Speaker 1: Two fires touch stop Waddles knocked into the end zone
Speaker 1: of Miami type broke window. They had to get that
Speaker 1: touchdown on that play they gave it. What ends up
Speaker 1: Dolphins And Welcome to the Drive Time Podcast, part of
Speaker 1: the 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 as always I am here to bring you your
Speaker 1: daily dose of Miami Dolphins football. And on today's show,
Speaker 1: it's our final preview show of the season. Week number
Speaker 1: eighteen is here. Dolphins and Patriots on tap. Will break
Speaker 1: it down as we do each Thursday, here, position by position,
Speaker 1: some key stats, tell you how the Dolphins can win
Speaker 1: the game and give you the three keys to victory.
Speaker 1: From somewhere in South Florida. This is the Drivetime Podcast,
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins US through the US one more time, shall we?
Speaker 1: But first, before we do the game preview, a quick reminder,
Speaker 1: please go ahead and check out our YouTube channel for
Speaker 1: the media availabilities on Wednesday. They were really good. We
Speaker 1: had some good moments with Mac Collins. I thought Christian
Speaker 1: Wilkins talked a lot about run defense and how you
Speaker 1: play it and how to play with in the scheme
Speaker 1: of defense. I like the way he talked about Emmanuel
Speaker 1: Ogbon what he's done for his career at this stage
Speaker 1: of their career. Mike Asiki talked about his leadership role,
Speaker 1: about playing with Hunter Long and kind of helping the
Speaker 1: rookie come along in his game. To have had some
Speaker 1: comments about the Patriots defense that I thought were very
Speaker 1: interesting and and kind of intriguing for the matchup on Sunday.
Speaker 1: He also floated out the idea of training specifically for
Speaker 1: cold weather games in the off season, and some other
Speaker 1: really good insight there from QB one. Lots of good stuff.
Speaker 1: Go check out our YouTube channel. So the Patriots. I
Speaker 1: always find it fascinating playing a team in the first
Speaker 1: week of the season and then again the final week
Speaker 1: of the season as you kind of see how you know,
Speaker 1: every team in the National Football League, like every season
Speaker 1: is a story, and that to me is what makes
Speaker 1: it fascinating for all thirty two teams, not just the
Speaker 1: teams that are in contention or the top of the
Speaker 1: conference type of teams. Like I find all thirty two
Speaker 1: teams stories to be intriguing. I guess the best drama
Speaker 1: in the world to me. And so with this Patriots team,
Speaker 1: you kind of see where they've come from Week one,
Speaker 1: a bit of a slow start after I think it
Speaker 1: was one in three to begin the season, they have
Speaker 1: that great winning streak that gets them in prime position
Speaker 1: back on top of the a f C East, drop
Speaker 1: a couple of games to the Colts and Bills, respectively,
Speaker 1: and then show up last week of the fifty burger
Speaker 1: on the Jacksonville Jaguars to clinch a playoff berth for
Speaker 1: them here after a one year hiatus from the playoffs.
Speaker 1: After that's what they've known for so many years. They're
Speaker 1: in New England and divisional round trips or skipping to
Speaker 1: the divisional round with the first round by for so
Speaker 1: many years, and so many conference championship games, and so
Speaker 1: many Super Bowl wins and a few losses here and there.
Speaker 1: But where they arrived or how they got to where
Speaker 1: they are right now, it began back in free agency.
Speaker 1: And you know, last year the Patriots had so many
Speaker 1: opt outs in different circumstances and situations that just put
Speaker 1: them shorthanded in a lot of those games. And they
Speaker 1: still found ways to win a lot of those games
Speaker 1: they played last season, But they went out this offseason
Speaker 1: and gave themselves depth and gave themselves a shot in
Speaker 1: the arm to the areas of strength and add to
Speaker 1: their areas of weakness, and that in that free agent
Speaker 1: spending spree, they put their first round draft pick towards
Speaker 1: a quarterback who's played every game for them this year.
Speaker 1: And there are some of the you know, same old
Speaker 1: names you've come to recognize there with the Patriots, whether
Speaker 1: it's a Dietrich Wise or a Lawrence guy, or on
Speaker 1: the other line on the offensive side, a Shack Mason,
Speaker 1: all these guys who have been just stalwarts and institutions
Speaker 1: for all these really good Patriot teams. And they're, you know,
Speaker 1: just as many of those guys making big plays as
Speaker 1: there are newcomers making big plays for this tenant six
Speaker 1: football team. And they're gonna stress discipline and fundamentals and
Speaker 1: not making mistakes and not beating themselves and being aware
Speaker 1: and situations that other teams just have not really executed
Speaker 1: on that same level for the last two decades. Now.
Speaker 1: I just think you have to play your best game
Speaker 1: to beat these guys, because they're not gonna beat themselves,
Speaker 1: So you have to bring your a game against this
Speaker 1: team because the on the one or two occasions a
Speaker 1: year they that they maybe make some mistakes and and
Speaker 1: lose a game. That way, Uh, you're gonna be lucky
Speaker 1: to get that draw. So you better bring your best
Speaker 1: game against them every single year, one year without playoffs
Speaker 1: and then right back in it. That's what this team does.
Speaker 1: They find a way to get into the tournament and
Speaker 1: then make some noise once they are there. But at
Speaker 1: this position, it's new this year like it was last year.
Speaker 1: At the quarterback with the Dolphins, safety is going up
Speaker 1: against Mac Jones as we start our positional preview here
Speaker 1: with the Dolphins safeties versus England quarterback and Mac Jones.
Speaker 1: You know, he has the high completion percentage, The football
Speaker 1: comes out really quick. He plays with a high aptitude,
Speaker 1: especially for a first year player. And you know, I
Speaker 1: go back to watching the Colts in season hard Knocks
Speaker 1: and they kind of showed you. And that's one of
Speaker 1: the beauties of the Hard Knocks program with some of
Speaker 1: the almost invasive level access you'd yet to game plans
Speaker 1: and different things of that nature, and they talked about
Speaker 1: how this guy is gonna get the football out quick,
Speaker 1: stay healthy onto the next play and get to take
Speaker 1: the profit where you can get it. And you know,
Speaker 1: we heard to a talk about the Patriots defense on
Speaker 1: Wednesday and how they can kind of force you to
Speaker 1: play a type of game that they want you to play,
Speaker 1: and how if that means taking the checkyard, check down
Speaker 1: yards and go in ten yards at a time, that's
Speaker 1: what he'll do. And I think mac Jones embodies that
Speaker 1: idea and that philosophy quite well, that you take with
Speaker 1: the defense gives you and don't force it. And of
Speaker 1: course you'll have a couple of times in the game
Speaker 1: where you have to make the big time throws and
Speaker 1: stick it in there. But if you stay on schedule
Speaker 1: and really compliment what the offense does and compet with
Speaker 1: the defense does, you can find a way to win
Speaker 1: a lot of football games. And we've seen them do
Speaker 1: that this year ten wins and six losses. You know,
Speaker 1: this guy is not gonna keep it on the around
Speaker 1: the end on his own read. He's not gonna scramble
Speaker 1: and drop the arm for a side side arm throw
Speaker 1: across the body type of throw. But he's an efficient
Speaker 1: player that plays really well within the structure of the scheme.
Speaker 1: So how do you slow that well, you have to
Speaker 1: confuse him and try to force him into those off
Speaker 1: off script and off scheme plays and and force him
Speaker 1: to make plays outside the structure and see if he
Speaker 1: can do it. Maybe he can, but that's he's been
Speaker 1: really good and efficient within the structure this season and
Speaker 1: they did a good job keeping him in that system.
Speaker 1: So how do you get him into those confusing type
Speaker 1: of looks, force him to throw into coverage and those
Speaker 1: types of things. You have to make it difficult on
Speaker 1: him by changing the picture post snap. Now, in the
Speaker 1: first matchup, here's how the Dolphins dialed it up. Forty
Speaker 1: dropbacks from Matt Jones twenty one blitz is on s.
Speaker 1: According to Pro Football Focus, when he was blitzed in
Speaker 1: that game, he was sixteen for twenty for a buck
Speaker 1: thirty eight when he was not blitzed, thirteen for nineteen
Speaker 1: for one and a touchdown pass when he was kept
Speaker 1: clean six with eight yards per pass, and when under
Speaker 1: pressure he was eight for thirteen, averaging five point seven
Speaker 1: yards per pass and a touchdown in that game. So
Speaker 1: really those numbers tell you the key is, and this
Speaker 1: is really a truth across all spectrums of football, getting
Speaker 1: pressure with your four down line and your four bring
Speaker 1: and just four bodies after the quarterback. Now, I thought
Speaker 1: I was interesting Wednesday in his media that Bill Belichick
Speaker 1: said the Dolphins have done a good job of mixing
Speaker 1: up their calls and doing a lot on defense. And
Speaker 1: that's something we've talked about with the all twenty two
Speaker 1: reviews here on the Tuesday editions of the Drivetime podcast. Now,
Speaker 1: in game one, the Dolphins safeties looked different than they
Speaker 1: do in this game. First of all, Jason mccordy was healthy.
Speaker 1: He played seventy four snaps in that game and played
Speaker 1: really well in that game and had a very very
Speaker 1: good pass breakup on a deep pass. In that game.
Speaker 1: Eric Road played sixty five snaps, Javon Holland played four,
Speaker 1: and Brandon Jones played eleven. So now those two younger players,
Speaker 1: Javon and Brandon are playing just about every snap of
Speaker 1: of most games, while Eric Rowe kind of has a
Speaker 1: thirty to forty fluctuating type of snap workload per game.
Speaker 1: But they all play really good. And mccordy is not
Speaker 1: available right now, but the personnel's change a little bit,
Speaker 1: and I just I'll be curious to see if they
Speaker 1: bring those safeties, the two guys that lead all safeties
Speaker 1: and QB pressures this year. If they play off, if
Speaker 1: it's a lot of big nickel and three safety packages,
Speaker 1: what will that look like. That's gonna be a theme
Speaker 1: throughout this podcast, just kind of not really sure what
Speaker 1: we're gonna see because both these teams are sold multiple
Speaker 1: and can do so much. Just to kind of finish
Speaker 1: the point here, MAX numbers against the blitz this season
Speaker 1: are against rather clean versus pressure and blitz and not
Speaker 1: blitzing when he's kept clean seventy one point six percent
Speaker 1: for seven point five yards per pass, fifteen touchdowns, eight picks.
Speaker 1: When he's pressured, a big drop off in completion percentage
Speaker 1: of fifty five point one percent, six point one yards
Speaker 1: per throw, six touchdowns and four interceptions. But again with
Speaker 1: this offensive line, with that play caller and Josh McDaniels,
Speaker 1: and with the quarterback in the way, he's able to
Speaker 1: win pre snap and get the football out on time.
Speaker 1: That has a All of those elements play into not
Speaker 1: getting a lot of pressure on Mac. But when one
Speaker 1: of those things happens, maybe you can affect the passing game,
Speaker 1: get pressure and have success that way. When he's blitzed
Speaker 1: sixty four and a half percent completion for six point
Speaker 1: seven yards per pass, seven touchdowns and three picks, and
Speaker 1: when you don't blitz him, the completion percentnge goes up
Speaker 1: to sixty seven point five yards per past, fourteen touchdowns
Speaker 1: and eight interceptions. And of course, a big part of
Speaker 1: the matchup is the Patriots skill players, the receivers and
Speaker 1: tight ends versus the Dolphins cornerbacks. And if you look
Speaker 1: across the matchups from the week one game back in Foxborough,
Speaker 1: it was spread all over the place. Jacobe Myers had
Speaker 1: nine targets against six different defenders, and the same thing
Speaker 1: which true of most of their top pass catchers or
Speaker 1: top past targets. Hunter Henry matchup on Eric Rowe, Xaviing
Speaker 1: Howard and Brandon Jones for one target each called all
Speaker 1: three of those for thirty one yards in that game.
Speaker 1: And going into that game, I think john who Smith
Speaker 1: was maybe a little more kind of the one a
Speaker 1: to the one being Hunter Henry, and that's kind of
Speaker 1: flipped so far as far as snap counts go. But
Speaker 1: Johnny in that game had five targets against five different defenders,
Speaker 1: and he did play more in that game than Hunter
Speaker 1: Henry did. But I think it'll be more about matching
Speaker 1: up on a play by play basis based on alignment
Speaker 1: and assignment, and they can really mix up their personnel
Speaker 1: groupings two from eleven and well and thirteen and twenty
Speaker 1: two personnel. Jacoby Myers, though the receiver, was their top
Speaker 1: target getting this show with one hundred eighteen targets. He's
Speaker 1: caught seventy nine of those for seven hundred ninety six yards,
Speaker 1: and he caught his first career touchdown a few weeks back,
Speaker 1: and he has two on the season now, and I
Speaker 1: love the way they got him that touchdown. On the
Speaker 1: whole team celebrated along with him because he's a he's
Speaker 1: been a good player who's really put the work in
Speaker 1: and kind of climbed up the depth chart, and now
Speaker 1: he's kind of the go to guy there the hundred
Speaker 1: eighteen targets, and he does it with really good route running.
Speaker 1: He's got a lot of core strength and ability to
Speaker 1: kind of sink the hips and explode out of those
Speaker 1: breaks and use his body to not only keep himself
Speaker 1: free of defenders but stay on balance during the kind
Speaker 1: of physical exchange of each and every route. Now Kendrick
Speaker 1: Boorne has sixty six targets for fifty two catches a
Speaker 1: high catch percentage for seven seventy six And I just
Speaker 1: wanted to write this about both he and Myers and
Speaker 1: really the entire receiving corps that when you look at
Speaker 1: the Patriots receiver, they typically carried a lot of the
Speaker 1: same traits from year to year, and those are a
Speaker 1: smart player that understands coverage and concepts, that knows how
Speaker 1: to playoff of leverage and where soft spots are in
Speaker 1: the zone. And that's what Born kind of makes me
Speaker 1: think of. He was a big part of those Niners
Speaker 1: offenses and all the misdirection and kind of opening up
Speaker 1: those windows and finding those windows when you get a
Speaker 1: false step from a linebacker based on the motion you
Speaker 1: you present for that linebacker in the eye Candy, I
Speaker 1: like the way he can understand the way a defense
Speaker 1: moves and reacts to what you do and then find
Speaker 1: those soft spots. And that's what Jacobe Myers does pretty well,
Speaker 1: I think too. And you continue this receiving corps here.
Speaker 1: Christian Wilkerson is a new guy there. He's I think
Speaker 1: fourteen targets, but I'm not really familiar with his game,
Speaker 1: but he's part of the equation there as well. And
Speaker 1: then to kill Harry, a former first round draft pick
Speaker 1: out of Arizona State. He has twenty one targets this year,
Speaker 1: twelve catches, a buck eighty four and when he was
Speaker 1: at his peak, or when he is at his peak,
Speaker 1: it's all about run after the catch. He'll be involved
Speaker 1: in the screen game. He can block as well, so
Speaker 1: he does a little bit of the dirty work there
Speaker 1: in that Patriots receiver's room, which is also a trait
Speaker 1: that really again one of those things that you kind
Speaker 1: of the negotiables for the Patriots and that receiving corps.
Speaker 1: At the tight end position, Hunter Henry has sixty nine targets,
Speaker 1: He's caught forty five for five seventeen and nine touchdowns.
Speaker 1: And we talked about the leverage of understanding the defense
Speaker 1: and all those things that the receiving corps does. It
Speaker 1: extends the tight ends here for this team as well.
Speaker 1: I watched a real good bit of Hunter Henry when
Speaker 1: he was a free agent. Uh was last year, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I guess it was last year. And the only real
Speaker 1: concern I have when watching him was there wasn't one
Speaker 1: the concern with him was the medical because he's missed
Speaker 1: so many games in his career, but he's found his
Speaker 1: health and he's producing there for the Patriots. He's a
Speaker 1: multidimensional player who will be involved in the running game
Speaker 1: and the passing game, and when he's on the field,
Speaker 1: you have to be real careful and real sound with
Speaker 1: your substitutions and your responsibilities because they can get to
Speaker 1: multiple different looks with him kind of being the chess
Speaker 1: piece that can extend to here's a classic in line. Why,
Speaker 1: here's the guy that goes out to the slot. Here's
Speaker 1: an h BAC that can do multiple things. So you
Speaker 1: have to keep an eye on Hunter Henry and then
Speaker 1: Johnny Smith forty five targets, twenty eight catches to forty nine,
Speaker 1: super athletic. He was a yeah, a monster in Tennessee.
Speaker 1: And again, Henry's emergence has kind of slanted the snap
Speaker 1: counts a little bit more in his favor seven eight
Speaker 1: to five oh one. But they still use both these
Speaker 1: guys plenty and they both really factor into the running game.
Speaker 1: So how do you match up? You know, Xavien Howard
Speaker 1: has had another really good year here he'll play his
Speaker 1: thirty second game in two years out of possible thirty
Speaker 1: three here when he starts on Sunday for the Dolphins,
Speaker 1: and Brian Floor has mentioned the flexibility that he offers
Speaker 1: and the ability to, hey, we need to go cover
Speaker 1: that guy, can you go do it? And yeah, he
Speaker 1: does that, and you know, I'm not real sure who
Speaker 1: that would be in this Patriots game. Most likely going
Speaker 1: to be some variety We've We've seen that all year long.
Speaker 1: And that's where Byron Jones kind of comes in because
Speaker 1: as he continues to do a good job this year himself,
Speaker 1: having him an X allows you to switch up how
Speaker 1: you do that. Maybe each Byron that goes and gets
Speaker 1: that guy, maybe it switches up how you bracket where
Speaker 1: you can go man up. And the Patriots again offensive
Speaker 1: versatility makes it really hard to forecast how that will go.
Speaker 1: But every time we get to this part of the matchup,
Speaker 1: I always feel good about X and Byron because these
Speaker 1: are two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Nick
Speaker 1: Needum didn't play as much in the opener back in
Speaker 1: Week one, but he's again had a second really nice
Speaker 1: year here of kicking inside of the slot, played some
Speaker 1: safety a little bit earlier this year as well. But
Speaker 1: you know, a guy that continues to evolve his game,
Speaker 1: I'll be curious to see what his ever evolving roles
Speaker 1: in this one. He didn't play a whole lot in
Speaker 1: that first season opener to the Patriots offensive line Dolphins
Speaker 1: defensive one. We'll get to that here in just one second,
Speaker 1: but real quick, a short break back here on the
Speaker 1: Thursday edition of the Drive Time podcast previewing Dolphins and Patriots,
Speaker 1: and we move into the trenches on the Patriots offense
Speaker 1: and Dolphins defensive line. And that's been a huge part
Speaker 1: of this Patriots team success for really as long back
Speaker 1: as I can remember. I mean, Dante scarnekiet is one
Speaker 1: of the greatest football coaches of all times, and he's
Speaker 1: kind of set the mode in the in the tempo
Speaker 1: for how things are done there in New England. He
Speaker 1: left for a little bit and came back, and the
Speaker 1: way he taught things is still kind of having an
Speaker 1: effect there. And they just continue to have six tests upfront,
Speaker 1: even with different personnel and different coaching. They the offensive
Speaker 1: line of the Patriots is a bit of an institution.
Speaker 1: It helps them in the running game. They're very good
Speaker 1: in the past protection game. They're smart, they identify where
Speaker 1: different looks are coming from. They squeeze it when they
Speaker 1: have to, they extend when they have to. They can
Speaker 1: go isa on either side of the offensive line with
Speaker 1: some with two pretty good tackles there as well. It's
Speaker 1: a deep group. They have guys that can step off
Speaker 1: the bench and fill in as well. I'll be curious
Speaker 1: to see if the Dolphins can win with some of
Speaker 1: the games they run up front, because you know that's
Speaker 1: that's a big part of the Dolphin's pass rush plan.
Speaker 1: They have so many different packages and looks and calls
Speaker 1: they can get to that that are adaptable based upon
Speaker 1: the personnel and the looks you see in the front
Speaker 1: you're playing. I'll be curious se if Mimi can have
Speaker 1: success with that against this good Patriots offensive line. It
Speaker 1: was tough going the first time around. Can they get
Speaker 1: more pressure on mac Jones this time, whether it's with
Speaker 1: the blitz or if it's with four man pressure. That's
Speaker 1: another element I'm curious to look at and this game
Speaker 1: is is it going to be for man pressure? Is
Speaker 1: it gonna be blitz? Is I mean Trent Brown, the
Speaker 1: Patriots right tackle, he was injured back in that Week
Speaker 1: one game pretty early on. If I recall and Emmanuel Ogba,
Speaker 1: who primarily rushes off the offensive lines right side. He
Speaker 1: plays multiple spots like all these guys do, but the
Speaker 1: majority of his snaps come from that position, and he
Speaker 1: had a pretty successful day back in Week one. I'm
Speaker 1: looking forward to that matchup because Ogbah wins so consistently
Speaker 1: with the length and the size and the power that
Speaker 1: he can generate from that pass rush position and the
Speaker 1: way he can lock out against the running game. But
Speaker 1: Trent Brown's like the most the biggest marvel in the
Speaker 1: National Football League for his athletic ability paired with the
Speaker 1: size that he offers at that position. So it's big
Speaker 1: on big, it's good on good there for the Patriots
Speaker 1: and the Dolphins. And I'm also curious about Jalen Phillips
Speaker 1: because you know, back in Week one, maybe his role
Speaker 1: has expanded a little bit since then with more snap
Speaker 1: counts and more workload and obviously more production. Can he
Speaker 1: find a way to kind of crack this Patriots code
Speaker 1: and have some production as a rookie against this really
Speaker 1: tough Patriots offensive line in his rookie season finale. And
Speaker 1: then lastly, here I'm curious about Ted Carriss because he
Speaker 1: played pretty well for the Dolphins last year back in
Speaker 1: New England there playing well for them, and you know,
Speaker 1: he obviously knows this Dolphins front pretty well. You know,
Speaker 1: a Christian Wilkins, is Zach Steeler, and Adam Butler because
Speaker 1: he used play with him in New England as well,
Speaker 1: and even a ray Kwon Davis for his second season
Speaker 1: here with the Miami Dolphins. I'm curiously, do they know
Speaker 1: his tricks? Does he know their tricks? He's gonna pass
Speaker 1: those along? Are they gonna pass it along? I mean
Speaker 1: the lack of It's tough to confuse a division opponent,
Speaker 1: especially one that's this kind of closely tied together with
Speaker 1: some ex players being on either side of the football.
Speaker 1: But I'm curious to see about how they attack Ted
Speaker 1: Harris in this game and if he can best them
Speaker 1: or if they can best him on that Patriots interior front.
Speaker 1: But it's a good matchup there. I love this Dolphins
Speaker 1: defensive line. Patriots offensive line brings it as well. To me.
Speaker 1: That's kind of the marquee matchup of the game. And
Speaker 1: we finished up here at the Patriots offense with the
Speaker 1: running backs against the Miami linebackers. Huge fan of Patriots backfield.
Speaker 1: I think Damian Harris is one of the better running
Speaker 1: backs in the National Football League. He's scheme diverse, gap
Speaker 1: razone outside or inside. He's got power, he can be
Speaker 1: a slasher, and the way he finishes runs. Big fan
Speaker 1: of that smooth runner with excellent feeling vision, just kind
Speaker 1: of all the traits to check off the box and
Speaker 1: you see about an Alabama running back coming out. He's
Speaker 1: another one of those guys man. And then Romandre Stevenson
Speaker 1: was a guy that the Dolphins had the Senior Bowl
Speaker 1: back in mobile back in February, and he winds up
Speaker 1: going i think in the fourth round of the Patriots.
Speaker 1: Just another one of these big, bruising types of backs
Speaker 1: that has phenomenal contact balance and he can, you know,
Speaker 1: invite bodies to the box, to the party and and
Speaker 1: try to slip through some of those first and second
Speaker 1: level tackles. The once he does that, he can get
Speaker 1: rolling on the back end and create some big plays
Speaker 1: through his power and yards after contact. And then J. J.
Speaker 1: Taylor's kind of a scat back that can do multiple things.
Speaker 1: He's very fluid, very diverse, and very dynamic in the
Speaker 1: passing game as well. And then Yacob Johnson their fullback.
Speaker 1: I mean, this guy factors into the game. Man. Fullbacks,
Speaker 1: you know, kind of a lost art in the modern
Speaker 1: game of football, but a lot of these coaches that
Speaker 1: you know, go that have success in this league have
Speaker 1: gone to the fullback here, and Jacob Johnson is one
Speaker 1: of those guys for the Patriots and he really helps
Speaker 1: them as well in their misdirection game because a lot
Speaker 1: of times your eyes fall that fullback in the running game,
Speaker 1: and they know how to utilize him to kind of
Speaker 1: send some tracks out there and and send some some
Speaker 1: false alarms in terms of where the play is going.
Speaker 1: And you have to be discipline with your eyes to
Speaker 1: be able to handle that. So big game here for
Speaker 1: Jerome Baker, there's a lot on his plate with the
Speaker 1: complement of backs and tight ends they have, whether it's
Speaker 1: in coverage, whether it's in the running game, the kind
Speaker 1: of the multiple run looks they have, like we mentioned,
Speaker 1: their ability to game plan from multiple different types of
Speaker 1: schemes and personnel. And then Land and Roberts also, this
Speaker 1: to me is a big e rob game. This guy
Speaker 1: is one of the most physical thumpers in the NFL,
Speaker 1: and the Patriots love to run the football. Again some
Speaker 1: head knock and going on there with the rob and
Speaker 1: this Patriots run game mentioned some of the Patriots versatility
Speaker 1: in terms of their personnel usage. There fifty percent of
Speaker 1: the time in eleven personnel. That's five percent below the
Speaker 1: league average. And I kind of assumed this number would
Speaker 1: be higher just based upon watching them and the personnel
Speaker 1: they have, But twelve personnel is just fifteen percent, that's
Speaker 1: six percent below the average. But then this one makes sense.
Speaker 1: Twenty one personnel. We mentioned Yakob Johnson. They have a
Speaker 1: deep backfield, they can go to two running backs in
Speaker 1: the game as well. Percent of the time they're in
Speaker 1: twenty one personnel. That trails only Baltimore and San Francisco.
Speaker 1: San Francisco's way out there. But they have Kyle you check,
Speaker 1: and use him more than anybody else. And then the
Speaker 1: Patriots or that rather, the Ravens have Patrick Ricard. They
Speaker 1: use him as well. So thirty six percent for the Niners,
Speaker 1: percent for the Ravens, and then of the Patriots, And
Speaker 1: just for you know, completion's sake, here the Falcons, we're
Speaker 1: not twenty percent of the time, they've got Corrodibell Patterson
Speaker 1: and Mike Davis there. The Vikings nineteen percent at the time.
Speaker 1: They also use c. J. Hand their fullback I had
Speaker 1: of Dalvin Cook. And the reason I get this far
Speaker 1: into it is after nineteen percent there's a big drop
Speaker 1: off down to twelve percent. For the Cleveland Browns is
Speaker 1: the next highest figure of twenty one personnel, so the
Speaker 1: Patriots utilize that package as much as anybody. And then
Speaker 1: twenty two personnel with two backs, two tight ends five
Speaker 1: that's five percent. And they can also go heavy. They
Speaker 1: can roll up heavy offensive line and get a six
Speaker 1: or even seventh fan out there. They did that back
Speaker 1: in the opener in week number one. Lots and lots
Speaker 1: and lots to prepare for and to get ready for
Speaker 1: before we jump over to the other side of the
Speaker 1: preview here and talk about the Dolphins offense versus the
Speaker 1: Patriots defense. A short break Draft Time Podcast Thursday edition
Speaker 1: your host Travis Wingfield previewing Dolphins and Patriots a Week eighteen,
Speaker 1: our final game of the season. Will also have John
Speaker 1: Conjemmi on the podcast on Friday to break the game
Speaker 1: down with him, answer your mail bad questions and pick
Speaker 1: the NFL game for the last time this regular season
Speaker 1: before we get to next week with the recap podcast,
Speaker 1: the All twenty two podcasts, and then eventually head into
Speaker 1: offseason mode. Will update you on what that looks like
Speaker 1: next week, but for now, Dolphins quarterbacks quarterback versus Patriots safeties,
Speaker 1: and we start here with Tua and in the first
Speaker 1: game against the Patriots, they really played coverage on him
Speaker 1: and only blitzed a handful of times. It was four
Speaker 1: blitz is in that game for the Patriots. And you know,
Speaker 1: I mentioned the projects I did in terms of just
Speaker 1: doing some minimal charting on the podcast yesterday, and the
Speaker 1: difference between blitz is for how teams attacked Miami, how
Speaker 1: Miami attacked opposing teams, and the splits. And there wasn't
Speaker 1: really so much instructive data in the wins and losses
Speaker 1: in terms of the blitz numbers, but you could see
Speaker 1: as you go through that project that some teams planned
Speaker 1: to come after him and others didn't, and the Patriots
Speaker 1: did not in that game, and he wound up actually
Speaker 1: having one of the better days statistically against this Patriots
Speaker 1: defense we've seen this season. If you want to talk
Speaker 1: about yards and passer rating and and all that fun stuff,
Speaker 1: because they are very, very, very good. And it kind
Speaker 1: of starts in that back end, and it kind of
Speaker 1: starts now, or it used to or still does with
Speaker 1: Devin mccordy, but now Kyle Dugger is a big part
Speaker 1: of that defense as well. He is rangy, he is smart,
Speaker 1: he is instinctive. If he can like the Dolphins we
Speaker 1: talked about, you can mixure coverages with him. He can buzz,
Speaker 1: he can come in and kind of rob the middle
Speaker 1: of the football field. He can get deep into the post.
Speaker 1: He can come down and match up as well. He
Speaker 1: factors into the running game. I can't say enough things
Speaker 1: about Kyle Dugger. He's very good. And that's you know,
Speaker 1: Devin mccorty, even at this late stage of his career,
Speaker 1: he is one of the best, one of the best
Speaker 1: to do it. And those two guys together, with the
Speaker 1: the way they kind a match and the way they
Speaker 1: roll coverage and the way they cap they create opportunities
Speaker 1: for interceptions, and the way the Patriots can play some
Speaker 1: of that press trail technique and they bracket over the top.
Speaker 1: They just do such a good job of funneling to
Speaker 1: help and and creating balls up in the air and
Speaker 1: tip passes and contested coverage and that's how they get
Speaker 1: so many takeaways and that's how they play so good
Speaker 1: on defense year in and year out. And to me,
Speaker 1: it's a lot of that starts with the defense. So
Speaker 1: for to H, he's gonna have to identify those two
Speaker 1: guys also, Adrian Phillips, he's a big time player in
Speaker 1: that big nickel defense they run there and different dime
Speaker 1: packages and things they get into their deep uh deep
Speaker 1: sub packages. Easy for me to say, but for two
Speaker 1: can be very important for him to be able to
Speaker 1: recognize where those guys are, how they rotate post snap,
Speaker 1: and kind of how that dictates where the coverage might
Speaker 1: be to open up some of the matchups underneath. And
Speaker 1: you've got to be so precise against this Patriots defense
Speaker 1: and beat them with anticipation and beat them with kind
Speaker 1: of fitting windows and the intermediate portions of the field,
Speaker 1: because they can they can take away a deep part
Speaker 1: of the field, they can put pressure on you quickly,
Speaker 1: and with some of that seven or eight man coverage
Speaker 1: they can a You're gonna have to find some of
Speaker 1: those windows and sometimes they're not easy to find against
Speaker 1: this Patriots defense. For the Dolphins receivers and tight ends
Speaker 1: versus the nick the corners of the Patriots. If you
Speaker 1: go back and watch the Titans game, they often had
Speaker 1: an extra defender to to Jylan Waddle's side, and whether
Speaker 1: it was you know, a four by three or two
Speaker 1: by three or whatever the case may have been, with
Speaker 1: how they covered versus pressure, Waddle got a lot of
Speaker 1: attention in that game. They bracketed him and he found
Speaker 1: some of those soft spots. But you have to imagine
Speaker 1: Jalen gets similar treatment in this game as kind of
Speaker 1: the Dolphins top target and kept past catcher and yards
Speaker 1: and all the statt that he leads Miami m But again,
Speaker 1: the Patriots kind of built front to back. Even though
Speaker 1: it's good at all levels. This Dolphins, this Patriots secondary
Speaker 1: is his choice. I mean j C. Jackson, He's he's
Speaker 1: right up there with Xavian Howard for my money as
Speaker 1: one of the top ball hawks in the NFL. Trebon
Speaker 1: Digs obviously joins that category this season. You know, Joy
Speaker 1: Alexander and Green Bays. There's plenty of them out there,
Speaker 1: but these two guys are two of the very best
Speaker 1: and just the way he covers and the way he
Speaker 1: plays and the way he competes, and it's so impressive
Speaker 1: the way they generate takeaways with the way they play.
Speaker 1: I'm a hard to explain this, but the way they
Speaker 1: kind of play in terms of you know, he plays
Speaker 1: that underneath trail and he has a way of just
Speaker 1: kind of staying in the right position to flash a
Speaker 1: window to the quarterback and then take it away to
Speaker 1: last second. That's kind of what X does. And some
Speaker 1: of those over routes and those crossing routes they can
Speaker 1: they have a way of doing that with their whole
Speaker 1: secondary and it just generates so many balls in the
Speaker 1: air that get picked off. So j C. Jackson is
Speaker 1: really good. Jalen Mills is having a good year for them,
Speaker 1: the kind of the other perimeter cornerback for the Patriots.
Speaker 1: He was an addition from the from the Eagles, i
Speaker 1: believe last season, and he was in perfect coverage on
Speaker 1: that one deep ball to Albert Wilson back in the
Speaker 1: season opener when it looked like Miami might will be
Speaker 1: able to still a twenty five yard touchdown pass from
Speaker 1: tah Up to Albert Wilson. This group is deep justin
Speaker 1: Bethel there as well. He plays on special teams. But
Speaker 1: how they match up, I think it just kind of
Speaker 1: goes like we talked about on the other side of
Speaker 1: the football, It's gonna be all over the place. You're
Speaker 1: gonna have different matchups throughout the course of the game.
Speaker 1: But again, you have to throw against this Patriots secondary
Speaker 1: with excellent anticipation and if they give you those one
Speaker 1: on one opportunities in the vertical game, you're gonna have
Speaker 1: to find a way to hit one of one of
Speaker 1: them or two of them to kind of get them
Speaker 1: to back off. I thought the too long passes to
Speaker 1: Waddle and Parker last time around were huge keys in
Speaker 1: that game, and you'll see them get aggressive and take
Speaker 1: the football away if you live in that short box
Speaker 1: all game long. So finding variety and the passing game
Speaker 1: also a key for TWA and these Dolphins receivers, and
Speaker 1: it will also be a key on the Dolphins offensive
Speaker 1: front against US Patriots multiple defensive front to win that
Speaker 1: matchup and give the passing offense enough time to do
Speaker 1: their thing and create enough yards and the running game
Speaker 1: to have the offense be able to stay on schedule
Speaker 1: to get to those passing opportunities. It all starts up front.
Speaker 1: And you know, the Patriots for years have played what
Speaker 1: I call big man football. They have so many guys
Speaker 1: that are large human beings who are difficult to move
Speaker 1: and can physically compete for sixty minutes and wear on you.
Speaker 1: And they also provide a lot of the things that
Speaker 1: Dolphins have different types of fronts and flexibility. They run
Speaker 1: all kinds of games and stunts and have packages for days.
Speaker 1: And those rego hards they went on early downs to
Speaker 1: help set them up for key downs. They know when
Speaker 1: to get aggressive, they know when they can kind of
Speaker 1: back off and play a little bit of ben but
Speaker 1: don't break. But those guys up front, I mean, year
Speaker 1: in and year out. Dietrich Wise twenty five pressures this year,
Speaker 1: nineteen run stops, Lawrence Guy fifteen pressures, twenty nine run stops,
Speaker 1: Devon God shall we know him fifteen pressures, nineteen run stops.
Speaker 1: And then Christian Barmore was kind of the Jenga piece here,
Speaker 1: the rookie from Alabama who set the record for most
Speaker 1: pressures by a rookie defensive tackle from Pro Football Focus,
Speaker 1: forty five of them. And then he has nineteen run
Speaker 1: stops as well. He's had a fantastic, fantastic year, explosive
Speaker 1: off the football quick. You have to keep an eye
Speaker 1: on him and make sure maybe it's a wham block,
Speaker 1: maybe it's a double, Maybe it's a back that steps
Speaker 1: up into the a gap and mugs up right away
Speaker 1: and chips and kind of slows that lamentum down. Have
Speaker 1: to find a way to take care of Christian Barmore
Speaker 1: now if they bring extra rushers, and that continues to
Speaker 1: be one of my main questions here. We'll find out
Speaker 1: in a few days. These are the guys and Matt
Speaker 1: jude On he's coming. He's gonna bring pressure. Sixty one
Speaker 1: pressures for jude On this season. Josh j has fifteen,
Speaker 1: was Kyle van Noy, and Jamie Collins has been there
Speaker 1: for part of the season though, so his pressure numbers
Speaker 1: are not up to those guys standards, but he's a
Speaker 1: player that factors in as well. He also drops into
Speaker 1: coverage and does so much for them to disguise things
Speaker 1: in terms of getting out and kind of playing that hook,
Speaker 1: kind of playing the curl flat role, and he can
Speaker 1: just do multiple things there for them. But again back
Speaker 1: to the past, rush game, Matt Judeon, You're gonna have
Speaker 1: to find a way to get this guy blocked. Number eight.
Speaker 1: He comes into like a blur, got the red sleeves on.
Speaker 1: I don't know if I'm down here in South Florida,
Speaker 1: but you can you notice him before the snap on
Speaker 1: every single play. You have to I d him and
Speaker 1: get him blocked because he can kind of generate pressures
Speaker 1: on his own. And that goes a long way with
Speaker 1: just the four man pressure packages they have, but also
Speaker 1: their ability to be multiple and send multiple looks at you.
Speaker 1: For the Dolphins offensive line a little bit different last
Speaker 1: time around, although it wasn't because at left tackle, Liam
Speaker 1: Eichenberg was in there before he moved a guard before
Speaker 1: going back to left tackle, but that was his first
Speaker 1: pro game at left tackle. I thought he played pretty
Speaker 1: well on that one. Curious see how he finishes the
Speaker 1: season here with the bookend game because the Patriots. Austin
Speaker 1: Jackson did not play in that game, but he'll be
Speaker 1: back to make a his season debut against the Patriots,
Speaker 1: i should say, or his first game against the Patriots
Speaker 1: this season in week number eighteen. And then we'll have
Speaker 1: Michael Dieter, Big Rob and Jesse Davis to round out
Speaker 1: the group. They're to battle with these guys and we'll
Speaker 1: see how it goes. And I'm curious to seeing what
Speaker 1: the Patriots do here. Can the Dolphins get some push
Speaker 1: and create some yards in the running game. If they
Speaker 1: can do that, I think they'll have some success in
Speaker 1: this game. Let's go ahead and finish up here the
Speaker 1: Dolphins running back and the Patriots linebackers. The theme continues.
Speaker 1: Big man football man Dante high Tower. He's so good.
Speaker 1: This guy is such a good player. He factors in
Speaker 1: off the football in the middle part of the field.
Speaker 1: He comes down off the edge, can rush from those positions.
Speaker 1: He can cover tight ends and disrupt and chip that
Speaker 1: way to the pressures, the run stops. It's all there
Speaker 1: for him. He's kind of like Christian barn More. We
Speaker 1: talked about the way he took that d line to
Speaker 1: a different level. Dante high Tower is one that kind
Speaker 1: of stirs the drink there. I think that was a
Speaker 1: big reason why this year's defense is playing up to
Speaker 1: a much more usual standard than we saw lash of
Speaker 1: the Patriots defense. His absence, and then Jawan Bentley kind
Speaker 1: of also one of these thumper types. Guys that can
Speaker 1: kind of range sidelines land but also just brings the
Speaker 1: physicality and sets the tone there for that defense. I
Speaker 1: wrote down July and Javanny Tava as well, the former
Speaker 1: Lions draft pick who I thought was a good fit
Speaker 1: and that type of defense. He's a virtual type of
Speaker 1: player there that can give them some more depth at
Speaker 1: the linebacker position. And I'll just be curious see how
Speaker 1: Miami does this. You know, I believe that kind of
Speaker 1: some chips and chips and dumps of the running backs
Speaker 1: and the screen game could be a good way to
Speaker 1: kind of calm down with the Patriots do in terms
Speaker 1: of their multiple looks and the mixing they can do.
Speaker 1: Is that Myles gaskin the way he factored in the
Speaker 1: passing game. Does Duke Johnson gets some more run here
Speaker 1: back after the last time he played in this building
Speaker 1: he had a big time breakout game against the Jets.
Speaker 1: What does Philip Lindsay's role look like? This whole matchup
Speaker 1: is like, well, the Patriots can do this, but they
Speaker 1: can also do that, and the Dolphins canna attack it
Speaker 1: this way, but they also couldn't do that. So it's
Speaker 1: tough to forecast. That's why I just kind of wanted
Speaker 1: to give you guys the players here and we'll see
Speaker 1: what happens comes Sunday. Now, as far as the special teams,
Speaker 1: they are twenty one in d v O A are
Speaker 1: the Patriots in Miami's twenty nine. In the kicking game
Speaker 1: their money thirty five or thirty eight Nick Folk, he
Speaker 1: is thirty for thirty on kicks under fifty yard. That's
Speaker 1: a very nice asset to have. In the punting game,
Speaker 1: forty six points for Jacob Bailey for forty seven point
Speaker 1: three yards average. He's a lefty has they typically have
Speaker 1: of their in New England and the return game. It
Speaker 1: feels like there are fewer teams that have guys who
Speaker 1: do this, but they really just have one guy, Gunnar
Speaker 1: Olshowsky when he's healthy twenty four point returns, averaging twelve
Speaker 1: yards per punt return. Also averages twenty three point one
Speaker 1: yards on on seventeen kickoff returns, so he can make
Speaker 1: some plays back there as well for them. My three
Speaker 1: keys of the game win the red zone. We talked
Speaker 1: about it last or really I guess with the Patriots
Speaker 1: in the Week one game, they were able to go
Speaker 1: open down the field with the Dolphins one on defense
Speaker 1: and the red zone, and that helped them preserve the victory.
Speaker 1: Number two, stop the run. We saw what happened last
Speaker 1: week how Miami was not able to get after Ryan
Speaker 1: Tannehill in the past rush game because the Titans had
Speaker 1: so much success in the ground game. Third and short
Speaker 1: gave him opportunities to stay multiple in the way they
Speaker 1: do things. And then number three play smart, disciplined football
Speaker 1: for sixty minutes. The Patriots will, so you have to
Speaker 1: do it too. The Dolphins will win this game if
Speaker 1: they win on early downs on defense, and the Patriots
Speaker 1: wi win this game if they execute offensively in the
Speaker 1: red zone. That's my time for the final game preview
Speaker 1: edition of the Drivetime Podcast this season. We'll have John
Speaker 1: Conjemmy on tomorrow to break this thing down further, as
Speaker 1: well as the mailbag in the week eighteen picks. Trying
Speaker 1: to bring that thing home over. I think I have
Speaker 1: to win a certain amount of games to get that.
Speaker 1: This week, we'll try our best again. We'll have more
Speaker 1: postgame content next week for you guys after the Patriots game.
Speaker 1: That's onto the off season, but that's for another day
Speaker 1: until next time. That's gonna be my time. 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 Wingfield NFL, follow the team
Speaker 1: at Miami Dolphins. Check out the Fish Tank Podcast as
Speaker 1: well as our YouTube channel for all the Dolphins media
Speaker 1: availabilities and Dolphins Today. Last, but not least, Miami Dolphins
Speaker 1: dot Com Until next time defends up Caroline, Daddy is
Speaker 1: coming home? Is that we're going see