Drive Time: Grayson Murphy Interview and AFC North Preview

Grayson Murphy. You do not want to miss that. I think he has a great chance to make this football team. From the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This is the Drivetime Podcast. Couple of items off the top here. First, you can probably tell my voice, I am not feeling well at all.

And I'm guessing you're going back to the Blake Ferguson Jake Bailey and Jason Sanders podcast, which I know was terrible. I felt terrible putting it out there. I had no

other options to clean that audio up. We do have Adobe Premiere which I run the audio through, and it doesn't sound great to try to fix that, but when you have guys that don't talk to the microphones, when you have a recording device that wasn't accurately working that day, like it was just a rough day and we recorded like twenty interviews that day, So my apologies for that. I think otherwise the sound quality mostly pretty good on

the show. It is just me that does this, so it comes back to me, So I apologize for that. Let's go ahead and get into the AFC North here. One of the funner divisions to really dive into here, because every team has intrigued to me, even though there's one team that I think is a far cry from the other three. At this point, we kick it off in order of how it finished last year with the twenty twenty three Ravens, who finished thirteen and four first

in the division. They lost the conference championship seventeen to ten. And you guys, listen to these podcasts. No, I'm making these, you know, relatable back to the Miami Dolphins. The reason I include the score there is because I think it can be instructive. It is so hard to reach the mountaintop in this sport more than any other, because why

single elimination. I mean, the Panthers just lost three games in a row and they are still Stanley Cup champions, which, by the way, vlmas Scott, it was very cool to see that you run into one bad matchup one day where you don't have your a stuff and it is saya nara, we'll see you later for the for the next season, really foray next year, especially when a young, already legendary quarterback stands between you and the big game. And quite frankly, that's been the AFC in my entire existence.

I grew up in the I was born in the eighties, grew up in the nineties, and really became a diehard football fan in the early two thousands. And that's when freaking Tom Brady arrived and Ben Roethlisberger and Peyton Manning and now it's Patrick Mahomes. It's just always been that way in the AFC. And I say this because look

at the juggernaut that was the Ravens last year. I mean, I remember doing this episode one year ago talking about how this team is undeniably the best in the AFC, despite the fact that the Chiefs have Mahons, and all of a sudden they meet this brick wall, and this narrative doesn't just return, it grows. And actually, after I wrote this segment down, I saw that no quarterback in league history has a greater disparity in regular season winning

percentage versus their postseason winning percentage. Then, Lamar Jackson, I've been thinking about this a lot and just paired up with this write up. I know I'm in the vast minority here, but it works in basketball, baseball not so much, but football and basketball in particular, I just don't think we should hold players or teams to the standard of championships. I lost a lot of you right there already, but

here let me explain that to you. I reject the idea that only one team can have a good year in a given year, that a player can be diminished because he didn't reach the ultimate team accomplishment. I think the best passer in the league, or the best pass in the league he's ever seen Dan Reno went seventeen

seasons and never hoisted a Lombardi Trophy. I think Lamar Jackson will be unfairly hit with this label again this year, or at the very least, it'll be a narrative once we get past Christmas, right, And I think the reason that it really irritates me the way it does is because what's what is Lamar Jackson? Twenty eight years old? I'm gonna pull it up live on the spot here, would I'm okay with the idea of holding out he yeah,

he's just turned twenty seven in January. I'm okay with the the idea of once the career has wrapped, being like, damn, he didn't hit the mountaintop. It's kind of what happened to Marino, right, And it's still a story to this day. Or trying to see a freaking tweet. But who's the greatest athlete who never won a championship? Dan Marino is all over that stuff. But he's twenty seven years old, and all it takes is one time for that all

to go away. I just think it's too hyperbolock. I think it's two in the moment, because this was a team who earned the one seed in the tougher of the two conferences. By this is how their season ended. They beat the Rams, which that was one of the games of the year. They blew out a Jaguars team

who was at that point like eight and four. They dismantled the Niners on Christmas, which was the Niners were rolling at that point, and they obliterated us, who, if we had won that game, were the one seed in the AFC playoffs. That's three playoff teams, two that were either within striking distance or holding the top one seed in their conference at the time, a juggernaut, and then they get bounced. I think you should strive to be what the Ravens have been and give yourself a crack.

Just about every single year except those two years they didn't have their quarterback and they went out in the wild card round and didn't get into the playoffs the other season. I think that provides stability, and stability gives you an edge within a game of inches. Win most of your games, and we'll figure it out when we

get there. That's sort of the Macro way I view this sport and league, and few teams have embodied that better than the Baltimore Ravens five double digit win seasons of the last six, and Miami, frankly is just a notch below that with four straight winning seasons. However, to continue it, the Ravens are gonna have to deal with more turnover than they've had in quite some time here. But I also like some of the moves they'd made to bring guys in like Derrick Henry, who is probably

the most at pro pro at at PAPRO. How do you say that app Po pro Apple pro? Derreck Henry is just he's in Baltimore, even through and through the way he looks, the way he plays, he just looks like he belongs in that organization.

their play style. My first thought was, I will say they have to do that because of the big wide receiver investments they made last offseason not paying off, and now it's over because Beckham is gone. We're still kind of waiting on Rashad Batemanseya Flowers looks like an absolute stud. But then I go back to them getting Mark Andrews back, who missed most of that stretch run we just talked about where they steamrolled some of the best teams in league.

They also been to the Detroit Lions too, by the way, earlier in the year.

with these undersized linebackers is equipped to stop defensively. I don't think he'll get wholesale changes as they promote from within, simplifying terminology, staying positionless, being deep in your subgroupings, utilizing one of the strongest defensive interiors with Justin Matdabweke Rokwan Smith and Kyle Hamilton down the middle to out physical teams and make you play on their terms. What's the concern or fatal flaw here if the defense takes a

moment to come together. They have KC, Dallas, Buffalo, and Cincinnati on the schedule over the first five weeks, and a slow start in that division might bury you. Then you have to go on the road in the playoffs, and who knows from there a wide receiver depth. As much as I raved about their ability to win, differently, to me, it's kinda Zey Flowers and then nobody else like I don't. I'm not a big believer in Bateman's

skill set. We saw what happened to them in the playoffs when they got outplayed at the line of scrimmage by the Chiefs. The goal is to win the Super Bowl for them, right, Like, I know, I just talked about how that shouldn't be how we judge teams, and I think the Ravens are one of the best teams in the NFL because they haven't gotten to the mountaintop.

That's going to be their narrative. But that's also the next step for them, Like it's not gonna be, you know, considered a huge success every year if you don't eventually get there. So that's kind of where you need to be, you know, focused towards beating the Chiefs, otherwise you can't get back to that game. And to do that, you know you're gonna need more than ten points. You're not gonna beat that team just ten points. So yeah, Kansas City is a problem, right, We've established that so far

in the podcast. Some interesting things about them are the biggest storylines is fighting narratives of big games and postseason success. It's gonna come down to you know, it's it's gonna be there for them at the end of the year, just like it is for us, And I think that's interesting every single year replacing those big names on defense,

their staff and their personnel. Is it gonna be as easy as plug and play there with you know, Zach or the defensive coordinator and losing a guy like Anthony Weaver and losing so many critical pieces on that defense. Will they revert back to more of a ball control, run game offense, because last year they kind of open things up a little bit and they were pretty good

at it too. So whatever they want to do, they can probably do, even though they don't have much as much weapons on the perimeter this year as they did last year. Then special teams in kickoff change and the best kicker in the game and Justin Tucker plus John

Harbaugh's special teams background. Just watch the Ravens win a game or two this year because of weird special teams stuff, and they won a game on a walk off punt return last year, So it's not even that far of a you know, alleged to go out on some final roster thoughts. The concerns to me, even though they talk about all the losses, are so slim because this is one of the game's deepest rosters, even with all those losses, they just keep developing, replacing, and it's all over Brandon

Stevens game. It matures as soon as Marcus Peters exits, Kyle Hamilton arrives in three years, they say good bye Tony Jefferson, Chuck Clark and Gino Stone and they're better for it. Patrick McCarry makes Morgan Moses expendable. Likely is that when Andrews goes down, it's all over the roster with how they replace. What can they tell us with the Dolphins, I'm talking so fast, I can't brie you guys.

giant that is the Mahomes led Chiefs. They can tend with Cincy the way the weekn ten with Buffalo, and these teams are all in the same conference at a tough road every single year.

single year. And there's no denying how great Joe Flacco was down the stretch, truly, but make no mistake about it, this team was driven by a stellar defense, particularly prior to Flacco's arrival, when they were rescuing weekly poor quarterback performance play by the original starter who has been straight booty cheeks since he got there, and all the backups

replacing him throughout an injury plagued season. After double digit defeats of the Broncos and Rams, and back to back weeks, the Browns won four straight to put themselves in position to rest their starters. In Week eighteen, they couldn't get a stop against the Texans in the wild Card round and have since gone back to work rounding out yet again one of the best rosters and defenses really in the National Football League.

Anthony Walker comes here and Nick Harris goes to Seattle. Way more in than out there for these guys, What do they do well? I don't think anybody outside have probably spat disguise is better between zone and man looks with the ability to get pressure from either look of those from any front from you know, different groupings, and it's built around having one of the toughest assignments in the National Football League and Miles Garrett and Schwartz has

always had that in his defense. Going back to in Dominicansu with the Lions, they id, they bump, they feel space, They communicate as well as anybody. Denzel Ward is fantastic, Martin Emerson is very good, Greg Newsom, Grant Delpitt, Rodney McLeod wan Thornhill. They're just one of the deeper secondaries in the National Football League and their second level is led by one of the best cover linebackers in Jeremiah

Owusu Corromoa. I'm curious to see does Nick Chubb return, because I thought that his balance, albeit Stefanski finding out, you know, finding other productive backs in his place, that Chubb was the elite piece really moving the needle for that offense. They're scoring outbursts where the results of mastery of play action game and attacking defenses on early downs

with chunk plays sound familiar. Like Baltimore. They can do a lot with their personnel groupings with two tight ends, especially since one of them is one of the games premier players and David Nijoku, what's the concern or a fatal flaw, Like we are realistically one more bad year away from an all time awful move at the quarterback position, and quite frankly, are probably already there.

season and I think it's probably just about it. Like this is a very deep and good roster. Some interesting things about them. There's still a bunch of guaranteed money on Watson's deal. What happens if year three is much like year one and year two, and then what happens if Joe Flacco winds up playing well or playing at all, and then playing well in Indianapolis. Indianapolis, Ken Dorsey also gets another crack and an oc job. Does he have

the the stones to make this work? And then how many elite years can you get out of a defense?

Not many as good as this one in Cleveland. And that's not including Dewan Jones or Ethan Posik or Hakeema Denji or Michael Dunn or Wyatt Davis in the holster. All these guys have played football, you know, over the last couple of years and played pretty well. So it's a good offensive line. The trenches on the other side are flat out awesome too. We mentioned Garrett's, Darius Smith,

Shelby Harris, Dalvin, Tomlinson. They've all been hit additions, and then they add Quentin Jefferson a lot to like there. What can the Browns tell us about the Dolphins. I'm not sure there's something here. Maybe it's that it's better to commit to a quarterback that you've seen excel within your program, because we saw Wilson not work in Denver, right,

that led to a total overhaul rebuild. And why, you know, came from a big play hunting you know, kind of absorb hits in the pocket and try to get the ball on the field to this quick strike passing, precision, precision passing game that's not really his game and it hasn't worked out at all in Cleveland. And that's essentially what's turned a could be Super Bowl contender into a team that's not made noise beyond getting into the postseason.

Imagine if they had just gotten that position right, in addition to all the other roster building, they would have been right there. Either way, the big quarterback deal did the opposite of what it was intended to do, at least so far in the case of the Browns, and the jury is still out in twenty twenty four, unlike the Denver Broncos. Should we discuss the whole two a tongue of my low thing for I just want to go ahead and mention this real quick, like y'all, not y'all.

I see a little bit of it on Twitter. But we got to stop accepting things as just truths, Like there are negotiations that happen within media, there are reports that league for certain reasons, like don't take everything as fact. Please just don't don't do that. Okay, I don't want to. I don't think it's worth talking about anymore. It's so time, I think it's going to happen, So just let's just chill on all that stuff. Let's go ahead and take

our first break. Comeback on the other side and hear from Grayson Murphy, who was a delight to talk to. That's next Draft Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Auto Nation. What up, guys, back here with another Dolphins player, Grayson Murphy from UCLA Dolphins linebacker Grayson, How you doing today, man? And first off, how has your transition to the rookie season been going so far?

your brother. It's always been a childhood dream of wars and it was good for the Lord to give us that accomplishment.

The primetime games aren't super late. I argue because I have two young children that I get to watch the primetime games once they go to bed late at night, eight eight thirty kickoffs, whatever it is. Now you've lived in Dallas, Southern California, and now you're in South Florida.

And that central time zone you're always at eight eight thirty, and you'll get to get to enjoy the game pretty good.

team needed this and it was just a lot of fun. Men. I think that's why we had so much success, because everyone was having fun out there.

of what we're getting right now. But you know, I see like the progression. You know, we'll probably get to that, you know, eventually down the line.

we lose Bradley later on the year. Have you lean into those guys yet and kind of picked their brains a little bit? Yeah?

things like that. So that was the first time I got to meet JP and Bradley Chubb, and you know, ever since then, we kind of uh not kept in contact, but kind of you know, keping connect from a four and uh, you know when I first came up here, you know, those are the first guys that really you know, talk to and they've been kind of you know, coaching me up, giving me some game, you know, kind of been really leaning on them, you know, getting my feet wet and the NFL if you will.

But now we got you, we got Chopped, we got Mo. Like, is there I guess is there a benefit to having these three rookies come in together and try to learn the same position, the same group together.

at the same time. You know, we're all trying to learn the defense at the same time, so it's kind of helping each other out and just you know, you kind of get to build that personal connection with each other since we're spending so much time with each other, and you know, I think that's gonna translate big on the field.

like that. But in high school our senior year, we got the pool one over on our teacher, our English teacher, and it worked out pretty good and she had no idea, so that was pretty fun.

North of the Steelers and the Bengals. That's next Draft Time podcast Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Auto Nation. The Pittsburgh Steelers the cockroaches of the NFL twenty twenty three. They were ten and seven, third place in the AFC North. And I call them the cockroaches because somehow they got back into the postseason where they got properly waxed by

the Buffalo Bills. Almost impossible to believe they made it back in especially after losing three straight to Arizona, New England and Indianapolis before beating the Bengals and Jake Browning and Seattle with was Ginos Smith start in that game?

and they are off that project. Mason route Off was the quarterback of the winning streak and playoff game, but this was an offense that had so many upgrades to make, and they tried to do just that at quarterback. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are in Quarterrell Patterson's at running back, Van Jefferson at receiver. They also made some changes on defense.

Patrick Queen and Deshaun Elliott, our former friend here joins their secondary, and their first round pick really their entire draft class I loved, but Troy Fatanu was my favorite pick in the entire draft, leaving Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, Deontaey Johnson, Allen Robinson, and Chikuma okafora all exit via free agency or trades. What they do well they win games in the fine margins. I'm not sure there's a coach over the last decade who has gotten more from less.

I just don't think any less of these. I just don't think any of these last two or three Steelers teams had any business winning more than half their games. And yet every year they need a win and to get two or three breaks, and they do it, they get back into the postseason.

Watt and Alex Highsmith. Both of them play off the strength and power and pocket collapsing of Cam Hayward inside. And now they add keanuh Benton and Larry Oguin joby last year and it made it even better. They have an explosive passing play element and that's basically through George Pickens now from both design and skilled deficiency from a play caller and quarterback that are no longer there. I mean,

Matt Canada was awful, and so was Kenny Pickett. But look at how you know Wilson still pushes the ball down the field to maybe maybe get even more out of out of Pickens. You have to imagine there they envision a strong run game that can hit the electric play once a game to kind of grind out these you know, twenty three to twenty victories that they seem to love. What's the concern or fatal flaw? Did they

actually solve their quarterback issue? Because Russell Wilson doesn't see the field anymore and without the or never did really, but without the explosive run element to his game, it's kind of exposed the rest of his flaws as a passer right. And then Justin Field's talking about seeing the field, Like everybody always asks me, why is Justin Fields It's because he can't see the field. It's because playing quarterback you have to see the field and you can't do it.

It's like Josh Rosen, You're gonna throw hospital balls ten times a game and get your guys hurt because you can't see how the coverage moves and you that means you can't play the position. So that's a soapbox for a different day. Najie Harris does not get his fifth year option picked up, which he seemed, you know, critical to the power run gig when he was first brought in. And he's been beaten out by Jilen Warren, who is a you know, damn good back in his own right.

Do they have enough weapons? I contend they don't because it's pretty much pickings. And then what else some young players Calvin Austen, you know, Roman Wilson. I like his game a lot.

key areas on the field on defense in particular. Some interesting things about them and biggest storylines the quarterback battles. You know, I used to always write articles about this when I would write for various websites or my own website about like camp battles and the rookie versus the VET and who's gonna win this quarterback battle. They're kind of a thing in the past, aren't They Like teams kind of either get themselves a quarterback or they just don't.

And then it's like, all right, the rookies up, or you know, the guy that we know can't really play, he's up as well. They did say that Russell Wilson gets first crack, But which one in the NFL is more intriguing than this one with Fields, Fields and Wilson. It's it's mid versus mid at best, but it's usually a VET that we know doesn't really have it right versus a first round pick. The vet wins and the

rookie comes in by week three and it's over. But this one holds intrigue, though I think you know, both Fields and Wilson aren't that good. The winning season streak always intrigues me. I just think it's worth putting in

here for interesting storylines. I'm curious to see how their prized free agent works out because Patrick Queen really struggled before Roquan Smith arrived in Baltimore, and now there's all this beef back and forth with them in the Ravens and it makes for to me a much more fun rivalry. And then just the challenge of the AFC North and the team that I think is probably behind the other three by quite a big margin. Some final roster thoughts. That line features my top two tackles from the last

two classes in both Fatanu and Broderick Jones. I thought Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick were both great picks and starters from that class, and they also brought in James Daniels and Isaac Somalu last year for big money. So the offensive line, which wasn't very good last year, just based upon the investment, should be pretty good this year.

I also loved the Peyton Wilson selection. The linebacker seems like a natural replacement for Landon Roberts whenever his time is up there and that whole draft la I mean, Roman Wilson to that group of the offensive line. Just a really, really good draft for the Steelers. What can they tell us about the Miami Dolphins. I think this is the least comparable team to Miami in the entire division.

They're built differently, new quarterback. The two teams, despite similar records, have been in different discussions annually in terms of their threat to contend more ball control and defense for Miami is obviously the most explosive offense in the entire National

Football League. Let's go ahead and finish up here with the last team in the division, but a team that I think a lot of folks will pick to win the division this year in the Cincinnati Bengals, who finished nine to eight last year and in the basement with a winning record of the AFC North winning season, and you still finish in the celler tells you how good

the division is and how weird football is. Right, They go three to one in the first four games without Joe Burrow, only to lose two to Pittsburgh and Casey to effectively end their season. With Jake Browning at the helm, they also scored more points three point five more points per game with Browning than they did with Joe Burrow. They also gained more yards. It was only eight yards per game, but they did gain more yards per game

with Browning than Burrow. I think you could look back at this Bengals team as one that maybe didn't strike when their iron was hot. Feels a little counter what I said earlier about measuring success. But the way I write that because well, because the Bengals they're kind of a poverty franchise, right They definitely are. They don't pay free agents, they don't pay scouts. They you know, Duke Tobin's come in. They're done a great job getting talent in there.

more investments to the offensive line. They've been doing that for a few years now and it hasn't really panned out for them. They do go out and get Sheldon Rankins and they bring Von Bell back, which I thought their defense really fell off when they said goodbye to Jesse Bates and Von Bell. So getting Bell and Gino Stone's a big addition there. The biggest ones could be

on the horizon after you hear this podcast. Both Higgins and Hendrix put in trade request ahead of contract years and that has more to do with the Bengals operation we talked about right like, they don't take care of guys like that, and they're both gonna play under the final year there and then probably move on and get comp picks for both those guys at key positions right receiver and defense. Eve Vent leaving Chidobi a Wouse, Marcus Bailey the linebacker goes to the Cardinals, Tyler Boyd goes

to the Titans. DJ Reer goes to the Lions, and what a big what a big loss of this for them. Jonah williams IRB Smith, and Nick Scott all depart as well.

Kaithier in consecutive years. A few years back, what is the concern or the fatal flaws here? Slow starts? I mean Joe Burrow hasn't had a camp because of an appendectmy because of the hamstring last year. Like, he just misses time and camp every year and they start off horribly every year. He's missed seventeen starts in his career. He's ended two years on IR and in general had worse.

Career production twenty twenty three is six touchdown passes and ten games and just six point three yards per pass. I hate when people do this, but if Tua did that, y'all would lose your damn minds. Mane He gets hit a lot behind an offensive line that has hasn't failed to invest, but had struggled to do the job. They'll look to the outside again with more help from Trent Brown and Amarius Mims once again. And safety was a massive issue last year after losing both Baits and Bell.

Bell is back, but two years later down the road right, And this is what I mean by the importance of drafting for this team. Dax Hill was supposed to be the guy that would step in and fit in for von Bell, and it did not work out at all. They did get some of that from Cam Taylor Britt at cornerback, but that group in the defensive backfield is super thin. Some interesting things about this team this year is you know, I sort of covered it, but Burrow's return and can he stay healthy?

Williams is a good fit for them. I think Chase Brown's a fun player, and I think the offensive line should curry more favorite to the running game, with both Brown and Mims being huge upgrades in terms of their push and they're ability to get displacement on the defensive line. Still a fun skill group with Chase and Higgins. I like Jermaine Burton quite a lot, Drew Sample and all those running.

and find young players who can provide cheap production. They've gotten that over the years from Burrow and Chase and Higgins, and that allow them to be up with free agents on defense and basically build a super Bowl caliber defense through free agency. But now those contracts are paid, are about to be paid, about to walk and take the loss. You see the need to replace those the defense that was constructed of imports with your own guys like Cam Taylor,

Britt Logan Wilson. They'll need Chris Jenkins, n Amarius Mims, one of the young backs, a young receiver. They need all those guys to step up for them. And the Dolphins, you know, are entering a similarly a similar territory in some respects Okay, that's the Bengals. How about the division in general? So this could change from now to August, right, I just want to make that very clear. I think that there could be some cannibalization here within the division.

I really like three of these teams and rosters and the only one I don't I literally always proves me wrong, so we'll see. But and probably got better at the most important position at quarterback, but we haven't seen the entire division stay healthy for a few years. If that happens, you'll get three more playoff teams again, so many big time stars with a lot to prove. This to me

is the best division in the NFL. I'll go at the Ravens winning it again with eleven to twelve wins, the Bengal ten to eleven wins, the Browns nine to ten wins. I just don't think that Watson's good enough anymore. And the Steelers I'm gonna do it again six or seven wins for a roster that I think just comes up well short of the rest in the division. The best quarterback my superlatives here, Lamar Jackson. That's still pretty easy to me. The best non quarterback on offense is

Jamar Chase. I think the best defensive player is Miles Garrett. I think the best coach is John Harbaugh. My favorite rookie you guys know us by now Troy Fatanu, the tackle out of you, dub and my fantasy sleeper is Traveon Henderson, who I think I said Williams earlier in the podcast. My apologies for.