Speaker 1: To us fires touch style by Waddle snucked into the
Speaker 1: end zone of Miami Boyd tight pro tight window. They
Speaker 1: had to get that touchdown on that play. They get it.
Speaker 1: What is up? Dolphans And welcome to the Drive 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 Winfield, And on today show, the two season starts
Speaker 1: in just two days. We'll have the Dolphins and Patriots
Speaker 1: preview for you on Thursday, but today we are previewing
Speaker 1: all things two NFL season, division winners, wild card picks,
Speaker 1: super Bowl Pick, everybody's record, m v p s, and
Speaker 1: all the awards. I'll discuss my favorite storylines and thanks
Speaker 1: to watch from the year and each team this season.
Speaker 1: A fun, fun show. A small departure for Dolphins talk,
Speaker 1: but I think that's okay for just one episode from
Speaker 1: the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
Speaker 1: This is the Drivetime Podcast. Today's show is a practice
Speaker 1: that I have been exercising since shoot, I don't know,
Speaker 1: at least at least my junior year of high school.
Speaker 1: Because I nailed that two thousand and four Super Bowl
Speaker 1: with the Patriots and the Eagles, even though that was
Speaker 1: chalk as the Patriots coming off of two of the
Speaker 1: last three Super Bowl victories already in their back pocket
Speaker 1: and the Eagles, with a loaded roster, had just brought
Speaker 1: in Terrell Owens. But it's still pretty hard to get
Speaker 1: it right. I think last year was Ravens and Rams
Speaker 1: was my pick. So I got half of that right,
Speaker 1: and I felt pretty good about the Ravens, but those
Speaker 1: injuries kind of took them out, as they were the
Speaker 1: one seat at one point last season. Just trying to say,
Speaker 1: this is a very hard to exercise to practice, and
Speaker 1: you know, even with all the technological advances, I always
Speaker 1: find it funny when someone says I'm a pencil and
Speaker 1: paper person, because you know, I sometimes maybe wish that
Speaker 1: I was, But between typing ten times faster and my
Speaker 1: handwriting being hardly legible, it's just inefficient for me, and
Speaker 1: I think largely for most people, except for in this
Speaker 1: one instance where I break out my notepad and a
Speaker 1: piece of paper that's the same thing and a pen,
Speaker 1: and I go over the NFL schedule and I pick
Speaker 1: every single game, and I've learned some lessons about doing
Speaker 1: that because you have to do that to get all
Speaker 1: two d and seventy two games right. You have to
Speaker 1: make sure that every game, every way and loss is
Speaker 1: accounting for. You can't just say, well, I think I
Speaker 1: think the New York Giants are gonna go five and
Speaker 1: twelve this year. You have to go through the whole process.
Speaker 1: And here are some lessons I have learned from doing that.
Speaker 1: Number one, don't be a contrarian just to be a contrarian.
Speaker 1: No one likes that kind of person. But also it's
Speaker 1: gonna veer you in the wrong direction. Number two, don't
Speaker 1: pick games in the way that you want to see them. Frankly,
Speaker 1: I have you know. It's less now, but when I
Speaker 1: used to be at Locked On and it was more
Speaker 1: about trying to get your individual picks right and everything,
Speaker 1: and you're scouting reports and your teams that were gonna
Speaker 1: be good and bad. I would veer away from the
Speaker 1: teams that I thought might be disappointing and more in
Speaker 1: favor towards the teams that I thought would help the
Speaker 1: Dolphins get into the postseason. Part of that's being contrarian,
Speaker 1: but also just try to take the fan angle out
Speaker 1: of it. Number three. You've gotta present more nuanced than
Speaker 1: I believe that Team X is better than Team why
Speaker 1: therefore they're gonna win travel schedule, previous and next opponents
Speaker 1: specific matchups. Here's a very deep cut for you an
Speaker 1: example of that, and I'm curious who here remembers this example.
Speaker 1: Season The Dolphins began the year on the road at
Speaker 1: Buffalo and then in Minnesota. It's actually a really nice
Speaker 1: road start, one outdoor game in September and one at
Speaker 1: a dome and two cold weather towns. But the Bills
Speaker 1: were home dogs against US, and the Dolphins got the win.
Speaker 1: But the farv led Minnesota Vikings were only one play
Speaker 1: away from the super Bowl the year prior. And I
Speaker 1: would never forget saying Phil load Holt, the tackle from
Speaker 1: Oklahoma who was a good prospect, but his name was
Speaker 1: as fitting as his play style. Load Holt a good player,
Speaker 1: but he was a massive people mover who struggled with
Speaker 1: speed around the edge. And I specifically recall writing on
Speaker 1: a message board that Cam Wake would be the reason
Speaker 1: the Dolphins won that game and got off to their
Speaker 1: first two and oh start since the two thousand and
Speaker 1: three No. Two thousand two season. Oh three loss of
Speaker 1: the Texans an opening day. Sure enough in Roy en
Speaker 1: route to a fourteen sack, twenty one tackle for lost,
Speaker 1: three forced fumble too, Second team All Pro, I should
Speaker 1: say season Gosh, what a beast he was. Cam gets
Speaker 1: a striped sack that co a messy scoops up in
Speaker 1: the end zone. Then he puts a bunch of pressure
Speaker 1: on far as the Vikings are trying to come back
Speaker 1: from fourteen down, and he just puts it away. So
Speaker 1: the idea is that that matchup, even though the Vikings
Speaker 1: were a better team in the Dolphins that year, that
Speaker 1: matchup did the Vikings in and got the Dolphins that too,
Speaker 1: and oh start And finally, if you do it this
Speaker 1: way like me, and the reason I mentioned the technological
Speaker 1: advances because you can go on NFL dot com and
Speaker 1: I think you can do the playoff predictor. But it's
Speaker 1: just not for me, just inefficient that way. It's not inefficient,
Speaker 1: it's just not doesn't give me the same feel. So
Speaker 1: if you do it this way with a notebook, I
Speaker 1: went through the schedule one time and didn't really care
Speaker 1: for my results. I think you have to wrap it
Speaker 1: a few times to kind of get a feel for
Speaker 1: the flow of the schedule of each team's potential ups
Speaker 1: and downs in the seasons. One trap I think you
Speaker 1: can fall into is evening the scores, well, this team
Speaker 1: lost this week to look at a win the following week.
Speaker 1: You have to avoid that stuff. That's not how it goes.
Speaker 1: And then finally, just have fun with it. You have
Speaker 1: plenty of time to stress about playoff calculator exercises come
Speaker 1: Thanksgiving on the dot com. Like I mentioned, I love
Speaker 1: doing these each year and measuring my picks versus the
Speaker 1: actual results, and I always trying to come within two
Speaker 1: games of every single team. Last year had the Rams
Speaker 1: and Ravens. Of course the Rams that probably the Ram
Speaker 1: Ravens probably had the worst injury luck of any team ever,
Speaker 1: but we did get the Rams. But my goal ultimately
Speaker 1: is to get every team within two games of their
Speaker 1: eventual win loss records. So if you're interested, what I
Speaker 1: want you to do is drop your picks on my
Speaker 1: timeline at Wingfield NFL with your division winners, your wild
Speaker 1: card teams. You can do the whole records too. I'd
Speaker 1: love to see it if you can fit it into
Speaker 1: one tweet, and then we'll come back and revisit that
Speaker 1: thread or your tweets. I should say, in a few
Speaker 1: months when the season comes to an end, how about
Speaker 1: some of the more generic storylines. I want to do
Speaker 1: team by team storylines, but some of the things that
Speaker 1: really kind of pique my interest this season, and there
Speaker 1: always are these things every year, but this first one
Speaker 1: is this in balance between the a f C and
Speaker 1: NFC in terms of talent and football teams that are
Speaker 1: superior to others. Going through my predictions, I have a
Speaker 1: hard time finding a seventh playoff team in the NFC,
Speaker 1: where I'm booting out teams in the a f C
Speaker 1: that I feel are very, very worthy potential title contenders,
Speaker 1: the title contenders that have to go by the boards
Speaker 1: because the a f C is so deep. Now, this
Speaker 1: is a pendulum that swings heavy. For a while there,
Speaker 1: the a f C was a little brother to the NFC,
Speaker 1: but the last few years that has swung back, and
Speaker 1: even in that the more favorable inner conference record does
Speaker 1: go to the a f C, but it's never that significant.
Speaker 1: But this year it just feels like this a f
Speaker 1: C is so much more significantly well set up to
Speaker 1: dominate the inner conference matchups. This year we'll see the
Speaker 1: plays out that way. But you never really know because
Speaker 1: every single year you find things that go off of
Speaker 1: the reservation. Because find me one persons year who thought
Speaker 1: the Bengals would come out of the a f C,
Speaker 1: and I will show you a liar if you show
Speaker 1: me that person. Now that said, I'm writing this before
Speaker 1: doing my predictions and putting them into the notebook. But
Speaker 1: the last one I did have five teams in the
Speaker 1: a f C with twelve wins. I have to fix
Speaker 1: that because there's no way that's gonna happen. This is
Speaker 1: why you do it a few times. And I can
Speaker 1: see the a f C once against, you know, spinning
Speaker 1: out a random winner that comes from the unexpected because
Speaker 1: of how deep this conference is. Speaking of favorites, how
Speaker 1: about that opener on Thursday night. The Bills in the
Speaker 1: Rams are the most picked Super Bowl teams in either conference,
Speaker 1: and we get them week one to kick the season
Speaker 1: off on Thursday night. We'll have the picks for you
Speaker 1: guys on the Friday show. But we have to pick
Speaker 1: that game now. And my rule is unchanged. Always take
Speaker 1: the team hanging the banner and the season opener. So
Speaker 1: the first pick of the year. What was my record
Speaker 1: last year? I mean, I can pull my phone up.
Speaker 1: The goal was when I deleted it. I think I
Speaker 1: did delete it. I think we got right around seventy
Speaker 1: three percent by the end of the season. We'll try
Speaker 1: to beat that this year. But the first pick, I'm
Speaker 1: taking the Rams over the Bills. Let's go ahead and
Speaker 1: take our first break here on the season preview podcast.
Speaker 1: I'll come back and talk about some things that I'm
Speaker 1: most excited to watch this season, but also team by
Speaker 1: team storylines. We'll do that next here on the Drivetime Podcast,
Speaker 1: your host Travis Wingfield. Brought to you by Auto Nation.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure why I chose that spot for the break,
Speaker 1: but it was in my notes to do it, So
Speaker 1: there it is. Back here on the season preview this Tuesday,
Speaker 1: September six edition of the Drivetime Podcast. No podcast for
Speaker 1: you guys. Tomorrow Thursday, we'll have the preview Dolphins and Patriots,
Speaker 1: and Friday is Football Friday, taking a look at the
Speaker 1: picks around the league, college football landscape, and the last
Speaker 1: word on Dolphins and Patriots, which is almost here. Let's
Speaker 1: go ahead and get back to the storylines. The Ravens
Speaker 1: and Lamar Jackson in general are a big storyline for me.
Speaker 1: We'll do each team here in a second, but just
Speaker 1: in general, they are so intriguing to me because last
Speaker 1: year he has them at eight and three, they hit
Speaker 1: that small slump, you know, basically beginning with the Dolphins
Speaker 1: game down here on Thursday night. Then he gets injured,
Speaker 1: and even though Tyler Huntley played super well, they essentially
Speaker 1: couldn't win but one game in Lamar Jackson's absence. They're
Speaker 1: a fascinating team, one I'm very high on, as you'll
Speaker 1: learn here in just a moment, but I think the
Speaker 1: economy of last season and how it ended makes them
Speaker 1: just a fascinating plot line. Then you have the potential
Speaker 1: contract dispute going on there. Lamar wants to get paid
Speaker 1: that guaranteed money. We saw Russell Wilson just got the bag.
Speaker 1: We saw what de Shaun Watson got with the Cleveland Browns.
Speaker 1: Gross Uh, Lamar should probably get something, you know, in
Speaker 1: that similar vein as Watson got with the Browns. But
Speaker 1: he's gonna play out this season potentially without getting that contract,
Speaker 1: and could that mean he goes somewhere else next year.
Speaker 1: It's it's a crazy thing to look at that's a huge,
Speaker 1: huge storyline this year, but also in the future of
Speaker 1: the National Football League. Speaking of quarterbacks, the last three
Speaker 1: quarterback classes are insanely intriguing to me. The group all
Speaker 1: three teams, in my opinion, have built up championship caliber
Speaker 1: rosters around there around their young quarterbacks, and I think
Speaker 1: all three fan bases are pretty excited to see what
Speaker 1: it might look like this year from Joe Burrow from
Speaker 1: TWA Tongue Biloa and Justin Herbert, and I think all
Speaker 1: three of those guys are going to really show you
Speaker 1: this year that they are. That class was as good
Speaker 1: as we hoped it would be with those three guys,
Speaker 1: group just in general excited to see what happens with
Speaker 1: Trevor Lawrence, Zack Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields and Mac
Speaker 1: Jones and Davis Mills. How about his terrific you know,
Speaker 1: based upon expectations, terrific season. That group was by in
Speaker 1: large part of massive letdown. I mean, Trevor Lawrence was
Speaker 1: supposed to be the next Andrew Luck and his rookie
Speaker 1: season did not go well at all. Zack Wilson was
Speaker 1: an abject hire fire. He was bottom of the league
Speaker 1: in multiple categories and one of the rookie production seasons
Speaker 1: of all time. Now he's gonna be injured coming into
Speaker 1: this year. Trey Lance only saw a tiny, tiny, minuscule
Speaker 1: bit of action, and he only had seventeen starts in college.
Speaker 1: He's gonna have to take some time to grow. Justin Fields,
Speaker 1: that's a rough situation in Chicago for Justin Fields, Mac Jones,
Speaker 1: we'll talk about them here just one second. And then
Speaker 1: Davis Mills kind of comes out of the woodwork and
Speaker 1: frankly probably had the second maybe third best season of
Speaker 1: all the rookies last year. And then of course this
Speaker 1: year's rookies, when does Kenny Pickett get the nod? You know,
Speaker 1: Malik Willis won the backup job in Tennessee. Will he
Speaker 1: see time at any point this year? Remember last year
Speaker 1: the Titans were a team that got hit pretty bad
Speaker 1: by the injury bug, but Ryan Tannehill was the only
Speaker 1: real stabilizing force on that offense. So interesting dichotomy there.
Speaker 1: And then Desmond ritterd does he get big playing time
Speaker 1: this year? I think, just in general, we're in this
Speaker 1: very fascinating point of the NFL's cycles. I suppose as
Speaker 1: we continue to wave goodbye to some of these legends
Speaker 1: of the sport at the position. Every year we've said
Speaker 1: avoa to Eli Manning, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady.
Speaker 1: Will you know whether it's this year in a future year.
Speaker 1: You've got Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan at thirty eight
Speaker 1: and thirty seven, respectively. I think both have a lot
Speaker 1: of football left in them. But the big storyline here
Speaker 1: to me is the transition towards the aforementioned groups of
Speaker 1: all these young quarterbacks with so much promise in the
Speaker 1: wake of you know, quite frankly, a bunch of future
Speaker 1: Hall of famers either in the clubhouse or approaching that
Speaker 1: eighteenth green here in their career. How about the expansion,
Speaker 1: and this goes back to the mac jones and Patriots
Speaker 1: thing a little bit, the expansion of the McVeigh and
Speaker 1: Shanahan coaching trees. These have really become the norm in
Speaker 1: the NFL, and we get a couple more extensions off
Speaker 1: of it this season with O'Connell from the Rams, McDaniel
Speaker 1: coming here from the Niners, between you know, Michael la
Speaker 1: Fleur and Green Bay, Matt Lafleur, his brother with the Jets,
Speaker 1: Zach Taylor and Cincinnati Kevin Stefanski with the rounds. It's
Speaker 1: all over the league. It's the most popular coaching tree
Speaker 1: and system that there is out there right now, and
Speaker 1: I think that's relatively instructive of what's been successful recently
Speaker 1: in the National Football League. It makes me wonder what
Speaker 1: will become the next fruitful tree in this league. What
Speaker 1: does it look like? It's probably something we haven't even
Speaker 1: seen yet. What else here? How about the wide receiver
Speaker 1: activity this offseason. We talked a little bit about how,
Speaker 1: you know, there's this big stink about contracts to Tyree
Speaker 1: Hill and Davante Adams and how much money they got,
Speaker 1: But really, look at Tyreek's contract that last year is
Speaker 1: really just a you know, a sweetener, so to speak.
Speaker 1: And so your a p y for Tyreek Hill is
Speaker 1: marginally more than what it is for Christian Kirk. So
Speaker 1: that was a big win for the Dolphins. I think
Speaker 1: I'm just interested to see how this plays out. You've
Speaker 1: got Kansas City and Green Bay trading away their top guys,
Speaker 1: two guys who are in my opinion, the best too
Speaker 1: in the NFL. You've got the big deal for Christian
Speaker 1: Kirk and Jacksonville. We saw Drake London, Chris Alave, Garrett Wilson,
Speaker 1: trayl On Burke's all go league in the draft. And
Speaker 1: how about the guy that Burkes replaces with A J.
Speaker 1: Brown going to Philly. You got Marquis Brown going to
Speaker 1: the Cardinals from the Ravens. I'm just really curious see
Speaker 1: how these these results this year justify those moves and decisions.
Speaker 1: Is it feasible when you have that top quarterback like
Speaker 1: Mahomes and Rogers and the forty million dollars that comes
Speaker 1: along with that per year to your cap to strip
Speaker 1: away their top targets or should you enhance those guys
Speaker 1: with premier targets. I would argue you should enhance those
Speaker 1: guys because you know, quarterback can make a throw, but
Speaker 1: a receiver does the rest of it after that. I
Speaker 1: think it's a pretty important spot in this uh this
Speaker 1: here sport. And I had this conversation with Kyle Crabs
Speaker 1: in the day to rank the positions in order of
Speaker 1: one's you value most, and he said that was crazy
Speaker 1: for this, but I told him, man, in a big
Speaker 1: play league that continues to be full of dynamic passing
Speaker 1: more and more each year, give me receivers number two.
Speaker 1: Give me the guy that can shorten a drive by
Speaker 1: seven or eight, place from twelve plays down to four
Speaker 1: and get me into the end zone before I have
Speaker 1: a chance to bog down with a procedural penalty or
Speaker 1: drop path, a missed assignment, whatever the case may be.
Speaker 1: We saw it all year. The last couple of years
Speaker 1: it was twelve played. Drives are few and far between
Speaker 1: because it's hard to overcome first and twenty when you
Speaker 1: play twelve snaps might have a holding out there. At
Speaker 1: some point, I think it's good for now, let's do
Speaker 1: a few more in the speed round here, just some
Speaker 1: interesting team by team ones will do that next here
Speaker 1: after a short break, and we'll come back and also
Speaker 1: get actually know what, Let's go ahead and skip the break.
Speaker 1: Let's just keep this chugging here. We have to take
Speaker 1: a break for the predictions come along. Um some additional
Speaker 1: things I'm excited to see play out this year in
Speaker 1: a speed round Buffalo. The expectations this year are super Bowl,
Speaker 1: that's the takeaway. But I'm also curious to see what
Speaker 1: the cornerback position looks like. It's pretty thin beyond Trey White,
Speaker 1: as he is going to be down for the first
Speaker 1: four weeks, potentially longer than that coming off the injury
Speaker 1: last year. In top spots behind him are two rookies
Speaker 1: and Kayer Elam and Christian Benford, who split time this
Speaker 1: preseason at the perimeter cornerback spots. We know they're solid
Speaker 1: with to Ron Johnson in the slot, but can their
Speaker 1: cornerback death keep up with receiving corps across the league.
Speaker 1: Curious to see that playout for this team that has
Speaker 1: expectations to go all the way and probably the best
Speaker 1: roster in the NFL with that one spot. Something to
Speaker 1: keep an eye on. The Patriots Matt Patricia as the
Speaker 1: O C is fascinating to me, whether it pays off
Speaker 1: or not, because you switch from defense to offense for
Speaker 1: this long in your career. Joe Judge doing something similarly.
Speaker 1: They're gonna try to install the wide zone system we
Speaker 1: talked about earlier in the podcast this offseason that hasn't
Speaker 1: gone very well for them. Can they make that work?
Speaker 1: We'll see about that. I'm curious see how that works.
Speaker 1: From Mac Jones here in year two, A little bit
Speaker 1: barish on that prediction, as you'll find out here in
Speaker 1: just a second with the New York Jets when Zach
Speaker 1: Wilson returns. Is it a good thing for the Jets?
Speaker 1: Is Joe Flacco cooking with the right sauce? And ken
Speaker 1: Zach Wilson take that that year two steps that he
Speaker 1: needs to to keep the Jets off the quarterback market
Speaker 1: next year. It's a loaded class next year. That's a
Speaker 1: fascinating one for me with the Jets and then the Dolphins.
Speaker 1: Of course, it's too How he plays in year three
Speaker 1: is a very intriguing storyline with this really good roster
Speaker 1: around him. I think great things are gonna happen, But
Speaker 1: will it happen? At has to go out there and
Speaker 1: prove it. On Sunday in the a f C North
Speaker 1: the Bengals was magic carpet ride last year. Is this
Speaker 1: team a year in, year out contender or was that
Speaker 1: a flukey run. I'm curious to see how these new
Speaker 1: offensive line pieces take hold. Reports out of camp have
Speaker 1: not been kind to Lyle Collins made a big deal
Speaker 1: about Ted Carriss. Ted Carress, great guy, been on three
Speaker 1: teams in three years, and then Alex Capp was a
Speaker 1: really good addition for them too. So was it really
Speaker 1: a effective overhaul? Or just overhaul on that offensive line
Speaker 1: goes Joe Burrow still got hit a lot last year.
Speaker 1: That can't happen again. And can they write another magical
Speaker 1: defensive performance, you know, with multiple takeaways in the postseason
Speaker 1: all the way back to the Super Bowl. I think not,
Speaker 1: But we'll see Cleveland. How many wins can they find
Speaker 1: before Thanksgiving? How many finds can they how many wins
Speaker 1: can they find after Thanksgiving? I'll have that answer here
Speaker 1: in just a second. The Pittsburgh Steelers the quarterback position.
Speaker 1: Does Drubisky have that career resurgence? Does Kenny pick it
Speaker 1: hit immediately? My guess is no to either, But what
Speaker 1: what the hell do I know? Baltimore Lamar Jackson coming
Speaker 1: off that injury I mentioned earlier, probably one of the
Speaker 1: most fascinating individual storylines this entire season. If he's right,
Speaker 1: if he's going, they're a super Bowl contender. If he's wrong,
Speaker 1: he's unhappy. You saw what can happen last year. Indianapolis
Speaker 1: quarterback changes every single year under Frank Reich after the
Speaker 1: Andrew Luck retirement, but this is the best one he's
Speaker 1: had since Luck. I think the Colts are going to
Speaker 1: be a good football team this year. The Titans, they
Speaker 1: seemingly outperformed national expectations every single year. Can they do
Speaker 1: it again this year? We'll find out. I tend to
Speaker 1: think not so much. We'll get to that here in
Speaker 1: shortly as well. The Houston Texans with Davis mills Man,
Speaker 1: they gave him the keys for your number two. They
Speaker 1: don't really have anything behind him on that quarterback depth
Speaker 1: chart that could threaten or take that job in the way.
Speaker 1: You know, Joe Flacco with the Jets, because sees it
Speaker 1: up there. But he played as well as any of
Speaker 1: the rookies last year. And how how NFL would that
Speaker 1: be if he became the crown jewel of that draft
Speaker 1: class that was so celebrated. It would be hilarious to me.
Speaker 1: The Jacksonville Jaguars Trevor Lawrence in year two. But really
Speaker 1: more about Doug Peter sine Rey icing the horrible, horrible
Speaker 1: Urban Meyer. A big fan of Doug Peterson. I think
Speaker 1: he'll get this thing going in the right direction. Although
Speaker 1: I thought the off season was super strange. All those
Speaker 1: linebacker editions, a lot of money on receivers that have
Speaker 1: never been number ones before. Does it happen right away
Speaker 1: from them? Does it take a year or two, does
Speaker 1: it happen at all? Curious to see how the Jaguars
Speaker 1: that work out with Trevor Lawrence because he's a damn
Speaker 1: good prospect and it's been rocky so far. Las Vegas
Speaker 1: probably the best team they've had since I don't know twenties,
Speaker 1: but it arguably the most stacked division and football history.
Speaker 1: Maybe their offensive line looks rough, but this game, we'll
Speaker 1: see how it works out for them. Because last year
Speaker 1: I thought they had some some questions on the offensive,
Speaker 1: Lion Derek Carr kind of overcame those with the way
Speaker 1: he played one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
Speaker 1: This game can be cruel, man, That's kind of how
Speaker 1: it goes. Like. You know, the Dolphins have this this
Speaker 1: nice roster, but as the Patriots transitioner from Brady to
Speaker 1: post Brady now the Bills are here as a potential
Speaker 1: fifteen win team, which just can be cruel, as you
Speaker 1: know as Dolphins fans. So for the Raiders, can they
Speaker 1: compete in that tough, tough division. Don't wait to find
Speaker 1: out if that's a yes or no. Denver seems like
Speaker 1: it's been years or for years it's been Can the
Speaker 1: Broncos just solve that quarterback position. Now it looks like
Speaker 1: they have but a lot of expectations on a rookie
Speaker 1: head coach there, Nathaniel Hackett will find out about that
Speaker 1: club here soon. Kansas City lots of moves at wide receiver,
Speaker 1: trying to replace Tyrek in the aggregate, we'll see about that.
Speaker 1: I don't think the team will necessarily, you know, fall
Speaker 1: off a cliff, but at that position, it's you can't
Speaker 1: lose the best player in the league and not and
Speaker 1: not you know, you don't get better when that happens.
Speaker 1: So curiously how that works the Chargers. Every year it
Speaker 1: seems like something wild happens to the Charges to derail
Speaker 1: their season. What's it gonna be this year? I think
Speaker 1: it changes this year. I think Brandon Staley is got
Speaker 1: a loaded roster. I love the way he approaches this big,
Speaker 1: big fan of the Chargers. This year the Eagles. Can
Speaker 1: they go from surprise playoff team to one of the
Speaker 1: favorites in the NFC. Well, if Hurts wins consistently from
Speaker 1: the pocket on Thurn long Man, he becomes a dangerous player.
Speaker 1: He's fun to wash. If that happens, they might be
Speaker 1: my pick in this conference. More on that moment. The Giants,
Speaker 1: Brian Dable has been a hot coordinator named for a
Speaker 1: while and I'm curious to see his first year. Joe
Speaker 1: Shane did say this as a transitional year, which is
Speaker 1: I appreciate the transparency from the GM, but they gotta
Speaker 1: make strides because this team has been bad for a
Speaker 1: long time, probably gonna be bad again this year, but
Speaker 1: hopefully for them some signs of progress. Washington, is it
Speaker 1: time to go ahead and start to think about maybe
Speaker 1: taking some command? I don't know, can the defense return
Speaker 1: back to such a weird peak and valley, because one
Speaker 1: the difference between being a playoff team and finishing a
Speaker 1: long way from that was that defense. So curious see
Speaker 1: how that kind of gets going here with the Washington
Speaker 1: commanders and taking command the Dallas Cowboys. That offensive line
Speaker 1: and receiver positions are both very, very tricky for them.
Speaker 1: Michael Gallup is down to start the year. Mariy Cooper
Speaker 1: is obviously out in a weird trade this offseason. Tyrone
Speaker 1: Smith is out. Lyle Collins with the Bengals. Always been
Speaker 1: a fan of Deak Press Dak Prescott, but he's gonna
Speaker 1: have to really play his best ball this year because
Speaker 1: offensive line in that receiver position both are nowhere near
Speaker 1: what they were when he was most successful. The Minnesota Vikings,
Speaker 1: This Kevin O'Connell Kirk Cousins relationship is so key for them.
Speaker 1: I think it would be a great thing for the Vikings.
Speaker 1: I'm a little bit bullish and the Vikings this year.
Speaker 1: They kind of I got off the radar a couple
Speaker 1: of years in a row there because they were just
Speaker 1: kind of angering me with with some of the the
Speaker 1: stubbornness that they wouldn't change the way they do things.
Speaker 1: But hopefully now with Kevin O'Connell that has changed. Green Bay.
Speaker 1: Is this the year they break through in the playoffs?
Speaker 1: You assume they get there, but who cares about their
Speaker 1: games until then? Really, because pretty much starts in the
Speaker 1: divisional round for a team that averages thirteen wins a
Speaker 1: year the last three years under the floor uh Detroit
Speaker 1: breakthrough season. I think there's a chance, but I do
Speaker 1: tend to think it's one year away. But I know
Speaker 1: they're going to be a pain, and they asked to
Speaker 1: play weekend and week out. I also, I don't know
Speaker 1: if all that stuff works. If you lose a bunch
Speaker 1: of games two years in a row because all that
Speaker 1: yelling and screaming. I don't think that's two man Chicago,
Speaker 1: justin fields and year two, I still think the world
Speaker 1: of his game. After a challenging rookie heason not really
Speaker 1: for him, but just the Bears in general. I think
Speaker 1: he'll be better this year. Will his surrounding cast. We'll
Speaker 1: see New Orleans. Can the defense carry the load in
Speaker 1: this two season where defenses, you know, they don't really
Speaker 1: stay consistent. Well, they have to. It's a loaded group,
Speaker 1: but I mean the skill position has got a big
Speaker 1: upgrade too. With Michael Thomas and Cristal Lovey coming back.
Speaker 1: It sounds like Alvin Camara's situation is not going to
Speaker 1: be resolved this season, so they're pretty loaded on offense.
Speaker 1: Caroline A. Baker Mayfield's redemption tour, I think you got
Speaker 1: a raw deal playing through an injury that negatively impacted
Speaker 1: his performance and the perception around his game. I hope
Speaker 1: he bounces back this year. I think he will. Maybe,
Speaker 1: you know, the Panthers are in a bit of a
Speaker 1: tough transition period too, but I think Baker is a
Speaker 1: good thing for the Panthers and Tampa. One more run
Speaker 1: for Tom possibly as long as he plays, I'm not
Speaker 1: counting him out of the Super Bowl equation. I think
Speaker 1: they have as good a shot as anybody despite the
Speaker 1: injuries and turn over. There it's Tom Brady Man. Don't
Speaker 1: pick against that guy. The Falcons really curious about their
Speaker 1: quarterback situation. You've got married to back with Arthur Smith
Speaker 1: who benched him for Ryan Tannehill, who took the redemption
Speaker 1: arc to comeback player of the year, one of the
Speaker 1: top rated quarterbacks in the league in terms of his
Speaker 1: numbers and playoff runs. Can Marcus Mario to do the
Speaker 1: exact same thing here and revive his career and his
Speaker 1: second well his third stop now, I guess, or a
Speaker 1: rookie Desmond Ritter who played so well this preseason and
Speaker 1: took a bit of a slide on Draft night, can
Speaker 1: he come in and be that guy. Tough year for
Speaker 1: the Falcons this year, but their fans have a lot
Speaker 1: to look forward to because they have two irons in
Speaker 1: the fire. Quarterback the Arizona Cardinals Kyler Murray one of
Speaker 1: the more fascinating players in the league. To me, I
Speaker 1: love his game. I think he's gonna make a lot
Speaker 1: of people eat their words this season. Very bullish on
Speaker 1: the Cardinals the Rams. Can they repeat? Hasn't happened since
Speaker 1: oh three, oh four? Bon No. Four. I think this
Speaker 1: team has good of a chance to do it as
Speaker 1: any of the previous winners. They are top heavy and
Speaker 1: stacked up there and loaded on that roster. They have
Speaker 1: a chance to get back the Seahawks. Will they throw
Speaker 1: a single pass this year? That's a joke, But in
Speaker 1: a league where everyone has zagged, they sure have zig
Speaker 1: by loading up at the running back position with Kenneth
Speaker 1: Walker was shot Penny and they did have Chris Carson
Speaker 1: before he retired. But we know that Pete Carroll wants
Speaker 1: to play that old school brand. Curious see how it
Speaker 1: plays out. Good quarterback class this year for the Seahawks
Speaker 1: San Francisco, Trey Lance might be one of the biggest
Speaker 1: swing players in the entire league. If he's as advertised,
Speaker 1: this could be a super Bowl team. They have elite
Speaker 1: players at receiver, tight end, defensive line, linebackers. You know
Speaker 1: your team, that bunch of stars with a second year quarterback.
Speaker 1: If he joins that ranks, they're a super Bowl pick.
Speaker 1: If he's the reverse of that, they might miss the
Speaker 1: playoffs altogether. Fascinating spread there for the Niners. Man, fantasy
Speaker 1: or football is almost here and allow me to venture
Speaker 1: into some parts unknown here for your boy and some
Speaker 1: fantasy talks, some fantasy football. I really only have one strategy.
Speaker 1: It's take good players. Forget situation, forget opportunity. My buddy
Speaker 1: last year talked me into Mike Davis and like the
Speaker 1: fifth round or something, and I was like, I don't know,
Speaker 1: He's just a guy. It's like, really had a thousand
Speaker 1: yards last year. I was like, no, he's just a guy. Man.
Speaker 1: That was just that was not special. Then again, of course,
Speaker 1: sure enough he goes for five or six points, you know,
Speaker 1: tops in every single game. It's all your fault, Tyler
Speaker 1: and good fun. But my first three picks in that
Speaker 1: fourteen team league were Tyreek, Justin Jefferson, and Marie Cooper.
Speaker 1: And that's why I was projected the favorite going into
Speaker 1: the semifinals. I lost by one point in a week
Speaker 1: where Tyreek Hill against the Steelers when they scored like
Speaker 1: fifty freaking points, gets injured the first quarter, caught just
Speaker 1: one pass and didn't come back. It's also why I
Speaker 1: hate fantasy because that's when Waddle went off for a
Speaker 1: billion catches on Monday Night Football. His Big night. Down
Speaker 1: me by just one point in the semis, but I
Speaker 1: did not carry because the Dolphins won that game. It's
Speaker 1: all I cared about. But after that, in the consolation round,
Speaker 1: I scored more points than any team in that final weekend,
Speaker 1: and that was it. I retired fantasy football back in
Speaker 1: two thousand thirteen. Kyle Krabs put together a charity league
Speaker 1: last year for Dolphins Challenge Cancer, and I thought, this
Speaker 1: is perfect. I'll win this year right off into the
Speaker 1: sunset while I rode off into the sunset. But the
Speaker 1: trophy case remains empty. So that's the message. Don't listen
Speaker 1: to me because I'm a perennial fantasy loser. But that's
Speaker 1: my lesson in fan I see take good football players.
Speaker 1: A few sleepers here that I wrote down. I don't
Speaker 1: know why, I'm just gonna do it. Quarterbacks Kyler Murray
Speaker 1: is he is sleeper. I feel like people are sleeping
Speaker 1: on him in the Cardinals. But don't do that. Marcus
Speaker 1: Mariota rushing is always big for a quarterback. Same reason.
Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts is on this list. I think Matt Ryan
Speaker 1: could have a nice jump four and status this year
Speaker 1: and to a tongue of Iloa is my ultimate quarterback
Speaker 1: fancy sleeper this year. Running Backs Cam Akers, Rashad White,
Speaker 1: and Tampa j K. Dobbins. When he's healthy, he's gonna
Speaker 1: be awesome. Might be a guy you draft late and
Speaker 1: stash when he comes back from Andre Stevenson. Think the
Speaker 1: Patriots gonna run the football a thousand times, and he's
Speaker 1: a good player. James Cook with the Bills like his
Speaker 1: game a lot Chase and Raheem. I like both of them,
Speaker 1: although it's tricky when you have two really good guys
Speaker 1: at one spot. At receiver Brandon a Uk, Rondale Moore,
Speaker 1: Chris Olave, Michael Gallup, another kind of injury guy that
Speaker 1: comes back after pup and maybe helps you out that way,
Speaker 1: Davonte Smith, Nico Collins, Michael Pittman Jr. Jacoby Myers, and
Speaker 1: I love Isaiah McKenzie and Buffalo. The sleeper distinction is tough.
Speaker 1: Is Jalen Waddle a sleeper after we brought Tyreek killing?
Speaker 1: I don't know if is, but take Jalen Waddle, take
Speaker 1: him tight end. This position has always been a fantasy
Speaker 1: blind spot for me. But we go ahead anyways. A
Speaker 1: couple of rookies here, Gilanni Woods and Isaaiah Likely. I
Speaker 1: really think that Likely could have a huge tight end
Speaker 1: year this year. And then I put John ou Smith
Speaker 1: in there too, still like his game with the Patriots.
Speaker 1: All Right, enough fantasy talk that was out of my depth.
Speaker 1: Let's come back on the other side here and predict
Speaker 1: the NFL season that's next here on the Drivetime podcast,
Speaker 1: your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Auto Nation.
Speaker 1: It is officially that time, the time where we pick
Speaker 1: the records of every single team in the National Football
Speaker 1: League this year, will give you some awards as well.
Speaker 1: We'll pick the playoffs, and then we'll get the heck
Speaker 1: out of here. What do you say about that? We
Speaker 1: start off, let's go reverse I have I usually go
Speaker 1: a f C East first, but we'll go ahead to
Speaker 1: NFC West and go backwards. The Rams fourteen and three,
Speaker 1: Cardinals ten and seven, then Niners nine and eight, and
Speaker 1: the Seahawks four and thirteam the Bucks when the North
Speaker 1: at twelve and five. The Saints are in second at
Speaker 1: nine and eight. The Panthers and Falcons both finished five
Speaker 1: and twelve, the Packers eleven and six. When another a
Speaker 1: NFC North title, the Vikings ten and seven, the Chicago
Speaker 1: or no. The Detroit Lions jumped the Bears seven and ten,
Speaker 1: and the Chicago Bears are two and fifteen and picking
Speaker 1: first in the draft next year. In the NFC East,
Speaker 1: the Eagles take it down twelve and five. The Cowboys
Speaker 1: go nine and eight. The Commanders they don't take command
Speaker 1: soon enough. They should begin doing that now. They go
Speaker 1: six and eleven, the Giants five and twelve. In the
Speaker 1: a f C, the Chargers win the West at twelve
Speaker 1: and five. The Chiefs come in second at eleven and six,
Speaker 1: and both the Broncos and Raiders are eight and nine.
Speaker 1: In the South, the Colts eleven and six take a
Speaker 1: division championship off the Titans for the first time in
Speaker 1: a few years. The Titans finished nine and eight and
Speaker 1: second place. The Jaguars get seven wins seven and ten
Speaker 1: for Jacksonville. The Texans go five and twelve. The Ravens
Speaker 1: takedown the a f C North at twelve and five.
Speaker 1: The Bengals second ten and seven, the Steelers seven and ten,
Speaker 1: and the Browns five and twelve. Finally, the a f
Speaker 1: C East, the Bills win it fourteen and three. That's
Speaker 1: the best record in football in second place. Your Miami
Speaker 1: Dolphins twelve and five, That's what I'm going with this year,
Speaker 1: twelve and five, the Patriots six and eleven, Jets five
Speaker 1: and twelve. Such a top heavy league, man, so many
Speaker 1: wins given out because of schedule. Really, you know, the
Speaker 1: balance of teams saying we're gonna rebuild and take our
Speaker 1: lumps now versus the old way of saying we have
Speaker 1: to scratch and claw and fight for each win. Like
Speaker 1: it kind of reminds me of like the Jimmy Garoppolo thing,
Speaker 1: like he could start for several teams, but you know,
Speaker 1: he's an upgrade at those spots. But is he the guy?
Speaker 1: It's a tough question and one that wasn't asked as many.
Speaker 1: You know, ten years ago the Dolphins would go get
Speaker 1: Chad Pennington because that was their best quarterback they could have,
Speaker 1: and sure enough they won the division. So maybe there's
Speaker 1: a lesson there. Playoff picks. You guys ready for this.
Speaker 1: I might get called crazy, You might could be called
Speaker 1: a homer in this one, but we're gonna do it anyways,
Speaker 1: because I believe in this team this year. Last year
Speaker 1: was the first time since that I didn't come within
Speaker 1: two wins of the Dolphins total. So I really chapped
Speaker 1: about that wild Card round Ravens Ravens over Bengals, Chiefs
Speaker 1: over Chargers. Divisional affairs. What what a good looking wild
Speaker 1: card round? Playoff round? This is Dolphins over Colts. The
Speaker 1: twenty years streak is over twenty one year, twenty two
Speaker 1: years streak, Bucks over Cowboys, Eagles over Vikings, Packers over Cardinals.
Speaker 1: That gives US Bills and Chiefs, Dolphins and Ravens, Eagles
Speaker 1: and Bucks, Packers and Rams. The Bills take out the
Speaker 1: Chiefs this year they return the favor. No Tyreek, no
Speaker 1: thirteen seconds anymore. I can't happen without Tyreek Hill. Dolphins
Speaker 1: over the Ravens. It's the third straight win I gave
Speaker 1: Miami to win Week two over the Ravens after winning
Speaker 1: last year. I think they found the secret game plan
Speaker 1: to tut down Lamar Jackson. They get back to back
Speaker 1: playoff wins this year. The Eagles take out the Bucks,
Speaker 1: the Packers take out the Rams. Then we get to
Speaker 1: the a f C Championship game, and I'm sorry for
Speaker 1: you nineties babies out there, your nineties fans that were
Speaker 1: that was your golden years, and the Buffalo Bills ruined
Speaker 1: a lot of your fandom. Because it's gonna happen again
Speaker 1: here in the predictions. Bills over Dolphins in the a
Speaker 1: f C Championship, Eagles over Packers in the NFC Championship,
Speaker 1: and the Bills get on the Lambardi Lam Lambardi Lombardi
Speaker 1: board as they beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: There you go. I wanted to take Chocs so bad
Speaker 1: and go Bills Rams, but I'm taking the Eagles. I
Speaker 1: knew some teams. You know, there's gonna be some chaos
Speaker 1: in the NFC playoffs this year, and frankly there could
Speaker 1: be in the a f C two. But I think
Speaker 1: the Bills are so good and deep at every spot
Speaker 1: except that cornerbacks probably mentioned. I hope I'm wrong, but
Speaker 1: there you go, Bills over Eagles. My m v P
Speaker 1: is Josh Allen, my Offensive Player of the Years, Tyreek
Speaker 1: Hill my Defensive Player of the Years, Joey Bosa my
Speaker 1: Offensive Rookie of the Years, Chris Lave My defensive rookie
Speaker 1: is Aiden Hutchinson, my comeback players Lamar Jackson. My coach
Speaker 1: of the year is Nick Sirianni. Maybe Mike McDaniel as well.
Speaker 1: One of those two draft order Chicago, Seattle Giants, Texans, Falcons, Panthers, Browns, Jets, Commanders,
Speaker 1: Patriots picking top ten and the Niners pick winds up
Speaker 1: seventeen for the Miami Dolphins. That's it. Just saved you
Speaker 1: five months of your life. You're welcome. That's my time
Speaker 1: today you all. Please be sure to subscribe to the
Speaker 1: podcast on Apple podcast No show tomorrow back on Thursday
Speaker 1: for a Patriots preview. You can follow me on Twitter
Speaker 1: at Wingfield NFL. Follow the team at Miami Dolphins. Check
Speaker 1: out the fish Tank podcast. They just dropped their Jason
Speaker 1: Jenkins tribute earlier this week. That was tough for me
Speaker 1: to hear, but definitely very good and something you should
Speaker 1: check out yourselves. Also, check out the Twitter spaces show
Speaker 1: every Wednesday at eight o'clock with me, Seth and Juice
Speaker 1: breaking down this Miamie Dolphins football team. The YouTube channel
Speaker 1: for media Vails, Dolphins Today, Drivetime and fish Tank content,
Speaker 1: and last but not least, Miami Dolphins dot Com. Until
Speaker 1: next time, It's up Caroline Daddy he's coming home. M