Speaker 1: You're listening to the Miami Dolphins podcast Network. This is
Speaker 1: Drive Time with Travis Whingefield. Back to throw to a
Speaker 1: looking gips the delta wind it open, touchtop tonic call.
Speaker 1: Un believable, just flu by for a second time. Don't
Speaker 1: know where he was going right away ahead of that
Speaker 1: the man I want to help you soon up on
Speaker 1: his band away and wattle waddle to a shotgut back
Speaker 1: that's throw looking SUPs up fires, totop again it's waddle.
Speaker 1: It's six touchdown pass this day, Drive Time with Travis
Speaker 1: Wingfield begins. Now let me check your pulse if not
Speaker 1: far of what is up? Dolphins? And welcome to the
Speaker 1: Drivetime podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins podcast network, covering
Speaker 1: your team nor Miami Dolphins. How's it going everybody? I
Speaker 1: am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show, Thursday
Speaker 1: Preview Day, we take a look at the New England
Speaker 1: Patriots for the second time this season, to tape the
Speaker 1: stats where they've grown since that Week one game, the
Speaker 1: three keys to Victory, What's at stake, and the week
Speaker 1: seventeen NFL picks from the Baptist Health Studios. Inside the
Speaker 1: Baptist Health training Complex. This is the Drive Time podcast.
Speaker 1: Here we go, heading into a familiar venue with everything
Speaker 1: on the line. Sort of. It's been a rough month
Speaker 1: and the guys can partially at least exercise those demons
Speaker 1: with a big win on a trip to the postseason,
Speaker 1: likely with the win per the New York Times Playoffs
Speaker 1: simulator with a victory on Sunday, and could conceivably punch
Speaker 1: our ticket to the playoffs as early as seven thirty
Speaker 1: ish on Sunday evening, depending on what happens in Seattle,
Speaker 1: and enter the New England Patriots, arguably the most heated
Speaker 1: arrival for the Dolphins going back a couple of decades now,
Speaker 1: and we've turned the tide with recent success four straight wins,
Speaker 1: five of six, and we know about these Patriots, dominant
Speaker 1: for two decades, six rings, nine conference titles, and annual
Speaker 1: resident vasion in the a SC title game for what
Speaker 1: was it eight years in a row. The season never
Speaker 1: really began for them until Division Round weekend. Then they
Speaker 1: have a down year and returned right back to the
Speaker 1: postseason last season. And if they can beat a pair
Speaker 1: of teams who have given them fits the last couple
Speaker 1: of years, Miami and Buffalo seven consecutive losses to both
Speaker 1: of those teams. If they can beat those teams back
Speaker 1: to back, they'll get right back into the postseason when
Speaker 1: it seemed like the year was lost several times over earlier.
Speaker 1: This season is an organization that has always retooled via
Speaker 1: the draft, but a team who took a d tour
Speaker 1: from that approach one and went absolutely nanners and free agency,
Speaker 1: and that's a good bulk of their team right now.
Speaker 1: They also got their quarterback from that same year's draft class,
Speaker 1: and he had another good class this time around the
Speaker 1: Patriots did. They're a young team. They still run the
Speaker 1: ball really will, they still play really smart, sound, fundamental football.
Speaker 1: They're still solid in the trenches, and they play really
Speaker 1: good defense, and apparently they drafted the second coming of
Speaker 1: Troy Brown in terms of a versatile two way player
Speaker 1: in Marcus Jones. The one thing that doesn't pair with
Speaker 1: what they've done or been for years is the offensive strategy.
Speaker 1: Josh McDaniels leaves to Las Vegas, and it's been a
Speaker 1: struggle to put together any consistency or identity on offense
Speaker 1: this season, and if we're without our quarterback, it's going
Speaker 1: to be incumbent on the defense to hammer that point home.
Speaker 1: A defense that held the same team to seven points
Speaker 1: and scored seven of its own or six and the
Speaker 1: p a t back on opening Day. We need that
Speaker 1: this week? Can we get it? Let's find out Dolphins
Speaker 1: offense first, Patriots defense, and of course the quarterback versus
Speaker 1: the safety position, and just general offense and defensive talking points.
Speaker 1: I don't think you'll find two more similar types of
Speaker 1: systems on tape, and Josh Boyer said as much earlier
Speaker 1: this year talking about the similarities from the Dolphins defense
Speaker 1: and the Patriots defense, so you kind of know what
Speaker 1: to expect there. Of course, each team in each game
Speaker 1: will take on its own individual identity, but generally speaking,
Speaker 1: heavy man principles, lots of odd fronts, you know, bear
Speaker 1: fronts with Judean and j attacking the two point stance
Speaker 1: from that quase a five to look, it's a defense
Speaker 1: that disguises really well, they communicate really well, they draft, pay,
Speaker 1: treat players right for that secondary. And but that we
Speaker 1: mean tough, smart, physical, good tacklers who can run and
Speaker 1: play to the system. Whoever the quarterback is from Miami.
Speaker 1: I think you point to the Bengals tape. Joe Burrow
Speaker 1: was patient and took what was given and put together
Speaker 1: drive after driving that first half. Now again, this is
Speaker 1: where the Patriots are tough, because they made halftime adjustments
Speaker 1: and they buckled down in that second half, and not
Speaker 1: only did they give their team a chance to mount
Speaker 1: the comeback, they began it with the scoring on a
Speaker 1: long pick six. Where I thought Burrow was most successful
Speaker 1: in that game was finding the backs on checkdowns. The
Speaker 1: Patriots love to stay in that too high look up
Speaker 1: until you get to the high red zone where they
Speaker 1: convert to more press man coverage. But I also liked
Speaker 1: how the Bengals would get too empty from really any formation,
Speaker 1: and if the Patriots stayed too high, then Burrow would
Speaker 1: anticipate middle of the field throws because you're too high.
Speaker 1: Structure has the middle of the field open tech most
Speaker 1: of the times, and it wasn't about ripping it or
Speaker 1: jamming it in there. He was throwing with layered touch
Speaker 1: and timing to make explosive play like the touchdown to
Speaker 1: Trenton Irwin was a great example on a ball that
Speaker 1: man to hits that type of thrill all the time,
Speaker 1: and I was watching that game obviously before our game
Speaker 1: on Sunday, Thinking too has a chance to really kind
Speaker 1: of put some numbers up in this one. We'll see
Speaker 1: what happens if it's To or Teddy. But my keys
Speaker 1: for either patients make them come up and tackle on
Speaker 1: the perimeters and run the football against favorable looks, anticipate.
Speaker 1: They almost never blitz To when he's in the lineup. Now,
Speaker 1: I'm not sure that looks like for Teddy, but it
Speaker 1: makes some tight windows against seven and sometimes eight man coverages.
Speaker 1: It's kind of how they funnel together all those picks
Speaker 1: by staying patient and and really taking advantage with quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: Get impatient. You have to be right, you have to
Speaker 1: be precise, and you must anticipate against this defense. If
Speaker 1: they do camp out in that too high structure, Miami
Speaker 1: is gonna have to find some success on the ground.
Speaker 1: You do not want to allow them to dial up
Speaker 1: their pressure scheme on third and longs. One coverage that
Speaker 1: is slowly building popularity around the league is that two men,
Speaker 1: two high safeties UH cover a deep half each and
Speaker 1: then underneath man cover ridge with a lot of times
Speaker 1: press coverage. It's a tough defense to pass against, but
Speaker 1: it opens up running lane avenues, and we saw it
Speaker 1: some that Green Bay game in Miami had a bunch
Speaker 1: of success in the first half run of the football
Speaker 1: in that game. I liked how Miami got to some
Speaker 1: empty looks last week against that look with their spread looks.
Speaker 1: Kind of a similar conversion for the Bengals and Patriots game,
Speaker 1: and then obviously in that first half the running game
Speaker 1: was absolutely cooking. But it's not the same scheme, but
Speaker 1: there are similar similarities in terms of the heavy use
Speaker 1: of dime extra defensive backs and forcing the offenses to
Speaker 1: play patient. If you're talking about Packers and Patriots. The
Speaker 1: thing the Patriots do really well as limit explosive plays.
Speaker 1: We got you know, we've been getting those every game now. Shoot,
Speaker 1: going back to I guess the Cleveland Houston game didn't
Speaker 1: really have long explosive plays. But the thing the Patriots
Speaker 1: do well is stopped that. We got them on that
Speaker 1: fourth down back in Week one, but that was really
Speaker 1: it in that game, the Waddle touchdown. That makes red
Speaker 1: zone execution absolutely paramount. Let's look at some numbers here.
Speaker 1: They blitz twenty three point two percent of the time.
Speaker 1: They've kind of gotten with you know more modern style
Speaker 1: of approach, the middle of the pack boitzing percentage, that's
Speaker 1: fifteenth most in the NFL. They pressure twenty four point
Speaker 1: seven percent of the time, that's the most, are tied
Speaker 1: for the most in the National Football League. So it's
Speaker 1: a big challenge. They've got rushers for days. We need
Speaker 1: to avoid negatives, turnovers and big sacks on those plays
Speaker 1: because they will get in and you're gonna have to
Speaker 1: accept the fact that you're gonna have to eat some
Speaker 1: sacks on some place. These games are always rock fights,
Speaker 1: right The seven score in Week one was the biggest
Speaker 1: differential since week to nineteen when they blew the doors
Speaker 1: off of us. They're usually seventeen sixteen type of games
Speaker 1: in the NFL. Feature features an average of just over
Speaker 1: twenty two possessions per game for both teams. These teams
Speaker 1: have averaged six team possessions possessions possessions per game among
Speaker 1: the two teams over the last five meetings, none more
Speaker 1: than seventeen, none fewer than fifteen, right at your average
Speaker 1: eight possessions per game per team. So avoiding negatives because
Speaker 1: every drive is critical in these games. Winning in the
Speaker 1: fine margins, you know, hidden yardage and special teams and
Speaker 1: penalties and things of that nature. Those are big, big keys.
Speaker 1: This week. I mentioned the red zone importance earlier, a
Speaker 1: little bit of a departure from the norm. Just fifteenth
Speaker 1: and red zone defense for the Patriots at fifty five
Speaker 1: point six percent stop rate on third downs. Again, if
Speaker 1: you can win in those areas and special teams and
Speaker 1: protect the football, you'll get out of here with a victory.
Speaker 1: Personnel wise, thirty four they go eight point three percent.
Speaker 1: Forty three is one point three percent. Again, it's like
Speaker 1: our defense in a lot of ways, sent Nickel. But
Speaker 1: this is different than what we've been in past years.
Speaker 1: But of course Miami has like forty five injuries. In
Speaker 1: the secondary, they play twice seven percent dime. We don't
Speaker 1: do anywhere near that. They play quarter two point two percent,
Speaker 1: have a handful of snaps and half dollar and dollar.
Speaker 1: It's eight and nine dbs in the field their pre
Speaker 1: snap structure. They've ran twenty one place from cover zero.
Speaker 1: They've ran fifty percent of their place from cover from
Speaker 1: single high should say, and then too high, and forty
Speaker 1: four percent at safety. The same dude who's been there forever,
Speaker 1: Devin mccordy, one of the best in the NFL, and
Speaker 1: then one of my favorite non players in the NFL.
Speaker 1: I know Sacrilege just had that about a Patriots player,
Speaker 1: but that just tells you how much I respect Kyle
Speaker 1: Dugger's game. He's a secret superstar man. That pick six
Speaker 1: he had against the Raiders is a microcosm of the
Speaker 1: type of player that he is. Studious, twitchy, and a playmaker.
Speaker 1: Then their big nickel Adrian Phillips, who's played six hundred
Speaker 1: thirty four snaps this year. He's a terrific rat in
Speaker 1: the whole force defender type who can hang out in
Speaker 1: that hook and play the curl flat, essentially a buck
Speaker 1: linebacker type of role. This might be their best position group,
Speaker 1: along with those edge rushers. Mccordy is thirty three snaps
Speaker 1: away from surpassing one thousand snaps played for the twelfth
Speaker 1: time in thirteen seasons, and the one year he didn't
Speaker 1: was when he played nine hundred and sixty snaps. He
Speaker 1: is as reliable as they come. He's played free safety
Speaker 1: on six hundred eighty nine of those snaps. He's your
Speaker 1: single high cover, one middle of the field player, and
Speaker 1: he will camp back there and try to pick off
Speaker 1: those deep passes. So for Teddy, being accurate and precise
Speaker 1: and making sure he knows where thirty two is is
Speaker 1: a big key in this game. He's one of the
Speaker 1: best in the league man career passer rating against the
Speaker 1: eighty point eight thirty six career picks he's got three
Speaker 1: this year and a rating aloud of just eight seven
Speaker 1: point three. And in a league where it's you know,
Speaker 1: quarterbacks are going up in the high nineties. He never rushes,
Speaker 1: just two pass rush reps and only six run stops. Again,
Speaker 1: he's typically ten yards off the football. Dougglers got two picks,
Speaker 1: one for a touchdown. He's got eight pressures on just
Speaker 1: twenty seven pass rush reps twenty three run stops. He's
Speaker 1: missed a little bit of time this year, so his
Speaker 1: snap counts are down, but he's just over four hundred
Speaker 1: snaps in the box onety one and the slot sixty
Speaker 1: three in the post. He's also given them forty nine
Speaker 1: snaps out wide. Adrian Phillips remember that pick that Fitzpatrick
Speaker 1: threw back in the season opener. It was a great
Speaker 1: read and reacting the hook zone, fall into that that
Speaker 1: route concept and make the play. It's the kind of
Speaker 1: stuff that he does. It's kind of kind of a
Speaker 1: key to what they do in a lot of ways.
Speaker 1: His splits are spread across the board, so he's essentially
Speaker 1: got a revolving job based upon the defensive call. They'll
Speaker 1: play him in the post on that third and long
Speaker 1: situations when they drop everybody hundred and seventy eight snaps there,
Speaker 1: three hundred down in the box, one in the slot,
Speaker 1: eighteen at corner will also cover up your tight end.
Speaker 1: So Smithing sicky kind of match up there for Phillips
Speaker 1: moving to our receivers and tight ends versus their corners.
Speaker 1: The safety group is full of grizzled vets. The cornerback
Speaker 1: room is not. But man, you talk about a position
Speaker 1: group that has shown significant improvements since that week one meeting,
Speaker 1: And that's not meant to be like a slight at
Speaker 1: all because you want your rookies a show growth. But
Speaker 1: it just starts with Marcus Jones right in terms of
Speaker 1: going from one player week one to now who he
Speaker 1: is this year or this week. I should say he's
Speaker 1: the star of the group. Given his pensiont for big
Speaker 1: plays in all three phases of the game. He's only
Speaker 1: played three snaps this year, but a hundred and fifty
Speaker 1: of those are the last three weeks. He's a starter
Speaker 1: now and the defense is better. For in those three
Speaker 1: games he's got two picks, two more pass breakups, and
Speaker 1: three run stops and only one touchdown allowed in coverage.
Speaker 1: He's literally keeping up with the Jones is because Jonathan
Speaker 1: Jones has been probably the best Patriots corner since Stefon
Speaker 1: Gilmour left. He's almost exclusively a wide corner, just forty
Speaker 1: five snaps inside, which is consistent with a number of
Speaker 1: snaps a perimeter cornerback will go inside with twin packages
Speaker 1: and unbalanced formations, etcetera, etcetera. Another rookie, Jack Jones, He's
Speaker 1: played well recently too. It's really an entirely different secondary
Speaker 1: because you had so many rookies in their first career
Speaker 1: game and now they've taken big steps in a positive direction.
Speaker 1: The numbers for these guys Jonathan fort four hundred thirty
Speaker 1: six yards, five touchdowns allowed, three picks, Jack Jones twenty
Speaker 1: thirty nine. That's a great percentage, three hundred and six yards.
Speaker 1: Some big plays there. He's aggressive, one touchdown, two picks,
Speaker 1: and then Marcus Jones twenty one for thirty two six yards.
Speaker 1: The explosive plays in these young corners are there. It's
Speaker 1: kind of boom or bust, one touchdown, two picks. They
Speaker 1: play press and off, and of course the numbers tend
Speaker 1: to shift for this defense as much as any because
Speaker 1: they'll attack, you know, the team they're playing in a
Speaker 1: way that's unique to that team. They do have more
Speaker 1: capable corners than just those top three snaptakers. Jalen Mills
Speaker 1: started a bunch of games last year and especially against Miami.
Speaker 1: He's got four hundred and sixty eight snaps this season.
Speaker 1: Miles Bryant has played just under six hundred snaps. It's
Speaker 1: a back to front defense. Like we mentioned, they used
Speaker 1: dbs substantially more than any other position group in terms
Speaker 1: of snaps played, and it shows it bears out right
Speaker 1: here against Bryant this year. Forty fifty three touchdowns and
Speaker 1: a pick, Mills three thirty three, two touchdowns and two picks.
Speaker 1: They all get picks. They're all versed in both man zone.
Speaker 1: It's a good group. You can get yards and go
Speaker 1: and down the field on them, but they really clamp
Speaker 1: down the red zone, or they used to at least
Speaker 1: and I wish, I wish one was for sure playing
Speaker 1: offensive line defensive line. It gets even tougher here. Matt
Speaker 1: Judon leads the a FC with fifteen and a half sacks.
Speaker 1: He's second in the NFL, and man, he's got the
Speaker 1: whole package. Is a pass rusher, full arsenal of rush moves,
Speaker 1: counter speed, speed to power either side of the formation,
Speaker 1: executing rush games. He's an elite player, and Josh j
Speaker 1: benefits from the fact that he's also a beast, but
Speaker 1: also the attention that Judeon commands. They'll operate from both
Speaker 1: sides of the formation. They'll loop inside a lot of
Speaker 1: the rushes built around their versatility and the ability to
Speaker 1: run so many games, but also just get pressure from
Speaker 1: the outside. Their very gap sound and they really have
Speaker 1: their gap integrity in line. And Frenny Jennings is a
Speaker 1: player I like a lot. He's a nice depth piece
Speaker 1: who comes into sub packages even some base because of
Speaker 1: his ability with the run with that length in the
Speaker 1: shock that he has in the hands. Will also include
Speaker 1: Dietrich Wise here in this group. He's technically an edge,
Speaker 1: but he condenses inside and plays that nickel interior rush
Speaker 1: roll a lot when they get to those sub packages.
Speaker 1: He's been a really good player for a long time,
Speaker 1: but he's having a bit of a breakout year here,
Speaker 1: evident by the numbers pressures and run stops him on
Speaker 1: that group. Jude On sixty five pressures, thirty four run stops,
Speaker 1: he is a production machine. Wise fifty pressures, twenty four
Speaker 1: run stops also very damn good, forty four pressures and
Speaker 1: nineteen run stops. And then Jennings nine and ten. Christian
Speaker 1: bar More inside, he's the complete package. He's so quick
Speaker 1: off the football and plays behind his pads. He kind
Speaker 1: of reminds me of Christian Wilkins in a lot of
Speaker 1: ways in terms of his skill set. Next is Devon Gatco.
Speaker 1: We know about him, one of the best run stuffing
Speaker 1: defensive tackles in football. He typically comes off in pass
Speaker 1: rough situations when Wise kicks inside. Then another familiar face,
Speaker 1: not that he played here, but Dietrich Wise has been
Speaker 1: there forever. Likewise, I should say Lawrence Guy. We tried
Speaker 1: to get him a couple of years ago. I think
Speaker 1: these guys play such a good gap control football. Among
Speaker 1: those players, pressures and run stops twelve and twelve for
Speaker 1: bar More, he was injured for a lot of the year,
Speaker 1: Gotchase thirteen and twenty seven and then guy Is seventeen
Speaker 1: and eighteen. For our guys standing on blocks and really
Speaker 1: trying to wipe out that first level. That first line
Speaker 1: of defense is so good at you know, stack shed
Speaker 1: two gaps kind of like our guys. If you can
Speaker 1: swallow them up and get consistent staying on blocks, you'll
Speaker 1: spring guys into the second level and get those blockers
Speaker 1: and those linebackers. That's where Miami has to win this game.
Speaker 1: They've been good, good at it the last couple of weeks,
Speaker 1: staying on blocks in the Packer game, the Buffalo game,
Speaker 1: and not so much the second half of the Packer game,
Speaker 1: but staying on blocks and driving guys off of the
Speaker 1: line and driving him off of gaps. If we can
Speaker 1: do that again this week, I think we have a
Speaker 1: chance to win the game. And that's where like Rob
Speaker 1: hunt breakout year comes into play. It's where Rob Jones
Speaker 1: hopefully can play one of his better games and Connor
Speaker 1: Williams get back on track. If those three guys can
Speaker 1: play like we know they can, Miami has a good
Speaker 1: shot here. Running back in linebacker Jawan Bentley was a
Speaker 1: three year captain at Notre Dame and a big hitter.
Speaker 1: That's what he's been as a pro. He leads the
Speaker 1: team with thirty nine run stops, has six team pressures
Speaker 1: on just a hundred and eight pass rush reps. So
Speaker 1: he's a really good blitzer who can both get after
Speaker 1: the quarterback but also occupy blockers in a very meaningful
Speaker 1: way for his teammates. Running Backs don't like going up
Speaker 1: against him in past protection. His missed tackle percentage of
Speaker 1: just eight percent when you want to get him though,
Speaker 1: is in past coverage. He's not a really good change
Speaker 1: of direction skill set, and that's a big part of
Speaker 1: why the Bengals were able to get underneath and just
Speaker 1: eat him up in that part of the field. They
Speaker 1: don't cover that portion of the field particularly will because
Speaker 1: the linebacker spot is a little bit of a vulnerability
Speaker 1: when it comes to coverage on those types of things.
Speaker 1: July to Vy, Mack Wilson, and ray Kwan Davis all
Speaker 1: get snaps the deep position group and they fulfilled different
Speaker 1: types of roles, but they want to go with Bentley
Speaker 1: and more dbs and more of that front, so those
Speaker 1: guys don't play a whole bunch of snaps. When McMillan's
Speaker 1: in the game. You guys know about that, Like, he's
Speaker 1: a run defender, right, so throw at him too. That's
Speaker 1: kind of the approach there. Let's go ahead and take
Speaker 1: our first break and come back on the other side
Speaker 1: and assess the Patriots offense first, the Dolphins defense. That's
Speaker 1: next Draft Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to
Speaker 1: you by Auto Nation. The final Thursday night football game
Speaker 1: of the season coming up tonight, Titans and Cowboys. What
Speaker 1: a bad one that is? It's been Primetime has been
Speaker 1: rough this year. Man. Let's go ahead and talk about
Speaker 1: a big game on Sunday though, Open Foxboro Dolphins and Patriots.
Speaker 1: Let's look at the Dolphins defense first. The Patriots offense
Speaker 1: here um led by second year quarterback Mac Jones. The
Speaker 1: numbers have dropped from last year. The tape wasn't great
Speaker 1: early in the year. It's been a little bit better
Speaker 1: since then. He's really dialed some deep shots to a
Speaker 1: receiver corps that's just not built to consistently do that
Speaker 1: and stretch defenses in that manner. It's kind of been
Speaker 1: the saving grace of their offense to be honest with you.
Speaker 1: He throws a pretty good go ball to that boundary
Speaker 1: X receiver. He hit one against US in Week one
Speaker 1: to Jacoby Myers. He throws a bunch of them to
Speaker 1: Devanta Parker. But we'll see if Deavanta plays this week.
Speaker 1: I don't know if you will. To me, max best
Speaker 1: trape is his ability to keep his eyes downfield against
Speaker 1: the rush and moved to new platforms and extend the
Speaker 1: clock long enough to get the football out. He gets
Speaker 1: the ball out in two point four eight seconds on
Speaker 1: average against the Blitz. So it's give or take because like,
Speaker 1: if he doesn't have that first read, you can take
Speaker 1: it away. Man, you can light this dude up with
Speaker 1: a pass rush. He's not gonna move and be nimble
Speaker 1: to evade, you know, collapsing pockets. So to me, like
Speaker 1: keeping the pressure on him, however you have to do
Speaker 1: it is the key. You pressure him a bunch. It's
Speaker 1: gonna be a negative day for their offense, especially if
Speaker 1: you can stop the run and create those pressures on
Speaker 1: obvious passing downs. But against the Blitz, he's fifty, so
Speaker 1: maybe you do go back to that Blitz heavy defense
Speaker 1: forty eighty just six yards per past two touchdowns, four picks.
Speaker 1: It's been awful. Not blitz seven point two yards per past,
Speaker 1: seven touchdowns and four picks. I don't know. We'll see
Speaker 1: what happens. By depth twenty plus eight yards, he's twenty
Speaker 1: two for fifty five with seven hundred yards, three touchdowns
Speaker 1: and four picks. In the intermediate thirty two of fifty seven,
Speaker 1: five hundred and forty three yards, two touchdowns and four picks,
Speaker 1: and then short seventy under six yards per pass, three touchdowns,
Speaker 1: noe picks. That's where he wants to go. Though he
Speaker 1: wants to throw the ball, catch rock, get it out
Speaker 1: of your hands. The best way to disrupt this offense
Speaker 1: is to keep them off schedule, and that starts in
Speaker 1: the run game. They ran for just seventy eight yards
Speaker 1: against US in the opener. That was one of six
Speaker 1: games with less than eighty rushing yards, of which they
Speaker 1: are one in five, the lone win coming against Sam
Speaker 1: Ellinger and the Indianapolis Colts and a team that was, uh,
Speaker 1: that's not their best quarterback They played that that day.
Speaker 1: Personnel wise, se and eleven seventeen percent and twelve three
Speaker 1: point four percent combined on two back sets that's a
Speaker 1: big change for the Patriots team. They've always had fullbacks,
Speaker 1: but between twelve and or twenty one and twenty two
Speaker 1: personnel just three point four percent and then one point
Speaker 1: six percent and oh one personnel, which I thought was
Speaker 1: interesting because not many teams run more than a couple
Speaker 1: of plays in that package. Zero backs, one tight end,
Speaker 1: four receivers and the Patriots receiving corps. I mean, it's
Speaker 1: not going to be a mistake for the best in
Speaker 1: the league up by anything, by any stretch. So to
Speaker 1: run that package is interesting to me. Now here's the
Speaker 1: road Like Structurally, the offense has not been good. The
Speaker 1: spacing has been bad. They get receivers running into each
Speaker 1: other frequently. They're a between man and his own concepts
Speaker 1: and the running game. They're passing concepts don't follow a
Speaker 1: linear path, and the decision making, immobility and limitations of
Speaker 1: the quarterback accentuate those issues. This is another one of
Speaker 1: these quarterbacks in our division that you know, the whole
Speaker 1: offseason talking point about our quarterback applies to truthfully, the
Speaker 1: other ones. This is one of them. This is an
Speaker 1: offense that the Dolphins absolutely must must hold to a
Speaker 1: low total. Don't let them score more than thirteen points. Man,
Speaker 1: this is the defense. Is time to carry the squad
Speaker 1: to a dub. If we win this game, it's because
Speaker 1: the defense went to work on what's been a bad
Speaker 1: offense all year. But it's been a bad defense too,
Speaker 1: So the rubber meets the road. I suppose let's step
Speaker 1: it up and get a huge win here. With your
Speaker 1: backs against the wall and no one believes that you
Speaker 1: can do it, let's go do it. Receivers and tight
Speaker 1: ends versus corners. You could argue this is the most
Speaker 1: wanting receiving group in the NFL. They've been involving Kendrick
Speaker 1: Borne more, which is good because I like his game
Speaker 1: for them. Tae Kwon Thornton's a valuable piece because he
Speaker 1: has speed and nobody else does. Davante Parker's there, Nelson
Speaker 1: Aguilar is inconsistent, but he can make big plays. It's
Speaker 1: a different group than the one we saw bad in
Speaker 1: Week one. Again. Thornton played the snaps last Sunday against
Speaker 1: the Bengals. He missed that opener. Jacoby Myers is their
Speaker 1: clear cut one. And then Kendrick Borne getting more work
Speaker 1: like I mentioned the last month or so, and then
Speaker 1: Marcus Jones comes onto the field for a few snaps
Speaker 1: every game, and you better identify that too, because the
Speaker 1: ball goes there a lot when he comes on the field.
Speaker 1: Jacoby Myers is a top shelf route runner who can
Speaker 1: beat anyone on one coverage in the short intermediate as
Speaker 1: well as anybody. When Mack is in trouble or you
Speaker 1: know a big situation, that's where he wants to go
Speaker 1: to Jacoby Myers. His seventy eight targets are thirty more
Speaker 1: than the next closest wide receiver. That's Nelson Aghilar Ormandre
Speaker 1: Stevenson is the only one is only one target shy
Speaker 1: of Myers at seventy seven, but we'll get to him
Speaker 1: in a moment. This is a tight end centric offense.
Speaker 1: They spent big on Hunter Henry and John H. Smith
Speaker 1: in free agency one they have forty four and thirty
Speaker 1: seven targets, respectfully. Henry exited the Bengals game with a
Speaker 1: knee injury, but was back at practice on Wednesday. Smith
Speaker 1: did also leave the game but did not practice. So
Speaker 1: if they don't have both of those guys, we'll see
Speaker 1: how the offense looks a little bit different in terms
Speaker 1: of how they want to call it. When they're cranking
Speaker 1: at maximum efficiency. It's a solid run game with the
Speaker 1: tight ends that add gaps and then they throw off
Speaker 1: play action and they can kind of get you into
Speaker 1: some favorable one on one matchups for those two good
Speaker 1: tight ends to be a big game for Eric Rodor
Speaker 1: try to wipe those guys out a little bit, and
Speaker 1: whoever covers the tight ends um offensive line, defensive line.
Speaker 1: This has been one of the most fascinating position groups
Speaker 1: the NFL for any team this year because they've shuffled,
Speaker 1: had some success, had some setbacks, but ultimately have a
Speaker 1: very talented group and their starters last week and their
Speaker 1: season pressure numbers are as follows. Trent Brown thirty four
Speaker 1: pressures on five hundred forty four pass blocking snaps. You
Speaker 1: can get him with speed. He's a huge heavy plotter.
Speaker 1: So if Bradley Chubb can play like I've been calling
Speaker 1: for it for a few weeks, like he impacts the game.
Speaker 1: Don't get me wrong, but let's go make a huge
Speaker 1: impact play in this one. Cole Strange love his game.
Speaker 1: Twenty two pressures on five hundred and thirteen snaps. David
Speaker 1: Andrews ten on four hundred Michael On WHENU ten on
Speaker 1: five fifty four, and then Connor McDermott came over from
Speaker 1: the Jets. He was off their practice squad. That's the
Speaker 1: replacement player at right tackle who's uh had a good
Speaker 1: game last week, but eight pressures on a hundred and
Speaker 1: fifty five pass blocking snaps. They're as healthy as they've been.
Speaker 1: David Andrews as tough as hell. I thought he was
Speaker 1: gonna miss the rest of the year after the ankle
Speaker 1: injury he had against the Jets a few weeks ago,
Speaker 1: but he's back out there playing every snap. The more
Speaker 1: continuity they developed, the better they get. And what's been
Speaker 1: a transition from a scheme that was trying to go
Speaker 1: towards zone, you know, from from Man, I should say,
Speaker 1: from McDaniels to more zone with Judge and Patricia, but
Speaker 1: they did kind of scrap that like zone outside scheme
Speaker 1: they tried to run early in the year, and they've
Speaker 1: gone more power gap scheme where they incorporate the play
Speaker 1: action off of that. It's a big, heavy offensive line,
Speaker 1: even by NFL standards, Brown three seventy on when with
Speaker 1: three fifty you've got to find a way to stay
Speaker 1: out of their crosshairs, and by that I mean don't
Speaker 1: let them square you up. Attack half the man, stay clean,
Speaker 1: keep your outside shoulder clean, because once they get paused
Speaker 1: on you, it's big time trouble and then cold strange,
Speaker 1: really good player, tons of versatility. Smart have to imagine
Speaker 1: he'll anchor the middle of a good wide zone team someday.
Speaker 1: He's got unreal athletic ability. Again, for our guys, we
Speaker 1: just have to play the way we played all year.
Speaker 1: I think Miami matches up well in this position group
Speaker 1: and this will be the key to the game. If
Speaker 1: you can dominate their offensive line, their offense will not
Speaker 1: get anything done and Miami can hold them again to
Speaker 1: a low point total. I think we can score four
Speaker 1: teen points in this game, I hope. And if we
Speaker 1: can do that and hold them to ten or less,
Speaker 1: thirteen or less might build get out with the big
Speaker 1: time victory. Without your starting quarterback, running backs, and linebackers.
Speaker 1: This is one of my favorite groups in the team.
Speaker 1: Or Monre Stevenson's a total load three point seven seven
Speaker 1: yards after initial contact with thirty eight miss tackles forced.
Speaker 1: He's at four point eight yards per carry and five
Speaker 1: rushing touchdowns this year. Does have three fumbles though, including
Speaker 1: a critical one last week inside the ten yard line
Speaker 1: as the Patriots were driving for the go ahead score
Speaker 1: with less than two minutes to play. Maybe you punch
Speaker 1: one out early here and get him off the field,
Speaker 1: because maybe you put them on the bench. I don't know.
Speaker 1: That would be nice to see if you can do that.
Speaker 1: And not to mention a takeaway, I love Pierre Strong's
Speaker 1: Pierre Strong's game. The rookie has only ten carries but
Speaker 1: a hundred yards uh. Damien Harris was back at practice,
Speaker 1: so that probably means less of Pierre Strong. Harris is
Speaker 1: averaging three point one two yards after contact on nine
Speaker 1: forced myths tackles Stevenson. Both these guys have the exact
Speaker 1: same splits in terms of zone and gaps, so it's
Speaker 1: not like players specific, but rather just the offense. They
Speaker 1: want to run more gap man gap scheme That first
Speaker 1: week was a lot more zone, but they have since
Speaker 1: pivoted back to that power style. So I'm just curious
Speaker 1: to see how Miami approaches and it changes their attack
Speaker 1: for a different stilid running game. I think this is
Speaker 1: where the key for Miami really comes, Like we have
Speaker 1: to get our guys to win one on ones up front,
Speaker 1: to get off blocks, make stops and force third longs.
Speaker 1: Get that pressure package going down a good job of
Speaker 1: that all year. This will be a big test for
Speaker 1: the Dolphins front against a good Patriots offensive line. Let's
Speaker 1: go ahead and take this last break right here and
Speaker 1: come back on the other side and get to the
Speaker 1: special teams. What's at stake the three keys and make
Speaker 1: the weeks seventeen NFL picks. That's next Draft Time podcast,
Speaker 1: your host Travis wing Filled, brought to you by Auto Nation.
Speaker 1: Picking it back up here in segment three of the
Speaker 1: special teams for the Dolphins and Patriots. Patriots rank four
Speaker 1: this season in d v o A, the Dolphins thirty
Speaker 1: one to d v o A, ahead of Denver. Nick
Speaker 1: Folk is thirty of thirty five. I recall at least
Speaker 1: two of those misses were in like miserable windy weather
Speaker 1: in the Jets game. He's got one miss from fifty
Speaker 1: plus and the other four from forty to forty nine.
Speaker 1: He's twenty eight for thirty on p E t S
Speaker 1: and Michael Pollardy, you guys watch Patriots games. Has been
Speaker 1: a rough go for them in the punning game, averaging
Speaker 1: thirty eight net net yards per punt, just twenty seven
Speaker 1: percent inside the twenty yard line and a nine percent
Speaker 1: touchback rate. Jason Sanders snapped a streak of eleven straight
Speaker 1: field goals made with that miss against the Packers, and
Speaker 1: they seem to come at critical times. Man, it's been
Speaker 1: that fifty plus range that has produced the majority of
Speaker 1: the misses. Three from there, he's twelve for thirteen and
Speaker 1: the forty nine yard range and then that one miss
Speaker 1: from under thirty more steads at forty two percent inside
Speaker 1: the twenty yard line and then four percent touchback rape
Speaker 1: and a net of forty point four. So what's at
Speaker 1: stake here? Really? Potentially everything? You guys know the scenarios
Speaker 1: win and you are most likely going to get in,
Speaker 1: not guarantee, but the odds increased substantially would be used
Speaker 1: to see a fifth straight win over those guys after
Speaker 1: years of popping up with the occasional December win and
Speaker 1: what was lost seasons most of the times. But what's
Speaker 1: really at stake with the potential playoff berth on the
Speaker 1: line and have when we've had this all year that
Speaker 1: the NFL has a ton of parody among the top
Speaker 1: contending teams and that anyone could really beat anyone on
Speaker 1: any given Sunday. And as it pertains to our Dolphins. Now,
Speaker 1: I know we lost games to the three of the
Speaker 1: other six teams currently in but we also have one
Speaker 1: two against those same teams, and the losses, well, we've
Speaker 1: belabored the point those losses are just by a player
Speaker 1: two away from going the other direction. I think if
Speaker 1: you win Sunday, you can reinject some positivity. Even if
Speaker 1: the Jets don't lose and you don't get that clinch,
Speaker 1: I think you established some confidence and get them to
Speaker 1: come back down here with a chance to put the
Speaker 1: season on the line and win a home game against
Speaker 1: your most hated rival in the New York Jets. And
Speaker 1: then if you get that one, well, all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: you're playing better. You're on a wedding streak heading into
Speaker 1: the postseason. So this game, what's at stake, possibly the
Speaker 1: entire year, and hopefully we can do enough to get
Speaker 1: our quarterback back. That's I'm hoping that's the case. We'll
Speaker 1: see what happens. I don't know what's gonna happen. You know,
Speaker 1: even this Sunday are going forward, but Hopefully you get
Speaker 1: enough uh to make that happen down the down the line.
Speaker 1: Three keys the victory for the Dolphins here stop the run.
Speaker 1: I think you made that point pretty clear. If you
Speaker 1: can get them in third long for an offense that's
Speaker 1: struggled all year and in most situations, but all offensive
Speaker 1: struggle in third long, let's keep them in that spot
Speaker 1: and get some splash players. We need them on this week.
Speaker 1: Slow as the new England edge rush key number two
Speaker 1: because Judean and Jake and ruined games. Dietrich wise as
Speaker 1: well part of that group. Don't let those guys beat
Speaker 1: you in this game. Put some some extra bodies out
Speaker 1: there and do what you have to do to keep
Speaker 1: your quarterback upright. And then three win in the third
Speaker 1: phase on special teams. I expect this game to be
Speaker 1: a bit of a challenge for both offenses, so hidden
Speaker 1: yardage is gonna be key. You know, penalties, special teams,
Speaker 1: that type of thing. Win in that area and you
Speaker 1: have a chance to get out of here with a big,
Speaker 1: crucial ninth victory this season. The week seventeen picks. We
Speaker 1: had a tough week last week, just ten and six.
Speaker 1: That brings us to one sixty six seventy four and
Speaker 1: two on the year. That is sixty nine point two percent.
Speaker 1: We are right on the threshold of that seventy goal,
Speaker 1: hoping we'll hit that. We'll see it's changed already, from
Speaker 1: seventy five to seventy two to seventy. But I digress.
Speaker 1: I'll take the Cowboys over a Titans team that's not
Speaker 1: playing anybody tonight. I'll take the Patriots over the Dolphins.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, I hope it's off the case, but it's
Speaker 1: my pick this week. Atlanta over Arizona, Philly over New Orleans.
Speaker 1: I'll take the Giants over the Colts, the Panthers to
Speaker 1: usurp the Bucks the top of the division with one
Speaker 1: game to go. The Chiefs over the Broncos, and we
Speaker 1: need that one because we need Buffalo playing their butts off.
Speaker 1: Week eighteen, I'll take the Lions over the Bears, the
Speaker 1: Jaguars over the Texans. Cleveland and Washington, what an ugly game?
Speaker 1: Give me Cleveland. San Francisco over Vegas who pulled pulled
Speaker 1: the plug on Derek Carr today, um Seattle over the Jets.
Speaker 1: It could be a big one. Miami wins Cream Bay
Speaker 1: over the Vikings, the Chargers over the Rams, the Ravens
Speaker 1: over the Steelers, and the Bills over the Bengals. On
Speaker 1: Monday Night. Tomorrow, Taylor Kyle's of the NFL media next
Speaker 1: Gen Stats Wing joins us. He also contributes analysis with
Speaker 1: video and written for Pat's Pulpit. Then we'll be with
Speaker 1: you guys on Sunday evening with the latest from the
Speaker 1: game and an update playoffs scenarios based upon what happens
Speaker 1: in Foxboro and Seattle on Sunday, respectively. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be my time you all. Please be sure
Speaker 1: to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts. Leave us
Speaker 1: a rating, leave us a review. You can follow me
Speaker 1: on Twitter at Wingfold NFL. Follow the team at Miami Dolphins,
Speaker 1: check out the fish Tank Pod, check out our YouTube
Speaker 1: channel for media availabilities, Dolphins Today, Drive Time and fish
Speaker 1: Tank content as well, and last but not least, Miami
Speaker 1: Dolphins dot Com. Until next time finds up Caroline Cameron Daddy,
Speaker 1: He's coming home.