Speaker 1: To on the move, going Deep, Speedless past Hell. From
Speaker 1: the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
Speaker 2: This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield.
Speaker 1: He's got my hands in the playoffs? What is up Dolphins?
Speaker 1: And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast. I am your host,
Speaker 1: Travis Wingfield. And on today's show, the penultimate divisional preview episode,
Speaker 1: the last one before we get to our own division,
Speaker 1: and we go to the East on the other side
Speaker 1: of the league in the NFC Crazy Division with a
Speaker 1: very clear line of demarcation, although that might have been
Speaker 1: moved up one team this offseason. We'll break down all
Speaker 1: of that, what the Dolphins can learn from the Cowboys
Speaker 1: and Eagles, and what's next for.
Speaker 2: Washington and the dream Man. Plus one of.
Speaker 1: My favorite player chats from media Day from the International
Speaker 1: Pathway Player program. Bayon Matos is here and what a
Speaker 1: character he is. From the Baptist Hell Studios inside the
Speaker 1: Baptist Health Training Complex.
Speaker 2: This is.
Speaker 1: The Draft Time Podcast. May you kick it off with
Speaker 1: the division champion from a season to go? Although the
Speaker 1: more you go over the Dallas Cowboys off season, it
Speaker 1: sure feels like they shouldn't be in this perch. Atop
Speaker 1: the NFC East. They were twelve and five last year,
Speaker 1: one and done after winning the division. After a nice
Speaker 1: comeback in the NFC East, and this, I mean, quite
Speaker 1: frankly is the NFC Dolphins, and everyone listening to this
Speaker 1: show kind of gets that right. Elite offense directed by
Speaker 1: a stellar quarterback and arguably the game's top wide receiver,
Speaker 1: although we know our guy probably is the top one
Speaker 1: depth across the skill groups, a damn good defense that
Speaker 1: complements the offense, but just cannot get over that January hump.
Speaker 1: Now they did get over the divisional hump, leading most
Speaker 1: to believe they'd finally capture that elusive playoff win and
Speaker 1: progress through the NFC and perhaps to their first conference
Speaker 1: title game since the Super Bowl runs of those mid
Speaker 1: nineties teams that I grew up on. Five regular season losses,
Speaker 1: all on the road at the Cardinals, one of the
Speaker 1: biggest upsets in the NFL last year, at the Niners
Speaker 1: forty two to ten, at the Eagles at Buffalo thirty
Speaker 1: one to ten, and then of course a Jason Sanders
Speaker 1: buzzer beater down here, and then a home loss to
Speaker 1: the Packers forty eight to thirty two. With that game
Speaker 1: was actually forty eight to sixteen with like five minutes
Speaker 1: to play in the fourth quarter, a total thrashing at
Speaker 1: the hands of the Dallas Cowboys. Brian Schottenheimer is back,
Speaker 1: but there is massive turnover elsewhere, including at the defensive
Speaker 1: coordinator position. In fact, I believe it's an upgrade with
Speaker 1: Mike Zimmer and the personnel.
Speaker 2: Upheaval has been fast.
Speaker 1: Plus they've not been their usual busy self bringing in
Speaker 1: prize gems and free agency or trades. So there's some
Speaker 1: consternation in Big d around one of the best rosters
Speaker 1: they've had since the des Caught It days or maybe
Speaker 1: even I don't know that Romo's first days in Dallas.
Speaker 1: It's been a long time, and so into a new
Speaker 1: season we go, and speaking of not making any prized moves,
Speaker 1: I mean, this is the list of significant additions for
Speaker 1: the Dallas Cowboys. Zeke Elliott, they just said goodbye to
Speaker 1: him last year. Eric Kendricks, he's on his third team
Speaker 1: in three years. And Tyler Geiton was probably a developmental
Speaker 1: tackle taken in the first round out of Oklahoma on
Speaker 1: the way out. Oh Buddy, Tony Pollard's gone. Michael Gallup
Speaker 1: has gone, Tyron Smith after a Hall of Fame career
Speaker 1: in Dallas has gone, Tyler Baddish has gone, Dorence Armstrong,
Speaker 1: Dante Fowler, Jonathan Hankins, Neville Gallamore, Stefan Gilmour, jy Ron Curse,
Speaker 1: and Layton vander esh retired. That is a significant group
Speaker 1: of names. So what does this team do well, Well,
Speaker 1: it's tough to know when they have that much turnover,
Speaker 1: but we do know the offensive corps is largely together
Speaker 1: and they anticipate and throw on time footballs out of breaks.
Speaker 1: That marries up with their run action and action game
Speaker 1: as well as anybody in the NFL, and Tua and
Speaker 1: Tyreek are probably the only ones on the same level
Speaker 1: or better I'd say better then Dak and CD on
Speaker 1: these particular types of plays. They also have a diversity
Speaker 1: of offensive weapons. Despite the losses, they still have Brandon Cooks,
Speaker 1: who I think he got drafted in twenty fourteen. I
Speaker 1: think he might be the most underrated player or under
Speaker 1: talked about player, and his being traded all over the
Speaker 1: NFL doesn't help this case that we don't talk about
Speaker 1: that much over the last decade in the NFL. I
Speaker 1: think Jalen Tobert can play, Jake Ferguson's a total baller,
Speaker 1: and Luke scoon Maker is coming along at tight end
Speaker 1: as well. They do take away the football quite well,
Speaker 1: and I don't think that will change with Mike zimmer
Speaker 1: into In fact, I think he could take them to
Speaker 1: a different level with his ability to create pressures and
Speaker 1: simulated pressures from fire zones and different games they want
Speaker 1: to run up front. But it's tough to pinpoint what
Speaker 1: this team does well with all this turnover outside of
Speaker 1: that offensive core in that passing game. Because the running game,
Speaker 1: I mean, that's where I start with the fatal flaw
Speaker 1: of this run. Can the offense survive what to me
Speaker 1: looks like a completely lifeless running game, because I don't
Speaker 1: think going back to Zeke, who is slow as hell
Speaker 1: in this stage of his career and relying on a
Speaker 1: scat back. Induce Vaughan, who I like for that role,
Speaker 1: but he's more of like basically what Devon h Chan
Speaker 1: was last year, like one hundred carries, right, I can't
Speaker 1: give him more than that. I'm just not sure it
Speaker 1: works the same, especially when you consider what's next in
Speaker 1: the fatal flawless no More. Tyron Smith no more, Tyler
Speaker 1: Biadish and Beatis was okay, and Smith was often out
Speaker 1: of the lineup, but again I thought Geiton was a
Speaker 1: developmental tackle in the first round. Zach Martin's another year older,
Speaker 1: but he's still a great player. But this team had
Speaker 1: like the O line in the NFL for so long, right,
Speaker 1: but it's kind of deteriorated now to where there's actual
Speaker 1: question marks up and down that group. What else do
Speaker 1: they not do very well? And this was as much
Speaker 1: schematically and like philosophically an issue as it was personnel
Speaker 1: stuff last year. But they couldn't stop the run all
Speaker 1: year long. I mentioned this in the Gallimore coverage this offseason.
Speaker 1: They just seemed to put square pegs in round holes.
Speaker 1: And again that the DC has changed, and in fact
Speaker 1: that DC is now a head coach. But they so
Speaker 1: frequently played undersized in the box, and that's gonna have
Speaker 1: to change. And Mike Zimmer's more of kind of that
Speaker 1: old school big body like football is a physical game
Speaker 1: type of coach, so I think that will change. But
Speaker 1: they built this thing around that style with Demone Clark
Speaker 1: is one of the top linebackers who was a safety.
Speaker 1: I can't was at Marquise Bell, the guy they kept
Speaker 1: bringing down from safety to play like a quasi linebacker role.
Speaker 1: They're running like two hundred pound linebackers out there behind
Speaker 1: three hundred pound nose tackles. They're just giving up weight voluntarily.
Speaker 1: In a game, it's all about size and mass and
Speaker 1: moving people off the spot. So some interesting things about
Speaker 1: this team are biggest story lines. It seems like every
Speaker 1: year the head coach of the Cowboys is on the
Speaker 1: hot seat, no matter what accomplishment or who it is.
Speaker 1: But Mike McCarthy, pretty much since he was hired, it
Speaker 1: was like, you need to go win playoff games or
Speaker 1: else we're going to figure out something else. And last
Speaker 1: year's end of the season was not acceptable. You can't
Speaker 1: lose at home in the playoffs. You can't lose at
Speaker 1: home in the playoffs by essentially like four or five scores.
Speaker 1: I know it got closer in the end with garbage time,
Speaker 1: but what does he do, Like, what does Mike McCarthy
Speaker 1: do well that sets him apart from the rest of
Speaker 1: You know, they had the offensive change, and sure enough,
Speaker 1: the Cowboys offense was good, but it was also good
Speaker 1: under Kellen Moore of the year prior so I don't know.
Speaker 1: I feel like it's probably the last the last rodeo
Speaker 1: unless they surprise people and make a deep run this year. Otherwise,
Speaker 1: how the hell do they replace all the roster upheaval?
Speaker 1: Like this is not a usual Dallas Cowboys offseason. Maybe
Speaker 1: it's for the best in terms of not spending you know,
Speaker 1: above board on free agents, but I think that's basically
Speaker 1: a result of having to pay their own guys, which
Speaker 1: that's the third storyline here. They haven't done that yet
Speaker 1: with Dak Prescott or Cdee Lamb, who they have to
Speaker 1: bring back.
Speaker 2: They absolutely have to.
Speaker 1: I'm sure it gets resolved before you play a game,
Speaker 1: but it's on the list for now. My final roster
Speaker 1: thoughts for the Dallas Cowboys in twenty twenty four. They're
Speaker 1: still plenty of like here. The quarterback and the weapons
Speaker 1: are very good, even if receiver is much thinner than
Speaker 1: it has been in the past. But losing a couple
Speaker 1: guys this offseason and the running back positions they total
Speaker 1: wild card and saying wild card is probably just being
Speaker 1: nice because quite frankly, I think it's the worst room
Speaker 1: in the National Football League. The line has legit questions
Speaker 1: for the first time in a while, and nobody lost
Speaker 1: more pass rushers than the Dallas Cowboys did. They do
Speaker 1: still have Michael Parsons, who is the best football player
Speaker 1: I've ever studied for a Dolphins game, Aaron Donald notwithstanding
Speaker 1: back when we watched them in twenty twenty ahead of
Speaker 1: Twoa's first career start, and DeMarcus Lawrence is still doing it.
Speaker 1: I don't think they really resolve their defensive tackle issue.
Speaker 1: Is Mazzie Smith gonna kick back out to a three
Speaker 1: technique where he's best ors he playing the nose tackle
Speaker 1: again where he's kind of undersized. They get Trayvon Digs
Speaker 1: back from the injury, but there's no way Deron Bland
Speaker 1: can repeat a five pick six season again, right, So
Speaker 1: it's like you kind of have to expect a regression
Speaker 1: to the mean there with his individual performance and what
Speaker 1: else they have in that secondary actually is pretty damn good.
Speaker 1: I like Molik Hooker a heck of a lot.
Speaker 2: Excuse me.
Speaker 1: They brought back Jordan Lewis, which I thought was just
Speaker 1: a massive move, one of the better slots in the
Speaker 1: entire NFL. Donovan Wilson, Marquispell, gary On Conley, some players
Speaker 1: that can factor in some playing time there and some
Speaker 1: guys I like their game quite a lot. What can
Speaker 1: they tell with the Miami Dolphins, Well, up until this offseason,
Speaker 1: I thought you could basically hold up a mirror to
Speaker 1: this team and see your own reflection on the other side.
Speaker 1: I think this is one of the biggest regression candidates
Speaker 1: in the league. But despite all of that, it's funny
Speaker 1: because regression typically comes when the quarterback gets hurt, or
Speaker 1: they move on from the quarterback, or he falls off
Speaker 1: into the abyss, and I don't think that's going to
Speaker 1: happen with Dak Prescott.
Speaker 2: But this team was.
Speaker 1: Good last year, but you could see flaws, and I
Speaker 1: think a lot of those flaws were picked apart even
Speaker 1: further previously. You could chalk up, you know, how a
Speaker 1: couple of bad bounces could drastically alter the narrative around
Speaker 1: your football team, which I think happens all the time
Speaker 1: in this league, and teams get misrepresented as a result
Speaker 1: of that. And they were this close to knocking off
Speaker 1: the Niners in the playoffs two years ago, after which
Speaker 1: I think people forget. They did quell the narrative with
Speaker 1: a blowout win over the Tom Brady Bucks albeit a
Speaker 1: very bad football team in that wild card round on
Speaker 1: the road too, by the way, and the year before
Speaker 1: that almost beat the Niners team at home, albeit that
Speaker 1: the Shanahan and McDaniel Niners that they all beat but
Speaker 1: lost because they couldn't get the ball clocked at the
Speaker 1: end of the game. A team that has been a
Speaker 1: consistent NF contender, and that's who they lost to two
Speaker 1: years ago as well, so or three years ago as well.
Speaker 1: So they just they never did it, and now they
Speaker 1: have to carry that baggage into a tough offseason. I
Speaker 1: don't think it matters at all, but gosh, I would
Speaker 1: love for us to get a couple of wins under
Speaker 1: our belt to avoid this exact fate in terms of
Speaker 1: how we're perceived across the National Football League. Second team
Speaker 1: up today is a team that I'm gonna go ahead
Speaker 1: and spoil the ending for you all right now, that
Speaker 1: I'm gonna pick to win the division. Not much of
Speaker 1: a surprise here. I think it's the one really good
Speaker 1: team the division, the Philadelphia Eagles, who finished eleven and
Speaker 1: six last year, second in the division. They lost in
Speaker 1: the wild card round thirty two to nine to the Buccaneers,
Speaker 1: I remember texting my buddy JT, who worked here in
Speaker 1: the video department, who has since left to Baltimore, best
Speaker 1: of luck in the Queen City there, JT. But he's
Speaker 1: a diehard Eagles fan that I was texting him like,
Speaker 1: I think you guys are gonna get a great break
Speaker 1: here by the Rams pulling off the upset over the
Speaker 1: Lions in Detroit, and then the Eagles beat the Bucks
Speaker 1: on the road, and all of a sudden you have
Speaker 1: a second round home playoff game against the Rams. And
Speaker 1: of course neither of those worked out because I did
Speaker 1: not foresee the Eagles collapse coming at all.
Speaker 2: I don't think anybody did.
Speaker 1: First of all, from ten to one, from ten to
Speaker 1: one to six losses in seven games, including games at
Speaker 1: Seattle without Geno Smith and Drew Locke starting that football
Speaker 1: game home for the five win Cardinals at the Tommy
Speaker 1: DeVito Giants, and of course that was a rest game,
Speaker 1: so I don't really put too much stock into it.
Speaker 1: But then also three blowouts Dallas, San Francisco and a
Speaker 1: playoff game against the Buccaneers, Like really remember when they
Speaker 1: beat the Chiefs on Monday night football and that was
Speaker 1: a big win for US. Because we were trying to
Speaker 1: kind of pace with the Chiefs for a top seeding
Speaker 1: at the time. Then that overtime thriller over Buffalo that
Speaker 1: I felt was like what gave us the AFC East.
Speaker 1: Of course, the Titans lost change that, but they get
Speaker 1: back to back wins over the Chiefs and Bills to
Speaker 1: climb the ten and one and back to back weeks
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl seemed like the only outcome that was
Speaker 1: there for this team. Instead, it's one of the biggest
Speaker 1: collapses in the history of the National Football League, and
Speaker 1: nobody seemed to have any answers for it. Offense was broken,
Speaker 1: they lost their surge in the running game, they lost
Speaker 1: their edge on defense. Just a super, super strange departure
Speaker 1: from what we knew about this team through Thanksgiving. I mean,
Speaker 1: talk about December collapses.
Speaker 2: My god. They didn't win a game.
Speaker 1: After that except for the season finale against the or
Speaker 1: No who they beat they beat, like I think they
Speaker 1: beat the Giants in like Week fifteen is what it was.
Speaker 1: Big moves coming in. Saquon Barkley is the biggest of
Speaker 1: all of them, I think in terms of his ability,
Speaker 1: but Bryce Huff is the one that I'm most excited
Speaker 1: about they bring back Chauncey Gardner Johnson after a one
Speaker 1: year hiatus in Detroit. Matt Hennessy was a former high
Speaker 1: pick of the Falcons. He's now in the middle there,
Speaker 1: trying to replace Jason Kelsey forgot his name forero point
Speaker 1: three seconds. Zach Bond another first round I used to
Speaker 1: like a lot from the Saints. Devin White trying to
Speaker 1: resurrect his career. So was Makai Becton, and then their
Speaker 1: first two picks Quinn and Mitchell and Cooper dejen Man.
Speaker 1: That's a nice haul of defensive backs on the way
Speaker 1: out of Vante Max is a nice slot player for them.
Speaker 1: Kevin byered a trade deadline acquisition that did not work out.
Speaker 1: Jack driscoll is here. Suwa Opetta went to the Bucks
Speaker 1: the offensive lineman. They lost two running backs, DeAndre Swift
Speaker 1: in Boston Scott and they also saw Marcus Mariota leave
Speaker 1: in division like Donathan McNabb once upon time to the
Speaker 1: team in Washington. What they do well they add hats
Speaker 1: in the running game. And they can do that because
Speaker 1: the quarterback can run the football. They can do that
Speaker 1: because they can add tight ends to the formation and
Speaker 1: run the ball from heavy alignments, but also incorporate a
Speaker 1: vertical game in the passing game. Off of that, the
Speaker 1: mix of power run game and ability to get vertical
Speaker 1: from any position from whether it's a nasty split in
Speaker 1: close to the formation or a plus split out wide,
Speaker 1: really defines the idea of forcing the defense into uncomfortable
Speaker 1: personnel groupings from which they have to defend the entire field,
Speaker 1: which is really challenging, especially in today's NFL. They also
Speaker 1: are a short yardage guarantee right that didn't go away.
Speaker 1: The brotherly shove is still there. They have a quarterback
Speaker 1: that can power a lift like six hundred pounds or
Speaker 1: squad or whatever the hell you call it, and that
Speaker 1: helps them in a big way. But can they do
Speaker 1: it without Jason Kelsey being there. I'm curious to see
Speaker 1: that they rush the quarterback. That never seems to change.
Speaker 1: They always have multiple Bowls's in the chamber there to
Speaker 1: go after quarterbacks. I think they got even better with
Speaker 1: Bryce Huff replacing Hassan Reddick, who is kind of like
Speaker 1: on hiatus for the New York Jets. I think they
Speaker 1: got way better down the middle with n Kobe Dean
Speaker 1: coming back trying to kind of resurrect the career of
Speaker 1: Devin White, which we'll see how that works out. Drafting
Speaker 1: Jeremiah Trotter's boy junior as it were, and also bringing
Speaker 1: back CJGJ and by the way, corner was a big
Speaker 1: issue for them, but I think now it's a strength
Speaker 1: because they got my favorite corner the entire drafting, Quinian
Speaker 1: Mitchell and rookies playing cornerback can be a dicey prospect,
Speaker 1: but I think he has the best ability to do that.
Speaker 1: And then Cooper Dejen who I think is a total
Speaker 1: playmaker in the defense who can kind of help them
Speaker 1: mix and match. Their defensive backfield is so dynamic now
Speaker 1: with both he and Chauncey Gardner Johnson, who can really
Speaker 1: take that thing to the next level. What's the concern
Speaker 1: or a fatal flaw on this football team? Their ability
Speaker 1: to be on time and rhythm and short intermediate passing
Speaker 1: games so weird because that was such a part of
Speaker 1: what made me personally not love Galen Hurts his game
Speaker 1: out of college, but he developed it and got better
Speaker 1: at it because he's a I go hard worker who
Speaker 1: just gets better. But we kind of saw revert back
Speaker 1: last year and he had this pinch it to kind of,
Speaker 1: you know, bail on clean pockets. And if you don't
Speaker 1: have the ability to stay on schedule with the short
Speaker 1: intermediate passing game, then you can't build your vertical passing
Speaker 1: game off that. You can't run the football off of that,
Speaker 1: and the offense as a result became a shell of
Speaker 1: its former self.
Speaker 2: Can they bounce back from that?
Speaker 1: We'll find out also what is the offensive identity because
Speaker 1: they kind of became Wanstead's Dolphins last year. Run run,
Speaker 1: and then pass when you have to on third down,
Speaker 1: which is why passing numbers were what they were back
Speaker 1: in the you know, before the shift of NFL football
Speaker 1: because every passing, every throw was basically third and eight
Speaker 1: plus and quarterbacks it's tough to complete footballs into seven
Speaker 1: man coverages when they're playing, you know, off off the
Speaker 1: line like that. You'll just never make a living in
Speaker 1: the NFL playing run, run, pass. And then do they
Speaker 1: have the fortitude to get over the ending of the
Speaker 1: season or getting back to what made them great because
Speaker 1: they became a shell of themselves. And I think that's
Speaker 1: reflection of the head coach and the rest of the
Speaker 1: entire program there, and it's all still in tact. Curious
Speaker 1: to see about that. Now, interesting things about them. Our
Speaker 1: biggest storylines is Nick sirianni As is as accomplished as
Speaker 1: they come from a head coaching standpoint, like he's basically
Speaker 1: got that team into surprise playoff berth their first year.
Speaker 2: They ran rough.
Speaker 1: Shot over the league and route to a Super Bowl
Speaker 1: loss two years ago, and then last year we're ten
Speaker 1: to one and now they finally face their first bit
Speaker 1: of adversity under him. And yet they have new coordinators
Speaker 1: on either side, which I said that was more of
Speaker 1: the same. I'm talking about the you know, the GM
Speaker 1: head coach. They brought a new coordinator, so he kind
Speaker 1: of has to deliver this year because even if if
Speaker 1: it goes wrong, like do do you scapegoat the cornetors
Speaker 1: once again? And even though I disagree with that, that market's
Speaker 1: going to roast him alive if they don't make the
Speaker 1: postseason and a run on top of that. So Kellen
Speaker 1: Moore is the new OC, and he went from head
Speaker 1: coaching candidate to his third team in three years and
Speaker 1: it hasn't really worked out for him. I am super
Speaker 1: curious to see how he constructs his third new offense
Speaker 1: with entirely different style of quarterback, like going from Dak
Speaker 1: to Herbert, totally different. Right, One is a polished professional quarterback,
Speaker 1: one is a lively arm who's got talent but not
Speaker 1: much else. And then the third is now this guy
Speaker 1: that's you know, more running than he is passing at
Speaker 1: this stage of his career, but an ultimate character and
Speaker 1: leader as well. So just a really interesting dynamic there
Speaker 1: with Kellen Moore coming over. And of course the final
Speaker 1: thing I look at here is what does Vic Fangio
Speaker 1: do to the defense. I hope he, you know, is
Speaker 1: as conceded and kind of on his own, you know,
Speaker 1: personal mission as he was here with Philadelphia, but we'll
Speaker 1: find out he has lots of talent to work with there.
Speaker 1: With the Eagles final roster thoughts, look, I talked about
Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts that are a little bit, but I'm still
Speaker 1: a big fan of his. I think he needs for
Speaker 1: the development from how he plays from the pocket. I
Speaker 1: think that AJ Brown and DeVante Smith is the only
Speaker 1: twosome I'd put close to Reek and Waddle, and then
Speaker 1: adding Saquon Barkley is so special. Their special explosion to
Speaker 1: an offense that needs a weapon back there in the
Speaker 1: worst way. They were always kind of like by committee.
Speaker 1: I just I like the idea of having, you know,
Speaker 1: a true talent back there next to a true talent
Speaker 1: quarterback because it's kind like Lamar Jackson, where you get
Speaker 1: the most of Lamar's running ability when you have a
Speaker 1: running back that can threaten defense is in a similar way.
Speaker 1: And then also, how do you not love Dallas Gotter
Speaker 1: is another go to guy. Beyond that a little bit thin,
Speaker 1: I think the offensive line is still pretty good and
Speaker 1: you just watched just you watch. They're gonna get Mackay
Speaker 1: Beckton playing up to his draft stock here or draft
Speaker 1: status here before you know it. I think this defense
Speaker 1: is still crazy talented again. I expect Huff to make
Speaker 1: a huge impact and help them get the most out
Speaker 1: of both Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis.
Speaker 2: Inside.
Speaker 1: Milton Williams one of the best defensive tackles you never
Speaker 1: heard of. I think there's plenty of pass rush. We
Speaker 1: discussed the secondary. It's an impressive roster. I've always been
Speaker 1: a big fan of Howie Roseman, how he approaches things,
Speaker 1: and he talked about this about how they didn't anticipate
Speaker 1: this year's draft class being that great, and so they
Speaker 1: went out and a signed a bunch of teams practice
Speaker 1: squad players in the last year. They just have this
Speaker 1: certain forethought that I think puts them ahead of the
Speaker 1: rest of the league in a lot of respects. What
Speaker 1: can they tell us with the Miami Dolphins that one
Speaker 1: stretch of games doesn't have to be what defines you
Speaker 1: much less one game? Right?
Speaker 2: We talk about that every week in the NFL.
Speaker 1: I'd be shocked if the Eagles are not right back
Speaker 1: up atop this division, but also back on top of
Speaker 1: the NFC in terms of biggest challengers to the Lions
Speaker 1: and the Niners in the conference this year. Let's go
Speaker 1: ahead and take our first break right there. Come back
Speaker 1: on the other side, and welcome in my guest Bydon Matos,
Speaker 1: the Dolphins offensive lineman from the International Pathway Program.
Speaker 2: You don't want to miss that. He is a character
Speaker 2: and a half.
Speaker 1: That's next Draft Time Podcast to your host, Travis Wingfield,
Speaker 1: brought to you by automation. What up Dolphins? Travis Wingfield
Speaker 1: here on the Draft Time Podcast. My guest today is
Speaker 1: new Dolphins tackle by On Mattos.
Speaker 2: I get it. We good to go. Okay, we want
Speaker 2: to start back over.
Speaker 1: I was really worried about gett your name wrong there,
Speaker 1: So thanks for hanging with me tough here. First of all,
Speaker 1: how's it going, man? It's a kind of probably a
Speaker 1: little bit of a tidal wave of just new stuff
Speaker 1: for you here joining the Dolphins and getting innudated with everything.
Speaker 2: How's it been going?
Speaker 3: Man? I thank you so much, you know, for I
Speaker 3: mean here today anytime, and man, it's been great.
Speaker 4: It's been great.
Speaker 3: Let you know, a great opportunity, you know, take advantage
Speaker 3: of every moment that I hear in the building around
Speaker 3: this great organization and great people.
Speaker 4: Man, its been great.
Speaker 1: So football is a little bit new, not super new,
Speaker 1: but a little bit. I'm curious how much you were
Speaker 1: exposed to football as a child growing up the Dominican Republic.
Speaker 4: Zero?
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, you know, I played football back back when
Speaker 3: I'm from It was like baseball player and basketball players
Speaker 3: most of the time. So man, zero zero back around
Speaker 3: and food, But I never never know the sport, only
Speaker 3: to see in movies and like TV shows back at home.
Speaker 4: But that's like nothing.
Speaker 1: So you're watching like the blind Side, Michael, or does
Speaker 1: this work on those?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: I mean so many baseball players come from there. Right,
Speaker 1: So you mentioned that my favorite player, I am a
Speaker 1: marriage fans of Julio Rodriguez go in that's my guy.
Speaker 1: But you mentioned basketball too, and you played a lot
Speaker 1: of hoop coming up to right when you start playing basketball?
Speaker 3: Well, I stopped playing basketball as I was a key,
Speaker 3: so I played basketball and baseball together. And I had
Speaker 3: an opportunity to come to the state to be able
Speaker 3: to go to high school here when a high school
Speaker 3: channel with Tinnessee. And after that I got opportunity to
Speaker 3: go to the League one college to play to play basketball.
Speaker 2: And then they got you on the football team too, right, Yeah.
Speaker 3: So yeah, I went to Unity of Mexican on my
Speaker 3: first one year try for two, University of South Florida.
Speaker 3: And when I was at Florida, that's well, all the
Speaker 3: MINIU start happened. The coaches to see me in like
Speaker 3: in the team meeting room everywhere like that guy. Yeah,
Speaker 3: usually play some foodball. Come on, man, let's give you
Speaker 3: a try.
Speaker 2: That's too funny.
Speaker 1: I remember like in high school they would all the
Speaker 1: coaches would always try to recruit, uh, you know, different
Speaker 1: players in different sports. But like that's an obvious one like,
Speaker 1: let's get that guy in some shoulder pads and see
Speaker 1: what he can do. What was that like the first
Speaker 1: time you threw on paths and went and tried to
Speaker 1: block somebody had to have been tough man, like a
Speaker 1: brand new sport.
Speaker 3: So well, pretty much when I was when I was
Speaker 3: played in hos Cap in college, I played defensive line,
Speaker 3: so I played the end and special team. So I
Speaker 3: remember my first time and my first day in the building.
Speaker 3: I used if they put me past and harm first
Speaker 3: day in I remember I put my my past like outside.
Speaker 4: Like Southway, so and I remember the helmet.
Speaker 3: I don't know how to take it off, so I
Speaker 3: used to leave it on the whole practice. I never
Speaker 3: think it was the moment I walked there to the
Speaker 3: moment I need somebody to help me, said it was tough.
Speaker 2: That's too good man. You're just sitting there. But out
Speaker 2: here you have to get it off so you can
Speaker 2: get a little bit of aerror.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, needed some bread.
Speaker 2: In humidity, right, But you're I mean it's pretty warm.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm from Dominican. Probably I went to school in
Speaker 3: time past. It's pretty much the same.
Speaker 2: So you're used to it. I guess you kind of
Speaker 2: get used to it, but maybe not really. I don't know.
Speaker 1: I think it's hot as hell all the time, but
Speaker 1: maybe you just you just deal with it better. How So,
Speaker 1: in in your basketball career and making that transition, I
Speaker 1: always love to ask multi sport athletes is how do
Speaker 1: you think basketball helped you and your football skill set?
Speaker 3: It happened a lot of ways because I played system
Speaker 3: like you know, it would have be able to move sideways,
Speaker 3: you know, to move back like up and down with
Speaker 3: the wrong you know, I would have moved your fee
Speaker 3: to the transition live very good to football.
Speaker 4: So that's great. But man, but food is a different sport.
Speaker 3: Like you know, when you when you when you watch
Speaker 3: it for the basketballs prepared to preparestor you'll be like,
Speaker 3: oh yeah, I can't play football, but.
Speaker 2: The way around not so much.
Speaker 3: You don't know, you're not inside, like the deep deep inside.
Speaker 3: So a lot of basketball guys like even me, you know,
Speaker 3: I can easy sport, but man, nothing around here.
Speaker 2: Not quite. What was that first moment of like real
Speaker 2: contact for you? Did you?
Speaker 1: I mean, you're here, so you had to kind of
Speaker 1: like it a little bit right, Like you probably gravitated
Speaker 1: towards the contact of football, right.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well the team was that. I remember the first
Speaker 3: time real contact low. I remember I got here in
Speaker 3: my block sign I blend deficient and then motioned the
Speaker 3: tight end tight end by onto the other side.
Speaker 4: I said, man, I love this. I love the moment.
Speaker 4: I was the moment that I fell in love.
Speaker 2: With the game came out of basketball court.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I said, I I love it. I have to
Speaker 3: get up now, let's get it, let's do their game.
Speaker 4: So I love it, I love I love.
Speaker 2: They That's really cool to hear. So I'm curious.
Speaker 1: You know, the International Pathway Program has provided a lot
Speaker 1: opportunities for players overseas, and we've seen some guys make,
Speaker 1: you know, their debuts and even some guys turn into
Speaker 1: massive contracts shortened my lot as a great example of that.
Speaker 1: I'm curious how familiar you are with with those guys
Speaker 1: and how important their ability to have this chance.
Speaker 2: How has that been important to.
Speaker 3: You men started off with these The IPP is just
Speaker 3: something that means a lot to me, and something this
Speaker 3: like I take it that would be hard, like it's home.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 4: They give me an.
Speaker 3: Opportunity to step in the NFL team stepping the you
Speaker 3: know in the NFL field, this gray main see those
Speaker 3: guys take it to that label even me everything I
Speaker 3: thought to Jordan, he's my guy to be in the
Speaker 3: phone a lot of times talking hanging out to Jordan
Speaker 3: and be like Bir like this is amazing, Like I
Speaker 3: see what you're doing, like I'm leaving it now and
Speaker 3: I and that it's not easy. So I see how
Speaker 3: how deep you had you have to take it, like
Speaker 3: take it And man's that drive me every day Like
Speaker 3: I want to get to a level like that, like
Speaker 3: I wanted to like it. It's the it's like it's awesome,
Speaker 3: like they're feeling, you know, like you don't know nothing
Speaker 3: too evil when you're learning and keep pushing and pushing
Speaker 3: day by day.
Speaker 4: Man, it's amazing.
Speaker 2: That's really cool. Yeah, it's it's Uh.
Speaker 1: It seems to be a common theme from this team
Speaker 1: as guys have a real desire to get better at
Speaker 1: this game and try to do you know, do right
Speaker 1: by the city of Miami and win a championship for
Speaker 1: the team.
Speaker 2: So it's really cool to have those types of personalities.
Speaker 1: Has it given you any advice as far as like
Speaker 1: the best ways to get in right away and kind
Speaker 1: of make your mark. Like what he told you has
Speaker 1: been a helpful advice for you.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well he always say that'd be the first one
Speaker 3: and the last one out.
Speaker 4: That would take a long way. But I don't know what.
Speaker 3: You're doing, but make sure you're doing something to take
Speaker 3: you get into the next label. It's not to take
Speaker 3: you get into the next label to help their organization,
Speaker 3: not to help like why what so what are you
Speaker 3: doing that can help the Miami Dolphins? And there's this's
Speaker 3: that's all about, like what I'm doing everytime coming field,
Speaker 3: what I'm doing to put myself in the best position
Speaker 3: to be successful and to put myself in the best
Speaker 3: position to help my team and my teammates.
Speaker 1: That's a good organization wide mantra there. We're all trying
Speaker 1: to make the best decisions for the Miami Dolphins, just
Speaker 1: as you are. So one more question here for you
Speaker 1: back on what do you hope to accomplished the season?
Speaker 1: What would what would your first year in the NFL
Speaker 1: a successful one look.
Speaker 2: Like for you?
Speaker 3: Mall loning mons from my guys, loaning for everybody in
Speaker 3: my room, learning like and like to watch other people
Speaker 3: do it, you know, like I like to watch the
Speaker 3: bed and they actually amazing, you know, learning for them
Speaker 3: so on the once that I came for with the
Speaker 3: guys that stay around. Hey, man, I want to win
Speaker 3: a super Bowl in the NFL. Man, that would be amazing,
Speaker 3: like Frest Stye in the NFL first time win the
Speaker 3: super Bowl and person, no, go may I want to
Speaker 3: start to step in the field at this one time
Speaker 3: in the year, you know, I start stepping there and like,
Speaker 3: get it. Field play in the NFL and the n
Speaker 3: NFL game.
Speaker 2: Go knock somebody on their ass.
Speaker 1: Ro oh, yeah, let's get it. Be appreciate man, Thank
Speaker 1: you so much, Thank you so much, appreciation And there
Speaker 1: he goes. I told you he was fun. Let's go
Speaker 1: ahead and take our last break right there, come back
Speaker 1: on the other side and do our best to get
Speaker 1: through the final two teams before we go back to
Speaker 1: the Dolphins and the AFC East. On the next edition
Speaker 1: of the Draft Time podcast, That's next DT your host
Speaker 1: Travis Wingfield, brought to you by AutoNation. I sort of
Speaker 1: went through these next two teams quickly, expeditiously, if you will,
Speaker 1: because I don't think there's a lot to talk about
Speaker 1: for the new York Giants and the Washington Commands. We
Speaker 1: start with the GM man six and eleven, third in
Speaker 1: the NFC East and a regression to the mean. Were
Speaker 1: a team, it was the twenty twenty three New York Giants,
Speaker 1: an unlikely run in twenty twenty two to the postseason
Speaker 1: with a win on the road against the Kirk Cousins
Speaker 1: led Vikings comes back to earth where that I thought
Speaker 1: they always kind of belonged. With a six win campaign
Speaker 1: marred largely by an injury plugs He's into their quarterback,
Speaker 1: and as we get the special look behind the scenes
Speaker 1: from them in their off season pursuits on hard Knocks,
Speaker 1: we see that Daniel Jones is still, for some reason.
Speaker 2: The priority there, even if it.
Speaker 1: Cost him Saquon Barkley in the process. More on that
Speaker 1: in a moment. They began the season two to eight
Speaker 1: with wins over the Cardinals and Commanders, and talk about
Speaker 1: flubbing it up down the stretch, like you could have
Speaker 1: they picked six. They got Lake Neighbors, but they could
Speaker 1: have been so much higher and maybe even had to
Speaker 1: run at Kayleb Williams. But their third and fourth wins
Speaker 1: were over the Commanders and Patriots. The latter being a
Speaker 1: ten to seven barnbar that nobody wanted to win. This
Speaker 1: run included a forty point loss, an eighteen point loss
Speaker 1: twenty one, fifteen, twenty four, and thirty two point losses.
Speaker 2: They were awful.
Speaker 1: They got a signature win over the Packers on Monday
Speaker 1: Night football, the same damn night we lost the freaking Titans,
Speaker 1: and they also lost three more before beating the Eagles
Speaker 1: backups in the finale. A rough season for a team
Speaker 1: that reflected that in their roster. I thought the last
Speaker 1: two years really but we get the actual evidence of
Speaker 1: who this team is and we'll see what they are
Speaker 1: this year. With their big moves this offseason. They go
Speaker 1: get Brian Burns, and we saw some discussion behind, you know,
Speaker 1: going up to get him in terms of trading draft
Speaker 1: picks to go get the dynamic pass pressure from Carolina.
Speaker 1: I think it's a good addition there for what they
Speaker 1: have in that defensive front. Defense is kind of coming
Speaker 1: together in some ways, especially upfront. They add Germaine Illuminor
Speaker 1: to the offensive line. That was kind of the big move.
Speaker 1: They're kind of expecting progress from somebody like Evan Neil,
Speaker 1: who's been horrendous his so far in his NFL career.
Speaker 1: They get Drew Locke, they get Jalen Mill meals Jalen
Speaker 1: Mills and the Patriots. Jordan Phillips, you guys know him.
Speaker 1: He is now with the Giants, Alan Robinson and Devin Singletary, Like,
Speaker 1: this is an offense that is trying to, you know,
Speaker 1: basically not be the thirty second skill group in the NFL.
Speaker 1: And those are the moves Robinson and Singletary. Now, don't
Speaker 1: get me wrong. Malik Neighbors is the big, big, big
Speaker 1: ad here and he's fantastic, but it's gonna be basically
Speaker 1: a rookie and Jalen Hyatt trying to get things going
Speaker 1: for that passing game. Not to mention, Darren Waller has
Speaker 1: now gone too, and so is Sakuon Barkley. He's out,
Speaker 1: Ben Bredeson's out, Cam Brown's down here, Xavier McKinney has gone,
Speaker 1: Throwing Shepherd's gone, Ashawn Robinson, Tyrod Taylor flipped to the
Speaker 1: team in the Green from the New York and then
Speaker 1: Jihad Ward also exited stage left.
Speaker 2: What do they do well?
Speaker 1: I have one thing in here because I think they
Speaker 1: should be able to generate pass rush with four because
Speaker 1: Burns is elite and requires multiple you know, four set
Speaker 1: of eyes, two sets of eyes, four eyeballs on him,
Speaker 1: matth Dexter Lawrence even better than that, and Kavon Thibodeau
Speaker 1: is a guy that man, it's he's not Evan Neil.
Speaker 1: For sure, He's more productive and been a better player,
Speaker 1: but there's kind of like this roller coaster wave that
Speaker 1: he's on that he has to find a way to
Speaker 1: get off and become. You know what I thought he
Speaker 1: was as a freshman at Organ is the next great pass,
Speaker 1: the next Miles Garrett in the NFL, and there is
Speaker 1: great speed all over the side level that defense with
Speaker 1: Bobby o'carake A Zizo Jilari, and then I think Boogie
Speaker 1: bash him was a guy that could have a nice
Speaker 1: little breakout year here for the Giants, what's the concern
Speaker 1: or fatal flaw? I could tell you everything about this team,
Speaker 1: but they couldn't block anybody last year. They complained about
Speaker 1: that in Hard Knocks. They have easily to me the
Speaker 1: worst skill group player a group of skill players, especially
Speaker 1: when you factor in Saquon Barkley's injuries, and then like,
Speaker 1: we don't really have to go beyond this because it's
Speaker 1: been five years and the quarterback hasn't had a good
Speaker 1: year yet, so what are we doing? You know? And
Speaker 1: then the secondary struggled last year and got worse, losing
Speaker 1: his Zabra McKinney. That guy's a freaking stud and now
Speaker 1: he's gone too. So I just I don't know. I
Speaker 1: don't see it interesting things about this team biggest storylines.
Speaker 1: Just seems like such an obvious team candidate for a
Speaker 1: massive overhaul next offseason. And even though I think Dave
Speaker 1: Ball's a good football coach, head coaches don't usually survive that,
Speaker 1: which is a shame because he never got to choose
Speaker 1: his own quarterback. Like, if it goes the way I
Speaker 1: think it's gonna go this year, he goes down swinging
Speaker 1: with three years of Daniel Owns, like, woo, you freaking do.
Speaker 1: And then also there's a lot of talent in that
Speaker 1: front seven, and Malik Neighbors is a guy that I
Speaker 1: think you can build an offense around, and so if
Speaker 1: it goes the way I think it will, they're not
Speaker 1: gonna win a bunch of games. It could become and
Speaker 1: it's the New York freaking Giants, right, and a very
Speaker 1: attractive destination for a head coach and perhaps a high
Speaker 1: draft pick, But then which court you want? Carson Beck
Speaker 1: cam Ward's the guy I would take. But if you
Speaker 1: don't get the first overall pick, he probably don't get
Speaker 1: an optional to the guy like that final roster thoughts.
Speaker 1: I just don't know what the calling card is here
Speaker 1: or the plan really. I mean, they say as much
Speaker 1: and hard knocks that you don't pay a forty million
Speaker 1: dollars quarterback to hand it off to a twelve million
Speaker 1: dollar running back. But the issue at that statement starts
Speaker 1: with the production of the forty million dollar quarterback who's
Speaker 1: throwing sixty two touchdowns forty picks. And let me go
Speaker 1: ahead and get in close to the microphones for you
Speaker 1: here forty six career fumbles. That is a potential for
Speaker 1: eighty six giveaways compared to sixty two touchdowns over five years.
Speaker 1: He's got a career six point three yards per attempt,
Speaker 1: eighty five point two passer rating. I remember when I
Speaker 1: was doing lockdown coverage back in twenty nineteen, I was
Speaker 1: fighting everybody online about how good Kyler Murray was and
Speaker 1: how terrible Daniel Jones was.
Speaker 2: And Kyler's a good player. I think he's the top
Speaker 2: twelve quarterback.
Speaker 1: He's not as good I thought he's gonna be so far,
Speaker 1: and injuries and coaching and upheaval there has played a
Speaker 1: factor in as well as his own shortcomings. But Daniel
Speaker 1: Jones pretty spot on. Guy can't play football. I love
Speaker 1: the league neighbors, and I think he can carry an offense.
Speaker 1: But the number two, like who is it? It's is
Speaker 1: Jalen Hyatt. I suppose Wandell Robinson. I love Andrew Thomas,
Speaker 1: but Evan Neil has been atrocious at right tackle. We
Speaker 1: beat him to a drum last year. They haven't done
Speaker 1: a lot Tequelda concerns about the interior offensive line just
Speaker 1: like just seems like an offensive will have the exact
Speaker 1: same issues to me. And then on Dee, I mentioned
Speaker 1: all the names we love upfront, but I think Deontay
Speaker 1: Banks is a hit at cornerback, Cordell flock and play
Speaker 1: a little bit. I like Tyler Nuban in the safety
Speaker 1: in the second round from Minnesota, but the depth beyond
Speaker 1: that it's questionable. So this is to me as a
Speaker 1: candidate for a top five pick next year. What can
Speaker 1: it tells about the Miami Dolphins. I think there was
Speaker 1: a lot to glean from both Dallas and Philadelphia. Nothing
Speaker 1: about the Giants or Commanders can inform us about your
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins. Speaking of the Commandos, let's go ahead and
Speaker 1: do that real quick. Go ahead, and time to start
Speaker 1: thinking about maybe beginning to you know, as everyone knows,
Speaker 1: go ahead and take command. If you haven't seen that video,
Speaker 1: I referenced it all the time here on the show.
Speaker 1: They when they first signed Carson Wentz a few years back.
Speaker 1: You know how they do like the hype video like
Speaker 1: we did with McDaniel when he wass on the plane
Speaker 1: to Miami talking to TUA. They had Carson Wentz do
Speaker 1: this like phone take where he tried to like do
Speaker 1: their hashtag and that was like the best take they had. Like, hey,
Speaker 1: reshoot it, do it in their take. Maybe don't do
Speaker 1: it at all, because it was the worst hype video
Speaker 1: I've ever seen in my entire life. So the Commandos
Speaker 1: four and thirteen last in the NFC East, and honestly,
Speaker 1: I thought they were a better team than the Giants
Speaker 1: last year, and they're better than the record was, especially
Speaker 1: before that final month of the season when things just
Speaker 1: went off. The Rails entirely, and you know, they got
Speaker 1: rid of Jack del Rio, who's a total ding dong,
Speaker 1: and then Ron Rivera replaced him as a play caller
Speaker 1: on defense, which was like the lateral move. But somehow
Speaker 1: I remember we hit that stretch last year for the
Speaker 1: Dolphins of Raiders, Jets, Commanders, Titans, and I was saying,
Speaker 1: like the Commanders of the one team this list that
Speaker 1: I think can threaten us because of their explosiveness on
Speaker 1: offense and a quarterback who can run a little bit
Speaker 1: and get hot and create some magic. But it was
Speaker 1: actually the easiest game we played because we blew them
Speaker 1: out more than anybody else. But they were also in
Speaker 1: the midst of a downward spiral at that point. It
Speaker 1: started earlier. They were actually four and five before a
Speaker 1: narrow loss to Seattle, then sided losses as the Giants
Speaker 1: and Cowboys, and the biggest one was to us, and
Speaker 1: then they didn't win again the rest of the year.
Speaker 1: So from four and five to four and thirteen nets
Speaker 1: and the second pick in the draft, a coaching change,
Speaker 1: a brand new quarterback, and it is cool to see
Speaker 1: Dan Quinn back in a head coaching position. My former
Speaker 1: boss here, the late great Jason Jenkins loved him some DQ,
Speaker 1: and he knew him well from working at various other
Speaker 1: stops across the national Football lead with d Q, so
Speaker 1: I just wanted to mention that every time I see
Speaker 1: Dan Quinn, I always think about Jason Jenkins. Rest in peace,
Speaker 1: big fellow, big moves here. They brought in Austin Eckler
Speaker 1: zach Ertz, like what year is a dog? They brought
Speaker 1: into Tyler Bionis to play center, and Marcus Mariota is
Speaker 1: a new backup quarterback there. I like the moves On
Speaker 1: defense though, Dorince Armstrong Dante Fowler is a really nice
Speaker 1: pass rush duo. Frankie Luvu Go Koogs is like the
Speaker 1: perfect linebacker fit for this defense. Bobby Wagner, I think
Speaker 1: is several years past his prime, but that's cool. Jeremy
Speaker 1: Chin and Tyler Owens is a fun safety combo. And
Speaker 1: then of course, in the first round of the draft,
Speaker 1: Jade and Daniels out of LSU by way of Arizona State,
Speaker 1: which I watched a lot of those ASU games, and
Speaker 1: I get, we developed, we grow, we progress, but there's
Speaker 1: a lot of bad tape on this guy. On the
Speaker 1: way out. A couple of quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Sam Howell.
Speaker 1: I still think Sam Howe can play ball. Antonio Gibson
Speaker 1: exits stage left of the Patriots. Curtis Samuel comes up
Speaker 1: to Buffalo to stay in the AFC East. Nick Gates
Speaker 1: also exits Casey two Hill Kendall Fuller is a Miami Dolphin,
Speaker 1: and Cameron curl also exits.
Speaker 2: That's a lot of talent leaving the building there as well.
Speaker 2: What do they do well?
Speaker 1: It's always tough to know when you have this amount
Speaker 1: of turnover, but the entire staff wholesale changes up and
Speaker 1: down the roster. If we go off Dan Quinn in
Speaker 1: Dallas and the import of so many cowboys like okay,
Speaker 1: so it's I guess it's cover three, which is a
Speaker 1: version of defense and only plays anymore. I think the
Speaker 1: vision is to play the light boxes they played there
Speaker 1: and be super athletic and be able to run on
Speaker 1: defense and play different coverages with different guys playing different
Speaker 1: spots in those coverages, while also running the football and
Speaker 1: controlling the game on offense. Does any of this apply
Speaker 1: to twenty twenty four? I don't think so personally. Now
Speaker 1: they do have a Playbecker quarterback who I think needs
Speaker 1: to learn how to play the position at the NFL level,
Speaker 1: which is a pretty big thing to have to learn
Speaker 1: how to do. But with weapons they have, I think
Speaker 1: they'll be able to generate explosive plays down the field.
Speaker 1: With the quarterback that can do that. What's the concern
Speaker 1: or the fatal flaw? I mean the whole damn operation,
Speaker 1: the obligatory quarterback. You know, Ricky quarterback mentioned goes here.
Speaker 1: I do like the way Jade and Daniels approaches the game.
Speaker 1: I think will get better and improve as he goes along.
Speaker 1: It might take some years for this program to come together,
Speaker 1: but I think he has kind of the right head
Speaker 1: on his shoulders. I think there could be some growing pains,
Speaker 1: to put it nicely, with a new skin scheme that
Speaker 1: is spearheaded by Cliff Kingsbury. He came back, okay, I
Speaker 1: mean you know they couldn't. He couldn't figure out Kyler
Speaker 1: Murray in Arizona. How's it going to be indifferent?
Speaker 2: I don't get it.
Speaker 1: The coverage in the back end was way way too
Speaker 1: much to overcome last year to kind of negate what
Speaker 1: was a decent pass rush despite trading off some key
Speaker 1: parts and I don't think it got any better this offseason.
Speaker 1: Some interesting things or storylines about them. I can't wait
Speaker 1: to watch Daydon Daniels play. I've I've always thought they
Speaker 1: had good playmakers. Even with Curtis Samuel Gone. I think
Speaker 1: he matches what they have on offense, but I still
Speaker 1: have a lot of questions about his game. Kingsbury's return
Speaker 1: it fascinates me. It wasn't good the first time around.
Speaker 1: I don't expect to see why it changes. Dan Quinn
Speaker 1: back in the head coaching chair, but is his you know,
Speaker 1: kind of antiquated view on things, is that going to
Speaker 1: be too much to overcome new ownership? Like Commander's fans
Speaker 1: kind of had a moment last year where it's like, oh,
Speaker 1: we got freaking Dan Steyer's finally gone. We got rid
Speaker 1: of all this bad juju. But it's it kind of
Speaker 1: looks like more of the same outside of being a
Speaker 1: horrible human being, right, and then just a lot of
Speaker 1: new things, Like It's that's always intriguing to me.
Speaker 4: So much.
Speaker 1: New sparks interest in the league. We get a chance
Speaker 1: to watch the Commanders up close and personal down here
Speaker 1: for joint practices. The week of August seventeenth is the
Speaker 1: game final roster thoughts, I think the offseason kind of
Speaker 1: got them up for you, like a baseline level roster
Speaker 1: that was non competitive down the stretch by the additions
Speaker 1: they did make, even though they lost so many guys.
Speaker 1: I still do think Terry mclaurin's a top ten receiver
Speaker 1: despite kind of regression last year, and that Johan Dotson
Speaker 1: Kimball and they have some nice pieces on the offensive
Speaker 1: line with Lucas Paul who is Pat or sorry Lucas,
Speaker 1: Cornelius Lucas and Patrick Paul's brother Chris Paul, as well
Speaker 1: as Andrew Wiley on the offensive line. I like the
Speaker 1: combination of Deron Payne and Jonathan Allen inside along with
Speaker 1: Armstrong and Fowler outside. It does suck that Jerson Newton
Speaker 1: had another surgery because I thought he'd be a fun
Speaker 1: ad early on. Frankie Luvu go Koog's exactly the defense needed.
Speaker 1: I also love getting Jeremy Chin on the back end,
Speaker 1: but who replaces Kendall Fuller Because he's a great player
Speaker 1: and now he's here, they didn't really replace him. I
Speaker 1: do think rookie Mike Sandrastill from Michigan can be one
Speaker 1: of the best slot cornerbacks from the first day he
Speaker 1: gets on the football field. But last year Manuel Forbes,
Speaker 1: a healthy, inactive down the stretch who looks like he
Speaker 1: weighs one hundred and fifty pounds man like, he is tiny,
Speaker 1: and he was a first round draft pick. Benjamin Saint
Speaker 1: Juice is an okay player, but beyond that, it's kind
Speaker 1: of like by low and hope to hit gold across
Speaker 1: that room. That typically does not work at this level.
Speaker 1: What can they tell us with the Miami Dolphins, Like
Speaker 1: I said, the New York Giants, I don't think much
Speaker 1: entirely different stages of their team building cycle. How about
Speaker 1: division predictions and superlatives. I just think this division is bad.
Speaker 1: I think the Cowboys big regression makes it not a
Speaker 1: very enticing one to watch. It was fun, and the
Speaker 1: Eagles and Cowboys are going back and forth. You add
Speaker 1: in the Giants a couple of years ago making a
Speaker 1: surprise run. But just outside of all that, like, the
Speaker 1: Eagles to me are a really good looking football team,
Speaker 1: and then you have a kind of mediocre team who's
Speaker 1: carried by a great quarterback and receiver and the rest
Speaker 1: of the roster's kind of bad. And coaching is kind
Speaker 1: of bad. And then two rosters that are nowhere near
Speaker 1: close and the superlatives are mostly Cowboys. The best quarterback
Speaker 1: in the division is Dak Prescott. Best player on offense
Speaker 1: it's not a quarterback is Cede Lamb. The best player
Speaker 1: on defense is no question. Michah Parsons. I put Ryan
Speaker 1: day Ball is the best coach, but I'm kind of
Speaker 1: defaulting to nobody because I just don't really like it
Speaker 1: at all.
Speaker 2: In the division, my.
Speaker 1: Favorite rookie is Cooper Degen fantasy sleeper like I wanted
Speaker 1: to put Ben snott sonnat from the Commanders, the rookie
Speaker 1: tied ends. I like his game, but I feel like
Speaker 1: it's too much of a sleeper, and so I'm gonna
Speaker 1: go with Terry McLaurin. Is that crazy to call him
Speaker 1: a sleeper after his value appears to have been depressed
Speaker 1: more than ever has. I think he's one of the
Speaker 1: best route runs in the National Football League and having
Speaker 1: somewhat consistency and competency at quarterback could help him get
Speaker 1: back to that.
Speaker 2: So there you go.
Speaker 1: Fun episode, and that is the end of the non
Speaker 1: Dolphins divisional previews. On Thursday, Will prev the AFC East
Speaker 1: and then we'll go ahead and come back. Sorry, this
Speaker 1: is for Thursday. For Monday will prev the AFC East.
Speaker 1: Thursday will be the Dolphins Offense Review, Monday the Dolphins
Speaker 1: Defense Review. And then guess what. Training camp is back
Speaker 1: and I'm back working six days a week all day long,
Speaker 1: so break is almost over. Lots of golf ahead for
Speaker 1: me this week. Go ahead and check me on Instagram
Speaker 1: if you want to check out my golf swinging my
Speaker 1: progress there. In the meantime, you all please be sure
Speaker 1: to subscribe to the Pop podcast on Apple Spotify, where
Speaker 1: you get your podcast from. Go ahead and leave us
Speaker 1: a rating and review. Follow me on social at Winkold NFL.
Speaker 1: The team at Miami Dolphins. Check out the fish Tank
Speaker 1: podcast with my guy Sethan Juice, the YouTube channel for
Speaker 1: Dolphins Today, media availabilities, draft time content, and so much more,
Speaker 1: and last but not least, to Miami Dolphins dot Com.
Speaker 1: Until next time. Finn's up, camel On Cameron Daddy, He's
Speaker 1: coming home.