December 10, 2025 • 34 mins
Before we turn the page to the Steelers, Travis has a few ideas to get off his chest. He’ll discuss the importance of winning and establishing a standard in an NFL build, and how the Dolphins are in a position to continue doing that over the final four games. Plus, where things stand in the AFC, an Austin Jackson appreciation segment, some prospect talk, and we hear from Head Coach Mike McDaniel, TE Darren Waller and WR Jaylen Waddle who took 80 kids Christmas shopping in Miami Beach on Monday.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
What is up, Dolph Fans, and welcome to the Drivetime Podcast.
I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show,
we have a lot to cover. I kind of threw
a bunch of ingredients into a pot and I'm pretty
happy with the end results. Here we're talking some general football,
as we do every Wednesday, it seems now, the future
of the NFL, the AFC playoff race. We'll talk some
(00:31):
prospects after a fun conference championship weekend, the value of
winning regardless of outcomes around you. We'll hear from Mike
McDaniel and Darren Waller and Jalen Waddle from his Christmas
shopping event on Monday where he shot for eighty kids.
We'll talk about Austin Jackson, the future of the right
tackle position, lots to get to a little bit for
everybody on this episode. From the Baptist Health Studios inside
(00:54):
the Baptist Health Training Complex. This is the Drive Time Podcast,
so I've been enjoying using this portion of the show
to talk a little bit about the rest of the league.
And December just magnifies everything I love about the NFL
and watching that Chargers and Eagles game, which I have
several thoughts from. I don't think I've been as sad
(01:16):
about a sport since the Meners lost Game seven of
the ALCS. I was equally bummed out after Week one
because I felt like I knew it was coming after
the Colts game. But the Dolphins have fought back into
this thing, and that Chargers win was a pretty big
damper on potential playoff avenues. That kind of closed one
of the pathways for the Dolphins to wriggle their way
in at ten and seven. More on that in a moment,
(01:39):
but I just wanted to start by doing a bit
of an around the league situation here or segment I
should say, like, I know I'm getting on the older
side of the audience of the show, or it feels
that way at least maybe not, But do you guys remember,
like not even ten years ago, when games with two
established franchise quarterbacks were probably gonna be like thirty eight
(02:00):
to thirty five, if not forty four to forty one.
And it's not even just the NFL anymore, like Ohio
State Indiana the Big Ten championship sixteen to thirteen college
five years ago was a race to fifty points most
of the time. That was basically the Arena League just
five years ago. With how much they scored the Chiefs
and Texans game, Patrick Mahomes and C. J.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Stroud.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Was it like ten to ten going to the fourth
quarter the Monday night game sixteen thirteen mid stages of
the fourth quarter, which, by the way, win the game
Philly like that Aj Brown dropping the corner the en
zone the only regulation or just not getting one more
first down there to milk the clock and kick the
game winning field goal. Not to mention, you know what,
let's not do the whole thing. Sixteen thirteen in the
(02:44):
middle of the fourth quarter, and there had been seven
turnovers in the game, just nine points off the seven turnovers.
I don't think I really have a grander point here,
but it makes me think about how we will view players.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
From a production standpoint.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
We as in the Royal we right the football cogniz
s because numbers are just like way down, way way down.
It's been trending this way for a while, but this
year has been an entirely different beast in terms of
the defensive dominance. Actually, you know what, I do have
points two of them. As a matter of fact, I
think the reason this has been such a wacky season
(03:18):
where like, and you tell me, every fan might view
this differently, but for years it felt like going into
the postseason, no matter how good of a record you had,
if you didn't have Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson,
then it felt like it was going to be a
really big upset or multiple upsets in order to run
the AFC playoff gauntlet.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
And similar in the NFC.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
I mean, there's been offshoots, but you're probably gonna get
picked off at some point if you do not have
one of the upper eschelon top four or five quarterbacks
in this league. I mean, this could be the first
year that we don't have a Brady or a Mahomes,
not the Tom Brady, the Patrick Mahomes in the AFC
Championship game for the first time since guess win can
(04:01):
you do it? Since twenty ten? Do you know who
played in the championship game that day? The freaking Jets,
who haven't been to the playoffs since. Who are a
more abun franchise that hasn't experienced any motal cume up
success in the last fifteen years? Think about that, But
like the Broncos, I mean bo nix is, he's below
(04:21):
the median line, below the Mendoza line of EPA per
dropback among NFL quarterbacks. They're in line to get the
number one seed with pretty poor quarterback play this year.
The Bears were one throw away from being the one
seed in the NFC at ten to three, and Caleb
Williams has been like bottom third in the NFL and
ePaper dropback the Seahawks. Donald's been awesome this year, but
(04:43):
in games where he's throwing multiple picks, they're still like
blowing teams out. The Niners and Texans both won three
games with backup quarterbacks, and the Texans they've got a
chance to make a serious run in January because of
that defense and a pretty good quarterback as well, despite
the fact that the offense is somewhat broke him. But
the Niners like beat the Panthers and prety threw four
(05:03):
picks in the game and they're gonna win probably twelve
games this year with pretty bad quarterback play the entire season.
Look at US two was throwing the ball at most
twenty three times in one single game. Over this winning streak.
He hasn't surpassed twenty three throws in any of the
four games. The point is, this league, for a long
time was about passing differential. I remember, wrongfully so being
(05:27):
excited about Joe Philben, who took over for Tony'sperano right
for him saying that the way we win football games
is passer rating differential, and that was like, oh cool,
we finally get someone that understands that now. And he
was right at the time, and that was the case
for ten years. He just had no freaking clue how
to execute it. But it was how can you pass
and how can you stop the opposing pass? But now
it's just not like that. And look, I love a
(05:50):
twenty four to twenty game with twenty seventeen. Those are
the best scores. Twenty seven to twenty four, Like, that's
the best football that there can be. When you actually
have like stopped at the end of games opposed like
up and down, like who the ball last, that's not
fun to me, that's unsuspenseful to me. But I think
the most important thing of this entire rant or whatever
a diatribe is trying to forecast what it means for
(06:10):
the future. You're getting the version, this version of football,
because the league completely made extinct the two hundred and
sixty pound linebacker. They're not only reducing the numbers of
bodies down in the fit with you know, that's the umbrella,
coverage shells, blah blah blah blah, all the stuff you've
heard about from mainstream media, but they're also reducing the
size of the players they have that they're exchanging thump
(06:33):
for speed and coverage chops in the middle of the field.
That's why when you roll out the Daniel Brunskill package,
even though teams know what's coming, you're literally removing an
eligible out of the equation there.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
It's hard to get stops.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Like McDaniel said as much last year, like we don't
want to take an eligible out of the equation. Frank
Smith talked about not wanting to put an offensive lineman
out there as a six to zero lineman because the
tight end is a pass threat and the offensive lineman's not.
The Dolphins were steadfast in that belief. They were the
only team in the NFL from twenty two through Week
six Week seven of twenty twenty five who had not
(07:07):
run a single play with an extra offensive lineman. They
were vehemently opposed to the concept because it made sense,
it tracks. But even the Dolphins, who had that viewpoint
going into the season and tip of the cap for
the shifting, you know mindset, even they pivoted off of it.
It's the pendulum will swing again. It always does, but
(07:28):
it's worth discussing the state of the game, where it's
going and how long it might take to swing back.
Do you start trying to find two hundred and sixty
pound linebackers?
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Do they exist?
Speaker 2 (07:38):
And what does it look like when teams start doing that?
And I am very curious to know just how the
makeup of the mid season shift came to be. I
think we're going to learn more about that as we
go along here. But it was it wasn't directly after
the Tyreek Kill injury. It took a few games to
get to that point. But when you lose your highest
non paid quarterback, you know, and you get better. I
(07:59):
think there's something to look at in terms of your
mode of operation, what it should be and how you
approach things. I mean, we talked about in the offseason
like what does the world without Tyreek Hill look like? Well,
you're finding out right now and it's a pretty good world,
and I do think it begs the question what would
have happened if it happened earlier? Are you in this
thing in a serious contending way? This is a total
hot change of topics here, but we're gonna do that.
(08:22):
It's the segment idea that best matches up the timing
of the show to complete an A block here, So
I want to close the A block with Austin Jackson
injection appreciation. So we covered this ad nauseum over the offseason.
In twenty twenty four, with Austin Jackson on the field,
the Dolphins ran for one hundred and thirty four yards
(08:42):
per game, and that could be skewed a little bit
because what four of those games were with Skyler and
Tyler and you didn't have Tua, which then the passing
offense became the primary focus of the offense again. But
without Austin Jackson you ran for eighty yards per game,
and there was three games of Tyler Huntley right in
that as well. In the two games since Austin Jackson
(09:03):
has returned, we average two hundred and two rushing yards
per game. Austin's play stands on its own merit at
this stage of his career, He's a set and forget tackle,
much like I said about Patrick Paul on the film
review episode. Yeah, he's gonna lose a few pass rush
reps against some of the game's best pass rushers. But
when you have Austin Jackson out there, you know what
you're getting. He's solid in pass bro but you're getting
(09:24):
a physical presence who is just as good working laterally
to his right in space as he is reaching across
the formation to cut off a four eye and sealing
the backside of a cutback lane, or climbing up to
the second level linebackers, or just getting surge on a
downhill inside run.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
He was awesome against the Jets.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
I thought he was good against the Saints, but truly
awesome versus the Jets. It's just really cool to watch
his impact and just picking up right where it left
off in twenty twenty three, but also for seven games
of twenty twenty four. But I mean, isn't it kind
of crazy to think that Austin's twenty six years old
and he'll enter camp at the exact same age next time.
August August eleventh birthday, he'll be twenty seven midway through camp.
(10:03):
Also shout out to my late mother same birthday as her.
But I just think it's a clear sign that there's
only really one question with Austin and it's no mystery.
He's missed nineteen games the last two years and thirty
five over the last four years.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
But when he's out there, you've got your bookends.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
And that's a pretty big deal in a game that's
about offensive line play. But also we've also seen this
year the value of continuity on the offensive line, and
you know, injuries injury histories are something to consider as well.
Because the thought of like him and Larry Borim at
the right tackle position, you know, I don't hate it.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
I don't hate that as a solution if.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
There's a surefire player on the board in the first
round of the draft, which is kind of the only
place to get tackles. Which is also kind of funny
to say, because our left tackle is a second round
draft pick, but he.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Is not the norm. He is the exception.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
But if that guy's there in the first round, then
do it, because there are players that fit that mold.
Miami's right tackle makes a lost sense right there in
that spot. Mau yoga's how you say it. But Austin Larry,
you can do a hell of a lot worse than that.
You get a stud starter and a proven backup to
a starter that has an injury, you know, tag next
to his name. The decision the front office has to
make this offseason there is a tough one. You know,
(11:08):
fifteen million dollars in cash owed. They tacked on void
years through twenty nine. So it's not like an ironclad
situation where you're stuck with one decision one way or
the other. But it comes down to simply whether or
not you're willing to bet on the health. Which is
that kind of like a lesson We've learned over the
last few years, and we've seen the impact of having
a healthy team this year down the stretch. The solid
backup option to me, really, you know, gives that idea
(11:29):
more more runway. But that's one of the bigger decisions
of the entire offseason. Well, I guess that point does
tie in to this first point because for Miami, you know,
Paul Brew, Austin Jonah finding his groove, Cole Strange starting
these games and getting some experience in the offense and
having you know, similar flashes to a player that was
a first round draft pick a few years back, whether
(11:50):
it's now or twenty twenty six, I really think you
view this portion of the team as the core, foundation,
foundational pillar of your roster. And think about that for
you know, an offense, not a fan base that spent years.
You know, every social media post we sent out, we're
talking about the offensive line. All of a sudden, these
investments are paying off, and they're young, they've been durable
(12:12):
as a whole. I mean Aaron Brewers missed like thirteen
snaps in two years because they took him out of games.
Because we're smoking teams by thirty four points. Their scheme diverse,
and that really allows your flexibility. It allows it affords
you flexibility in terms of how you construct your roster
because you can make an off season plan for what
you're gonna do in free agency in the draft, right,
but free agencies have their own agency with where to go.
(12:34):
It takes two to tango. Like the Kalays Campbell situation.
He wanted to go home to Arizona. It wasn't an
option here. It just wasn't an option. He wanted to
be in Arizona. So you can get mad about it
all you want. It was not on the table to
go to the Miami Dolphins. Other teams can snipe your
preferred draft picks. It happens all the time. It's not
always going to go according to your plan A. So
you have these contingencies. And when you have a unit
(12:56):
like this up front that can run gap scheme, they
can run zone, they can be a pass heavy team,
they can be a run heavy team.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Probably prefer the ladder there, but.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
It can allow you to pivot contingencies if that top
free agent target goes elsewhere, or your favorite prospect gets
picked two spots ahead of you, or if you want
to develop our young quarterback, come do it behind an
offensive line that produces two hundred and two rushing yards
per game.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
That's the larger point here.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
And to put a bow on all of that, if
we do get the team that has a two hundred
and sixty pound thumpers on their defense, I think this
offensive line can absorb it. But we also have the
athleticism to match with the modern day second level of defenses.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
So that's my rant.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Speaking of roster construction, I want to get into a
bit of prospect talk here. On the other side, some
things I picked up over the weekend in college and
also take a look at the state of the AFC
with just four weeks to go in the National Football League.
That's next Drivetime Podcast brought to you by AutoNation Man
(13:56):
Man oh Man that freaking Monday night game Man hutto
Yo woop Man. So with that in the rear view, winning,
winning has allowed us to reopen the imagination right with
watching the rest of the NFL pulling for certain teams.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
And I don't know.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
About you, but that is way better than watching like
December NBA Action or doing full on prospect talk here
in early December, or worse before Thanksgiving, and we got
into that a few weeks ago. I'm glad to have
put a pause on that for a little bit. And
while the Chargers win over the Eagles does severely complicate
(14:32):
that path we lay out for you on the show
last week, Man. Even if they just throw three incomplete
passes and kick a field goal there the Eagles, a
Charger's tie would have been the same as a loss
for our purposes.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
But I digress. I guess I have to what other
choice do I have?
Speaker 2 (14:47):
It freaking ruined my not asleep, which says more about
me than anything else. But damn it, damn it, Jalen hurts.
But you know what doesn't change. It's the impact of
winning football games. Now, maybe maybe this is me being
around a team for six years and removing myself from
the fans sphere of things in a certain degree. Maybe
it's just growing up a little bit. But don't get
(15:08):
this twisted. Nothing you do in a year prior in
this league carries over. It doesn't work that way. It's
a common mistake people make. If there's complacency, you wind
up getting set even further back. But there is something
to be set about culture, establishing expectation and the old
saying how you do anything is how you do everything.
So if I'm eliminated from playoff contention, or if it
(15:29):
even looks bleak and I allow that to change how
I work, well, that then informs me that my team,
my teammates. And this is hypothetical, obviously, I'm not talking
about my little position with Miami Dolphins. Just hypothetically, that
would inform my team that I'm not a foxhole guy, right,
I'm not someone that needs to be in the mix
next year when the standings reset, and we try to
(15:49):
transfer what we've done these last six weeks into opening
day and beyond next year. Because the way you capture
these these runs, aside from having you know, elite players
all across the board, is you capture that lightning in
a bottle and you get everyone on the same page,
growing in the same direction, and you win through your
culture and your belief and your strain and the way
you make plays in critical moments. I do think it's
(16:09):
true that the best teams play their best football in December.
It's easier to pick games this time of year because
teams have figured out who they are. You're not going
to get these good teams with massive coverage bust or
miss assignment paloozas the random one off games that happen
in September and October. Even to the best teams, they
become fewer and far between, right, I mean, you can
go back every year and find crazy upsets in the
(16:32):
early months. A couple of years ago, the Colts beat
the Chiefs, like in the Chiefs prime of their run
in a September game, and the Colts were like starting
what Carson wentz or something like that. They just continue
to reduce those type of shocking games the later you
get into the calendar. So the Dolphins have that going
for them. They obviously need to find a way to
start faster in twenty six, regardless of how this year finishes.
(16:54):
But I think as you continue to develop, as you
continue to find out more information, it's not necessarily the
results of wins and losses that establishes the culture. It's
the way you approach the mundane. I go back to
the Jordan Brooks commentary from Mike McDaniel last week. You know,
he played sixty snaps in the game, and fifty seven
of those were awesome. But he's in here throughout the
course of the week, grinding, trying to find a way
(17:14):
to be in better position on the three plays. Maybe
they high load him in coverage, that type of pursuit, relentless,
the same thing every day. A guy like Zach Steeler
who can silence the noise around him, whether he's ten
two or two and ten, none of that matters because
he has the exact same approach every single day. He's
regimented and look, you can also uncover more information about
(17:35):
the product itself. Right, it's an evaluation period for you
go back six weeks. What was there to hang our
hat on here? As the Miami Dolphins, we really didn't
know what the strengths of the team were because frankly,
there weren't many, if any. Maybe they were in there,
just we hadn't seen it yet. But right now, look
at what you've done. You've got dan Orlowski reminding everybody
every week to watch out for the Miami Dolphins. I
(17:57):
don't know how many of you folks that are listening
to heed the call, but Connor Or from Sports Illustrated
hated the Dolphins back in August. Now we're his pet team.
I had this conversation with a buddy of mine here,
a producer of Dolphins HQ about the Steelers game, and
I'm like, man, you win that game. That changes what
people think about you in terms of what they think
you can't do. Right, all we heard going into the
Jets game was Tua's record in games below a certain temperature.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Don't have to hear that. Now we destroy the Jets.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
You go on the road against a team that just
had their biggest win of the season. It's in primetime
where you haven't played well. It's in the cold where
you haven't played. Well, it's a team with a winning
record where you haven't played in those games. Well, it's
like a five part narrative buster. And look, you can't
cash in media talking points in the offseason narratives for
anything tangible of tangible value. Ultimately, at best it's frivolous.
(18:46):
But what if the perception seeps into NFL circles. Hey,
do you see the Dolphins did this year? They got
some dogs in their team. They coached a certain way,
They're developing players a certain way. They believe in their guys.
Look at what they did for Jack Jones. Look at
how they brought Jonas of VIII, Naya and Kenny Gee
along throughout their age twenty one seasons. They didn't bail
on them. I want to be part of that. And
I think the proof of concepts slidifies conviction, confidence and conviction, Like, hey,
(19:10):
we got this twenty twenty five rookie class playing pretty well.
Look at what we did on the offensive line and
the defensive line and remade the entire focal point of
our football team. Look at what the secondary has accomplished.
They were bemoaned, They were called the worst unit in
the NFL by Benjamin Solak in August. Right, let's keep
chopping wood, adding more pieces that fit that part, to
(19:31):
fit our culture. I mean, this year was a lot
about rooting out bad apples, right, and we hoped it
would produce results earlier in the season. Didn't work that way.
It kills me that we didn't freaking sack Justin Herbert
on that last drive. And if we got that and
took a win from them and gave us a win
and had the head to head tiebreaker, I would say
we're gonna make the playoffs if that happens.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
It didn't.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
The Panthers game didn't happen. The Patriots game, it didn't happen.
The slow start.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
It sucks.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
We were a bad team, we found ways to lose games.
Now we're a good team, and it does shroud a
little bit of what was a success in terms of
shifting all of that. But damn it, dude, these guys
love each other man. They accomplished that culture shift.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
They did it.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
They did it, and that was after starting out two
and seven. We're gonna have Bradley Chubb on HQ this
week in the Friday Podcast, and I asked him about
the chance you hear around the building. You'll see it
in some of the social media content like Bradley Chubb, right,
they do that for like when guys walk into the
meeting room, they greet the guys that way. It's a
fun environment, a contagious one that doesn't tolerate the nonsense.
(20:31):
Like you can't be nonsense with Jordan Brooks and there's
no Jaalen Ramsey here to tell them to go pound
sand because if you do that, then Syonara sucker. And
like the best players are guys like Jordan and Minca
that don't take that stuff. Watch Minka's press conference today.
He's got no time for nonsense.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
I love that about Minca. I love his play too.
That's why you grind. That's the value of winning. And
even if the help we need doesn't happen, there's plenty
of value to be gained from these last four games,
just as we extracted max value from these last four games. Now,
with that in mind, let's just kind of look at
the standings here real quick in the AFC and kind
(21:09):
of chill out, because I was getting heated there for
a second, and this will kind of bring you back
to earth a little bit, but erase the division winners,
the Patriots, the Broncos, the Ravens or Steelers, and then the.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Jags.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Right now, in the AFC South, the Bills, Chargers, and
Texans occupy the wild card spots. They are nine and four,
nine and four and eight and five, and then the
Colts are eight and five and the Chiefs are six
and seven. On the outside looking in, the Steelers, Ravens, Jags.
Of it all is irrelevant to me because even if
if we do make a run and rattle off eight
straight wins to close the season, we would jump the
(21:43):
AFC North second place team regardless of what happens.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
So let's just make that clear.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
And then the Jags would have to lose out and
they play the Titans, the Jets, and the Philip Rivers Colts.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
That's not happening.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Buffalo beating Cincinnati made that one almost impossible. The Chargers
losing on Monday would have made them very interesting. Per
the Football Power Index on ESPN. If we go ten
and seven, our chances are seventeen percent. Not great, but
still alive. And the Chargers win again narrows things a
little bit, but there's still a chance that someone goes
(22:14):
cold down the stretch, which is what we need. Like
they still play Kansas City, Houston, Dallas, and Denver. They
could lose all of those. If they lose three of them,
we'd overtake them if we go ten to seven. And
I think all four of those teams are probably better
than the Chargers right now. But it would just it
would have given more options had they lost that game,
because they could have lost the Dallas and Denver game
(22:35):
and then been agents of chaos for us and gone
and beat the Chiefs in Texans. But now you'd likely
need Kansas City to beat the Chargers and then the Chiefs,
and then the Chiefs have the Chargers, Titans, Broncos and Raiders,
so they go into that. If they beat the Chargers,
they probably have to lose the Broncos because they're not
going to lose to the Raiders nor the Titans, no
matter how bad the Chiefs have been this year. So
(22:57):
we'll see. You just never know. But I want to
keep up, and this is we go along here. Houston's
at eight and five. If they play the Chargers in
Texans with the Cardinals and Raiders, they're not going to
lose three of the four, which is what it's going
to take for us to overtake them at ten and seven.
I still think the best path is the Chargers and
Colts losing three of their last four. I think the
Colts will the Chargers maybe two and two, and that
(23:18):
knocks is out by one game, which would hurt, but
it would be what it is. And then you need
one more loss from the chief So the Colts and
Chargers lose three of the last four and the Chiefs
lose one more. I think that's the most likely, although
it's not likely, but again, just win because there's value
in it regardless of what happens in a Chiefs Raiders game.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
You know what I mean. Let's go ahead and take
our last break rate.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
There.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
I've got three more short ideas. I want to cover
Wattle's Christmas shopping event, some McDaniel's sound bites, and I
have some Prospects stuff to discuss. That's next Draft Time podcast,
brought to you by AutoNation. Segment three on a Wednesday
Tomorrow Steelers review. I'm really intrigued by the Steelers tape
right now. I'm not really sure who they are as
(23:59):
a team. They kind of worry me in some ways.
In some ways, I feel pretty confident. So that usually
makes for a pretty fun football game. We'll get to
that on the show here tomorrow. But today, you know,
this podcast started off as a big hodgepodge of topics,
but now I'm realizing how much it actually kind of
tied together.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
Good job by you, Travis, pat yourself on the back.
Thank you, Travis. I'm the only one talking here what
we doing.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
And I'll continue that theme of praise for the mindset
of this Miami Dolphins team right now, what they've built
in twenty twenty five and a foundation laid in place
that I just don't think was in this position previously.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
It's sturdy. Now I think it would.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
I think it's sturdy enough to withstand a two and
seven start, whereas in the past when we would lose,
or the old Jordan Poyer comment about how you know,
you get the Dolphins down early, they kind of collapse themselves. Well,
now it's a sturdy foundation that could withstand you know,
some heat, some adversity, whereas in the past it's like
a freaking coastal house on stilts with rising ocean tides
(24:54):
and corroding coastlines. It's pretty easy to dump it in
that situation. Because my college ball take away from the weekend,
as this all ties together, if you draft a player
on the Ohio State defense, you're probably gonna be pretty
happy with that pick.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
My goodness, what a group that is.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
I know they lost the game, and I've talked about
RVL Rees in the podcast. He's not just edge one
and linebacker one for me. He's number one in this
year's class across all football players. And I've only done
you know a handful of players, but y'all see him.
His partner in crime, Sonny Styles, who's going to test
like crazy, who has Rokwan Smith vibes.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
To me, He'll run through you.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
He's the Jordan Brooks of that defense in terms of
his leadership and his accountability and his mindset. I write
up some stuff on him about, you know, just the
way the coaching staff and his teammates talk about him.
He's going to be great at higher than I had
Jahad Campbell last year from Alabama, and I loved Jehad Campbell.
And that linebacker position might be thought of as a
luxury pick in this year's draft, but I don't really
care about that. If you take a future All pro
(25:54):
who gives a damn about what the draft day perception was.
Just ask Ben Solck about his Jamior Gibbs and Jack
Campbell tweet about the Detroit Lions, butchering that first round like, no,
those are two all pros. Brother, kind of wrong there,
and look at any great defense in the NFL for
the most part, how about those Niners teams with Warner
and green Law or even going back to Patrick Willis
and Navarro Bowman and I start with Warner and green
(26:17):
Law because we were attached to green Law this offseason.
He was one of the first guys that was linked
to Miami's a possible free agent addition, he winds up
going to Denver. We go back to re sign t Dot.
But remember my opening segment about the era of football
we are in. I think one sure fire away to
play really good defense is to recreate Bobby Wagner and
kJ Wright, to recreate Roquwan Smith and Patrickqweed. We could
(26:40):
do this on and on and on. Now there are
two of like five or six positions that never leave
the field so that you're getting one hundred percent snap takers.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
They impact all three levels of the defense.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
The tracks right, So he's high on my list, but
they're going to have a chance to stick and pick
someone whether it's at twenty or twelve, that I think
can have a sim impact. So I ain't even tripping
about where you draft, because as my friend Kyle Krabs
has told me, it's about who you pick, not where
you pick. Go one layer back on the Ohio State defense,
and this probably has a bigger impact on where you draft,
because I think he goes pretty high this year, but
(27:13):
you could get arguably the best player in the country
in safety Caleb Downs. Because of his draft position or
because of his play position, that kind of diminishes his
draft value. Malachi Starks from Georgia was viewed in a
similar vein last year and he winds up going twenty
seventh to the Ravens, So maybe he's not the same
caliber players I think Downs getting past like fifteen probably
isn't going to happen. But he was safety one held
(27:35):
nicky man worry last until pick thirty five, and he
might be the defensive rookie of the year, So his
positional value Caleb Downs would knock him a little bit.
I'd be like, if he's on the board, sweet. I'll
go ahead and pair that with Minka Fitzpatrick and let
Minka and Cater be diverse agents of chaos from the
inside position. And round that out was smart veterans zone
cornerbacks and Jordan Brooks and Zach Seeler and my young
(27:57):
defensive line.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Let's go baby.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
Just think that program has curated a type a type
of player that I cove it now the way I
view football, and a player that I believe the Miami
Dolphins cove it. And they play in a Matt Patricia defense.
So if you go a buck guys defender, you're gonna
get a smart defender who knows how to play. You know,
sim pressure packages, be part of multiple disguised defenses. You
(28:22):
probably can't go wrong there. Let's go ahead and pivot
this thing back to the Miami Dolphins current day. I
asked Mike McDaniel two questions yesterday about player development and
about the Ali Gordon touchdown run when five different Miami
Dolphins jumped in to push him over the goal line.
Let's go ahead and run those two sound bites. I
asked him about Jonas of vite Naya's growth over the
four game winning streak and just the concept of player
(28:43):
development in general and what it says about your program,
your coaching staff, your players, the entire enchilada and how
this all comes together.
Speaker 4 (28:50):
I think that you know, for me and as I
visualize the program, it's non negotiable.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
You know, you you pride.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
Yourself on you know, if you're a professional coach, you're
developing your players. This is and that connects to your
your whole reasoning and your why.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
To why you do it.
Speaker 4 (29:13):
But it's something that you know, uh, I take very
serious that you know, I think is the is the
best part of uh watching, the best part of being
a coach and being involved in these these players' careers.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
So uh, you know, I think that.
Speaker 4 (29:34):
You know, it's both instructor and instructee.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
It's a beautiful part of the game.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
And you know, I've always said the the biggest mistake
is people, you know, just rely on your name plate
and what you have done. You do have a choice
in how you create what your best version of yourself is.
So I see a lot of it on our team
(30:03):
and and and that's something that we focus on. So
it's very important and well will be the reason you
win or lose football games. Uh, especially down on the
stretch of the season where it all accumulates.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
And the SoundBite here about Alli Gordon's touchdown run and
what it says about his football team.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
I've really had that happen.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
It was the second time I've been a part of
a team where the offense had kind of done that
in that portion of the game. And you know, it's
a it's a galvanizing moment. I think that is a
mindset of both Alie, but you know, then really all
(30:46):
of its teammates, you know, I think that you know,
football is not tennis, it's not individual players. It's a
it's a unit. And when you have will, desire, drive,
and you know, it's it's it's a I think it's
a mote. It's a great representation of, you know, the
(31:10):
why behind some of the success, you know, in a
one clip sequence.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
So I'll absolutely be showing.
Speaker 4 (31:17):
It, very very proud of it, as the players should
be very proud of it as well, because you know,
there's that you don't you don't see it that often,
but you know if you're on the opposing team and
that that occurs, it's more there. There's tangible residuals to
that beyond points that that a unit will.
Speaker 3 (31:41):
Not be denied. And I think that it's a statement
that you know, I would like to.
Speaker 4 (31:48):
See occur again, and and I think it's a it
speaks volumes of all the people on the field.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Let's pivot once more to tie En Darren Waller, who
now we're into the true Hodgepodge of the episode. I
asked him, you know, I loted Greg Dole such as
work on the film review podcast, and quite frankly, this
tight end room as a whole right now has a
lot of nice pieces and things to work with. So
I asked Darren Waller, how does this tight end room
compliment on one another, compliment itself?
Speaker 1 (32:14):
In your words, Yeah.
Speaker 5 (32:15):
I mean it's just guys that have different individual skill
sets that just bring value to the offense as a whole.
I mean you're looking at it at the stuff like
Greg's able to do. He's like a running back when
he gets the ball in his hands. It's effective in
different ways blocking as well. Julian is as good of
a thumper at the point of attack as a why
just relentless that I've been around in this league, and
(32:36):
then you know, I try to offer whatever I can
offer as far as playmaking ability and what I can
in the run game, and just the defenses you can
get when you have three tight ends on the field
and they also have to worry about guys making plays
in the passing game. Just our personnel usage just you know,
keeps keeps defenses on their heels, you know. So I
think what we bring individually is very effective.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
And a total topic change that will close the show
with here. Tonight, Waddle did a backpack of shopping event
at the Nike store in Miami Beach on Monday. I
just want to go ahead and play one SoundBite here
of Wattle talking about doing the event, helping out eighty
kids have a great Christmas this year and just being
ski man.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
He's the best. Here's Waddle.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
I think it's just perfect time.
Speaker 5 (33:17):
We do try to do a lit beta each SNARE year.
Speaker 4 (33:19):
I think it was a good time come out there.
We can be to do it a lot for the
organization and the team, So come back and keep them
little joy for out of Todays.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Sending me here all right, there we go, busy fun episode.
Those are always kind of the most creativity I put
into these podcasts in terms of finding new ideas to
talk about, so I enjoy those. I hope you do
as well. Tomorrow Steelers Preview. Until then, you all please
be sure subscribe, rate, review the show, follow me on
social at WINKFLD NFL, the team at Miami Dolphins check
(33:49):
out the YouTube channel for Dolphins HQ, Media availabilities, and
so much more, and last but not least, Miami Dolphins
dot com. Until next time, Friend Zook, Caroline, Cameron, and
Willow Daddy.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
He's coming home.
This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
What is up, Dolph Fans, and welcome to the Drivetime Podcast.
I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show,
we have a lot to cover. I kind of threw
a bunch of ingredients into a pot and I'm pretty
happy with the end results. Here we're talking some general football,
as we do every Wednesday, it seems now, the future
of the NFL, the AFC playoff race. We'll talk some
(00:31):
prospects after a fun conference championship weekend, the value of
winning regardless of outcomes around you. We'll hear from Mike
McDaniel and Darren Waller and Jalen Waddle from his Christmas
shopping event on Monday where he shot for eighty kids.
We'll talk about Austin Jackson, the future of the right
tackle position, lots to get to a little bit for
everybody on this episode. From the Baptist Health Studios inside
(00:54):
the Baptist Health Training Complex. This is the Drive Time Podcast,
so I've been enjoying using this portion of the show
to talk a little bit about the rest of the league.
And December just magnifies everything I love about the NFL
and watching that Chargers and Eagles game, which I have
several thoughts from. I don't think I've been as sad
(01:16):
about a sport since the Meners lost Game seven of
the ALCS. I was equally bummed out after Week one
because I felt like I knew it was coming after
the Colts game. But the Dolphins have fought back into
this thing, and that Chargers win was a pretty big
damper on potential playoff avenues. That kind of closed one
of the pathways for the Dolphins to wriggle their way
in at ten and seven. More on that in a moment,
(01:39):
but I just wanted to start by doing a bit
of an around the league situation here or segment I
should say, like, I know I'm getting on the older
side of the audience of the show, or it feels
that way at least maybe not, But do you guys remember,
like not even ten years ago, when games with two
established franchise quarterbacks were probably gonna be like thirty eight
(02:00):
to thirty five, if not forty four to forty one.
And it's not even just the NFL anymore, like Ohio
State Indiana the Big Ten championship sixteen to thirteen college
five years ago was a race to fifty points most
of the time. That was basically the Arena League just
five years ago. With how much they scored the Chiefs
and Texans game, Patrick Mahomes and C. J.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Stroud.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Was it like ten to ten going to the fourth
quarter the Monday night game sixteen thirteen mid stages of
the fourth quarter, which, by the way, win the game
Philly like that Aj Brown dropping the corner the en
zone the only regulation or just not getting one more
first down there to milk the clock and kick the
game winning field goal. Not to mention, you know what,
let's not do the whole thing. Sixteen thirteen in the
(02:44):
middle of the fourth quarter, and there had been seven
turnovers in the game, just nine points off the seven turnovers.
I don't think I really have a grander point here,
but it makes me think about how we will view players.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
From a production standpoint.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
We as in the Royal we right the football cogniz
s because numbers are just like way down, way way down.
It's been trending this way for a while, but this
year has been an entirely different beast in terms of
the defensive dominance. Actually, you know what, I do have
points two of them. As a matter of fact, I
think the reason this has been such a wacky season
(03:18):
where like, and you tell me, every fan might view
this differently, but for years it felt like going into
the postseason, no matter how good of a record you had,
if you didn't have Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson,
then it felt like it was going to be a
really big upset or multiple upsets in order to run
the AFC playoff gauntlet.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
And similar in the NFC.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
I mean, there's been offshoots, but you're probably gonna get
picked off at some point if you do not have
one of the upper eschelon top four or five quarterbacks
in this league. I mean, this could be the first
year that we don't have a Brady or a Mahomes,
not the Tom Brady, the Patrick Mahomes in the AFC
Championship game for the first time since guess win can
(04:01):
you do it? Since twenty ten? Do you know who
played in the championship game that day? The freaking Jets,
who haven't been to the playoffs since. Who are a
more abun franchise that hasn't experienced any motal cume up
success in the last fifteen years? Think about that, But
like the Broncos, I mean bo nix is, he's below
(04:21):
the median line, below the Mendoza line of EPA per
dropback among NFL quarterbacks. They're in line to get the
number one seed with pretty poor quarterback play this year.
The Bears were one throw away from being the one
seed in the NFC at ten to three, and Caleb
Williams has been like bottom third in the NFL and
ePaper dropback the Seahawks. Donald's been awesome this year, but
(04:43):
in games where he's throwing multiple picks, they're still like
blowing teams out. The Niners and Texans both won three
games with backup quarterbacks, and the Texans they've got a
chance to make a serious run in January because of
that defense and a pretty good quarterback as well, despite
the fact that the offense is somewhat broke him. But
the Niners like beat the Panthers and prety threw four
(05:03):
picks in the game and they're gonna win probably twelve
games this year with pretty bad quarterback play the entire season.
Look at US two was throwing the ball at most
twenty three times in one single game. Over this winning streak.
He hasn't surpassed twenty three throws in any of the
four games. The point is, this league, for a long
time was about passing differential. I remember, wrongfully so being
(05:27):
excited about Joe Philben, who took over for Tony'sperano right
for him saying that the way we win football games
is passer rating differential, and that was like, oh cool,
we finally get someone that understands that now. And he
was right at the time, and that was the case
for ten years. He just had no freaking clue how
to execute it. But it was how can you pass
and how can you stop the opposing pass? But now
it's just not like that. And look, I love a
(05:50):
twenty four to twenty game with twenty seventeen. Those are
the best scores. Twenty seven to twenty four, Like, that's
the best football that there can be. When you actually
have like stopped at the end of games opposed like
up and down, like who the ball last, that's not
fun to me, that's unsuspenseful to me. But I think
the most important thing of this entire rant or whatever
a diatribe is trying to forecast what it means for
(06:10):
the future. You're getting the version, this version of football,
because the league completely made extinct the two hundred and
sixty pound linebacker. They're not only reducing the numbers of
bodies down in the fit with you know, that's the umbrella,
coverage shells, blah blah blah blah, all the stuff you've
heard about from mainstream media, but they're also reducing the
size of the players they have that they're exchanging thump
(06:33):
for speed and coverage chops in the middle of the field.
That's why when you roll out the Daniel Brunskill package,
even though teams know what's coming, you're literally removing an
eligible out of the equation there.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
It's hard to get stops.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Like McDaniel said as much last year, like we don't
want to take an eligible out of the equation. Frank
Smith talked about not wanting to put an offensive lineman
out there as a six to zero lineman because the
tight end is a pass threat and the offensive lineman's not.
The Dolphins were steadfast in that belief. They were the
only team in the NFL from twenty two through Week
six Week seven of twenty twenty five who had not
(07:07):
run a single play with an extra offensive lineman. They
were vehemently opposed to the concept because it made sense,
it tracks. But even the Dolphins, who had that viewpoint
going into the season and tip of the cap for
the shifting, you know mindset, even they pivoted off of it.
It's the pendulum will swing again. It always does, but
(07:28):
it's worth discussing the state of the game, where it's
going and how long it might take to swing back.
Do you start trying to find two hundred and sixty
pound linebackers?
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Do they exist?
Speaker 2 (07:38):
And what does it look like when teams start doing that?
And I am very curious to know just how the
makeup of the mid season shift came to be. I
think we're going to learn more about that as we
go along here. But it was it wasn't directly after
the Tyreek Kill injury. It took a few games to
get to that point. But when you lose your highest
non paid quarterback, you know, and you get better. I
(07:59):
think there's something to look at in terms of your
mode of operation, what it should be and how you
approach things. I mean, we talked about in the offseason
like what does the world without Tyreek Hill look like? Well,
you're finding out right now and it's a pretty good world,
and I do think it begs the question what would
have happened if it happened earlier? Are you in this
thing in a serious contending way? This is a total
hot change of topics here, but we're gonna do that.
(08:22):
It's the segment idea that best matches up the timing
of the show to complete an A block here, So
I want to close the A block with Austin Jackson
injection appreciation. So we covered this ad nauseum over the offseason.
In twenty twenty four, with Austin Jackson on the field,
the Dolphins ran for one hundred and thirty four yards
(08:42):
per game, and that could be skewed a little bit
because what four of those games were with Skyler and
Tyler and you didn't have Tua, which then the passing
offense became the primary focus of the offense again. But
without Austin Jackson you ran for eighty yards per game,
and there was three games of Tyler Huntley right in
that as well. In the two games since Austin Jackson
(09:03):
has returned, we average two hundred and two rushing yards
per game. Austin's play stands on its own merit at
this stage of his career, He's a set and forget tackle,
much like I said about Patrick Paul on the film
review episode. Yeah, he's gonna lose a few pass rush
reps against some of the game's best pass rushers. But
when you have Austin Jackson out there, you know what
you're getting. He's solid in pass bro but you're getting
(09:24):
a physical presence who is just as good working laterally
to his right in space as he is reaching across
the formation to cut off a four eye and sealing
the backside of a cutback lane, or climbing up to
the second level linebackers, or just getting surge on a
downhill inside run.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
He was awesome against the Jets.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
I thought he was good against the Saints, but truly
awesome versus the Jets. It's just really cool to watch
his impact and just picking up right where it left
off in twenty twenty three, but also for seven games
of twenty twenty four. But I mean, isn't it kind
of crazy to think that Austin's twenty six years old
and he'll enter camp at the exact same age next time.
August August eleventh birthday, he'll be twenty seven midway through camp.
(10:03):
Also shout out to my late mother same birthday as her.
But I just think it's a clear sign that there's
only really one question with Austin and it's no mystery.
He's missed nineteen games the last two years and thirty
five over the last four years.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
But when he's out there, you've got your bookends.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
And that's a pretty big deal in a game that's
about offensive line play. But also we've also seen this
year the value of continuity on the offensive line, and
you know, injuries injury histories are something to consider as well.
Because the thought of like him and Larry Borim at
the right tackle position, you know, I don't hate it.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
I don't hate that as a solution if.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
There's a surefire player on the board in the first
round of the draft, which is kind of the only
place to get tackles. Which is also kind of funny
to say, because our left tackle is a second round
draft pick, but he.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Is not the norm. He is the exception.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
But if that guy's there in the first round, then
do it, because there are players that fit that mold.
Miami's right tackle makes a lost sense right there in
that spot. Mau yoga's how you say it. But Austin Larry,
you can do a hell of a lot worse than that.
You get a stud starter and a proven backup to
a starter that has an injury, you know, tag next
to his name. The decision the front office has to
make this offseason there is a tough one. You know,
(11:08):
fifteen million dollars in cash owed. They tacked on void
years through twenty nine. So it's not like an ironclad
situation where you're stuck with one decision one way or
the other. But it comes down to simply whether or
not you're willing to bet on the health. Which is
that kind of like a lesson We've learned over the
last few years, and we've seen the impact of having
a healthy team this year down the stretch. The solid
backup option to me, really, you know, gives that idea
(11:29):
more more runway. But that's one of the bigger decisions
of the entire offseason. Well, I guess that point does
tie in to this first point because for Miami, you know,
Paul Brew, Austin Jonah finding his groove, Cole Strange starting
these games and getting some experience in the offense and
having you know, similar flashes to a player that was
a first round draft pick a few years back, whether
(11:50):
it's now or twenty twenty six, I really think you
view this portion of the team as the core, foundation,
foundational pillar of your roster. And think about that for
you know, an offense, not a fan base that spent years.
You know, every social media post we sent out, we're
talking about the offensive line. All of a sudden, these
investments are paying off, and they're young, they've been durable
(12:12):
as a whole. I mean Aaron Brewers missed like thirteen
snaps in two years because they took him out of games.
Because we're smoking teams by thirty four points. Their scheme diverse,
and that really allows your flexibility. It allows it affords
you flexibility in terms of how you construct your roster
because you can make an off season plan for what
you're gonna do in free agency in the draft, right,
but free agencies have their own agency with where to go.
(12:34):
It takes two to tango. Like the Kalays Campbell situation.
He wanted to go home to Arizona. It wasn't an
option here. It just wasn't an option. He wanted to
be in Arizona. So you can get mad about it
all you want. It was not on the table to
go to the Miami Dolphins. Other teams can snipe your
preferred draft picks. It happens all the time. It's not
always going to go according to your plan A. So
you have these contingencies. And when you have a unit
(12:56):
like this up front that can run gap scheme, they
can run zone, they can be a pass heavy team,
they can be a run heavy team.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Probably prefer the ladder there, but.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
It can allow you to pivot contingencies if that top
free agent target goes elsewhere, or your favorite prospect gets
picked two spots ahead of you, or if you want
to develop our young quarterback, come do it behind an
offensive line that produces two hundred and two rushing yards
per game.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
That's the larger point here.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
And to put a bow on all of that, if
we do get the team that has a two hundred
and sixty pound thumpers on their defense, I think this
offensive line can absorb it. But we also have the
athleticism to match with the modern day second level of defenses.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
So that's my rant.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Speaking of roster construction, I want to get into a
bit of prospect talk here. On the other side, some
things I picked up over the weekend in college and
also take a look at the state of the AFC
with just four weeks to go in the National Football League.
That's next Drivetime Podcast brought to you by AutoNation Man
(13:56):
Man oh Man that freaking Monday night game Man hutto
Yo woop Man. So with that in the rear view, winning,
winning has allowed us to reopen the imagination right with
watching the rest of the NFL pulling for certain teams.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
And I don't know.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
About you, but that is way better than watching like
December NBA Action or doing full on prospect talk here
in early December, or worse before Thanksgiving, and we got
into that a few weeks ago. I'm glad to have
put a pause on that for a little bit. And
while the Chargers win over the Eagles does severely complicate
(14:32):
that path we lay out for you on the show
last week, Man. Even if they just throw three incomplete
passes and kick a field goal there the Eagles, a
Charger's tie would have been the same as a loss
for our purposes.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
But I digress. I guess I have to what other
choice do I have?
Speaker 2 (14:47):
It freaking ruined my not asleep, which says more about
me than anything else. But damn it, damn it, Jalen hurts.
But you know what doesn't change. It's the impact of
winning football games. Now, maybe maybe this is me being
around a team for six years and removing myself from
the fans sphere of things in a certain degree. Maybe
it's just growing up a little bit. But don't get
(15:08):
this twisted. Nothing you do in a year prior in
this league carries over. It doesn't work that way. It's
a common mistake people make. If there's complacency, you wind
up getting set even further back. But there is something
to be set about culture, establishing expectation and the old
saying how you do anything is how you do everything.
So if I'm eliminated from playoff contention, or if it
(15:29):
even looks bleak and I allow that to change how
I work, well, that then informs me that my team,
my teammates. And this is hypothetical, obviously, I'm not talking
about my little position with Miami Dolphins. Just hypothetically, that
would inform my team that I'm not a foxhole guy, right,
I'm not someone that needs to be in the mix
next year when the standings reset, and we try to
(15:49):
transfer what we've done these last six weeks into opening
day and beyond next year. Because the way you capture
these these runs, aside from having you know, elite players
all across the board, is you capture that lightning in
a bottle and you get everyone on the same page,
growing in the same direction, and you win through your
culture and your belief and your strain and the way
you make plays in critical moments. I do think it's
(16:09):
true that the best teams play their best football in December.
It's easier to pick games this time of year because
teams have figured out who they are. You're not going
to get these good teams with massive coverage bust or
miss assignment paloozas the random one off games that happen
in September and October. Even to the best teams, they
become fewer and far between, right, I mean, you can
go back every year and find crazy upsets in the
(16:32):
early months. A couple of years ago, the Colts beat
the Chiefs, like in the Chiefs prime of their run
in a September game, and the Colts were like starting
what Carson wentz or something like that. They just continue
to reduce those type of shocking games the later you
get into the calendar. So the Dolphins have that going
for them. They obviously need to find a way to
start faster in twenty six, regardless of how this year finishes.
(16:54):
But I think as you continue to develop, as you
continue to find out more information, it's not necessarily the
results of wins and losses that establishes the culture. It's
the way you approach the mundane. I go back to
the Jordan Brooks commentary from Mike McDaniel last week. You know,
he played sixty snaps in the game, and fifty seven
of those were awesome. But he's in here throughout the
course of the week, grinding, trying to find a way
(17:14):
to be in better position on the three plays. Maybe
they high load him in coverage, that type of pursuit, relentless,
the same thing every day. A guy like Zach Steeler
who can silence the noise around him, whether he's ten
two or two and ten, none of that matters because
he has the exact same approach every single day. He's
regimented and look, you can also uncover more information about
(17:35):
the product itself. Right, it's an evaluation period for you
go back six weeks. What was there to hang our
hat on here? As the Miami Dolphins, we really didn't
know what the strengths of the team were because frankly,
there weren't many, if any. Maybe they were in there,
just we hadn't seen it yet. But right now, look
at what you've done. You've got dan Orlowski reminding everybody
every week to watch out for the Miami Dolphins. I
(17:57):
don't know how many of you folks that are listening
to heed the call, but Connor Or from Sports Illustrated
hated the Dolphins back in August. Now we're his pet team.
I had this conversation with a buddy of mine here,
a producer of Dolphins HQ about the Steelers game, and
I'm like, man, you win that game. That changes what
people think about you in terms of what they think
you can't do. Right, all we heard going into the
Jets game was Tua's record in games below a certain temperature.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Don't have to hear that. Now we destroy the Jets.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
You go on the road against a team that just
had their biggest win of the season. It's in primetime
where you haven't played well. It's in the cold where
you haven't played. Well, it's a team with a winning
record where you haven't played in those games. Well, it's
like a five part narrative buster. And look, you can't
cash in media talking points in the offseason narratives for
anything tangible of tangible value. Ultimately, at best it's frivolous.
(18:46):
But what if the perception seeps into NFL circles. Hey,
do you see the Dolphins did this year? They got
some dogs in their team. They coached a certain way,
They're developing players a certain way. They believe in their guys.
Look at what they did for Jack Jones. Look at
how they brought Jonas of VIII, Naya and Kenny Gee
along throughout their age twenty one seasons. They didn't bail
on them. I want to be part of that. And
I think the proof of concepts slidifies conviction, confidence and conviction, Like, hey,
(19:10):
we got this twenty twenty five rookie class playing pretty well.
Look at what we did on the offensive line and
the defensive line and remade the entire focal point of
our football team. Look at what the secondary has accomplished.
They were bemoaned, They were called the worst unit in
the NFL by Benjamin Solak in August. Right, let's keep
chopping wood, adding more pieces that fit that part, to
(19:31):
fit our culture. I mean, this year was a lot
about rooting out bad apples, right, and we hoped it
would produce results earlier in the season. Didn't work that way.
It kills me that we didn't freaking sack Justin Herbert
on that last drive. And if we got that and
took a win from them and gave us a win
and had the head to head tiebreaker, I would say
we're gonna make the playoffs if that happens.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
It didn't.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
The Panthers game didn't happen. The Patriots game, it didn't happen.
The slow start.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
It sucks.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
We were a bad team, we found ways to lose games.
Now we're a good team, and it does shroud a
little bit of what was a success in terms of
shifting all of that. But damn it, dude, these guys
love each other man. They accomplished that culture shift.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
They did it.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
They did it, and that was after starting out two
and seven. We're gonna have Bradley Chubb on HQ this
week in the Friday Podcast, and I asked him about
the chance you hear around the building. You'll see it
in some of the social media content like Bradley Chubb, right,
they do that for like when guys walk into the
meeting room, they greet the guys that way. It's a
fun environment, a contagious one that doesn't tolerate the nonsense.
(20:31):
Like you can't be nonsense with Jordan Brooks and there's
no Jaalen Ramsey here to tell them to go pound
sand because if you do that, then Syonara sucker. And
like the best players are guys like Jordan and Minca
that don't take that stuff. Watch Minka's press conference today.
He's got no time for nonsense.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
I love that about Minca. I love his play too.
That's why you grind. That's the value of winning. And
even if the help we need doesn't happen, there's plenty
of value to be gained from these last four games,
just as we extracted max value from these last four games. Now,
with that in mind, let's just kind of look at
the standings here real quick in the AFC and kind
(21:09):
of chill out, because I was getting heated there for
a second, and this will kind of bring you back
to earth a little bit, but erase the division winners,
the Patriots, the Broncos, the Ravens or Steelers, and then the.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Jags.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Right now, in the AFC South, the Bills, Chargers, and
Texans occupy the wild card spots. They are nine and four,
nine and four and eight and five, and then the
Colts are eight and five and the Chiefs are six
and seven. On the outside looking in, the Steelers, Ravens, Jags.
Of it all is irrelevant to me because even if
if we do make a run and rattle off eight
straight wins to close the season, we would jump the
(21:43):
AFC North second place team regardless of what happens.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
So let's just make that clear.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
And then the Jags would have to lose out and
they play the Titans, the Jets, and the Philip Rivers Colts.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
That's not happening.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Buffalo beating Cincinnati made that one almost impossible. The Chargers
losing on Monday would have made them very interesting. Per
the Football Power Index on ESPN. If we go ten
and seven, our chances are seventeen percent. Not great, but
still alive. And the Chargers win again narrows things a
little bit, but there's still a chance that someone goes
(22:14):
cold down the stretch, which is what we need. Like
they still play Kansas City, Houston, Dallas, and Denver. They
could lose all of those. If they lose three of them,
we'd overtake them if we go ten to seven. And
I think all four of those teams are probably better
than the Chargers right now. But it would just it
would have given more options had they lost that game,
because they could have lost the Dallas and Denver game
(22:35):
and then been agents of chaos for us and gone
and beat the Chiefs in Texans. But now you'd likely
need Kansas City to beat the Chargers and then the Chiefs,
and then the Chiefs have the Chargers, Titans, Broncos and Raiders,
so they go into that. If they beat the Chargers,
they probably have to lose the Broncos because they're not
going to lose to the Raiders nor the Titans, no
matter how bad the Chiefs have been this year. So
(22:57):
we'll see. You just never know. But I want to
keep up, and this is we go along here. Houston's
at eight and five. If they play the Chargers in
Texans with the Cardinals and Raiders, they're not going to
lose three of the four, which is what it's going
to take for us to overtake them at ten and seven.
I still think the best path is the Chargers and
Colts losing three of their last four. I think the
Colts will the Chargers maybe two and two, and that
(23:18):
knocks is out by one game, which would hurt, but
it would be what it is. And then you need
one more loss from the chief So the Colts and
Chargers lose three of the last four and the Chiefs
lose one more. I think that's the most likely, although
it's not likely, but again, just win because there's value
in it regardless of what happens in a Chiefs Raiders game.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
You know what I mean. Let's go ahead and take
our last break rate.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
There.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
I've got three more short ideas. I want to cover
Wattle's Christmas shopping event, some McDaniel's sound bites, and I
have some Prospects stuff to discuss. That's next Draft Time podcast,
brought to you by AutoNation. Segment three on a Wednesday
Tomorrow Steelers review. I'm really intrigued by the Steelers tape
right now. I'm not really sure who they are as
(23:59):
a team. They kind of worry me in some ways.
In some ways, I feel pretty confident. So that usually
makes for a pretty fun football game. We'll get to
that on the show here tomorrow. But today, you know,
this podcast started off as a big hodgepodge of topics,
but now I'm realizing how much it actually kind of
tied together.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
Good job by you, Travis, pat yourself on the back.
Thank you, Travis. I'm the only one talking here what
we doing.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
And I'll continue that theme of praise for the mindset
of this Miami Dolphins team right now, what they've built
in twenty twenty five and a foundation laid in place
that I just don't think was in this position previously.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
It's sturdy. Now I think it would.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
I think it's sturdy enough to withstand a two and
seven start, whereas in the past when we would lose,
or the old Jordan Poyer comment about how you know,
you get the Dolphins down early, they kind of collapse themselves. Well,
now it's a sturdy foundation that could withstand you know,
some heat, some adversity, whereas in the past it's like
a freaking coastal house on stilts with rising ocean tides
(24:54):
and corroding coastlines. It's pretty easy to dump it in
that situation. Because my college ball take away from the weekend,
as this all ties together, if you draft a player
on the Ohio State defense, you're probably gonna be pretty
happy with that pick.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
My goodness, what a group that is.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
I know they lost the game, and I've talked about
RVL Rees in the podcast. He's not just edge one
and linebacker one for me. He's number one in this
year's class across all football players. And I've only done
you know a handful of players, but y'all see him.
His partner in crime, Sonny Styles, who's going to test
like crazy, who has Rokwan Smith vibes.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
To me, He'll run through you.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
He's the Jordan Brooks of that defense in terms of
his leadership and his accountability and his mindset. I write
up some stuff on him about, you know, just the
way the coaching staff and his teammates talk about him.
He's going to be great at higher than I had
Jahad Campbell last year from Alabama, and I loved Jehad Campbell.
And that linebacker position might be thought of as a
luxury pick in this year's draft, but I don't really
care about that. If you take a future All pro
(25:54):
who gives a damn about what the draft day perception was.
Just ask Ben Solck about his Jamior Gibbs and Jack
Campbell tweet about the Detroit Lions, butchering that first round like, no,
those are two all pros. Brother, kind of wrong there,
and look at any great defense in the NFL for
the most part, how about those Niners teams with Warner
and green Law or even going back to Patrick Willis
and Navarro Bowman and I start with Warner and green
(26:17):
Law because we were attached to green Law this offseason.
He was one of the first guys that was linked
to Miami's a possible free agent addition, he winds up
going to Denver. We go back to re sign t Dot.
But remember my opening segment about the era of football
we are in. I think one sure fire away to
play really good defense is to recreate Bobby Wagner and
kJ Wright, to recreate Roquwan Smith and Patrickqweed. We could
(26:40):
do this on and on and on. Now there are
two of like five or six positions that never leave
the field so that you're getting one hundred percent snap takers.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
They impact all three levels of the defense.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
The tracks right, So he's high on my list, but
they're going to have a chance to stick and pick
someone whether it's at twenty or twelve, that I think
can have a sim impact. So I ain't even tripping
about where you draft, because as my friend Kyle Krabs
has told me, it's about who you pick, not where
you pick. Go one layer back on the Ohio State defense,
and this probably has a bigger impact on where you draft,
because I think he goes pretty high this year, but
(27:13):
you could get arguably the best player in the country
in safety Caleb Downs. Because of his draft position or
because of his play position, that kind of diminishes his
draft value. Malachi Starks from Georgia was viewed in a
similar vein last year and he winds up going twenty
seventh to the Ravens, So maybe he's not the same
caliber players I think Downs getting past like fifteen probably
isn't going to happen. But he was safety one held
(27:35):
nicky man worry last until pick thirty five, and he
might be the defensive rookie of the year, So his
positional value Caleb Downs would knock him a little bit.
I'd be like, if he's on the board, sweet. I'll
go ahead and pair that with Minka Fitzpatrick and let
Minka and Cater be diverse agents of chaos from the
inside position. And round that out was smart veterans zone
cornerbacks and Jordan Brooks and Zach Seeler and my young
(27:57):
defensive line.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Let's go baby.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
Just think that program has curated a type a type
of player that I cove it now the way I
view football, and a player that I believe the Miami
Dolphins cove it. And they play in a Matt Patricia defense.
So if you go a buck guys defender, you're gonna
get a smart defender who knows how to play. You know,
sim pressure packages, be part of multiple disguised defenses. You
(28:22):
probably can't go wrong there. Let's go ahead and pivot
this thing back to the Miami Dolphins current day. I
asked Mike McDaniel two questions yesterday about player development and
about the Ali Gordon touchdown run when five different Miami
Dolphins jumped in to push him over the goal line.
Let's go ahead and run those two sound bites. I
asked him about Jonas of vite Naya's growth over the
four game winning streak and just the concept of player
(28:43):
development in general and what it says about your program,
your coaching staff, your players, the entire enchilada and how
this all comes together.
Speaker 4 (28:50):
I think that you know, for me and as I
visualize the program, it's non negotiable.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
You know, you you pride.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
Yourself on you know, if you're a professional coach, you're
developing your players. This is and that connects to your
your whole reasoning and your why.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
To why you do it.
Speaker 4 (29:13):
But it's something that you know, uh, I take very
serious that you know, I think is the is the
best part of uh watching, the best part of being
a coach and being involved in these these players' careers.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
So uh, you know, I think that.
Speaker 4 (29:34):
You know, it's both instructor and instructee.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
It's a beautiful part of the game.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
And you know, I've always said the the biggest mistake
is people, you know, just rely on your name plate
and what you have done. You do have a choice
in how you create what your best version of yourself is.
So I see a lot of it on our team
(30:03):
and and and that's something that we focus on. So
it's very important and well will be the reason you
win or lose football games. Uh, especially down on the
stretch of the season where it all accumulates.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
And the SoundBite here about Alli Gordon's touchdown run and
what it says about his football team.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
I've really had that happen.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
It was the second time I've been a part of
a team where the offense had kind of done that
in that portion of the game. And you know, it's
a it's a galvanizing moment. I think that is a
mindset of both Alie, but you know, then really all
(30:46):
of its teammates, you know, I think that you know,
football is not tennis, it's not individual players. It's a
it's a unit. And when you have will, desire, drive,
and you know, it's it's it's a I think it's
a mote. It's a great representation of, you know, the
(31:10):
why behind some of the success, you know, in a
one clip sequence.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
So I'll absolutely be showing.
Speaker 4 (31:17):
It, very very proud of it, as the players should
be very proud of it as well, because you know,
there's that you don't you don't see it that often,
but you know if you're on the opposing team and
that that occurs, it's more there. There's tangible residuals to
that beyond points that that a unit will.
Speaker 3 (31:41):
Not be denied. And I think that it's a statement
that you know, I would like to.
Speaker 4 (31:48):
See occur again, and and I think it's a it
speaks volumes of all the people on the field.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Let's pivot once more to tie En Darren Waller, who
now we're into the true Hodgepodge of the episode. I
asked him, you know, I loted Greg Dole such as
work on the film review podcast, and quite frankly, this
tight end room as a whole right now has a
lot of nice pieces and things to work with. So
I asked Darren Waller, how does this tight end room
compliment on one another, compliment itself?
Speaker 1 (32:14):
In your words, Yeah.
Speaker 5 (32:15):
I mean it's just guys that have different individual skill
sets that just bring value to the offense as a whole.
I mean you're looking at it at the stuff like
Greg's able to do. He's like a running back when
he gets the ball in his hands. It's effective in
different ways blocking as well. Julian is as good of
a thumper at the point of attack as a why
just relentless that I've been around in this league, and
(32:36):
then you know, I try to offer whatever I can
offer as far as playmaking ability and what I can
in the run game, and just the defenses you can
get when you have three tight ends on the field
and they also have to worry about guys making plays
in the passing game. Just our personnel usage just you know,
keeps keeps defenses on their heels, you know. So I
think what we bring individually is very effective.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
And a total topic change that will close the show
with here. Tonight, Waddle did a backpack of shopping event
at the Nike store in Miami Beach on Monday. I
just want to go ahead and play one SoundBite here
of Wattle talking about doing the event, helping out eighty
kids have a great Christmas this year and just being
ski man.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
He's the best. Here's Waddle.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
I think it's just perfect time.
Speaker 5 (33:17):
We do try to do a lit beta each SNARE year.
Speaker 4 (33:19):
I think it was a good time come out there.
We can be to do it a lot for the
organization and the team, So come back and keep them
little joy for out of Todays.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Sending me here all right, there we go, busy fun episode.
Those are always kind of the most creativity I put
into these podcasts in terms of finding new ideas to
talk about, so I enjoy those. I hope you do
as well. Tomorrow Steelers Preview. Until then, you all please
be sure subscribe, rate, review the show, follow me on
social at WINKFLD NFL, the team at Miami Dolphins check
(33:49):
out the YouTube channel for Dolphins HQ, Media availabilities, and
so much more, and last but not least, Miami Dolphins
dot com. Until next time, Friend Zook, Caroline, Cameron, and
Willow Daddy.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
He's coming home.
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