Speaker 1: You were listening to the Miami Dolphins podcast Network. This
Speaker 1: is Drive Time with Travis Wingfield. Back to throw to
Speaker 1: a looking alta wine open cutstop, clerk call. Unbelievable. Just
Speaker 1: flew by for a second time. Don't know where he
Speaker 1: was going right away to hit of that man. I
Speaker 1: want to help you soon up on his bay wattle,
Speaker 1: waddle to a shotgut back, that's throw, looking stuffs up, fires,
Speaker 1: totop again, it's waddle. It's six touchdown passing. Drive Time
Speaker 1: with Travis Wingfield begins. Now let me check your pulse
Speaker 1: if what is up? Dol fans, and welcome to the
Speaker 1: Drive Time podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins podcast Network,
Speaker 1: covering your team, your Miami Dolphins. How's it going? Everybody?
Speaker 1: I am your host, Travis Wingfield and on today's show,
Speaker 1: potentially the last regular her Brother in season podcast. Here
Speaker 1: in three we'll go ahead and take a look at
Speaker 1: the perspective from Buffalo with Joe Marino of the Draft
Speaker 1: Network and Locked on Bills. We'll go ahead and hear
Speaker 1: from the assistant coaching staff and their Thursday media availabilities,
Speaker 1: and we'll finish up with your mail bad questions via Twitter.
Speaker 1: All of that and a heck of a lot more
Speaker 1: from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
Speaker 1: This is go ahead and get to my guest today
Speaker 1: for the last time this season. Number three on the
Speaker 1: year from Lockdown Bills, Joe Marino and joining me now
Speaker 1: is one of my favorite recurring guests we have on
Speaker 1: the Drift Time podcast. He covers the enemy for Locked
Speaker 1: On Bills on the Locked On Sports Network in addition
Speaker 1: to being one of the best draft scouts in the
Speaker 1: entire business, the co founder of the Draft Network, Joe Marino, Joe,
Speaker 1: welcome back in man. Hey, Travis, thanks for having me on. Hey.
Speaker 1: I look, I maybe cover the enemy, but we're all friends, right.
Speaker 1: I got some great friends here, uh, in the world
Speaker 1: of Miami Dolphins. So it's gonna be on with you
Speaker 1: and talk about this football game. I saw somebody tweeted
Speaker 1: on Thursday morning before taping this podcast at Kyle and said, like,
Speaker 1: how do you even talk to Joe during this week?
Speaker 1: I have a Jets fan friend that I can't talk
Speaker 1: to you for a week before the game, And I'm like,
Speaker 1: Joe is good people, man. Plus he teaches us some
Speaker 1: information on the opponents. So yeah, I'm in that same
Speaker 1: realm with you. Man, we're like uh Sunday. Maybe even
Speaker 1: not the most uh closest of friends, but I always
Speaker 1: enjoyed these podcasts. And this would have been your third
Speaker 1: appearance on the show this season. But the last time
Speaker 1: the Dolphins and Bills met, I was actually in the
Speaker 1: hospital for the birth of my son. So, um, you
Speaker 1: know I have to ask this every time we do
Speaker 1: a show together. What's the latest update on girl dad
Speaker 1: life for you all up there? Oh? Man, it's phenomenal.
Speaker 1: She turns three next week, and man, she has so
Speaker 1: much personality and she's so energetic, and she's so smart.
Speaker 1: I mean, my favorite thing in the world is being
Speaker 1: heard Dad. So uh, dad life is great. She's great,
Speaker 1: and I hope the same is true for you. Coodn't
Speaker 1: have said it better myself. And the personality parts of
Speaker 1: the best Man like Christmas music. She was all about that.
Speaker 1: She sings jingle bells still every time we get in
Speaker 1: the car, Daddy, I want jingle bills. Hey, Um, you
Speaker 1: get whatever you want when it comes to Daddy. So
Speaker 1: she knows she has me wrapped around her finger, and
Speaker 1: she takes advantage of it, but um, it's it's the
Speaker 1: best man. Glad to hear it. And uh, I always
Speaker 1: love tracking that because our daughter is so close in age.
Speaker 1: It's it's cool to reflect on that stuff with you. Um.
Speaker 1: But yeah, let's let's go ahead and start with this
Speaker 1: this crossover podcast here, and we always start these with
Speaker 1: questions about the quarterback position. And you know, we're all
Speaker 1: well versed on Josh allen skills have We've seen him
Speaker 1: a million times and he's played very well pretty much
Speaker 1: all those times. But I continue to marvel at his
Speaker 1: splits this year against the Blitz and how it's completely
Speaker 1: flipped in terms of his success against the Blitz against
Speaker 1: the other fifteen teams and then against the Dolphins in
Speaker 1: those two games. I'm just curious on the whole what
Speaker 1: have you noticed about Josh Allen when teams play coverage
Speaker 1: this year versus bringing extra rushers on the Blitz. You
Speaker 1: know what's interesting about Josh Allen is, for as good
Speaker 1: of a player as he is, I think that's an
Speaker 1: area of his game that has been an issue really
Speaker 1: over the last two seasons. It's just a production against
Speaker 1: the Blitz, and obviously that's a dangerous world to live
Speaker 1: in at times for a defense knowing what Josh is
Speaker 1: capable of both as a runner and a thrower, and
Speaker 1: certainly going back to he was one of the best
Speaker 1: in the league in terms of facing the blitz. But
Speaker 1: over the last two years, I feel like it's been
Speaker 1: more of an issue offensively where the Bills kind of
Speaker 1: get stuck on when to protect right, when to keep
Speaker 1: some extra bodies in to protect, and when to throw
Speaker 1: hot right and make those sight adjustments and really try
Speaker 1: to replace the the blitz with the ball and and
Speaker 1: make the defense pay for sending and committing some extra rushers.
Speaker 1: And so I feel like over the last two years
Speaker 1: it's been a little bit unsettled for this Bill's offense,
Speaker 1: and Josh has gotten stuck at times because I'm not
Speaker 1: sure those answers have bene have been built in as
Speaker 1: consistently as they need to. And the Dolphins certainly a
Speaker 1: team that number two blitz raid in the a f C.
Speaker 1: We we know that about Josh Boy's gonna send UH
Speaker 1: send pressure, and so I think that's gonna be a
Speaker 1: big challenge for the Bills this week, especially given the
Speaker 1: familiarity between the two teams and and that UH for
Speaker 1: as much as the Bills may be familiar with Josh
Speaker 1: Boyer and how he likes to blitz, you know, Josh
Speaker 1: Bowyer is well familiar with the protection schemes of the
Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills, and so I think that's a really good
Speaker 1: um opening topic in something that um I'm curious about
Speaker 1: this week and seeing how those how that storyline plays out,
Speaker 1: especially when you're talking about a Dolphins front that features
Speaker 1: so many good pass rushers. Jalen Phillips obviously having a
Speaker 1: breakout season and he he uh gave Spencer Brown at
Speaker 1: right tackle all he can handle in that last match up.
Speaker 1: And of course in the inside, Siler and Christian Wilkins
Speaker 1: are animals, and Melvin Ingram seems to play well every
Speaker 1: time the Bills play against him, whatever team he's playing for,
Speaker 1: of course Bradley Chub So there's a there's a lot
Speaker 1: that this front can give you both from a blitz
Speaker 1: perspective and then just those guys winning one on one,
Speaker 1: So obviously a big storyline entering this game. It felt
Speaker 1: like that last game was like watching you know, NBA
Speaker 1: players playing pickup ball in terms of like, oh man,
Speaker 1: what a great move that was by Jalen Phillips. So
Speaker 1: there goes Josh Allen making an even better player than
Speaker 1: just back and forth all game long, so much fun
Speaker 1: to watch. And speaking of fun, you know, getting on
Speaker 1: social media can be fun or it can be the
Speaker 1: opposite of that. And I saw a debate the other
Speaker 1: day Joe on Bill's Twitter about the production of the
Speaker 1: number two receiver, which has been Gabe Davis right for
Speaker 1: the Bills. It's right so, and there was some consternation about,
Speaker 1: you know, his value, and one of the common disagreements
Speaker 1: I saw was people saying, look at what Waddles doing
Speaker 1: in Miami, And I'm thinking, like, that's not really fair
Speaker 1: because both Tyreek and Jalen are you know, ones on
Speaker 1: like nine of the teams across the NFL. So my
Speaker 1: question is explained to our fan base the traits that
Speaker 1: makes this Bill's skill group so dangerous because it's more
Speaker 1: than just Josh Allen Stefon Diggs. Yeah, I think the
Speaker 1: Bills obviously Josh Allen Stefon Diggs, that's your bread and butter.
Speaker 1: But it's about a whole lot more than just that.
Speaker 1: And you look at Davis is the number two receiver,
Speaker 1: maybe he have the production. Coming out of that Kansas
Speaker 1: City playoff game where he had two hundred yards and
Speaker 1: four touchdowns and everybody thought he was gonna have this
Speaker 1: monster season. He had an okay season. Eight hundred yards,
Speaker 1: seven touchdowns. That's good wide receiver to production. But you know,
Speaker 1: maybe you wonder about his skill set and if it's
Speaker 1: a complete enough player to be a do everything guy
Speaker 1: opposite of Stefan days. He certainly provides value with his
Speaker 1: size and his ball skills down the field, but obviously
Speaker 1: not a guy that's gonna uncovered quickly or went after
Speaker 1: the catch, and there's been some inconsistency with his hands
Speaker 1: this year. But you know, Dawson Knox is also lover
Speaker 1: the last two years at tight end really become uh
Speaker 1: an important part of this this offense and what he
Speaker 1: means for not only their ability to attack the middle
Speaker 1: of the field, but his yards after catch skills. That
Speaker 1: is something they like to tap into quite a bit,
Speaker 1: getting him, you know, into the flats and asking him
Speaker 1: to create his obviously big and athletic and then you know,
Speaker 1: you look at the rest of this receiver corps and
Speaker 1: it's it's some old faces that are back. Cole Beasley
Speaker 1: John Brown, they're starting to get in the extended the
Speaker 1: equation to go with Isaia McKinsey, who may not be
Speaker 1: available this week with a hamstring injury, and so they'll
Speaker 1: rely on some of those old new faces, if you will,
Speaker 1: and rookie and Colose Secure that looks like he has
Speaker 1: a bright future as an up and coming inside outside player,
Speaker 1: but the market share hasn't really been there. But also
Speaker 1: the Bills have gotten the running backs going a little
Speaker 1: bit in the passing game with James Cook and his
Speaker 1: emergence here later in the season certainly feels like the
Speaker 1: game slowing down for him a bit and he's becoming
Speaker 1: more comfortable in his role. And of course Stevan Singletary,
Speaker 1: who has been really consistent over the last four years
Speaker 1: in terms of his ability to catch football and run it.
Speaker 1: So there's a lot of weapons that the Bills have,
Speaker 1: and uh, it's interesting on a weekly basis kind of
Speaker 1: who the priorities are for who they're gonna throw the
Speaker 1: football too, because they do have a lot of options.
Speaker 1: And certainly when you look at this game against Miami,
Speaker 1: um I feel like the Bills are gonna want to
Speaker 1: make it a space game as much as possible offensively
Speaker 1: and really put you know, some empty packages on the
Speaker 1: field and space that Dolphins defense out and really kind
Speaker 1: of put them in some conflict with if they're gonna
Speaker 1: send pressure and kind of having to deal with the
Speaker 1: space behind it. And we obviously know about the injuries
Speaker 1: in the back seven four Miami all season long, so
Speaker 1: that could be an interesting storyline here that the Bills
Speaker 1: could try to take advantage of this weekend. Yeah, it
Speaker 1: makes perfect sense. I mean that the depth of that
Speaker 1: position has been tested because of the injuries, and you
Speaker 1: can you know, certainly play into that by like you mentioned,
Speaker 1: going empty and spreading things out. So I'll be curious
Speaker 1: see how that looks. And uh, you know, talk about
Speaker 1: pressure and blitzing and all that stuff that falls ultimately
Speaker 1: on the quarterback and offensive line. And I wanted to
Speaker 1: ask you about the Bills offensive line player this year
Speaker 1: because I mentioned on my preview podcast at Miami has
Speaker 1: to find a way to not just get pressure on
Speaker 1: Alan but hem him into the pocket because he makes
Speaker 1: so many dang plays when he escapes outside of the pocket.
Speaker 1: How do you think teams have accomplished that this year?
Speaker 1: What have they done to keep him into the pocket
Speaker 1: and and try to force him to win from that position. Well,
Speaker 1: I think it's been a struggle for a lot of
Speaker 1: teams to be honest with you, and Josh tends to
Speaker 1: even if you have your best intentions of kind of
Speaker 1: cage rushing and containing him, Josh makes that one guy
Speaker 1: miss and all of a sudden, your best intentions are
Speaker 1: all for not right, and Josh is rolling to his
Speaker 1: right and making plays with his legs in his arm,
Speaker 1: and so I think what you have to do is
Speaker 1: the front is you just have to be extremely disciplined,
Speaker 1: not just with your rush and to be able to
Speaker 1: stay in your lane, but when you're in that position
Speaker 1: to tackle Josh Allen, you have to be under control
Speaker 1: and you have to be mindful of you know, he's
Speaker 1: a big dude with a stiff arm right and just
Speaker 1: will really dare anybody to come after him. Right. I
Speaker 1: think we've all seen that over his career, and um,
Speaker 1: you know, I think it's just a lot of discipline
Speaker 1: that you're going to be required to play with, not
Speaker 1: just from a a stay in your lane which limits
Speaker 1: your creativity as a pass rusher, but hey, when you
Speaker 1: have that chance, you have to be balanced and under
Speaker 1: control to have an opportunity to get down a really
Speaker 1: good quarterback. It's yeah, all remember the first year I
Speaker 1: covered a game here from the like from the press box,
Speaker 1: I asked Bobby McCain about a sack he had on
Speaker 1: Josh Allen about bringing him down. It's like, man our
Speaker 1: slot corner, Little Bobby McCain, a five ft ten bring
Speaker 1: him to the ground. That was one of the most
Speaker 1: amazing things I ever saw in a foot ball field.
Speaker 1: But he seems to shake off, you know, two and
Speaker 1: sixty pounds like it's no big deal. So definitely Alan
Speaker 1: got him last week. That was a really good tackle
Speaker 1: and that I was like, wow, I can't believe you
Speaker 1: got him down. So there's it happens. But you better,
Speaker 1: you better have your angle, you better be balanced, you
Speaker 1: better get him loon. That was a hell of a
Speaker 1: play from Javon kind of playing that like you know,
Speaker 1: he almost like buzzed the crosser then turn into a
Speaker 1: spy and closed down on him, And I thought there
Speaker 1: was I thought we had no chance once he broke
Speaker 1: the pocket there because we've seen him happened so many times.
Speaker 1: But you know, the snowman is probably the best bet
Speaker 1: to get him to the ground in space like that
Speaker 1: he did at that time. Now, speaking of defense on
Speaker 1: the other side of the ball for Buffalo, you know,
Speaker 1: we saw them without von Miller. That first game was
Speaker 1: a bit of an anomaly from the Dolphin standpoint, from
Speaker 1: a volume standpoint, because it's hard to rack up numbers
Speaker 1: when you only run thirty seven plays in a game.
Speaker 1: But the December game was highly efficient, explosive plays, long
Speaker 1: touchdown to Tyreek and waddle. What have the Bills done
Speaker 1: since that game, since Week fifteen to disrupt the timing
Speaker 1: of opposing offenses with their past rush, a blitzing playing,
Speaker 1: you know, four man rush, How have they done and
Speaker 1: how effective hasn't been? Well? I think that's something that
Speaker 1: I have a question about with this Bill's team entering
Speaker 1: the postseason um where I think if you go back
Speaker 1: to the last two years where their season was ended
Speaker 1: by Kansas City, you remember not being good enough when
Speaker 1: it comes to rushing the passer and really getting the
Speaker 1: quarterback down. And you went out and you signed von
Speaker 1: Miller to be your closer, and for the time that
Speaker 1: he was healthy this year, that's exactly what he was.
Speaker 1: Key clutch sacks when you had to have him well,
Speaker 1: and he's not available this for this Bill's team on
Speaker 1: you know, the rest of the season, and so they've
Speaker 1: had to kind of adapt to it and and really
Speaker 1: just lean into the talent that they have. Right, they
Speaker 1: don't have von Miller, but they still have several first
Speaker 1: round picks on the edge, and Greg Rousseau and Shack
Speaker 1: Lawson and a couple of recent second round picks and
Speaker 1: uh A j f and S and Carlos Basham that
Speaker 1: you know all of the above, right, It's not just
Speaker 1: uh any one guy that can come in and replace
Speaker 1: what von Miller gave you. You hope it's an all
Speaker 1: of the above approach, especially with your interior guys as
Speaker 1: like in that Oliver and at de Ai Kwon Jones
Speaker 1: and Jordan Phillips and a Tim Settle. So I think
Speaker 1: you you just try to find strengthen in being eight deep,
Speaker 1: that you feel like all these guys have a chance
Speaker 1: to rush the passer and um hopefully on any given
Speaker 1: play you have one or two guys that are able
Speaker 1: to deliver. And you know the Bills have been more willing.
Speaker 1: I think to blitz Matt Mulano, I think we've seen
Speaker 1: that quite a bit here down the stretch, mug him,
Speaker 1: mug him up in the A gaps and send him
Speaker 1: at That's happened a little bit more uh recently than
Speaker 1: than I can remember, So I think that's kind of
Speaker 1: the plan here for Buffalo to get after the quarterback.
Speaker 1: And there's been times here late in the season where
Speaker 1: I felt like the pass rush didn't show up with consistency,
Speaker 1: especially against the uh, the Patriots in their most recent game.
Speaker 1: And obviously the Patriots kind of tapped into some play
Speaker 1: action in ways that we hadn't seen them uh this season,
Speaker 1: and that got the Bills a few times. And you know,
Speaker 1: you know, the Dolphins are really good at kind of
Speaker 1: having that run action tag to their their passing play,
Speaker 1: so that will certainly be a benefit to them and
Speaker 1: kind of slowing up the the Bill's pass rush. But
Speaker 1: it's definitely in all of the above approach. Yeah, you
Speaker 1: mentioned the Patriots, a divisional opponent, you know, a team
Speaker 1: you know so well. For the Patriots to kind of
Speaker 1: be able to adapt in a game like that speaks
Speaker 1: to their knowledge, I think of the Bills. And maybe
Speaker 1: Miami has some of that as well. And you go
Speaker 1: back to you know, talking about the running game and
Speaker 1: eight yards in the ground from Miami last time around
Speaker 1: thirty two snaps with two bad personnel against that you know,
Speaker 1: permanent nickel package they run where it's like at the time,
Speaker 1: I'm just curious, what does allow Buffalo to remain in
Speaker 1: that nickel defense and yet still ranked fourth in the
Speaker 1: NFL against the rush this year. It's it's Tremaine Evans
Speaker 1: and Matt Mulano and and really Taran Johnson, Right, it's
Speaker 1: those guys as a on a base nickel defense. I mean,
Speaker 1: they have so much responsibility not just for their run fits,
Speaker 1: but also with the real estate that they're responsible for,
Speaker 1: responsible for in pass coverage. Right, those guys are smart,
Speaker 1: instinctive players with range, and I think that allows the
Speaker 1: Bills to live in this world where they're pretty much
Speaker 1: always in nickel. They don't go three linebackers for any
Speaker 1: and um, that's just who they've been and it's been
Speaker 1: really effective. And I think it really it's really those
Speaker 1: three guys and how they can fit the run and
Speaker 1: play in space and coverage. But you know a big
Speaker 1: task of them is in this style of defense that
Speaker 1: is a penetration style up the field, defense up front
Speaker 1: is they have to make those defensive linemen right right
Speaker 1: because they're attacking, they're playing downhill and it's just a
Speaker 1: lot of their plates and they continue to answer the call.
Speaker 1: And um, you know, those are those are core players
Speaker 1: this defense, and I think that's the reason why they're
Speaker 1: able to live in that nickel defense. And sometimes you know,
Speaker 1: they there's a play here and there where they can
Speaker 1: give up a big run. You've seen that obviously the
Speaker 1: big what a Mostard had a sixty yard or something
Speaker 1: against the Bills. That's that's gonna happen from time to
Speaker 1: time when you live in that world. But you know,
Speaker 1: for the most part, they tighten the screws and and
Speaker 1: really handle a lot on their plate. It's a fun
Speaker 1: matchup man. Rob Hunt had a big game last time.
Speaker 1: Connor Williams as well, creating some of those lanes inside.
Speaker 1: I'm curious see how it happens this time because I
Speaker 1: think the Dolphins to win the game will have to
Speaker 1: run the ball successfully. But you know, as far as
Speaker 1: putting the ball up in the air on the back end,
Speaker 1: you know, I think going into this season, maybe you
Speaker 1: can agree or disagree that cornerback was probably the one
Speaker 1: area that Bills fans maybe had the most questions about
Speaker 1: in terms of who's getting the bulk of the snaps.
Speaker 1: With the entire regular season now in the rear view mirror,
Speaker 1: how would you assess that position and their prospects in
Speaker 1: this game for slowing down Tyreek Jalen and the Dolphins receivers, Well, okay,
Speaker 1: those are two very different questions, Travis, because nobody's slowing
Speaker 1: down Wattle and Hill, right, So that's that's you know,
Speaker 1: I remember for years I get asked the question, I'm
Speaker 1: chiefs podcasters and stuff. It's like, how how are the
Speaker 1: Bills gonna stop Travis Kelsey. They're not going to write
Speaker 1: it's it's not gonna happen. You try to, You try
Speaker 1: to limit and contain it as best she can. Right,
Speaker 1: But even even in that last game that Will Hill
Speaker 1: and Waddle they both made their big explosive touchdowns, and
Speaker 1: you know, I think you have to just live in
Speaker 1: a world where that's gonna happen, and so you just
Speaker 1: try to try to contain it as best she can.
Speaker 1: But I think as far as the cornerback depth and
Speaker 1: and the Dolphins as an opponent, you're nervous about playing
Speaker 1: those receivers, but fortunately don't have to play them every
Speaker 1: single week. The Bill has got to deal with them
Speaker 1: twice a year. But um, I think for the most part,
Speaker 1: the Bill's corner position has really um come along in
Speaker 1: ways that we didn't expect. Obviously a concern entering the
Speaker 1: year with Levi Wallace departing and trade Avious White coming
Speaker 1: off of an a c L tear, but Tradevious White
Speaker 1: is now healthy. He's been an every down player really
Speaker 1: since the game after Thanksgiving, so he stabilized and come
Speaker 1: in and bend the top corner. And then opposite of him,
Speaker 1: they've actually rotated Kyer Elam, the first round pick who's
Speaker 1: played well at times and you certainly had his rookie
Speaker 1: moments as well, but Dame Jackson who's been kind of
Speaker 1: the fill in player for trine Avious White, who's kind
Speaker 1: of stabilized and earned the opportunity to stay on the
Speaker 1: field even with Trey White's return. Meanwhile, they also have
Speaker 1: Christian Benford, who's the sixth round rookie out of Villa Nova,
Speaker 1: who started the first few games of the season in
Speaker 1: a rotation with uh Kyrie Elm while Dane Jackson was
Speaker 1: a CB one waltradabus White was out, So through all
Speaker 1: these injuries, there's been a lot of experience gained and
Speaker 1: put the Bills in a situation where they feel like
Speaker 1: they have four guys that they're willing to play on
Speaker 1: the outside at corner and it's a really good position
Speaker 1: to be. But at the end of the day, nobody's
Speaker 1: running stride for stride with waddling Hills. So you've got
Speaker 1: a lot to worry about with those two really dynamic
Speaker 1: players here. You talk about the playmakers. I mean, we
Speaker 1: feel the same way about Josh Allen, like you just
Speaker 1: have to accept that he's gonna make plays. And it
Speaker 1: makes me think about like the future of this rivalry
Speaker 1: and hopefully a lot more playoff games to come, kind
Speaker 1: of like the nineties, you know, I was, I was
Speaker 1: going over the last podcast. Yeah, three and three and
Speaker 1: one for the butt for the Bills, and and two
Speaker 1: and in that building. Hopefully we can see, you know,
Speaker 1: another run like that. I think both fan bases would
Speaker 1: love to see that rival we kind of get back
Speaker 1: to where it was in the nineties. So Joey end
Speaker 1: this podcast each week with this question, the Bills will
Speaker 1: win the game if and then you go ahead and
Speaker 1: fill in the blank. I think the Bills need to
Speaker 1: come out offensively and really set the pace and challenge
Speaker 1: Miami with out their starting quarterback, to go blow for
Speaker 1: blow with you, right, I mean the Bills are certainly
Speaker 1: capable of scoring in bunches. They've I think they've scored
Speaker 1: at least thirty points in their last three games, the
Speaker 1: number two scoring offense in the NFL. I think you
Speaker 1: have to go out and be aggressive and score points
Speaker 1: and really really dare uh this Dolphins team without their
Speaker 1: starting quarterback to to stay with you. And on one hand,
Speaker 1: you you feel like from the Bill's perspective that that's
Speaker 1: a good recipe. But you know, one thing that we
Speaker 1: know about this uh Mike McDaniel Kyle Shanahan style of
Speaker 1: offense is that they've been able to get production out
Speaker 1: of quarterbacks. Right. I mean, look at look at McDaniel
Speaker 1: and Shanahan were there together and with San Francisco it
Speaker 1: was whether Jim Jim Garoppolo was available or not. I mean,
Speaker 1: they were able to get production out of Nick Mullins
Speaker 1: and c J. Be Third And you've seen Shanahan continue
Speaker 1: that this year with Brock Purty, and you know, is
Speaker 1: Skyler Thompson just that next guy that can step in
Speaker 1: and really execute that offense and and overcome not having
Speaker 1: your starting quarterback. So I think that's your recipe for
Speaker 1: the Bills. And obviously, you know, play sound, disciplined defense
Speaker 1: and and try to contain those receivers the best you can.
Speaker 1: But I think it's about being aggressive and trying to
Speaker 1: score and see if Miami can stay with you. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's nice to see our quarterback that wasn't to uh
Speaker 1: start and finish the game for the first time in
Speaker 1: Week number eighteen. This year, hopefully the same thing happens
Speaker 1: again here and we can get some more growth from
Speaker 1: the from the rookie quarterback if he is in fact
Speaker 1: the starter in the game on Sunday. He's the co
Speaker 1: founder of the Draft Network. You can find us Daily
Speaker 1: Bills podcast through the Lockdown Bills podcast at the Joe
Speaker 1: Marino on Twitter, Joe, I always appreciate my man. We'll
Speaker 1: see you in India again this year, right, Yes, Sarah,
Speaker 1: We'll see you then, no question about that. Have a
Speaker 1: go a man, and away he goes again. Joe Marino
Speaker 1: check out his work in the Draft Network. Locked on
Speaker 1: Bills and at the Joe Marino on Twitter. Let's go
Speaker 1: ahead and take our first break and come back on
Speaker 1: the other side. And here from Dolphins assistant coaches. That's
Speaker 1: Next Draft Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to
Speaker 1: you by Auto Nation. Let's go ahead and kick off
Speaker 1: assistant coaches media. They met with us on January twelve,
Speaker 1: Thursday morning. I asked Josh Boyer about the conflict of
Speaker 1: having so many games against this team. Do you find
Speaker 1: yourself kind of second guessing your original point? Do you
Speaker 1: come down to multiple thoughts with regards to the game
Speaker 1: plan because of the familiarity. Here's coach Boyer, I'm preparing
Speaker 1: for a team you've seen already twice this year and
Speaker 1: two times every year. I think you look at a
Speaker 1: lot of things. You look at some of the things
Speaker 1: that you've done well, you look at personnel, like some
Speaker 1: of that's changed over the years. Um. When when you
Speaker 1: go back and you look at all of them, um,
Speaker 1: and then ways that they've kind of combated some of
Speaker 1: the things that we've done, uh, and then you know,
Speaker 1: scheme that they've had that's hurt us to you know,
Speaker 1: make sure that we're prepared for that. Um yeah, I
Speaker 1: think it's a constant. And then you look at things
Speaker 1: that they've done to other teams as well that may
Speaker 1: be similar to some of the things that we do. Um.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I think there's a lot uh familiarity. Um
Speaker 1: but uh, you know at the same time that there's
Speaker 1: you know, they they're very familiar with us too, So
Speaker 1: you kind of gotta come back, Okay, if we do this,
Speaker 1: they'll do that. If they do this, we'll do that.
Speaker 1: You know, So that there's a lot of back and
Speaker 1: forth when it comes to prepare for a team that
Speaker 1: you faced multiple times, and specifically speaking about Josh Allen,
Speaker 1: what has and has not been successful to you coach
Speaker 1: with defending this all pro level talent quarterback. I think
Speaker 1: you gotta give them different looks. I think if you know,
Speaker 1: if you sit in the same thing, Um, you know,
Speaker 1: they do a very good job. I mean they got
Speaker 1: they got good offensive alignment, they got good skilled players
Speaker 1: that you know, they got good tight ends. Uh, they
Speaker 1: got good backs. Uh. In the quarterback, he's able to
Speaker 1: see things very well and run the offense very efficiently.
Speaker 1: So it would be a big challenge for us this
Speaker 1: week that we're looking forward to. I asked this question
Speaker 1: to all the coaches we spoke to on Thursday about
Speaker 1: the atmosphere and a playoff game and that crazy building
Speaker 1: and those crazy fans, and coach I think it was
Speaker 1: coach Austin Clark talked about it being like a college atmosphere,
Speaker 1: or actually, you know what, I think it was coach Boyer.
Speaker 1: Let's go ahead and spend it forward here to Josh
Speaker 1: boy you're talking about the playoff atmosphere up in Buffalo.
Speaker 1: You know when you play at Buffalo, it's always a great,
Speaker 1: great football environment. Um, you know, it's a I would say,
Speaker 1: you know, and again there's this is gonna be stereotypical,
Speaker 1: so I'm sure there's different, you know, but it's a
Speaker 1: very blue collar, hard working town. The fans are very passionate. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, Uh, you know, obviously I've spent my entire
Speaker 1: career in the a f C East and it didn't
Speaker 1: matter what. You know, if you're wearing a different colored jersey,
Speaker 1: you're not welcome there. Um, but they but they love football. Uh,
Speaker 1: it will be a great environment. Um. You know, we'll
Speaker 1: probably have a little less snowballs thrown at us this
Speaker 1: this week if if it doesn't snow. Um, But I
Speaker 1: think it's awesome. I think it's a great football environment.
Speaker 1: I think it's a good football town. They got a
Speaker 1: great football team, their world coached, They play hard. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, I don't think you could ask for anything
Speaker 1: more going up there and playing. You guys know that
Speaker 1: I tend to fix it on things that I find
Speaker 1: and trigguing about the game. And the thing that I
Speaker 1: keep going back to is, and I've talked about it,
Speaker 1: I feel like the last three or four matchups against
Speaker 1: this team is taking the ball away when you have
Speaker 1: the opportunity. Again, going back to the first game in
Speaker 1: three dropped interceptions in that game at a three point game,
Speaker 1: you just feel like if you can get one or
Speaker 1: two of those, you maybe swing that game back in
Speaker 1: your favor. And you know, I mentioned the six from
Speaker 1: six total fumbles the Bills have had in the two
Speaker 1: games against Miami, and the Dolphins have recovered two of them.
Speaker 1: I wanted to ask Josh Boyer about that and the
Speaker 1: fact that Josh Allen's put the ball into our coverage's
Speaker 1: hands a few times and not secured the picks. How
Speaker 1: do you emphasize capitalizing on your takeaway opportunities. Here's the
Speaker 1: Dolphins defensive coordination. Yeah, I think I think you probably
Speaker 1: hit it right there in your question. And like one,
Speaker 1: we have to attack the football and then when it's out,
Speaker 1: you know, the more people that we can get to
Speaker 1: the ball increase our odds greatly of of recovering the ball.
Speaker 1: So I think those are the things that uh, you know,
Speaker 1: and obviously, um, we put an emphasis on that every week,
Speaker 1: so um, you know, that won't really change. We will
Speaker 1: try to attack the ball as much as possible and
Speaker 1: then you know, try to get everybody to the ball.
Speaker 1: Is the best we can to recover those always enlightening
Speaker 1: stuff there from defensive cording or Josh Boyer almost called
Speaker 1: him head coach. Let's go ahead and go to the
Speaker 1: offensive side of the ball. Here and Frank Smith who
Speaker 1: was asked about the approach of playing the game with
Speaker 1: Skyler Thompson compared to other quarterbacks and if you will
Speaker 1: play more of a you know, or I should say
Speaker 1: conservative approach with Skyler Thompson in the game. Here's coach
Speaker 1: talking about the goal of the offense score points. Man.
Speaker 1: When you look at it from philosophically, for an offense,
Speaker 1: our job is to score points, and then however we
Speaker 1: score points is trying to obviously win the games. So uh,
Speaker 1: for us last week, we felt there was an opportunity
Speaker 1: with the Jets right attack him in a way that
Speaker 1: maybe we hadn't attacked certain opponents the same way. I
Speaker 1: think ultimately, like this week, UM, we have a plan
Speaker 1: that how we want to attack the Bills, and ultimately,
Speaker 1: regardless of how that plays out, that's the plan that
Speaker 1: we communicate the guys understand it. I don't think necessarily
Speaker 1: that we're looking at some type of way to really
Speaker 1: do it. We're just looking at what's the best way
Speaker 1: for us to make sure we score points and win
Speaker 1: the game. And uh, you know, if we maximize those opportunities,
Speaker 1: we feel confident that we can accomplish that. Let's go
Speaker 1: next here to coach Frank Smith. I asked him about
Speaker 1: the Bills of the time running nickel defense, and you
Speaker 1: heard it from Joe Marino earlier, you heard it from
Speaker 1: me on Thursday. And one of those things I've obsessed
Speaker 1: over this week is the Bills staying in that nickel
Speaker 1: package and running fullback at them time and time again.
Speaker 1: With alec Ingold wanted to get the Dolphins, you know,
Speaker 1: offensive mastermind. Here Frank Smith's opinion on how to attack
Speaker 1: a team that does that. Here's coach on the thing
Speaker 1: that you see a defense that because obviously, uh been together,
Speaker 1: they understand their philosophy, they understand what they're trying to do.
Speaker 1: I mean, uh, you know, Sean Wesley done a fantastic
Speaker 1: job and then unfortunately for my experience, you know Mike
Speaker 1: going back all the way to Carolina with Sean when
Speaker 1: he was a coordinator. I mean, they run a very uh,
Speaker 1: very good scheme, aggressive, They know who they are, right,
Speaker 1: they have a very good understanding whether they're nickel or
Speaker 1: their base defense. I think that that all their players
Speaker 1: communicate well. I think they have a great understanding of
Speaker 1: where they're trying to be inside of their defense. So
Speaker 1: I think that the flexibility that they do withinside of
Speaker 1: their defensive system is probably a strength of theirs. And
Speaker 1: that's through their players. And I think it's ultimately you
Speaker 1: can see it's a well coached team that plays hard
Speaker 1: and uh, you know, ultimately it's going to be We've
Speaker 1: got to make sure we're on our stuff to make
Speaker 1: sure we bring our best on Sunday. So there you go.
Speaker 1: We also heard from Dolphins defensive line coach Austin Clark,
Speaker 1: Special team's corner or Danny Cross, but he was the
Speaker 1: one that compared the Buffalo atmosphere to a college atmos
Speaker 1: fear with a tailgating and obviously the slamming through tables
Speaker 1: and whatnot. They whatever they do up there, and you know,
Speaker 1: throwing snowballs at people on the sidelines regardless of if
Speaker 1: there just whatever, you know, That's what he was want
Speaker 1: to talked about that. You want to find these entire
Speaker 1: press conferences, you can do that on the team YouTube
Speaker 1: Channel Time McKenzie and West Welker as well. Let's go
Speaker 1: ahead and take our last break, come back on the
Speaker 1: other side and answer your questions via the Twitter mailbag.
Speaker 1: That's next Draft Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought
Speaker 1: to you by Auto Nation. Might this be the last
Speaker 1: time we're talking about the football game until September? I
Speaker 1: hope not. I really really hope not. I can't. I
Speaker 1: only I've allowed myself yet to get to that place
Speaker 1: where I'm like imagining what a wind looks like. I
Speaker 1: think earlier in the week I was allowing myself to
Speaker 1: think about that. Maybe not so much now, But as
Speaker 1: I talk it out on the podcast, here, can you
Speaker 1: imagine Can you guys imagine going into buff and winning
Speaker 1: that game? Oh, that would be fun. That would be
Speaker 1: a lot of fun. It would be a national story. Obviously,
Speaker 1: playoffs tend to be that way. But upset and the
Speaker 1: team that's everyone thinks it is going to go to
Speaker 1: the super Bowl, big underdogs, third streing quarterback. It's storybook stuff. Um,
Speaker 1: it's it's what we're all hoping for and all wanting
Speaker 1: to happen. We'll see what happens on Sunday, But I
Speaker 1: guess allow yourself to imagine a dream for the next
Speaker 1: couple of days before we kick off, and we'll see
Speaker 1: what happens when they kick the ball off on Sunday.
Speaker 1: Let's go ahead and get to your mail. Bad questions
Speaker 1: I put the call out on Twitter, you reply, I
Speaker 1: answer them here, pretty simple formula At Yanks Bandwagon wants
Speaker 1: to know what's the roadmap to win the game on Sunday?
Speaker 1: How do we pull off the upset? Yeah? I know
Speaker 1: sometimes and quarterback is maybe a little bit you know,
Speaker 1: impervious to this, but sometimes as fans we look at like, oh,
Speaker 1: they're down player one two, three, and four impossible to
Speaker 1: win the game. Well, yeah, it does make it more challenging. Obviously,
Speaker 1: you want your best guys out there. But the challenge
Speaker 1: with next man up and having you know, key players
Speaker 1: missing from the lineup is just how you kind of
Speaker 1: scheme it and plan around that. And some teams you know,
Speaker 1: have had success with that, sometimes not. And obviously the
Speaker 1: injuries that take its toll at one position group like
Speaker 1: we've had at cornerback and on the offensive line this year,
Speaker 1: is a little bit unique. And again the quarterback is
Speaker 1: also a little bit straight from that conversation. But you know,
Speaker 1: to steal a Seth Levitt ism here my co host
Speaker 1: on the postgame show and fellow podcast network brethren here
Speaker 1: at the Fish Tank with O. J. McDuffie. There are
Speaker 1: fifty three professional athletes on either side of the football,
Speaker 1: so it comes down to our fifty three making more
Speaker 1: plays than their fifty three. Like, look at Buffalo last week,
Speaker 1: they got two special teams touchdowns. What if Miami did that.
Speaker 1: What if they ran back the opening kick and got
Speaker 1: a defensive score or something like. I know the odds
Speaker 1: are low, but that's possible that happens. Those I used
Speaker 1: to talk about. I used to be in this this
Speaker 1: thing with some friends and we pick game on Sundays
Speaker 1: and we're trying to, you know, get certain levels of points,
Speaker 1: and we would always talk about how when your team's
Speaker 1: ahead but not enough points in the final part of
Speaker 1: the game, UM, like pick six, as they happen. They
Speaker 1: happen all the time. Like that stuff happens. It's not frequently,
Speaker 1: but it does happen. So he always have a punchers chance.
Speaker 1: And ultimately, I think the best path to victory is
Speaker 1: giving Alan the fits that we have given him at times,
Speaker 1: but avoiding the big quarter that he seems to be
Speaker 1: prone to at all times. In just about every game
Speaker 1: the last two years, Miami has held Josh Allen in
Speaker 1: check for a stretch of possessions like punt, punt, punt turnover.
Speaker 1: Even the thirty five nothing game last year when we
Speaker 1: uh went three and out, three and out, three and out,
Speaker 1: I n T I n T I n T three
Speaker 1: and out, three and out, three and out. Um, it
Speaker 1: was just fourteen noth and a half time, despite the
Speaker 1: fact that they couldn't do anything offensively when two it
Speaker 1: went out in that game, the one time they avoided
Speaker 1: the big quarter was back in Week three and they
Speaker 1: won that game. One nineteen, the December game, he had
Speaker 1: a big fourth quarter in one and Buffalo, remember that,
Speaker 1: like slog fest early on with the Dolphins lad that game,
Speaker 1: like six to three at halftime or something like that,
Speaker 1: had a chance to kick a field goal or score
Speaker 1: touchdown late with the snap hit, Mike get sicky in
Speaker 1: motion and we turn it over down there. But like
Speaker 1: Buffalo had like three points in the first half of
Speaker 1: that game, he has a big couple of drives in
Speaker 1: the second half and ultimately put the game away. Kind
Speaker 1: Of a similar story back in twenty nineteen as well.
Speaker 1: So it's you get several stops in each of these
Speaker 1: games and then Josh Allen gets hot. You always need
Speaker 1: to be your best against this guy when you're potentially
Speaker 1: shorthanded a few spots on offense and even quarterback. That's
Speaker 1: obviously more true. So to me, a stingy defense, a
Speaker 1: couple of takeaways. Why, protecting the football on our own
Speaker 1: and winning on special teams. It's a lot to ask for.
Speaker 1: That's why you're big dogs in this game. But that's
Speaker 1: the path to victory from at Dolphins fan five six
Speaker 1: one who is the key factor in this game from Miami.
Speaker 1: My initial reaction to that is Jalen Phillips because going
Speaker 1: back and watching the tape from week fifteen, he really
Speaker 1: gave that Buffalo right tackle Spencer Brown all he could handle,
Speaker 1: and then he'd kick inside and rushed pretty effectively from
Speaker 1: that four eye possess and as well, so you know
Speaker 1: in his biggest pass rush in that game resulted in
Speaker 1: a takeaway, and then one possession later, he and Wilkins
Speaker 1: teamed up for another force fumble. Like again, what happens
Speaker 1: if that happens again and we recover both of those balls,
Speaker 1: like two possessions you would steal, and you need to
Speaker 1: steal possessions in this game, and I think he could
Speaker 1: potentially be the quickest path towards that. I'll give you
Speaker 1: a player on offense as well. I'm taking alec Ingold.
Speaker 1: He was stellar in the last matchup, and I think offensively,
Speaker 1: the running game needs to get this one going big,
Speaker 1: and he's a key cog in that department. His second
Speaker 1: highest snap total of the year was the Bills game.
Speaker 1: He had thirty two snaps and we ran for a
Speaker 1: buck eight eight against them, the only game over two
Speaker 1: hundred yards against Cleveland was his other game with more snaps,
Speaker 1: like forty snaps in that game. Our best rushing performance,
Speaker 1: so alec Ingoldjalen Phillips my shoe picks there at two
Speaker 1: a goat twenty three. What will the offensive line look
Speaker 1: like Sunday? Well, I wish I had Coach McDaniel's crystal
Speaker 1: ball to give you that. We'll find out Sunday, won't
Speaker 1: We Ideally to Ron makes his way back and we
Speaker 1: got him out there because he's the best, you know,
Speaker 1: offensive linement on a team from my money, and I'd
Speaker 1: be pretty intrigued by the idea of maybe Rob Hunt
Speaker 1: at right tackle if we don't have Brandon Shell. That
Speaker 1: was the lineup when Shell got hurt on Sunday against
Speaker 1: the Jets, And I think big Rob's up to the
Speaker 1: challenge for it if that's where he goes. I've made
Speaker 1: no secret about the fact that I think that he
Speaker 1: had a Pro Bowl year this year at right guard,
Speaker 1: and to Ron Armstead said as much and his Wednesday
Speaker 1: media availability, and I thought he was pretty dang good
Speaker 1: there as a rookie as well. So and you know
Speaker 1: they used Robert Jones at right guard when they kicked
Speaker 1: Hunt out and that might be the best two men
Speaker 1: run block combo that we have on this roster, just
Speaker 1: in the sense that they offer so much from a
Speaker 1: size and strength and physicality standpoint. And Frank Smith talked
Speaker 1: about it a little bit on Thursday and how they
Speaker 1: have contingencies they develop all year long going back to
Speaker 1: training camp, so they'll have a plan. We just have
Speaker 1: to wait and see what it is. Um Ideally to Ron,
Speaker 1: I guess Liam Connor, Rob and Rob is what I
Speaker 1: would hope for, But we'll see what happens and terms
Speaker 1: of health and who they have available and what they
Speaker 1: go with. All Right, there you go, another week in
Speaker 1: the can nineteen of them now, no, yeah, yeah, nineteen
Speaker 1: plus six weeks of training camp. It's been a long
Speaker 1: ride and here we are on the precipice of, you know,
Speaker 1: an elimination game. So enjoy it. The next time you
Speaker 1: hear from me, we'll be recapping this game and hopefully
Speaker 1: it's a fun, fun ass surprise win. If not, we'll
Speaker 1: also break that down as well and look forward to
Speaker 1: the offseason. Whatever happens, We're here for you on the
Speaker 1: Draft Time Podcast. In the meantime, you all please be
Speaker 1: sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or
Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcast, and once you're there, leave
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Speaker 1: out exponentially. I see some new reviews coming in here
Speaker 1: and I really appreciate them, so thank you guys so much.
Speaker 1: Give us five stars, give us one star. I don't care.
Speaker 1: Just do it, just just do it. Also, go ahead
Speaker 1: and follow me on Twitter at Winkle NFL. Follow the
Speaker 1: team at Miami Dolphins. Check out the fish Tank Podcast,
Speaker 1: the Post Game Show, the International Podcast in our network,
Speaker 1: and of course, the Twitter Spaces show every Wednesday night
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Speaker 1: Daddy's He's coming Home