December 24, 2024 • 53 mins
The Dolphins are stayin’ alive in the playoff race for now with a win over the 49ers. We recap the win and look forward to the Dolphins giving us the ideal Christmas present with a victory in Cleveland. To round off the show, we share with you some Miami Dolphins themed Christmas Songs and Carols as suggested by fellow UK fans in our legendary WhatsApp group.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up, Dolphans.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
This is Juice and Big Seth.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
From the fish Tank podcast. But right now you're listening
to the Dolphin UK podcast and Juice I can't wait
to dive in. Let's go to the bo's call on
Jeep Steers Still.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
What is take him away home? Oh? Right around circuits,
(00:49):
pretty throws down cal and he's intercepting pick top Ho
ho has it all shut up because of the pressure
by Kalaiis Campbell? Another big run Therry garls he's got
white open space eight ten for the eight parts ever
(01:10):
head a touchdown by Miami fifty yards. It's all but
put the game away.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Hello and welcome to the Dolphin UK podcast and welcome
into a victory Christmas edition of the Dolphan UK podcast.
I want to start off by first introducing my co
host Simon Say. How you doing?
Speaker 4 (01:41):
Yeah, very well, Thanks Lee. Merry Christmas to you and
your family. Hope you have a good one. And I
do like the little intro that you put together for
is there with the staying alive theme at the end
of the commentary clips, because the Dolphins are just about
staying alive, aren't they.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Absolutely, we've made it to week seven seventeen, still alive,
still with a chance, and I think we can consider
that a Christmas gift at this stage because it was
looking unlikely a few weeks ago. I know there's a
lot of things that have to happen, but we'll take
it one step at a time, and that includes the
Dolphins victory. So we will look over the Dolphins victory
(02:17):
against forty nine Ers last week, we will look ahead
to a very important matchup on the road against the
Cleveland Browns this upcoming week, and have a few festive
treats throughout the show as well. I feel, but sign
it's been a bit of a gone.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
I'm looking forward to those festive treats because they're pretty funny,
aren't they. So I've have to control I don't laugh
at my own suggestions on that one.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Absolutely, but it's been a fairly quiet weak news wise,
So we're going to skip that and go straight into
recapping last week's victory against the San Francisco forty nine
Ers at hard Rock Stadium. On the face of it,
it appeared as though Dolphins executed a pretty good game plan,
(03:06):
but really, in between the lines, when you look across
the beat writers and social media. Are there still one
or two issues that still kind of underline that performance.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Yeah, you're right to a certain extent. The game plan
was well called, I thought, and in the main it
was executed well. But looking deeper into the performance of
the nine non half ending drives, they only managed to
get in the end zone twice, and one of those
was at the end of the game. So while they
calmly moved the chains, the fact they kept stalling, settling
for five field goals meant it was Jason Sanders who
(03:39):
kept bailing them out. They can't keep relying on field
goals to account for most of their points, especially if
they reached the playoffs. They might be able to get
away with it against teams like the Browns and the
Jets in the next two weeks, but if they somehow
managed to get in the playoffs, they're gonna have to
learn how to convert field goals into touchdowns. Having said that,
(03:59):
though they didn't make any mistakes lead they had a
sound game plan. Both units played well together and I
don't think we've seen that too often this season, as
we said last week, and at the end of the day,
they got the win they needed. I think they can
take some confidence into Cleveland next week, but I think
to get a result, they probably need something to play for,
do the Dolphins. We'll talk about that late in the show,
(04:20):
of course.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Yeah. I wanted to throw a question back at you
because the game plan seemed to sound and like you say,
they weren't able to convert as many drives into touchdowns
as I'm sure they would have liked. But did you
feel like the opportunities were there? Obviously we saw Tyreek
have tough chances at two that were in the end zone, Like,
(04:45):
do you think the opportunities were there or do you
think it was a lack of chances created by the team.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
I think opportunities were there because they did score twice
out of nine drives. If Tyreek had had a bit
of luck, a bit of more fortune with balls not
being tipped, then he could easily have had a touchdown
or two in addition to the one he did grab.
So I think the opportunities were there. It was just
the final execution I thought was lacking a little bit
(05:14):
because they just relying on five Jason sanders Field goals
is all very well and good putting points on the board,
but they're not touchdowns and against better teams in the
playoffs you will get punished for that. So the opportunities
were there, it was just lacking a little bit of.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Execution absolutely, and the running game showed signs of life again,
which is a welcome return. I think I can say
on behalf of everybody is there a rissa Dolphins will
become too reliant on de von Achaan because he seemed
to be the game plan. No, it seemed to work
out that way, you know, not only with his Russia's balls,
(05:50):
so catching the ball out of the backfield as well.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Yeah, don't get me wrong. It was great to see
him have a superb game, probably his best best all
round game of the season so far, or would imagine.
And he's certainly become the focal point of the offense
this season and the connection he has with two plays
a large role in that he accounted for exactly half
of the Dolphins yards yards from scrimmage against the Niners.
(06:13):
Seventeen rushes for one hundred and twenty one yards and
six catches for seventy yards in his one hundred and
eighty nine hundred and ninety one sorry yards combined was
a season high. But I said in a podcast are
in the season when Tour was out that they needed
to get the ball into the hands of the playmakers.
And when you talk about playmakers, you immediately think about
the likes of Hill and Waddle. They tend to spring
(06:34):
to mind first, But now I think a Chan has
surpassed them in that sense, in that if he ticks,
the offense ticks. So whilst he's a big part of
the game plan that hasn't really changed for much of
the season. Just the threat of other weapons such as
john Us Smith, Hill and Model I think is enough
to keep defenses honest and they're not just going to
(06:56):
keep in solely on the Van Hm, but there's no
getting away from the importance he does have in the
offense now.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
So with that being said, you mentioned the rung game
coming back to life, and obviously Devon is a huge
part of that. But I thought we saw some really
interesting shortyarded runs, especially from Rahem Moster and Jeff Wilson.
But also what role do you think having Tron Armstead
and Isaiah winning the lineup made Because I mentioned last
week I felt against the Texans with replacement tackles, things
(07:27):
just looked a little discombobulated behind the line of scrimmage
or sorry, at the line of scrimmage, whereas this week
everything looked as it was drawn up, blocks were in
the right place. I mean, you managed to silence a
player like Nick Bosa, which is, you know, incredibly hard
to do for any team in the NFL.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
I don't think you can underestimate the value that Armsted
and Win brought to that offensive line because, as you say,
it opened up the rushing lanes and it enabled them
to rush the ball something that they've not been able
to do over the previous six weeks or so. So
I think you can see in terms of the stats,
just value that those two players that you mentioned bring
to that line, and obviously they seem to have come
(08:08):
out with it unscathed in terms of the Browns game
coming up this week, so you'd like to think that
they'd be well set up to run the ball well
against the Browns this weekend as well.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Yeah, and you hope to see Isaiah Winn kind of
working his way back in. We know that he was
used kind of rotationally last Sunday as he works his
way back from from long term injury. So, like you know,
obviously we hope that continues into this week and hopefully
the week's ahead. I just want to touch on the
quarterback because you know, it's American football, so we have
(08:42):
to talk about the quarterback. This felt like a game where,
you know, if Tyree had pulled in a couple of those,
it looks like a super impressive game from tour. But instead,
this felt like a really complimentary game, which almost meant
it was. It felt like he was just doing the job,
just getting everything done. But it was. It wasn't bells
(09:04):
and whistles. It was just great execution and keeping the
team on schedule.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
That's all they needed, wasn't it great execution? Like I said,
they didn't make any mistakes in terms of turning the
ball over. The offensive line did a good job and
kept to her relatively upright. In fact, they don't recall
them having any sacks or QB hits, so they did.
So it was an all round solid performance from the offense.
And you can throw to her in there if you
excuse the pun to a certain extent as well, and
(09:32):
his stats would have been padded out a lot more
had Tyreek made those catches, especially the one that was
or did he have two in the end zone. I
can't remember now. I think that's what was needed from
to where it wasn't necessarily didn't need to be flashy.
He didn't need to throw for millions of yards. He
just needed to be efficient and sound, and that's kind
of that was reflected in the game plan. I thought
(09:55):
it was not flashy at all by any means. Obviously,
you had that one big play right at the end
from and that fifty yard run, but apart from that,
it was sound. It was solid, and it was competent.
And against the team like the Finews, who are pretty
good on defense, that was or you needed to win
the game and sorry proved.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah. I thought it felt like a kind of commanding performance,
kind of orchestrating the band, so to speak, you know,
but without having to be the soloist. And I think that's,
you know, what you're kind of aiming for in an
NFL team. I think that's why you've seen an improved
(10:34):
year from someone like Josh Allen, because he's able to
go into games and they are able to run the
ball better than they have in the past. You know,
we see that when our run game is working, the
entire team is looking better. That's you know, it's not
it's not a coincidence, and it's not really rocket science,
is it. That you know, if everyone's doing their part,
there's less strain put on any one part of the
(10:54):
part of the team, whether that's really whether it's offense
or defense.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
It's like a finally owned clock, isn't it. If one
element of that clock or machine is out of sync,
it kind of throws off everything else, doesn't it. And
you can include I think every single position on that
right down to even alec Ingold simply there as a
blocker if he and I recall something he said when
we had a chat with him earlier in the year
(11:20):
that everything needs to work as it should do in
order for the play to succeed. And I think he
used himself as he used Rahing Moster, as a blocker.
If he doesn't block the defender coming off the edge,
then it impacts everything else. And you can start to
see that clearly now that every position complements each other,
I think.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Now absolutely and alig and Golds are really interesting one,
isn't it, because he does so much unsung work. But
when you go back and look at the plates he's
in there lead blocking, and you can see why casual
fans may not appreciate the work of a fallback in
the NFL. But I think if you look back at
a lot of the big runs, you'll see lead blocks
(11:59):
by by Ada King gold in there, you know, with frequency,
because he is terrific at that. But like you say,
it all plays into everyone doing their job, the same
as wide receivers blocking downfield as well. You know, we
know that coaches a big one for that, and we
know these players buy into it and do it to
a high level. But with that being instead, do you
want to give us some Finns facts from the win
(12:22):
over the forty nine ers. We know there's always more
coming off the back of a victory.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
Yeah, there are always some nice juicy ones as well,
and multiple franchise records were set in Miami's seventh win
of the season over the Niners, and they totaled three
hundred and eighty yards yard three hundred and eighty one
yards in the context, including one hundred and sixty six
on the ground, which was the most Miami had since
they played the Colts. The defense held the forty nine
(12:47):
Ers to just eighty one yards on the ground, which
was just the fourth time this season the forty nine
Ers had been held to less than hundred yards rushing.
Miami has now held opponents to less than one hundred
yards rushing in eight of its last nine games, which
is the most in the NFL since Week eight, which
is kind of surprising when you look at social media,
isn't it, Lee, and you see everybody unhappy with the
(13:08):
performance of the defense, But that kind of statistic doesn't
reflect that at all, does it. It's it's I know.
We've had a conversation on our WhatsApp group about the
value of stats in measuring a team's performance, and it's
very different to the eye test, isn't it? In that sense?
The Dolphins recorded three sacks of the owner. They held
(13:29):
the fourteen nine ers pass rush to just one quarterback
hit and zero sacks, make it marking the second time
in three games the Dolphins have held their opponents without
a sack. Seven Dolphins receivers caught at least one pass
against the forty nine Ers, extending Miami streak to eight
games with at least seven pass catchers, which is tied
with the Chiefs for the longest streak since tour returned
(13:52):
in Week eight. Moving on to Johnny Smith, of course,
he set a tight ten franchise record at the tight
end position for receptions and receiving yards in a single season,
surpassing Randy McMichael's record set in nineteen seven sorry two
thousand and four, and Johnny Smith now has seventy six
receptions and eight hundred and two yards, six touchdowns, and
(14:15):
he's tied for third in receiving touchdowns by tight end
in a single season, with only who in front of him?
Lee on the spot trivia question for you, would you
know who which tight ends have scored more times in
a season than John Ou Smith?
Speaker 2 (14:32):
I would say maybe Charles Clay felt like he got
a lot, but no, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
Anthony Fasano in two thousand and eight and Keith Jackson
in nineteen ninety four both had seven. So another score
by John O Smith and he'll equal that record. And finally,
John Ou Smith has been amongst the league's best at
that position, ranking fourth in receiving yards and reception and
tied for fourth in receiving touchdowns as well, behind Rock Bowers,
(15:04):
who's had a tremendous rookie season. It's got to be
in contention for Offensive Rookie of the Year at the
very least George Kittle and Train McBride of the Cardinals
who's had ninety two catches and zero touchdowns. So great
season by Johnny Smith, wasn't it. He's got to be
ranked up there as being in contention for Fan Team MVP.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
He would have thought, yeah, especially as you know, his
performance seemed to completely change when Tour came back and
they had one begin I think it was on the
road of Seattle, but was kind of quiet early in
the season. But since Tours return, you know, he's kind
of hit all those numbers in that period of time.
That's when the season made the biggest in roads. I
(15:45):
think again, you know, this is not a one or
two year player in the NFL that's breaking not only
team records but his own personal records. So it shows,
you know, those stats are not just around the Miami Dolphins,
but also play into his career numbers. You know, he's
played on multiple teams and mubile quarterbacks, and you know
(16:07):
he's breaking his own records with too you know, sorry,
with more than two weeks to go, having broken him
in last week's game. Yeah, really impressive.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
Somebody else who's been really impressive is Deavon ah Chan.
I just want to read to you a couple of
stats for him in that he's got thirteen hundred and
forty scrimmage yards this season so far, which is the
second most by a Dolphins running back in the previous
ten seasons, only beaten so far by Jay Ajai in
twenty sixteen, who had fourteen hundred and twenty three total
(16:36):
scrimmage yards in a season. So you'd have thought Devon
ah Chan has got a really good chance of beating
that record. And a Chan has set the franchise single
season record for receptions by a running back, passing Terry
Kirby's ninety ninety three season in that he's now had
seventy six as opposed to Terry Kirby's seventy five. So
(16:56):
somebody else, lee who's been really impressive throughout this season.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Absolutely, and talking of impressive, we put out a pole
for a game ball this week, and we will obviously
give our game balls as well, but I wanted to
start off with the fan vote, which we put out
Sunday night. Now it was late here in the UK,
so thank you everyone who voted, you know, with the
late finish of the game. But we listed Jason Sanders,
(17:21):
Kada Kohu, Devon a Chan, and Troup Robinson on the list,
and I was a little bit surprised at the result.
I've got to be honest, I thought this would go
a different way. But I'm by no means to certainly
this person is not worthy of the game ball. But
on top with sixty two percent of the vote was
Jason Sanders. So a game ball to Jason Sanders after
(17:43):
another impressive performance. Yeah, just keep putting them through.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
Who are you giving it to? Then, Lee, because you
seem somewhat surprised Sanders got the game ball? But who
did you give your game ball team?
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Well, I was going to give my game ball to
devon a Chan because I just felt that he was
all over the field, you know, in the pass game
and the run game. You know, there's obviously the big
run at the end of the game to seal it,
which I think made us all sit a little easier.
I know Chaney Romo said he might have been better
off going down, but you know, I think it felt
(18:21):
like the Dolphins were in control when he went in,
that they were going to give up two scores, so
it felt like that kind of really put a bow
not only on his performance but on the victory as well.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
I'm going to give it to a Chan as well
as it happens Lee. I think, as I said earlier,
he seemed to be the focal point for the offense
for most of the game, and I'm not really sure
you can give it to anyone else if you're going
to give it to somebody on the offensive side of
the ball. Although John why Smith deserves to mention though,
in becoming that all time leading tight end in terms
of yards and receptions as we just said, so he
(18:54):
deserves a bit of a mention. But I really like
the fact that both units played well, Lee in the
worst some other candidates on defense to cad Co who
and Chob Robinson made the key plays as we know,
and Zach Seeler and Jordan Brooks both He's ever mentioned,
with each having saxed quarterback hits and tackles for a loss,
so they too and deserve at least some sort of
(19:14):
nomination here. But I thought, yeah, Echan was the outstanding
player and deserved it.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
I think absolutely. With that being said, I want to
go back to saying you mentioned last week. Did this
feel like a more complete performance from the Dolphins? You mentioned,
I think in your path to victory, we hadn't really
seen it, and I know the forty nine ers have
plenty of injury plenty of injury issues, but at the
same time, they're still an incredibly good team and they
(19:39):
were playing hard. This wasn't a team that had given
up even though they'd been eliminated prior to the game
kicking off. Did you think this was a more complete
performance from the Dolphins.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
Yeah, it was. I think we needed it as well,
because I think against a team like the Niners, who
are pretty solid, even though they are being hit by
injuries at the moment, they're still not a bad football team.
They've still got some really good players on it. So
I think they needed that complete game in order to
pull out the victory, and I think they delivered it there.
Like I said earlier, the offense didn't really make any mistakes.
There were no turnovers, no big tackles for a loss,
(20:14):
no sacks. Yeah, there was one or two drops which
you'd like to have back. And then on the defensive
side of the ball, they kept the Niners relatively quiet,
holding them to one score one touchdown, and he never
really got the sense that brock Purdy was comfortable and
leading that their offense up and down the field. He
did it a couple of times, but generally they seemed
(20:36):
quite comfortable in containing him, forcing him out of the
pocket for quite a while, so quite a lot of
the time. So yeah, you're right. I think they did
deliver that almost complete performance on both sides of the ball.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
Absolutely, and we need to continue into next week. But
with that being said, that brings us on to halftime
in the show, so sorry. We set a trivia question
last week which was John Smith is having an outstanding
season that currently as six hundred and ninety two receiving
(21:11):
yards because here we know he has more. Now, which
dolphin's tight end has the most receiving yards in a
single season? Would you like to give the answer to people?
Speaker 4 (21:19):
I think I just gave it away, and in fact,
Deni Lee, I just realized that if those listeners who
are alert will have realized I gave the answer away.
But just to reiterate, it was Randy McMichael who had
seven hundred and ninety one yards in two thousand and four,
and they probably mentioned it on the broadcast anyway that
Lee didn't.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
They They absolutely did mention it on a broadcast as well.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Certainly you're gonna deliver us our question for this week
based on the fact that you've got a Miami Dolphins
trivia book as your secret Santa, So I think we're
possibly going to look at using this more. I think
in terms of setting out trivia. What's the question for
this week?
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Absolutely so, based on some of the stuff we've just
been talking about. In regards to receptions, it is who
was the last non wide receiver to lead the Dolphins
in receptions in a single season? And it's multiple choice?
Should we give out multiple choice? Yeah? I think so
it is Randy McMichael, Terry Kirby, Charles Clay or Jim Kick.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
Interesting one. We have just mentioned Terry Kirby, didn't we,
So he's got to be in contention, and Randy McMichael
has also got to be in contention because that was
a record in itself until recently. Tricky one. But it's
interesting that we're kind of going in that direction this year,
aren't we. Lee with a channel Johnny Smith both having
(22:43):
more receptions than Hill and Wodel.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Absolutely. Yeah, it's interesting that we're in that we say
we're in the re album. That's why I've picked that
question because so I think it's apps because we could
end up with another one this year.
Speaker 4 (22:58):
I don't know the answer. Let's reveal it next week,
shall we?
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Absolutely? So with that being said, do you want to
move us on to the update on the Hick h'am League.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
Yeah. With a couple of weeks ago. Now starting at
the bottom, bluey Co has remained rooted to the bottom
with one hundred and thirty points, followed by Lee's Finns
Fan on one hundred and forty four, Miami five oh
one and one hundred and fifty, Joe Day on one
five to three, and Dan Crow on one five to five.
But credit to Dan who got a league high fourteen
correct predictions this week, So well done to you, Dan.
(23:31):
And at the top, the only Beaver is making an
appearance again in the top five on one six five.
Danny Myers is on one sixty six, with me just
above Danny on one seven to two, and we have
an equal or change at the top with seventy two
equals Perfection and Raybots seventy nine both now equal on
(23:53):
one seven eight, So looks like the the championship is
going to be down to one of those two and
neck and Neckley after seventy two equals perfection one and
Keith scoring one more than Ray this week.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Down to the last two weeks and down to the
wire for them both tied up. Amazing, doesn't it. But
it's been an interesting season in the Pickham League. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
I mean even my brother's been taking part in itly,
and he's not a big American football fan by any
means that he just goes with the probabilities. So he
looks at the probabilities and just goes with the favorite
each week, and he's slightly outside the top half a dozen.
I think. So you've got to take a couple of
risks to win the league. I think you've got to
be able to spot the outlies, if you like, the shocks,
(24:41):
or the teams that are surprised, because if you go
for the favorite every time, it's clear from what my
brother does, you're not going to win the league.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Absolutely. I took a few chances this week that went
close but not quite. I had the Patriots over the Bills,
for instance. Patriots always seemed to find a way to
cause the Bills trouble even if they don't come out
the victory. And I know from our point of view,
we definitely want to know prefer the Bills win because
it keeps a number one seed interesting, which takes us
on nicely to the playoff picture. And we are going
(25:12):
to keep talking about the playoff picture because your Dolphins
are still alive, as we mentioned earlier, So SI, do
you want to give us an update on our percentage
chance of reaching the NFL playoffs?
Speaker 4 (25:22):
So last week our chances of reaching the playoffs at
seven percent. This week they have increased by one percent
to eight percent, So staying alive as they say. But
to give an overall picture, Chargers currently sat sit in
the number sixth seed with a ninety four percent chance
of making the playoffs. Denver are in the seventh spot,
(25:42):
but their percentage has dropped now to seventy six on
the back of a lost to the aforementioned Chargers on
Thursday Night Football. The Colts are in the eighth spot
with a percentage chance of fifteen percent, and the Dolphins
are in the ninth spot, as we say, with an
eight percent chance on making the playoffs. But there's an
interesting couple of weeks coming up in terms of the schedule,
(26:05):
isn't Itly let's start with the Charges, shall we. I know,
because they are a factor in terms of the Dolphins
making the playoffs, because not only do the Dolphins have
to win out, we also need the Chargers to lose
two games as well. So it's difficult to see those
dropping both games, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Yeah, it's difficult to see them dropping two games, especially,
like you say, on the road to New England and
Las Vegas. But I go talk about this a little
bit later with teams in the let's say top end
as the NFL draft order right now, that the Raiders
don't seem to be interested in doing themselves any favors,
having one on the road last week against Jacksonville, sorry,
(26:44):
one at home against Jacksonville last week, which seemed kind
of unnecessary and maybe not in their best interest. So yeah,
it would seem like unlikely that the Chargers drop both
of those games, even though they are both on the road.
Speaker 4 (26:59):
The Broncos, whoever, are playing teams very much in contention
for the playoffs still, albeit at different ends of the scale,
with the Chiefs fighting for the number one seed still
and the Bengals sat one spot below on in the
tenth position, but they've still got an outside chance of
getting into the playoffs, and in fact, they're playing well
enough you'd like to think, Lee, that they could do
(27:19):
the Dolphins a favor, even though they're a playoff rival.
We very much want the Bengals to beat the Broncos
on Saturday night, don't we?
Speaker 2 (27:27):
Absolutely? And you know, the Bengals seem to be putting
up the sort of performances where they could go into
Denver and is it an upset?
Speaker 4 (27:35):
Yeah, I mean in Cincinnati as well, Lee, as well,
it's not even in Denver.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Oh, it's in Cincinnati. I completely restripped that. So it's
you know, that's a they have every chance to win
their game, Cincinnati putting up a good performance. I don't
even know if it would be an upset because even
though Denver are in the playoff spots and Cincinnati are not,
Cincinnati not playing like a team currently outside of the
playoff hunt or sorry on that that outside looking in
(28:01):
column with our Delphins. So yeah, I mean it's interesting.
I think Houston could have done us a favorite beating
Kansas City last Saturday night because that would have led
hopefully to a must win game for Kansas City and
the last week of the season for the number one seed.
But yeah, there's definitely the opportunity there for Denver to
lose one and even possibly too because you know, if
(28:25):
Kansas City do have the one seed, everyone you know,
there's a lot of rumor that or at least question
do you start to sit players? Well, now you're sitting
players for two weeks, and do you want to go
into the playoffs off the back of a defeat? And
so I wonder if you know, because it's going to
get you the bye week anyway, if you are the
(28:47):
number one seed, do they play a half and treat
it like a preseason game where they still get to
go through emotions. I don't know. It's an interesting concept
because we've seen teams come out sluggish. In the championship game,
we saw and the Senessey Titans come out very sluggish
when they were the number one seed a few years back.
I remember seeing the Indianapolis culture still all the time
under Peyton manning that first game after the Buyer. Heading
(29:09):
into the playoffs, they just started sluggish. Now, they didn't
mean they got beat But I don't know if it's
the heart. I don't know if it's good for your
heart to have the team come out and do that.
So be interesting to see how that game is approached.
But definitely two losable games to Denver on schedule, and.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
The Chiefs, of course play the Steelers in Pittsburgh on
Christmas Day, and the Steelers themselves are still fighting for
a division title, so they're going to be able to
give the Chiefs a good game. And for all intents
and purposes, we would want the Steelers to win that
because it hurts for us to say it, but we
want the Bills to still be in contention, don't we
(29:46):
for that number one seed to push the Chiefs to then,
like you say, play their first team against the Broncos.
So absolutely, it all starts with the Steelers on Christmas.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
Day, So get your Christmas dinner down. They get ready
for to cheer on some football. It may not be
your Dolphins, but it doesn't mean it's going to be
stress free.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
And then we've got the Indianapolis Colts, of course, who
pulled out a win last week to move to seven
and eight, and they their remaining games are at the
Giants and at home to the Jaguars. If anything, this
seems to be the one that is most unlikely in
terms of what the Dolphins are going to wish for,
because the Colts have got to team two games against
(30:28):
two of the worst teams in the NFL at the moment.
Having said that, Tony Romo mentioned it on the broadcast
that Indianapolis haven't won three in a row all season,
so long may that trend to continually?
Speaker 2 (30:38):
And how many do we need them to lose? Just
the one? Just the one. I just want to give
it out a stat because I'm sure I saw this
rolling across the ticker when watching a Dolphins game the
other day, and I couldn't quite believe it, So I'm
just pulling it up to read it out again. So
in the thirty eight thirty victory over the Tennessee Titans,
would you like to have a stab? I guess in
(31:00):
Anthony Richardson's stat line.
Speaker 4 (31:04):
I saw that as well, And wasn't it something completely
ridiculous like seven completions out of eleven attempts or something ridiculous?
Speaker 2 (31:13):
It was seven completions on eleven attempts for one hundred
and one hundred and thirty one yards, one touchdown, one interception.
Now this is obviously boasted slightly because he has nine
carries for seventy yards and one touchdown rushing, But I
mean it's just if you can force him into being
a passer, do you have a chance to win those games.
(31:35):
I think we saw it when we played them. I
think if we had been anywhere near full strengths, we
would have been able to put a victory up on
the road in against Indianapolis. So I don't think they're
an infallible team. Yes, they're playing two bad teams and
I'm just lost. So they're playing at New York See.
(31:55):
I think the big one for the Colts, I think
they win against the Giants because I don't think the
Giants particularly want to win. I think they are well
entrenched in getting rewarded for their four season. But there
is a reason the NFL puts divisional games of the
last week of the season. And we have been the
(32:15):
spoiler for the Patriots many times in the past, and
I wouldn't be surprised that Jacksonville would be interested in
playing spoiler to the Indianapolis Colts for their last game
of the season.
Speaker 4 (32:28):
Yeah, and another storyline there as well, as I don't
know what the status is of mac Jones in terms
of what his contract looks like, but he is if
he's out of contract, he's going to potentially want to
put on a good performance to earn a contract with
another team, all with the Jaguars next season as well.
It looks looking like Trevor Lawrence is done for the
(32:49):
year and mac Jones seems to be playing alright. So
another good mac Jones performance and hopefully that will help.
I mean, as another who at one time thought we'd
be cheering for mac.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Jones, BacT Jones to help us get into the playoffs.
Is an interesting scenario to be in, but that's where
we find ourselves seventeen.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
So just to confirm then, In order for the Dolphins
to get in the playoffs, as it stands now, the
Dolphins have to win out their remaining two games and
need Indianapolis to lose one game and either the Chargers
or the Broncos to lose two games, or the Dolphins
can win out and have the Chargers and the Broncos
lose too. So there are multiple pathways, but only an
(33:28):
eight percent chance of that happening right now, and of
course it could all be over even before the Dolphins
play on Sunday, because if the Broncos and Chargers both
win their games on Saturday, then it's all academic and
unfortunately the Dolphins are eliminated anyway.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
Absolutely, but it's interesting that they've managed to hold on
this long. There's still a chance, so we spoke, We've
spoken about a few times over last week. Looking at
all the different scenarios, it still doesn't seem like an
eight percent chance. It sounds more plausible than that to
me when we read it out.
Speaker 4 (34:01):
Now.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
That might just be my fan bias being involved, but
you know, you know, you want Denver to lose, and
looking at their opponents, it seems doable. You know, you
just mentioned Indianapolis haven't won three games in the road.
They'd have to do something they haven't done all season.
You know, I think Tory Rowe probably something it out
best because he actually sounded kind of positive about the Dolphins'
(34:23):
chances of making the playoffs based on the fact that
they would be favored you would think in the upcoming
two games and the kind of other permutations that need
to play out for them, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (34:34):
I'm not a mathematician by any stretch of the imagination,
but I would imagine that that eight percent is going
to skyrocket somewhat if the results go our way this
coming weekend, because then you're left with just one. For example,
if Danver lose to the Bengals and the Dolphins beat
the Browns and the Colts lose to the Giants, then
(34:57):
you've got a scenario where the Dolphins win and the
lose and they're in. So if the results go our
way this weekend, that percentage should skyrocket somewhat, I think,
to a much more believable level.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
Absolutely. But with that being said, we know that step
one of any of these things for the Miami Dolphins
is going to be winning their remaining games. Let's say
it could be all over by the time we play
the Browns, but you can only work on the assumption
that it's not and plan to put your best foot forward.
So I think with that, should we go ahead and
look at this week's upcoming matchup against the Browns.
Speaker 4 (35:31):
Yeah, let's do that. So the Browns are currently three
and twelve bottom of the AFC North. Their overall rank
on offense is twenty fifth, their rushing rank is twenty
seventh and their passing rank is nineteenth. And on defense
they fare slightly better with their overall rank at nineteenth,
their rushing rank also at nineteenth, and their passing rank
at thirteenth. And I mentioned that three and twelve recordly
(35:55):
are the Browns more dangerous? Do you think having won
only three games.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
I've mentioned it already that I think, you know, the
NFL rewards teams at this stage and season for not
playing well, and that's why they've tried to counteract it
by putting those divisional games at the last game of
the season. I think, you know, I think if you
asked a Browns fan, honestly, they would rather drop this
(36:20):
game than win the last game if they were going
to win one of these last two games. But you know,
the Dolphins should be favored going in there. We know
the Browns can be up and down. Even with three wins,
they have found a way to be an exciting team
with Jameis Winston at the helm. Now we know Jameis
was bench last week, but with the injury concern to Thompson,
(36:42):
there is a chance that he finds himself back Under
said of this week, and that is the sort of
thing that absolutely petrifies me because he is so erratic
that you just don't know what you're going to get.
I think it's easier when you know you know what
Josh Allen is. For instance, you might not like it,
but you know what he is and what he's going
to do, so you know what you have to do
to stop it. With Jameis Winston, it could be anything.
(37:04):
There was a reason that he doesn't start in the NFL,
right you know. Sorry, It doesn't have a cemented starting
job in the NFL because he is all over the board.
But he does bring excitement and I do wonder if
that is possibly why he wasn't playing last week, because
you run the risk of maybe winning. I think the
coaching start feel kind of safe there, especially with the
(37:25):
injuries they've suffered this year, including into starting quarterback de
Sean Watson. I think it's easy to look at management
and say, hey, this is why this season has ended
or is at this stage only with three wins. So
I don't think they're the sort that are necessarily coaching
just for their jobs. But I think it does make
the Browns dangerous because there are players there that will
be playing for jobs. There are coaches that will be
(37:46):
playing for jobs. You mentioned it with Mac Jones in Jacksonville.
At this stage of season, there is different agendas between players,
coaches and teams. They don't always aligne at this time
of year.
Speaker 4 (37:58):
So the Dolphins did a good job versus he's the
forty nine ers front and Nick Bosa. Can they replicate
that this week against the twelve sack Miles Garrett and
he was some of the eye was looking at Lee
and thinking when working on a path to victory, I'm thinking,
when the Dolphins have the ball on offense, you know,
you stop Miles Garrett and you've got a chance of
moving the ball.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
That Miles Garrett is the kind of guy that can
ruin your day real quick. And again, this is where
I think you get to that not every party's desires
a line at this time of the season. I say,
I think the Browns will best off not winning this game.
I think the coaching staff and the GM are definitely
better off if they perform really, really well and don't
(38:41):
quite win this game. It's the best of both worlds.
Miles Garrett is still looking at defensive player of the Year.
He still needs to put up the performances to win
that sort of an award on a three win team,
because once you're on a three win team, you kind
of get forgotten about, like some of the awards that
are voted for. So he definitely needs to continue to
(39:04):
have that disruptive performance. But as you mentioned and we
spoke about earlier, the Dolphins did an incredible job last
week against Nick Bosa and they're going to have to
repeat that this week. We need to see another stellar
performance from the airline.
Speaker 4 (39:17):
So the Dolphins have been labeled as a team that
can't beat good teams or playing bad weather. Is there
a chance to change at least one of those narratives
this week?
Speaker 1 (39:25):
Do you think?
Speaker 2 (39:26):
I think he's really interesting because you know, I know
you've put down in the weather watch later the weather's
not terrible this week, but it is set to rain.
So there is a chance to go in a must
win game on the road and perform in what is
going to be changeable weather, not the South Florida the sun.
And I think you know, the Dolphins may be slightly
(39:50):
unlucky that whenever they seem to have a chance to
change one of these narratives, they have to change them
all in the same game. It's on the road on
a Thursday night on Thanksgiving against the good Packers team
in the cold. It's on the road against the AFC
and Super Bowl defending champions Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas
(40:13):
City in biblically cold weather. It's do you know what
I mean? It's never we've got to play a bad
team in the cold, so you can say, Okay, we've
won a game in the cold. It's never a good
team on the road, but the weather was fine. They
all seem to culminate in individual instances, and I think,
you know, we're going to look at in the weather
report it's not going to be terrible this weekend. But
(40:33):
if you can go and win a must win game
in changeable weather, I think you start to change it somewhat,
and even internally, it proves to yourself that's not actually
an issue. We can do.
Speaker 4 (40:44):
This strange narrative, isn't it? Because I just want to
digress slightly in thinking about when they've played the Bills
in Buffalo the last couple of seasons, they've made it
at least well the exception of the week after the
seventy ten Broncos where they almost found themselves on the
reverse end of that kind of score line. They generally
(41:05):
have played alright over recent seasons in Buffalo, and it's
traditionally a cold weather environment that everybody recognizes. Strange narrative,
isn't it, that then can't quite get over the edge
to win, but they play well enough to be competitive.
Speaker 2 (41:19):
It's funny, isn't it, because that way it fits the narrative.
But you don't actually look to in depth at the performance.
You know, you lose to a sixty one yard walk
off field goal, which I think was a team record,
and you can't win in the cold, rather than they
actually did something quite special to win the game. There
was the game in the snow what two years ago
now up there during a night game where you got
(41:40):
beat again by a late field goal. Those weren't bad performances,
but they were losses, so they fit the narrative. But
the narrative always needs, they think, some delving into maybe
just a little bit above the surface, right.
Speaker 4 (41:53):
Onto our path to victory. Then, Lee, we've talked about
how playing in cold weather on the road, how the
Dolphin's gonna find a way to be victorious. This weekend.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
This is going to be a continuing theme. I can
always tell you I'm going to say the same thing
next week that I'm going to say right now. Just
find a way. It doesn't matter how they don't care.
The performance is ugly. If you need a win on Sunday,
find a way to come out with it, and that's
all that matters. But if I was to be picky,
I'd say you would want you'd want to see a
(42:24):
continuation of the improvement of the run game, another performance
where all three phases are involved and performing at a
high level. That's the sort of thing that we'd like
to see. I think you know we mentioned earlier the
Olne deserves a lot of credit, especially Toron Armstead and
Isaiah win coming in seemed to really change things on
offense in regards to just being slightly more synchronized. So
(42:47):
we want to see so we want to see that.
We don't want to let let Miles Garrett get get
ahead of scene and start wrecking the game plan. So
more of that, but again, just find a way.
Speaker 4 (43:02):
I think I'm very similar to you in that it's
not the time to be specific about a type of
game plan, now, is it. In terms of either being
able to run the ball or making sure you get
your heels and your waddels involved. It's about finding that
level of performance like the Niners, where they just need
to be competent and efficient and don't make mistakes. I
think so, However, I do want to focus a little
(43:26):
bit on the Browns in that a Dolphins victory or
could be dependent on who is at quarterback for the Browns.
Dorrin Thompson Robinson was inserted as their starter in an
experiment which flopped against the Bengals, and flopped massively from
what I've read. He was forced to run for his
(43:46):
life all game against the Bengals defense that had really
started to earn a reputation for giving opposing offenses whatever
they wanted. So the Bengals defense had a great game
against the Browns, but they're not one of the top
ranked defenses in the NFL by any means. Whilst they
have some decent players the Browns, their offense is not
(44:06):
operating at a level which fits the standard for NFL
teams at the minute. We talked to last week about
teams being on the beach, and this is the case
for the Browns. I think as you said earlier there
are question marks over the fitness of Thompson Robinson, so
we may see the return of Jameis Winston, who you
alerted it to. It arguably could pose a bigger threat.
(44:29):
And I can see your face you're not keen on
that one at all.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
This is the Mason Rudolph for the Tennessee Titans that
you know.
Speaker 4 (44:36):
Yeah, so on his day he can be really good,
but he also has a habit of imploding, which is
why he got benched in the first place. So if
James Winston does play, hopefully we'll see the letter. But
perhaps the best news for the Dolphins is the weather forecast.
As you mentioned, it's not going to be that cold
and snowy, with only some light drizzle, I believe. So
(44:56):
I know we have our weather segment on the pod,
but I wanted to bring it up now to highlight
that it can't be used as an excuse the weather
because it's going to be ten or eleven degrees, which
is perfect football weather for that time of the year.
It's not going to be cold at all. So like
last week, I think it just comes down to how
much the Dolphins want this victory, because on paper, man
(45:17):
for man, they are a better team than the Browns.
Will results on Saturday spur them on to a good
performance and victory on Sunday, Or will an early elimination
by the Broncos or charges mean that they too are
on the beach. Only time will tell their lead. But
the game is set up nicely for them in terms
of getting another win on their road to the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (45:39):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more. Let me say that it
can't be an excuse. I don't think there could be
any excuses. You, you know, have to find a way
to put enough drives together and score enough points. I
think we saw it the Oh the Jets game where
Sky the Thompson started and they just kept knocking through
(46:00):
enough field goals to qualify and make the playoffs. The
same against the Dallas Cowboys last year, and even as
much as a few weeks ago when you played the
New York Jets in overtime, you ran the same play
three times late in the game. I don't think it
was a shock to anyone that it was coming, but
you found a way to execute it better than the
Jets could defend it, and you ran it over and over,
(46:22):
and I think they did that. We have two separate plays.
There was a kind of screen passed to John Wuie
Smith obviously, which led to two big conversions, and then
there was also a similar play that they ran. Then
they ran it with Waddle and with Tyreek Hill on
the last two drives of the game, where the Jets
knew it was coming, they just cannot stop it because
it was executed to perfection. So that same thing doesn't
(46:42):
have to be groundbreaking, but it has to be well executed.
Speaker 4 (46:47):
You mentioned the Jets game there, which reminds me. You
just want to give a quick shout out to Andy Davis,
who's part of our WhatsApp group, who got surprised by
his girlfriend for an early Christmas and thirtieth they present
with a trip to New York to see that Dolphins
game against the Checks. So many happy returns, Andy, and
(47:07):
I have to say, your girlfriend is a keeper if
she can give you gifts like that. So hope you
both have a great time.
Speaker 2 (47:13):
And hopefully you see the victory that takes the Dolphins
to the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (47:16):
Yeah, so where can we watch the game lead this weekend?
It's unlikely to be on sky I would have thought.
I don't know. If Sky have released their slay of
games for this week already at this.
Speaker 2 (47:25):
Time of the week. But I think it would be
ironic if the game was moved out of Sunday Night
Football only for the Sky to show it in one
of the other slots. I could be wrong. I haven't.
I can't say it right now that I can remember
the rest of the games, but as I say that,
I'm going to bring them up. But other than that,
you can watch it on game Pass, which obviously you
can see the game as you do each week. I'm
(47:50):
looking for the late slot games. I mean, they usually
pick a nine to twenty five game. Interestingly, there's only
two late games this week.
Speaker 4 (48:00):
Two late games.
Speaker 2 (48:00):
Only two late games. There's a nine oh five kickoff,
which is the Dolphins against the Browns, and then there's
the nine to twenty five kickoff, which will absolutely be
the Sky game if they have the option of it,
which is the Green Bay Packers at the Minnesota Vikings.
Speaker 4 (48:14):
Yeah, they're going to show that one. You'd have thought,
aren't they.
Speaker 2 (48:16):
I've been safe. If you don't have access to anything else,
get yourself on red zone, because I'm going to guess
there's gonna be plenty of for the only other game
that's going on.
Speaker 4 (48:25):
Yeah, that's quite true, actually, I mean, I mean yeah. So,
and that's a free to air channel on Sky, So
channel four to one six or four one eight somewhere
in that region. It's a free to air channel. So
you should you should get a good chunk of Dolphins
action if you haven't got access to game Pass or
Sky this week. Okay, So that brings us to the
(48:47):
close of the show, Lee, and we're gonna have a
little bit of Christmas fun, now, aren't we. Because we
asked our for some feedback in our Dolphins WhatsApp chat
for everyone to provide us with some Miami Dolphins themed
Christmas songs or Harold's And we've got a few to
read out that have come in from the group. And
why don't you start us off, Lee by reading a
few of these suggestions and giving a shout out to
(49:08):
those that contributed.
Speaker 2 (49:11):
Okay, so I've got the first one on the list,
which is Merry Christmas two are you? Which I like
that a lot Craycraft tree oaka craft tree from Keith Again.
That made me truckle when I saw it in a chat.
Keep's definitely got theme going on here as well. O
Oakarm Emmanuel.
Speaker 4 (49:32):
You have to say I didn't. I didn't know that one.
Speaker 2 (49:35):
No, I didn't. And the most Wonderful Time of the
Year from Rich Driving Downfield for Christmas is also from
Rich and I saw Mummy kissing Sandra Claus is also
from Keith and again definitely had me chuckling when I
saw it in the churney.
Speaker 4 (49:51):
There's a lot of potential for replacing Santa with sanders Is.
Speaker 2 (49:58):
I'm dreaming of a player Christmas. This is absolutely what
we're all dreaming of at this time of year and
would be the best gift that Myrie Dolphins could give us.
That one is from Phil Walker in a Wadle Wonderland
from Danny. That's your Danny, right, Yeah, Yeah, And Danny
had another one. You want to kick us off with
that one?
Speaker 4 (50:16):
Yeah, Waddle around the Christmas Tree from Danny and all
of his own work as well.
Speaker 2 (50:21):
I have to say, very good.
Speaker 4 (50:23):
Thanking Gold It's Christmas from Colin, which I thought was
quite a good one. There's plenty, you know. You think
of gold, frankins Ands and Myrrh at Christmas as good
play on words from Colin. Mistletoe and smythe from Colin
and this was the next one, who is actually my
favorite of all of them. Hard rocking around the Christmas
Tree was awesome from Natalie there that was my favorite
(50:44):
of all of them. I think another one from Danny
Frosty the Snowman because of Jaovon Holland's nickname being the Snowman.
Of course, I actually thought of the next one at
last Christmas remoasted instead of remastered. I wish it could
be Chris Chambers every day nice. I'm dreaming of a
(51:07):
right Christmas. Okay, Larry little drummer boy. Yeah, Cameron good
all year.
Speaker 2 (51:20):
You're going to need to sing the last one.
Speaker 4 (51:21):
I'm not going to sing it, but to the tune
of jingle bells. You have two throws, Tyreek scores, Miami
wins the game. Oh what fun it is to see
the dolphins on their way. Hey, And that was from Joe,
So some pretty good suggestions there. Thanks to the guys
for contributing to that. That was a little bit of
fun that we thought we'd bring to you just before Christmas.
Speaker 2 (51:44):
Absolutely, So with that being said, sorry, what are your
did we do our Christmas plans last week? I don't
think we did, did we?
Speaker 4 (51:51):
We did mention it briefly last week?
Speaker 2 (51:53):
Ye did mention it. Will you be watching the game
Sunday with a nine o'clock kickoff?
Speaker 4 (51:58):
Yeah, we'll be. Yeah, absolutely, I mean, regardless of what
happens on Saturday, I'll be watching it because if the
worst comes to the worst and there is only two
games left this season, I like to save every moment
of watching the Dolphins play because it's something we all
enjoy irrespective of the performance of the results. We are
die hard fans, after all, aren't we. Least we watch
them through thick and thin, So you'd like, hopefully there'll
(52:21):
be more than two games left. But if they're not,
and if it's not meant to be, then it's the
last couple of weeks of Dolphins football this season. So
I'll just want to just want to watch it to
the end.
Speaker 2 (52:31):
Absolutely long. The off season is long enough without making
it longer it is, So.
Speaker 4 (52:36):
What about you, then the you're gonna you'll obviously find
time to watch it.
Speaker 2 (52:39):
Of course I will be watching the game. I will
definitely find a way to root on Christmas Day, much
than with mothers dislike, I will have football on TV.
Somewhere in the house. Unfortunately, at this staate, she just
has a little bit. But yeah, I'll be rooting for
that Pittsburgh Steelers victory over the Kansas City Cheese. But yeah,
other than I hoping for some Dolphins Christmas gifts.
Speaker 4 (53:00):
In the meantime, we wish all of our listeners a
happy Christmas as well. We hope you enjoyed the weekend
football and enjoy spending time with your friends and family
over the holiday period. And Lee and I will be
back with you with a pod next week, reviewing the
Browns game and looking forward to the last regular season
game against the Jets. We bid you farewell and we
shall speak to you soon
What's up, Dolphans.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
This is Juice and Big Seth.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
From the fish Tank podcast. But right now you're listening
to the Dolphin UK podcast and Juice I can't wait
to dive in. Let's go to the bo's call on
Jeep Steers Still.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
What is take him away home? Oh? Right around circuits,
(00:49):
pretty throws down cal and he's intercepting pick top Ho
ho has it all shut up because of the pressure
by Kalaiis Campbell? Another big run Therry garls he's got
white open space eight ten for the eight parts ever
(01:10):
head a touchdown by Miami fifty yards. It's all but
put the game away.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Hello and welcome to the Dolphin UK podcast and welcome
into a victory Christmas edition of the Dolphan UK podcast.
I want to start off by first introducing my co
host Simon Say. How you doing?
Speaker 4 (01:41):
Yeah, very well, Thanks Lee. Merry Christmas to you and
your family. Hope you have a good one. And I
do like the little intro that you put together for
is there with the staying alive theme at the end
of the commentary clips, because the Dolphins are just about
staying alive, aren't they.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Absolutely, we've made it to week seven seventeen, still alive,
still with a chance, and I think we can consider
that a Christmas gift at this stage because it was
looking unlikely a few weeks ago. I know there's a
lot of things that have to happen, but we'll take
it one step at a time, and that includes the
Dolphins victory. So we will look over the Dolphins victory
(02:17):
against forty nine Ers last week, we will look ahead
to a very important matchup on the road against the
Cleveland Browns this upcoming week, and have a few festive
treats throughout the show as well. I feel, but sign
it's been a bit of a gone.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
I'm looking forward to those festive treats because they're pretty funny,
aren't they. So I've have to control I don't laugh
at my own suggestions on that one.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Absolutely, but it's been a fairly quiet weak news wise,
So we're going to skip that and go straight into
recapping last week's victory against the San Francisco forty nine
Ers at hard Rock Stadium. On the face of it,
it appeared as though Dolphins executed a pretty good game plan,
(03:06):
but really, in between the lines, when you look across
the beat writers and social media. Are there still one
or two issues that still kind of underline that performance.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Yeah, you're right to a certain extent. The game plan
was well called, I thought, and in the main it
was executed well. But looking deeper into the performance of
the nine non half ending drives, they only managed to
get in the end zone twice, and one of those
was at the end of the game. So while they
calmly moved the chains, the fact they kept stalling, settling
for five field goals meant it was Jason Sanders who
(03:39):
kept bailing them out. They can't keep relying on field
goals to account for most of their points, especially if
they reached the playoffs. They might be able to get
away with it against teams like the Browns and the
Jets in the next two weeks, but if they somehow
managed to get in the playoffs, they're gonna have to
learn how to convert field goals into touchdowns. Having said that,
(03:59):
though they didn't make any mistakes lead they had a
sound game plan. Both units played well together and I
don't think we've seen that too often this season, as
we said last week, and at the end of the day,
they got the win they needed. I think they can
take some confidence into Cleveland next week, but I think
to get a result, they probably need something to play for,
do the Dolphins. We'll talk about that late in the show,
(04:20):
of course.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Yeah. I wanted to throw a question back at you
because the game plan seemed to sound and like you say,
they weren't able to convert as many drives into touchdowns
as I'm sure they would have liked. But did you
feel like the opportunities were there? Obviously we saw Tyreek
have tough chances at two that were in the end zone, Like,
(04:45):
do you think the opportunities were there or do you
think it was a lack of chances created by the team.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
I think opportunities were there because they did score twice
out of nine drives. If Tyreek had had a bit
of luck, a bit of more fortune with balls not
being tipped, then he could easily have had a touchdown
or two in addition to the one he did grab.
So I think the opportunities were there. It was just
the final execution I thought was lacking a little bit
(05:14):
because they just relying on five Jason sanders Field goals
is all very well and good putting points on the board,
but they're not touchdowns and against better teams in the
playoffs you will get punished for that. So the opportunities
were there, it was just lacking a little bit of.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Execution absolutely, and the running game showed signs of life again,
which is a welcome return. I think I can say
on behalf of everybody is there a rissa Dolphins will
become too reliant on de von Achaan because he seemed
to be the game plan. No, it seemed to work
out that way, you know, not only with his Russia's balls,
(05:50):
so catching the ball out of the backfield as well.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Yeah, don't get me wrong. It was great to see
him have a superb game, probably his best best all
round game of the season so far, or would imagine.
And he's certainly become the focal point of the offense
this season and the connection he has with two plays
a large role in that he accounted for exactly half
of the Dolphins yards yards from scrimmage against the Niners.
(06:13):
Seventeen rushes for one hundred and twenty one yards and
six catches for seventy yards in his one hundred and
eighty nine hundred and ninety one sorry yards combined was
a season high. But I said in a podcast are
in the season when Tour was out that they needed
to get the ball into the hands of the playmakers.
And when you talk about playmakers, you immediately think about
the likes of Hill and Waddle. They tend to spring
(06:34):
to mind first, But now I think a Chan has
surpassed them in that sense, in that if he ticks,
the offense ticks. So whilst he's a big part of
the game plan that hasn't really changed for much of
the season. Just the threat of other weapons such as
john Us Smith, Hill and Model I think is enough
to keep defenses honest and they're not just going to
(06:56):
keep in solely on the Van Hm, but there's no
getting away from the importance he does have in the
offense now.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
So with that being said, you mentioned the rung game
coming back to life, and obviously Devon is a huge
part of that. But I thought we saw some really
interesting shortyarded runs, especially from Rahem Moster and Jeff Wilson.
But also what role do you think having Tron Armstead
and Isaiah winning the lineup made Because I mentioned last
week I felt against the Texans with replacement tackles, things
(07:27):
just looked a little discombobulated behind the line of scrimmage
or sorry, at the line of scrimmage, whereas this week
everything looked as it was drawn up, blocks were in
the right place. I mean, you managed to silence a
player like Nick Bosa, which is, you know, incredibly hard
to do for any team in the NFL.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
I don't think you can underestimate the value that Armsted
and Win brought to that offensive line because, as you say,
it opened up the rushing lanes and it enabled them
to rush the ball something that they've not been able
to do over the previous six weeks or so. So
I think you can see in terms of the stats,
just value that those two players that you mentioned bring
to that line, and obviously they seem to have come
(08:08):
out with it unscathed in terms of the Browns game
coming up this week, so you'd like to think that
they'd be well set up to run the ball well
against the Browns this weekend as well.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Yeah, and you hope to see Isaiah Winn kind of
working his way back in. We know that he was
used kind of rotationally last Sunday as he works his
way back from from long term injury. So, like you know,
obviously we hope that continues into this week and hopefully
the week's ahead. I just want to touch on the
quarterback because you know, it's American football, so we have
(08:42):
to talk about the quarterback. This felt like a game where,
you know, if Tyree had pulled in a couple of those,
it looks like a super impressive game from tour. But instead,
this felt like a really complimentary game, which almost meant
it was. It felt like he was just doing the job,
just getting everything done. But it was. It wasn't bells
(09:04):
and whistles. It was just great execution and keeping the
team on schedule.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
That's all they needed, wasn't it great execution? Like I said,
they didn't make any mistakes in terms of turning the
ball over. The offensive line did a good job and
kept to her relatively upright. In fact, they don't recall
them having any sacks or QB hits, so they did.
So it was an all round solid performance from the offense.
And you can throw to her in there if you
excuse the pun to a certain extent as well, and
(09:32):
his stats would have been padded out a lot more
had Tyreek made those catches, especially the one that was
or did he have two in the end zone. I
can't remember now. I think that's what was needed from
to where it wasn't necessarily didn't need to be flashy.
He didn't need to throw for millions of yards. He
just needed to be efficient and sound, and that's kind
of that was reflected in the game plan. I thought
(09:55):
it was not flashy at all by any means. Obviously,
you had that one big play right at the end
from and that fifty yard run, but apart from that,
it was sound. It was solid, and it was competent.
And against the team like the Finews, who are pretty
good on defense, that was or you needed to win
the game and sorry proved.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah. I thought it felt like a kind of commanding performance,
kind of orchestrating the band, so to speak, you know,
but without having to be the soloist. And I think that's,
you know, what you're kind of aiming for in an
NFL team. I think that's why you've seen an improved
(10:34):
year from someone like Josh Allen, because he's able to
go into games and they are able to run the
ball better than they have in the past. You know,
we see that when our run game is working, the
entire team is looking better. That's you know, it's not
it's not a coincidence, and it's not really rocket science,
is it. That you know, if everyone's doing their part,
there's less strain put on any one part of the
(10:54):
part of the team, whether that's really whether it's offense
or defense.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
It's like a finally owned clock, isn't it. If one
element of that clock or machine is out of sync,
it kind of throws off everything else, doesn't it. And
you can include I think every single position on that
right down to even alec Ingold simply there as a
blocker if he and I recall something he said when
we had a chat with him earlier in the year
(11:20):
that everything needs to work as it should do in
order for the play to succeed. And I think he
used himself as he used Rahing Moster, as a blocker.
If he doesn't block the defender coming off the edge,
then it impacts everything else. And you can start to
see that clearly now that every position complements each other,
I think.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Now absolutely and alig and Golds are really interesting one,
isn't it, because he does so much unsung work. But
when you go back and look at the plates he's
in there lead blocking, and you can see why casual
fans may not appreciate the work of a fallback in
the NFL. But I think if you look back at
a lot of the big runs, you'll see lead blocks
(11:59):
by by Ada King gold in there, you know, with frequency,
because he is terrific at that. But like you say,
it all plays into everyone doing their job, the same
as wide receivers blocking downfield as well. You know, we
know that coaches a big one for that, and we
know these players buy into it and do it to
a high level. But with that being instead, do you
want to give us some Finns facts from the win
(12:22):
over the forty nine ers. We know there's always more
coming off the back of a victory.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
Yeah, there are always some nice juicy ones as well,
and multiple franchise records were set in Miami's seventh win
of the season over the Niners, and they totaled three
hundred and eighty yards yard three hundred and eighty one
yards in the context, including one hundred and sixty six
on the ground, which was the most Miami had since
they played the Colts. The defense held the forty nine
(12:47):
Ers to just eighty one yards on the ground, which
was just the fourth time this season the forty nine
Ers had been held to less than hundred yards rushing.
Miami has now held opponents to less than one hundred
yards rushing in eight of its last nine games, which
is the most in the NFL since Week eight, which
is kind of surprising when you look at social media,
isn't it, Lee, and you see everybody unhappy with the
(13:08):
performance of the defense, But that kind of statistic doesn't
reflect that at all, does it. It's it's I know.
We've had a conversation on our WhatsApp group about the
value of stats in measuring a team's performance, and it's
very different to the eye test, isn't it? In that sense?
The Dolphins recorded three sacks of the owner. They held
(13:29):
the fourteen nine ers pass rush to just one quarterback
hit and zero sacks, make it marking the second time
in three games the Dolphins have held their opponents without
a sack. Seven Dolphins receivers caught at least one pass
against the forty nine Ers, extending Miami streak to eight
games with at least seven pass catchers, which is tied
with the Chiefs for the longest streak since tour returned
(13:52):
in Week eight. Moving on to Johnny Smith, of course,
he set a tight ten franchise record at the tight
end position for receptions and receiving yards in a single season,
surpassing Randy McMichael's record set in nineteen seven sorry two
thousand and four, and Johnny Smith now has seventy six
receptions and eight hundred and two yards, six touchdowns, and
(14:15):
he's tied for third in receiving touchdowns by tight end
in a single season, with only who in front of him?
Lee on the spot trivia question for you, would you
know who which tight ends have scored more times in
a season than John Ou Smith?
Speaker 2 (14:32):
I would say maybe Charles Clay felt like he got
a lot, but no, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
Anthony Fasano in two thousand and eight and Keith Jackson
in nineteen ninety four both had seven. So another score
by John O Smith and he'll equal that record. And finally,
John Ou Smith has been amongst the league's best at
that position, ranking fourth in receiving yards and reception and
tied for fourth in receiving touchdowns as well, behind Rock Bowers,
(15:04):
who's had a tremendous rookie season. It's got to be
in contention for Offensive Rookie of the Year at the
very least George Kittle and Train McBride of the Cardinals
who's had ninety two catches and zero touchdowns. So great
season by Johnny Smith, wasn't it. He's got to be
ranked up there as being in contention for Fan Team MVP.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
He would have thought, yeah, especially as you know, his
performance seemed to completely change when Tour came back and
they had one begin I think it was on the
road of Seattle, but was kind of quiet early in
the season. But since Tours return, you know, he's kind
of hit all those numbers in that period of time.
That's when the season made the biggest in roads. I
(15:45):
think again, you know, this is not a one or
two year player in the NFL that's breaking not only
team records but his own personal records. So it shows,
you know, those stats are not just around the Miami Dolphins,
but also play into his career numbers. You know, he's
played on multiple teams and mubile quarterbacks, and you know
(16:07):
he's breaking his own records with too you know, sorry,
with more than two weeks to go, having broken him
in last week's game. Yeah, really impressive.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
Somebody else who's been really impressive is Deavon ah Chan.
I just want to read to you a couple of
stats for him in that he's got thirteen hundred and
forty scrimmage yards this season so far, which is the
second most by a Dolphins running back in the previous
ten seasons, only beaten so far by Jay Ajai in
twenty sixteen, who had fourteen hundred and twenty three total
(16:36):
scrimmage yards in a season. So you'd have thought Devon
ah Chan has got a really good chance of beating
that record. And a Chan has set the franchise single
season record for receptions by a running back, passing Terry
Kirby's ninety ninety three season in that he's now had
seventy six as opposed to Terry Kirby's seventy five. So
(16:56):
somebody else, lee who's been really impressive throughout this season.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Absolutely, and talking of impressive, we put out a pole
for a game ball this week, and we will obviously
give our game balls as well, but I wanted to
start off with the fan vote, which we put out
Sunday night. Now it was late here in the UK,
so thank you everyone who voted, you know, with the
late finish of the game. But we listed Jason Sanders,
(17:21):
Kada Kohu, Devon a Chan, and Troup Robinson on the list,
and I was a little bit surprised at the result.
I've got to be honest, I thought this would go
a different way. But I'm by no means to certainly
this person is not worthy of the game ball. But
on top with sixty two percent of the vote was
Jason Sanders. So a game ball to Jason Sanders after
(17:43):
another impressive performance. Yeah, just keep putting them through.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
Who are you giving it to? Then, Lee, because you
seem somewhat surprised Sanders got the game ball? But who
did you give your game ball team?
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Well, I was going to give my game ball to
devon a Chan because I just felt that he was
all over the field, you know, in the pass game
and the run game. You know, there's obviously the big
run at the end of the game to seal it,
which I think made us all sit a little easier.
I know Chaney Romo said he might have been better
off going down, but you know, I think it felt
(18:21):
like the Dolphins were in control when he went in,
that they were going to give up two scores, so
it felt like that kind of really put a bow
not only on his performance but on the victory as well.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
I'm going to give it to a Chan as well
as it happens Lee. I think, as I said earlier,
he seemed to be the focal point for the offense
for most of the game, and I'm not really sure
you can give it to anyone else if you're going
to give it to somebody on the offensive side of
the ball. Although John why Smith deserves to mention though,
in becoming that all time leading tight end in terms
of yards and receptions as we just said, so he
(18:54):
deserves a bit of a mention. But I really like
the fact that both units played well, Lee in the
worst some other candidates on defense to cad Co who
and Chob Robinson made the key plays as we know,
and Zach Seeler and Jordan Brooks both He's ever mentioned,
with each having saxed quarterback hits and tackles for a loss,
so they too and deserve at least some sort of
(19:14):
nomination here. But I thought, yeah, Echan was the outstanding
player and deserved it.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
I think absolutely. With that being said, I want to
go back to saying you mentioned last week. Did this
feel like a more complete performance from the Dolphins? You mentioned,
I think in your path to victory, we hadn't really
seen it, and I know the forty nine ers have
plenty of injury plenty of injury issues, but at the
same time, they're still an incredibly good team and they
(19:39):
were playing hard. This wasn't a team that had given
up even though they'd been eliminated prior to the game
kicking off. Did you think this was a more complete
performance from the Dolphins.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
Yeah, it was. I think we needed it as well,
because I think against a team like the Niners, who
are pretty solid, even though they are being hit by
injuries at the moment, they're still not a bad football team.
They've still got some really good players on it. So
I think they needed that complete game in order to
pull out the victory, and I think they delivered it there.
Like I said earlier, the offense didn't really make any mistakes.
There were no turnovers, no big tackles for a loss,
(20:14):
no sacks. Yeah, there was one or two drops which
you'd like to have back. And then on the defensive
side of the ball, they kept the Niners relatively quiet,
holding them to one score one touchdown, and he never
really got the sense that brock Purdy was comfortable and
leading that their offense up and down the field. He
did it a couple of times, but generally they seemed
(20:36):
quite comfortable in containing him, forcing him out of the
pocket for quite a while, so quite a lot of
the time. So yeah, you're right. I think they did
deliver that almost complete performance on both sides of the ball.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
Absolutely, and we need to continue into next week. But
with that being said, that brings us on to halftime
in the show, so sorry. We set a trivia question
last week which was John Smith is having an outstanding
season that currently as six hundred and ninety two receiving
(21:11):
yards because here we know he has more. Now, which
dolphin's tight end has the most receiving yards in a
single season? Would you like to give the answer to people?
Speaker 4 (21:19):
I think I just gave it away, and in fact,
Deni Lee, I just realized that if those listeners who
are alert will have realized I gave the answer away.
But just to reiterate, it was Randy McMichael who had
seven hundred and ninety one yards in two thousand and four,
and they probably mentioned it on the broadcast anyway that
Lee didn't.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
They They absolutely did mention it on a broadcast as well.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Certainly you're gonna deliver us our question for this week
based on the fact that you've got a Miami Dolphins
trivia book as your secret Santa, So I think we're
possibly going to look at using this more. I think
in terms of setting out trivia. What's the question for
this week?
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Absolutely so, based on some of the stuff we've just
been talking about. In regards to receptions, it is who
was the last non wide receiver to lead the Dolphins
in receptions in a single season? And it's multiple choice?
Should we give out multiple choice? Yeah? I think so
it is Randy McMichael, Terry Kirby, Charles Clay or Jim Kick.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
Interesting one. We have just mentioned Terry Kirby, didn't we,
So he's got to be in contention, and Randy McMichael
has also got to be in contention because that was
a record in itself until recently. Tricky one. But it's
interesting that we're kind of going in that direction this year,
aren't we. Lee with a channel Johnny Smith both having
(22:43):
more receptions than Hill and Wodel.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Absolutely. Yeah, it's interesting that we're in that we say
we're in the re album. That's why I've picked that
question because so I think it's apps because we could
end up with another one this year.
Speaker 4 (22:58):
I don't know the answer. Let's reveal it next week,
shall we?
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Absolutely? So with that being said, do you want to
move us on to the update on the Hick h'am League.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
Yeah. With a couple of weeks ago. Now starting at
the bottom, bluey Co has remained rooted to the bottom
with one hundred and thirty points, followed by Lee's Finns
Fan on one hundred and forty four, Miami five oh
one and one hundred and fifty, Joe Day on one
five to three, and Dan Crow on one five to five.
But credit to Dan who got a league high fourteen
correct predictions this week, So well done to you, Dan.
(23:31):
And at the top, the only Beaver is making an
appearance again in the top five on one six five.
Danny Myers is on one sixty six, with me just
above Danny on one seven to two, and we have
an equal or change at the top with seventy two
equals Perfection and Raybots seventy nine both now equal on
(23:53):
one seven eight, So looks like the the championship is
going to be down to one of those two and
neck and Neckley after seventy two equals perfection one and
Keith scoring one more than Ray this week.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Down to the last two weeks and down to the
wire for them both tied up. Amazing, doesn't it. But
it's been an interesting season in the Pickham League. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
I mean even my brother's been taking part in itly,
and he's not a big American football fan by any
means that he just goes with the probabilities. So he
looks at the probabilities and just goes with the favorite
each week, and he's slightly outside the top half a dozen.
I think. So you've got to take a couple of
risks to win the league. I think you've got to
be able to spot the outlies, if you like, the shocks,
(24:41):
or the teams that are surprised, because if you go
for the favorite every time, it's clear from what my
brother does, you're not going to win the league.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Absolutely. I took a few chances this week that went
close but not quite. I had the Patriots over the Bills,
for instance. Patriots always seemed to find a way to
cause the Bills trouble even if they don't come out
the victory. And I know from our point of view,
we definitely want to know prefer the Bills win because
it keeps a number one seed interesting, which takes us
on nicely to the playoff picture. And we are going
(25:12):
to keep talking about the playoff picture because your Dolphins
are still alive, as we mentioned earlier, So SI, do
you want to give us an update on our percentage
chance of reaching the NFL playoffs?
Speaker 4 (25:22):
So last week our chances of reaching the playoffs at
seven percent. This week they have increased by one percent
to eight percent, So staying alive as they say. But
to give an overall picture, Chargers currently sat sit in
the number sixth seed with a ninety four percent chance
of making the playoffs. Denver are in the seventh spot,
(25:42):
but their percentage has dropped now to seventy six on
the back of a lost to the aforementioned Chargers on
Thursday Night Football. The Colts are in the eighth spot
with a percentage chance of fifteen percent, and the Dolphins
are in the ninth spot, as we say, with an
eight percent chance on making the playoffs. But there's an
interesting couple of weeks coming up in terms of the schedule,
(26:05):
isn't Itly let's start with the Charges, shall we. I know,
because they are a factor in terms of the Dolphins
making the playoffs, because not only do the Dolphins have
to win out, we also need the Chargers to lose
two games as well. So it's difficult to see those
dropping both games, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Yeah, it's difficult to see them dropping two games, especially,
like you say, on the road to New England and
Las Vegas. But I go talk about this a little
bit later with teams in the let's say top end
as the NFL draft order right now, that the Raiders
don't seem to be interested in doing themselves any favors,
having one on the road last week against Jacksonville, sorry,
(26:44):
one at home against Jacksonville last week, which seemed kind
of unnecessary and maybe not in their best interest. So yeah,
it would seem like unlikely that the Chargers drop both
of those games, even though they are both on the road.
Speaker 4 (26:59):
The Broncos, whoever, are playing teams very much in contention
for the playoffs still, albeit at different ends of the scale,
with the Chiefs fighting for the number one seed still
and the Bengals sat one spot below on in the
tenth position, but they've still got an outside chance of
getting into the playoffs, and in fact, they're playing well
enough you'd like to think, Lee, that they could do
(27:19):
the Dolphins a favor, even though they're a playoff rival.
We very much want the Bengals to beat the Broncos
on Saturday night, don't we?
Speaker 2 (27:27):
Absolutely? And you know, the Bengals seem to be putting
up the sort of performances where they could go into
Denver and is it an upset?
Speaker 4 (27:35):
Yeah, I mean in Cincinnati as well, Lee, as well,
it's not even in Denver.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Oh, it's in Cincinnati. I completely restripped that. So it's
you know, that's a they have every chance to win
their game, Cincinnati putting up a good performance. I don't
even know if it would be an upset because even
though Denver are in the playoff spots and Cincinnati are not,
Cincinnati not playing like a team currently outside of the
playoff hunt or sorry on that that outside looking in
(28:01):
column with our Delphins. So yeah, I mean it's interesting.
I think Houston could have done us a favorite beating
Kansas City last Saturday night because that would have led
hopefully to a must win game for Kansas City and
the last week of the season for the number one seed.
But yeah, there's definitely the opportunity there for Denver to
lose one and even possibly too because you know, if
(28:25):
Kansas City do have the one seed, everyone you know,
there's a lot of rumor that or at least question
do you start to sit players? Well, now you're sitting
players for two weeks, and do you want to go
into the playoffs off the back of a defeat? And
so I wonder if you know, because it's going to
get you the bye week anyway, if you are the
(28:47):
number one seed, do they play a half and treat
it like a preseason game where they still get to
go through emotions. I don't know. It's an interesting concept
because we've seen teams come out sluggish. In the championship game,
we saw and the Senessey Titans come out very sluggish
when they were the number one seed a few years back.
I remember seeing the Indianapolis culture still all the time
under Peyton manning that first game after the Buyer. Heading
(29:09):
into the playoffs, they just started sluggish. Now, they didn't
mean they got beat But I don't know if it's
the heart. I don't know if it's good for your
heart to have the team come out and do that.
So be interesting to see how that game is approached.
But definitely two losable games to Denver on schedule, and.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
The Chiefs, of course play the Steelers in Pittsburgh on
Christmas Day, and the Steelers themselves are still fighting for
a division title, so they're going to be able to
give the Chiefs a good game. And for all intents
and purposes, we would want the Steelers to win that
because it hurts for us to say it, but we
want the Bills to still be in contention, don't we
(29:46):
for that number one seed to push the Chiefs to then,
like you say, play their first team against the Broncos.
So absolutely, it all starts with the Steelers on Christmas.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
Day, So get your Christmas dinner down. They get ready
for to cheer on some football. It may not be
your Dolphins, but it doesn't mean it's going to be
stress free.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
And then we've got the Indianapolis Colts, of course, who
pulled out a win last week to move to seven
and eight, and they their remaining games are at the
Giants and at home to the Jaguars. If anything, this
seems to be the one that is most unlikely in
terms of what the Dolphins are going to wish for,
because the Colts have got to team two games against
(30:28):
two of the worst teams in the NFL at the moment.
Having said that, Tony Romo mentioned it on the broadcast
that Indianapolis haven't won three in a row all season,
so long may that trend to continually?
Speaker 2 (30:38):
And how many do we need them to lose? Just
the one? Just the one. I just want to give
it out a stat because I'm sure I saw this
rolling across the ticker when watching a Dolphins game the
other day, and I couldn't quite believe it, So I'm
just pulling it up to read it out again. So
in the thirty eight thirty victory over the Tennessee Titans,
would you like to have a stab? I guess in
(31:00):
Anthony Richardson's stat line.
Speaker 4 (31:04):
I saw that as well, And wasn't it something completely
ridiculous like seven completions out of eleven attempts or something ridiculous?
Speaker 2 (31:13):
It was seven completions on eleven attempts for one hundred
and one hundred and thirty one yards, one touchdown, one interception.
Now this is obviously boasted slightly because he has nine
carries for seventy yards and one touchdown rushing, But I
mean it's just if you can force him into being
a passer, do you have a chance to win those games.
(31:35):
I think we saw it when we played them. I
think if we had been anywhere near full strengths, we
would have been able to put a victory up on
the road in against Indianapolis. So I don't think they're
an infallible team. Yes, they're playing two bad teams and
I'm just lost. So they're playing at New York See.
(31:55):
I think the big one for the Colts, I think
they win against the Giants because I don't think the
Giants particularly want to win. I think they are well
entrenched in getting rewarded for their four season. But there
is a reason the NFL puts divisional games of the
last week of the season. And we have been the
(32:15):
spoiler for the Patriots many times in the past, and
I wouldn't be surprised that Jacksonville would be interested in
playing spoiler to the Indianapolis Colts for their last game
of the season.
Speaker 4 (32:28):
Yeah, and another storyline there as well, as I don't
know what the status is of mac Jones in terms
of what his contract looks like, but he is if
he's out of contract, he's going to potentially want to
put on a good performance to earn a contract with
another team, all with the Jaguars next season as well.
It looks looking like Trevor Lawrence is done for the
(32:49):
year and mac Jones seems to be playing alright. So
another good mac Jones performance and hopefully that will help.
I mean, as another who at one time thought we'd
be cheering for mac.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Jones, BacT Jones to help us get into the playoffs.
Is an interesting scenario to be in, but that's where
we find ourselves seventeen.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
So just to confirm then, In order for the Dolphins
to get in the playoffs, as it stands now, the
Dolphins have to win out their remaining two games and
need Indianapolis to lose one game and either the Chargers
or the Broncos to lose two games, or the Dolphins
can win out and have the Chargers and the Broncos
lose too. So there are multiple pathways, but only an
(33:28):
eight percent chance of that happening right now, and of
course it could all be over even before the Dolphins
play on Sunday, because if the Broncos and Chargers both
win their games on Saturday, then it's all academic and
unfortunately the Dolphins are eliminated anyway.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
Absolutely, but it's interesting that they've managed to hold on
this long. There's still a chance, so we spoke, We've
spoken about a few times over last week. Looking at
all the different scenarios, it still doesn't seem like an
eight percent chance. It sounds more plausible than that to
me when we read it out.
Speaker 4 (34:01):
Now.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
That might just be my fan bias being involved, but
you know, you know, you want Denver to lose, and
looking at their opponents, it seems doable. You know, you
just mentioned Indianapolis haven't won three games in the road.
They'd have to do something they haven't done all season.
You know, I think Tory Rowe probably something it out
best because he actually sounded kind of positive about the Dolphins'
(34:23):
chances of making the playoffs based on the fact that
they would be favored you would think in the upcoming
two games and the kind of other permutations that need
to play out for them, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (34:34):
I'm not a mathematician by any stretch of the imagination,
but I would imagine that that eight percent is going
to skyrocket somewhat if the results go our way this
coming weekend, because then you're left with just one. For example,
if Danver lose to the Bengals and the Dolphins beat
the Browns and the Colts lose to the Giants, then
(34:57):
you've got a scenario where the Dolphins win and the
lose and they're in. So if the results go our
way this weekend, that percentage should skyrocket somewhat, I think,
to a much more believable level.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
Absolutely. But with that being said, we know that step
one of any of these things for the Miami Dolphins
is going to be winning their remaining games. Let's say
it could be all over by the time we play
the Browns, but you can only work on the assumption
that it's not and plan to put your best foot forward.
So I think with that, should we go ahead and
look at this week's upcoming matchup against the Browns.
Speaker 4 (35:31):
Yeah, let's do that. So the Browns are currently three
and twelve bottom of the AFC North. Their overall rank
on offense is twenty fifth, their rushing rank is twenty
seventh and their passing rank is nineteenth. And on defense
they fare slightly better with their overall rank at nineteenth,
their rushing rank also at nineteenth, and their passing rank
at thirteenth. And I mentioned that three and twelve recordly
(35:55):
are the Browns more dangerous? Do you think having won
only three games.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
I've mentioned it already that I think, you know, the
NFL rewards teams at this stage and season for not
playing well, and that's why they've tried to counteract it
by putting those divisional games at the last game of
the season. I think, you know, I think if you
asked a Browns fan, honestly, they would rather drop this
(36:20):
game than win the last game if they were going
to win one of these last two games. But you know,
the Dolphins should be favored going in there. We know
the Browns can be up and down. Even with three wins,
they have found a way to be an exciting team
with Jameis Winston at the helm. Now we know Jameis
was bench last week, but with the injury concern to Thompson,
(36:42):
there is a chance that he finds himself back Under
said of this week, and that is the sort of
thing that absolutely petrifies me because he is so erratic
that you just don't know what you're going to get.
I think it's easier when you know you know what
Josh Allen is. For instance, you might not like it,
but you know what he is and what he's going
to do, so you know what you have to do
to stop it. With Jameis Winston, it could be anything.
(37:04):
There was a reason that he doesn't start in the NFL,
right you know. Sorry, It doesn't have a cemented starting
job in the NFL because he is all over the board.
But he does bring excitement and I do wonder if
that is possibly why he wasn't playing last week, because
you run the risk of maybe winning. I think the
coaching start feel kind of safe there, especially with the
(37:25):
injuries they've suffered this year, including into starting quarterback de
Sean Watson. I think it's easy to look at management
and say, hey, this is why this season has ended
or is at this stage only with three wins. So
I don't think they're the sort that are necessarily coaching
just for their jobs. But I think it does make
the Browns dangerous because there are players there that will
be playing for jobs. There are coaches that will be
(37:46):
playing for jobs. You mentioned it with Mac Jones in Jacksonville.
At this stage of season, there is different agendas between players,
coaches and teams. They don't always aligne at this time
of year.
Speaker 4 (37:58):
So the Dolphins did a good job versus he's the
forty nine ers front and Nick Bosa. Can they replicate
that this week against the twelve sack Miles Garrett and
he was some of the eye was looking at Lee
and thinking when working on a path to victory, I'm thinking,
when the Dolphins have the ball on offense, you know,
you stop Miles Garrett and you've got a chance of
moving the ball.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
That Miles Garrett is the kind of guy that can
ruin your day real quick. And again, this is where
I think you get to that not every party's desires
a line at this time of the season. I say,
I think the Browns will best off not winning this game.
I think the coaching staff and the GM are definitely
better off if they perform really, really well and don't
(38:41):
quite win this game. It's the best of both worlds.
Miles Garrett is still looking at defensive player of the Year.
He still needs to put up the performances to win
that sort of an award on a three win team,
because once you're on a three win team, you kind
of get forgotten about, like some of the awards that
are voted for. So he definitely needs to continue to
(39:04):
have that disruptive performance. But as you mentioned and we
spoke about earlier, the Dolphins did an incredible job last
week against Nick Bosa and they're going to have to
repeat that this week. We need to see another stellar
performance from the airline.
Speaker 4 (39:17):
So the Dolphins have been labeled as a team that
can't beat good teams or playing bad weather. Is there
a chance to change at least one of those narratives
this week?
Speaker 1 (39:25):
Do you think?
Speaker 2 (39:26):
I think he's really interesting because you know, I know
you've put down in the weather watch later the weather's
not terrible this week, but it is set to rain.
So there is a chance to go in a must
win game on the road and perform in what is
going to be changeable weather, not the South Florida the sun.
And I think you know, the Dolphins may be slightly
(39:50):
unlucky that whenever they seem to have a chance to
change one of these narratives, they have to change them
all in the same game. It's on the road on
a Thursday night on Thanksgiving against the good Packers team
in the cold. It's on the road against the AFC
and Super Bowl defending champions Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas
(40:13):
City in biblically cold weather. It's do you know what
I mean? It's never we've got to play a bad
team in the cold, so you can say, Okay, we've
won a game in the cold. It's never a good
team on the road, but the weather was fine. They
all seem to culminate in individual instances, and I think,
you know, we're going to look at in the weather
report it's not going to be terrible this weekend. But
(40:33):
if you can go and win a must win game
in changeable weather, I think you start to change it somewhat,
and even internally, it proves to yourself that's not actually
an issue. We can do.
Speaker 4 (40:44):
This strange narrative, isn't it? Because I just want to
digress slightly in thinking about when they've played the Bills
in Buffalo the last couple of seasons, they've made it
at least well the exception of the week after the
seventy ten Broncos where they almost found themselves on the
reverse end of that kind of score line. They generally
(41:05):
have played alright over recent seasons in Buffalo, and it's
traditionally a cold weather environment that everybody recognizes. Strange narrative,
isn't it, that then can't quite get over the edge
to win, but they play well enough to be competitive.
Speaker 2 (41:19):
It's funny, isn't it, because that way it fits the narrative.
But you don't actually look to in depth at the performance.
You know, you lose to a sixty one yard walk
off field goal, which I think was a team record,
and you can't win in the cold, rather than they
actually did something quite special to win the game. There
was the game in the snow what two years ago
now up there during a night game where you got
(41:40):
beat again by a late field goal. Those weren't bad performances,
but they were losses, so they fit the narrative. But
the narrative always needs, they think, some delving into maybe
just a little bit above the surface, right.
Speaker 4 (41:53):
Onto our path to victory. Then, Lee, we've talked about
how playing in cold weather on the road, how the
Dolphin's gonna find a way to be victorious. This weekend.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
This is going to be a continuing theme. I can
always tell you I'm going to say the same thing
next week that I'm going to say right now. Just
find a way. It doesn't matter how they don't care.
The performance is ugly. If you need a win on Sunday,
find a way to come out with it, and that's
all that matters. But if I was to be picky,
I'd say you would want you'd want to see a
(42:24):
continuation of the improvement of the run game, another performance
where all three phases are involved and performing at a
high level. That's the sort of thing that we'd like
to see. I think you know we mentioned earlier the
Olne deserves a lot of credit, especially Toron Armstead and
Isaiah win coming in seemed to really change things on
offense in regards to just being slightly more synchronized. So
(42:47):
we want to see so we want to see that.
We don't want to let let Miles Garrett get get
ahead of scene and start wrecking the game plan. So
more of that, but again, just find a way.
Speaker 4 (43:02):
I think I'm very similar to you in that it's
not the time to be specific about a type of
game plan, now, is it. In terms of either being
able to run the ball or making sure you get
your heels and your waddels involved. It's about finding that
level of performance like the Niners, where they just need
to be competent and efficient and don't make mistakes. I
think so, However, I do want to focus a little
(43:26):
bit on the Browns in that a Dolphins victory or
could be dependent on who is at quarterback for the Browns.
Dorrin Thompson Robinson was inserted as their starter in an
experiment which flopped against the Bengals, and flopped massively from
what I've read. He was forced to run for his
(43:46):
life all game against the Bengals defense that had really
started to earn a reputation for giving opposing offenses whatever
they wanted. So the Bengals defense had a great game
against the Browns, but they're not one of the top
ranked defenses in the NFL by any means. Whilst they
have some decent players the Browns, their offense is not
(44:06):
operating at a level which fits the standard for NFL
teams at the minute. We talked to last week about
teams being on the beach, and this is the case
for the Browns. I think as you said earlier there
are question marks over the fitness of Thompson Robinson, so
we may see the return of Jameis Winston, who you
alerted it to. It arguably could pose a bigger threat.
(44:29):
And I can see your face you're not keen on
that one at all.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
This is the Mason Rudolph for the Tennessee Titans that
you know.
Speaker 4 (44:36):
Yeah, so on his day he can be really good,
but he also has a habit of imploding, which is
why he got benched in the first place. So if
James Winston does play, hopefully we'll see the letter. But
perhaps the best news for the Dolphins is the weather forecast.
As you mentioned, it's not going to be that cold
and snowy, with only some light drizzle, I believe. So
(44:56):
I know we have our weather segment on the pod,
but I wanted to bring it up now to highlight
that it can't be used as an excuse the weather
because it's going to be ten or eleven degrees, which
is perfect football weather for that time of the year.
It's not going to be cold at all. So like
last week, I think it just comes down to how
much the Dolphins want this victory, because on paper, man
(45:17):
for man, they are a better team than the Browns.
Will results on Saturday spur them on to a good
performance and victory on Sunday, Or will an early elimination
by the Broncos or charges mean that they too are
on the beach. Only time will tell their lead. But
the game is set up nicely for them in terms
of getting another win on their road to the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (45:39):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more. Let me say that it
can't be an excuse. I don't think there could be
any excuses. You, you know, have to find a way
to put enough drives together and score enough points. I
think we saw it the Oh the Jets game where
Sky the Thompson started and they just kept knocking through
(46:00):
enough field goals to qualify and make the playoffs. The
same against the Dallas Cowboys last year, and even as
much as a few weeks ago when you played the
New York Jets in overtime, you ran the same play
three times late in the game. I don't think it
was a shock to anyone that it was coming, but
you found a way to execute it better than the
Jets could defend it, and you ran it over and over,
(46:22):
and I think they did that. We have two separate plays.
There was a kind of screen passed to John Wuie
Smith obviously, which led to two big conversions, and then
there was also a similar play that they ran. Then
they ran it with Waddle and with Tyreek Hill on
the last two drives of the game, where the Jets
knew it was coming, they just cannot stop it because
it was executed to perfection. So that same thing doesn't
(46:42):
have to be groundbreaking, but it has to be well executed.
Speaker 4 (46:47):
You mentioned the Jets game there, which reminds me. You
just want to give a quick shout out to Andy Davis,
who's part of our WhatsApp group, who got surprised by
his girlfriend for an early Christmas and thirtieth they present
with a trip to New York to see that Dolphins
game against the Checks. So many happy returns, Andy, and
(47:07):
I have to say, your girlfriend is a keeper if
she can give you gifts like that. So hope you
both have a great time.
Speaker 2 (47:13):
And hopefully you see the victory that takes the Dolphins
to the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (47:16):
Yeah, so where can we watch the game lead this weekend?
It's unlikely to be on sky I would have thought.
I don't know. If Sky have released their slay of
games for this week already at this.
Speaker 2 (47:25):
Time of the week. But I think it would be
ironic if the game was moved out of Sunday Night
Football only for the Sky to show it in one
of the other slots. I could be wrong. I haven't.
I can't say it right now that I can remember
the rest of the games, but as I say that,
I'm going to bring them up. But other than that,
you can watch it on game Pass, which obviously you
can see the game as you do each week. I'm
(47:50):
looking for the late slot games. I mean, they usually
pick a nine to twenty five game. Interestingly, there's only
two late games this week.
Speaker 4 (48:00):
Two late games.
Speaker 2 (48:00):
Only two late games. There's a nine oh five kickoff,
which is the Dolphins against the Browns, and then there's
the nine to twenty five kickoff, which will absolutely be
the Sky game if they have the option of it,
which is the Green Bay Packers at the Minnesota Vikings.
Speaker 4 (48:14):
Yeah, they're going to show that one. You'd have thought,
aren't they.
Speaker 2 (48:16):
I've been safe. If you don't have access to anything else,
get yourself on red zone, because I'm going to guess
there's gonna be plenty of for the only other game
that's going on.
Speaker 4 (48:25):
Yeah, that's quite true, actually, I mean, I mean yeah. So,
and that's a free to air channel on Sky, So
channel four to one six or four one eight somewhere
in that region. It's a free to air channel. So
you should you should get a good chunk of Dolphins
action if you haven't got access to game Pass or
Sky this week. Okay, So that brings us to the
(48:47):
close of the show, Lee, and we're gonna have a
little bit of Christmas fun, now, aren't we. Because we
asked our for some feedback in our Dolphins WhatsApp chat
for everyone to provide us with some Miami Dolphins themed
Christmas songs or Harold's And we've got a few to
read out that have come in from the group. And
why don't you start us off, Lee by reading a
few of these suggestions and giving a shout out to
(49:08):
those that contributed.
Speaker 2 (49:11):
Okay, so I've got the first one on the list,
which is Merry Christmas two are you? Which I like
that a lot Craycraft tree oaka craft tree from Keith Again.
That made me truckle when I saw it in a chat.
Keep's definitely got theme going on here as well. O
Oakarm Emmanuel.
Speaker 4 (49:32):
You have to say I didn't. I didn't know that one.
Speaker 2 (49:35):
No, I didn't. And the most Wonderful Time of the
Year from Rich Driving Downfield for Christmas is also from
Rich and I saw Mummy kissing Sandra Claus is also
from Keith and again definitely had me chuckling when I
saw it in the churney.
Speaker 4 (49:51):
There's a lot of potential for replacing Santa with sanders Is.
Speaker 2 (49:58):
I'm dreaming of a player Christmas. This is absolutely what
we're all dreaming of at this time of year and
would be the best gift that Myrie Dolphins could give us.
That one is from Phil Walker in a Wadle Wonderland
from Danny. That's your Danny, right, Yeah, Yeah, And Danny
had another one. You want to kick us off with
that one?
Speaker 4 (50:16):
Yeah, Waddle around the Christmas Tree from Danny and all
of his own work as well.
Speaker 2 (50:21):
I have to say, very good.
Speaker 4 (50:23):
Thanking Gold It's Christmas from Colin, which I thought was
quite a good one. There's plenty, you know. You think
of gold, frankins Ands and Myrrh at Christmas as good
play on words from Colin. Mistletoe and smythe from Colin
and this was the next one, who is actually my
favorite of all of them. Hard rocking around the Christmas
Tree was awesome from Natalie there that was my favorite
(50:44):
of all of them. I think another one from Danny
Frosty the Snowman because of Jaovon Holland's nickname being the Snowman.
Of course, I actually thought of the next one at
last Christmas remoasted instead of remastered. I wish it could
be Chris Chambers every day nice. I'm dreaming of a
(51:07):
right Christmas. Okay, Larry little drummer boy. Yeah, Cameron good
all year.
Speaker 2 (51:20):
You're going to need to sing the last one.
Speaker 4 (51:21):
I'm not going to sing it, but to the tune
of jingle bells. You have two throws, Tyreek scores, Miami
wins the game. Oh what fun it is to see
the dolphins on their way. Hey, And that was from Joe,
So some pretty good suggestions there. Thanks to the guys
for contributing to that. That was a little bit of
fun that we thought we'd bring to you just before Christmas.
Speaker 2 (51:44):
Absolutely, So with that being said, sorry, what are your
did we do our Christmas plans last week? I don't
think we did, did we?
Speaker 4 (51:51):
We did mention it briefly last week?
Speaker 2 (51:53):
Ye did mention it. Will you be watching the game
Sunday with a nine o'clock kickoff?
Speaker 4 (51:58):
Yeah, we'll be. Yeah, absolutely, I mean, regardless of what
happens on Saturday, I'll be watching it because if the
worst comes to the worst and there is only two
games left this season, I like to save every moment
of watching the Dolphins play because it's something we all
enjoy irrespective of the performance of the results. We are
die hard fans, after all, aren't we. Least we watch
them through thick and thin, So you'd like, hopefully there'll
(52:21):
be more than two games left. But if they're not,
and if it's not meant to be, then it's the
last couple of weeks of Dolphins football this season. So
I'll just want to just want to watch it to
the end.
Speaker 2 (52:31):
Absolutely long. The off season is long enough without making
it longer it is, So.
Speaker 4 (52:36):
What about you, then the you're gonna you'll obviously find
time to watch it.
Speaker 2 (52:39):
Of course I will be watching the game. I will
definitely find a way to root on Christmas Day, much
than with mothers dislike, I will have football on TV.
Somewhere in the house. Unfortunately, at this staate, she just
has a little bit. But yeah, I'll be rooting for
that Pittsburgh Steelers victory over the Kansas City Cheese. But yeah,
other than I hoping for some Dolphins Christmas gifts.
Speaker 4 (53:00):
In the meantime, we wish all of our listeners a
happy Christmas as well. We hope you enjoyed the weekend
football and enjoy spending time with your friends and family
over the holiday period. And Lee and I will be
back with you with a pod next week, reviewing the
Browns game and looking forward to the last regular season
game against the Jets. We bid you farewell and we
shall speak to you soon
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