To on the move. Darlan deep speedways Beasts.
From the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
This is Drive Time with Travis Wingfield. He's got my.
Advans in the playoffs.
What is up Dolphins and welcome to the Draft Time Podcast. I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show you heard him right there in the open. He's gonna join me on the show today. Kevin Harlan jumps in the shotgun side saddle seat to talk all things Dolphins and Seahawks. Plus my good buddy Kyle Krabs joins me to break down some stuff with this rookie class coming up. We'll talk some quarterback play, We'll talk to the receiver position, as well as the big games on the college slate
college schlate this weekend. All of that and more here from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This is the Draft Time Podcast. Let's get right now to Kevin Harlan. We were thrilled to be joined today here on Dolphins HQ and the Draft Time Podcast by a friend of the podcast, now, the great Kevin Harlan. He'll be on the call on Sunday at four h five from Lomenfield and Seattle Dolphins and Seahawks. Kevin, it's
great to see you again. How you doing, my friend, I'm doing great.
Tramis great to be on with you as well. I wish our circumstances were a little different, but we're certainly good to see you, and I'm looking forward to seeing the Dolphins this weekend after a long flight. But that's got to be like a six hour flight for them to get from South Florida up there. But it should be a very competitive game because the Seahawks a feeling pretty good about themselves and I think the Dolphins field there's a lot of football left to be played, regardless
who's under center or who's at the different positions. This is a quality team still and it's a full steam ahead, I'm sure for both.
Yeah, to your point, it's a five month season, right. It takes a lot and change in short order, and it can go bad, it can go good. It can flip in the matter of a couple of minutes in a football game. So looking forward to seeing how the Dolphins respond to this latest bit of adversity, which seems to be a bit of a theme unfortunately the last couple of years with injuries and Kevin. Before we get into the actual matchup itself here, you know, I wanted
to ask you about this. I'm sure you've been talking about it all week in various spots and platforms, but you went viral back in twenty nineteen when you were simultaneously calling two games at once. I don't have to tell you about it, the Dolphins up to the Patriots, your arrowhead doing the Chiefs game. But this past week you handled the studio toss and the studio update. I would love to have you take us inside that moment for us.
Well, we uh as people that watch CBS broadcasts know that we occasionally go to New York and our studios updates and other important games, big plays and whatnot. And normally when that happens, we throw it to New York. And what I do during that time, which is about a the fifteen second window, is I'm looking on our if I'm staying in our games, so I'm looking out on the field. I'm watching new substitutions, new players coming on, sub packages being put on the field and things, and
making sure I've got my game situation correct. I'm immersed in the game that I'm doing, and I rarely, except for the last sentence, listen to what is being done in New York, and certainly not watching it. Now we have we have our desk up in the broadcast booth, and we've decided, as our crew does, we put the monitor that we call it network return, and we've got
our network return monitor on the floor. So if there is a play, or in the case of what happened with Fitzpatrick and Gasiki in New England on that last day of the season a couple of years ago, when they beat Brady and the Patriots, we can lean back in our chairs or step back if we're standing, take a look at the monitors, see what's going on. In particular case, I was still glued out of the game
we were doing. We're doing the San Francisco forty nine ers in the Minnesota Vikings, and so I blocked them out. I'm worried about here, and I hear Nate my head set saying I can't hear them. I can't hear them. I said again, I look at you, go, I hear you. I hear you. So now I lean back. I don't know what game they're talking about. I don't know what highlight they're going to show. I really can't even focus
on the monitor. It's a small little monitor. And I was just trying to put two and two together as we're going through this fifteen seconds, figuring out what color the uniform was for the Jets, which I didn't know. There were the Titans, which I didn't know, and what was going on, and it was a Will Levis who wears number eight, the same number as Aaron Rodgers. And the Jets, by the way, have dark helmets and white jersey, white pants sometimes when they play. This was the reverse
the Titans had it. So I'm trying to I'm trying to literally feel my way through the dark as this report is going on. And at the very end I catch you. It's Calvin Ridley's got a levels and that's why that's what's happening. So and then I said, all right, all right, Nate, thank you very much. And then we just took it from there and ran in with it. But it happens sometimes rarely at CBS. I've been there twenty six years, doing CBS games on Sunday, every Sunday
for twenty six years. I never recall we've ever had a technical glitch like that, and it was and other games I think had it too, But the other announcers wisely didn't try to say anything. There was only one guy that was stupid enough to try to do it, and that was me.
I don't know that.
I don't know that I'd do it again. Anyway. It's a long, long explanation about what happened, but it turned out okay, and it was fun and I think everyone got that got what was going on, that we're having some problems.
I was going to say, you could tell by by the way you you got to really the very end, because like you said, you're going off of this dark and you saw the numbers, you'll catch the pass and if you're not on the call, like, how can you know who exactly that is? And sure enough you got the name on the back of the jersey plate there and you made that call. So I thought that was really good.
I was able to get the only thing I said that made me sin. But anyway we got we got it in. It worked and often running, and.
We were for the rest of that the devon h of broadcasters. If you will quick on your feet fast and versatile kids.
I love that kid too.
Man. We'll get to him here in short order. But before we do that, we'll go back to the first game of the season. Because you've already done Dolphins game this year. You're doing the Monday game for Westwood one against the Titans and Dolphins. Is that correct?
No, I'm actually doing the other game, okay, and I'm doing it, which I don't even know what it is now. It's the uh what game is? It's it's there are two games at night on Monday Night football. We're waiting Cincinnati. I forget, you know what. I I'm only good for about three or four days. The only thing I know is I got to see Hawks and Dolphins this week, and then after that, I got Washington and Cincinnati on Monday Night. But I'm not doing I'm not doing that
Miami Tennessee game. No, I'm not doing that one. I'm doing the other Monday night game, which I think is not in champ anyway. Yeah, no more scheduled questions, Okay, no problem. At The NBA starts for US on TNT in about a month, and that's going to add a whole other layer. So if you thought I sounded confused on that on that screw up with the CBS studio. Wait, will you ask me about these schedules which you're getting feel for right now? I'm not sure what it is.
I was not sing much much of the chagrin of Dolphins fans love hearing you on our calls, and we had the pleasure of hearing you back in Week one. Because again, you've alread on a Dolphins game this year. You did plenty of games last year. You've kind of, you know, gone into Dolphins fandom lore for some of your calls. He's got Hill is actually the intro to the Draft Time podcast, So you you're well our show. Yeah, we we love that sound dropping is using the content
all over the building here. But before we go forward here, I just want to hear your thoughts on that first Dolphins game. You had a chance to watch this team live. You've had a chance to get ready for a second game watching them now. Obviously the change the quarterback position, but just your thoughts on the Dolphins from that first game heading into game number three here.
Well, I would say this thrilling first game, right, a team which is playoff caliber and Jacksonville and they didn't look too bad. They had the early lead. Of course, the Jaguars did look like they were kind of hitting on all cylinders. They're a loaded team this year. They had lost last week. I'm a little confused as to why they're not getting more traction because the team's talented. They've done upgrades on both lines, and they've they've they've
really done a nice job. The game in Miami. We knew that was going to be tough for him, but the early lead and they couldn't hold on, And I thought it was a credit to the Dolphins. They showed resiliency, came back all in the wake of what happened before the game to Tyreek, So come back with that mental gymnastic that they had to perform and kind of get refocused recent to get their compass in the right direction to win that game against the quality opponent was incredibly
powerful and impactful. And then last week against Buffalo, clearly it was not their night, and then they lose to of them. I guess I feel like overall, if I'll lighten the lens here is I don't know if you know what kind of team you've got until you hit crisis, and clearly The Dolphins are in that mode right now. They've they've hit crisis. Their centerpiece is injured and for the foreseeable future will not play. I don't think the coach knows what he has until. You don't know what
kind of team you've got until you hit crisis. And that's the mode that the Dolphins are in right now. But we know they've got a talented roster. They're a good playoff caliber team. So anticipation is is that we'll get a very clear, definitive view of off season work, rookies on the team, guys having to step up and see where they are and kind of team they have.
My personal feeling is they'll handle it well. Now they're going up against the two and oh Seattle team, which is really feeling good about themselves, winning in New England last week, beating and their home opener Bonix in Denver week one. Their quarterback is playing terrific right now, Geno Smith. So this is this is And now the Fins have got to travel, you know, fly six hours across the country and one of the longest flights in North America, right so like this is this is really this is
They're in crisis mode. Right now. He is a He's the guy that grabs the steering wheel with both hands, and I'm anticipating they will react well to this and show a lot of the character and metal that is on that team coming off a tough division loss, losing to a now navigating those waters. It'll be difficult, because all crisis is difficult, But you really don't know what kind of team we have until you go through it,
and that's where they are right now. So it makes this game, I think, extra interesting in terms if you're a fan, what do we have? How can we bridge this time? Hopefully if two it comes back this year in the foreseeable future, how do we bridge this time with Skyler Thompson or the newly signed Huntley or whatever we decide to do at quarterback.
Yeah, and to your point, the last time the Dolphins did have to go to a backup quarterback it was that twenty twenty two season and that was Skyler Thompson's rookie season coming from you know, a Kansas State offense that I make this joke all the time. He's reading a you know, four picture poster board off the sideline that has like a popsicle SpongeBob SquarePants and like Nick Saban has like the play call, and now he has an actual NFL offense that has you know, real NFL
terms and verbiage that he has to rattle off. And I would imagine that the third year compared to the rookie year for him makes them more comfortable in that sense. So that adds a layer of intrigue to this game for sure. I think another storyline that folks are looking at here for this one. I'm sure you are as well.
I want to get your take on it is the balance of the defensive systems of both of these teams because they both come from the same tree back in Baltimore last year, Mike McDonald the defensive corner for the Ravens. Anthony we were the defensive line coach for the Ravens. Now we have a head coach in Seattle for McDonald
and Weavers the DC here. What do you think about those two guys going up against each other on the defensive side of the football and how do you think that adds to the intrigue of us matchup?
Oh a great point, Travis, excellent point. I think again that this is a layered game of What I mean is you've got so many storylines going in and here we are in week three, but this is intriguing with or without Tua, just the battle of these defensive minds. Listen, the new coach of the Seahawks comes from a defense in Baltimore that was devastatingly good last year. But Anthony Weaver was a part of that. So your setup is perfect, and that a lot of intrigued. I don't know thats
defense hands the parts of the Dolphin defense. I mean, there's some really attractive parts. It's clearly with what Miami does on that side of the football, but they're still kind of in that feeling out process, right. He's a first time defensive coordinator, he's trying to get a field for things. They're coming off a pretty significant loss to a division foe, so there's a lot here to unpack. But clearly that becomes one of the major storylines of this game. And you can't win a game with just
offense or defense. It's got to be balanced. One thing Seattle has done is they've been pretty balanced so far. Mike has put his fingerprints on that Seahawks defense. Anthony is beginning that process and having really to change things from Vic Fangio in what Vic did, because they're doing different things right, there's a different feel, a different message and different voice, you know, trying to use players differently with then that trying to absorb the loss. By the way,
I just saw Andrew van Ginko up in Minnesota. I love that kid. I love him as a Dolphin. He is having as big an impact and I dare say maybe more with the Vikings he starts, and he has been incredibly impactful for the Vikings. So if you're an Andrew Van Gingele fan like I am, you see that he's continuing. But I think he's even added to it
now with Minnesota. They're using him very well up there, and that is something the Dolphins are trying to adjust to not having guys like him Christian Wilkins, who they lost us well on the line. So it's still we're dealing with some change here. You really don't know, I feel, Gravis. You really don't know what team you have until one you go through crisis, and then if everything is static status quo two, you don't know what kind of team
you have until about week five or six. And so even though the analysts two and oh, and the Finns are one and one. I still think coaches are trying to feel out what they've got, what they can do, what is most of and so we're still right in the smack gab in the middle of that kind of process right now for both teams, especially the coordinators on the defensive side.
And you'll recall it was an adjustment period last year for the Dolphins defense early on. You called that Week one game against the Chargers when they couldn't stop it run and couldn't get off the field, and you know, in the offense kept coming back and paying it off on the other side until the very end of the game. They did get off the field with that big deal in Phillips sacked to close things out. But you alluded to, you know, the Vikings and Niners game that you called
a minute ago. And I wanted to ask you this because one of my favorite parts about talking to a broadcaster is you kind of have in some sense unparalleled access with the production meetings and talking to these coaches and these players, and you get a chance to feel different systems and schemes and different programs and philosophies. It's just a really cool like it kind of makes you
a football encyclopedia in some sense. And so you've done Dolphins and Jags, then Vikings and Niners, and now Dolphins and Seahawks. That is four of the six coaches off of that Shanahan tree. As we pivot now from the defense back to offense, do you request these games? Because for me they're My favorite offense is to watch those. The Shanah Entry offense is by far the most innovative, cutting edge offense. How you keep getting these top notch games, Kevin?
Uh well, I don't know. But a great point that there is that we can thread some some commonality with all the games we've had so far, and I don't know we have we have no say in these games. Believe me. Next week, next week we're in Green Bay. We have Vikings and the Packers, so they give us our games. Yeah, another one right with Matt Lafleur in Green Bay. Uh No, I I don't know how they
go about it. Usually is you know, Nan SYNROMEI always get the top game in terms of percentage, and then after that it kind of just the next two teams probably are pretty much close together in terms of what kind of audience quality of game. So those top three games for the network, you know, usually have the same feel and app Every week we at CBS go six seven teams deep. All of our teams could do the one one game, or the two game, of the three game,
of the four game. So sometimes I think they just put them in a hat and shake it and throw it out there and say this, screw do this, crew of do this. But but we never, we never complain. Listen, you know this being in the NFL, you cheer. It's the number one league in this country. There's no even
close second to it. So every game you get, every time that headset goes on, every time you do one of your podcasts for the team you're with, which is one of the glamour teams in the league, and the Dolphins, I'm sure you do. Like me, I say thank you Lord that I have a chance to broadcast this great game, this terrific league, and for me, working for CBS is a dream come true. That is to me, the broadcast network in this country, and so they could give me
any game and I'd be happy to get it. It just so happens that we we've we've gotten some nice assignments here to begin the year. But to your point that Shanahan Tree is a fascinating tree, Mike is gonna I think, I think I think they're gonna lean on the run this week, and I think probably everyone thinks that as well. You got is most of playing. I know they didn't play it last week? Is is rahem? Is he is he playing? Do we know yet?
As of the taping, we we do not have an injury report updates, so it's up at this point.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, so yeah, we're middle of the week, so we we don't know much about what It's all hands on deck right with with two out and with a change in the offense and a lot of it will stay the same. Skyler is a talented kid. He was a drafted quarterback. He comes from a wonderful program. They kept him for a reason over Mike White. They felt that he could do this. And you know, Mike
uh said something earlier in the week press. He said this again, just reinforces when you put your roster together, when you're deciding the starter is it's as important to figure out who that backup is. You're finding that on the offensive line, we're finding it out at quarterback, finding it out maybe a little bit running back, like you need to have you need to have your guys in place, and it's not just a and automatic I will put
him at backup. I mean, there is incredible thought and process to who these backups are and I listen, when guys have to step in, they've got to play as a starter. So that is another storyline. Do they stay with the same script that they had for Tua? Do they change things a little bit for Skyler? We'll find out on Sunday, But he's been taking the same kind of reps, taking first team reps this week in practice.
It began early last week because they played on Thursday, so he's had a little bit extra time to sit in that saddle and grab those reins and ride that horse. So that'll be interesting to see how he certainly performs in the wake of Tongue Vilos unfortunate injury.
Let's pause right there, come back on the other side and continue my conversation with the great Kevin Harlan. That's the next Draft Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Auto Nation. Yeah, that extra time does seem to be the one benefit of the situation to
incorporate a new quarterback like you mentioned. I'm as excited about it as you are and really intrigue to see what it looks like, because you know, Tua's skill set is so unique in the NFL with how the ball blots off of his hand so quickly that you imagine there has to be some kind of change that will you know, account for that. And Skyler has his own traits and he provides as well, so it adds a
big layer of intrigue here. And speaking of layer in the marine layer out in the Pacific Northwest, this is going to go. We're taping this before we head out to Seattle. It'll come out on Friday for the podcast. And I've I'm from the Seattle area, Kevin, so I've been handing out that's my stopping ground. So all the folks around here, I'm giving out, Yeah, that's I keep hearing that Pike's Place. Everyone wants to go to Pike's Place.
So yeah, that the coffee, the you know, the Thai food, the sushi, the all the stuff that I love about Seattle. I'm hanging out these recommendations. But I'm curious because i know you've been there a few times yourself, what's your Seattle hospital? Where you going on Saturday before you get out there for the game on Sunday. Well, I.
Had many we were out there, you know in the SuperSonics. We're still in the NBA and it looks like Seattle down the road's going to get an NBA team. So and then done many Seahawks games both on Monday Night football and and for CBS. Personally, I kind of enjoyed the old traditional places. Although I love seafood, love sushi, love love that that world. But I'm probably I'm probably more lean to met and grill. I like Metro Balkan grill. I love that place. It's an old standard and and
has always been. If I've got time there, it's usually we're all going on. We're we're kind of in and out, so we don't have that kind of kind of time. If my wife does go with me, we go in to day early and and that would be definitely on our list. But just walking through Pike's Place is such a great thing if you're a if you're a Dolphin fan, just just going up there, if you're not being up
there before Great City, whether it'll be phenomenal. And it is that that that Pike's place, just to meander and have a little bit of this food and have a little bit of that over there, and sample this and sample that. But for the centuries, the visuals are off the chart and a great place to visit.
That's why I always when we put the Seahawks the schedule comes out, I say, please be in September, because you cannot beat Seattle in September, and once again for the second time because back in twenty sixteen it was opening day as well. So you get the best weather, you get out of the humidity from down here for a weekend. It's pretty great. So you will hear him
on the call Sunday from Seattle for CBS. We also already had our snaffoo talking about Monday Night Football and the NBA on TNT, so you'll be doing heat games there also save our songs. Kevin, you mentioned that I appreciate that. We cannot say thank you enough. Kevin. We appreciate your time and we will see you in the beautiful Pacific north West.
Crab is always fun. Nice to get together yearly for this or more, and I hope we get to get together again this season, talking about the Dolphins and another drive to the postseason.
Great stuff, as always from one of the best in the entire business. Let's go ahead and roll right into my next interview with the great Kyle Crabs. We had to bump him last week on a short week, but he's back once more. Kyle Krabs joins the podcast again to talk about the weekend in college football. Will also ask him about his Skyler Thompson game plan revision if you have such a thing, Kyle. But Kyle, welcome back in my man. We are onto week number three in
the NFL, Week number four in college football. It goes by faster every year.
Man.
Yeah, don't look now, but you're about a third of the way through the college football schedule and we're about a week away from a quarter the way through the NFL schedule already. So it's flying. Enjoy the football while it's here, and there's a lot of great games to get into. Form a college standpoint, this weekend too.
Well, they say that time flies when you're having fun, but I'm not having a lot of fun, so so hopefully we can have more fun and it can go buy faster after the fact, and I want to go ahead and start here, Kyle speaking of not having a bunch of fun somewhere that we haven't really been since twenty nineteen, and I had a lot of fun going over it back then. That was a fun quarterback class to get ready for heading into the twenty twenty campaign. And it was nice the last five years not having
to do that. But all of a sudden, it kind of feels like you're back in play at least right now today at the quarterback position. And I want to just ask you about the weekend in college football, but mostly not just who they match up against this weekend, but kind of how the quarterback landscape has stacked up so far through the first three weeks of the college football schedule.
Yeah, I think there's some really fascinating games from a quarterback perspective. Carson Beck from the University of Georgia has not had the best start. They had a really tough game last weekend against Kentucky. That was a really physical game, low scoring, but they kind of gutted it out won that game down the stretch. Quinn Ooers at Texas looks like an improved player, but he got injured in their their game last weekend and arch Manning came in and
lit things on fire. But Ooers in that Steve Sarkisian system at Texas is looking like he's taken a step forward. You obviously have cam Ward right down here in South Florida and might be the most improved player from what he was at Washington State to Miami and the level in which he's operated the offense is a real delight to watch. And he's he's got electric arm talent at his disposal. Shitter Sanders in Colorado is a big play,
quarterback minded player. They had a tough, tough drawl with Nebraska a little earlier, but they took care of business last week against Colorado State. Then you got guys like Garrett Nusmeier at LSU, who's a long tenured player in that program, and that's pretty rare for the college landscape for guys to get some games and start and then get benched and then transfer comes in and you stay.
And he led a seven team point comeback in the second half against South Carolina last weekend and they're playing against UCLA this weekend. LSU. So that's kind of a name from a quarterback standpoint that I'm really intrigued by from the tools that he has as a player. But I think for all of the skepticism around this quarterback class that existed in July, I think there's some names that have emerged. I think there's some legitimacy of the names that you had questions with. It where at the
top of the list. So really fascinating class in that regard.
It happens really every year. And the really bad quarterback class we did have is kind of finny that brock Perty emerged as the last pick of that draft to be the guy that kind of saved that there. And you know, I wanted to ask you this because as guys that have been doing this for a long time, you know, looking at prospects and trying to figure out what's what. And you know, I take a lot of pride in my ability to spot quarterback place. But one of the things I've been better at in terms of
positions across a football field, you know. And we've been on this crusade, Kyle, you and I about what constitutes good quarterback play, and I think that we both appreciate the big physical traits, right, We're not naive to the fact that those are the ones that you can cultivate into the best players in the league. But ultimately it comes down to how you play from the pocket and the way you execute the offense. Right, I think we
both agree on that. I'm curious when you look at a college player, because you know, I go back to like Josh Allen, who was sloppy at Wyoming, but gosh he was he was so freaking physically impressive. And Jordan
Love was the same way Utah State. But when I watch those guys, this is like a cam Ward question, because when I watched cam Ward at Washington State, it was the same way and there was some like sloppiness, but you could see, to me, you could see the ability to play on schedule and play on time and in rhythm and to maybe progress in that regard and just become a better player in that way. I'm curious when you watch a college quarterback and try to project
them to the next level, where do you start. Is it the physical traits, is it the execution of the offense? And how do you kind of watch a prospect with the concept of like, I can see this isn't there yet, but I know there's room to get there. Either the physical traits or the mental aspect.
Yeah, So I think for cam Ward specifically, it's really important to remember what his high school background was like as a quarterback who played in a wing te offense and averaged like a dozen past attempts a game. And then he goes to Incarnate Ward because he's not very highly recruited and not on the recruiting landscape because of
the offense that he plays in. And then he goes to Incarnate Ward and wins all these awards and then makes the lead to the FBS and goes with his college coaches and his favorite wide receiver from Incarnate Word transferred in with him at Washington State and he runs a college spread system there. And I just think from a reps perspective, and I think Josh Allen was to
that degree as well, because he wasn't highly recruited. He played in Wyoming and they played all the other sports, so he wasn't doing the quarterback camps and the seven on sevens and all that stuff. So just from like a reps perspective, there's guys that are maybe behind based on the culture of the youth elements of the game of football. Now that I think cam Ward could be applied into that bucket and that gives you the ceiling
to continue to grow into. Because that's the whole debate, is the ceiling versus the floor, right, and the guys that don't have the reps. The floor is generally perceived is very low, but the ceiling could potentially be high. And I think the big thing for Cam this year in Miami with restrepo and the offensive line and what they can do from a run game perspective, and it's just tying everything together in a way that makes that
projection to the pros a little cleaner. And he is doing his part because I think he's operating in a level that he hasn't to this stage in his college career in his four other years.
One more break right there, come back on the other side and continue this conversation with Kyle Krabs Draftime podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by AutoNation to your point about a reps guy like Anthony Richardson is the perfect example of that, right, a guy that just oohs his talent. I remember when he came out of he came out of the tunnel one time for a game and did like a backhandspring, and I was like, that guy is six foot five boys two fifteen, he
can do that. I'm very intrigued by that. I haven't seen him throw football yet, so the physical traits do definitely intrigue me. That's why I mentioned Alan in Love and it kind of reminds me Kyle of a point from a guy that I don't think has made many good points in his career. He's more of a shock
shot guy. But Colin Cowhard had this great segment once upon a time about how he thinks the quarterbacks that come from tougher programs, you know, they have to learn how to like lose and kind of elevate a bad team like a Josh Allen, like with Jordan Love, how it can kind of harden those guys. And I suppose in a lot of ways that is part of the
you know, area scout process. And obviously the big time quarterbacks will get you know, they'll get the attention from the GM and all the top level scouts, but you know, you kind of have to go back to a guy like a cam Ward and find out like he's not just what he is at Miami. You have to go back and look at like you mentioned his high school day and who he was back then, who he wasn't
incarnate word. And then at WSU he takes this you know, air raid offense and it's not really NFL concepts where you can see that growth, you can see where it's getting better and now here he is more of an NFL pro style offense and he's clicking big time.
Man.
So do you subscribe to that notion about the quarterbacks that come from not blue blood programs maybe having a better preparation for the National Football League. So I call them silver spoon quarterbacks.
And they're the ones that kind of come in and they're darlings and they're at a program and they have talent. You can be that and still not be a silverspoon quarterback if you go through adversity. Right, And that's about Joe Burrow. Right, Like Joe Burrow was highly recruited. He goes to Ohio State, it doesn't work out, he has to transfer. That put the chip on his shoulder. I think about what you saw with with two Tongue of Law.
Obviously was a prodigy right off the jump. Right, had to deal with the injuries, had to deal with the quarterback battle, with Jalen Hurts. I think that same conversation is applicable to Jalen Hurts and so guys that deal with legitimate adversity at some point and come out the other side of it. I think that's a big like green flag for me with them as who they are as prospects and what their pro outlook looks like. But if you come in and it's always easy, I think
that's applicable to every position. Right, Like you're a five star pass rusher and you've gotten by on your first step explosiveness and your speed to power conversion every place that you've gone. At some point you're no longer just going to be able to run the arc around guys, And what do you do when that moment comes? How well equipped are you to make the growth within yourself in the game to be able to allow your skills
to translate? And I think that's obviously with how important quarterback is, it's very relevant, but I think that that transcends just the quarterback position, and you could apply that to a lot of guys.
Just to speak. The first thing that comes to my mind there when you talk about that, like Jalen Phillips kind of pops up as a guy that you know, began at UCLA and obviously had as much adversity as you can imagine with a potentially career threatening injury, comes back and he's he's got, you know, all the physical tools in the world, and there was like a pass rush plan at Miami, but he's you can just see it at the University of Miami, I should say, and
you can just see that he's crafted that thing and really developed it and to become a really truly special player off the edge. So that's really good stuff, Kyle. I appreciate the conversation on all of that. Let's go ahead and go into the college football schedule this week. We mentioned week number four. Here, give me a game or two, some prospects you like and how they might attach themselves to the Miami Dolphins.
Yeah, so I look at Utah at Oklahoma State is a really interesting game for me. Utah has a tight end and Brink Kaithi, who is a senior. He's been there, is dealt with some injuries. Speaking of guys that deal with some some adverse they have a linebacker in Lander Barton who makes a lot of plays, really flies around and then on the other side for Oklahoma State, you have Ali Gordon at running back, who hasn't been off to the best to start this year, but is a
volume rusher. I think that's a good showcase of just like in the box in the four o'clock slate, and then you have Tennessee in Oklahoma, which is one of the heavier hitting matchups this week. You also have USC and Michigan game to watch. But for that Tennessee Oklahoma game, Broo McCoy at wide receiver. This explosive Tennessee offense is just off the charts with what they bring to the table. Broo McCoy is that they're one of their marquee wide
receivers that they have there. And then on defense they have a pass rusher and James Pierce who can win with speed. A lot of people think he's a top twenty prospect in the class. Oklahoma's got a safety and
Billy Bowman. So there's some positions that are irrelevant for the Dolphins in that matchup with potential top fifty, top sixty four tight names for second round players that I think that's a great showcase for Dolphins fans if you kind of want to settle in and watch what should be really good football.
Just a kind of quick fallow up to that. You mentioned the receiver position, and I was thinking about this in the drive end today, Like the Dolphins have Tyreek and Waddle, which is obviously, you know, the best duo in the entire National Football League, but beyond that, with injuries have certainly played their part, and we haven't seen Obg here yet and River Craycraft's been down for a minute now. They just haven't really been able to develop
that next guy. And you know, we'll see Malik Washington for the first time this weekend in Seattle. I believe he's going to make his NFL debut. But Eric Azukama, as a guy that you know, didn't make the rosteries in the practice squad, didn't get elevation over Robbie chosen
last week, last couple of weeks. I'm curious what you think about this offense and how it caters to the development of wide receivers, because if you want to, like, you know, put a knock on the system, it's that they have the two of the best guys in the league and there's been no development beyond that. And I'm curious what you think about that aspect and how difficult it would be for them to bring in a rookie receiver and have him be impactful right away because we just haven't seen it yet.
Yeah, I think some of the complexities of the offense you need reps, right we just got to talk about reps, right and when your reps are focused in Jayalen Wadel and Tyreek Hill and rightfully so, because of how dominant and explosive they are, and then you're trying to expand the tight end room and you've got all these running backs that you can get on and feel like that just the reps aren't. There's not a lot of body
of work for a lot of new guys. Your glue guy who knew what he was doing was River Craycraft. Because your other answers at that position that we haven't seen Odell Beckham unfortunately dealt with an injury throughout the in the off season, and Millie Washington, a rookie as the other guy who kind of looked like he was maybe going to be an answer for you. So I think it does kind of put you in a tough spot where does some of that go out the window?
Now with the change at quarterback for the the indefinite future, where you know, is is that a true strength of Skylar's game? Is it more? We're gonna lean on the running game. And I know we could talk about what Miami can do in this game against Seattle, but I think that's a really interesting kind of subdevelopment here is what does the offense do differently to accommodate that change, and does that free up some of the other guys to potentially make it easier for them to make some.
Place Well, let's let's finish up here and ask you the question about this offense and what it might look like with the change at quarterback. We were, you know, one of the fortunate ones last year. I think the stat was all but eight teams started a second quarterback at some point last year. And of course the Week eighteen schedule provide some of that as well, because guys like I think Patrick Mahomes stat in that final game.
But I digress. We were fortunate enough to have a quarterback play all seventeen games, which was the first time that happened since I believe twenty fifteen with Ryan Tannehill. But we're gonna have a different quarterback under center on Sunday, a quarterback that we haven't seen in real live action since the wild Card playoffs of twenty twenty two and Skylar Thompson. How much does this game plan change for you,
if at all? And what are you looking for from this offense in its first game in the post to not to post to an era but after two is injury.
I definitely think you. I think you'd be doing everybody at his service to do the exact same thing that you would have done if Tua was playing, because Tua does have some unique traits that are identifying traits within him that makes him such a unique player and special player. And they're not the low hanging fruit traits that are very easy for you to absorb observe if you're just
watching the game. You know his his I think his initial field division is really wide and really good, and that's how he makes so many of those quick snap decisions that he's able to make. Asking Tyler Skyler to do that just feels like a disservice to Skyler. So I would love for Miami to be a team that embraces their heavier personnel groups. The trends across the league are are a lot of two high safety presentations. This is a team that has shown an ability both in
gap concepts. So I think they've diversified their run game this year versus what it was last year, and with their outside zone stuff, and be committed to getting your best players the ball. Your wide receivers not gonna get the volume that you necessarily would with TUA, but looking for play action shot plays, looking for opportunities down the field. Maybe you can run some comebacks on the outside and try to take advantage if you're gonna catch zone coverage,
to kind of get those holes in zone coverage. If you're gonna get that second level of the defense that's gonna have eyes in the backfield, maybe look to widen your your passer and passing volume and try to just force him to respect the entire space of the field, whether that's outside the numbers, whether that's down the field.
A lot of play action. I would lean heavy on the screen game that they have, so not wide open, high flying, but I think with what they have in the running game at their disposal this year, I think they can re center their focus towards that and then use the passing game as the counter punch off of it, but not make it be the identifying variable of your offense.
I won't say I'm excited about it because I wish we had a QB one and I wish we were rolling like we thought we were going to be all year long. But I am excited to see what coach McDaniel can cook up for a different quarterback and face a you know, adversity in the situation to see what he comes up with on the other side. I think it's a good test for him and his coaching staff, and I think prove what we thought all along that this coaching staff is a really good one and can
put together a good plan for a backup quarterback. Great stuff. As always, I'm gonna I'm on your twin or your ex homepage here, Kyle, your timeline, and I've had forgotten that we have some different updates here to your job. And yeah, one thing I never talked talked touch On is the author of Touchdown Miami your substacks, so check him out there for the written content. He's the NFL
Draft lead for the thirty third team. You can find his podcast that Locked on Dolphins, talking all things Miami Dolphins and locked on NFL Scouting with the great Joe Marino, who is just another swell dude here on our rolldecks of great football analyst. Kyle, you're the man also at grinding the tape on Twitter. Appreciate your time today, my friend, and we'll talk to you very soon.
Thanks Travis.
There he goes long Friday edition of the Draft Time podcast here. That's going to be it for our time. Please go check out the YouTube channel for Dolphins HQ as well as my devon hn Microsoft Surface Breakdown. We're starting to get there with the fun content. It's a bummer that it took the you know, my fifth year here to really get into the stuff that I wanted to do with the video content and then we lose our starting quarterback and game number two.
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