Speaker 1: You're listening to the Miami Dolphins Podcast Network. This is
Speaker 1: Drive Time with Travis Wheatfield. Back to throw to a
Speaker 1: looking what's alta winde olfan touchdop cleric call, un believable,
Speaker 1: just blue fire for a second time. Don't know where
Speaker 1: he was going right away? The hit of that man.
Speaker 1: I want to help you soon up on his manway
Speaker 1: wattle waddle to a shotgun back to throw looking that
Speaker 1: was up fires too, It's waddle. It's six touchdown past
Speaker 1: of this day. Drive Time with Travis Winfield begins. Now
Speaker 1: let me check your pulse. I what is up? Dolf
Speaker 1: fans and welcome to the Drivetime podcast, part of the
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins podcast Network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 1: How's it going everybody? I am your host, Travis Wingfield.
Speaker 1: And on today's show, it's preview Day a Thursday, to
Speaker 1: take a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers and the matchups
Speaker 1: at each position. What we can learn from the tape,
Speaker 1: the key numbers, and a whole heck of a lot more,
Speaker 1: Plus what's at stake, the three keys and the week
Speaker 1: seven NFL picks. All of that and a heck of
Speaker 1: a lot more from the Baptist Health Studios inside the
Speaker 1: Baptist Health Training Complex. This is the Drivetime Podcasts. So
Speaker 1: the Steelers come back to hard Rock Stadium for the
Speaker 1: first time since a surprise Dolphins victory after a one
Speaker 1: and four start to that season that spawned a six
Speaker 1: game winning streak for the Dolphins, and it was the
Speaker 1: first game in a stretch for Miami one nine out
Speaker 1: of ten en route to their most recent playoff appearance.
Speaker 1: But this part of the episode is to tell you
Speaker 1: about the Steelers and how they arrived at their current
Speaker 1: state two and four after a big win over the
Speaker 1: Buccaneers on Sunday in Pittsburgh. This franchise has been a
Speaker 1: picture of consistency, the model NFL franchise really over the
Speaker 1: last couple of day gids and really even going further
Speaker 1: back than that, never a losing season under Mike Tomlin,
Speaker 1: one of the greatest coaches we've ever seen in this league,
Speaker 1: a super Bowl, accountless, countless deep playoff runs, and an
Speaker 1: organization that has drafted and developed star after star. I
Speaker 1: mean the way this team has drafted receivers. Really going
Speaker 1: back to what Plexico buris or no he yeah, he
Speaker 1: was at the Steelers. First, they just they always do
Speaker 1: it hinz Ward like that far back. They've always had
Speaker 1: really good receiving corpse. I think it's the strength of
Speaker 1: the roster right now. But things have changed quite a
Speaker 1: lot at the spotlight position, right the quarterback Ben Roethlisberger
Speaker 1: enters an oh four, plays a billion games, wins a championship,
Speaker 1: and calls it a career after last year's kind of
Speaker 1: magical playoff run they made to get in and then
Speaker 1: to get walloped by Kansas City. So you enter Kenny
Speaker 1: pick Att, the first round pick, the only quarterback this
Speaker 1: year taken in the top eighty five picks. Moleique Willis
Speaker 1: was picked eighty six to the Titans in this past
Speaker 1: draft class, and Pickett took over as the starter two
Speaker 1: weeks ago in Buffalo after coming off the bench and
Speaker 1: injecting some life into an offense that had been struggling
Speaker 1: at that point in the loss to the Jets when
Speaker 1: he threw three interceptions. They lost to Buffalo by a lot,
Speaker 1: but beat Tampa behind a strong defensive performance and Mitch
Speaker 1: ter Biscuit coming off the bench for an injured Kenny Pickett.
Speaker 1: Mike Tomlin has said that Pickets in the concussion protocol,
Speaker 1: but he will practice and start if he's clear to
Speaker 1: play on Sunday night. As for the Steelers roster, it's
Speaker 1: almost always been about the draft for this team. The
Speaker 1: quarterback like you mentioned Nag Harris at tailback, Deonte Johnson,
Speaker 1: Chase Claypool and George Pickens and Pat Friar Muth their
Speaker 1: top four passing options, all recent draft picks. On the
Speaker 1: offensive line, a position that has undergone some turnover the
Speaker 1: last few years, but that's been the position most infused
Speaker 1: by free agency, with Mason Cole, James Daniels, and Trent
Speaker 1: Scott On defense a little more turnover from the recent years.
Speaker 1: Chris Warmly, Tyson a Lulu Larry Ogan job joined the
Speaker 1: great Cameron Hayward. A bit of a mix at linebacker
Speaker 1: with Miles Jack signing, but also the drafting of Devin Bush,
Speaker 1: who hasn't played up to that first round status in
Speaker 1: his career so far, but he's showing some some growth
Speaker 1: this year. And the very very underrated Alex Highsmith. Minka Fitzpatrick,
Speaker 1: of course, trader from the Dolphins back in twenty nineteen
Speaker 1: to Pittsburgh, and then Levi Wallace signed as a free
Speaker 1: agent Cam Sutton and Tremaine Edmunds both were draft picks
Speaker 1: in the secondary. All of this is to say the
Speaker 1: Steelers utilize really all avenues of team building to construct
Speaker 1: their roster playoffs last year to and four start to
Speaker 1: this year, and frankly, I think, based upon their records
Speaker 1: over the last decade or so and runs into the postseason,
Speaker 1: probably a little bit shy on the postseason success you
Speaker 1: would expect from a team that has so consistently gotten there.
Speaker 1: And I you know, I go back to that season
Speaker 1: when they lost when the Dolphins beat the Steelers here
Speaker 1: in hard Rock Stadium, went to Hinesfield and lost up
Speaker 1: there in the playoffs, and then Pittsburgh. No, it was
Speaker 1: the following year, I should say, in seventeen when they
Speaker 1: lost that divisional round game at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars,
Speaker 1: one of their best teams they had with Antonio Brown,
Speaker 1: Levy on Bell and a obviously much more healthy Ben
Speaker 1: Roethlisberger back in and it didn't result in any deep
Speaker 1: post season runs. So it's been an interesting study for
Speaker 1: the Steelers team who has had a lot of success
Speaker 1: in the regular season, had some post season wins for sure,
Speaker 1: but maybe not as many as they would hope under
Speaker 1: Mike Tomlin. Either way, though, he finds a way to
Speaker 1: coach that team up and get the most out of
Speaker 1: the roster that he has. What she is working to
Speaker 1: do right now, evident by the win last week against
Speaker 1: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We kick it off here Dolphins
Speaker 1: offense and Steelers defense. Quarterback versus safety to uh Tongue
Speaker 1: go by Loa is back in the lineup. We heard
Speaker 1: from him on Wednesday his press conference. You can find
Speaker 1: that up on the team YouTube channel and catch the
Speaker 1: highlights of that press conference on the Wednesday episode of
Speaker 1: Drive Time. In his first game back, he draws a
Speaker 1: defense that has really struggled so far this season. They're
Speaker 1: allowing five point seven yards per play, that's twelfth most
Speaker 1: in the NFL, and there's just gaps throughout the course
Speaker 1: of this defense and the coverage standpoint. Before we get
Speaker 1: into the positional matchups here, let's look at some defensive
Speaker 1: structure numbers. They use the three four front eighteen percent
Speaker 1: of the time, the fourth three front one percent of
Speaker 1: the time, so not really a hybrid. Look there. They're
Speaker 1: in their nickel package sixty six percent of the time,
Speaker 1: and then twelve percent in dime, which is of course
Speaker 1: six defensive back, so it's lots of flexibility there. They
Speaker 1: play off coverage two thirds of the time and one
Speaker 1: third of the time up and press. These are all
Speaker 1: numbers through NFL True Media. It's a very weird defense
Speaker 1: in the sense that it's lineback or heavy, which not
Speaker 1: many defenses are these days. They run that three four
Speaker 1: front more than anybody else in the NFL. I know
Speaker 1: it doesn't sound like it, but base defenses are nickel
Speaker 1: these days. Your three or four or four three makes
Speaker 1: up you know, usually ten percent or less of your
Speaker 1: overall snaps. For the Steelers though, it's almost a fifth
Speaker 1: of their snaps. And even when they remove that front
Speaker 1: seven member kind of got stuck there for a second.
Speaker 1: When they remove that front seven employer for a another
Speaker 1: defensive back, it typically comes out of the defensive line,
Speaker 1: so it goes to a three three five look. And
Speaker 1: going back to the Keith Butler days, he was a
Speaker 1: DC there for a long time. He has since been
Speaker 1: replaced by Terrell Austin. They still love to put their
Speaker 1: linebackers in and worked into coverage roles, whether it's zone
Speaker 1: or man. You will so often find Devon Bush running
Speaker 1: in man coverage, for instance against the Buffalo Bills on
Speaker 1: a player like Khalil Shakur, a receiver from Boise State
Speaker 1: who tested really well, and frankly, it's a match, a
Speaker 1: mismatch from an athletic standpoint, and this creates avenues down
Speaker 1: the middle of the field both for your speed but
Speaker 1: also the size matchup. They invite these routes to get
Speaker 1: on top of the linebacker where he's playing trail technique
Speaker 1: and can only defend the width of your shoulders when
Speaker 1: you're back to the quarterback right. I think between our
Speaker 1: play action game with those deep digs and over routes
Speaker 1: and crossing routes, and then the opportunity to throw high
Speaker 1: point back shoulder shots to someone like Mike a Sicki
Speaker 1: or maybe Cedric Wilson gets involved. Finally, I'm excited to
Speaker 1: see to attack this defense because the throws that I
Speaker 1: think he excels the most with have given the Dealer's
Speaker 1: defense the most issues so far this year. Last week,
Speaker 1: it was a lot of off coverage and zone, but
Speaker 1: I think that had as much to do with the
Speaker 1: fact that Cameron Sutton and Levi Wallace were down as
Speaker 1: anything else. They should be back this week. Both those
Speaker 1: guys when they played against Buffalo together, there was a
Speaker 1: lot more variety and plenty of disguise in that defensive tape.
Speaker 1: There was one snap against the Bills with four guys down,
Speaker 1: one player up in the post, Minka Fitzpatrick, and then
Speaker 1: the other six defenders were all on second and ten
Speaker 1: like a foosball table, just six guys straight across the
Speaker 1: first down marker that the sticks. So we need to
Speaker 1: be sharp in the pre snap to get pertinent information
Speaker 1: to see how it will rotate and change and on
Speaker 1: play action looks with the quarterback turns his back to
Speaker 1: the defense, it's important for two to have that pre
Speaker 1: snap acumen to be able to apply a postnat because
Speaker 1: they will change the look. I just can't help but
Speaker 1: notice that Flora is influence with how they disguise the
Speaker 1: looks and how they give the quarterback these false keys.
Speaker 1: It's always been a strength of Brian Flores and he's
Speaker 1: doing it again this year for that Pittsburgh defense. And
Speaker 1: last week, despite being down all those guys, you know,
Speaker 1: Manka Fitzpatrick to the corners played really one of the
Speaker 1: the defensive Backfiel, I should say played one of the
Speaker 1: best games of the season, consistently getting the Bucks offense
Speaker 1: off the field with four a man rushes off coverage
Speaker 1: and just challenging the short intermediate game. Now they use
Speaker 1: their backers in a variety of coverage and rush rolls
Speaker 1: going forward and back. So that's where I think the
Speaker 1: play action game can maybe entice them into some false keys.
Speaker 1: With Ta we've been over what he does well. His
Speaker 1: key here to me is I Ding his former teammate
Speaker 1: at Bama Minca Fitzpatrick, who covers so much ground on
Speaker 1: the back end and can really erase some big plays
Speaker 1: and take away windows that you think are there because
Speaker 1: of his range and instincts to get to those positions.
Speaker 1: Now where you can get him if he inserts into
Speaker 1: the box or if you get him in space on
Speaker 1: a catch and run. He's missed some tackles, some of
Speaker 1: those digs and slants and curls. Maybe we can really
Speaker 1: expand that yak yardage this week. He has just two
Speaker 1: misses this year, but he has seventeen last year, fourteen
Speaker 1: and averages right around fifteen per year, so it's been
Speaker 1: pretty much one miss tackle per game. You do that
Speaker 1: against this team at safety, it could be a touchdown
Speaker 1: on the other end, like we saw in the Patriots
Speaker 1: game to Waddle his usage sent in the post, fifteen
Speaker 1: percent in the box, ten in the slot and with
Speaker 1: Terrell Edmonds is funny. Used to be able to just say, well,
Speaker 1: you know, Minca sevent in the post, that means the
Speaker 1: Terrell Edmonds is in the post and in the box.
Speaker 1: But it's not like that anymore because there's all these
Speaker 1: two high coverage looks. We've seen the use of Cover
Speaker 1: three expanded back into more of the fold this year,
Speaker 1: like teams got away from it, but now you're seeing
Speaker 1: more of it and the way it drives to cover
Speaker 1: six as well and even quarters. We just aren't seeing
Speaker 1: the true like the safety does this and this safety
Speaker 1: does that. It's you know, it's really interchangeable with a
Speaker 1: lot of these teams now. And Edmonds is in the
Speaker 1: deep portion of the field of the time with an
Speaker 1: even thirty percent split between slot and box, so he
Speaker 1: is the more box enforcer. But they built they both
Speaker 1: will play in the post or you know, in too
Speaker 1: high structures a lot, and neither of them comes as
Speaker 1: a blitzer almost ever. Eleven can bind pass rush snaps
Speaker 1: for both those guys. They do blitz at a team
Speaker 1: clip of twenty four point five percent, which is the
Speaker 1: twentie highest rate, so twelfth lowest rate in the NFL,
Speaker 1: and they have a pressure rate of sixteen percent that's
Speaker 1: the fourth lowest in the NFL. Like this is why
Speaker 1: I think the Dolphins have a chance to kind of
Speaker 1: get going here offensively this week. With those safeties and
Speaker 1: their flexibility, they are really good to get into those
Speaker 1: three deep looks with a third, a third, a third
Speaker 1: of coverage and then that robber and those two high
Speaker 1: structures coming down and picking off those crossing routes, which
Speaker 1: we know is a premier man beater, and that can
Speaker 1: be the way the defenses counter those very difficult routes
Speaker 1: to defend. So I don't know if we'll see man
Speaker 1: coverages such a ballsy move against the Dolphins receiving corps.
Speaker 1: If they do that, though, and potentially have those safeties robbing,
Speaker 1: that could be one way to entice some turnover worthy throws,
Speaker 1: but hopefully to can avoid those this week and just
Speaker 1: continue to go after the matchups that favor him. I
Speaker 1: think it's a fun match up here for two because
Speaker 1: he's he's obviously a smart player than Minca and Edmonds
Speaker 1: are both smart players. Uh their numbers two four coverage
Speaker 1: snaps from Minca this year, just eleven targets and seven
Speaker 1: catches a buck thirty eight, one touchdown and three picks.
Speaker 1: So he's playing fantastic again. Tremaine and or Trail Edmonds,
Speaker 1: I should say sorry, d ninety six coverage snaps, He's
Speaker 1: eight eleven ninety yards and two touchdowns. And then Trey
Speaker 1: Norwood plays a lot of their big nickel looks. They
Speaker 1: do go that three three, five with a big nickel
Speaker 1: over the slot cornerback. Forty seven snaps in coverage four
Speaker 1: of eleven for fifty eight yards. Those guys are really
Speaker 1: doing a good job in coverage this year, also defending
Speaker 1: the deep ball because they just don't give it up
Speaker 1: all about often the receivers and tight ends versus corners.
Speaker 1: Of course, this position group jives with the first group,
Speaker 1: and Pittsburgh should be getting healthier here this week, just
Speaker 1: like getting Minca back to practice this week, Sutton and
Speaker 1: Levi Wallace are both getting back and then Arthur Mallett
Speaker 1: has they're getting better every single week because they're getting
Speaker 1: more experienced together, and like I mentioned, they seem to
Speaker 1: incorporate new stuff and more disguises each week. They really
Speaker 1: put the clamps on Tampa last week with James Pierre
Speaker 1: and Josh Jackson filling in on the perimeter. Uh The
Speaker 1: week prior was a tough matchup with the Bills and
Speaker 1: things didn't quite go as well there. And there's this
Speaker 1: common theme with their cornerbacks that is the part of
Speaker 1: the reason, along with the structure of the defense, for
Speaker 1: why I think the Dolphins can really up some numbers
Speaker 1: this week. I hope is that their physicality takes a
Speaker 1: precedent over speed, and we've seen some really athletic receivers
Speaker 1: make haste against them this season. It's a lot of
Speaker 1: free access to where you want to go, which if
Speaker 1: the Dolphins can get that with Tyreek and Waddle, it's
Speaker 1: a dangerous, you know, proposition for the defense, and a
Speaker 1: precision passing attack like we have seen with TWA can
Speaker 1: really chew up some yards and chunks like fifteen eighty
Speaker 1: five yard gains court uh Not Courtland Sutton, Cam Sutton
Speaker 1: ran a four or five to leave by Wallace ran
Speaker 1: of four six three and Arthur Mallett ran of four
Speaker 1: six too, like there's not a lot of speed in
Speaker 1: that secondary. Sutton had an elite three cone time at
Speaker 1: six eight one. Wallace didn't test, but on tape. I
Speaker 1: know a seven plus three cone when I see it,
Speaker 1: and then same Dill fer Malla. It's similar as Wallace.
Speaker 1: Probably more than seven seconds on the three cone. This
Speaker 1: is a really big opportunity again for our passing game
Speaker 1: to get going with volume. I really hope we can
Speaker 1: avoid the penalties that stall drives, the drop passes, pass
Speaker 1: protection breakdowns, misfires from the quarterback like. You're never going
Speaker 1: to completely avoid all those, but if we can to
Speaker 1: a certain extent, this could be a where you push
Speaker 1: for upboards of four passing yards if you're sharp and precise.
Speaker 1: Of course, it starts for the Dolphins with ten and seventeen.
Speaker 1: There's lots of outside leverage where they take away the perimeter,
Speaker 1: cap the top of the defense and try to funnel
Speaker 1: things into that linebacker heavy defense. Like we mentioned, they
Speaker 1: are super athletic a linebacker and rely on those guys
Speaker 1: take away a lot of space in those hook and
Speaker 1: curl zones. So the relationship between the cornerbacks and the
Speaker 1: linebackers has to be really symbiotic for this defense to
Speaker 1: really hum at the level it wants to and for us,
Speaker 1: I mean, it's not different than most weeks. You know,
Speaker 1: create matchup opportunities for those guys. If the Steelers take
Speaker 1: away Wattle and Tyreek, then just go to the rest
Speaker 1: of your very capable eligibles with the other receivers, tight
Speaker 1: ends and backs that we have here. And one other
Speaker 1: thing I've noticed on their tape with those backers, they
Speaker 1: play both forward and back a lot, and a lot
Speaker 1: of that results in that trail technique when they're playing
Speaker 1: underneath to funnel to those deep zones, which opens up
Speaker 1: some those quick pops into the seam, either before the
Speaker 1: window closes or on that back shoulder look. So I'm
Speaker 1: curious to see it, but I just I think a
Speaker 1: lot of these matchups favor the home team. Some coverage
Speaker 1: numbers Sutton two D and nine snaps, Wallace and Mallett
Speaker 1: have played a hundred and forty each. On Sutton sixteen
Speaker 1: of twenty five for a buck ninety four. He has
Speaker 1: three touchdowns allowed and two picks. Wallace is fifteen for
Speaker 1: twenty six yards a touchdown in a pick and then
Speaker 1: mala Is twelve of sixteen for a buck ninety seven.
Speaker 1: So let's slot position has been vulnerable for the Steelers
Speaker 1: this year. Let's go ahead and take our first break
Speaker 1: right here and come back on the other side and
Speaker 1: get to the rest of the Dolphins offense for Steelers matchup,
Speaker 1: and then we'll also do the other side of the
Speaker 1: ball pick the games in week six, Week seven as well.
Speaker 1: Plenty more to come here Drivetime Podcast, your host Travis Wingfield,
Speaker 1: brought to you by Auto Nation. Back here on a
Speaker 1: Thursday as week number seven kicks off tonight on Thursday
Speaker 1: Night Football with the foulcon Nope, the Cardinals and the Saints,
Speaker 1: and we pick it up here with the Dolphins and
Speaker 1: Steelers matchup and then the trenches, and this is where
Speaker 1: the Steelers defense really gets a lot of their wins.
Speaker 1: It's a tough, tough group up front, and it all
Speaker 1: starts with Cameron Hayward. He's listened as a defensive end,
Speaker 1: but he plays everywhere. He's a load on the nose,
Speaker 1: the nose tackle position in their nickel rush packages where
Speaker 1: he can dent the interior and then create more opportunities
Speaker 1: for those backers to blitz or ends to twist off
Speaker 1: of his action inside. It's a big matchup for Connor
Speaker 1: Williams this week, which, by the way, his snapping is fine.
Speaker 1: He's a great center. Um that argument was really exhausting
Speaker 1: on Wednesday morning. Uh yeah, he's fine. Who He's been very,
Speaker 1: very good this year. One way you can take away
Speaker 1: some of those sheer power in Haywards game is with
Speaker 1: those stretch runs and then action off of that like
Speaker 1: boot in misdirection and some end a rounds. So I'm
Speaker 1: curious to see what the answers are for him that
Speaker 1: double teams, sticking running backs up into those A gaps,
Speaker 1: you know, fullbacks up, alec ingold, those ends that work
Speaker 1: off of him, Larry Oak and Job. He's a monster
Speaker 1: of a pass rusher. He was a more complete player
Speaker 1: the last like a few years ago, but the last
Speaker 1: couple of years he's been more of a past rush
Speaker 1: specialist for the Bengals. Now the Steelers, Chris Warmly similar
Speaker 1: build that. He's heavy, heavy end that can occupy and
Speaker 1: create space for that second level montrevious Adams plays on
Speaker 1: the nose and eats up blocks like an absolute fiend
Speaker 1: they have. Then you have the backers who insert into
Speaker 1: the line of scrimmage equation as much as any team,
Speaker 1: and that starts with Alex high Smith. He's a total beast.
Speaker 1: He has a variety of rush moves, excellent burst, he
Speaker 1: can redirect and play through contact. So impressed by his tape.
Speaker 1: He's a fantastic player. It's gonna be a good challenge
Speaker 1: for the Dolphins offensive line with the power and strength
Speaker 1: they play with. They want to too gap occupy gaps,
Speaker 1: create chances for those linebackers, and that's evident by the
Speaker 1: production that high Smith and Miles Jack have more on
Speaker 1: that here in just a moment, but we can, you know,
Speaker 1: move a if we can move the line and get
Speaker 1: pushed that wants to play that way. We did a
Speaker 1: pretty job with that against the Jets. Have had some
Speaker 1: moments this year where it wasn't quite as successful. But
Speaker 1: if they can get to push against this team again,
Speaker 1: I think that that will open up a lot of
Speaker 1: things for this offense. Tehron if he can play versus
Speaker 1: Highsmith is a great matchup and one of those instances
Speaker 1: where we are so fortunate to have to run Armstead
Speaker 1: against these you know, top of the line rushers. We
Speaker 1: saw the impact last week, so hopefully he can go
Speaker 1: and give us a full game with him, you know,
Speaker 1: totally comfortable with out him, the game plan has to
Speaker 1: change a little bit. I think their quarterback pressure numbers
Speaker 1: high Smith has nineteen, Hayward has eighteen, Oak and Joe
Speaker 1: b eleven and the Malik reads seven. So high Smith
Speaker 1: and Hayward, man, those are the guys you have to
Speaker 1: really focus on and run stops. High Smith has twenty
Speaker 1: and Hayward has thirteen. And then the other guys that
Speaker 1: have the most miles Jack has twenty two and Devin
Speaker 1: Bush has nine. So that's the running back in linebacker
Speaker 1: position group here, and it's Jack and Bush. What a
Speaker 1: what a great combo that it sounds like a bad
Speaker 1: sitcom as the primary guys. Then Robert Spillane who gets
Speaker 1: plenty of run to a bad punt here. But Jack
Speaker 1: is a jack of all trades. What a great player
Speaker 1: he is. But running routes behind him is the best
Speaker 1: way to neutralize him since he wants to fit the
Speaker 1: run but also has so many coverage responsibilities that you
Speaker 1: can kind of exploit the fact that he has to
Speaker 1: do so much and can you know, one false step
Speaker 1: can get him out of position in this defense, you
Speaker 1: know quite a lot like it reminds me of the
Speaker 1: Patrick Queen breakdown and matchup we had like a week
Speaker 1: ago or back in week number two that applies here
Speaker 1: in terms of Miami's chances to get to those advantageous
Speaker 1: looks with the run and pass working off each other.
Speaker 1: This is such a dependent deal in terms of the
Speaker 1: line creating chances. But the athletic traits of you know
Speaker 1: most are Edmunds versus those linebackers is good on good.
Speaker 1: Their run stuff numbers and occasional pass rushes are effective.
Speaker 1: But in coverage Jack two of thirty for one fifty
Speaker 1: two and Bush thirteen of nineteen for one nine neither
Speaker 1: has a lot of touchdown or has a pick. But
Speaker 1: you see teams going after their their linebackers and coverage
Speaker 1: quite a lot. Dolphins defense and Steelers offense and the
Speaker 1: quarterback first safety position match up here. It's the third
Speaker 1: start for Kenny Pickett, who came off the bench against
Speaker 1: the Jets and has given the Steelers offense a little
Speaker 1: bit of juice. I'm most impressed by his ability to
Speaker 1: replace the blitz with the football. His processing is really
Speaker 1: good for a rookie, like he got a lot of
Speaker 1: reps in college, so he took that progress that he
Speaker 1: made that senior year at Pittsburgh and basically put himself
Speaker 1: into the first round of the draft and has continued
Speaker 1: that into his rookie season. That paired with a quick release,
Speaker 1: can really help the Steelers stay on schedule, and that's
Speaker 1: what the Dolphins have to try to avoid here. The
Speaker 1: best way to take him out of that rhythm is
Speaker 1: to stop the run and get them into long down
Speaker 1: on distances and of course be able to confuse him
Speaker 1: with re ards to where the blitz is coming from.
Speaker 1: It's a fun chest match for he and Josh Boyer
Speaker 1: this week. Their personnel is eleven. It's one back, one
Speaker 1: tight end, three receivers, and nineteen percent twelve personnel, which
Speaker 1: is one back, two tight ends, two receivers, and just
Speaker 1: a little bit of everything else sprinkled in for a
Speaker 1: couple of snaps here and there. It's a lot of
Speaker 1: condensed formations, stacks and bunches with motion, and from that
Speaker 1: motion they will go with end around jet sweeps, just
Speaker 1: trying to find ways to get the ball into the
Speaker 1: receiver's hands. Because to me, that's the strength of the
Speaker 1: football team, and it's a good way to ensure they
Speaker 1: get touches. Claypool has eight rush attempts this year, Johnson
Speaker 1: has four, Oshofsky has two pickings, and Sims both have one.
Speaker 1: A piece that is twelve fourteen sixteen rush attempts from
Speaker 1: wide receivers. Now with Pickett, the ball does hang up
Speaker 1: a little bit when they go vertical. It's mostly one
Speaker 1: on one to the boundary the short side of the field.
Speaker 1: Throw a jump ball and then see if Pickens or
Speaker 1: Claypool can go up and get it. It's high risk reward,
Speaker 1: but if they try X or Javon can get over there,
Speaker 1: I'm hopeful we can see our second pick of the
Speaker 1: season if that's the case. Additionally, I think the accuracy
Speaker 1: kind of goes off and on. The velocity requires him
Speaker 1: to be perfect with timing each time, which for a
Speaker 1: rookie is tough to do. So maybe we can jump
Speaker 1: some routes this week. You have to keep your eyes
Speaker 1: on pick it as a runner because against the Bucks,
Speaker 1: he was smart to kind of scan the front side.
Speaker 1: If it's closed up, just take off and go. It's
Speaker 1: a pass rush that can get after you, and he
Speaker 1: did a good job of mitigating that with his quick decisions.
Speaker 1: I don't know if you want to spy or not.
Speaker 1: I don't think it's worth that because it's not like
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson anything, But I leave that's up to the
Speaker 1: coaches to begin with. If you're in man and he
Speaker 1: gets by the first wave, he can pick up chunks
Speaker 1: of yards, so you don't want to have him run
Speaker 1: for you know, ten plush yards on any given play,
Speaker 1: But the majority of their stuff is quick game backs
Speaker 1: and receivers on screens and swings pick it running the football.
Speaker 1: Twelve percent of his throws or twenty plus yards down
Speaker 1: the field. Three of those ten were picked off, four
Speaker 1: completed for five yards, so it's not productive downfield. Nineteen
Speaker 1: percent of those passes in the intermediate the ten to
Speaker 1: nineteen yard range, and then of their passes have gone
Speaker 1: ten yards and in or behind the line. He's eighty
Speaker 1: three percent between zero and ten yards and an average
Speaker 1: of three point eight yards depth of targets. So the
Speaker 1: ball comes out hot pretty obvious there. Javon Holland and
Speaker 1: Brandon Jones I think continue to play really, really well
Speaker 1: this year. I'm intrigued by this matchup in the sense
Speaker 1: that Pittsburgh has not tested vertical all that much, and
Speaker 1: if you look at Miami's opponent passing charts, teams are
Speaker 1: not trying us deep. And when you watch the tape,
Speaker 1: Javon Holland has a lot to say about that because
Speaker 1: he covers so so much groundback there, and of course
Speaker 1: that helps free up Brandon Jones, who is really enjoying
Speaker 1: a breakout campaign here in his third season in every
Speaker 1: aspect of the position. But despite the fact we've been
Speaker 1: so thin at corner with these crazy number of injuries,
Speaker 1: I think this is the game where you can perhaps perfull,
Speaker 1: you can pull Javon down to get a little more
Speaker 1: uh you know, Gambly like splash plays with Javon Holland,
Speaker 1: because I think that's the difference here. They the need
Speaker 1: for him to up top reduces our chances at tips
Speaker 1: and overthrows or him just flat out making a play,
Speaker 1: whether it's in coverage or coming down off the edge
Speaker 1: hot like having him in that that back field duty
Speaker 1: takes away a lot of your chances to do that
Speaker 1: up front. Maybe this is the week where you can
Speaker 1: do more of that for Picket this year against the
Speaker 1: Blitz seventy three percent, eight point one yards per pass,
Speaker 1: one touchdown, no picks. That's good for anybody, much less
Speaker 1: a rookie not blitzed. Five point six yards per pass,
Speaker 1: no touchdowns and four picks when he's pressured five point
Speaker 1: one yards per attempt, no touchdowns in a pick. When
Speaker 1: he's kept clean, seventy six point five yards per pass,
Speaker 1: one touchdown, three picks. So what that tells me is that, uh,
Speaker 1: they the ball just comes out hot basically, So if
Speaker 1: you can clamp down quickly and get and get in
Speaker 1: completions on those quick, hot throws, you're gonna challenge their
Speaker 1: offense and do something that makes them really uncomfortable. I
Speaker 1: think that's what Miami's plan should be here. But they're
Speaker 1: pretty equipped a hand on those blitzes. So we'll see.
Speaker 1: Curious see what it looks like. Let's go ahead and
Speaker 1: take our Now, let's let's keep going receivers and tight
Speaker 1: ends versus corners. I mentioned this earlier to me, this
Speaker 1: is the strength of the team. Curiously, what what xaviing
Speaker 1: Howard's role looks like this week? I thought he had
Speaker 1: his best game of the season last week against the Vikings.
Speaker 1: They don't really pump the ball to any these guys
Speaker 1: more than anybody else, but is a declaration of who
Speaker 1: their starters are. Because after Johnson, Claypool, and Pickens, who
Speaker 1: all play more of their snaps, the number four we
Speaker 1: fevers under ten percent. And where I think Miami has
Speaker 1: a big advantage is teams that play these condensed offenses
Speaker 1: the Vikings last week. It allows us to be more
Speaker 1: creative with our pass rush plan and to disguise better
Speaker 1: in those tight areas. With Pickings and Claypool, they are
Speaker 1: both physical and as good at the catch point as
Speaker 1: they come. While Johnson is an incredibly crafty route runner
Speaker 1: who has some drops the last couple of years, but man,
Speaker 1: he also makes the tough catches too. He's my favorite
Speaker 1: of the bunch. He sets up as routes with timing,
Speaker 1: sinking the hips, snapping out of those breakes can align
Speaker 1: all over the formation. It's one of the harder games
Speaker 1: for me to kind of guess the matchups. That's before
Speaker 1: you even consider Miami's injuries at the cornerback position. Johnson
Speaker 1: is their hot option a lot, so identifying him as
Speaker 1: a big key he had. He has fifty five targets
Speaker 1: for two yards this year, so that's a lot of
Speaker 1: short game work. Claypool has thirty five targets two and
Speaker 1: twenty five yards, and he has six contested grabs on
Speaker 1: twelve opportunities soft but he's tough and then pickings more
Speaker 1: of the same. He's caught five of nine contested passes
Speaker 1: and he's at thirteen point nine yards per catch. Their
Speaker 1: only receiver with better than ten yards per catch. They
Speaker 1: want to play a ten yard bucks try to win there.
Speaker 1: Pat friar Muth is also over ten yards per catch.
Speaker 1: He's one of the game's best tight ends. He and
Speaker 1: Johnson are the go twos in the quick game we
Speaker 1: talked about in Miami. Needs to be able to reroute
Speaker 1: him and disrupt him because he's both strong as hell
Speaker 1: and very good at getting off the press expeditiously. They'll
Speaker 1: run some twelve personnel. Last week with friar Muth out,
Speaker 1: Zach Gentry played sixty six percent of the snaps and
Speaker 1: Connor Heyward played forty seven, so they have lots of
Speaker 1: personnel they like up there. Let's go ahead and take
Speaker 1: our last break here and come back and finish up
Speaker 1: this position group. Tell you what's at stake and get
Speaker 1: to the Keys. That's next Drivetime podcast your host Travis Wingfield,
Speaker 1: brought to you by Auto Nation. Back here on a
Speaker 1: Thursday preview edition. This part of the Steelers roster on
Speaker 1: the offensive line versus Dolphins defensive line has undergone a
Speaker 1: lot of construction in recent years, as we mentioned off
Speaker 1: the very top, and here's start starting lineup with pressures allowed.
Speaker 1: This year, they've all played two D and fifty pass
Speaker 1: blocking snaps, with the exception of Mason Cole he's at
Speaker 1: two forty five, so they've been extremely healthy up front.
Speaker 1: But Dan Moore junior ten pressures, Kevin Dotson the left
Speaker 1: guard four pressures, Mason Cole eight, James Daniels six, and
Speaker 1: Chocoma Okora four with twelve. That quick game helps those
Speaker 1: pressures numbers a lot, but there are rock solid inside,
Speaker 1: which we know Miami has what they have there with
Speaker 1: Wilkins and Steeler and Ray Kwan playing some of the
Speaker 1: best balloys seen out of him in recent weeks. It's
Speaker 1: good on good there. If Miami can get consistent knocked back,
Speaker 1: and I think they can this week, it would go
Speaker 1: a long way towards a really strong showing defense once
Speaker 1: again here against the Steelers, but their tackle possessions have
Speaker 1: been a major problem for them so far. They put
Speaker 1: a lot of effort into helping them out. If Pickett
Speaker 1: has to clutch and hitch up, bad things typically happen there.
Speaker 1: So if we can aliminate that first read and then
Speaker 1: unleash Jalen Melvin eman, like, I love our chances there
Speaker 1: to be really consistent on defense. This week we've seen
Speaker 1: Phillips coming on really strong rushing all over the formation.
Speaker 1: The Steelers do give a considerable amount of help off
Speaker 1: the edge with backs and tight ends, so I kind
Speaker 1: of like the way our guys can bluff those field
Speaker 1: rushes and then loop inside like Phillips and Ingram do
Speaker 1: so well. It can force the offense into committing an
Speaker 1: extra blocker for a rusher that's just not there, and
Speaker 1: that obviously gives you advantages and other parts of the formation.
Speaker 1: So again, Jalen Melvin both very strong in that department
Speaker 1: this year. Hopefully you'll see more of that here on
Speaker 1: Sunday Night. Finishing up here in the backfield running backs
Speaker 1: and linebackers, and the player that the offense really funnels
Speaker 1: through his nag Harris. His averages haven't been a eye popping,
Speaker 1: but man he earns every yard both as a runner
Speaker 1: and a receiver, an absolute touchdown maker, a key part
Speaker 1: of their past blocking schemes, and really just all around
Speaker 1: good player. Last week he played se Warren was the
Speaker 1: rookie was so a seven to three workload share there.
Speaker 1: Miami has to play discipline against the screen because in
Speaker 1: college he ran routes, flexed out all over the field,
Speaker 1: but not doing a lot of that this year, just
Speaker 1: seventeen snaps from non running back positions, but they screened
Speaker 1: the ball to him a heck of a lot. So
Speaker 1: it's important for our backers to have good eyes and
Speaker 1: to sift through the trash to find number twenty two.
Speaker 1: That's been a strength of Jerome Baker. There. So a
Speaker 1: fun matchup from Miami in that regard special teams deep
Speaker 1: d A ranks. Dolphins are in dead last three seconds,
Speaker 1: Dealers are in twenty. Jason Sanders has three misses this year,
Speaker 1: all of them are from fifty plus. He has fourteen
Speaker 1: of fifteen on extra points Chris Boswell's eleven for fifteen.
Speaker 1: He has a miss from fifty plus, two from the
Speaker 1: forty to forty nine range, and one from under thirty
Speaker 1: nine yards. He's perfect on extra points this year. More
Speaker 1: Stead averages forty six point six yards per punt on
Speaker 1: twenty three kicks time and time again, putting teams down
Speaker 1: deep in their own zone and then harvar for them
Speaker 1: forty four point nine average with thirty punts. What's at
Speaker 1: stake here to me getting up off the mat and
Speaker 1: responding to a three game losing streak, And what better
Speaker 1: way to do that than in the throwback uniforms in
Speaker 1: primetime when the entire nation, the entire league is watching you.
Speaker 1: On Sunday night football hard Rock is a little bit
Speaker 1: different at night, and a chance to pick up a
Speaker 1: conference win, get back over five hundred with a win,
Speaker 1: I think would be a nice little boost to our
Speaker 1: confidence heading into those two game road trip out to
Speaker 1: the Midwest, taking on half of the NFC North in
Speaker 1: the Lions and Bears. It's still way too early start
Speaker 1: looking at standings, but stacking some wins here would be
Speaker 1: really nice to do that right now, starting on Sunday.
Speaker 1: My three keys of the game defend the quick passing game.
Speaker 1: Take away that first read forced me to get to
Speaker 1: a second read. Take Away the outlets in the running game,
Speaker 1: for him for Kenny Pickett, and I think the defense
Speaker 1: should be just fine. And then three generated explosive plays
Speaker 1: on offense, whether it's that way in the running game,
Speaker 1: throwing down vertical. Just want to see some fireworks here
Speaker 1: on Sunday Night. My Week seven picks for Week seven.
Speaker 1: Funny how that works. We're gonna take Arizona over the
Speaker 1: Saints on Thursday Night football. Give me the Bengals over
Speaker 1: the Falcons. That's a tough one to pick. By the way,
Speaker 1: my record this year, it's last week was rough. I
Speaker 1: think I was what was it eight and six, sixty
Speaker 1: and thirty three and one on the season. Cardinals over Saints,
Speaker 1: Bengals over Falcons, Cowboys over Lions. Give me the Titans
Speaker 1: over the colt and that big a f C South
Speaker 1: matchup to see who can potentially take a step forward
Speaker 1: as the division champion. There, Green Bay over Washington, Tampa
Speaker 1: over Carolina. Not very many fun matchups this week. Give
Speaker 1: me Jacksonville up to the Giants. Give me the Ravens
Speaker 1: over the Browns. I'll take the Broncos over the Jets,
Speaker 1: with or without Russell Wilson. I guess I don't know.
Speaker 1: I'm still I'm still kind of picking the Bronchos a lot,
Speaker 1: even though they're not playing very well. Give me the
Speaker 1: Raiders over the Texans, Chargers over the Seahawks, Chiefs over
Speaker 1: the Niners, Dolphins over Steelers, and the Patriots over the
Speaker 1: Bears on Monday Night football. Let's go ahead and get
Speaker 1: the heck out of here. Tomorrow we have the mail
Speaker 1: Bag the College Football three Pack my guest for perspective
Speaker 1: on the Steelers as well as the Assistant coach Media Availabilities.
Speaker 1: Look forward to that podcast. In the meantime, you all
Speaker 1: please be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcast.
Speaker 1: Leave us a rating, leave us a review. You can
Speaker 1: follow me on Twitter at Wingfold NFL. Follow the team
Speaker 1: at Miami Dolphins. Check out the fish Tank podcast with
Speaker 1: Seth and Juice. We recorded our Twitter space from Wednesday night.
Speaker 1: I go back and check that out on my timeline
Speaker 1: at Wingfold NFL. Check out the international podcast across the
Speaker 1: globe that we have here in the Miami Dolphins podcast network.
Speaker 1: Go to the YouTube channel for media Availabilities, Dolphins Today
Speaker 1: and some Drivetime and fish Tank content as well, and
Speaker 1: last but not least, Miami Dolphins dot Com until next
Speaker 1: time finds up Caroline, Daddy please coming home.