Drive Time: Julian Hill Interview and AFC East Preview

and the Patriots very in depth. We'll sort of breeze through your Miami Dolphins because we're gonna do two episodes, one on the offense, one on the defense to finish up the summer series. Plus my chat with Dolphins tight end Julian Hill. From the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This is the Drivetime Podcast. Hey Jaffir, really quickly before we get going here. I think a lot of you probably listen to the show as well that I did the show that kind of got me

into podcasting and football podcasting in general. Full transparency, and I'm ashamed to admit this my first podcasts I ever listened to was the Joe Rogan Experience back in twenty fifteen, I think is when it was twenty fourteen, twenty fifteen, and I used to love the long form format of those shows and just kind of bsing and shooting the

breeze with his friends and talking about random things. And then he kind of became you know what he is now, and that's when the show to me was no longer interesting putting Alex Jones in the podcast, like Okay, let's

go ahead and get the hell away from this. And one of the jobs that I worked, one of the many jobs I worked before football, I was in water and fire restoration and smoke restoration, and I would drive around the Yakamaw Valley in the state of Washington today different sites, and I would estimate how much repairs would cost for homes that were damaged by smoke, fire or water.

And so with all that driving, I needed something to listen to that wasn't music, and I graduated towards podcasts, and Bill Burr was one of the podcasts I first started listening to. Two Bears, One Cave came in later

on down the line. I can't remember any of the comedy podcast, but it was mostly football, and I was really scouring for good national football podcasts, which you know now it seems like they're kind of tough to get because I just think it's really tough to cover three to two teams on on a podcast every single day, because it's hard to know enough about three two teams, like I give you guys UDFA information, you can't know

that about thirty two teams. And there was like a pro football weekly podcast that was inconsistent, and the one that always stood out to me was the Around the NFL podcast with Dan Hansis, Greg Rosenthal, Mark Sessler, and the late Chris Westling, and it like annoyed me at first. I thought they talked about like their softball team, like I found them in the summertime, so they were, you know, doing what I'm doing right now, and I was like,

where's the football talk? And then the show continued on and I got to know the hosts more and it became like, you know, almost like Friends, and I think Friends is a terrible show, quite frankly, but it became like where you knew how Rachel was going to react, you knew how Joy was going to react, and that was what became the show, and there was so much magic behind that, and in fact, they are the model of what I tried to be as a podcaster in terms of I want to be as informative as possible,

and I think there was two guys in the show that could provide good football information, but they also had the touch of mirth, and that's what the other two guys came in, and that was what kind of brought the whole show together. And it was in the top ten and sports podcast downloads for a decade, and I don't know the reason behind it, but the NFL media decided to cut it just cold turkey, like their last

episode was in May. It was six weeks ago, and they just announced a new show that I just listened to for the first time, NFL Daily, with only Rosenthal as the host, and it just kind of has me feeling melancholy, kind of having me reflective about my own podcasting career and my media career. And I don't know where I'm going with this, but it was a huge inspiration to what you now hear, and it's now gone and it makes me very, very sad. So I just

wanted to communicate that with you. And let you guys know that one of my biggest inspirations behind podcasting is no more. And that makes me like I have so much nostalgia, Like I was in the Awkward Dad but at the hospital listening to the Around the NFL podcast when my daughter was born. I remember listening to the podcast on the flight to Hawaii for my wedding, the entire trip down there, Like that podcast was a big part of my life, my professional development, and it is

now no more. So very sad day. And speaking of sad, let's talk about the Buffalo Bills, and they're sad sex So last year in the AFC East, they won the division again because we couldn't take care of business down the stretch with the same record as US at eleven and six. They were a divisional round exit that year. And I cannot forget my favorite moment in the NFL last year, probably above any Dolphins game, which and I've

always been like this, maybe you guys are too. Let me know if you are or you are or not. I kind of like the suffering of our rivals even more than our own success. Like as long as the Jets exist, I think I'll be happy because they always find ways to invent new ways to crush their fan base, and I just really really like that with the Buffalo Bills. It's kind of similar in terms of how they lose games down the stretch, even though it's not as gratifying

because they make it further than us. And I don't think it's right to be like, oh, you guys lost in the playoffs, like, yeah, we were further than you though, Like shut up, dude. So what I did like, though, was that Broncos loss last year. That was probably the best reaction I had. I woke up my kids. That's not a good thing to do, but I woke up my kids by yelling when they threw that flag and the Broncos lined up again to run that kickback and put it through the uprights to knock Buffalo to five

and five. We were six and three, knowing that they had the Eagles, Chiefs and Cowboys coming up, and we had the Raiders and the Jets and the Commanders and Titans coming up. It just felt like a division clinching moment. And I tweeted how the Dolphins hadn't lost to a winning team or something to that effect. Because the Buffalo's record had dropped to five and five, and the next day in practice, walking back into the indoor, Mike White calls me out and goes, hey, that was a great tweet.

So that was a really fun week for me. And when the Bills in that game, the offense was sputtering yet again, and I think it was it was one of the former quarterback content careaters. It was like Orlowski or O'Sullivan or Chase Daniel. I forget who it is exactly, but they said that the moment you have a player's only meeting, you might as well call it a season because it's done. It's over. But that wasn't the case

for Buffalo. They axed Ken Dorsey, they promoted Joe Brady, installed a whole new offense, and they rolled the Jets. They damn near pulled off that overtime win over the Eagles, which after that one, you know, they're six and six, they go into their buy. We improved the nine and three by beating Washington, beating the absolute breaks off Washington.

But from there they beat the Chiefs by three, and that was a game that I regret watching personally, rooting for the Bills to win that game to help our seating at the top of the AFC Conference. I probably should have just taken the you know, the guaranteed division title right there with a Buffalo win. Not that my rooting had any impact on the game, but I recall thinking about that very specifically. And then they roll the Cowboys, which was a game we needed them to lose. Then

they escape East and stick and the Chargers. If they just had lost that damn game, we would have clinch the division on Christmas Eve. Then they beat the Patriots, barely had to survive a late drive by the Patriots, and then they beat us with the dam punt return to get to the Steelers in the wild card round. They roll up that team and then they lose to

Casey once again. Lots of turmoil, lots of perseverance. A long article that I read that took me like a full week to get through about Sean McDermott's ways, and I think they kind of rallied around that article and

the galvanized the team. Lots of change in season, lots of change offseason, which began with the trade of their biggest star outside of their quarterback, quarterback in Stefon Diggs, and that spawned a bunch of moves at wide receiver as they brought in Curtis Samuel, who I still think can play ball if he's healthy. He's a really good player.

Matt Collins, who's a special teams guy that's kind of like a fourth receiver, right Marquez Valdez Scantling has been a fourth receiver's entire career, So that's who they brought in to replace. Defon Diggs, no one's even closest Von Diggs ability, especially not Keon Coleman, their second round draft pick, who, by the way, their entire draft strategy of let's go ahead and trade out of a spot where there's a

difference making player at a position we desperately need. Let's go ahead and give him to our biggest rival, a team that we cannot be, and give Mahomes a vertical threat that's probably going to be, you know, one of the best in the NFL. Let's get out of that and go get a guy that can't separate in Keon Coleman. I don't understand it at all. This podcast might come back to bite me when we if Keon Coleman goes off against US. I don't get it from a process standpoint, like, okay,

another receiver that cannot separate. You already have like four of those, so I didn't get that. Mitch Trubisky's the new backup there, the old backup, and the new backup. Will Clapp was brought in the center. They also brought in Lyyl Collins, who I know Dolphins fans are going to say, why can't we do that? Well, he hasn't been good in like four years. Just FYI defensive tackle Austin Jackson. I like these defensive end moves. Casey two

Hill from Washington, Dwayne's moved from Jacksonville. Those guys are both good players. To offset some losses they had there as well, Linebacker Dion Jones has kind of had a and down career, and then safety Mike Edwards's replacement for a couple of safeties they lost in both Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, who I always thought were kind of the guys that drove that defense. Mentioned Stefan Diggs's loss. They also lose Mitch Morse, who was a stalwart, the

absolute anchor in the middle of their offensive line. Saran Neil comes down here to join our special teams as well. They lose Gabe Davis, who I thought was the same issue they had with Keon Coleman, can't separate. They lose poona Ford. Leonard Floyd is the loss that I'm most excited about because he was a one on one winner. He would beat one on ones anytime he gave it to him, and the Bills find ways to create those for him. He was a problem in their past rush plan.

He is no more in Buffalo. Dan Jackson has gone to Carolina, Jordan Phillips goes to the Giants. Tim Settle is also gone, and so is cornerback Trey Right Trey White.

What do they do well? I think they uncovered something in the run game last year with James Cook, and they do it with a lot of power lead trying to lean on defensive lines to take them out of their high octane rushes, which can of course be nega by a quarterback that does so much to you know, spoil good pass rush wins as well, and that's the thing I think they do the best is they put a cape on the damn quarterback. I think the Bills are a good football team, and they have been for

a while. But I think if you take Josh Allen off of that team who I know. Dolphins fans love to talk about the giveaways and the interceptions, like Marino threw a lot of picks to you guys, and he was a great player, like Josh. Allen's a great freaking player. To me, there is a I think Mahomes is in his own class. I think Allen's in his own class. I think there's a big drop off to the third best quarterback in the NFL. I just think that's how it is. He makes rushers miss unlike anybody we've ever

seen before. And he's one of the most productive runners, whether it's designed runs or scrambles, and you just can't hurt him, like you hit the guy and he doesn't get hurt. Last year, they made the OC change and they went to this RPO read out the middle of the field attack, and it was very unnatural for Josh, who's not a timing and rhythm thrower. He's not an anticipatory thrower. He's not a spot thrower, like he does not play that style of football. But he just keeps creating.

And when they go into those series long slim umps, he was always the one with a scramble or a scramble to a throw to pull them out of it. I talk a lot about how overrated creating as a quarterback is in this league. Josh Allen kind of transcends that, like he is so good at it that you actually can build an offense around it. But there's he's one

of one, so good luck trying to replicate that. That's why I think it's so silly that so much quarterback evaluation and scouting is based upon like, well, look at what Josh Allen does. Okay, go, yeah, good, look at what Michael Jordan did. Go find one of those. Go look at what Lebron James did. Go find one of those. Those guys don't grow on trees. They are rare, rare breeds. And to pat myself on the back, which is probably annoying to you, like that's why I said he was

coming out of Wyoming. I remember watching that final year at Wyoming and being like, this dude is a stud and his stats sucked, and all my friends that were you know, we were amateurs at the time, especially myself, and those guys definitely not working in the NFL right now, will always be like, well he was he was six for fifteen and like, yeah, twelve of those not twelve, eight of those misses were drop passes where with the ball right in the money after escaping three pass rushers,

Like the tape was so good and that's who he's become. The NFL. They also on defense, vary their coverages and their pre snap presentations and play a good one gap style that generates early pressure that forces the quarterback to throw into these well constructed zones. They seem to know where the hots are. They know how to kind of crowd that area where you want to spam the field.

As an offensive designer, play designer, and they can create pressure that forces you into throws into coverage and it creates takeaways. Like Tua doesn't usually play his best ball against Buffalo outside of the two games in twenty twenty two, Right, what's the concern or fatal flaw against the Buffalo Bills? Do they have enough of the skill spots? I say vehemently no. And I like Curtis Samuel, I don't think very highly of Keon Coleman. I like Khalil Shakur, but

that's Dalton king k is a good player. Dawson Knox is a good player, and James Cook is a good player, but that's like twentieth in the league at best. And that's it was a big problem for the Bills last year. Go watch the Bills tape. There was long drought, so they just did not do much as an offense. Uh, one of these days, one of these hits talking about

fatal flaws is going to finally impact Josh Allen. Right, I was talking about with Seahawks fans all the time, like Russell Wilson, when he loses his legs, it's gonna be a sharp decline. And I was I took the bullet on that take for a long time because Russell Wilson's one of the best quarterbacks to ever play this damn game. But the decline happened fast and he is now, you know, on his third team in four years. And

it's that's what happens for Josh Allen every week. I watch this dude absorb these insane, huge level of contact saying insane huge hits and he just plays through it and he gets up. I thought he had a was it two years ago? I thought we had he was gonna get Tommy John But he like played the next week, cool man like this guy is indestructible. What else is a big flaw is don't discount the loss of Mitch Morse. They didn't have a single offensive line miss a snap

last year. If that happens again, then like, okay, you tip your cap to the luck the football lut gods. Right, it's not gonna happen again. I they have a brand new secondary Poyer and Hyde, where the communicators the Sean McDermott on the field. I almost made a joke there about, you know, his distasteful nine to eleven content. But I'm not gonna do it. I'm not gonna do that. Not gonna do it. Trey White's also gone, which he was kind of a shadow of himself, but he's also coming

off into Achilles' injury. But it's a lot of change there. Rasull Douglas. I wish the Packers hadn't just given him away to Buffalo because he became a really good cornerback for them. Christian Benford has beaten out their first round pick kyer Elam when he was a sixth round pick that same year, and he's been a pretty good player for them on the perimeter. And then Tarren Johnson's the

guy in the slot that makes it all go. But it's a new day with Mike Edwards and then Taylor Rap I think of the guys that are gonna start back there, and that to me is a sharp decline from what you had in Hide and Bloyer, especially when you consider the mental reps they had together and that chemistry they had in the back end. So interesting things

about Buffalo and some big storylines the post Digs era. Look, there was a lot of consternation between Alan and Diggs, and you know, Josh is not the choir boy that I think a lot of folks think he might be, and there was some stuff that he was you know, I know he's got the hate Steinfeld relationship, and he was kind of maybe not being faithful to his previous girlfriend prior to that, and there was some stuff that

was on his mind. And that Bengals lost a couple of years ago when Stefon Diggs blew up on him on the sideline, and the last year in the playoff game, they went dead again, So I think there was a big issue there. I'm curious. So they come out of that better. Sometimes you do come out of that better, but you can't replace a player like Stefon Diggs. So that's a very interesting dynamic there between those two guys

and that team. How do they cobble together an offense with a full offseason after sort of doing it in season last year? There's no way they come back with the same RPO attack, right, No way or will they? That's all kind of Joe Brady knows. So I'm curious to see that. And then Bobby Babbage the first time DC. I like him a lot as a leader and a guy that can speak, you know, and communicate to his players.

But we'll see what he can bring as an actual defensive corner and last of that position was unfulfilled after Leslie Fraser left in twenty twenty two. Some final roster thoughts. We kind of covered this, but receiver turnover, that's the biggest question I have. You kind of need Keon Coleman to be a number one right away. They have a nice collection of tackles, Dion Dawkins as a beast, spencer rounds a plus player, and whatever they get from Lyle

Collins to me as a bonus. Then Connor McGovern inside is a good replacement for Mitch Morse. Not as good, but it gets them by and their guard position. Like people talk about Osirius Torrance, who was not good last year. He struggled a lot. He's in line to get one of the jobs, and otherwise I don't know who the other guards are gonna be. That's a kind of a training camp question. Getting Matt Mulano back is massive. I'm stoked that Leonard Floyd is gone between Smoot Rossoue Rossue Rousseau.

Why can't I say that Casey two hill aj Epines. So they kind of need somebody else'll step up. But still very solid inside with Daikwan Jones and at Oliver, but they did lose their depth behind those guys with both Phillips and Settle departing. Otherwise, what can they tell

about Miami Dolphins. I think the Bills went through the offseason that you were sort of led to believe the Dolphins would undergo this cap opalypse that I guess he's saying that there one year deals prevented the cap opilipse, and we're like, yeah, that's what we were saying the whole time. Bro, Both teams lost a lot of players, but Miami was able to get a lot of guys in where Buffalo did not. I think Miami got better at some key spots. I think Buffalo will sort of

count on some guys incumbently taking the next step. Is that a word? But I think the quarterback allows him a lot of liberties because he is a special talent. And that brings us to your Miami Dolphin. Let's go through this quickly here before the first break and before it gets to Julian Hill eleven and six second in

the AFC East Wildcard loss to Kansas City. You know about that nine and three start crushing loss the Titans that would have seen the division wrapped up on Christmas Eve if we just survived the final three damn neance of that football game, the destruction at the hands of

the Ravens. Have banged up offense that couldn't do enough against Buffalo with their few opportunities after Bill's long drives, which I see he praise about the defense in that game, Like, nah, dude, the Bills just turned the ball over in the red zone. They had like four hundred and fifty yards in that game.

And then playing in a freezer against Mahomes and just like that, the most fun season you has a Dolphins fan twenty plus years is over to combat that, bringing in Odell Beckham, John new Smith love those additions so so much, as you guys know. We'll talk about that more on the podcast tomorrow, Sorry Thursday, Jack Driscoll, Kalais Campbell,

Neville Galimore, t R Tart, Benito Jones. Among the big additions there Shack Barrett off the edge, Jordan Brooks and Anthony Walker at linebacker, Kendall Fuller a big, big ad at the cornerback spot, and then Jordan Poyer, Marcus May with our first round pick being Chop Robinson on the way out. Like the end list to me is impressive, especially like there's a couple of names here that I think are big losses, but there was a lot more imports I think are bigger gets as well. Cedric Wilson Junior,

Robert Hunt, that's a big one to meet. Connor Williams will see what his knee injury winds up being for wherever he goes this year. Christian Wilkins and ray Kwon Davis. One of those guys is a fantastic football player. One of those guys I thought was replacement level of the entire time he was here. Andrew Van Ginkel loved his game. He was a nice talent that we definitely got the

most of in five years. Xavian Howard and Brandon Jones two guys that I thought had really rough twenty twenty threes. What do they do well? What do we do well? We marry the run and pass and play on time better than any offense in football. We mix our options in the offense to create ultimate conflict and force you to defend the entire field. We stretch the field and run concepts that forces the defense into pick your poison situations.

We bring way wave of rushers off the edge. What's a better combination of JP, Chubb, Barrett and Chopps a foursome? There isn't one, although, of course their injury status is going into the year is a bit of a question. Multiplicity on the back end and your two best corners that can play in the slot. That opens up a whole different world that literally no other team in the NFL has that benefit of Ramsey and Fuller and their ability to play inside. You're gonna love watching what they

can do with coach Anthony Weaver. What's the concern or fatal flaw though, are the exact same things you guys know about matching physicality late in the season. Can they push the pile on third and one? Can they stop Isaiah Pacheco running game winning on the row when the offense has to communicate through more hand signals and verbal communication and get into the land scrimmage ahead of the play clock and getting the playoff that's been an issue

for two years. And then the interior offensive line concerns me, even though it's a kind of a team principle. That's where you know, if you've got a pinchpennies, that's where it usually happens. But you know, Williams and hunt out for Brewer and driscoll. Is a pretty significant downgrade, which we are all aware of interesting things about this team. Can we get over the playoff drout? Can we get over the hump? That would be a nice start here to do that. A third straight dominant year from Tua.

I thought that two years of dominance would kind of shift the narrative. It hasn't for some reason, or maybe it has, I don't know. Can Tyreek threaten team records in his third season already? Can he get two thousand yards or get close to it again, and how do they better distribute the football to play teams that take away ten to seventeen. You can't take away Hill and

Wall for a whole game. But having there were so many situations last year where we just could not separate from anybody else and it kind of cost us, you know, series in possessions. Final roster thoughts yet again, a loaded roster with talent and depth at the positions that most correlate with winning. I think there's an absolute direction about what this program needs and the team has been built accordingly. What can we learn from the Dolphins about the Dolphins? Everything? Right?

All right, let's go ahead and take our first break right there, come back on the other side and welcome in my guest tight end Julian Hill. He was great to talk to you. That's next Draft Time Podcast to your host, Travis Wingfield, brought to you by AutoNation. Joining me now is Dolphins tight end and Hill here on the Drive Time podcast. Julian. Welcome in man year two. It's it's got to be way different today than it was a year ago this time.

industry because we failed as athletes. And so for me, it's always so fascinating to me to learn what you guys go through in so many different ways and the player like yourself, for instance, u dfa small school, probably not a lot of pop and in publicy out there for you, but you come in hearing you grind and

you make the team. I'm just so curious to hear you talk about the stress being less that fine line of as a UDFA trying to make a team where it's like, if I make the team, I get you know, a certain a certain level of pay right that first year, Versus if I don't, I gotta try to find a way to get on a squad next year. I just want to hear from your experience what that entire experience was like last year from unknown UDFA to tied end for the Miami Dolphins.

the things he taught me. Being from a small school, being from uh, like you said, there's there's not a lot of pop. It created a certain type of tenacity within myself and a drive self motivating. So when I got here last year, you know, I already knew I was at the bottom of the depth chart.

door literally on the field right right right. And that was my mindset, and it propelled me to you know, where I'm by where I was at by the end of the season. And again I gotta give credit to my position room Durham Smite. Uh.

that play that I want to know about. Like we talk about his experience and how valuable it's been to.

making plays. I see why he takes his job seriously. I'm just grateful that, you know, he's one of my leaders in that position room. He must be, he must be pretty thrilled.

just about you know, the process. I'm curious, was there a moment where you were like, all right, I can do this, or were you always of that mindset, or was like a certain moment where it clicked for you of just curious that entire rookie year. Was it like, I don't know, or there was just a moment where you were like, I can do this, I can play it, I can make this team.

It put me in a mind state like, man, you you can, because first, there's no way you're gonna be able to step in that hood or if you don't have confidence in yourself. Because if you don't have confidency yourself, whether you're gonna think the coaches or the players looking at you're gonna have confidence there. So I realized that, and I realized, like, I have to take that on. I have to believe in myself. And once I did, man, it shot me up.

It's it's you're working out for track events, and then all of a sudden you got to pull back to football and it's prety many camps and that's OTAs and you get six weeks off and then it's training camp and then like you just never get a breather. Right now, you've had a chance to kind of step back and maybe, like I compare a football to golf a lot like work on your swing, right, Like you have a chance to go back to the lab and kind of work

on your swing. What are some things you did this off season to kind of get better?

get more fluid in my mobility. So it's all every part of the of a Titian's game. You know, I really I really holed in on the details and at the same time learning. You know, I played a lot of time in the in the film room on the mistakes. I watched Durham a lot last year. Again, he's a top rated run blocker in the in the NFL. I'll be a fool not too. And now we got John Knu, one of the best yachting runners in the So you know, I watched a lot of film on Kittle. You know,

he's one who's pristine in this particular offense. So yeah, man, just the details of the game, details of my position, and I'm ready to, you know, do what I need to do for this team this year.

long time. And I'm just awesome and glad that I get to see you to learn from them guys.

and away he goes. I love those stories about u DFAs and like, to me, the stress of training camp and trying to get your way up to cut down day and make the roster because of what it can do in terms of your pocketbook for your futures, Like if you don't make the team, you don't have guaranteed money, but if you do, you're like guaranteed to be able to continue playing professional football or pursuing it for a few more years, because, like you know, a half million

dollars whatever it is can get you by it for quite a while so that stuff fascinates me, and Julian worked his butt off to earn that right to be that player. Let's go ahead and take our last break right there, come back on the other side and tell you how bad the Juts and Patriot. Sorry. That's next Draftime podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by I don'tation. Two teams left to discuss on the All thirty two summer preview series, and that the two teams

that I hate the most. Let's just be honest about it. I hate these teams. I especially hate this next one. Now, the latter team, the New England Patriots. Are you like me? Does that ever happen to you? The turboat team? Does the success that was just so perpetual? Did it make

your hatred sort of regress a little bit? Like it's almost like when you get to a point to where you realize, like this is never gonna happen for me, Like I'm not good enough at this thing, or this is like a too tough in an industry, Like rooting against the Patriots to no avail every year just kind of became futile and like my hatred almost turned to respect, or like acceptance, maybe that certain stage of grief of acceptance, and now they're so bad. I don't really revel in

them bottoming out last year, did you. I don't know, because this next team is the one that I love to hate the most. I love that we beat him by sixty four to thirteen aggregate last year. I hate that we lost that game in New York on our third string quarterback two years ago. I even hate in twenty nineteen and they got a free pass interference on Nick Needham that was not a pass interference to win that game for him, even though we needed losses of the time. I just hate losing to the Jets. I

love when they have misery. And let's just go ahead and get into this. Snoll interjects some thoughts throughout this whole thing. So they're twenty twenty three recaps seven to ten, third place in the AFC East, and it's like, have a normal season challenge for the New York Jets, right, because the fact that they're getting these win totals with the quarterback production they've gotten the last couple of years

is honestly nothing short of a miracle for them. Four snaps into the season and the guy they built a shrine around, the guy that they gave full autonomy and full power over every single decision in the organization, the guy that they buckled out the knee for, the guy that it was picked up on hard knocks. When Sala had a point in the in the headset during a preseason game, Rogers disagreed, and Slaw immediately was like, yeah,

you're right. Like the whole construction of this idea of getting Aaron Rodgers and their defensive coordinator showing them a clip of a not a routine throw, but not a crazy throw in practice and being like, that's our guy, that's our quarterback, that's our quarterback. Like we talked about the Patriots and Bill Belichick getting after Tom Brady even when he was a you know, six time world champion.

I don't think this style of approach works. It didn't work, And in fact, we need to cut the bs out of the building, right, all that stuff, and then you're like running a freaking campaign with brainworm guy, you know, Like I just I think that there's when you look at this roster, I'm so all over the place right now. There are so many things where you can look at it and be like, this all makes sense, this all

tracks for a team that's gonna win games. But every year you have to try to find the unique circumstances to take you to the uncertained, uncertain, uncertain outcomes that we're gonna get every single year in the national football Like, take what you think you know right now? Half of

those things are going to be wrong. So when you look at the Jets on paper, everyone's gonna say ten win team at least, but you have to try to find the situations that will lead to the surprise outcome, which is a surprise on paper, even though every year we get sixteen surprise outcomes, right, like sixteen teams are not who we thought they were going to be. And with the Jets and the retention of Nathaniel Hackett, like,

did you guys watch that offensive structure last year? It was awful with Rogers and everything that he puts the team through. I don't know, man, I just I don't know. I do not know. Let's get back into the actual

meat and bones of this. You know, he's back and the guy that had to replace him four snaps into the season was the number two overall pick draft where they blew that by not losing enough games to get Trevor Lawrence, and then they took the worst guy of that entire draft class and his year last year goes like he would have thought it was. I mean, he

can't play the position. And the reason why we don't get excited about Pro day throws or a couple of games here and there with some scramble, you know, offscript throws like you have to see the field to play quarterback.

They do get that surprise opening day win over Buffalo, lose the next three, win three straight, then lose five straight before destroying c. J. Stroud in the Houston Texans only to get ran out of hard Rock Stadium, despite the fact that we were down to Ron Armstead, by the fact that we were down Tyreek Hill, despite the fact that we were down Devon h Chan, despite the fact that we were down Javon Holland and Xavier Howard and our whole damn team was out, and we still

won that game by thirty points. And then they win two of the final three games to finish seven to ten. The tough part for them is how often do defenses stay great. I've had this discussion on the podcast many times. Most great defenses give you two or three years. Sometimes they give you a fourth. If that third year year is the most you're gonna get out of it, that

means this is the last ride. And in fact, their entire offseason has been structured around the idea like this is, we have to win this year, and of course they do. For Joe Douglas, for Robert solid to be back, they have to go to the playoffs this year. They just have to make that happen. Here's the big moves. I like what they did at tackle. They brought in Tyron Smith, who is basically Toron Armstead in terms of his ability and his availability. Morgan Moses not as good, also has

some availability issues. He was there previously went to Baltimore, played better now he's back. We'll see how that works out. But their first round pick oloof for Shann who was an absolute monster, an absolute stud, and they hit that out of the park. They also brought in John Simpson on the offensive line to play guard. They brought in Mike Williams, who's coming off was it an acl last year. I think late in the year that took his the rest of his season a way. He's old and he

wasn't an explosive player as it was. He can win a fifty to fifty ball, but we'll see about his availability. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor. That's the best WOAE they made all off season was getting a good backup quarterback because I think that Tyrod can take them to you know, eight or nine wins. Leaky Foto the defensive tackle from Utah that I liked a few years back. Javon kin Law, the former first round pick of the Niners that has

not worked out so far. Hassan Reddick was the big addition on defense, but he doesn't want to be there apparently like he hasn't showed up yet. Isaiah Oliver was a big addition at the cornerback spot. On the way out. I thought this loss was bigger than any of the additions they made this offseason, and maybe not Tyron Smith included in that. But Bryce Huff gave Austin Jackson more issues than anybody else he faced last year. Bryce Huff

is a hell of a football player. Why they let him go is beyond me, although it's not because you overpaid for other guys at the position, like drafting Will McDonald the first round. You could us that pick somewhere else and kept Bryce Huff. That was a big mistake in my opinion. They also lost John Frankly Myers is a good player. They also lost Karl Lawson, who didn't play good for them, but he had success previously. Quentin Jefferson's a big loss. Jordan Whitehead was an up and

down player. He's gone, Zach Wilson and then Lake and Tomlinson the guard or they signed. It was kind of a buzz of a freezer for them. What do they do well? They have a number one receiver and a bell cow back that allows them to find and isolate matchups when they can, and a quarterback when he plays, who sees the field as well as any quarterback to ever do it. And that's more than they've had offensively

in a long long time. Right. This offense has been the Seattle Mariners to bring you, guys into my world, the Mimy Dolphins of two thousand and nine, if they've been that team for a long long time. I think the offensive line might be a strength after years of the converse. The tackle spot is almost impervious to attrition now, right, which is gonna have to be And you know because Smith and Moses are so banged up so often. But Olufashanu is he gonna like? I would play him opening

day personally, but we'll see what happens with that. But he's a great third tackle, my god. I like Joel Tipman, I like Elijah Vera Tucker, but he misses more time than he plays. So if they get all five of those guys playing like, that's a good offensive line. But we'll see what happens come you know, October. I'm glad we play this team in December with all the injury player like the injury prone players, they have two games in December. Is nice for them for that reason, although

we also get banged up a lot too. What else they do well? They disrupt, impress, but they can also get over aggressive and missed. Like think about two deep balls to Waddle last year and won the Tyreege. That was three game changing plays on their top two cornerbacks last year. I mean, that's what happens. You have the best receivers in the league, but they get after most other teams in that way, and that pairs so well with a one gap play on fire, get uphill and

go after the quarterback. In the running game, which is also leads to a concern or fatal flaw, is they don't defend the edges very well. And that's why an offense like ours, we always get big rips in the running game off the edge. They have to find a way to defend the entire field with that aggressive style. I think Miami gets them out of that better than any other team in the National Football League. What's the

other concern, Oh, I don't know. A forty year old quarterback who is the biggest distraction in the NFL, the biggest sociopath in the NFL coming off an Achilles injury and the entire thing hinges on him. I wouldn't want to count on that guy for all of that. I mean, they told us as much in Hard Knocks. That's also a lot of pieces on the team that fall into that category. Tyron Smith, Mike Williams, Like, if all three of those guys are down, this team is back to

winning five games again. Did they get better up front? I don't think they did. Franklin Myers and Jefferson and Huff is a massive part of what they've done. And Reddick is a no show. He didn't show up to Ota said, Will McDonald last year their first round pick a healthy scratch at one point, so I think they regress in that regard to some inariking things about their

biggest storylines. One of the more fascinating teams to me, outside of my hatred for them, I could see him winning eleven games if it all goes right, I could see him winning five games. And a big reason for that floor is they didn't make a change in offensive cornator despite the fact that there was absolutely no rhyme or reason to the offense. If you say, well, Aaron Rodgers runs the offense, that's a problem, get it. We

got that right. It's a big problem for them. He's been not good for a long time now, especially with Denver and now with the Jets, And how does this team handle a slow star. If that happens, they have a pretty easy schedule. I expect him to get blown out and opening Day against the Niners, but then it's like Titans and Patriots. So if they get off to a two to one start, maybe it's gonna be okay. But what if they lose one of those games and

things snowball? Because this team has not handled adversity. Will in the past. I don't think they will this year either. And then Robert Sala, I think is a good coach. I think the minute he is let go, if that happens, he'll be snatched up as a top DC. But the results have not been there. So what happens to him if they don't win this year, He's going to be gone. Final roster thoughts. If you get twenty twenty one Rogers,

you are golden. Anything else? Who the hell knows? Man Garrett Wilson's a baller, but he's not been able to carry the offense. Jalen Ramsey blanked him in the game down here, and beyond Mike Williams, it gets thin very fast. I like the linebackers and Quincy Williams and CJ. Moseley probably the best off ball combo in the conference. It all looks good on paper, but we know teams don't win games on paper, and there's just seemingly always something

there with this team. And I think that quarterback distraction potential is a very real thing. What can they tell us about the Miami Dolphins, Well, they're a good study on the all in philosophy, because while it might be great this year, what the hell does twenty twenty five look like for the New York Jets. It's gonna be right back to where they always are, in the basement in the AFC East. The Patriots four and thirteen and fourth place last year. How weird is it to have

them in the cellar? They played us in Philly tight early, and I guess that was impressive. I guess. Then they get a win over the Jets, and then the Wheels came off three straight losses, two blowouts. They get that surprise win over Buffaloe of my favorite games of the year as well, where the offense came to life, and then it was right back to the same ole lose

the next five games. It was so weird to see the Patriots at two and ten and they win two of the final five to finish their lowest win total in thirty one years. Pretty crazy. Plenty of change here. Brady left in twenty twenty, now it's Belichick in twenty twenty four. They have the replacement for both of those guys, albeit take two at quarterback with Mac Jones not working out, and they are now here for the rookie seasons in Drake may and Gerrod Mayo. The big moves for them

at tackle. Chakuma okafor is going to replace Trent Brown. I suppose Antonio Gibson's in. They replay Zeke Elliott, Austin Hooper's there, Jacoby Brissette, Jake Briskett Big Slops is the backup quarterback, or maybe he starts. I don't know what the plan is gonna be there. Hopefully he starts Week four under they see him and Drake may kJ Osborne. I love his game. He's a nice number three receiver.

Sioni Taki Takei a good linebacker for the Browns. And then O'Shane Ximinez, a big addition off the edge on the way out. Staples Lawrence Guy was there forever, Adrian Phillips, Mac Jones, Trent Brown, Miles, Bryant Gasicki's on his third team in three years. Zeke Elliott and Mack Wilson exits when they do well. This was a thing from the old Guard, but I doubt it changes under Mayo. They play fundamentally sound, with a macro view on the situation.

Defensively and force you into long drives. They tackle well, they limit big plays, you know, force a twelve thirteen play drive to score on them. This is all spearheaded by talented defensive backs like Kyle Dugger, one of the best safeties in the game. Christian Gonzalez is going to be an absolute stud and then Jonathan Jones is very good and for some reason does a great job on Cheetah every time he sees him. And then they know who they are. In the running game. They are a big,

powerful offensive line. Although Trent Brown is gone Okafoor he places him Michael Unwino, one of the biggest people movers in the entire National Football League, and Cole Strange offers a little bit of everything alongside David Andrews has been a great player for a long time for them. What's the concern or the fatal flaw for the New England Patriots. Well, they're not a good team yet. The obligatory quarterback rookie

quarterback mentioned here, provided he starts the season. They had a long, long, long way to go at the skills spots. I like Javon Baker. I thought Pop Douglas was a great distion last year. I like kg Osborne, I like Jalen Polk, but measure this against other teams. They are still a bottom five skill group. The calling card for years was the ability to two gap and play light boxes with lots of defensive backs in the field that could be versatile and mix and match. But a lot

of those guys have left, you know. I thought that losing so many guys in the like and Adrian Phillips Frants this was a big part of that, and then Lawrence guy ap promtin is a big part of that, though Christian Barmore and Devon Godshaw do a great job of this one gapping and helping or two gaping helping keep their linebackers clean. And then, like most teams, beyond the secondary starters, the depth is very very thin, and we saw that ravage them a season ago, especially in

the games against US. Some interesting things about them, biggest storylines. Drake May had great junior tape, a bad senior tape, and sometimes those guys can be early hits. Josh Allen and Justin Herbert are good examples of that, and Drake May had the same issues with his surrounding cast in North Carolina completely going away that final year. He should have come out two years ago. I guess he was a third pick of the draft, so he made the

right decision Gerard Mayo first season post Belichick era. That fascinates me. And then will it be personnel or will it be secondary driven? How how close will this team resemble the Belichick Patriots? I cannot wait to find out the answer to that this season. Some final roster thoughts. I liked their draft class a lot and thought they were smart to make some value additions in free agency.

So many teams that are this far away will take the big swings and it might get them another win or too early on, but a handcuffs them in the long haul. I thought they were frugal and smart to get bargain buys this offseason that can help their football team. It's better at the skill spots. Has a long way to go. They have a quarterback to be excited about. He's got to learn and develop. He's got a lot of physical traits, but it's tough that I like is

not there yet. The offensive line is good, not great, and the secondary looks prett damn good with a pass rush that should still be good. Judon back j Beck. Gonzalez's back had a lot of big pieces out last year with injuries, and what can they tell USBOU the Miami Dolphins. We use this a lot lately. Totally different team cycles, so not much my predictions on July fifteenth right now, and these can change. I'm going Dolphins twelve to thirteen wins. I think we're right back in the

same mix we were last year. Buffalo going ten or eleven, although I could convince myself to get to twelve. I think they're still a very good football team. The Jets eight to nine wins and the Patriots six or seven wins should be a competitive fun division. My division superlatives. Josh Allen's the best quarterback. I know you don't want to hear that, but it's the truth. Best non quarterback

on offense is Tyreek Hill. I'm taking Jialen Ramsey as the best player on defense in the division over anybody on the Jets. I just think that Ramsey is a different beast. The best coach to me is Mike McDaniel Olufashan, who is the top rookie. It was kind of an easy choice there. It's pretty much the only guy that I you know, Drake May. I don't think it's gonna be as productive as a rookie. And my fantasy sleeper is Malik Washington. Keep an eye out for him. All Right,

there you go. That's the end of the entire NFL landscape starting on Thursday. It's back to all Dolphins Thursday of the offense, Monday the defense, and then we're gonna have a Wednesday practice recap. Podcast. Training camp kicks off in just over a week. Make sure you're tuned in for all of that. I'm gonna be doing some podcast appearances across the landscape as well, But think the Dive Bar. I'm gonna do their show. I think the taping of

Sideline t should already be out. And I'm also gonna doing Melissa Marino Marissa Marino sorry on Dolphins Talk in her show, I believe. So just keeping out for me around the social gonna be all over ig and Twitter and the podcast feed and Miami Dolphins dot com in the coming weeks. My vacation is officially over. In the meantime, you all please be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Leave us are ready, leave us review. You can follow me on social at Winkful NFL and the team at

Miami Dolphins. She got the fish Tank podcast with Seth and Juice. The YouTube channel for media availabilities, Dolphins Today, drive time content, so much more, and last but not least, to Miami Dolphins dot Com until next time. Fins up hell on Cameron Daddy, He's coming home.