December 11, 2025 • 36 mins
Week 15 kicks off tonight so we’re looking ahead to Monday Night Football to preview the Dolphins and Steelers. Schemes, personnel, keys to victory - everything you need to know to get ready for kickoff.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
What is up Dolphins and welcome to the Draft Time Podcast.
I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show,
it is Thursday. It is week fifteen in the National
Football League. That means it's time to preview another Miami
Dolphins football game.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
We'll preview the Dolphins and Steelers.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
I've been locked in on the tape watching them getting
ready for a big road primetime test in Pittsburgh. The film,
the scheme, the personnel, the keys to victory, all of
that and a heck of a lot more from the
Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This
is the Draft Time Podcast. Real quick before I forget
(00:47):
Thursday night football. Pick Buccaneers over Falcons seems pretty easy.
And that's the last like dreg TNF game we get,
which have been pretty good this year, but we get
some real bangers going forward, Rams and Seahawks coming up
next week. Stay tuned for that one could be for
the first seed in the NFC. Let's talk about the
Pittsburgh Steelers here and start with the introduction as we
(01:08):
get ready for a Miami Dolphins Pittsburgh Steelers matchup. Where
the Dolphins could get back to five hundred with their
fifth consecutive win and give themselves a two game homestand
with a chance to get to nine to seven in
those games should they pull off the win. Here, I'm
going to tell you how they can do it. Over
the course of the next forty or so minutes Monday
night football. Riding a four game winning streak against a
(01:30):
Tiffany franchise in the National Football League, the just experience
their biggest win of the season, perhaps of the last
couple of seasons, in a cold December Rockets environment. This
is why you play the game, right, This is why
we love this league. And a couple of things here
before the actual Steelers intro Number one, we have not
(01:52):
been better equipped to win one of these types of
games in the McDaniel era, even if the roster isn't
as good as it wi us in twenty two or
twenty three, or the quarterback is not playing nearly as
well as he did in those seasons. But also the
second observation, we are finally playing a somewhat be careful
how you use this word, but we're gonna use it anyways,
(02:14):
a somewhat mid team in a primetime spot. The primetime
record for the Dolphins over the last few years essentially
reflects our record against winning teams because we always play
Buffalo or Kansas City, or Philly or Green Bay. In
these standalone games. It's pretty much always the best teams,
aside from one Titans game that Dolphins fans will remember
(02:35):
for the rest of their lives. But the Steelers are
incredibly flawed with some upside. We'll get into all of that.
I don't say any of this to disparage anybody, but
I think the Steelers reputation sort of carries the thought
of accomplishment for the last decade, if not more. You know,
the stat never a losing season under Mike Tomlin. It's
(02:57):
super impressive. But that's led to four playoff trips in
the five years, where they were utterly uncompetitive in each
of those games. Blowout in Baltimore last year, Buffalo the
year prior they missed in twenty two, they actually had
to have us lose to the Jets with Skyler Thompson
to get in. We did not, and it sparked that
fun game in Buffalo between the Dolphins and Bills that
(03:18):
year in the wildcard round. They also got blown out
in twenty one by the Chiefs to the Steelers. They
got smoked by Baker Mayfield and the Browns in twenty twenty,
They missed in twenty nineteen, in twenty eighteen, and I
would say their last like really true title contending team
was the twenty seventeen squad that lost to Blake Bortles,
Leonard Fournette and the Jacksonville Jaguars forty five forty two
(03:41):
in the divisional round before playoff expansion as a two
seed that year, those teams were loaded right Ben Roethlisberger
still in his prime prime, Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell.
They got wiped out by the Patriots in twenty sixteen
after beating us in the wildcard round. They lost in
the divisional round in twenty fifteen to the event champion
(04:03):
Denver Broncos My goodness, and the wild card round in
twenty fourteen after two years of missing the playoffs in
thirteen and twelve. It's kind of crazy that they never
played in an AFC championship game after their trip to
the Super Bowl in twenty ten, when they lost to
the Rogers led Packers. More recently, Tomlins and Year nineteen,
they added Rogers Ramsey, Darius Slay who has since been released,
(04:26):
John new Smith, DK Metcalf. Then in season they've added
Kyle Duggar, Jabrill Peppers a Sante Samuel. What I'm getting
at is this is a crazy veteran Leaden team, So
I think that's something.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
And Adam thieland too. I forgot about Thilan.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
I didn't even put He's not even in this discussion
because I didn't think it was relevant. But he played
the third most naps a receiver on Sunday, So I
think that's something to think about this week.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
This is a team that.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Has been here, and we're a young team playing in
a big spot in December for the first time for
a lot of these guys. But for the Steelers' purposes,
this is probably a one year type of deal in
terms of this core of the roster. Right, you don't
build teams that are this veteran Leyden without significant turnover
year over year, and like we.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Just experienced that.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Right, it's a forty percent turnover league minimum, but when
you've got this many players on the wrong side of thirty,
that number usually jumps to sixty percent or more. So
they're seven and six. They just beat Baltimore in a
huge game. The season is almost certainly going to come
down to that Week eighteen game against the Ravens, But
(05:32):
now they've got the Fins on Monday Night football. Let's
go ahead and crack into that. Their depth chart goes
as follows. Aaron Rodgers. I just said Aaron because Aaron
Brewer's name kind of gets me tripped up on the
AA run of it All. Mason Rudolph and then Will
Howard the three quarterbacks. The running backs. The only ones
that really use are Jalen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell at receiver,
DK Metcalf, Calvin Austen, Roman Wilson Adam Thielen at tight end.
(05:57):
This is probably their best position group on the entire team.
Smith Pratt, Friarmuth, and Darnell Washington. Calvin Anderson is the
left tackle, but he's gonna miss this game. We'll get
into that here in just one second. Troy Fatanu Travis
his favorite, Travis's favorite player from the twenty four class.
And then Dylan Cook is the replacement tackle with Andris Pete,
(06:19):
who kicked in at tackle last week but had to
leave that game with concussion. On the interior, they're a
lot better Isaac Samalu, Zach Frasier, and Mason McCormick across
the center, and then on defense Cameron Hayward. Derek Harmon's
the number two defensive tackle, but he has not played
in some time. He could return to the lineup this week.
Keanu Benton's the nose tackle and Yah Yah Black plays
a lot of heavy end for them as well.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Off the edge.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
TJ Watt Alex Highsmith are very good players. Nate Herbig
is the third rusher in the equation. They've got a
player named Jack Sawyer that they rotate out there once
in a while in some sub packages at linebacker Patrick
Queen and then Peyton Wilson and Malik Harrison. Wilson gets
more run, but they do play Harrison in some spots
At cornerback. Joey Porter junior James Pierre, the nickel is
(07:03):
Brandon Eccles, and they just signed to Sante Samuel, who
could see some time this week because James Pierre, like
Darnell Washington, like andrews Pete all suffered concussions in the
game against the Baltimore Ravens. Jalen Ramsey, Kyle Dugger and
Jabrill Peppers and Chuck Clark are the for safeties. Like
those guys are all thirty years old. You know, Well,
maybe Douger is not, but the other three guys are injuries.
(07:23):
So Deshaun Elliott is on IR. Actually, all these guys
are on IR. Deshaun Elliott, Miles Killer Brew two safeties,
Daniel u Kaylee, the defensive tackle that I pronounce his
name wrong, Isaiah Laudermilk, another defensive tackle, and left tackle
Broderick Jones.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Players on the injury report.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Calvin Anderson, the backup left tackle, has been ruled out already.
He will not play in the game. Derek Harmon, their
first round pick. He is supposed to be a limited
participant in practice this week and could return to game action.
If not, he will next week. Safety Kyle Dugger has
a chance to come back this week. Per Tomlin as well.
I think the biggest thing to track through this week
(08:00):
is what happens at the left tackle position. We already
know Calvin Anderson's down, but Andres Pete, who moonlights as
a tackle, he's a guard. He filled in for Anderson
last week, but he got knocked out with the concussion
of the game and was replaced by left tackle four
who made his NFL debut being in the league for
the last three years, in Dylan Cook. He was undrafted
in twenty two by Tampa and has caught on to
(08:22):
the Steelers active roster in twenty three. Didn't play a
game without last year with an injury, has been on
the practice squad this year, and now he gets a
call up and he's going to start this game most
likely unless Andrews Pete Claar's protocol at left tackle for
the Pittsburgh Sealers first start in primetime in the at
home against the Miami Dolphins. Now, the same diagnosis that
Pete got was true for Darnell Washington, the tight end
(08:46):
who was essentially a sixth offensive lineman, a three hundred
pound tight end that once again another Travis Draft favorite,
Emily Harrison, also had a concussion. Keanu Benton left the
game with an ankle injury. James Pierre left with an
injury as well. Ben Skearnic and Yah Yah Black both
mentioned as players that will be limited in practice this
week because of injuries. So they are a banged up
football team. As for their offensive personnel, those injuries have
(09:09):
impacted their ability to run the football. Like Washington's again
a three hundred pound tight end, He's basically the most
athletic extra sixth offensive lineman to ever play this damp game.
But the left tackle position, at minimum, they're going to
be on LT three, if not LT four. Scroonic's entire
game is blocking. He's a Julian Hill type of player
who's a little bit smaller and faster, so he is
(09:31):
a receiver, but he basically plays the Westbrook a Kina role,
so that elevates that role that's asked of john Us Smith,
who is a still very dangerous weapon with the ball
in his hands, don't get it twisted, but his play
at the point of attack has never been his strength.
And I watched the Steelers tape again. Didn't really have
to do this because I saw it for the Dolphins
for sixteen seventeen games last year. But anytime they try
(09:53):
short yardage and they try to get him to cut
off a five technique or a four eye, or try
to get him to seal off a nine technique, like,
he loses those reps. He doesn't want to block in line.
The end can crash across his face and get in
there and blow up the play. Let's go ahead and
stay on the offensive line here with the Pete Dylan
Cook position is kind of where you start if you're
going to develop your plan of attack. It's probably the
(10:14):
weakness of the entire group go after it right and
watching Cook, which which is kind of the guy that
I honed in on because I don't I don't think
he'll turn around. Pete will from a concussion. I'll play
that quick, but he never know. But I thought he was.
Cook was really susceptible to two way goes. Playing that
late in the game. It was basically just protect him.
But now you're gonna have to find a way to
get through your entire sixty plays, and I don't know
(10:36):
if you can protect him every single play. They're not
gonna leave him alone very often, but you probably have
to beat him with a back and a tight end
or a tight end, I should say, or a double
from the left guard. But he really doesn't bring his
feet to his blocks, and that's a problem. It's especially
a problem against Bradley Chubb, who unfurls bull rushes like
(10:56):
nobody's business. And then you're gonna have Chop Robinson singled
up on the other side, and you have the opportunity
to send pressure down the middle, down the pipe with
a back kicked out, trying to help the left tackle
or trying to help you know, Troy Fatanu on chop
speed around the edge, and you could isolate some free
runs up the middle where potentially you could confuse some
of the protection calls here for the Steelers offensive line, now,
(11:18):
the rest of the offensive line is proven.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
They're good players.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
I think the tackle position really just the one spot
left tackle really. I like Fatanu a bunch. Left tackle
position right now is struggling, but he's got sweet feet.
He's never out of a rep. He can win one
on one. He's gonna have to in this game. That's
a huge matchup in this game, Chop versus Fatanhu, which
is fittingly back to back picks made in the twenty
four draft class. As Travis was watching that draft down
(11:43):
at BIS Game Boulevard and at BIS Game Bay, I
should say, off the boulevard there for the draft party,
and I'm telling the crowd, like we've still got Troy
Fatanu and Jared Vers on the board, and there they
go one to two off the board. Miami selects chopped next.
And to be totally honest, I think this matchup favors
the Steelers. I think Patana is super polished where chops
(12:04):
game is more about traits and I watched Fatana who
snatched trap some Ravens edges in that game. I think
he can win that matchup one on one, and that
would be a big win for the Steelers in this game. Now,
at running back, Jalen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell split the
workload for some reason. I think they're both pretty good,
you know, zone scheme runners with some man gap change up.
But Warren's a tougher tackler. He brings his pads more.
(12:27):
He also has a really good feel on screens. He
caught like a forty something yard touchdown in the win
over the Ravens. The passing offense funnels through DK Metcalf.
If they get him one on one, the ball's probably
gonna go there. The Ravens played a ton of man
free and they threw three of the first five passing
plays of the game rather went to DK Metcalf. There
(12:47):
was a fifty yard bomb, an eight yard out route,
and then they tried to back shoulder fade in the
end zone and he just didn't make the play. But
the ball was right there to make a play on.
But that's not what we do. And if there's one
knock in Metcalf's game, it's that his route tree is
supremely limited. And I like how both Rasoul and Jack
Reid thinks some those off positions. I think with a
(13:08):
team effort here, we can kind of limit those players
or that player, I should say, in this game, a
big key is going to be how we tackle from
those off positions. If they throw to him short in
the you know, a little curl flat and just rally
up and tackle. It's a big Jordan Brooks game for
that reason. But also you know for how they're going
to present their rush packages, and I would say t
dot for that matter as well. I'll tell you why
(13:28):
in the scheme, but I think a mugged up game
for both the linebackers is something we do very well
and something that would fit how you can attack this
to those pass rush given their left tackle woes right now.
Mason McCormick, Zach Fraser, and Isaac Samalou all play with
really good leverage and pad level that's the right guard,
center and left guard. I really like Fraser's hands and anchor.
(13:48):
I think he's a tough ask for anybody to win
against him one on one. Samalou is super technical as well.
He always is under his man's pads. But I also
like the power and leverage that we play with with
Kenneth Grant, who continues to get more and more reps
on tape that flash. They're not having the splash impacts
at the end, but he's moving guys and he's holding
his ground as well. And then Jordan Phillips does it
(14:10):
every single week against every player he goes up against.
In fact, Jordan Phillips might be your answer to the
Zach Frasier guy if you just kind of take him
one on one and try to say, hey, go move
him backwards and let everybody else flow around you and
we can run these mugged up looks and these looping
stunts off of what you do on the interior. And
then obviously Zach Sealer, who I think is kind of
getting things going here a little bit. As more and
more guys around him start to find their fit in
(14:32):
the defense, Zach has gone on too, so I think
there's an opportunity here to possibly beat some of their
best parts of the team here, the interior offensive line
with some guys and our team that have produced one
of the best run stopping defenses in the league for
the last nine to ten weeks, as well as a
team that's starting to create some interior pressure as well.
I think the power of those guys and the speed
of the linebackers could be a nice mix for us
(14:53):
against this group. I also really like Minka in that
slot role, doing a lot in the rush game, but
also fanning out into the flat to kind of help
for all these screens and swings the Steelers run. More
on that in a second. He is an erase option
here and I can see him having a big night
rushing the quarterback and chopping down those quick game throws.
And just to kind of further the point here or continue,
(15:13):
or to put a bow on the point, I should
say Pat Fryarmuth is the next tight end in the
pecking order. He's kind of been reduced in the offense.
And then Calvin Austin Roman Wilson or no sorry, yeah yeah,
And then there's not a lot of juice there among
that group, and quite Frankly, the design and spacing of
the offense is unimaginative. We'll get to more on that
here in just one second. Their offense, to me, is
(15:35):
primed on man coverage and attacking and we just don't
do that. So we'll see how they adjust an attack
from there. Accordingly, let's go ahead and take our first break,
come back and talk about the Steelers personnel on defense.
That's next Draft Time podcast, brought to you by AutoNation.
We have covered the Steelers offensive personnel. Let's go ahead
(15:55):
and kick it over to the other side of the football.
And here it starts with injuries as well, because Derek
Harmon's potential return would be a huge lift for this defense.
It's something I'm gonna track all week and up to
game times. I imagine he'll be a game time decision,
especially because Keanu Benton and Yeah Yeah Black both had
injuries in the last game, and that's adding to a
group that's already without Isaiah Laudermilk and Daniel Yukayley. I
(16:17):
know you're going to hear a lot about cliche, trench play,
bad weather, December football, and on and on and on
this week, But like where the Steelers have been hit
the hardest is in that area. And the results speak
for themselves. Two hundred and seventeen yards on the ground
against the Ravens and two hundred and forty nine against
the Buffalo Bills the week prior, and we're averaging two
hundred yards per game the last two games as well.
(16:39):
So it's like, this is one of those games where
I feel like it's gonna be the Dolphins can run
the ball, and we come out of this game and
it's like we've ran, you know, twenty one times for
sixty nine yards. Now does the passing game make up
for that or does that? Does that trend continue? That's
kind of what you have to figure out here. But
they're just short on personnel on the defensive line.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Now.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
There is one massive calling card they have and everyone
listening to this podcast knows about it, and advantage the
Seelers have on just about anybody they play with TJ.
Watt and Alex high Smith outstanding players, relentless motors, pass
rush and run game. It makes me wonder how often
we unfurl outside zone given their penchant for making plays
out there and the fact that they're so thin on
(17:19):
the inside. Now, I think Patrick Paul can match up
with anybody, and I kind of view this in the
same vein as the Fatanu and Chop matchup. On the
other side, I think that him on high Smith is
gonna that's a win for the Miami Dolphins. I think
we can take a good player out with one of
your best players in Patrick Paul.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Why you can help on TJ.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Watt against Austin Jackson and anybody else that lines up
over there. But watching this structure, I think there's inside
gap scheme duo. Some of those quick hitting Jalen Wright
runs you saw against the Jets, Damn man, I think
there's a recipe for some success there. They really struggle
when you can get downhill inside against the run the
(18:00):
way the Ravens and the Bills do. But also, like
you know, you can show the outside zone game with
Devon h Chan because it's your specialty and you can
kind of help, you know, compliment the inside game. But
I think the inside stuff suits what Allia A, jal
and Wright do. But then I'm thinking, like the Ravens
didn't really you know, crack and you know chip and
add extra tight ends into the into the box count
(18:22):
to you know, take care of TJ. Watten and Alex
Heyes with then steal them off because if you can
do that, the interior of their defensive line doesn't run
particularly well, so you can probably get yourself some numbers
advantages on the outside. Like there's all kinds of options here.
That's gonna be the theme of this podcast. As we
are already what twenty minutes in you can tell, but
I mean they match up pretty well, like Patrick Queen.
(18:43):
It's a good example of a player that had success
because of his environment. He was a good player next
to ro Kwan Smith. He has not been anywhere else
and these tapes are rough to watch. He's a guy
to attack in the run, in pass game, bad gap discipline.
He doesn't beat blockers, doesn't really seem to want to
beat blockers. I also saw him on tape run to
grass several times off play action and just cover nobody,
(19:04):
like he gets to his landmark. Sure, but you can
basically count on him, like you can hold him to
cover nobody if you just put that route somewhere else
in the concept, like flood it to the other side
of the field.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Just just leave him alone.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
He'll cover grass if you let him I'm going to
talk about covered structure and the scheme portion of this POB.
We'll talk about the players here. Chuck Clark has been,
at least recently, the kind of robin to Jalen Ramsey's batman.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
They'll get Jabill Peppers back there as well.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
I mean, I'm telling you, the way this team fields
veterans is crazy, like the Adam Feelin move for instance,
and Kyle Dugger if he returns, but he's you know,
there's a theme there. There's not a lot of size
or speed in the post sans Ramsey, which is where
he plays, but he moves so much that you can
attack that when you see him, you know, vacate his post,
like you can funnel away that Tua to Waller thirty
(19:53):
four yard pass against the Panthers back in Week five
in the recesses of your brain. Because if they pull
Ramsey down, which they do it a lot. I think
that type of route is going to be in play
all day against this defense. They vacate the middle of
the field in the passing game. At cornerback, Joey Porter
Junior is a physical player who's had a hell of
a year. I think he's got natural instincts at the
position and good length. I imagine they want him on waddle,
(20:16):
but Wattle's release game can challenge where he's not as
good and the kind of quick, shifty, you know, quick
game aspect of it, all of it, and the long
speed's not a good matchup for him on waddle either.
James Pierre is a technically refined player, but not a
trades guy. But if he's down, we might see a
Sante Samuel in that position get some run, which would
be his first real playing time really since the beginning
(20:36):
of twenty twenty four. Regardless of how it worked, looks
this on balance feels like a bit of a Steelers
advantage where our advantage exists inside and it's mostly because
we just don't have weapons, you know, on the outside
of a jeal And waddle. It's kind of a one
man show out there. But Brandon Eckles is more of
an inside guy, and we've seen Wattle kind of cook
him a few times in the past, and they will
(20:58):
leave him in the slot when you when you move
Waddle inside as well, and we've seen we've seen Jalen
b Eckles in the slot when he was with the
Jets and I think you can do it because on
the first drive they got ze Flowers on a pair
of verticals, one from a trip's bunch to create a
matchup on Chuck Clark, and he ran right past him,
but Lamar missed him. And then a second one from
(21:19):
a true slot position, you know, he was the second
receiver in on a true spacing concept or spacing just
general spacing, And they had that matchup on Eckles and
he ran a slot fade and again Lamar missed him
with an underthrow. Back up front, Cam Hayward is the
guy that kind of stirs the drink inside. You have
to find a way to prevent him, even at his age,
from wrecking the game. They're super thin up front with
(21:41):
you know, Benton struggling before the ankle injury.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Yah, Black looks like a kind of a guy that
can get moved as well by both Baltimore and Buffalo
running the ball at these guys.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
So there's a lot of options.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
I'm curious see how Miami attacks it as far as
their scheme calling cars Dolphins offense first, Steelers defense.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
They stay in two defenses.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
They play their nickels sixty three percent of the time
and their thirty twenty six percent of the time. Obviously
some bigger packages and some very you know, small usages
of sub but that's pretty much it, and it's often
dictated by down. First down, we're gonna be in our
three to four second and third down we'll go to
the nickel. And this is where I think schematics on
paper at least and TU and the passing game can
(22:18):
kind of open it up here before we get into
all that some coverage deployment. It's Cover three one third
of the time. They'll play their Cover one. They're man
free off of that one quarter of the time, so
that makes up about sixty percent of their defensive calls.
They'll play Cover two like thirteen percent and quarters twelve
percent to kind of give some variety there, but they
don't go too many tricky twos like there's not allowed
(22:38):
two man. They don't really invert coverage all that often,
palms stubby, all these variations of those coverages. They don't
zero it up and come after you. They don't run
a lot of Cover six, and they don't really disguise
it very much. Quite frankly, I think a lot of
the run game issues they have are like by design,
you get these odd fronts where they ask guys to
two gap without fitting inside until the snap is already
(22:58):
off and rolling. And what I mean by that as
a linebackers sit back and they read this two gap work,
and by the time they do against an offense that
gets the second level quickly, like the Miami freaking Dolphins,
there's often a gap left unfit and you get these
combo blocks in the second level, and those linebackers have
to beat blockers who are already in their face dictating
terms and they can't do it. It's almost always a
(23:21):
zero technique with two four eye techniques. That's a head
up over the center and on the inside shoulder of
the tackles with big players, right, that's the heavy end
that you get with the two outside backers, whether it's
you know, Watt or high Smith or Nate Herbig walked
off the edge and then Queen and Malik Harrison and
Peyton Wilson play this read and react style off the
second level. You'll often see Jalen Ramsey, that guy who
(23:44):
plays a ton in the post, come from depth and
try to fit it and he's a pretty damn good tackle.
Whereas you guys know, but man, that conflicts with our
ability to sneak Waller down the seam. I think the
middle of the field passing game has a chance here,
and I really suspect they're going to say, we want
Tua and the passing game to beat us, not a
chan in the ground game, and he has a chance
to do it, but he has to freaking do it.
(24:04):
Ramsey in those positions is interesting though, because while they
don't do the two man stuff very frequently, he can
roll down as a robber and they'll fill his middle
of the field responsibility with another player. And the corners
get immediate depth into this like Cover three where they
have to sprint to get their depth. And then if
they run that, what are you run to replace that? Run?
(24:26):
A little speed out run, a hitch run, a little
curl flat, one of those long developing corner routes off
of play action that Wattle runs, or a crossing route
from the back side of the formation. They're gonna give
you that underneath stuff, and we've taken advantage of that
stuff plenty of this year. So I think speed down
the middle and a successful run game could be a
nice one to two punch for us. The Ravens really
(24:47):
struggled to get Lamar time with wat doing his thing,
but there was consistently real estate in that hook, the
zone between the middle hook and the three high shells,
those eighteen yard digs and curls. We used to throw
to Reek all the time. Times to Wattle. Maybe you
can get Wattle Waller maybe said, or nwiout there. I
liked it a lot more with Tyreek Hill, but that's
(25:07):
one of the few things I liked more with Tyreek here.
I just think there's a lot of opportunities here in
the passing game because I expect them to change their nature.
But if they don't, the run game is on the
menu big time. So it's a fascinating matchup the Dolphins
should execute, but we'll see if they do. Scheme calling cards.
Dolphins defense versus Steelers offense, lots of screen game here.
They also have the highest run rate on second and ten.
(25:30):
It's a conservative offense, but in the Baltimore game it
was not. But I think a part of that is
how the Ravens played it. They tried to manufacture their
pressure and run fits by bringing an extra hat into
the box, and Rogers attacked it accordingly, but we know
this Dolphins defense doesn't do that. They want to get
into manageable third downs with the run and screen game,
utilize their big tight ends, which is why I'll be
closely monitoring Darnell Washington's injury this week. And all of
(25:52):
this tracks as to why they'd fancy John Smith right
the best screen tight end football, so'll be ready for
that as well. They run eleven personnel just one third
of the time thirty three percent, their twelve personnel package
two tight ends thirty percent of the time, so that's
obviously right there as well. And then thirteen personnel with
three tight ends fifteen percent of the time. A lot
of the success I'm seeing on tape as them attacking
(26:14):
man coverage that man freelook the Ravens ran and taking
back shoulders verticals, attacking the leverage with anticipation when they
get into full field progression reads. The spacing and timing
nature of the offense seems out of whack entirely. Like Rogers,
He's finding these checkdowns and outlets a lot, So I
think you can you can foster that, and then you
(26:34):
have to rally up and tackle, and if you do that,
you can get a lot of three and outs in
punts in this game. To be frank, I despise watching
their offense on tape, and you know what, watching Rogers
play what he's doing, he's playing pretty well. But like
with Nathaniel Hackett for two years and Arthur Smith this
last year, like there's I think there's more in the
tank here and it makes me wonder, like, is a
(26:55):
forty three year old Rogers one of your best options
at quarterback next year? I don't know, just thinking out
loud there, but you know, this offense is like second
and thirteen.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Here's a good example.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
It's second thirteen in the game against the uh who
did I watch last I think it was the Bills game,
and they run this little three x one snag concept
where you're basically trying to displace a little hook throw
where Rodgers can stand up and throw the ball into
a quick hook to DK metcalf and two of the
routes like have no intention to and they don't. They
don't lift coverage, they crash on the spot throw and
(27:27):
DK is Rogers' only option besides that as a safety
swing to a back who has to beat three tackles.
Like there's lots of that on this tape. And for
the Miami Dolphins and their try hard mentality with Jordan
Brooksley in the way, that's gonna cause some dead drives
if it doesn't get better for the Steelers before this
game here on Monday night, I mentioned Rogers, go ahead
and take a break, come back and talk about him
and Tua. We'll talk about the special teams and the
(27:48):
miscellaneous factors. Was at stake, keys, the victory, and the prediction,
all of that on the other side. Drivetime Podcast brought
to you by AutoNation. We've done the heavy lifting on
this third preview edition of the Draft Time Podcast, taking
a look at Dolphin Steelers. Let's go ahead and finish
up with the biggest talking points. I don't know if
(28:09):
that's the case, but the we'll bring it home. We'll
go ahead and bring it home here, starting with the
quarterback position. Aaron Rodgers. I think it's easy to get
off the topic of Rogers' game, and there are games
where he's not on the same page with his guys,
where the pressure is throwing off his timing, or the
run game can't go and it affects the passing game.
But watching his tape again, this is still a very
(28:32):
seriously talented player. Even at this stage of his career.
His arm is still lively. Did you see the fifty
yard ball he threw a DK metcalf in the first
play of the game last week. What's made Rogers so
special over the course of his career is that he's
super super sharp with his process, and then even if
he is late, he has the arm talent to challenge
those windows that are closing up opposed to opening up.
(28:54):
He had a few throws in the Baltimore game that
proved that there are some stinkers on tape this year.
He went ten for twenty one for a Bucks seventeen.
Just two weeks ago. They couldn't run the ball, they
couldn't get guys open. Buffalo had him under siege. But
against the Ravens, it sure seemed like he kind of
took over the reins where he identified these opportunities for
vertical shots. The Ravens played that single high and he
went after it. I think playing more of our zone
(29:16):
structures and getting pressure on Rogers is the way to
prevent him from finding that rhythm. We will play a
lot more zone, a lot more split field safety. But
Rodgers also did his thing against this defense twice just
last year, and it wasn't like it was September. It
was after the defense found their footing, with both games
happening after December first. So I think it's a fascinating matchup.
(29:38):
I think Miami wins this game if they make things
tough on Rogers. And this is every quarterback, right, but
forty one percent completion against pressure, six point seven yards
per attempt, four touchdowns, two picks, But you don't want
to do it via the blitz too often because he
is sixty two percent completion with five touchdowns and no
picks when he's been blitzed this year, which is where
the sim pressures and the rush game, all of that
(30:01):
comes into play. And the two games last year he
did this against US when pressured thirteen for twenty six
for five point one yards per pass. When we blitzed him,
he was eighteen for twenty eight with seven point eight
yards per pass, one touchdown, and one pick. And they
blitzed him thirty three and thirty seven percent of the
time in those two games, respectively, So we'll see that
(30:21):
was a good Jets offensive line. They had Garrett Wilson,
who really got the best of Ramsey in those games.
But obviously you know the personnel is different. I just
I'm getting long winded here because I think this is
this is the matchup that to me determines this game.
Weave and the pass defense against Aaron Rodgers, our quarterback
Tua is challenging, as some of these games have been
(30:42):
for him. There's like four to five reps each week
where you see the superpower of anticipation and accuracy just
putting the defense in a bind.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
If we can keep.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Those edges secure, I think he'll have some clean pockets
to operate from where he can take advantage of some
of those soft three looks we talked about, and the
defense that react more so than anticipates with their run fits,
and how the play action game influences that, especially in
that second level. If we get sharp Tua here, I
think we could win convincingly. If he plays convicted and
(31:11):
attacks the middle of the field and doesn't turn the
ball over, I think we match up very well against
the Steelers. But if we don't see it I take
sacks or forces throws, then it's going to turn into
a rock fight of a game. Special teams and miscellaneous.
I wrote this when I started the Steelers on Friday
before the Jets game. Seems to be a lot of turmoil,
players discussing the scheme in interviews, some finger pointing a
(31:32):
lot of smoke around job security. But then they beat
the Ravens, and it's so funny how winning hushes so
many things in this league, at least as far as
what we see from a fan standpoint media standpoint. Granted,
I do think they got away with one in Baltimore.
That series seems to go like that every single year
that Isaiah likely touchdown was overturned for some reason. But
(31:53):
last week I talked about the Jets getting that emotional
late whin and how we kind of played bad football
against the Saints in the week prior in the fourth quarter,
and how that can sort of bleed into the next
week in terms of complacency for the winner and more
drive for the team that didn't play its a game,
and we saw that play out in a thirty four
to ten blowout.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
I think this is a great spot to catch the Steelers.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
They essentially afforded themselves a few games margined for air
with that win. They have the tiebreaker and the head
to head advantage over Baltimore right now, and with that
Week eighteen game on the horizon, they can lose the
next two games against US in Detroit. If they just
beat Cleveland in Week seventeen and beat the Ravens again
in Week eighteen, that alone, no matter what the Ravens
(32:36):
do in the next two games, would get them an
AFC North Championship. Do they have the proverbial big game
hangover or did they find a rhythm that will spark
a run here? That's the question I have and we'll
find out pretty early on Monday night. As far as teams,
we got tightened up after last week. The Jets get
the punt return touchdown, they execute a fake punt, knocked
us down, and the rankings just one spot, but not
(32:56):
our best showing there. We are fourth and EPA per
special teams play now. They have a rock solid kicker
and Chris Boswell who is used to kicking in the elements.
Riley Patterson has been great this year as well, so
it could come down to a big kick and both
teams have some pretty solid place kickers doing it for him.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
Right now. What's at stake? What's to root for?
Speaker 2 (33:14):
A loss pretty much removes any talk of playoff contention.
Even at ten and seven, the odds are not great,
But as we discussed on the Wednesday show, I think
the impact of winning still remains at the forefront of
what's at stake. Things looked a whole lot different, will
look a whole lot different if you win your final
eight games versus continuing what it looked like back when
(33:34):
you were two and seven and you finish, say, I
don't know four and thirteen or five and twelve. My
three keys to victory be the bully. The narrative, but
the Miami Dolphins is that they aren't built for this
game and will continue to be that way until you
win a game like this. But the narrative ignores the
facts that there are maybe two or three teams that
have played better in the trenches over the last six
weeks of the season than your Miami Dolphins, maybe even
(33:55):
going back eight weeks now. So be the bully, be
the one that to search your dominance. In a throwback
hold Weather December game number two present, interior pressure looks
being on potentially left tackle four, They're going to help him.
That means Chop gets one on one chances, and one
of the hallmarks of this defense is the pressure and
sim pressure looks where you walk up your backers and
mug the a gaps. I think you stand the chance
(34:16):
to spring some free runners and Rodgers is not fleet
of foot enough to get out of those. Also a
big game for Kenny g and Zach Seeler number three
attack the middle of the field against the Steelers defense.
Those are the areas of vulnerability against both structure and
from a personnel standpoint. I think Tua is gonna have
some opportunities to showcase what he does best, and that
(34:36):
inside power run game has been very effective for us,
but also for other teams.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Against the Steelers, You're.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
Probably thinking Travis is gonna pick a blowout here for
the Miami Dolphins. But prediction time, there is a lot
I like about this matchup. I don't think Pittsburgh is
a good team necessarily. I do think they just played
their best game of the season. I am worried about
Rogers because the success he had against this defense last year.
And it's funny like it's usually the reverse of this,
But my brain tells me to take the Dolphins, but
(35:03):
my heart says, don't do it, Travis, and so I'm
not going to I'm going to predict that we aren't
able to exploit those vulnerabilities as well as we should be,
that will turn the ball over, and they will have
some pre snap operational issues, and that Rogers has another
big day against this defense, and the moment appears too
big as the Steelers win this one twenty three seventeen
over the Miami Dolphins. You will please be sure to
(35:26):
tune into the podcast tomorrow. We're gonna have a fun
chat with Bradley Chubb. I'm gonna talk to the Army
Navy players on our team talking about that big game
this weekend. We'll also pick the week fifteen games. Until then,
you all please be sure subscribe, rate, review the podcast,
follow me on social at Winfeld NFL, the team at
Miami Dolphins, check out the YouTube channel for Dolphins HQ,
media availabilities, and so much more, and last, butt not least,
(35:48):
Miami Dolphins dot Com. Until next time, Caroline Cameron Willow
Daddy It's coming out
This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
What is up Dolphins and welcome to the Draft Time Podcast.
I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show,
it is Thursday. It is week fifteen in the National
Football League. That means it's time to preview another Miami
Dolphins football game.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
We'll preview the Dolphins and Steelers.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
I've been locked in on the tape watching them getting
ready for a big road primetime test in Pittsburgh. The film,
the scheme, the personnel, the keys to victory, all of
that and a heck of a lot more from the
Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This
is the Draft Time Podcast. Real quick before I forget
(00:47):
Thursday night football. Pick Buccaneers over Falcons seems pretty easy.
And that's the last like dreg TNF game we get,
which have been pretty good this year, but we get
some real bangers going forward, Rams and Seahawks coming up
next week. Stay tuned for that one could be for
the first seed in the NFC. Let's talk about the
Pittsburgh Steelers here and start with the introduction as we
(01:08):
get ready for a Miami Dolphins Pittsburgh Steelers matchup. Where
the Dolphins could get back to five hundred with their
fifth consecutive win and give themselves a two game homestand
with a chance to get to nine to seven in
those games should they pull off the win. Here, I'm
going to tell you how they can do it. Over
the course of the next forty or so minutes Monday
night football. Riding a four game winning streak against a
(01:30):
Tiffany franchise in the National Football League, the just experience
their biggest win of the season, perhaps of the last
couple of seasons, in a cold December Rockets environment. This
is why you play the game, right, This is why
we love this league. And a couple of things here
before the actual Steelers intro Number one, we have not
(01:52):
been better equipped to win one of these types of
games in the McDaniel era, even if the roster isn't
as good as it wi us in twenty two or
twenty three, or the quarterback is not playing nearly as
well as he did in those seasons. But also the
second observation, we are finally playing a somewhat be careful
how you use this word, but we're gonna use it anyways,
(02:14):
a somewhat mid team in a primetime spot. The primetime
record for the Dolphins over the last few years essentially
reflects our record against winning teams because we always play
Buffalo or Kansas City, or Philly or Green Bay. In
these standalone games. It's pretty much always the best teams,
aside from one Titans game that Dolphins fans will remember
(02:35):
for the rest of their lives. But the Steelers are
incredibly flawed with some upside. We'll get into all of that.
I don't say any of this to disparage anybody, but
I think the Steelers reputation sort of carries the thought
of accomplishment for the last decade, if not more. You know,
the stat never a losing season under Mike Tomlin. It's
(02:57):
super impressive. But that's led to four playoff trips in
the five years, where they were utterly uncompetitive in each
of those games. Blowout in Baltimore last year, Buffalo the
year prior they missed in twenty two, they actually had
to have us lose to the Jets with Skyler Thompson
to get in. We did not, and it sparked that
fun game in Buffalo between the Dolphins and Bills that
(03:18):
year in the wildcard round. They also got blown out
in twenty one by the Chiefs to the Steelers. They
got smoked by Baker Mayfield and the Browns in twenty twenty,
They missed in twenty nineteen, in twenty eighteen, and I
would say their last like really true title contending team
was the twenty seventeen squad that lost to Blake Bortles,
Leonard Fournette and the Jacksonville Jaguars forty five forty two
(03:41):
in the divisional round before playoff expansion as a two
seed that year, those teams were loaded right Ben Roethlisberger
still in his prime prime, Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell.
They got wiped out by the Patriots in twenty sixteen
after beating us in the wildcard round. They lost in
the divisional round in twenty fifteen to the event champion
(04:03):
Denver Broncos My goodness, and the wild card round in
twenty fourteen after two years of missing the playoffs in
thirteen and twelve. It's kind of crazy that they never
played in an AFC championship game after their trip to
the Super Bowl in twenty ten, when they lost to
the Rogers led Packers. More recently, Tomlins and Year nineteen,
they added Rogers Ramsey, Darius Slay who has since been released,
(04:26):
John new Smith, DK Metcalf. Then in season they've added
Kyle Duggar, Jabrill Peppers a Sante Samuel. What I'm getting
at is this is a crazy veteran Leaden team, So
I think that's something.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
And Adam thieland too. I forgot about Thilan.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
I didn't even put He's not even in this discussion
because I didn't think it was relevant. But he played
the third most naps a receiver on Sunday, So I
think that's something to think about this week.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
This is a team that.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Has been here, and we're a young team playing in
a big spot in December for the first time for
a lot of these guys. But for the Steelers' purposes,
this is probably a one year type of deal in
terms of this core of the roster. Right, you don't
build teams that are this veteran Leyden without significant turnover
year over year, and like we.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Just experienced that.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Right, it's a forty percent turnover league minimum, but when
you've got this many players on the wrong side of thirty,
that number usually jumps to sixty percent or more. So
they're seven and six. They just beat Baltimore in a
huge game. The season is almost certainly going to come
down to that Week eighteen game against the Ravens, But
(05:32):
now they've got the Fins on Monday Night football. Let's
go ahead and crack into that. Their depth chart goes
as follows. Aaron Rodgers. I just said Aaron because Aaron
Brewer's name kind of gets me tripped up on the
AA run of it All. Mason Rudolph and then Will
Howard the three quarterbacks. The running backs. The only ones
that really use are Jalen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell at receiver,
DK Metcalf, Calvin Austen, Roman Wilson Adam Thielen at tight end.
(05:57):
This is probably their best position group on the entire team.
Smith Pratt, Friarmuth, and Darnell Washington. Calvin Anderson is the
left tackle, but he's gonna miss this game. We'll get
into that here in just one second. Troy Fatanu Travis
his favorite, Travis's favorite player from the twenty four class.
And then Dylan Cook is the replacement tackle with Andris Pete,
(06:19):
who kicked in at tackle last week but had to
leave that game with concussion. On the interior, they're a
lot better Isaac Samalu, Zach Frasier, and Mason McCormick across
the center, and then on defense Cameron Hayward. Derek Harmon's
the number two defensive tackle, but he has not played
in some time. He could return to the lineup this week.
Keanu Benton's the nose tackle and Yah Yah Black plays
a lot of heavy end for them as well.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Off the edge.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
TJ Watt Alex Highsmith are very good players. Nate Herbig
is the third rusher in the equation. They've got a
player named Jack Sawyer that they rotate out there once
in a while in some sub packages at linebacker Patrick
Queen and then Peyton Wilson and Malik Harrison. Wilson gets
more run, but they do play Harrison in some spots
At cornerback. Joey Porter junior James Pierre, the nickel is
(07:03):
Brandon Eccles, and they just signed to Sante Samuel, who
could see some time this week because James Pierre, like
Darnell Washington, like andrews Pete all suffered concussions in the
game against the Baltimore Ravens. Jalen Ramsey, Kyle Dugger and
Jabrill Peppers and Chuck Clark are the for safeties. Like
those guys are all thirty years old. You know, Well,
maybe Douger is not, but the other three guys are injuries.
(07:23):
So Deshaun Elliott is on IR. Actually, all these guys
are on IR. Deshaun Elliott, Miles Killer Brew two safeties,
Daniel u Kaylee, the defensive tackle that I pronounce his
name wrong, Isaiah Laudermilk, another defensive tackle, and left tackle
Broderick Jones.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Players on the injury report.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Calvin Anderson, the backup left tackle, has been ruled out already.
He will not play in the game. Derek Harmon, their
first round pick. He is supposed to be a limited
participant in practice this week and could return to game action.
If not, he will next week. Safety Kyle Dugger has
a chance to come back this week. Per Tomlin as well.
I think the biggest thing to track through this week
(08:00):
is what happens at the left tackle position. We already
know Calvin Anderson's down, but Andres Pete, who moonlights as
a tackle, he's a guard. He filled in for Anderson
last week, but he got knocked out with the concussion
of the game and was replaced by left tackle four
who made his NFL debut being in the league for
the last three years, in Dylan Cook. He was undrafted
in twenty two by Tampa and has caught on to
(08:22):
the Steelers active roster in twenty three. Didn't play a
game without last year with an injury, has been on
the practice squad this year, and now he gets a
call up and he's going to start this game most
likely unless Andrews Pete Claar's protocol at left tackle for
the Pittsburgh Sealers first start in primetime in the at
home against the Miami Dolphins. Now, the same diagnosis that
Pete got was true for Darnell Washington, the tight end
(08:46):
who was essentially a sixth offensive lineman, a three hundred
pound tight end that once again another Travis Draft favorite,
Emily Harrison, also had a concussion. Keanu Benton left the
game with an ankle injury. James Pierre left with an
injury as well. Ben Skearnic and Yah Yah Black both
mentioned as players that will be limited in practice this
week because of injuries. So they are a banged up
football team. As for their offensive personnel, those injuries have
(09:09):
impacted their ability to run the football. Like Washington's again
a three hundred pound tight end, He's basically the most
athletic extra sixth offensive lineman to ever play this damp game.
But the left tackle position, at minimum, they're going to
be on LT three, if not LT four. Scroonic's entire
game is blocking. He's a Julian Hill type of player
who's a little bit smaller and faster, so he is
(09:31):
a receiver, but he basically plays the Westbrook a Kina role,
so that elevates that role that's asked of john Us Smith,
who is a still very dangerous weapon with the ball
in his hands, don't get it twisted, but his play
at the point of attack has never been his strength.
And I watched the Steelers tape again. Didn't really have
to do this because I saw it for the Dolphins
for sixteen seventeen games last year. But anytime they try
(09:53):
short yardage and they try to get him to cut
off a five technique or a four eye, or try
to get him to seal off a nine technique, like,
he loses those reps. He doesn't want to block in line.
The end can crash across his face and get in
there and blow up the play. Let's go ahead and
stay on the offensive line here with the Pete Dylan
Cook position is kind of where you start if you're
going to develop your plan of attack. It's probably the
(10:14):
weakness of the entire group go after it right and
watching Cook, which which is kind of the guy that
I honed in on because I don't I don't think
he'll turn around. Pete will from a concussion. I'll play
that quick, but he never know. But I thought he was.
Cook was really susceptible to two way goes. Playing that
late in the game. It was basically just protect him.
But now you're gonna have to find a way to
get through your entire sixty plays, and I don't know
(10:36):
if you can protect him every single play. They're not
gonna leave him alone very often, but you probably have
to beat him with a back and a tight end
or a tight end, I should say, or a double
from the left guard. But he really doesn't bring his
feet to his blocks, and that's a problem. It's especially
a problem against Bradley Chubb, who unfurls bull rushes like
(10:56):
nobody's business. And then you're gonna have Chop Robinson singled
up on the other side, and you have the opportunity
to send pressure down the middle, down the pipe with
a back kicked out, trying to help the left tackle
or trying to help you know, Troy Fatanu on chop
speed around the edge, and you could isolate some free
runs up the middle where potentially you could confuse some
of the protection calls here for the Steelers offensive line, now,
(11:18):
the rest of the offensive line is proven.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
They're good players.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
I think the tackle position really just the one spot
left tackle really. I like Fatanu a bunch. Left tackle
position right now is struggling, but he's got sweet feet.
He's never out of a rep. He can win one
on one. He's gonna have to in this game. That's
a huge matchup in this game, Chop versus Fatanhu, which
is fittingly back to back picks made in the twenty
four draft class. As Travis was watching that draft down
(11:43):
at BIS Game Boulevard and at BIS Game Bay, I
should say, off the boulevard there for the draft party,
and I'm telling the crowd, like we've still got Troy
Fatanu and Jared Vers on the board, and there they
go one to two off the board. Miami selects chopped next.
And to be totally honest, I think this matchup favors
the Steelers. I think Patana is super polished where chops
(12:04):
game is more about traits and I watched Fatana who
snatched trap some Ravens edges in that game. I think
he can win that matchup one on one, and that
would be a big win for the Steelers in this game. Now,
at running back, Jalen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell split the
workload for some reason. I think they're both pretty good,
you know, zone scheme runners with some man gap change up.
But Warren's a tougher tackler. He brings his pads more.
(12:27):
He also has a really good feel on screens. He
caught like a forty something yard touchdown in the win
over the Ravens. The passing offense funnels through DK Metcalf.
If they get him one on one, the ball's probably
gonna go there. The Ravens played a ton of man
free and they threw three of the first five passing
plays of the game rather went to DK Metcalf. There
(12:47):
was a fifty yard bomb, an eight yard out route,
and then they tried to back shoulder fade in the
end zone and he just didn't make the play. But
the ball was right there to make a play on.
But that's not what we do. And if there's one
knock in Metcalf's game, it's that his route tree is
supremely limited. And I like how both Rasoul and Jack
Reid thinks some those off positions. I think with a
(13:08):
team effort here, we can kind of limit those players
or that player, I should say, in this game, a
big key is going to be how we tackle from
those off positions. If they throw to him short in
the you know, a little curl flat and just rally
up and tackle. It's a big Jordan Brooks game for
that reason. But also you know for how they're going
to present their rush packages, and I would say t
dot for that matter as well. I'll tell you why
(13:28):
in the scheme, but I think a mugged up game
for both the linebackers is something we do very well
and something that would fit how you can attack this
to those pass rush given their left tackle woes right now.
Mason McCormick, Zach Fraser, and Isaac Samalou all play with
really good leverage and pad level that's the right guard,
center and left guard. I really like Fraser's hands and anchor.
(13:48):
I think he's a tough ask for anybody to win
against him one on one. Samalou is super technical as well.
He always is under his man's pads. But I also
like the power and leverage that we play with with
Kenneth Grant, who continues to get more and more reps
on tape that flash. They're not having the splash impacts
at the end, but he's moving guys and he's holding
his ground as well. And then Jordan Phillips does it
(14:10):
every single week against every player he goes up against.
In fact, Jordan Phillips might be your answer to the
Zach Frasier guy if you just kind of take him
one on one and try to say, hey, go move
him backwards and let everybody else flow around you and
we can run these mugged up looks and these looping
stunts off of what you do on the interior. And
then obviously Zach Sealer, who I think is kind of
getting things going here a little bit. As more and
more guys around him start to find their fit in
(14:32):
the defense, Zach has gone on too, so I think
there's an opportunity here to possibly beat some of their
best parts of the team here, the interior offensive line
with some guys and our team that have produced one
of the best run stopping defenses in the league for
the last nine to ten weeks, as well as a
team that's starting to create some interior pressure as well.
I think the power of those guys and the speed
of the linebackers could be a nice mix for us
(14:53):
against this group. I also really like Minka in that
slot role, doing a lot in the rush game, but
also fanning out into the flat to kind of help
for all these screens and swings the Steelers run. More
on that in a second. He is an erase option
here and I can see him having a big night
rushing the quarterback and chopping down those quick game throws.
And just to kind of further the point here or continue,
(15:13):
or to put a bow on the point, I should
say Pat Fryarmuth is the next tight end in the
pecking order. He's kind of been reduced in the offense.
And then Calvin Austin Roman Wilson or no sorry, yeah yeah,
And then there's not a lot of juice there among
that group, and quite Frankly, the design and spacing of
the offense is unimaginative. We'll get to more on that
here in just one second. Their offense, to me, is
(15:35):
primed on man coverage and attacking and we just don't
do that. So we'll see how they adjust an attack
from there. Accordingly, let's go ahead and take our first break,
come back and talk about the Steelers personnel on defense.
That's next Draft Time podcast, brought to you by AutoNation.
We have covered the Steelers offensive personnel. Let's go ahead
(15:55):
and kick it over to the other side of the football.
And here it starts with injuries as well, because Derek
Harmon's potential return would be a huge lift for this defense.
It's something I'm gonna track all week and up to
game times. I imagine he'll be a game time decision,
especially because Keanu Benton and Yeah Yeah Black both had
injuries in the last game, and that's adding to a
group that's already without Isaiah Laudermilk and Daniel Yukayley. I
(16:17):
know you're going to hear a lot about cliche, trench play,
bad weather, December football, and on and on and on
this week, But like where the Steelers have been hit
the hardest is in that area. And the results speak
for themselves. Two hundred and seventeen yards on the ground
against the Ravens and two hundred and forty nine against
the Buffalo Bills the week prior, and we're averaging two
hundred yards per game the last two games as well.
(16:39):
So it's like, this is one of those games where
I feel like it's gonna be the Dolphins can run
the ball, and we come out of this game and
it's like we've ran, you know, twenty one times for
sixty nine yards. Now does the passing game make up
for that or does that? Does that trend continue? That's
kind of what you have to figure out here. But
they're just short on personnel on the defensive line.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Now.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
There is one massive calling card they have and everyone
listening to this podcast knows about it, and advantage the
Seelers have on just about anybody they play with TJ.
Watt and Alex high Smith outstanding players, relentless motors, pass
rush and run game. It makes me wonder how often
we unfurl outside zone given their penchant for making plays
out there and the fact that they're so thin on
(17:19):
the inside. Now, I think Patrick Paul can match up
with anybody, and I kind of view this in the
same vein as the Fatanu and Chop matchup. On the
other side, I think that him on high Smith is
gonna that's a win for the Miami Dolphins. I think
we can take a good player out with one of
your best players in Patrick Paul.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Why you can help on TJ.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Watt against Austin Jackson and anybody else that lines up
over there. But watching this structure, I think there's inside
gap scheme duo. Some of those quick hitting Jalen Wright
runs you saw against the Jets, Damn man, I think
there's a recipe for some success there. They really struggle
when you can get downhill inside against the run the
(18:00):
way the Ravens and the Bills do. But also, like
you know, you can show the outside zone game with
Devon h Chan because it's your specialty and you can
kind of help, you know, compliment the inside game. But
I think the inside stuff suits what Allia A, jal
and Wright do. But then I'm thinking, like the Ravens
didn't really you know, crack and you know chip and
add extra tight ends into the into the box count
(18:22):
to you know, take care of TJ. Watten and Alex
Heyes with then steal them off because if you can
do that, the interior of their defensive line doesn't run
particularly well, so you can probably get yourself some numbers
advantages on the outside. Like there's all kinds of options here.
That's gonna be the theme of this podcast. As we
are already what twenty minutes in you can tell, but
I mean they match up pretty well, like Patrick Queen.
(18:43):
It's a good example of a player that had success
because of his environment. He was a good player next
to ro Kwan Smith. He has not been anywhere else
and these tapes are rough to watch. He's a guy
to attack in the run, in pass game, bad gap discipline.
He doesn't beat blockers, doesn't really seem to want to
beat blockers. I also saw him on tape run to
grass several times off play action and just cover nobody,
(19:04):
like he gets to his landmark. Sure, but you can
basically count on him, like you can hold him to
cover nobody if you just put that route somewhere else
in the concept, like flood it to the other side
of the field.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Just just leave him alone.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
He'll cover grass if you let him I'm going to
talk about covered structure and the scheme portion of this POB.
We'll talk about the players here. Chuck Clark has been,
at least recently, the kind of robin to Jalen Ramsey's batman.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
They'll get Jabill Peppers back there as well.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
I mean, I'm telling you, the way this team fields
veterans is crazy, like the Adam Feelin move for instance,
and Kyle Dugger if he returns, but he's you know,
there's a theme there. There's not a lot of size
or speed in the post sans Ramsey, which is where
he plays, but he moves so much that you can
attack that when you see him, you know, vacate his post,
like you can funnel away that Tua to Waller thirty
(19:53):
four yard pass against the Panthers back in Week five
in the recesses of your brain. Because if they pull
Ramsey down, which they do it a lot. I think
that type of route is going to be in play
all day against this defense. They vacate the middle of
the field in the passing game. At cornerback, Joey Porter
Junior is a physical player who's had a hell of
a year. I think he's got natural instincts at the
position and good length. I imagine they want him on waddle,
(20:16):
but Wattle's release game can challenge where he's not as
good and the kind of quick, shifty, you know, quick
game aspect of it, all of it, and the long
speed's not a good matchup for him on waddle either.
James Pierre is a technically refined player, but not a
trades guy. But if he's down, we might see a
Sante Samuel in that position get some run, which would
be his first real playing time really since the beginning
(20:36):
of twenty twenty four. Regardless of how it worked, looks
this on balance feels like a bit of a Steelers
advantage where our advantage exists inside and it's mostly because
we just don't have weapons, you know, on the outside
of a jeal And waddle. It's kind of a one
man show out there. But Brandon Eckles is more of
an inside guy, and we've seen Wattle kind of cook
him a few times in the past, and they will
(20:58):
leave him in the slot when you when you move
Waddle inside as well, and we've seen we've seen Jalen
b Eckles in the slot when he was with the
Jets and I think you can do it because on
the first drive they got ze Flowers on a pair
of verticals, one from a trip's bunch to create a
matchup on Chuck Clark, and he ran right past him,
but Lamar missed him. And then a second one from
(21:19):
a true slot position, you know, he was the second
receiver in on a true spacing concept or spacing just
general spacing, And they had that matchup on Eckles and
he ran a slot fade and again Lamar missed him
with an underthrow. Back up front, Cam Hayward is the
guy that kind of stirs the drink inside. You have
to find a way to prevent him, even at his age,
from wrecking the game. They're super thin up front with
(21:41):
you know, Benton struggling before the ankle injury.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Yah, Black looks like a kind of a guy that
can get moved as well by both Baltimore and Buffalo
running the ball at these guys.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
So there's a lot of options.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
I'm curious see how Miami attacks it as far as
their scheme calling cars Dolphins offense first, Steelers defense.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
They stay in two defenses.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
They play their nickels sixty three percent of the time
and their thirty twenty six percent of the time. Obviously
some bigger packages and some very you know, small usages
of sub but that's pretty much it, and it's often
dictated by down. First down, we're gonna be in our
three to four second and third down we'll go to
the nickel. And this is where I think schematics on
paper at least and TU and the passing game can
(22:18):
kind of open it up here before we get into
all that some coverage deployment. It's Cover three one third
of the time. They'll play their Cover one. They're man
free off of that one quarter of the time, so
that makes up about sixty percent of their defensive calls.
They'll play Cover two like thirteen percent and quarters twelve
percent to kind of give some variety there, but they
don't go too many tricky twos like there's not allowed
(22:38):
two man. They don't really invert coverage all that often,
palms stubby, all these variations of those coverages. They don't
zero it up and come after you. They don't run
a lot of Cover six, and they don't really disguise
it very much. Quite frankly, I think a lot of
the run game issues they have are like by design,
you get these odd fronts where they ask guys to
two gap without fitting inside until the snap is already
(22:58):
off and rolling. And what I mean by that as
a linebackers sit back and they read this two gap work,
and by the time they do against an offense that
gets the second level quickly, like the Miami freaking Dolphins,
there's often a gap left unfit and you get these
combo blocks in the second level, and those linebackers have
to beat blockers who are already in their face dictating
terms and they can't do it. It's almost always a
(23:21):
zero technique with two four eye techniques. That's a head
up over the center and on the inside shoulder of
the tackles with big players, right, that's the heavy end
that you get with the two outside backers, whether it's
you know, Watt or high Smith or Nate Herbig walked
off the edge and then Queen and Malik Harrison and
Peyton Wilson play this read and react style off the
second level. You'll often see Jalen Ramsey, that guy who
(23:44):
plays a ton in the post, come from depth and
try to fit it and he's a pretty damn good tackle.
Whereas you guys know, but man, that conflicts with our
ability to sneak Waller down the seam. I think the
middle of the field passing game has a chance here,
and I really suspect they're going to say, we want
Tua and the passing game to beat us, not a
chan in the ground game, and he has a chance
to do it, but he has to freaking do it.
(24:04):
Ramsey in those positions is interesting though, because while they
don't do the two man stuff very frequently, he can
roll down as a robber and they'll fill his middle
of the field responsibility with another player. And the corners
get immediate depth into this like Cover three where they
have to sprint to get their depth. And then if
they run that, what are you run to replace that? Run?
(24:26):
A little speed out run, a hitch run, a little
curl flat, one of those long developing corner routes off
of play action that Wattle runs, or a crossing route
from the back side of the formation. They're gonna give
you that underneath stuff, and we've taken advantage of that
stuff plenty of this year. So I think speed down
the middle and a successful run game could be a
nice one to two punch for us. The Ravens really
(24:47):
struggled to get Lamar time with wat doing his thing,
but there was consistently real estate in that hook, the
zone between the middle hook and the three high shells,
those eighteen yard digs and curls. We used to throw
to Reek all the time. Times to Wattle. Maybe you
can get Wattle Waller maybe said, or nwiout there. I
liked it a lot more with Tyreek Hill, but that's
(25:07):
one of the few things I liked more with Tyreek here.
I just think there's a lot of opportunities here in
the passing game because I expect them to change their nature.
But if they don't, the run game is on the
menu big time. So it's a fascinating matchup the Dolphins
should execute, but we'll see if they do. Scheme calling cards.
Dolphins defense versus Steelers offense, lots of screen game here.
They also have the highest run rate on second and ten.
(25:30):
It's a conservative offense, but in the Baltimore game it
was not. But I think a part of that is
how the Ravens played it. They tried to manufacture their
pressure and run fits by bringing an extra hat into
the box, and Rogers attacked it accordingly, but we know
this Dolphins defense doesn't do that. They want to get
into manageable third downs with the run and screen game,
utilize their big tight ends, which is why I'll be
closely monitoring Darnell Washington's injury this week. And all of
(25:52):
this tracks as to why they'd fancy John Smith right
the best screen tight end football, so'll be ready for
that as well. They run eleven personnel just one third
of the time thirty three percent, their twelve personnel package
two tight ends thirty percent of the time, so that's
obviously right there as well. And then thirteen personnel with
three tight ends fifteen percent of the time. A lot
of the success I'm seeing on tape as them attacking
(26:14):
man coverage that man freelook the Ravens ran and taking
back shoulders verticals, attacking the leverage with anticipation when they
get into full field progression reads. The spacing and timing
nature of the offense seems out of whack entirely. Like Rogers,
He's finding these checkdowns and outlets a lot, So I
think you can you can foster that, and then you
(26:34):
have to rally up and tackle, and if you do that,
you can get a lot of three and outs in
punts in this game. To be frank, I despise watching
their offense on tape, and you know what, watching Rogers
play what he's doing, he's playing pretty well. But like
with Nathaniel Hackett for two years and Arthur Smith this
last year, like there's I think there's more in the
tank here and it makes me wonder, like, is a
(26:55):
forty three year old Rogers one of your best options
at quarterback next year? I don't know, just thinking out
loud there, but you know, this offense is like second
and thirteen.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Here's a good example.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
It's second thirteen in the game against the uh who
did I watch last I think it was the Bills game,
and they run this little three x one snag concept
where you're basically trying to displace a little hook throw
where Rodgers can stand up and throw the ball into
a quick hook to DK metcalf and two of the
routes like have no intention to and they don't. They
don't lift coverage, they crash on the spot throw and
(27:27):
DK is Rogers' only option besides that as a safety
swing to a back who has to beat three tackles.
Like there's lots of that on this tape. And for
the Miami Dolphins and their try hard mentality with Jordan
Brooksley in the way, that's gonna cause some dead drives
if it doesn't get better for the Steelers before this
game here on Monday night, I mentioned Rogers, go ahead
and take a break, come back and talk about him
and Tua. We'll talk about the special teams and the
(27:48):
miscellaneous factors. Was at stake, keys, the victory, and the prediction,
all of that on the other side. Drivetime Podcast brought
to you by AutoNation. We've done the heavy lifting on
this third preview edition of the Draft Time Podcast, taking
a look at Dolphin Steelers. Let's go ahead and finish
up with the biggest talking points. I don't know if
(28:09):
that's the case, but the we'll bring it home. We'll
go ahead and bring it home here, starting with the
quarterback position. Aaron Rodgers. I think it's easy to get
off the topic of Rogers' game, and there are games
where he's not on the same page with his guys,
where the pressure is throwing off his timing, or the
run game can't go and it affects the passing game.
But watching his tape again, this is still a very
(28:32):
seriously talented player. Even at this stage of his career.
His arm is still lively. Did you see the fifty
yard ball he threw a DK metcalf in the first
play of the game last week. What's made Rogers so
special over the course of his career is that he's
super super sharp with his process, and then even if
he is late, he has the arm talent to challenge
those windows that are closing up opposed to opening up.
(28:54):
He had a few throws in the Baltimore game that
proved that there are some stinkers on tape this year.
He went ten for twenty one for a Bucks seventeen.
Just two weeks ago. They couldn't run the ball, they
couldn't get guys open. Buffalo had him under siege. But
against the Ravens, it sure seemed like he kind of
took over the reins where he identified these opportunities for
vertical shots. The Ravens played that single high and he
went after it. I think playing more of our zone
(29:16):
structures and getting pressure on Rogers is the way to
prevent him from finding that rhythm. We will play a
lot more zone, a lot more split field safety. But
Rodgers also did his thing against this defense twice just
last year, and it wasn't like it was September. It
was after the defense found their footing, with both games
happening after December first. So I think it's a fascinating matchup.
(29:38):
I think Miami wins this game if they make things
tough on Rogers. And this is every quarterback, right, but
forty one percent completion against pressure, six point seven yards
per attempt, four touchdowns, two picks, But you don't want
to do it via the blitz too often because he
is sixty two percent completion with five touchdowns and no
picks when he's been blitzed this year, which is where
the sim pressures and the rush game, all of that
(30:01):
comes into play. And the two games last year he
did this against US when pressured thirteen for twenty six
for five point one yards per pass. When we blitzed him,
he was eighteen for twenty eight with seven point eight
yards per pass, one touchdown, and one pick. And they
blitzed him thirty three and thirty seven percent of the
time in those two games, respectively, So we'll see that
(30:21):
was a good Jets offensive line. They had Garrett Wilson,
who really got the best of Ramsey in those games.
But obviously you know the personnel is different. I just
I'm getting long winded here because I think this is
this is the matchup that to me determines this game.
Weave and the pass defense against Aaron Rodgers, our quarterback
Tua is challenging, as some of these games have been
(30:42):
for him. There's like four to five reps each week
where you see the superpower of anticipation and accuracy just
putting the defense in a bind.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
If we can keep.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Those edges secure, I think he'll have some clean pockets
to operate from where he can take advantage of some
of those soft three looks we talked about, and the
defense that react more so than anticipates with their run fits,
and how the play action game influences that, especially in
that second level. If we get sharp Tua here, I
think we could win convincingly. If he plays convicted and
(31:11):
attacks the middle of the field and doesn't turn the
ball over, I think we match up very well against
the Steelers. But if we don't see it I take
sacks or forces throws, then it's going to turn into
a rock fight of a game. Special teams and miscellaneous.
I wrote this when I started the Steelers on Friday
before the Jets game. Seems to be a lot of turmoil,
players discussing the scheme in interviews, some finger pointing a
(31:32):
lot of smoke around job security. But then they beat
the Ravens, and it's so funny how winning hushes so
many things in this league, at least as far as
what we see from a fan standpoint media standpoint. Granted,
I do think they got away with one in Baltimore.
That series seems to go like that every single year
that Isaiah likely touchdown was overturned for some reason. But
(31:53):
last week I talked about the Jets getting that emotional
late whin and how we kind of played bad football
against the Saints in the week prior in the fourth quarter,
and how that can sort of bleed into the next
week in terms of complacency for the winner and more
drive for the team that didn't play its a game,
and we saw that play out in a thirty four
to ten blowout.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
I think this is a great spot to catch the Steelers.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
They essentially afforded themselves a few games margined for air
with that win. They have the tiebreaker and the head
to head advantage over Baltimore right now, and with that
Week eighteen game on the horizon, they can lose the
next two games against US in Detroit. If they just
beat Cleveland in Week seventeen and beat the Ravens again
in Week eighteen, that alone, no matter what the Ravens
(32:36):
do in the next two games, would get them an
AFC North Championship. Do they have the proverbial big game
hangover or did they find a rhythm that will spark
a run here? That's the question I have and we'll
find out pretty early on Monday night. As far as teams,
we got tightened up after last week. The Jets get
the punt return touchdown, they execute a fake punt, knocked
us down, and the rankings just one spot, but not
(32:56):
our best showing there. We are fourth and EPA per
special teams play now. They have a rock solid kicker
and Chris Boswell who is used to kicking in the elements.
Riley Patterson has been great this year as well, so
it could come down to a big kick and both
teams have some pretty solid place kickers doing it for him.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
Right now. What's at stake? What's to root for?
Speaker 2 (33:14):
A loss pretty much removes any talk of playoff contention.
Even at ten and seven, the odds are not great,
But as we discussed on the Wednesday show, I think
the impact of winning still remains at the forefront of
what's at stake. Things looked a whole lot different, will
look a whole lot different if you win your final
eight games versus continuing what it looked like back when
(33:34):
you were two and seven and you finish, say, I
don't know four and thirteen or five and twelve. My
three keys to victory be the bully. The narrative, but
the Miami Dolphins is that they aren't built for this
game and will continue to be that way until you
win a game like this. But the narrative ignores the
facts that there are maybe two or three teams that
have played better in the trenches over the last six
weeks of the season than your Miami Dolphins, maybe even
(33:55):
going back eight weeks now. So be the bully, be
the one that to search your dominance. In a throwback
hold Weather December game number two present, interior pressure looks
being on potentially left tackle four, They're going to help him.
That means Chop gets one on one chances, and one
of the hallmarks of this defense is the pressure and
sim pressure looks where you walk up your backers and
mug the a gaps. I think you stand the chance
(34:16):
to spring some free runners and Rodgers is not fleet
of foot enough to get out of those. Also a
big game for Kenny g and Zach Seeler number three
attack the middle of the field against the Steelers defense.
Those are the areas of vulnerability against both structure and
from a personnel standpoint. I think Tua is gonna have
some opportunities to showcase what he does best, and that
(34:36):
inside power run game has been very effective for us,
but also for other teams.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Against the Steelers, You're.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
Probably thinking Travis is gonna pick a blowout here for
the Miami Dolphins. But prediction time, there is a lot
I like about this matchup. I don't think Pittsburgh is
a good team necessarily. I do think they just played
their best game of the season. I am worried about
Rogers because the success he had against this defense last year.
And it's funny like it's usually the reverse of this,
But my brain tells me to take the Dolphins, but
(35:03):
my heart says, don't do it, Travis, and so I'm
not going to I'm going to predict that we aren't
able to exploit those vulnerabilities as well as we should be,
that will turn the ball over, and they will have
some pre snap operational issues, and that Rogers has another
big day against this defense, and the moment appears too
big as the Steelers win this one twenty three seventeen
over the Miami Dolphins. You will please be sure to
(35:26):
tune into the podcast tomorrow. We're gonna have a fun
chat with Bradley Chubb. I'm gonna talk to the Army
Navy players on our team talking about that big game
this weekend. We'll also pick the week fifteen games. Until then,
you all please be sure subscribe, rate, review the podcast,
follow me on social at Winfeld NFL, the team at
Miami Dolphins, check out the YouTube channel for Dolphins HQ,
media availabilities, and so much more, and last, butt not least,
(35:48):
Miami Dolphins dot Com. Until next time, Caroline Cameron Willow
Daddy It's coming out
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