September 2, 2025 • 27 mins
The annual prediction show has arrived! Travis picked all 272 games and the winners of the end-of-season awards and each playoff game. Division winners, wildcards, playoff results and a little bit of reasoning why he feels the way he does on each team, culminating with his Super Bowl 60 prediction!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
What is up, dollphans, and welcome to the Draft Time Podcast.
I am your host, Travis Wingfield, and on today's show,
our sixth annual NFL Predictions podcast. We get some big
wins on this every year, like the Commanders as a
playoff team last year, but also some big l's like
the Commanders winning the NFC East because the Eagles would
(00:32):
not be very good and missed the playoffs altogether.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Whoops.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
So this is all in lighthearted fun. I've been predicting
all two hundred and seventy two games of the schedule
since I was in middle school. Well it used to
be two fifty six, but you get it. So you
know the drill by now, if you're a regular, every record,
playoff picks, end of season awards, and we'll talk about
every team just a little bit from the Baptist Hill
Studios inside the Baptist Hell Training Complex.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
This is the Draft Time Podcast. May Daffy flash.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Let's go ahead and kick it off with a little
bit of music here to get us going to our
record predictions for the twenty twenty five NFL season. Will
go ahead and start reverse order of how I usually
do it, so we can go the Dolphins record last
for you guys. In the NFC in the West, the
Niners twelve and five, the Rams eleven and six.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Tough pick there in that division.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
I was thinking about going Rams, but I'm taking the
Niners to win the division, Seattle eight to nine and
Arizona six and eleven. In the South, Tampa Bay wins
the division again eleven and six for them, ten and
seven for the Pennix led Falcons, the Panthers seven and ten,
and I said, well upgrade from last year. And the
Saints are picking first in the draft next year at
one and sixteen. In the North, the Lions win it
(01:44):
once again thirteen and four, and they take home the
NFC's top seed for the second straight year. The Packers
go eleven and six, the Vikings eight and nine. We'll
talk about JJ McCarthy here in a little bit, and
the Bears go five and twelve, the Eagles thirteen and four,
and they lose a game to the Lions that gives
the Lions the.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
One seed in the NFC.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
In that first round, by Commanders go ten and seven,
and both the Giants and Cowboys six and eleven.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
After the Micah Parsons trade.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
In the AFC, the Chiefs win the West again big surprise,
thirteen and four, Denver ten and seven this year back
into the playoffs. The Chargers go nine and eight and
just missed the playoffs. The Raiders go five and twelve
because of a tough division, even though I like that
team a lot more than I did a year ago.
In the South, the Houston Texans have a nice three
game cushion over the Titans, who finished second in the division.
(02:33):
Houston ten and seven, Tennessee seven and ten, Jacksonville six
and eleven, and the Colts three and fourteen. The reason
the Titans win seven games, for me is because I
think this division has lots of wins within it. In fact,
I'm gonna give the Titans at least three of the
four games against Jacksonville and the Colts, and they have
to just find four more wins, maybe three more wins
elsewhere on their.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Schedule to do that.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
In the North, Baltimore thirteen and four and they win
the two seed. In the AFC, the Bengals go ten
and seven and get in. The Steelers eight and nine
and just missed the playoffs, and Cleveland and their quarterback situation.
You can see here that I have two teams. Really shoot,
I have two teams with less than one of the
colts as well, I have three teams with less than
(03:14):
five wins, and it's because I don't believe in the
quarterback position at all. Cleveland two and fifteen with their
five man quarterback room in the AFC East, the Bills
are the one seed. They're going to go fourteen and three.
Per Travis's predictions here, Miami.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Let A Breathe.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Eleven and six, the Patriots seven and ten, and the
Jets six and eleven. My end of season Awards, the MVP.
Lamar Jackson should have won it last year. He's just
kind of the perfect quarterback right now. He has put
together the insane arm talent with the best running ability
of any quarterback of all time, and he has learned
(03:55):
how to play from the pocket and process defenses, and
he is as dangerous as they come in this league.
He's in a great situation, great offense, great defense, got
a good play caller for him. He's the best quarterback
on what I think could be the best team. Of course,
I had them as the two seed behind Buffalo, but
I think that he kind of got jobbed last year,
and they'll go ahead and give it back to Lamar
(04:16):
this year as he once again outpaces Josh's stats by
a decent margin. Offensive Player of the Year, I'm and
ross Saint Brown, and a lot of this has to
do with what I saw in that practice in Detroit.
But the clear number one receiver on a team that
I have going all the way to the how far
do I have him going? We'll find out and with
all the help that offense has around him, with Jamis
(04:37):
and Williams to lift coverage and Sam Laporta and Jamier Gibbs,
they do have a bit of a regressed offensive line
for my money, and I think that means we'll have
to throw more, which means more opportunities for Saint Brown,
and Goff has such a great rapport with him. I
think he'll lead the league in receiving yards and have
double digit touchdowns this year and win the Offensive Player
of the Year.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
On defense, I flipped my pick.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
It was going to be Nick Bosa, but now I
think you have a motivated Mochel Parson with the Green
Bay Packers. I'm taking him to take the Packers to
the playoffs. And have a big, big season his first
year in Green Bay. I'm the comeback player of the year.
We stay in San Francisco with Christian McCaffrey. I am
awfully bullish on the Niners this year. I think that
Kyle Shanahan gets a big boost every year, and I
(05:19):
think people are sleeping on that fact. Sometimes good coaches
just win games despite the fact that there's been roster
turn over there. I think that his absence, McCaffrey's, I
should say, was a bigger reason, the biggest reason, rather
that they were disappointing last year. I'm back in on
the McCaffrey and the Niners trained this year, especially as
they sort their way through an injured receiver.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Corp Early corp, Early corpse.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I guess that's kind of a fitting slip of the
tongue because they are awfully banged up and they might
be corpses in that room. Offensive Rookie of the Year
cam Ward. Best quarterback in the class is easily cam
Probably will be better rookies out there than him, but
it always goes to a quarterback, so I'm gonna have him.
I mean, I can't say all these great things about
cam Ward and then pick the Titans to win seven
games and then give it to somebody else. Right, Defensive
(06:03):
Rookie of the Year Malachi Starks just a ridiculous fit
in that defense, playing next to Kyle Hamilton for a
team that I think is gonna have lots of leads
and lop set of games. It's gonna have quarterbacks throwing
the ball down the field. I bet you Starks gets
a couple of picks, gets a touchdown, gets a couple
of forced fumbles, and has a nice statistical year and
wins Defensive Rookie.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Of the Year and my Coach of the Year Mike McDaniel.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Because if the Dolphins win eleven games, that would be
a huge surprise to everybody. And so if I'm gonna
make the prediction for eleven wins, I think that the
notion out there will be that coach mcdonwell did a
hell of a job getting this team to eleven wins
and back into the playoffs. This never goes to a
coach that has a thirteen to fourteen win team that
goes all the way to the super Bowl. It's always
the team that gets into the playoffs and has a
nice season when nobody expected it. I think that's the
(06:49):
Dolphins this year, and I think it's going to go
to Mike McDaniel. So we'll go ahead and call it
a break right there with the records and the end
of season predictions. We'll come back in the next segment
and talk about every team just a little but here
in the National Football League, and then we'll go ahead
and do the playoff picks in segment three on this
special edition of the Draft Time podcast, brought to you
by Auto Nation. All Right, so you heard on the
(07:13):
first segment every team's record prediction and the end of
season awards. Let's go ahead and get through my take
on all thirty two teams and tell you why I
feel the way I do about these football teams, just
in quick snapshot forms. So the Buffalo Bills will go
ahead and go back in the other order through this time.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Josh Allen.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Right, it's like Lois Griffin and the episode of Family
Guy nine eleven, and then everyone just cheer, like Josh Allen,
Everyone cheer because that's what it's been, right. They've had
loaded defenses, they've had you know, Stefan Diggs in a
good receiving corps. They've had skeleton crews. They've had less
impressive defenses. As long as he's there, they win football games.
The only question is how do they get past the
(07:51):
Chiefs in January. I still think the skill groups and
the defense are not good enough to do that. We
shall see this year. Is that some foreshadowing in terms
of how I predict the playoffs? We'll find out in
the third segment. The Dolphins. You don't need a full
dissertation here. I think this is the most slept on
team in the National Football League, and you guys know
why I feel that way. By now, The Patriots a
(08:11):
much better team than what we've seen in years past,
but that wasn't a very high bar to clear. Now
may looks promising, and they landed some big free agent talent.
I think the Treveon Henderson Kyle Williams duo is a
great start to building up a skill group that has
been probably the worst in the league for a long
time now. But I never like picking a team that
wins free agency to make that jump in their first year.
(08:33):
They had a big free agent class and maybe Milton
Williams and Carlton Davis and all the guys, Robertsplane and
Harold Landry, all the guys they landed maybe next year,
but not this year. And I just think that we're
a little bit too quick to crown both Rabel and
Drake May because Drake May still turns the ball over
a lot, still doesn't see the defense that great from
(08:55):
what I've seen in the preseason and in the training
camp reports, and the accuracy goes sometimes. But I think
he'll be a good player, but I'm gonna wait to
see it before I pick them to be that good player.
The Jets, they kind of had to go through this
transition right after pushing their chips in the last couple
of years on Rogers and DeVante Adams and Mike Williams
and Tyrone Smith almost a Toront Smith there. I think
(09:18):
they're doing the right thing by peeling things back, but
I think it's going to be a ways before they
get there. I think some of Glenn's comments to me
are almost like a little bit too much out in
front of what this team is going to be. And
I don't think Justin Fields can see the field well
enough to play quarterback at a high enough level to
keep an offense that has nothing really in the skill
(09:39):
groups beyond Garrett Wilson crankin this year. I love the
offensive line though the Ravens. I think it's the best
roster in the NFL, like the Bills. Can they get
past the Chiefs or can they get past the Bills
for that matter. I do think they would be a
better matchup or would have been a better matchup last
year in the AFC Title Game than the Bills were
for the Chiefs. And maybe they I had broken through
(10:00):
if they'd gotten there. But the year before they also
laid an egg in the AFC Championship Game against the Chiefs.
In that one, too, so needed one more play against
the Bills, didn't get it.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Will they find it this year?
Speaker 2 (10:09):
I think we're heading for another crash course with Kansas City,
Baltimore and Buffalo this year down the stretch. The Bengals
Joe Burrow is so good. It's a great player. But
a lot of the same questions exist around this team.
Did they do enough to improve the defense? I think
that Luann Arrumo is a better DC than Al Golden is,
and I think they made a mistake in doing that,
even though they were horrible on defense last year and
(10:30):
they had to try to win these games forty one
to thirty eight, and in doing that, I don't know
if the offensive line got much better. Can they protect Burrow?
He was under constant duress in the preseason and when
they went to a Super Bowl, Burrow wasn't even that
good in the playoffs that year. They had an awesome
defensive run in the postseason that year against the Chiefs
and Titans and the Raiders in those three games. And
(10:52):
now the defense looks like it did last year to me,
and the same questions on the offensive line exists. They're
still a playoff threat because of Burrow with Chase and Higgins,
but I don't think it's like a good roster up
and down by any stretch. The Steelers. They're in the
class of the NFL to me where I could see
anywhere from seven to ten wins. That's kind of like
the middle ground, right, the Mike Tomlin ground of the
(11:13):
last several years. But they're counting on a lot of
veterans in this rough and tumble division. And if you
lose guys like they have with TJ. Watt and Cam Hayward,
and we'll see about Aaron Rodgers and you know they
get DK Metcalf, but he kind of fell out a
favor in Seattle. I just think there's a lot of
questions there and if they lose games, as Ramsey stay
you know, engaged. I don't think they're anywhere close to
(11:33):
Cincinnati and Baltimore and a distant third in this division,
the brown Speaking of distance between you and the rivals,
the Browns are like a distance between the between the
Steelers is bigger than it is from the Steelers to
the Bengals and Ravens. But I could see Flacco having
some early season success. I think he's far better in
the Stefanski system, who's a very good coach by the way,
(11:54):
just has had a rendous quarterback look forced upon him.
Then he was you know he was. Flacco was bad
in Indie last year, but I think he's better here
in this system. I think a slow start might encourage
ownership to step into a quarterback switch, and I wonder
how that would go, be it Sanders or Gabriel, who
I don't think either guy can play right now. Gabriel
(12:14):
for the long term to me standards, maybe down the road,
but right now, I just don't think it's a good
situation for either of those guys.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
The Houston Texans. I love Demiko, I love CJ.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Stroud, I love that defense, but I fear the offensive
line might have gotten worse and was a huge problem
last year. I think they'll cruise though, and what is
the easiest division in football to a multi game lead
down the stretch in December, and sometimes like that's what
happened last year, and they won the division early in December,
and they weren't playing good football. Then they get into
the playoffs and they stomp out Herbert and the Chargers,
(12:46):
but then they go to, you know, face the Chiefs
and get a lesson there from one of the top
three in the conference. It kind of feels the same
this year for the Texans. The Titans are going to
be one of my bigger surprise teams this year because
I can't sit here and tell you how great cam
Ward is and then say they're going to win four games,
because if you get good quarterback play, typically you don't
win four or five games in this league. Though I
do think there's still a year or two away from
having a playoff level roster the Jags. I am bearish
(13:08):
on this team in a big way. I still am
kind of waiting for Lawrence to have that breakthrough year.
I don't think it's coming. I think there's a lot
of robotic staticness to his game. Can Liam Cohen unlocked?
That we'll find out. But they've also made a bunch
of really bad personnel decisions that have had an impact
on this roster and I don't think it's gonna turn around,
and until you know, we see some more upheaval there
(13:31):
for the Colts. Jones over Richardson to me is insane,
and Stiken's pressers when he he's asked about Richardson doesn't
really seem to like he can't say the things he
probably wants to say, but the answers just don't really
feel genuine to me. I think Jim Ursa's death is
like a distraction in a certain way. I think there's
(13:51):
maybe a lack of a direction without him there. It
feels like they're going into a blow up year. And
I just feel like the Jones over Richardson in a
year like that is to preserve jobs, and I think
that when you start making decisions that way, that's not
a good thing. And I hate saying this for a
Week one opponent, but I just don't see it. I Also,
I just feel like for Richardson, you drafted him, he
(14:11):
needed reps, and he got hurt and he got benched,
and now he's behind Daniel Jones. Like I just I
don't know. I don't know what the decision making is
there for the Chiefs in the AFC West, if they
had the receiver court fully healthy, I feel like they
could go seventeen and zero. But Rashie Rice is going
to get a suspension at some point. Hollywood Brown's been
up and down, Travis Kelsey's a little bit longer in
the tooth now. I like the group. They have their
(14:34):
Xavier Worthy also like looks like a stud. But you know,
even if it's as lack of explosive as it has
been in recent years, they still find a way to
win thirteen fourteen games. Elite defense, Patrick Mahomes kind of
all you need. How can you give them anything besides wins?
In the teams, the Broncos are everyone's hot pick this year.
I actually bumped them up to get a team above
(14:54):
five hundred and that seventh spot of AFC playoffs because
I don't think there will be an eight to nine
team in the playoffs this year. And that's where I,
but I gave him an extra couple wins because I
went back to the schedule and change my pick against
the Raiders. I had them with a loss against the
Raiders because I do think that defense is really good,
but I think it's really tough to have really good
defenses back to back years. I do think it's a
top five group, no question about that. But I'm also
(15:16):
dubious about that automatic second year bump for a quarterback.
Everyone thinks that a good rookie year means a better
sophomore year, and it just almost never happens that way,
especially for a quarterback. That they made things easy on
bow knicks last year was a very simple first read,
get out of there, you know, throw a lot of
first down plays behind the last carmage and run the
football and try to get to a second and six,
and we'll go to our bread and butter packages. I
(15:37):
don't know if expanding the playbook necessarily makes it a
better for the quarterback rather than the quarterback friendly offense.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
We'll see. It's a good football team.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
They've had an impressive turnaround after some pretty dark years there.
But I'm not just gonna go full sell here on
Boon Knicks and that team taking a big jump in
the second year the Chargers. I think the Rashawn Slater
injury is like US losing Reek or Waddle or the
Vikings losing Justin Jefferson. Like, if you build your team
through the offensive line and you kind of ignore the
(16:06):
skill groups like they did again outside of Lad McConkie
last year, which they miracled. If they hit that right,
because if they had taken you know, Jalen Polk or
someone whoever, whoever the other option was in that part
of the draft, then like this, this is the worst
receiver corp in the NFL.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
But they did hit on McConkie.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
But they build it through the offensive line, and you
lose the best player on that line, I mean, all
of a sudden Now, with seventeen games to go, one
more injury, it kind of changes the complexion of how
that football team was built. I do think Jesse Mintter
is a really good DC who got the mouth out
of that defense last year, and they've had some more
personnel changes, but it's like a running game and defensive
style team that I don't I know, it's.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Kind of the end vogue thing right now. I think
you have to be a good passing offense.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
I don't think this offense is that because of the
quarterbacks and the ability to play on time and avoid
sex and the receiving corps lack of ability to separate,
which goes into that for Herbert. Can they close out
all the close wins they had last year?
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Typically?
Speaker 2 (17:03):
I don't think it happens back to back years. So
I think regression for the Chargers is in line this year.
And the Raiders. I wanted to give them more wins,
but I kind of had to sacrifice some to balance
things out. I like a lot of what they did,
and getting a franchise quarterback for a third round pick
is crazy, like Seattle what you're doing. I think Pete
Carroll make a big difference as well. But maybe they're
a year away in probably the toughest division in football.
(17:25):
If they're in the South, like I don't know, they
could maybe win that division, but not in this one.
The defense and the weapons are just not good enough.
In the NFC. Pivot over to that side of the
conference now, or that the league. I should say the
Eagles are the Ravens of the NFC, or maybe the
Ravens are the Eagles of the AFC. It's the best
roster in the league, right and it's tough to defend
the title. I don't think they're going to do it.
(17:46):
People don't do that anymore. But there's no shot they're
winning less than twelve games right. The Commanders the playoff
run I think sort of warped the perception of what
they were last year, which was like an average team
that got hot towards the end. And don't get me wrong,
Jayden Daniels is elite and I think he will be
that sophomore quarterback that just keeps getting better because of
how he plays the game. It's very impressive and what
(18:07):
wins in this league. But they won a lot of
tight games too, and they could have lost the Giants
if not for like a forty eight yard miss field goal,
which doesn't happen that much in the NFL anymore. I
think they're a good team, but I don't agree with
the automatic bump into that twelve plus win category where
they joined the ranks of the Eagles and Lions. The Cowboys.
With Dak, they've got a shot always. I think he's
a good quarterback and probably the most hated on quarterback
(18:29):
besides twa Dounglbailoa. And I'm jumping in too re record
this because when I first did this, I said, something
seems off about the Cowboys this year, And sure enough,
a few days later after recording this, they trade Machel
Parson to the Green Bay Packers for a haul that
was not enough for a player that is one of
the few players that's not a quarterback that can tilt
the game on its head. So I dropped from down
(18:50):
one win to six and eleven. I do think Dak
in that offense is good enough to win six games,
but I think something is in the water there in
Dallas and it's going to be bad for a few years.
They drafted good for a long time, but even that
seems to be going by the board. So six and
eleven don't love the Cowboys. The Giants. Good for Giants
fans for having a quarterback to get excited about for
the first time in a while. I think they're probably
best off playing him from the jump. I don't think
(19:11):
they will, but I think it'll be a tough year
record wise, but we'll have that kind of finish to
the year where fans get excited about next season. And
I hope it's enough to save Brian Dables' job because
I think he's a good coach who's gotten a pretty
bad hand there and now he finally gets a quarterback
to work with the Lions. That trip to Detroit changed
my opinion of that football team from they'll take a
step back because of losing Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn
(19:33):
to this might just still be the best team in
the conference sans Philadelphia. I love them. They're loaded, the Packers.
I mean, how many injuries do they have?
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Last year?
Speaker 2 (19:40):
They still like found a way to get stops on
defense at times, not against the Commanders, but in the
Vikings game in Week eighteen, they did the Packers. I
had them as the division winners before my trip to Detroit,
and when the Lions blew the doors off of my
impression of them, I think there's enough questions on defense
to give the Divisi into Detroit. And if you think
(20:01):
the Dolphins secondary is lacking on paper, go look at
the Packers. Just go look at it. Would you look
at that? The first thing I do when I see
a team like this is I just look at it.
The Vikings one of the best rosters in the league.
But I was gonna drop that YouTube video in there,
but if you haven't seen it, you're not gonna get
it anyway, So who cares. One of the best rosters
in the league in Minnesota, but I wasn't crazy about
(20:23):
JJ McCarthy coming out, so I have to see it
before I believe it. I think it'll be the detriment
of a good roster there to have a young quarterback
that I don't think is ready yet. But that's a
ton of pressure to put on was essentially a rookie
quarterback for them, and you're one good enough to beat
bad teams, but I don't think they're going to compete
against the other teams in the league, the Bears. Here's
my boldest take, and this is off the heels of
(20:45):
Caleb Williams against the Bills preseason game.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Right.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
I think it's more likely that Tyson Bagent starts games
over a healthy Caleb Williams this year than it is
that they make the playoffs. I agree with Aaron Brewer,
but the whole fake tough this thing, I don't think that.
I think Ben Johnson's gonna need to get a little
bit of a.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
What's the word. I'm looking for here like a lesson.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
I guess as far as how tough it is to
coach a football team in this league, I think it's
gonna be a painful year for the Bears amid expectations
once again, because the roster is better. I think Johnson's
a great offensive designer. But as far as being a
head coach, some growing pains, that's what I was looking for,
and getting Kayleb Williams to play on time.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
It looked good in the Buffalo game.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
I gotta tell you, I was like, oh, I haven't
seen that before, so maybe that's a good sign. But
I got to see it in the regular season before
I buy into it. Because Kayleb Williams, you know, it
just was so ugly last year, even though he looked
good in the preseason. I'm gonna wait and see you
this year. The Bucks my favorite offense in the NFL
besides Baltimore. I think they'll get Chris Godwin back at
some point. Mecca Agbuka a Mecca ag Buka is a
(21:50):
freaking stud. They've got pieces on defense with Vita Vea
and Levante David still there and still going. Antoine Winfield
one of my more confident Division champion picks league as
the Bucks the Falcons. I'm bullish on them because I
really like Michael Pennix and he's got weapons too.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
They need.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
They're gonna have to have these two rookie edges that
I'm just not that crazy about be immediate impacts for
that defense to hold up, though, And because of that,
I have them just on the outside looking in, right,
Or did I have in the playoffs? No, I hadn't
missed in the playoffs by one game or by a
tie breaker, I should say. And then we get to
the Panthers. A lot of Panthers love this year. I
ain't seeing that. I gotta see more from Bryce Young
(22:27):
because I think a lot of times it's like in
baseball in September when you get like a you know,
a bunch of call ups and a guy has like
a three hundred batting average in September, and I was like, Oh,
he can play it. And then the next year he
hits like two fifteen. Again You're like, oh, that's that's
because it was against a bunch of minor league arms.
And I'm not saying that was the case for the Panthers,
but I want to see it in games that count,
because last year when the games counted before the benching,
it was tough for Bryce Young, and he played a
(22:48):
lot better, and he's looked better in the preseason and
all that stuff.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
I think there's a lot of question marks in that roster. Still.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
They had a long way to go, so I think
we're at least a year away from the Panthers and
they have to find out if, in fact it as
Bryce Young or somebody else at that quarter spot. For
the Saints, it's tough to find to win. I gave
him one. Tyler Shook was like a fourth fifth round
prospect they got picked in the second round. Spencer Ratler
can't play, so I don't know what the plan is there.
(23:14):
I don't know if you can win a game with
that quarterback position that they have. It's it's gonna be
a long year for them. The Niners one of my
favorite under the radar teams. I say that in air
quotes because I don't know if we can call them that.
I just think they're gonna be back to what they
always are, which is a really good football team, and
Kyle Shanahan is a hell of a coach.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
I think we'll get him there. The Rams.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
I had them as a possible super Bowl pick until
all this Stafford stuff. Is his clone? Is he still alive?
We don't even know yet, but it seems like he's okay.
Jokes aside, but that doubt has kind of crept into
my mind about like are they a thirteen win like
one seed super Bowl run or are they eleven win
wild card team that makes some noise in the playoffs.
I think the ladders where I'm gonna land right now.
(23:53):
The Seahawks. I hated the Geno trade. I think they
downgraded a quarterback and that's gonna be tough for Mike
McDonald in year two. I am curious how his defense
takes on more of his vision in the second year
with him there.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
And then the Cardinals.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
I've always been a Kyler Murray believer, but man, there's
just some some chinks in the armor there that make
you wonder, like the outside of like film time that
he has in his the contract clause is concerning there's
these peaks and valleys every year for the Cardinals where
they they'll play like three games and they'll they'll be
like three and one over a four game stretch and
(24:25):
Kyler looks awesome, and it's like, Oh, the Cardinals are
for real. And then they'll go lose to like a
two to ten team and then lose to like a
four and eighteen the next week, and you're like, man,
they they can't figure it out. So they're too streaky.
And what is maybe the toughest division in football. Both
wests are the best divisions in football. And then that's it.
Let's go ahead and take our last break right there,
come back and pick the playoffs and crown a Super
(24:46):
Bowl champion.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
All that.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Next Draft Time podcast brought to you by Autoonation. This
might be the shortest segment in the history of the show.
Let's go, let's pick the playoff games. In the wild
card round. We're gonna have Baltimore and the Denver Broncos
in the seven to two game. I'm taking Baltimore in
that one. The Chiefs will host the Bengals in the
most exciting game on wild Card weekend, the three to
(25:10):
six game, and I'm gonna have the Chiefs edge out
the Bengals with another Patrick Mahomes heartbreaker to just crush
Joe Burrow's spirit and heart and soul. In the final
play of that game for a win. The Dolphins get
their first playoff wins since two thousand. They beat the
Houston Texans in Houston and get some revenge for last
year's game in December and go on to the Divisional
round for the first time since I was in the
(25:31):
sixth grade.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
In the NFC.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
The Eagles beat the Commanders in the two to seven
game pretty convincingly. The Niners beat the Packers also convincingly
in the three six game, and then the four to
five game. I have an upset here. The Rams take
out the Bucks in Tampa Bay, so I took chalk
except for the five over four games in both conferences.
In the Divisional round, Baltimore and the Chiefs is the
marquee game of the weekend, and Baltimore finally does it.
(25:53):
They up to the Chiefs and go to the AFC
Championship Game, where they will not have to face the
Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, but they will have
to face the Buffalo Bills because the Buffalo Bills beat
Miami and that's gonna be a three game suite for
the Bills over the Dolphins this year. In my predictions,
to go back to the AFC Title Game. I'm gonna
have the Eagles over the Niners to get back to
the NFC Championship Game. And this year the Detroit Lions
(26:16):
do take advantage of the one seed and they beat
the Rams and Matthew Stafford in their house in Detroit
to go to the NFC Championship Game for the second
time in three years. And then in the AFC side,
will the Bills get back? Nope, the Ravens. I'm taking
the Ravens over the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions
over the Philadelphia Eagles. And for the second straight year,
I'm taking the Baltimore Ravens to win the Super Bowl.
(26:37):
They're gonna beat the Detroit Lions in this year's Super Bowl,
and that is it. We'll see how wrong this all
is come February. I'm a lot better in my week
to week picks in the NFL. Had my best season
ever last year. We'll see if we can match that
once again. I always enjoy this exercise though, because it
helped me get to know the rest of the league
as I go through and watch the tape and go
through the rosters and watch them preseason games, all that
fun stuff. That's gonna be my time today, though I'm
(27:00):
recording this ahead of time, so I'm not sure where
it's going to go on the schedule. I think this
was after the Weaver podcast, so I think we're on
to Colt Tweak, but I could be wrong.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
We'll just leave it at that.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
You all please be sure to subscribe, rate, review the show,
follow me on social at wee NFL, the team at
Miami Dolphins check out the YouTube channel for Dolphins HQ,
media availabilities, drive time content, and so much more, and
last button not least, Miami Dolphins dot com. Until next time,
Fin's up Caroline Cameron Willow Daddy's Coming Home.
This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
What is up, dollphans, and welcome to the Draft Time Podcast.
I am your host, Travis Wingfield, and on today's show,
our sixth annual NFL Predictions podcast. We get some big
wins on this every year, like the Commanders as a
playoff team last year, but also some big l's like
the Commanders winning the NFC East because the Eagles would
(00:32):
not be very good and missed the playoffs altogether.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Whoops.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
So this is all in lighthearted fun. I've been predicting
all two hundred and seventy two games of the schedule
since I was in middle school. Well it used to
be two fifty six, but you get it. So you
know the drill by now, if you're a regular, every record,
playoff picks, end of season awards, and we'll talk about
every team just a little bit from the Baptist Hill
Studios inside the Baptist Hell Training Complex.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
This is the Draft Time Podcast. May Daffy flash.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Let's go ahead and kick it off with a little
bit of music here to get us going to our
record predictions for the twenty twenty five NFL season. Will
go ahead and start reverse order of how I usually
do it, so we can go the Dolphins record last
for you guys. In the NFC in the West, the
Niners twelve and five, the Rams eleven and six.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Tough pick there in that division.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
I was thinking about going Rams, but I'm taking the
Niners to win the division, Seattle eight to nine and
Arizona six and eleven. In the South, Tampa Bay wins
the division again eleven and six for them, ten and
seven for the Pennix led Falcons, the Panthers seven and ten,
and I said, well upgrade from last year. And the
Saints are picking first in the draft next year at
one and sixteen. In the North, the Lions win it
(01:44):
once again thirteen and four, and they take home the
NFC's top seed for the second straight year. The Packers
go eleven and six, the Vikings eight and nine. We'll
talk about JJ McCarthy here in a little bit, and
the Bears go five and twelve, the Eagles thirteen and four,
and they lose a game to the Lions that gives
the Lions the.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
One seed in the NFC.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
In that first round, by Commanders go ten and seven,
and both the Giants and Cowboys six and eleven.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
After the Micah Parsons trade.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
In the AFC, the Chiefs win the West again big surprise,
thirteen and four, Denver ten and seven this year back
into the playoffs. The Chargers go nine and eight and
just missed the playoffs. The Raiders go five and twelve
because of a tough division, even though I like that
team a lot more than I did a year ago.
In the South, the Houston Texans have a nice three
game cushion over the Titans, who finished second in the division.
(02:33):
Houston ten and seven, Tennessee seven and ten, Jacksonville six
and eleven, and the Colts three and fourteen. The reason
the Titans win seven games, for me is because I
think this division has lots of wins within it. In fact,
I'm gonna give the Titans at least three of the
four games against Jacksonville and the Colts, and they have
to just find four more wins, maybe three more wins
elsewhere on their.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Schedule to do that.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
In the North, Baltimore thirteen and four and they win
the two seed. In the AFC, the Bengals go ten
and seven and get in. The Steelers eight and nine
and just missed the playoffs, and Cleveland and their quarterback situation.
You can see here that I have two teams. Really shoot,
I have two teams with less than one of the
colts as well, I have three teams with less than
(03:14):
five wins, and it's because I don't believe in the
quarterback position at all. Cleveland two and fifteen with their
five man quarterback room in the AFC East, the Bills
are the one seed. They're going to go fourteen and three.
Per Travis's predictions here, Miami.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Let A Breathe.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Eleven and six, the Patriots seven and ten, and the
Jets six and eleven. My end of season Awards, the MVP.
Lamar Jackson should have won it last year. He's just
kind of the perfect quarterback right now. He has put
together the insane arm talent with the best running ability
of any quarterback of all time, and he has learned
(03:55):
how to play from the pocket and process defenses, and
he is as dangerous as they come in this league.
He's in a great situation, great offense, great defense, got
a good play caller for him. He's the best quarterback
on what I think could be the best team. Of course,
I had them as the two seed behind Buffalo, but
I think that he kind of got jobbed last year,
and they'll go ahead and give it back to Lamar
(04:16):
this year as he once again outpaces Josh's stats by
a decent margin. Offensive Player of the Year, I'm and
ross Saint Brown, and a lot of this has to
do with what I saw in that practice in Detroit.
But the clear number one receiver on a team that
I have going all the way to the how far
do I have him going? We'll find out and with
all the help that offense has around him, with Jamis
(04:37):
and Williams to lift coverage and Sam Laporta and Jamier Gibbs,
they do have a bit of a regressed offensive line
for my money, and I think that means we'll have
to throw more, which means more opportunities for Saint Brown,
and Goff has such a great rapport with him. I
think he'll lead the league in receiving yards and have
double digit touchdowns this year and win the Offensive Player
of the Year.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
On defense, I flipped my pick.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
It was going to be Nick Bosa, but now I
think you have a motivated Mochel Parson with the Green
Bay Packers. I'm taking him to take the Packers to
the playoffs. And have a big, big season his first
year in Green Bay. I'm the comeback player of the year.
We stay in San Francisco with Christian McCaffrey. I am
awfully bullish on the Niners this year. I think that
Kyle Shanahan gets a big boost every year, and I
(05:19):
think people are sleeping on that fact. Sometimes good coaches
just win games despite the fact that there's been roster
turn over there. I think that his absence, McCaffrey's, I
should say, was a bigger reason, the biggest reason, rather
that they were disappointing last year. I'm back in on
the McCaffrey and the Niners trained this year, especially as
they sort their way through an injured receiver.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Corp Early corp, Early corpse.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I guess that's kind of a fitting slip of the
tongue because they are awfully banged up and they might
be corpses in that room. Offensive Rookie of the Year
cam Ward. Best quarterback in the class is easily cam
Probably will be better rookies out there than him, but
it always goes to a quarterback, so I'm gonna have him.
I mean, I can't say all these great things about
cam Ward and then pick the Titans to win seven
games and then give it to somebody else. Right, Defensive
(06:03):
Rookie of the Year Malachi Starks just a ridiculous fit
in that defense, playing next to Kyle Hamilton for a
team that I think is gonna have lots of leads
and lop set of games. It's gonna have quarterbacks throwing
the ball down the field. I bet you Starks gets
a couple of picks, gets a touchdown, gets a couple
of forced fumbles, and has a nice statistical year and
wins Defensive Rookie.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Of the Year and my Coach of the Year Mike McDaniel.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Because if the Dolphins win eleven games, that would be
a huge surprise to everybody. And so if I'm gonna
make the prediction for eleven wins, I think that the
notion out there will be that coach mcdonwell did a
hell of a job getting this team to eleven wins
and back into the playoffs. This never goes to a
coach that has a thirteen to fourteen win team that
goes all the way to the super Bowl. It's always
the team that gets into the playoffs and has a
nice season when nobody expected it. I think that's the
(06:49):
Dolphins this year, and I think it's going to go
to Mike McDaniel. So we'll go ahead and call it
a break right there with the records and the end
of season predictions. We'll come back in the next segment
and talk about every team just a little but here
in the National Football League, and then we'll go ahead
and do the playoff picks in segment three on this
special edition of the Draft Time podcast, brought to you
by Auto Nation. All Right, so you heard on the
(07:13):
first segment every team's record prediction and the end of
season awards. Let's go ahead and get through my take
on all thirty two teams and tell you why I
feel the way I do about these football teams, just
in quick snapshot forms. So the Buffalo Bills will go
ahead and go back in the other order through this time.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Josh Allen.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Right, it's like Lois Griffin and the episode of Family
Guy nine eleven, and then everyone just cheer, like Josh Allen,
Everyone cheer because that's what it's been, right. They've had
loaded defenses, they've had you know, Stefan Diggs in a
good receiving corps. They've had skeleton crews. They've had less
impressive defenses. As long as he's there, they win football games.
The only question is how do they get past the
(07:51):
Chiefs in January. I still think the skill groups and
the defense are not good enough to do that. We
shall see this year. Is that some foreshadowing in terms
of how I predict the playoffs? We'll find out in
the third segment. The Dolphins. You don't need a full
dissertation here. I think this is the most slept on
team in the National Football League, and you guys know
why I feel that way. By now, The Patriots a
(08:11):
much better team than what we've seen in years past,
but that wasn't a very high bar to clear. Now
may looks promising, and they landed some big free agent talent.
I think the Treveon Henderson Kyle Williams duo is a
great start to building up a skill group that has
been probably the worst in the league for a long
time now. But I never like picking a team that
wins free agency to make that jump in their first year.
(08:33):
They had a big free agent class and maybe Milton
Williams and Carlton Davis and all the guys, Robertsplane and
Harold Landry, all the guys they landed maybe next year,
but not this year. And I just think that we're
a little bit too quick to crown both Rabel and
Drake May because Drake May still turns the ball over
a lot, still doesn't see the defense that great from
(08:55):
what I've seen in the preseason and in the training
camp reports, and the accuracy goes sometimes. But I think
he'll be a good player, but I'm gonna wait to
see it before I pick them to be that good player.
The Jets, they kind of had to go through this
transition right after pushing their chips in the last couple
of years on Rogers and DeVante Adams and Mike Williams
and Tyrone Smith almost a Toront Smith there. I think
(09:18):
they're doing the right thing by peeling things back, but
I think it's going to be a ways before they
get there. I think some of Glenn's comments to me
are almost like a little bit too much out in
front of what this team is going to be. And
I don't think Justin Fields can see the field well
enough to play quarterback at a high enough level to
keep an offense that has nothing really in the skill
(09:39):
groups beyond Garrett Wilson crankin this year. I love the
offensive line though the Ravens. I think it's the best
roster in the NFL, like the Bills. Can they get
past the Chiefs or can they get past the Bills
for that matter. I do think they would be a
better matchup or would have been a better matchup last
year in the AFC Title Game than the Bills were
for the Chiefs. And maybe they I had broken through
(10:00):
if they'd gotten there. But the year before they also
laid an egg in the AFC Championship Game against the Chiefs.
In that one, too, so needed one more play against
the Bills, didn't get it.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Will they find it this year?
Speaker 2 (10:09):
I think we're heading for another crash course with Kansas City,
Baltimore and Buffalo this year down the stretch. The Bengals
Joe Burrow is so good. It's a great player. But
a lot of the same questions exist around this team.
Did they do enough to improve the defense? I think
that Luann Arrumo is a better DC than Al Golden is,
and I think they made a mistake in doing that,
even though they were horrible on defense last year and
(10:30):
they had to try to win these games forty one
to thirty eight, and in doing that, I don't know
if the offensive line got much better. Can they protect Burrow?
He was under constant duress in the preseason and when
they went to a Super Bowl, Burrow wasn't even that
good in the playoffs that year. They had an awesome
defensive run in the postseason that year against the Chiefs
and Titans and the Raiders in those three games. And
(10:52):
now the defense looks like it did last year to me,
and the same questions on the offensive line exists. They're
still a playoff threat because of Burrow with Chase and Higgins,
but I don't think it's like a good roster up
and down by any stretch. The Steelers. They're in the
class of the NFL to me where I could see
anywhere from seven to ten wins. That's kind of like
the middle ground, right, the Mike Tomlin ground of the
(11:13):
last several years. But they're counting on a lot of
veterans in this rough and tumble division. And if you
lose guys like they have with TJ. Watt and Cam Hayward,
and we'll see about Aaron Rodgers and you know they
get DK Metcalf, but he kind of fell out a
favor in Seattle. I just think there's a lot of
questions there and if they lose games, as Ramsey stay
you know, engaged. I don't think they're anywhere close to
(11:33):
Cincinnati and Baltimore and a distant third in this division,
the brown Speaking of distance between you and the rivals,
the Browns are like a distance between the between the
Steelers is bigger than it is from the Steelers to
the Bengals and Ravens. But I could see Flacco having
some early season success. I think he's far better in
the Stefanski system, who's a very good coach by the way,
(11:54):
just has had a rendous quarterback look forced upon him.
Then he was you know he was. Flacco was bad
in Indie last year, but I think he's better here
in this system. I think a slow start might encourage
ownership to step into a quarterback switch, and I wonder
how that would go, be it Sanders or Gabriel, who
I don't think either guy can play right now. Gabriel
(12:14):
for the long term to me standards, maybe down the road,
but right now, I just don't think it's a good
situation for either of those guys.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
The Houston Texans. I love Demiko, I love CJ.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Stroud, I love that defense, but I fear the offensive
line might have gotten worse and was a huge problem
last year. I think they'll cruise though, and what is
the easiest division in football to a multi game lead
down the stretch in December, and sometimes like that's what
happened last year, and they won the division early in December,
and they weren't playing good football. Then they get into
the playoffs and they stomp out Herbert and the Chargers,
(12:46):
but then they go to, you know, face the Chiefs
and get a lesson there from one of the top
three in the conference. It kind of feels the same
this year for the Texans. The Titans are going to
be one of my bigger surprise teams this year because
I can't sit here and tell you how great cam
Ward is and then say they're going to win four games,
because if you get good quarterback play, typically you don't
win four or five games in this league. Though I
do think there's still a year or two away from
having a playoff level roster the Jags. I am bearish
(13:08):
on this team in a big way. I still am
kind of waiting for Lawrence to have that breakthrough year.
I don't think it's coming. I think there's a lot
of robotic staticness to his game. Can Liam Cohen unlocked?
That we'll find out. But they've also made a bunch
of really bad personnel decisions that have had an impact
on this roster and I don't think it's gonna turn around,
and until you know, we see some more upheaval there
(13:31):
for the Colts. Jones over Richardson to me is insane,
and Stiken's pressers when he he's asked about Richardson doesn't
really seem to like he can't say the things he
probably wants to say, but the answers just don't really
feel genuine to me. I think Jim Ursa's death is
like a distraction in a certain way. I think there's
(13:51):
maybe a lack of a direction without him there. It
feels like they're going into a blow up year. And
I just feel like the Jones over Richardson in a
year like that is to preserve jobs, and I think
that when you start making decisions that way, that's not
a good thing. And I hate saying this for a
Week one opponent, but I just don't see it. I Also,
I just feel like for Richardson, you drafted him, he
(14:11):
needed reps, and he got hurt and he got benched,
and now he's behind Daniel Jones. Like I just I
don't know. I don't know what the decision making is
there for the Chiefs in the AFC West, if they
had the receiver court fully healthy, I feel like they
could go seventeen and zero. But Rashie Rice is going
to get a suspension at some point. Hollywood Brown's been
up and down, Travis Kelsey's a little bit longer in
the tooth now. I like the group. They have their
(14:34):
Xavier Worthy also like looks like a stud. But you know,
even if it's as lack of explosive as it has
been in recent years, they still find a way to
win thirteen fourteen games. Elite defense, Patrick Mahomes kind of
all you need. How can you give them anything besides wins?
In the teams, the Broncos are everyone's hot pick this year.
I actually bumped them up to get a team above
(14:54):
five hundred and that seventh spot of AFC playoffs because
I don't think there will be an eight to nine
team in the playoffs this year. And that's where I,
but I gave him an extra couple wins because I
went back to the schedule and change my pick against
the Raiders. I had them with a loss against the
Raiders because I do think that defense is really good,
but I think it's really tough to have really good
defenses back to back years. I do think it's a
top five group, no question about that. But I'm also
(15:16):
dubious about that automatic second year bump for a quarterback.
Everyone thinks that a good rookie year means a better
sophomore year, and it just almost never happens that way,
especially for a quarterback. That they made things easy on
bow knicks last year was a very simple first read,
get out of there, you know, throw a lot of
first down plays behind the last carmage and run the
football and try to get to a second and six,
and we'll go to our bread and butter packages. I
(15:37):
don't know if expanding the playbook necessarily makes it a
better for the quarterback rather than the quarterback friendly offense.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
We'll see. It's a good football team.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
They've had an impressive turnaround after some pretty dark years there.
But I'm not just gonna go full sell here on
Boon Knicks and that team taking a big jump in
the second year the Chargers. I think the Rashawn Slater
injury is like US losing Reek or Waddle or the
Vikings losing Justin Jefferson. Like, if you build your team
through the offensive line and you kind of ignore the
(16:06):
skill groups like they did again outside of Lad McConkie
last year, which they miracled. If they hit that right,
because if they had taken you know, Jalen Polk or
someone whoever, whoever the other option was in that part
of the draft, then like this, this is the worst
receiver corp in the NFL.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
But they did hit on McConkie.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
But they build it through the offensive line, and you
lose the best player on that line, I mean, all
of a sudden Now, with seventeen games to go, one
more injury, it kind of changes the complexion of how
that football team was built. I do think Jesse Mintter
is a really good DC who got the mouth out
of that defense last year, and they've had some more
personnel changes, but it's like a running game and defensive
style team that I don't I know, it's.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Kind of the end vogue thing right now. I think
you have to be a good passing offense.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
I don't think this offense is that because of the
quarterbacks and the ability to play on time and avoid
sex and the receiving corps lack of ability to separate,
which goes into that for Herbert. Can they close out
all the close wins they had last year?
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Typically?
Speaker 2 (17:03):
I don't think it happens back to back years. So
I think regression for the Chargers is in line this year.
And the Raiders. I wanted to give them more wins,
but I kind of had to sacrifice some to balance
things out. I like a lot of what they did,
and getting a franchise quarterback for a third round pick
is crazy, like Seattle what you're doing. I think Pete
Carroll make a big difference as well. But maybe they're
a year away in probably the toughest division in football.
(17:25):
If they're in the South, like I don't know, they
could maybe win that division, but not in this one.
The defense and the weapons are just not good enough.
In the NFC. Pivot over to that side of the
conference now, or that the league. I should say the
Eagles are the Ravens of the NFC, or maybe the
Ravens are the Eagles of the AFC. It's the best
roster in the league, right and it's tough to defend
the title. I don't think they're going to do it.
(17:46):
People don't do that anymore. But there's no shot they're
winning less than twelve games right. The Commanders the playoff
run I think sort of warped the perception of what
they were last year, which was like an average team
that got hot towards the end. And don't get me wrong,
Jayden Daniels is elite and I think he will be
that sophomore quarterback that just keeps getting better because of
how he plays the game. It's very impressive and what
(18:07):
wins in this league. But they won a lot of
tight games too, and they could have lost the Giants
if not for like a forty eight yard miss field goal,
which doesn't happen that much in the NFL anymore. I
think they're a good team, but I don't agree with
the automatic bump into that twelve plus win category where
they joined the ranks of the Eagles and Lions. The Cowboys.
With Dak, they've got a shot always. I think he's
a good quarterback and probably the most hated on quarterback
(18:29):
besides twa Dounglbailoa. And I'm jumping in too re record
this because when I first did this, I said, something
seems off about the Cowboys this year, And sure enough,
a few days later after recording this, they trade Machel
Parson to the Green Bay Packers for a haul that
was not enough for a player that is one of
the few players that's not a quarterback that can tilt
the game on its head. So I dropped from down
(18:50):
one win to six and eleven. I do think Dak
in that offense is good enough to win six games,
but I think something is in the water there in
Dallas and it's going to be bad for a few years.
They drafted good for a long time, but even that
seems to be going by the board. So six and
eleven don't love the Cowboys. The Giants. Good for Giants
fans for having a quarterback to get excited about for
the first time in a while. I think they're probably
best off playing him from the jump. I don't think
(19:11):
they will, but I think it'll be a tough year
record wise, but we'll have that kind of finish to
the year where fans get excited about next season. And
I hope it's enough to save Brian Dables' job because
I think he's a good coach who's gotten a pretty
bad hand there and now he finally gets a quarterback
to work with the Lions. That trip to Detroit changed
my opinion of that football team from they'll take a
step back because of losing Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn
(19:33):
to this might just still be the best team in
the conference sans Philadelphia. I love them. They're loaded, the Packers.
I mean, how many injuries do they have?
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Last year?
Speaker 2 (19:40):
They still like found a way to get stops on
defense at times, not against the Commanders, but in the
Vikings game in Week eighteen, they did the Packers. I
had them as the division winners before my trip to Detroit,
and when the Lions blew the doors off of my
impression of them, I think there's enough questions on defense
to give the Divisi into Detroit. And if you think
(20:01):
the Dolphins secondary is lacking on paper, go look at
the Packers. Just go look at it. Would you look
at that? The first thing I do when I see
a team like this is I just look at it.
The Vikings one of the best rosters in the league.
But I was gonna drop that YouTube video in there,
but if you haven't seen it, you're not gonna get
it anyway, So who cares. One of the best rosters
in the league in Minnesota, but I wasn't crazy about
(20:23):
JJ McCarthy coming out, so I have to see it
before I believe it. I think it'll be the detriment
of a good roster there to have a young quarterback
that I don't think is ready yet. But that's a
ton of pressure to put on was essentially a rookie
quarterback for them, and you're one good enough to beat
bad teams, but I don't think they're going to compete
against the other teams in the league, the Bears. Here's
my boldest take, and this is off the heels of
(20:45):
Caleb Williams against the Bills preseason game.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Right.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
I think it's more likely that Tyson Bagent starts games
over a healthy Caleb Williams this year than it is
that they make the playoffs. I agree with Aaron Brewer,
but the whole fake tough this thing, I don't think that.
I think Ben Johnson's gonna need to get a little
bit of a.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
What's the word. I'm looking for here like a lesson.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
I guess as far as how tough it is to
coach a football team in this league, I think it's
gonna be a painful year for the Bears amid expectations
once again, because the roster is better. I think Johnson's
a great offensive designer. But as far as being a
head coach, some growing pains, that's what I was looking for,
and getting Kayleb Williams to play on time.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
It looked good in the Buffalo game.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
I gotta tell you, I was like, oh, I haven't
seen that before, so maybe that's a good sign. But
I got to see it in the regular season before
I buy into it. Because Kayleb Williams, you know, it
just was so ugly last year, even though he looked
good in the preseason. I'm gonna wait and see you
this year. The Bucks my favorite offense in the NFL
besides Baltimore. I think they'll get Chris Godwin back at
some point. Mecca Agbuka a Mecca ag Buka is a
(21:50):
freaking stud. They've got pieces on defense with Vita Vea
and Levante David still there and still going. Antoine Winfield
one of my more confident Division champion picks league as
the Bucks the Falcons. I'm bullish on them because I
really like Michael Pennix and he's got weapons too.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
They need.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
They're gonna have to have these two rookie edges that
I'm just not that crazy about be immediate impacts for
that defense to hold up, though, And because of that,
I have them just on the outside looking in, right,
Or did I have in the playoffs? No, I hadn't
missed in the playoffs by one game or by a
tie breaker, I should say. And then we get to
the Panthers. A lot of Panthers love this year. I
ain't seeing that. I gotta see more from Bryce Young
(22:27):
because I think a lot of times it's like in
baseball in September when you get like a you know,
a bunch of call ups and a guy has like
a three hundred batting average in September, and I was like, Oh,
he can play it. And then the next year he
hits like two fifteen. Again You're like, oh, that's that's
because it was against a bunch of minor league arms.
And I'm not saying that was the case for the Panthers,
but I want to see it in games that count,
because last year when the games counted before the benching,
it was tough for Bryce Young, and he played a
(22:48):
lot better, and he's looked better in the preseason and
all that stuff.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
I think there's a lot of question marks in that roster. Still.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
They had a long way to go, so I think
we're at least a year away from the Panthers and
they have to find out if, in fact it as
Bryce Young or somebody else at that quarter spot. For
the Saints, it's tough to find to win. I gave
him one. Tyler Shook was like a fourth fifth round
prospect they got picked in the second round. Spencer Ratler
can't play, so I don't know what the plan is there.
(23:14):
I don't know if you can win a game with
that quarterback position that they have. It's it's gonna be
a long year for them. The Niners one of my
favorite under the radar teams. I say that in air
quotes because I don't know if we can call them that.
I just think they're gonna be back to what they
always are, which is a really good football team, and
Kyle Shanahan is a hell of a coach.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
I think we'll get him there. The Rams.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
I had them as a possible super Bowl pick until
all this Stafford stuff. Is his clone? Is he still alive?
We don't even know yet, but it seems like he's okay.
Jokes aside, but that doubt has kind of crept into
my mind about like are they a thirteen win like
one seed super Bowl run or are they eleven win
wild card team that makes some noise in the playoffs.
I think the ladders where I'm gonna land right now.
(23:53):
The Seahawks. I hated the Geno trade. I think they
downgraded a quarterback and that's gonna be tough for Mike
McDonald in year two. I am curious how his defense
takes on more of his vision in the second year
with him there.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
And then the Cardinals.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
I've always been a Kyler Murray believer, but man, there's
just some some chinks in the armor there that make
you wonder, like the outside of like film time that
he has in his the contract clause is concerning there's
these peaks and valleys every year for the Cardinals where
they they'll play like three games and they'll they'll be
like three and one over a four game stretch and
(24:25):
Kyler looks awesome, and it's like, Oh, the Cardinals are
for real. And then they'll go lose to like a
two to ten team and then lose to like a
four and eighteen the next week, and you're like, man,
they they can't figure it out. So they're too streaky.
And what is maybe the toughest division in football. Both
wests are the best divisions in football. And then that's it.
Let's go ahead and take our last break right there,
come back and pick the playoffs and crown a Super
(24:46):
Bowl champion.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
All that.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Next Draft Time podcast brought to you by Autoonation. This
might be the shortest segment in the history of the show.
Let's go, let's pick the playoff games. In the wild
card round. We're gonna have Baltimore and the Denver Broncos
in the seven to two game. I'm taking Baltimore in
that one. The Chiefs will host the Bengals in the
most exciting game on wild Card weekend, the three to
(25:10):
six game, and I'm gonna have the Chiefs edge out
the Bengals with another Patrick Mahomes heartbreaker to just crush
Joe Burrow's spirit and heart and soul. In the final
play of that game for a win. The Dolphins get
their first playoff wins since two thousand. They beat the
Houston Texans in Houston and get some revenge for last
year's game in December and go on to the Divisional
round for the first time since I was in the
(25:31):
sixth grade.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
In the NFC.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
The Eagles beat the Commanders in the two to seven
game pretty convincingly. The Niners beat the Packers also convincingly
in the three six game, and then the four to
five game. I have an upset here. The Rams take
out the Bucks in Tampa Bay, so I took chalk
except for the five over four games in both conferences.
In the Divisional round, Baltimore and the Chiefs is the
marquee game of the weekend, and Baltimore finally does it.
(25:53):
They up to the Chiefs and go to the AFC
Championship Game, where they will not have to face the
Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, but they will have
to face the Buffalo Bills because the Buffalo Bills beat
Miami and that's gonna be a three game suite for
the Bills over the Dolphins this year. In my predictions,
to go back to the AFC Title Game. I'm gonna
have the Eagles over the Niners to get back to
the NFC Championship Game. And this year the Detroit Lions
(26:16):
do take advantage of the one seed and they beat
the Rams and Matthew Stafford in their house in Detroit
to go to the NFC Championship Game for the second
time in three years. And then in the AFC side,
will the Bills get back? Nope, the Ravens. I'm taking
the Ravens over the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions
over the Philadelphia Eagles. And for the second straight year,
I'm taking the Baltimore Ravens to win the Super Bowl.
(26:37):
They're gonna beat the Detroit Lions in this year's Super Bowl,
and that is it. We'll see how wrong this all
is come February. I'm a lot better in my week
to week picks in the NFL. Had my best season
ever last year. We'll see if we can match that
once again. I always enjoy this exercise though, because it
helped me get to know the rest of the league
as I go through and watch the tape and go
through the rosters and watch them preseason games, all that
fun stuff. That's gonna be my time today, though I'm
(27:00):
recording this ahead of time, so I'm not sure where
it's going to go on the schedule. I think this
was after the Weaver podcast, so I think we're on
to Colt Tweak, but I could be wrong.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
We'll just leave it at that.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
You all please be sure to subscribe, rate, review the show,
follow me on social at wee NFL, the team at
Miami Dolphins check out the YouTube channel for Dolphins HQ,
media availabilities, drive time content, and so much more, and
last button not least, Miami Dolphins dot com. Until next time,
Fin's up Caroline Cameron Willow Daddy's Coming Home.
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