Drive Time: Teair Tart Interview and AFC South Preview

we'll do that through a Miami Dolphins lens. Plus my chat with a former Titan and brand new Dolphin. The very large, the very enigmatic Tier Tart joins me on the podcast from the Baptist Hell Studios inside the Baptist

Health Training Complex. This is the Draft Time Podcast. The AFC South, for so long was the division that everyone kind of made fun of, the punching bag of the NFL, and now it appears that it'll be the one that kind of has some up and coming talent and some nice quarterbacks to work off of, and hopefully no longer

be that. Maybe next year, because your Miami Dolphins play against this division in twenty twenty four and the good news there is I don't think it'll be a whole lot better than it has been in the past, and we'll go ahead and use a half an hour here to explain to you why I feel that will be

the case. We go ahead and start with the defending champion Houston Texans, who finished last year ten and seven on top of the AFC South and lost in the divisional round to Baltimore after blowing the doors off the Cleveland Browns. I am so damn fascinated by this team. They pull me in different directions as much as anybody out there. Monday, I talked about the perception around the

Packers really stemming from a few Steam role performances in primetime. Well, the Texans are that on like Volume eleven, and this is probably me using the podcast to rebut Twitter it takes again. But I've seen the discourse around the Texans rebuild being vastly accelerated beyond the Dolphins have done. And that comes to me purely from a single game last season where you beat the Joe Flacco led Browns at home.

Because I remember it being a very up and down season for the Texans, who were a drop pass away mind you, from losing an indie in the finale and missing the playoffs all together. I also remember them scoring six and allowing thirty to the New York Jets. I remember them losing by two touchdowns that same Browns team three weeks earlier, or a loss of the Falcons and the Panthers. And the wins, well, the most impressive one

was probably the first one of the season. Aside from the playoff win, a week three jubbing in Jacksonville, jubbing, drubbing. They beat Pittsburgh in September. They beat the Saints, who couldn't do anything ever, the Bucks and the Bengals, who did have Joe Burrow in that game, but Burrow was kind of cheeks last year. The Cardinals, the Broncos, the Titans twice, and the Colts thinks to a drop pass.

The only one of these wins that was by more than five points down the stretch was the second Titans meeting. They went four and two in a bad division and drew the NFC South as their cross conference schedule. Without that, they don't sniff the postseason. And I tell you this, The reason I tell you all this is I just

don't think it was that special of a year. They also did that while being predicted by most to me, included to win four or five games, and then it had maybe the best offseason in the entire National Football League. And I wanted to look this up, and I wound up looking at medieval punishments to find the definition of this, like when they used to tie people to horses and

run different directions as like execution style. It's actually called being quartered, where they tie all of your limbs to a different horse and send them off in four different directions. Holy crap, dude, what a crazy way to go. That's what this team is doing to me. So let's go ahead and dive right in and talk about their moves. Because they were busy. They brought in three edges that are really good players, Danil Hunter, Deniko Autrey, and Mario

Edwards Junior. They also brought in full Russo Faracasi and Tim Settle too defensive tackles, so I think can really play. The guitar linebackers Aziz al Shayer and del Sean Phillips. I'd love the former, I like the latter. Jeff Okuda has been an interesting player the last few years. He gets another crack at kind of trying to find that second big contract here after playing better than he did early on in Detroit and speaking of former first round

buff CJ. Henderson's also there. They bring in Joe Mixon and Stefan Diggs in big trades this offseason to bolster the offensive skill groups. And they bring in Ben Scarnick, who was kind of like the alec Ingold slash durham Smyth combination for Sean McVay the last few years in Los Angeles, and their first pick was in the second round. They traded out of the first round to get Mario Lassiter, the cornerback in with their first pick in the NFL draft.

Out they didn't lose a lot. Devin Singletary's gone, Elite Collins the defensive tackle was gone. They lose Blake Cashman and cornerback Kadar Hallman. I mean, we just gave you twelve players they brought in and four that left. What do they do well, Well, it's a Shanahan system offense, So what do we say about that. They marry the run in the pass, they expand the hook zone, they capitalize on one of the best pre snap generals and post snap box checkers. We've seen really in some time

out of the college game. The quarterback and the play caller are in perfect sync with how they see the field. It's a little crazy what they've done with their passing game weapons in just a couple of years. I mean, Tank Dell and Dalton Schultz and Noah Brown were all newcomers last year and all had good seasons for the Texans. Nico Collins in twenty twenty one has really worked out now. They drop instaevon Diggs. It's kind of like that meme with the guy drops the crab is a crab legs

into the boiling pot and then it blows up. That's what that reminds me of. They solidify the in the run game. In the passing game, they work off the bootleg off of that with a top tackle tandem in Laromy Tunzel and Tyas Howard. They play situational defense. They know how to get into their sub packages and what matches up well with the opposing offense. They're aggressive and they tackle well. Hallmarks of a team coach by a former middle linebacker, right, and they have to work in

a lot of new pieces. But just looking at that list. You get the sense that someone gave to Miko a bag of money on his desk this February and said, go get what you need, big dog. There's always a chance for growing pains, but this defense will simply be a lot better in twenty twenty four. There's no chance that it's not. So what are the concerns or the fatal flaws for this Houston Texans team that I keep leading you back to here? Well? Will there be early

struggles with continuity? Because there were wholesale changes? I mean, getting an entire rush plan together with all new guys is not easy. How long does it take for all that to stick together? And then Stefan diggs Man like some of the stories that I've been told about his behavior and Josh Allen's behavior and why that thing came to a head in Buffalo, like it would truly shock some you guys. It's not the appropriate place to do it.

But maybe one day, if you ever see me in South foury, you could ask me about what's going on in Buffalo between Digs and Allen when they were there. But he wore as welcome out there, right, and there was this always there was always this. Will they won't they tension kind of between those two guys, and gosh, it really really boiled over in that in that Bengals

playoff game. I think the first year with a player like that is usually great, you know, the honeymoon year, and that's what they need and if it's not right in year two, they've built up the appropriate depth in that room to be okay. But the locker room dynamic is imperative. It's not something that gets talked about in fantasy realms or you know, social media, but it's a it's a big deal. I know Buffalo was a bit egg Shelley the last couple of years with that strange

tynamic between those two players. They're two of their best players right now. That said, I think Stroud is a guy that digs will go to War four because he just kind of approaches things the right way and doesn't have a kind of powdy mentality. What else is the defensive backfield. I like so many of these moves, but a lot of the marquee stuff was upfront for them. They need more progress from Derek Stingley Junior, who I think he'll get it. He'll give it to them. I

think Desmond King has been okay, but he's not. You know, it's he was like the slot dynamo for a one year and it's been kind of like a regression ever since then. And then matching up with teams they're deep at the receiver spot or the skill group spot was an issue and I'm not convinced it's entirely solived right now, but getting pressure obviously will help immensely for that. Interesting

things about this team are biggest storylines. A team that took step one looking to make step two always fascinates me. A theme on the podcast this time of year Stroud's sophomore season. We've seen lots of rookies fail to follow it up. And I mean I still hear about Justin Herbert's rookie season all the time when discussing his prowess in the National Football League. I don't think it happens for Stroud. I think he's too good at the actual

quarterback position to pose the physical traits. Let that happen, but always worth watching. It's you know what, Let's pause real quick because that discussion reminds me going back to baseball, going back to the Seattle Mariners. I know some of you guys don't listen to watch baseball all, but this will connect with you, I promise. So the Manors have this young player named Julio Rodriguez who is twenty three years old.

in his third season, not only is he below average player, he is like a slap hitting horrible hitter. He can't hit. And what has happened here is teams have adjusted to his two years worth of at bats, and really it started happening last year, but he had a couple of good months that erased it what was a pretty bad season otherwise and put him back in the same category statistically this year. Hard grass balls, inside, saw stuff away and the dude cannot lay off either of those two pitches.

He hits a lot of weak ground balls and waves at pitches that are three feet off the plate and does not hit well. And when he does their softly hit singles. I think that's what happens to quarterbacks that have physical traits only, and that's why they decline in such fashion, especially when they get to a certain age. Now Herbert ain't there yet, but I think that that's when you get a book on player, you can defend

him better. And that's why I still prefer a quarterback that plays the position like Stroud over a guy that's more physical traits than anything else. Back to the Texans here, developing continuity across an overhaul is always an interesting story line. And then his digs still an Alpha number one receiver. I cannot wait to watch that. How does Demiko Ryan's coach a defense that has more of his guys. I

think that'll be a lot better. I think they'll get connected to what they want to be in the front, especially earlier this year, Bobby Slowick's head coaching candidacy. If he does it again this year, he's gonna be gone a lot to find out who to replace one of the best young coordinators in the National Football League Final

roster thoughts. There's just so much to like here, the development of the skill spots, and then you kind of push your chips in with the investment right on you once you get to a certain baseline there, like, Okay, I've built my bank roll up, Let's go ahead and put a big chunk of that bankroll in on Stefan Diggs and Joe Mixon. I love that approach personally. I never even mentioned John Metchi, who I think can play despite you know, going through a freaking cancer diagnosis early

in his career. I think he's going to bounce back eventually. Now. I think the interior offensive line in depth is a question, but again we know what do we know about the Shanahan style attacks? Right That's where the concessions usually get made on the defensive position or at the edge position. It's just so impressive.

linebacker spot. And then Stingley and Petray are total stars on the back end. I love Jimmy Ward, m J. Stewart's a good player, but Miles Bryant, Desmond King, Lonnie Johnson, Jeff Okuda. Which of those guys stands out as someone that can play eight hundred, nine hundred STAPs. That's what you need and I don't think they have that yet. What can they tell us with the Miami Dolphins. I think it's a good measuring stick next to us this season.

I think we're a better football team. And I'm probably in the minority when it comes to the national sentiment, but I think that the sentiment is jaded again by national games versus the full body of work. But this is a team that's doing it the right way. They're building up the roster, they found their quarterback. They have an awesome head coach, a great play caller on offense. I think I proclaimed the Texans as my second team last year when I was watching them on the bye week.

I think it was a Jacksonville game, and they was back and forth all game, and they just played really high energy football. And I'm probably using their success against them a bit here in this whole ride up. I just don't think we often see this team, not the Texans, but rather the team that is on their arc make the leap to title contenders just yet. It might take

into the year now. The Lions kind of did last year, but I think Houston still has tough outs when it comes to Casey and Baltimore and Buffalo and Miami and the AFC and who else they gonna find the playoffs besides those teams. So there you go. There's the Texans, the Indianapolis Colts. I mean, the question of who played more above board than the Houston Texans gets answered in the very next team we talk about here, a Colts team that went nine to eight and finished third in

the AFC South. But let me go ahead and paint you a scenario here. Week eighteen, A win clinches you a playoff Berth, You trail your division arrival twenty three seventeen with one ZHO six to play, It's fourth and one at the plus fifteen yard line. You have a rub wheel that sets up your back on a perfect line to the first down marker and then some and he's wide open. But the pass goes incomplete and your

season's over. Now this was declared a drop, but the throw go Koog's Gardner Minshew could not have been worse. And that's how the Colts season came to an end. Total devastation. I'd always sympathize with fan bases that have to endure that, like, what have we just caught that ball man? But even being there was playing well above board,

wasn't it? A team that couldn't find a win Late in twenty twenty two after hiring an ESPN Studio analysts their head coach midseason, lose and they're starting quarterback in Week four and they win the first game out of that and then lose three straight. So you're three and five just Saturday was your coach nine games ago? Your backup quarterback is in there on a team that really

struggled that previous season. With ESPN Studio and analysti's head coach, and then the schedule lightns and they rattle off four straight wins over freaking Carolina and New England. Tampa's impressive and there I suppose well at that time, Tampa wasn't a good team last year. They just played into bad

Division two and then the Titans. They traded losses and wins the rest of the way until that Week eighteen game where they were about to have first and goal to try to make the playoffs, and that didn't happen. Much like a lot of the teams we talked about here, and this is why it's hard, right, not all of these teams will achieve this trying to take the next step in twenty twenty four at this time, armed with their incredibly tracy quarterback, the big moves this offseason, it

wasn't much. They kind of just brought back their own guys in Michael Pittman, in Grover Stewart for his first name, there for a second, Kenny Moore, Taekwon Lewis Zi or Franklin, Julian Blackman. And they're also counting on a ton of guys who are coming off injuries, so it means you don't get many guys coming in, don't get many guys going out. Ray Kwon Davis was kind of their big addition I mean Joe Flacco was the other guy as well, and then Laatu Latu was the first round draftick and

I freaking love his game, as you all know. Exiting the Colts, Gardner Minshew go Koog's Zach Moss formerly of the utah Utes and the dead Pack twelve. The Pac puelb went off the air last night and that someone like showed a video of it going off the air. That kind of hurt my soul a little bit. Defensive end. Jacob Martin also in what do the Colts do well, Well, they don't employ an ESPN studio and listen anymore. That's number one. Shane Steiken, to me, is the best offensive

architect that you're not talking about. I'm not talking about you specifically, I'm just saying in general, we don't hear a lot about Shane Steiken. I think putting a mirror up to the Colts and Eagles last year kind of proves that, you know, the Eagles scheme was dog poop and the Colts was off some. They schemed things open and really know how to play it to the strengths

of their quarterback. That's actually why I think Minshew was successful Relatively speaking, in in d last year because he's a rhythm and timing thrower that wants to anticipate and hit those those arcy throws in the middle of the field, right.

But now Richardson, you can't make those plays or have a quarterback that executes that style if your offense doesn't know how to do it, which you need a good coach to do that, which is why the Dolphins or they were in twenty twenty one with Tua because their offensive play calling was a joke. But now Richardson is vastly underrated with that. But he is a better physical version of Cam Newton and if he puts it all together, oh man, watch out.

They can bring down safeties and they can still you know, run duo or inside zone or even gap that's without Richardson too, and you put him in the equation. Lookout Now.

On defense, I tried just to put something in here good, but it's basically they keep the roof in the defense because Gus Bradley will see the exact same picture every single snap, which I can't wait to play those guys, even on the road in indoor in an indoor building, in an indoor capacity, because show the Dolphins the same picture over against see what happens, what's the concern or fatal flaw At the same time that defense was you know, they were bad last year and their solution is counting

on a lot of young guys who have missed time coming back from injuries. And I actually like Quitty pay and de Ode Jingbo. I can't say his freaking name. He was a first round pick a couple years ago, Julian Blackman. But this isn't a unit that screams depth beyond what was kind of a bad unit last year to begin with. Also, Richardson, I've been talking to his praises here, but he's got less than five hundred pass

at him since he played high school football. I mentioned the rookie quarterback rule, but that applies to him more than it does someone like Caleb Williams, for instance, who played you know, three thousand, had three thousand college snaps. Who's the guy beyond Michael Pittman. Is it Alec Pierce? Is it Dona Mitchell? I don't think so. What if Jonathan Taylor is not good anymore? What if last year was who he is now? That would be a huge

concern for me. Interesting things about them or storylines. I'm pretty bearish on the Colts, I'm being honest with you, but Richardson changes that. Like, if he blossoms the way I think he can, it could be a surprise twelve win team in my opinion. I know the offense will be good and has an identity, but what is it on defense? It's like play a cover three umbrella that doesn't really get after the quarterback or run games up front and just kind of is straightforward like that doesn't

work in today the NFL. This division went from probably the worst in the league for several years to all of a sudden, three teams feel like they have their answer at quarterback, and that of course hinges On ar so I'm watching that very closely, and then their approach to retain their own and bank on better health. I really like Chris Ballard and his approach to it. I think he'll get the answers figured out. But there's just a lot of questions here as we get to the

final roster thoughts. I think most of these teams, you've gleaned the sense of where I'm going with my predictions, but I just can't really put a freaking finger on the colts Man. I guess that's what happens when you think they're a superstar quarterback. There's a superstar quarterback in the full but you can't possibly put that label on

him yet. They've invested a lot to find the next guy beyond beyond beyond Pittman on the perimeter, but they've all kind of performed at the same rate, like threes and fours. I'll go back to the famous Jeff Ireland quote. We got a bunch of threes, fours and fives and six is like, that's a problem, Jeff. You know, Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, will Adonai mitchellill be the guy that breaks that trend. I don't think so. I think that he's got plenty of issues in his game. I love Leatu Latu,

Grover Stewart, DeForest Buckner is a beast. Actually, the front I think is really good, but the back seven I have so many questions. Juju Brentz showed some real flashes last year and he plays a fun, physical brand of cornerback. Julian Blackman has been awesome from the safety spot when he's been healthy. But they'll probably have competitions with two

of the five spots on defense. But beyond Kenny Moore, who's one of the best slot quot rnerbacks in the game, who I really wanted to sign here if he didn't if he made it out of Indy. But they'll probably have to make some moves for depths. And that's where Chris Ballard comes into play. And you can see the exact same thing about the linebacker. It's just just now, I really like it doesn't jump out of you when you look at that group on paper. What can we

learn about the Dolphins from then? They probably fall into the not much bucket here. They're contructed entirely different. They have different philosophies and offense and defense. They play inside it opposed to us playing out in the heat, Like, is there a team that more juxtaposes the Dolphins. I don't know if there is. All right, time to take our first break, right there, come back on the other side, and here from Tier Tart. That's next Draft Time podcast,

your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by automation. All right, join me today new Dolphins defensive tackle Tier Tart, tierre welcome in. Man. First of all, how is South Florida been treating you so far? I know it's been just a short amount of time you've been here.

be back, man. You know. Uh, FIU is obviously right down the road, so I could go there anytime and just you know, Philip fil feel right at home.

guys about the particular the particulars of your job. And you play so much one technique for the Titans, right, you were mostly either on the zero one technique for the most part. I mean, it's impressive to me how you hold up in that spot at that size. Is there a certain key to am my way off base here?

joy to watch. Man. You know, It's also like it's also gonna be refreshing too, you know, because.

what are you looking? What do you want to accomplish this year? And kind of what's your why behind twenty twenty four tr tart the Dolphins. What do you what's what's your entire focus and your goal here with the Dolphins.

I just kind of don't want to leave. I want to leave a Dolphins the respective of everyone around me and the players I played against in the field.

Let's go ahead and take our last break right there. Come back on the other side and wrap up the AFC South of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Wires, jack you Ars and the Tennessee Titans. That is next Drave Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by automation. Final segment before the fourth of July weekend. Please do not set off fireworks within your close proximity. Please don't set off fireworks all long. How about we keep the fireworks

between like eight and ten pm? Does that sound good? Because when you have children, it really sucks when there's fireworks all day long. That's my old man soapbox for now. The Jacksonville Jaguars finished the twenty twenty three season nine and eight after an eight and three start, second in AFC South, and they missed the playoffs. So actually I kind of screwed up the order of this episode. We're

going in order of how they finished last year. But I had the Jaguars third in the division for some reason, a lot of teams suffer stufflerd similar fates in twenty twenty three when they ended the season with a lot of injuries and less than desired results see Jacksonville. The Eagles ended end us. But I'm not sure anybody had it worse than Jacksonville, who missed the playoffs altogether. Hey, we got in sot the Eagles by losing five of the final six, including a win and in division championship

in Week eighteen to the six win Titans. That man, because that loss was kind of what set up an awful Sunday, right, because when I was I remember, I brought my car to the stadium to leave it here because parking here is a message, you guys all know, and I wanted to get one of the top media spots like seven hours before kickoff. And I went back home and watched the rest of the Jaguars game, And like, if the Jags had won and we won, we would

have played Pittsburgh in the first round. But then we knew going into the Buffalo game, if we beat Buffalo, we play them again, which like kind of sucked, right, because like this just didn't really matter at that point.

But it also did. It was tough, tough spot. So thanks a lot Jacksonville, you jag offs, but oh man, so this they they end the year by losing five of the final six, including that division winning in game, and that included narrow losses to the burrowless Bengals, the Browns, and a drubbing by the Buccaneers like whoa, you know, like some team like we lost the Titans. That was a bad loss, but a lot of teams had that loss,

like three times last year. Two really impressive wins mid season over Buffalo, albeit in in London, which like, I don't know what the results of those games if they ever really kind of track, and then also the Houston Texans with the ladder bringing them to eight and three, two game divisionally. That was one of the best games

in the NFL all season. Now, that stretch did feature a banged up Trevor Lawrence who played through an injury where we saw him limp back to the locker room, you know, the slowest walk I've ever seen in my life, and then all of a sudden, the next week he's playing again. But the numbers have been you know what they've been, But his tape is a lot better than numbers.

So let's please not be those fans that we got mad at fans for being that towards Tua a couple of years ago, like Lawrence is a good quarterback man. Now it's a pretty critical year for this iteration of the Jaguars, aren't they all. But it's just in time for the division to get a lot better, so it makes it for even more interesting dynamic here in the AFC South. The Jags were busy this offseason. They brought in Gabe Davis and Devin Duverney. Yeah, they brought in

Mitch Morrison, Ezra Cleveland, Okay. They brought in Deeranis Johnson the running back position, and they brought in Eric Armstead on the defensive line, who is one of the best players in the National Football League. I also liked the move of Trevis Gibson, who I kind of wanted to bring here, Ronald Darby the cornerback, and a couple of safeties, Terrell Edmunds and Darnell Savage. They brought in Mack Joe Oh it's cool man, and they also drafted Brian Thomas

Junior in the first round on the way out. Calvin ridley' z Jones, Fularunso, Farracassi, Darius Williams, the cornerback who was really good for the Rams and goes back there, and safety Rayshawn Jenkins, who have been there for a minute in Jacksonville. What do they do well? They create matchups and easy cues for the quarterback. It's kind of Doug

Peterson's whole thing, former quarterback. I think they've done a good job of collecting route technicians who can attack leverage and give Lawrence a clear picture because I think that

my problem with Lawrence. I think everything's kind of robotic for him, like the it's kind of like Tannehill esk Like it's all what kind of robotic in the way he gets through things, and just like process, process, process go, like just play the position, man, There's there's not like a lot of fuel there, I think when I watch him play, and while he is like super mobile and athletic, again, it's like Tannehill, like he can run straight in a

straight line pretty effectively. But I want him in a clean pocket where he looks his best, because he looks like he was freaking built in a lab that way. Maine and all they have speed from the backfield to the perimeter. I love Travis etn cool name dude, and Trevor Lawrence is a part of this as well. But they also have some sizzle inside with Bigsby and Daranis Johnson.

It's it's a bruising offensive line that generates push and there's nothing really technical about this, but just pairing Armstead with Josh Allen as an inside outside duo is pretty nice. What's the concern or fatal flaw?

of Lawrence. You know throws to end up in incompletions that should have been The big move was going from Calvin really to Brian Thomas. To me, that's a massive, massive, downgrade. I didn't want any part of Thomas personally for the Dolphins, and I think really can still play, even though he had some rough ones last year. So some interesting things

about them are big story lines. What if the results don't change because they have been productive in certain ways and they have like nice pieces, but they've had their chances and bad divisions and even going back to twenty twenty two when Mahomes got hurt, like you gotta beat that Chiefs team, man, and they couldn't move the ball all game long then and it wasn't they give twenty

five degrees either. Then the offense down the stretch last year, every single time they had to make a play they didn't and Lawrence came up short, the receivers came up short. It just wasn't good. And I think Lawrence at this point of his career where, especially with his contract, he has now where the results will be the only thing everyone looks at, even the biggest fans of the Jaguars.

And I hate this personally, but what does a slow start mean because it's seventeen game season, Like who cares whether you start or fins? Like it's goin, you gotta play seventeen games, but I think after that finish they have to start fast. I mentioned the arms race in the division. That's worth reiterating, Like Lawrence kind of needs to establish himself as at least the number two in the division. You know Stroud is probably the number one guy,

but don't let ar past you too. The Calvin Reley decision and replacing him with a round one pick will be scrutinized either way. Personally, I didn't like it at tall some final roster thoughts a lot to like. There plenty of questions as well, but that's about what you expect from nine to eight team. I like a lot of the top of the cupboard with Christian Kirk and Evan Ingram and Travis Etm, but I have questions beyond

those three. They did bring in Gabe Davis, who hasn't he has like a good game, a good game of year. They invested in Mitch Morse and Ezra Cleveland on the offensive line and have three good tackles. I think I think Anton Harrison will be good, but Cam Robinson and Walker are good players. And then like the skill group, what is the depth like upfront and at rusher they need a lot more from Trayvon Walker and from Devin Lloyd to first round picks from a couple of years ago,

or one was never one overall picked. Devn Lloyd was the first round in the year prior, and then coverage was a total problem and they're kind of running it

back back there. And what can they tell us about the Miami Dolphins, Well, they can show us that somebody else had a promising season that ended prematurely, because sometimes stuff happens, and I think some of their moves show you that there's not some death to flexibility when you pay your quarterback, because they were still able to get Armstead, Davis, Morrise and Cleveland, even though they just had to page for Lawrence. Finishing up with a team that ruined our

freaquancies in the Tennessee Titans. They went six and eleven. They finished fourth in the AFC South. Actually they ruined both teams in the AFC and from Florida, probably the most shocking move of the offseason was moving on from Mike rabel. I don't think anybody's how that coming. It kind of might be the Brian Flores firing a couple of years ago. But then we came to learn that. There was a lot of reasons behind that. Who I think has gotten more from less really of any coach

in the last half decade. Even last year they weren't a good football team. They gave some top dog some fits like we was top dog. We got fits from them, including the loss that really, you know, set us on the wrong track for the rest of the year, massive massive changes. Probably for that reason, they organizationally wanted to move past the old guard, right, and perhaps a little reimagination is a good thing on offense, even if it's

a process. I'm not sure how far the old you know twelve personnel Henry Henry play action game was going to work down the stretch against Casey and Baltimore's of the world. That damn went over us was Sandwich by back to back overtime losses. They also lose to Seattle by three the next week. I mean, that's nine and eight if they get those results flipped right. I mentioned

the death of the middle class in the NFL. I think these guys, even with their record worked that a year ago, good enough to be anybody, but consistently not good enough to contend. They had some bad breaks and one of eleven losses as a result, and so they made a bunch of moves to try to fix that. In is Lugerious Snead the all world cornerbacks from the Chiefs. They bring in Tyler Boyd and DeAndre Hopkins would have been cool. In twenty nineteen, Lloyd Cushionberry is the new center.

Tony Pollard and Mason Rudolph were also added, Sebastian Joseph Day, Kenneth Murray, Chadobi a Wooje and in the first round they took JC Latham, the massive tackle from Alabama on the way out, Ryan Dana Hill, yet Gek gek yek gek, Derek Henry, Aaron Brewer, Denico Auxury, Aziz Al Shaier, Sean Murphy, Bunting, and Christian Fulton. Holy crap, it's a lot of talent they lost. What do they do well? It's a little ironic to me that they go from rabel to ushering

in a new guard. But do it with Brian Callahan. Now he is an OC and an innovator, I'll give him all that, but you typically attach that name to the ground of the pound because of his father, Bill Callahan. Right, just kind of funny to me. They incorporate all their eligibles.

Few teams threw the ball to their backs and tight ends better than the Bengals did under Callahan, and I can't think of three better players to do that than with Tony Pollard, ty J Spears and chig Okwonko, one of my favorite tight ends in the National Football League. They run routes really well, or at least they used to. Like that was Boyd's game, That's Ridley's game, That's Hopkins game.

But I don't know what it's gonna look like because they're all like old Besides Ridley, they tackle, their aggressive, they play physical defense. Those parts aren't gone just because Vaibele's gone. But they still have some dudes over there, and they can dominate the trenches with Simmons and Landry. That's as good as it gets for a one to two inside out punch. But Tart's gone, Autrey's gone, and comes Joseph Dan and Devandre Sweat trying to recreate that.

I think they can do that. What's the concern or the fatal flaw? Well, I don't like their quarterback. I think that's a tough option for you there. I don't like their passing game menu in general, how do you win in NFL football in twenty twenty four If you can't throw the football, it's probably not even that bad. But it seems like, you know, everybody these days has like a lot of good options. I just don't think

they have that. And on top of that, don't I don't like the quarterback, So that's tough that in an offensive line has been trying to find itself for a while now, like they used to kind of have an identity, but they've, you know, ever since Taylor Lewan started getting hurt, they've kind of not been that team. And Ben Jones now leaves. They need to get more out of their high draft picks, like you know, Latham will help that, but like time for Pete s Keronski to start playing

some ball. Some strange personnel moves like slopping swapping out Kenneth Murray for Aziz al Shaier, Like maybe Aziz didn't want to return this year, but Murray was brutal his entire career so far, And that's that's your move in the middle of the defense, Like I can't wait to have him here, you know for that Week four game. That's gonna be fun revenge. Interesting things about them biggest

story lines. I remember the producer of the Around the NFL podcast, Justin Graver Grave Digger, a diehard Titans fan, was clamoring for the shift to a modern NFL offense. Well he got it. I can't wait to see what it looks like straight away. Here they swapped out effective parts for an unproven front seven. If that doesn't work, that comes with a lot of backlash. And then lugarious knee,

different city, different defense. How does that work out? Because he was so dang good in case and it seems like it could be a one year audition for Will Levis and that always fascinates me. Some final roster thoughts here on the Tittons. I think there's a clear line of demarcation in this division and the Titans are on

the wrong side of that. I still think their physical brand of football, which matches their quarterback who plays like an absolute lunatic, and that's the one thing I do like about his game, makes them a challenge on any given Sunday, But the direction seems to be scattered. I think their receiving corps would have been the best in the league five years ago. They need more from Scarronsky, and they lost a really good center, and if Latham doesn't start right away, I have no idea what they

do with the other tackle spot. I really like the defensive backfield. Snead is obviously outstanding, and I think McCreary is a good boundary short side corn. Don't say boundary to say outside boundary is a part of the field. Corner who can press up the way sneed does. I like a woogie a lot, and I'm curious about this. Elijah Molden moved to safety because he's really struggled, and that's going to get a lot of slot matchups. He has struggled in the NFL so far, so just a

lot of death questions in that position. What can they tell us with the Dolphins, I put absolutely nothing, So I'll punt that topic because I think there's nothing to learn from this team, who to me is going in the wrong direction.

five wins. So basically just like last year. But I gave the Texans like one more win over the Titans and they're gonna lose to us to the Titans will In fact, Mimi's going to do really good in this division this year. So so, best or superlatives. Best quarterback Stroud, best non quarterback on offense to me is larm Me Tunsel. The best defensive player in the division to me is Jeffrey Simmons. My best coach is Tomiko Ryan's. My favorite rookie is Leatu Latu, the edge from UCLA. And my

fantasy sleeper is Tajy Spears. I think he was probably the best back in Tennessee last year. I hope they don't take away too much of his workload to give to Tony Pollard. All right, it's gonna be my time. You guys have a great holiday. We'll see you on Monday for the NFC South repreview here on the Draft Time podcast. You all please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave us a ringleaser review, Follow me on

Twitter at Winkfold NFL, the team at Miami Dolphins. Check out my guys Seth and Juice on the Fish Tank podcast. Check out the YouTube channel for Dolphins Today, media availabilities, drift time content, and so much more, and last but not least, MiamiDolphins dot Com. Until next time, Ben's up on Cameron Daddy, Come and Hold