Speaker 1: To on the move, going deep, speedless past from the
Speaker 1: Baptist Health Studio. This inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
Speaker 1: This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield. He's my hands in
Speaker 1: the playoffs?
Speaker 2: What is up Dolphins? And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast.
Speaker 2: I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show,
Speaker 2: another divisional preview and another player chat. The player is
Speaker 2: wide receiver Taj Washington and the division is the NFC South.
Speaker 2: What we can learn from the Bucks, Saints, Falcons and
Speaker 2: Panthers or perhaps learn what not to do? All that
Speaker 2: and more from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist
Speaker 2: Health Training Complex.
Speaker 1: This is the Draft Time.
Speaker 2: Podcast, by far my lead least favorite division to pour
Speaker 2: over so far in this series because quite frankly, guys,
Speaker 2: I don't think there's a good football team in this division.
Speaker 2: We kick it off with last year's reigning champs, which
Speaker 2: was kind of a by default situation in the Tampa
Speaker 2: Bay Buccaneers, who finished the year nine and eight and
Speaker 2: won the division and got a home draw against a
Speaker 2: folding Eagles team and produced a playoff victory before a
Speaker 2: divisional round loss at the Detroit Lions. And it goes
Speaker 2: back to this result and process concept over. Did you
Speaker 2: think the Bucks had a better year lastterer than the
Speaker 2: Dolphins because they didn't. They won two less games, and
Speaker 2: all the wins were kind of fugazi in terms of
Speaker 2: narrow wins against bad football teams that could have gone
Speaker 2: the other way with one bounce.
Speaker 1: Of the football.
Speaker 2: And because they got a certain draw and they played
Speaker 2: in a certain division, they advanced further.
Speaker 1: But process over results.
Speaker 2: It really is kind of the theme of this podcast
Speaker 2: today because these teams had certain results, but the process
Speaker 2: has been horrendous for a couple of years now in
Speaker 2: the NFC South. So one of the more interesting operations
Speaker 2: to me the Buccaneers of the last three hundred and
Speaker 2: sixty five days. I remember doing this last year or this,
Speaker 2: doing this exercise at this time last year, saying that
Speaker 2: the roster is actually still pretty good, but I felt
Speaker 2: like going from Brady to Baker was going to be significant,
Speaker 2: and they're a good reminder of the entire seventeen game
Speaker 2: schedule needs to be considered making those grand statements because
Speaker 2: I remember after that Buffalo game a slog of a
Speaker 2: Thursday night football game John Ledyard, who wrote at Pewter
Speaker 2: Report for years and does my podcast all the time,
Speaker 2: said that he would make the change at quarterback because
Speaker 2: Baker was getting off open reads, the footwork was too
Speaker 2: sped up, he was seeing ghosts out there, all the
Speaker 2: signs of a panic quarterback who was not properly seeing
Speaker 2: the field.
Speaker 1: And he wasn't wrong.
Speaker 2: The Bucks fell to three and four with that game,
Speaker 2: and then lost three of the next four games by
Speaker 2: scoring twenty points, fourteen points and twenty points in the
Speaker 2: latter three contest. Then they get hot and rebound from
Speaker 2: that four and seven start. And even though they picked
Speaker 2: up off that lifeless Eagles team, did you ever really
Speaker 2: feel like the Bucks were going to go to San
Speaker 2: Francisco or go to Detroit and win a playoff game?
Speaker 2: Because here are the wins in that five to one finish, Carolina, Atlanta,
Speaker 2: Green Bay.
Speaker 1: It's a nice one.
Speaker 2: A Lawrence lists Jacksonville team and Carolina once again nine
Speaker 2: to nothing in that game. By the way, I watch
Speaker 2: so many teams this year, in the last couple of years,
Speaker 2: and it's this death of the middle class man. There's
Speaker 2: so many freaking teams that are just futile, futile, futile,
Speaker 2: on offense. It reminds me of the two thousand and
Speaker 2: nine Dolphins. And that's why I say the Dolphins fans
Speaker 2: are so spoiled right now, because you should not take
Speaker 2: for granted the ability to score forty points in any
Speaker 2: game and really blow out most teams that you see
Speaker 2: that are sub five hundred. And what did the Bucks
Speaker 2: do this offseason? But essentially run things back from a
Speaker 2: year ago. So we'll see if the division got better,
Speaker 2: if they got better, or if it all stays the same.
Speaker 2: And watch three five hundred football teams play another January
Speaker 2: round robin to see who gets to host a playoff game.
Speaker 2: Oh gosh, the big moves for this team. Randy Gregory
Speaker 2: off the edge, safety Jordan Whitehead who Jets fans really
Speaker 2: fell out of favor with him, cornerback Bryce Hall, and
Speaker 2: then two offensive linemen Ben Bredeson and the draft in
Speaker 2: the first round Graham Barton the center out of Duke
Speaker 2: on the way out. Really just two names of note here,
Speaker 2: Shaq Barrett and Carlton Davis's pretty much the same copy
Speaker 2: and paste back again. What does this team do well?
Speaker 2: They get the ball on the perimeter quickly, really well,
Speaker 2: both in the run and screen game and force you
Speaker 2: to tackle big, physical ball carriers. In Mike Evans and
Speaker 2: Rashad White and Chris Godwin. They do the same thing
Speaker 2: in the trenches with a big accomplished offensive line. Few
Speaker 2: backs had more success before contact than Rashad White did
Speaker 2: last year. Their ability to be multiple in the run
Speaker 2: scheme also stands out. Mike Evans is sort of a
Speaker 2: unicorn and how he opens things up, not just with
Speaker 2: the detail of his route running and how that generates
Speaker 2: space in and of itself, but how the quarterback can
Speaker 2: throw him open. And there's nobody in the world that
Speaker 2: makes better in flight adjustments on the football or contested
Speaker 2: catches than Mike Evans. Like if he's covered, you can
Speaker 2: just throw it, you know, to eleven o'clock and he
Speaker 2: can go up there and pull it down over a
Speaker 2: contesting dB. They are smart on defense, and that's the
Speaker 2: Levante David effect to the tee really in fact, down
Speaker 2: the middle, I like watching how defenses build in the
Speaker 2: middle Vidaveya, Levante David and Twine Winfield. I mean, that's
Speaker 2: as good as it gets right there. They are rock
Speaker 2: solid and the teeth of their defense, their ability to
Speaker 2: play gap control and Win with wiggle on one on
Speaker 2: ones like Vidaveya can play edge and like Win as
Speaker 2: a pass rusher at what is he three hundred and
Speaker 2: thirty five pounds, it's uncanny. And then Greg Gaines is
Speaker 2: a bulldozer who has his own, you know, hand fighting abilities.
Speaker 2: And then Elijah CANTSI was a nice rookie for them
Speaker 2: a year ago. It's a nice combination of both those players.
Speaker 2: Really it sets up everything else to really kind of
Speaker 2: work for that defense. What's the concern or fatal flaw
Speaker 2: here with this football team? There are no changes on
Speaker 2: offense essentially, and it wasn't a good offense. So okay,
Speaker 2: is knt nuty the only thing you're banking on there?
Speaker 2: Because I mean, conton nuty is cool when you have
Speaker 2: a top five offense, but when you have the eighteenth
Speaker 2: offense in the NFL, I don't know. I think any quarterback,
Speaker 2: especially one like Baker Mayfield who has his eyes hardwired
Speaker 2: to his feet and plays in rhythm, will get better
Speaker 2: in year two. But man, the full product just was
Speaker 2: not good last year. Bryce Hall was the only addition
Speaker 2: to really replace their best cornerback in Carlton Davis, who
Speaker 2: was traded to Detroit, and I don't believe there's a
Speaker 2: defined slot in place for him or in this football team.
Speaker 2: Tavier Thomas was pretty good in that role for Houston
Speaker 2: last year in and out of the lineup. He's probably
Speaker 2: the top option there, but he kind of is more
Speaker 2: on the rise than arrived as a player. And I'm
Speaker 2: concerned about depth here in general, like I am with
Speaker 2: pretty much like twenty six NFL teams right now. Some
Speaker 2: interesting things about this club or the biggest storyline running
Speaker 2: it back is always interesting to me, especially when you
Speaker 2: were bottom half of the league and almost everything. I
Speaker 2: mean Dvoa as a team, they were eighteenth EPA per
Speaker 2: play on both sides. They were both in the bottom
Speaker 2: twenty or beyond the top twenty total defense, total offense, scoring,
Speaker 2: like everything.
Speaker 1: Wasn't a good football team.
Speaker 2: And that's why I said, like winning nine games is
Speaker 2: you don't like that's not the only measure of what
Speaker 2: makes a good team. Like teams win and lose games
Speaker 2: they shouldn't every single week. And when you can take
Speaker 2: the metrics that kind of bear out the overall you know,
Speaker 2: averages and score, that's where you get the real results
Speaker 2: of who's actually playing the most consistent football and the
Speaker 2: Bucks were nowhere near that. So I don't know, man,
Speaker 2: I just I don't know. So Dave Kanalis was the
Speaker 2: head coach for the Panthers now and he earned a
Speaker 2: bunch of praise for the passing game finally getting going
Speaker 2: down the stretch a little bit. And I'm curious to
Speaker 2: see how Liam Cohen takes over and how big of
Speaker 2: an impact that has, because your continuity is kind of
Speaker 2: disrupted when you don't have the same play caller right.
Speaker 2: And then also just a personal shout out to Josh Gazzard,
Speaker 2: a QC here for quite a while. He got a
Speaker 2: promotion to be the passing game coordinator for the Buccaneers.
Speaker 2: Best of luck to you, coach Griz. We're pulling for you.
Speaker 2: I'm pulling for you big time for sure. Final roster
Speaker 2: thoughts That league best offensive line they built a few
Speaker 2: years ago has slowly deteriorated, with Ali Marpette and Alex
Speaker 2: Kappa both departing over the course of a couple of years.
Speaker 2: Donovan Smith Nalonger is there, but the key piece has
Speaker 2: remained interest in worfs and Luke Gadecki has become a
Speaker 2: hit After a slow start to his career. They add
Speaker 2: Barton in the draft, he'll start Day one, and then
Speaker 2: Cody Mack is the guy that everybody fell in love
Speaker 2: with the Senior Bowl two years ago. He'll be there
Speaker 2: at a guard position. And then I think Ben Bretterson
Speaker 2: probably gets the other opportunity at right guard. Still a
Speaker 2: pretty good line, and then Evans and Godwin is a
Speaker 2: very good one two punch. I think Jalen McMillan could
Speaker 2: be a nice number three even as a rookie. I
Speaker 2: like the tight end Kate Atton, and really here I
Speaker 2: am kind of talking myself into the roster again.
Speaker 1: It's not bad.
Speaker 2: Dais were a good football team in general last year.
Speaker 2: I don't know about the most important spot, like guess
Speaker 2: where it comes down to. I'm a big Baker fan
Speaker 2: coming out of college. I think he should start in
Speaker 2: this league. But is he a guy that quarterbacks team
Speaker 2: that I like feel very convicted in their ability to
Speaker 2: score with the best team's the NFL. Absolutely not. I
Speaker 2: didn't mention William Golsen on the defensive line. I like
Speaker 2: the linebackers. I have concerns in the defensive back beyond
Speaker 2: Jamail Dean and Antoine Winfield. This is a good football team,
Speaker 2: so I kind of racked my brain on what they
Speaker 2: can tell us but the Miami Dolphins, and I don't
Speaker 2: think there's much and that's going to be a theme
Speaker 2: throughout this episode here With the NFC South, I think
Speaker 2: it's a good roster, but even in a bad division,
Speaker 2: managed to win only nine games and had to win
Speaker 2: five of the last six just to do that. And
Speaker 2: the reason for that is they couldn't really do much
Speaker 2: on offense and couldn't cover on defense. To the former point,
Speaker 2: I just really really want Dolphins fans to appreciate what
Speaker 2: a dynamic offense does for your team and for your
Speaker 2: fan base. That's the Buccaneers. Let's move on now to
Speaker 2: the Norland Saints.
Speaker 1: Who are.
Speaker 2: Let's talk about the Saints here trying to be nice right.
Speaker 2: Nine to eight last year, which was good for a
Speaker 2: second in NFC South because of tiebreakers, and I gotta
Speaker 2: tell you again, this was the toughest division to do
Speaker 2: because I don't think there's a contender among this group
Speaker 2: of teams. The Saints were in the hunt to the
Speaker 2: very end, but that was not a good football team
Speaker 2: at all last season. The Derek Carr move was nothing
Speaker 2: short of a disaster. Weren't many offenses in the NFL
Speaker 2: more disjointed than the Saints all year, and the guarantees
Speaker 2: in his deal means he's there for at least the
Speaker 2: next two years, and he'll be behind an offensive line
Speaker 2: that doesn't have the guns right now, especially after it
Speaker 2: was discovered that Ryan Ramcheck is out for the season,
Speaker 2: which kind of forced them into a tackle in round
Speaker 2: one and probably changed the dynamic of the first round
Speaker 2: of the draft for your Miami Dolphins. But I love
Speaker 2: tealisy Fuago, who they took out of Oregon State, But
Speaker 2: that's because they took, you know, a guy two years
Speaker 2: ago who they simply would not put on the field.
Speaker 2: Last year, after three tackles ahead of him went down
Speaker 2: with injuries, they were pulling guys off the practice squad
Speaker 2: before going to Trevor Penning at the tackle position. Now
Speaker 2: they are kind of reshipping their offensive line to play
Speaker 2: more zone than the man and gap scheme that has
Speaker 2: been very popular for them over the year. So that's,
Speaker 2: I guess a positive sign. But their wins last year
Speaker 2: like this is why I'm saying they win a good
Speaker 2: team even at nine to eight. They beat the Titans
Speaker 2: and the Panthers. In the first two games, they drubbed
Speaker 2: the Patriots. Then they had narrow wins over the Colts, Bears, Panthers, Giants.
Speaker 2: They beat the Bucks soundly, they beat the Falcons, and
Speaker 2: then only the only Patriot. The only game that was
Speaker 2: a two score win for them was the Patriots game.
Speaker 1: And look, I'm all.
Speaker 2: All I'm saying is, for the most part, when we
Speaker 2: played those types of teams, you know, Mike White is
Speaker 2: getting loose by the end of the third quarter. Like
Speaker 2: I just I think the last two years of the
Speaker 2: Dolphins has really reshaped the way I see the league,
Speaker 2: Whereas like, oh, yeah, you're winning these games by by
Speaker 2: a fine margin, but you're not like a real threat.
Speaker 2: And when you watch good football teams, you get that
Speaker 2: sense of who is and who isn't a contender.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 2: The big moves Cedric Wilson at receiver, Justin Harran and
Speaker 2: Lucas Patrick on the offensive line. They brought in Chase
Speaker 2: Young off the edge and linebacker Willie Gay. I love
Speaker 2: that addition, and then safety Will Harrison. Their first round
Speaker 2: pick was Fuaga on the way out Jamis Winston, who.
Speaker 1: Was probably their best quarterback last year.
Speaker 2: Probably Andrews Pete left to the Raiders, Zach Bond is gone,
Speaker 2: and Lonnie Johnson is no more.
Speaker 1: I don't have a Ryan.
Speaker 2: There's Zach bu gone, I don't know, Butlion Johnson's gone
Speaker 2: to What do they do well? They pursue and tackle
Speaker 2: on defense and play fundamentally to their gap, which is
Speaker 2: an important trait to have. They play as good of
Speaker 2: man coverage as anybody out there. But I think the
Speaker 2: kool Aid McKinstry the second round pick helps them continue that.
Speaker 2: I like how that frees up some more of their
Speaker 2: man free looks with Tyron Matthew playing the post and
Speaker 2: doing his thing. And they feature one of the game's
Speaker 2: top vertical threats in Rashid Shaheed, who is an absolute stud.
Speaker 2: What's the concern or fatal flaw here? I mean, I
Speaker 2: had three things they do well, and one of them
Speaker 2: was like good fundamentals, So, like you know, there's probably
Speaker 2: a lot more of these, but I wanted to keep
Speaker 2: it brief because I just don't feel like there's a
Speaker 2: lot to talk about here. They suffered, to me one
Speaker 2: of the worst combination of downfalls in professional football, shaky
Speaker 2: protection and a quarterback that anticipated it. Once you start
Speaker 2: doing that and feeling pressure, you feel pressure that's not
Speaker 2: there when it's not there, and you don't see the
Speaker 2: field at all, and that takes a lot of negative plays.
Speaker 2: It takes you out of any progression in the passing game,
Speaker 2: It takes you out a big run after the catch
Speaker 2: because you're late. It is just a death nail to
Speaker 2: an offense a la Josh Rose when he was here.
Speaker 2: That's the first of two Josh Rosen references you'll hear
Speaker 2: on this podcast.
Speaker 1: Some interesting things about them.
Speaker 2: The biggest storyline, the thing about all of this is
Speaker 2: they were a tiebreaker away from the division championship. So
Speaker 2: can they get the extra bounce this year? Please don't.
Speaker 2: I don't want to watch a playoff game with this team,
Speaker 2: and why if they don't, that would be three years
Speaker 2: without playoffs for Dennis Allen, who was kind of a
Speaker 2: dubious hire to begin with. Just what a You know,
Speaker 2: the more I talk about bad teams on this podcast,
Speaker 2: the more I appreciate a good Dolphins football team. Final
Speaker 2: roster thoughts. I think Kamara Jamal Williams is a fun combo.
Speaker 2: I mentioned Fuaga. I think that he's a hit right
Speaker 2: away to go along with Eric McCoy and Caesar Ruiz,
Speaker 2: two guys that I really wanted the Dolphins to draft
Speaker 2: few years ago when they were on the board or
Speaker 2: gonna be potentially be on the board for the Dolphins.
Speaker 2: But outside of that, it's a lot of questions up front.
Speaker 2: I'm not sure there's a better deep threat besides Tyreek
Speaker 2: than Rashid Shahed, who means more to his team, Like
Speaker 2: their only offense last year was long touchdowns to Rashid
Speaker 2: Shaheed so or setting up for a touchdown. A couple
Speaker 2: plays like Cam Jordan finally came back down to earth
Speaker 2: after a career of being one of the best players
Speaker 2: in the league every single year, and that's a huge
Speaker 2: concern because they haven't gotten much from Peyton Turner, they
Speaker 2: haven't gotten anything from Brian Breese yet. And they'd add
Speaker 2: Chase Young, who's in it. I like Carl Granderson a
Speaker 2: whole lot, and there's lots of depth there too. Kayln
Speaker 2: Sanders is a nice player, Nathan Sheppard on the inside.
Speaker 2: Lots of names here, and if they got more from
Speaker 2: those top guys and Jordan goes back to form, then
Speaker 2: it's a great group. But that's three like big ifs
Speaker 2: that I don't believe are gonna happen, and they play
Speaker 2: in front of one of the best linebackers in football
Speaker 2: in Tamrio Davis, and I mentioned the secondary. I feel
Speaker 2: like this defense on paper has been better than its
Speaker 2: production in the last couple of years. And when your
Speaker 2: head coach is a defensive guy, that's kind of a problem,
Speaker 2: isn't it. What can they tell us about the Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 2: I say this all the time that a great defense
Speaker 2: and subpar offense is the quickest track to the worst
Speaker 2: place in the NFL, the middle of the pack. The
Speaker 2: Saints haven't had a great defense, but it's been good
Speaker 2: enough to help them win those games against those teams
Speaker 2: that also scialuggle to score points and keep them right
Speaker 2: in that pocket where it's tough to break out of
Speaker 2: it because you can't really, you know, get the answer
Speaker 2: at quarterback or get the big playmaker on the perimeter
Speaker 2: that changes things for you. Again, it reminds me of
Speaker 2: many a Dolphins teams from the odds. Let's go ahead
Speaker 2: and take a break right there, and I just I
Speaker 2: hate this division.
Speaker 1: Man.
Speaker 2: Let's go ahead and talk to someone that's excited though
Speaker 2: Dolphins wide receiver Toaj Washington. That's next Draft Time Podcast,
Speaker 2: your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Autnation. What up, guys,
Speaker 2: Travis Wingfield back here? Draft Time Podcast Mike Yesterday is
Speaker 2: Dolphins rookie wide receiver Taj Washington.
Speaker 1: How does that sound?
Speaker 4: Man?
Speaker 1: Dolphins rooie wide receivers. Gotta sound pretty good to you.
Speaker 3: Man, It's pretty sounds great.
Speaker 4: You know, it's pretty surreal, and just each day trying
Speaker 4: to trying to live in it, live in the moment,
Speaker 4: living it.
Speaker 2: And coming coming down here joining a loaded group of
Speaker 2: wide receivers. I mean, you pinch yourself a little bit
Speaker 2: thinking about being teammates with Tyreek Hill, Jalen Waddle, Odell Beckham,
Speaker 2: all these guys.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, for sure.
Speaker 4: And then you know, you get to see those guys,
Speaker 4: you know when they come in kind of just you know,
Speaker 4: brings reassurance. You're in the same room with those guys,
Speaker 4: and you know, you get to learn with them and
Speaker 4: just grow with them.
Speaker 3: I'm excited.
Speaker 2: Have you learned something yet from those guys in terms
Speaker 2: of just how they work or how they go about
Speaker 2: being professionals?
Speaker 4: You know, just a few things, you know, they haven't
Speaker 4: been here much since you know, healths and compared to now,
Speaker 4: you know, we in mini camp now, so uh, I'm
Speaker 4: excited to see where it goes from from here.
Speaker 2: So mine, man, it's all you make a few plays
Speaker 2: of the day in practice. There was that one ball
Speaker 2: over your shoulder from two that was that was real,
Speaker 2: pretty man.
Speaker 1: I was excited about that.
Speaker 2: Uh. How do you think your time at USC, because, like,
Speaker 2: you know, it's funny man watching watching your guys' offense.
Speaker 2: Like Caleb is the best quarterback in the country, no
Speaker 2: question about that. But sometimes I'd watch the tape and
Speaker 2: I'd be like, man, Tosh was open like right now,
Speaker 2: but he's got to run around make some plays. Like
Speaker 2: I'm curious because I think you could have called one
Speaker 2: hundred passes if you just had a quick timing offense
Speaker 2: like we have here. I'm curious how your time at
Speaker 2: USC do you think prepared you for the Dolphins.
Speaker 4: I would just say, first, I would say, like a
Speaker 4: competitive environment. You got to compete always there, always guys
Speaker 4: coming in, always freshmen that come in, you know, every year.
Speaker 4: Just the competition level this there. And I would just
Speaker 4: say like just being in a bigger city, having to
Speaker 4: focus between school and and ball, you know, so if
Speaker 4: you can have success out there, I feel like you
Speaker 4: have a good chance to have success anywhere else.
Speaker 1: It makes perfect sense.
Speaker 2: You're one of the most polished deep receivers in college
Speaker 2: football last year and one of the most productive for sure.
Speaker 2: We throw the ball down field a lot down here too.
Speaker 2: How excited you for that? And what what is the
Speaker 2: key to being a good deep receiver?
Speaker 3: I would just say focus, It's a big thing.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 4: Anybody can get down the field, but everybody can you know,
Speaker 4: track that ball once it's in the air and make
Speaker 4: it yours.
Speaker 3: Focus is a huge thing.
Speaker 4: That was a big emphasis, you know, going from the
Speaker 4: previous season to this past season. That just played just
Speaker 4: how can I train myself to be more focused on
Speaker 4: you know, deep balls and become more of a threat vertically.
Speaker 2: And real those things? And man, that's the fun plays
Speaker 2: to watch. Gets the whole the whole steam over here
Speaker 2: jump when we hit those, which is quite frequently, it's
Speaker 2: so much fun to see. So you are not the
Speaker 2: only receiver we drafted this year. So you and Elite
Speaker 2: come in this thing together the same last name, which
Speaker 2: is crazy to me. But how you guys enjoying learning together.
Speaker 3: So far.
Speaker 2: It's a pretty demanding room, right in terms of the
Speaker 2: things you have to be on top of. How how's
Speaker 2: that process been.
Speaker 3: It's been fun. We met each other at the at
Speaker 3: the shrining game.
Speaker 4: Okay, cool, So just us both coming here having that
Speaker 4: previous of knowing each other kind of he's seeing a
Speaker 4: relative face, you know, and just going through this process together,
Speaker 4: everything being so new to both of us. Just trying
Speaker 4: to learn and you know, help each other as much
Speaker 4: as possible.
Speaker 2: That's gonna help you, guys get the most of each other, right, Thanks. Thanks,
Speaker 2: It kind of works off each other. But one guy
Speaker 2: you got in that room is also a in my opinion,
Speaker 2: should be in the Hall of Fame. He's not yet,
Speaker 2: but Wes Welker Man, it's one of the most accomplished
Speaker 2: slot receiver. He probably is the most accomplished slough receiver.
Speaker 2: He is. He's someone was talking about like the Whip route,
Speaker 2: the China route the other day, and it's like someone
Speaker 2: was saying, I don't know what they call this, the
Speaker 2: most office. I call that the Wes Welker routes. What
Speaker 2: I call that because he ran that thing better than
Speaker 2: anybody else. But what have you learned from him so far?
Speaker 2: I know it's been brief, but man, you gotta be
Speaker 2: excited to work for him.
Speaker 4: Man, I mean in his brief time, I've learned so much.
Speaker 4: He just knows the game so well when he talks
Speaker 4: is it's so why you know you just want to
Speaker 4: I want to write everything he says down and just
Speaker 4: you know he's been there, he's done it, He's shown it.
Speaker 4: Just watching his tape, you know, previous to come in.
Speaker 4: Just getting to hear him talking coach every day is
Speaker 4: a is a huge privilege and opportunity.
Speaker 1: A little pivot here.
Speaker 2: No more football for you, but you did talk about
Speaker 2: your skills on the grill or just cooking in general.
Speaker 3: Cooking in general.
Speaker 1: What you got for us?
Speaker 4: Man?
Speaker 3: Everything? No huddle kitchen, man, go check it out?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Is it?
Speaker 1: I g page?
Speaker 2: Uh?
Speaker 3: YouTube? YouTube took a show. Okay, no huddle say it again,
Speaker 3: No huddle kitchen, No huddle kitchen.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna check it out. I'm gonna ask you more questions.
Speaker 1: Go right down.
Speaker 2: All your fans do that as well. No huddle kitchen.
Speaker 2: TAJ Washington appreciate it. Thank you, Thank you so much.
Speaker 2: Thank you, and away he goes fun chat there with Taj.
Speaker 2: Go ahead and check out his YouTube channel there. He
Speaker 2: actually has like sponsors and stuff and it's really well produced.
Speaker 2: Kind of fun to watch him do his thing in
Speaker 2: the kitchen. Let's go ahead and take a break right there.
Speaker 2: Come back on the other side and finish up the
Speaker 2: NFC South with the Falcons and Panthers riveting. I know
Speaker 2: that's next Draft Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought
Speaker 2: to you by Auto Nation. The Atlanta Falcons finished seven
Speaker 2: to ten last season, third in the NFC South. What
Speaker 2: a strange off season for them, right, Let's start with
Speaker 2: last year though, where I thought that was. That one
Speaker 2: was just as puzzling because I remember coming into the
Speaker 2: year or in a training camp, they came down here
Speaker 2: for those joint practices and I kept saying, like, gosh,
Speaker 2: this defense has some dudes that can ball and they're
Speaker 2: making plays out here on a very good Dolphins offense.
Speaker 2: But I never thought Desmond Ritter showed NFL starter caliber
Speaker 2: in college, and you're sure as hell didn't do it
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty two. So to go into twenty twenty
Speaker 2: three with him and Taylor Heineke as your quarterbacks. I
Speaker 2: just never really got that. And the result they're both gone.
Speaker 2: Arthur Smith is gone, and now they swing the pendulum
Speaker 2: back harder than how high I pushed my daughter on
Speaker 2: the swings of the playground by signing the most expensive
Speaker 2: quarterback on the market and drafting a guy in the
Speaker 2: top ten if they had cousins. Last year, they cruise
Speaker 2: to a division title, wins over Carolina and the early
Speaker 2: season Packers, then Houston, Tampa, New Orleans, Jets, and Colts.
Speaker 2: All these teams are winning games against the other dregs
Speaker 2: of the league. Like it's why they win seven, eight,
Speaker 2: nine games. It's not even like a good team, and
Speaker 2: you still have a good win total at the end
Speaker 2: of the year. That was it. They lost four to
Speaker 2: the last five, including els to Tampa, Carolina, the Bears,
Speaker 2: and the Saints. Like you could have won thirteen games,
Speaker 2: you just beat bad football teams. They managed just thirteen
Speaker 2: points in the Jets win, seven points in the Panthers loss,
Speaker 2: and seventeen in the Bears game and the Saints game
Speaker 2: to end the year. Change was needed, and they got changed.
Speaker 2: I love the head coach higher Raheem Morris. What did
Speaker 2: they do to build that group around him. They brought
Speaker 2: in Kirk Cousins the quarterback, and three receivers that I
Speaker 2: quite love these moves. Rondell Moore, Darnell Mooney, and Rary
Speaker 2: McLeod all featured different skill sets. Tight end Mike Coel Pruett,
Speaker 2: cornerback Kevin King, and of course their first round draft
Speaker 2: pick was Michael Pennix. On the way out, some big
Speaker 2: names on defense on the way Kalaias Campbell joins us.
Speaker 2: Jeff Acuda kind of had a career resurgence. He leaves
Speaker 2: in free agency. Desen Ritter is obviously gone, receiver Van
Speaker 2: Jefferson and Mac Hollins are both gone, but I don't
Speaker 2: think much is lost there.
Speaker 1: And then Quarterell Patterson also left. To the Steelers. What
Speaker 1: do they do well?
Speaker 2: They have an adult at quarterback now, and I mean
Speaker 2: by that as someone with life experience, right NFL experience.
Speaker 1: He can come in and command the huddle.
Speaker 2: He can see what the pre snaff field looks like
Speaker 2: and anticipate what's gonna get as a result of that.
Speaker 2: Just that alone makes such a difference getting out of
Speaker 2: bad plays into the right one, for instance. And how
Speaker 2: many years now have they had all these weapons that
Speaker 2: don't do a whole lot. Those guys are still there.
Speaker 2: I'm excited to watch Bijon Pitts. Drake London gets some
Speaker 2: roll with a proven quarterback. And I also like how
Speaker 2: they've rounded out the group there with more Mooney and
Speaker 2: Tyler al Jeer, who's an absolute stud of an incumbent too,
Speaker 2: and Zach Robinson. The new OC is there and he'll
Speaker 2: help implement a lot of the stuff that Cousins excelled
Speaker 2: in Minnesota with under Kevin O'Connell. They also get good
Speaker 2: interior pressure Grady Jarrett, David Anyamata, Eddie old Man. Now
Speaker 2: they add Brandon Dorilys and Rooke a roilrow Row, which
Speaker 2: is a great rotation of defensive lineman.
Speaker 1: That's how you say his name.
Speaker 2: And then I'm also a fan of Caden Ellis at
Speaker 2: linebacker and the biggest Jesse Bates fan on the entire planet,
Speaker 2: for my money, is the best free safety in football.
Speaker 2: What's the concern or fatal flaw here? I'm not sure
Speaker 2: they have the bullets to effectively generate pressure off the
Speaker 2: edge like Arnold Ibaktier Ibakidi eb I can't say it,
Speaker 2: but he's their best pass prusher. I also think they
Speaker 2: have similar concerns in perimeter coverage. Now, both of those
Speaker 2: being said, I think Raheem Morris alone, his scheme and
Speaker 2: his coaching makes everybody a little bit better interesting things
Speaker 2: about this team or biggest storylines. This will be everybody's
Speaker 2: division winner.
Speaker 1: Pick right.
Speaker 2: That's a division that was sort of one by default
Speaker 2: a year ago, and so when you get a proven quarterback,
Speaker 2: that's the natural progression, like give it to the team
Speaker 2: that has the best quarterback. But I don't think it's
Speaker 2: a given. Raheem Morris a second go around as head coach,
Speaker 2: and he deserves it so good. I'm excited to watch
Speaker 2: that play out.
Speaker 1: I'm rooting for him.
Speaker 2: And that defense had talent but didn't performing the last
Speaker 2: two years. I could definitely see them becoming a defense
Speaker 2: that becomes like synonymous with success and people were just like, oh,
Speaker 2: the Falcons defense is really good now, Like it was,
Speaker 2: it just wasn't.
Speaker 1: Really well coached.
Speaker 2: Some final roster thoughts covered it pretty well on outside
Speaker 2: of the offensive line. Three big hits in Jake Matthews,
Speaker 2: CALEA McGarry, and Chris Lynstrom. The last like five or
Speaker 2: so years, I think Lynchram's the best guard in football.
Speaker 2: They who wins the other two spots. I liked Matthew
Speaker 2: bergeron last year in the draft. Figure he gets a
Speaker 2: crack at one of those guard jobs. The edge group
Speaker 2: I mentioned is Ebakette. I think I got right that time.
Speaker 2: Lorenzo Carter, Braylan Schrice and Bradley and I who if
Speaker 2: the lockdown fans remember how big of a fan I
Speaker 2: was of Bradley and I who has not worked out
Speaker 2: at all?
Speaker 1: And the cornerbacks.
Speaker 2: AJ Terrell is a nice player, Mike Hughes canploy, and
Speaker 2: then Clark Phillips and Kevin King is next, Like, there's
Speaker 2: just not at a depth in some key areas here.
Speaker 1: What can they tell us with the Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 2: I think the big thing here is how an effective
Speaker 2: quarterback can take this scheme like right, similar principles as
Speaker 2: ours and turn what looked like a promising skill group
Speaker 2: that had under delivered and make it all click. It
Speaker 2: does not work if you don't have the quarterback.
Speaker 1: Now they have one.
Speaker 2: They finished up here with the worst team in football
Speaker 2: last year, the Carolina Panthers two and fifteen, last in
Speaker 2: the NFC South, last in the NFL Murphy's law of
Speaker 2: a season really half a decade for this team, and
Speaker 2: it's difficult to imagine an immediate turnaround here though. They
Speaker 2: did go aggressively after a handful of good players and
Speaker 2: free agency, but they spent top of the market money
Speaker 2: for good players, which has that ever worked out for
Speaker 2: anybody losing valuable draft capital watching the pick after the
Speaker 2: guy that you took have an all time rookie season.
Speaker 1: Ouch.
Speaker 2: Changing coaches for the second time in as many years,
Speaker 2: it's going to be a process for this team. They
Speaker 2: did retain zero ever ro on defense, which is kind
Speaker 2: of interesting that a DC last a head coaching change,
Speaker 2: But Dave Canalis is in the big chair now after
Speaker 2: a good season coordinating to the Bucks offense, and from
Speaker 2: the word going twenty twenty three, it was dreadful, man.
Speaker 1: They couldn't get open.
Speaker 2: The offense appeared too complex for at least one position
Speaker 2: group on every single snap, like they were in bad alignment,
Speaker 2: bad route depth, bad eyes by the quarterback, bad protection,
Speaker 2: bad slides, bad protection plans. In general, they couldn't protect
Speaker 2: Bryce Young, who's you know, five point eleven. He couldn't
Speaker 2: make plays and when he did, like half the time
Speaker 2: the ball was dropped. I think their best guy was
Speaker 2: Adam Thielen. Come on, now, we got our first look
Speaker 2: in that Week two primetime game where they and the
Speaker 2: Saints just traded punts all night, which was so fun.
Speaker 2: Was it Thursday Monday?
Speaker 1: I can't remember.
Speaker 2: And I've always said I'll only want I'll watch any
Speaker 2: NFL game on anytime, any anywhere. But I don't know, Man,
Speaker 2: as I get older, it's like I kind of want
Speaker 2: to watch, you know, like riveting television. Here not a
Speaker 2: twelve straight punt football game. They were zero and six
Speaker 2: before their first win. They have fifteen to thirteen barn
Speaker 2: burner over Houston. How then they lost six more games
Speaker 2: before a nine nine to seven win over the Braves
Speaker 2: or I mean the Falcons, and then the last lost
Speaker 2: the last three games of the year, and we're talking
Speaker 2: major losses. Eighteen points to Detroy, twenty one points to Miami,
Speaker 2: fourteen to the Colts, twenty three to the Cowboys, twenty
Speaker 2: two to the Saints, twenty six of the Jags, fourteen
Speaker 2: to the Falcons.
Speaker 1: Like, they were awful, and what do they do to
Speaker 1: fix it?
Speaker 2: They brought in two massive guards and paid them a
Speaker 2: boatload of money in Robert Hunt and Damian Lewis. They
Speaker 2: also brought in a swing tackle on josh Niezman, a
Speaker 2: receiver in Deontay Johnson. Rashon Penny the running back is
Speaker 2: now there. Ashawn Robinson, a defensive tackle, joins the Panthers
Speaker 2: in three edges Jadavian Clowney, dj Wanham and Klevon Chason.
Speaker 2: They also get Josie Jewleett linebacker, the former Buffalo Bill
Speaker 2: Dame Jackson at corner, and their first pick was in
Speaker 2: the second round wide receiver Xavier Lagette. On the way
Speaker 2: out was Hayden Hurst, a tight end linebacker Kamu gruge
Speaker 2: Hill who got snatched back up by Brian Flores in Minnesota.
Speaker 2: Brian burnsrustrated to the Giants. Dante Jackson leaves of the Steelers. CJ.
Speaker 2: Henderson also exits, and Von Bell and Jeremy Chenn are
Speaker 2: both gone too. It's a lot of names they lost there,
Speaker 2: man like good names.
Speaker 1: What do they do well?
Speaker 2: It's tough to tell you that for a two to
Speaker 2: fifteen football team, but getting Hunt and Lewis on the
Speaker 2: inside speaks to a shift towards the combination of size
Speaker 2: and athletic ability to out flank and climb to the
Speaker 2: second level of defense and really resent the line of
Speaker 2: scrimage that way, which pairs with the Sanders and Penny signs.
Speaker 1: In the last two years. So I'd like the idea
Speaker 1: where they're going with that.
Speaker 2: So I'd say it benefits the running game, but it
Speaker 2: also helps a five foot ten or five foot eleven
Speaker 2: quarterback have his protection hold up inside as well, and
Speaker 2: hope that they can create his way around edge pressure,
Speaker 2: which has been a major issue, especially with the former
Speaker 2: six pick in the draft, Ike Aquanu who's really struggled
Speaker 2: to find his group so far in his career, and
Speaker 2: then with Taylor Moten missing so much time last year,
Speaker 2: they just were an absolute disaster. But having a good
Speaker 2: swing tackle and Josh Nisman will definitely help that. What's
Speaker 2: the concern or fatal flaw the whole damn roster. I mean,
Speaker 2: it's not very often Riki quarterback has a year like
Speaker 2: that and pans out. Josh Rosen second. Josh Rosen mentioned
Speaker 2: on the podcast it was like him Jared Goff is
Speaker 2: the one you point to with some hope, or maybe
Speaker 2: Alex Smith, but like, I don't know, man, I never
Speaker 2: really saw it with Bryce Young personally, they're counting on
Speaker 2: the same tackle combination that got him beat up last year.
Speaker 1: Is that gonna work?
Speaker 2: Where's the speed? The skill spots? Like Miles Samers is
Speaker 2: probably your fastest guy. How did he perform last year?
Speaker 2: They lost a lot of talent on defense, including their
Speaker 2: best player and Brian Burns. They replaced Clowney and replaced
Speaker 2: him with Clowney in one them that's not an upgrade,
Speaker 2: but Burns was like their only consistent pressure player last year.
Speaker 2: Chin is gone like von Bell's gone. I don't know,
Speaker 2: I don't know. Some interesting things about this team. Your
Speaker 2: biggest storyline, they're one quarterback conundrum, despite how bad they
Speaker 2: were and might be. Is one of the more fascinating
Speaker 2: storylines you can find. Like beat writers always say to me,
Speaker 2: like you need either really good or really bad to
Speaker 2: sell papers, And this story is intriguing because right now
Speaker 2: it's the latter. We saw Houston go from three coaches
Speaker 2: in three years to where you almost couldn't make another move,
Speaker 2: and luckily they found their Demiko Ryans for the Panthers,
Speaker 2: is Dave Kanal is going to be that he kind
Speaker 2: of has to be because you're not gonna who's gonna
Speaker 2: take that job next year. I think that's kind of
Speaker 2: what happened this year with Canal's actually final roster thoughts.
Speaker 2: When you go too and fifteen, you kind of have
Speaker 2: to overpay to bring players in. And good on them
Speaker 2: for getting two studs and Hunt and Lewis. I love
Speaker 2: that combination at the guard position. I think their best
Speaker 2: receiver is a rookie personally. The Dj Moore part of
Speaker 2: that Bryce Young trade is probably the worst part of
Speaker 2: it all. But Deontay Johnson was their big get. He
Speaker 2: has like effort issues, So how's that gonna work for
Speaker 2: a bad football team.
Speaker 1: I don't I just I don't know.
Speaker 2: I like JC Horn on defense, Dan Jackson gives him
Speaker 2: stabillity there in the defensive backfield. Shaq Thompsons still a baller,
Speaker 2: and now he gets Josie Jewel next to him. I
Speaker 2: love giving Derek Brown Ashawn Robinson. I think we need
Speaker 2: like three more off seasons like this one before we
Speaker 2: can expect like real progress here. What can they tell
Speaker 2: us with the Dolphins? Absolutely nothing division predictions here which
Speaker 2: can change from now until September. First place, I'm going
Speaker 2: back to the Bucks eight to nine wins like, I
Speaker 2: just don't think anyone's gonna be good in this division.
Speaker 4: Again.
Speaker 2: The Falcons I have second place at seven to eight wins,
Speaker 2: the Saints in third place at four to five wins,
Speaker 2: and the Panthers in last with three or four wins.
Speaker 1: The best quarterback is Kirk Cousins.
Speaker 2: The best non quarterback on offense tricky one, but I'm
Speaker 2: going Chris Lenstrum here. Hat tip to Mike Evans. Best
Speaker 2: defensive players vite Veya. The best coach to me is
Speaker 2: Raheem Morris. A new guy like that tells you it's
Speaker 2: a rough division. Man. The best rookie for me is
Speaker 2: My favorite rookie is Felici Tuaga and this is gonna
Speaker 2: sound crazy because he was a fourth pick in the draft.
Speaker 2: My fantasy sleeper is Kyle Pitts. I think this is
Speaker 2: the year for Kyle Pitts. I think this is my
Speaker 2: time to get the hell out of here. You all
Speaker 2: please be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify,
Speaker 2: wherever you get your podcasts from. Go ahead, leave us
Speaker 2: a rating, leave us a review. You can follow me
Speaker 2: on social at linkfold NFL and the team at Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 2: Check out the Fish Tank Podcast with my guys Seth
Speaker 2: and Juice. Check out the YouTube channel for media availabilities,
Speaker 2: Dolphins a Day, drive time content, and so much more,
Speaker 2: and last but not least, MiamiDolphins dot Com. Until next time,
Speaker 2: Fin's up. Come on on, Cameron, Daddy, He's coming home.