets, from multiple mainstream you know,
Speaker 1: sports talking heads or whatever you want to call them.
Speaker 1: And of course, every single tweet you see about Tyreek
Speaker 1: potentially missing a game, you're going to get several comments
Speaker 1: and quote retweets about how two was going to have
Speaker 1: to do it? On his own for the first time.
Speaker 1: And by the way, tyre' snuplay on Sunday, So just
Speaker 1: chill on that, h But I wanted to bring this up.
Speaker 1: I didn't script it. I just wanted to go ahead
Speaker 1: and float it out there because I'm tired of it.
Speaker 1: And that's that's this. Do we not remember Tua carrying
Speaker 1: groups of eligibles that were constructed via udfas, like running
Speaker 1: backs that were never draft picks. I remember when they
Speaker 1: traded for DeAndre Washington to come in and be like
Speaker 1: the workhorse back or alongside one A, one B with
Speaker 1: Duke Johnson. Do you guys remember that? Do you guys
Speaker 1: remember throwing our deep shots to Mac Hollins and having
Speaker 1: Albert Wilson be your safety net underneath? Do you remember that?
Speaker 1: Do you remember Adam Shaheen being like a prominent fixture
Speaker 1: in the Dolphins passing game? Do we recall all of
Speaker 1: that when Tua still had a winning record with those
Speaker 1: circumstances around him and a head coach who actively against
Speaker 1: him nonetheless, But then Tua gets talented players around him,
Speaker 1: and the numbers jump and the wins jump, and everyone
Speaker 1: then says, well, it's because of everyone besides Tua neglecting
Speaker 1: the fact that Tua had done it the previous year
Speaker 1: with the aforementioned Preston Williams and Miles Gaskin. No shade
Speaker 1: on those guys, but you know Jesse Davis, so then
Speaker 1: he gets talented players. And the argument is, well, if
Speaker 1: you take away Tron Armstead, then surely Tua can't perform.
Speaker 1: And Tron Armstead misses a couple of games to start
Speaker 1: the year and to a play is like an MVP quarterback. Well,
Speaker 1: he can't do it without Jalen Waddle. No Waddle. They
Speaker 1: score seventy points against the never Broncos. There's also a
Speaker 1: passing chart out there that shows you because this Dolphins
Speaker 1: offense is unique in the sense that they do not
Speaker 1: run the same receivers on every single play. Some teams
Speaker 1: like Stefan Diggs or Ceedee Lamb like they don't leave
Speaker 1: the field. But the way this offense is constructed, Tyreek
Speaker 1: Hill and Jalen Watt will play about seventy five percent
Speaker 1: of your snaps when they're healthy up for a game
Speaker 1: because they want them to rest. With all the motions
Speaker 1: and vertical routes they run. They want those guys fresh
Speaker 1: for forty five snaps opposed to eighty five percent of
Speaker 1: their conditioning on one hundred percent of the snaps. And
Speaker 1: there's a chart out there that shows you that Tua
Speaker 1: is more efficient than when Tyreek's not on the field
Speaker 1: than when he is. And to further this point, which
Speaker 1: I don't understand how it exists. At this point, when
Speaker 1: you lose Tua under this Mike McDaniel system with Jalen Waddell,
Speaker 1: with Tyreek Hill, you can't move the football against Cincinnati
Speaker 1: Bengals when you replaced him, you cannot move the football
Speaker 1: against the Jets. The following week, you lost to Zach
Speaker 1: Wilson by a whole bunch of points because the offense
Speaker 1: was completely inept. You couldn't move the ball until the
Speaker 1: fourth quarter. When you're down by a couple of scores.
Speaker 1: Against the Minnesota Vikings, Tua goes out again. We scored
Speaker 1: eleven points against the New York Jets in Week eighteen
Speaker 1: last year. You couldn't score against the New England Patriots
Speaker 1: last year. What are we doing? Man? It reminds me
Speaker 1: a little bit. And I'm not going to compare the
Speaker 1: players in terms of their skill sets and their career
Speaker 1: for their career projections or trajectories. But it kind of
Speaker 1: reminds me of Tom Brady because I was the guy
Speaker 1: that was doing this to Tom Brady when I was
Speaker 1: in my early twenties. He's not gonna survive losing Wes
Speaker 1: Welker to the Broncos. He can't survive losing Randy Moss.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, they were good because of the top level
Speaker 1: of defense is in that running game. Forget that he
Speaker 1: was passing to Rashe Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney and Dante Stalworth.
Speaker 1: Brady didn't have like real tangible talent in the way
Speaker 1: that you know these quarterback evaluators and I use air
Speaker 1: quotes around that, the way they only seem to care
Speaker 1: about the traits that are displayed by Lamar Jackson or
Speaker 1: Justin Herbert. And those are traits are great, it's good
Speaker 1: to have those, but we've seen it proven time and
Speaker 1: time again, those are not the traits that most translate
Speaker 1: to consistent quarterback success. It's winning from the pocket, right,
Speaker 1: So Brady didn't have this tangible talent that jumped off
Speaker 1: the screen and punched you in the face. And we
Speaker 1: would always bemoan their subtractions as if to say the
Speaker 1: gap is closing in the AFC East because the Patriots
Speaker 1: did not retain player X, Y and Z. They traded,
Speaker 1: you know, even on the defensive side, they would you know,
Speaker 1: exit guys left and right and still get some similar production.
Speaker 1: But in terms of offensively, oh, they can't possibly survive,
Speaker 1: you know, Corey Dillon's retirement, Nate Solder gone, and free agency.
Speaker 1: How can they survive that they traded Shack Mason. What
Speaker 1: are they gonna do without Shaq Mason at right guard?
Speaker 1: It never mattered because Tom Brady was the most important piece,
Speaker 1: just like the quarterback of the Miami Dolphins is. So
Speaker 1: maybe it will take until Tua is thirty five years old,
Speaker 1: has an MVP or two, maybe a couple of championship rings.
Speaker 1: Maybe that's when he'll get his respect. But I don't know.
Speaker 1: I don't think it's gonna happen anytime soon. But I
Speaker 1: look at a few of these games in the pre
Speaker 1: Tyreek and even the pre Jalen Waddle part of Tua's career,
Speaker 1: like a game against the Arizona Cardinals where he was
Speaker 1: twenty for twenty eight for two hundred forty eight yards,
Speaker 1: two passing touchdowns, and a passer rating of one twenty
Speaker 1: two point three, including two go ahead drives in the
Speaker 1: fourth quarter to put the Dolphins on top. Do you
Speaker 1: care to know who the top receivers were that day
Speaker 1: for your Miami Dolphins. DeVante Parker caught six for sixty
Speaker 1: four in that game, Preston Williams caught four for sixty
Speaker 1: Jaquem Grant caught four for thirty five. Those were his
Speaker 1: top three targets in that game. How about the following
Speaker 1: week when they beat the La Chargers and Justin Herbert
Speaker 1: and two, you know a pedestrian fifteen for twenty five
Speaker 1: and one hundred and sixty nine yards and two touchdowns,
Speaker 1: but a one zero six point nine passer rating. And
Speaker 1: now the argument is, well, Herbert's top target is down right,
Speaker 1: his offensive lines banged up, he's playing through an injury.
Speaker 1: That's why two has got better numbers for the last
Speaker 1: two years than Justin Herbert. Well, in this game, two
Speaker 1: was top targets were Jakeem Grant, Malcolm Perry, Patrick Laird,
Speaker 1: Durham smythe Do you know who Justin Herbert threw two
Speaker 1: that day? Mike Williams and Keenan Allen and Hunter Henry
Speaker 1: and Jalen Geiton. Those guys are all better players than
Speaker 1: anybody the Dolphins had on the team that day, and
Speaker 1: twa outperformed justin Herbert. How about the Chiefs game a
Speaker 1: few weeks after that where two three for three hundred
Speaker 1: and sixteen yards and two touchdowns and damn near brought
Speaker 1: the Dolphins back against Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and the
Speaker 1: eventual AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs, who are the top
Speaker 1: targets that day? Lynn Boden caught seven for eighty two,
Speaker 1: mccollins five for sixty six, Mike Kasiki five for sixty five.
Speaker 1: What'skasiki looked like in his post two career? How about
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty one when the Dolphins went to the
Speaker 1: Jets and Tua went twenty seven for thirty three with
Speaker 1: two hundred and seventy three yards two touchdowns. It's a
Speaker 1: one o eight points seven passer rating. Yeah, Waddlecott eight
Speaker 1: for sixty five. He's a stud, we know that. But
Speaker 1: mac hollins two for seventy two in a touchdown? Is
Speaker 1: he a deep play guy that you know about in
Speaker 1: the league. Adam Shaheen had one for nineteen Smyth had
Speaker 1: four for thirty seven, Nikasiki had five for fifty. We
Speaker 1: were throwing to three tight ends primarily besides Jalen Waddell,
Speaker 1: Albert Wilson, Miles Gaskin had some catches too. They beat
Speaker 1: the Jets on the road with that collection of players.
Speaker 1: And oh, by the way, how about offensive lines like this,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna find it you guys ready, Jesse Davis, Liam Mikenberg,
Speaker 1: Austin Ryder, Austin Jackson, and Robert Hunt. There's one player
Speaker 1: in there that was good at that time. How about
Speaker 1: a couple weeks later at the Carolina Panthers, twenty seven
Speaker 1: for thirty one, two hundred and thirty yards, a touchdown,
Speaker 1: a one to eight point three passer rating, and a
Speaker 1: blowout victory over the Panthers. Now, Waddell had a bunch
Speaker 1: of plays in that game, nine for one thirty seven.
Speaker 1: So you give him one piece, he can make some
Speaker 1: magic happen, you know, pitch a damn near perfect game.
Speaker 1: In terms of four incomplete passes out of thirty one,
Speaker 1: Durham Smyth had five for thirty two. Isaiah Ford had
Speaker 1: a catch in there in the offensive line that day.
Speaker 1: Jesse Davis, Austin Ryder, Liam Mikenberg, Austin Jackson, Robert Hunt.
Speaker 1: So what are we doing here? Man? What are we doing?
Speaker 1: Who is the common factor in the Dolphins producing at
Speaker 1: the level we'vecome accustomed to when they're good and scraping
Speaker 1: by against bad teams when they were awful? Roster wise,
Speaker 1: who's the common denominator? It's your quarterback, So appreciate and
Speaker 1: respect him. Understand that it doesn't matter who misses. As
Speaker 1: long as two was in the game, we have a chance.
Speaker 1: That's my point. Let's go ahead and bump assistant coaches.
Speaker 1: We'll hear from those guys again next week. Let's take
Speaker 1: our last break right there, come back on the other
Speaker 1: side and do a week eight game picks. That's next
Speaker 1: Drivetime podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by
Speaker 1: Auto Nation, playing hurt today again on the podcast. A
Speaker 1: limited participant in practice is I as we tredge on? Here?
Speaker 1: Is that a word? In week number eight and do
Speaker 1: some game picks rough week last week seven and six.
Speaker 1: In the thirteen games that were played in week number seven,
Speaker 1: that is brutal. It's gone like this so far. Let's
Speaker 1: see eleven and five twelve, and four, twelve and four
Speaker 1: for the reason I don't have Week four one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven,
Speaker 1: twelve and four, seven and seven, eleven and four, seven
Speaker 1: and six. So we've either been really really good and
Speaker 1: two weeks where you've been absolutely awful. Let's go ahead
Speaker 1: and cue the music right there and pick these Week
Speaker 1: eight games. I would like to see the Bucks obviously
Speaker 1: pull off the win tonight, but they are more than
Speaker 1: a touchdown dog, and though I think they can keep
Speaker 1: it close with a struggling Buffalo offense, I don't envision
Speaker 1: Buffalo losing two games in four days to two pretty
Speaker 1: bad football teams. So give me the Bills on Thursday
Speaker 1: Night football. Give me the Dolphins over the Patriots on Sunday.
Speaker 1: Give me the Cowboys over the Rams in that one.
Speaker 1: That's you know, the Rams have played a lot better
Speaker 1: this year. Matt Stafford looks like Matt Stafford of old.
Speaker 1: But I think the Cowboys, off the bye week, can
Speaker 1: bounce back and get a big win. Here the Packers
Speaker 1: over the Vikings. I think the Vikings played their best game.
Speaker 1: They're gonna be on a short week. They don't have
Speaker 1: justin Jefferson. I think that can potentially. You know now
Speaker 1: that there's some more tape without Justin Jefferson, and you're
Speaker 1: probably not gonna have Jordan Addison stealing interceptions to tournament
Speaker 1: sixty yard touchdown plays for you probably not gonna face
Speaker 1: an injured quarterback in the second half like you did
Speaker 1: in that last game. So give me the Packers and
Speaker 1: Jordan Love to rescue an offense that has been very
Speaker 1: bad and made me look very bad for my Jordan
Speaker 1: Love Love back in the draft cycle back in twenty eight,
Speaker 1: nineteen twenty twenty. Give me the Falcons over the Titans
Speaker 1: and the Arthur Smith Bowl. You know, Tannehill I think
Speaker 1: gets a lot of the grief there for the Titans performances,
Speaker 1: but I think they're gonna learn real quick the same
Speaker 1: lesson the Dolphins. Fans should learn last year without Tua
Speaker 1: that the options beyond that are significantly more dire. Give
Speaker 1: me the Colts over the Saints. I don't think that
Speaker 1: Saints offense, you know, watching them for a full game
Speaker 1: on primetime, like they're gonna have to convince me for
Speaker 1: a few weeks that offense can do anything. They looked
Speaker 1: like trash. Give me Gardner Minshew and the Colts over
Speaker 1: the Saints, Jets over the Giants, although I think it's
Speaker 1: gonna be a close game there. Give me the Jags
Speaker 1: over the Steelers. I'll take the Eagles over the Commanders,
Speaker 1: and the Texans over the Panthers in the Stroud v.
Speaker 1: Young Bull there, Seahawks over the Browns. I think Cleveland
Speaker 1: coming west without their starting quarterback, even though he's been
Speaker 1: trashed this year. I just don't think they're gonna be
Speaker 1: able to sustain success offensively enough to beat teams with
Speaker 1: you week in and week out. Chiefs over the Broncos,
Speaker 1: although we wish it was opposite for that. Ravens over
Speaker 1: the Cardinals. Hopefully Kyler Murray plays and gives us a
Speaker 1: little bit of a surprise there for the Cardinals. That
Speaker 1: would be nice for the AFC standing standpoint. But give
Speaker 1: me Lamar and the Ravens. I'll take the Niners over
Speaker 1: the Bengals, even with Sam Donald. I just think that
Speaker 1: the arguments you see about two in the system I
Speaker 1: think are more applicable in San Francisco. Although I don't
Speaker 1: believe they are the end all be all. I think
Speaker 1: Donald can step in execute their game plan and go
Speaker 1: win a game against a Bengals team that still doesn't
Speaker 1: seem like they're quite all the way back yet, although
Speaker 1: I think they'll get there eventually. Give me the Chargers
Speaker 1: over the Bears on Sunday Night, What a fun primetime
Speaker 1: week this is? And the Lions over the Raiders on
Speaker 1: Monday Night to close out the week. So there you go.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna get the heck out of here, go back
Speaker 1: to bed. You all. Please be sure to subscrib I
Speaker 1: rate review all that fun stuff. Check out the fish
Speaker 1: Tank podcast with Seth and Juice. Give me a follow
Speaker 1: on socials at Wingfold NFL. The team at Miami Dolphins
Speaker 1: check out the YouTube channel for media availabilities and Dolphins Today,
Speaker 1: and last but not least, Miami Dolphins dot com. Until
Speaker 1: next time, Finns Up Carolina, Cameron Daddy's already homesick.