To on the move gLing deep speedways, Peace do hell Peas.
From the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
This is Drive Time with Travis Wingfield.
He's got my advands 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, djb Enemy, the Texans reporter for ESPN, joins me to break down this matchup and like me, he likes to get into the weeds. Like me, he goes on several tangents and so you're gonna learn a lot about the Texans and this Dolphins Texans matchup coming your way on Sunday. It's a big one. Can we finally win this one?
That's the big question. We'll also talk about the AFC playoff picture from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
This is.
The Drive Time podcast right.
Big game means we're bringing out the big guns this week with South Florida native DJB Enemy. He covers the Texans for ESPN. DJ Welcome in man, Hey man.
Thank you for having me. I've been looking forward to this week for some time.
I just you know, would have thought the Dolphins would had a better record, but you know, those darn injuries.
I know, I know.
It always seems to be something because this team is very talented and playing some of their best ball right now, and so hopefully they can keep this rolling here against the Houston Texans that you cover. But before we get into that, DJ, you're wearing this hat, and I have such a fond memory of that game, not because of the game itself, but I distinctly remember DJ's wearing a ninety five Super Bowl hat Chargers and Niners, and the Niners blew the doors off the Chargers in that game.
I'll never forget riding my bike around the neighborhood at halftime because the game was already over. So you found that hat, you said, in a thrift store.
Yeah, thrift story in Brooklyn, New York, about two years ago.
That's pretty impressive. One of my earliest football memories here coming back to life. But I want to go ahead and get to the Dolphins and Texans game because it is a big one. But I do want to start with the bye week, DJ, because and what that means for the Texans. If you can give us the latest on the Texans maybe getting healthier, and perhaps how valuable this break might have been for the Texans football team.
Yeah.
I think it's valuable, mainly for the mental break that they needed because they started training camp before everybody else, like ten days could have started believing on July fifteenth, and most teams reported mid twins of July they had the Hall of Fame game. So they've basically been at it for approximate almost five straight months with very little breaks. The only mini break they had was many buy after they played the New York Jets on Thursday Night football.
So they've been in a constant grind talking to a lot of guys. Every time I would say, man, you're ready for that bye week, They're all look at me and be like, man, who you telling? So I think for them it was more mental than anything because there's not many There's not much they can do schematically to change things because they are who they are.
If not really I mean change that.
They can make a particularly on the old line, to improve path detection and run blocking, or improve safety, help or play or cover standpoint.
There's not really that much they can do there because we are and weak.
I don't know what we're in week fifteen or fourteen, but regardless, you know, there's only so much that they could do at this point.
So for them, it was more about the mental aspect.
Yeah, you mentioned the mental break, and I saw just scrolling your X timeline there before we came on the on the air here that you had been I saw that fans were kind of discussing back and forth with you the possible impact of an emotional lift without a zz Alshay year, and I'm curious how the team has kind of taken that information, taken the suspension and what do you think that could mean for not just this game, but going forward for the Texans.
I think it's more just the next guy up.
I don't see it as a allying cry or guiding the life. Oh we're gonna band together that do this for disease. I don't really get that vibe. And it's not because they don't love disease, because these obviously he is a great player him, But I think it's more of a cliche like this.
Is this is pros and this is college maybe, but this is the pros.
Like and on top of that, I think some guys do feel like, all right, you know not the substanially justified, but you can't be hitting a quarterback like that because if the roles were reversed and CJ got hit like that, everybody would have won ballistics. So I think it's in today's NFL you got to protect the quarterbacks fair or not, and I just don't see.
That in a rally and cry. I think it's just more like next guy up.
They got Christian Harris back, who caught a pick six in the playoff game against the Keevan Browns last year, so they getting him back.
But this is gonna be the.
First time he's practiced with team since he got hurt in I believe August, so he doesn't played much football since the playoff game is the Ravens. It doesn't even hit anybody since the Ravens game, so I don't anticipate he'll play this week, but he could be a move for them once to get to the playoffs.
It was him and Kenyon Green were both activated this week. You think we will play at left, left guard right.
So that's an interesting one, Demico.
When asked about it, he said that they're not going to make any decision on any offensive line changes in this moment during the press conference, I think so. I think they're going to go through the weekend and see because while King Green is a liability and end up in past blocking he struggled with stunts and things of that nature, he is an upgrade over ju Scruggs at a guard in the running game, like a legitimate upgrade.
It's not even close. Juic struggles to move people off the ball, and I think.
In a game like this that might be viable to have a guy like Kenyan Green out there to be able to handle Kalis Campbell, handle Zach Zeeler, because if you can't run the ball against Miami with.
The way Houston's currently structured, there's going to be a long day offensively because they struggle on third and longs for various reasons. Because the pressure can get to see your pretty quickly.
If you do a lot of cloud coverages and take away Nico, he can get a little bit murky because sometimes he likes to go big play hunting a lot, so you intend to pat and hold the ball trying to make go for the big play, which leads the high varians type of plays right, and it needs to bring from being exclosive work it leads to incompletion and punts. So I think for them, they're going to have to be able to run the ball in this game.
I think Kenyan Green could be very valuable in that aspect.
Yeah. In quick spoiler for the preview podcast, one of the keys is going to be to force the Texans in a third down long situations because of what you just talked about right there, trying to get them behind the sticks and create some negative plays for a Dolphins defense that right now is kind of struggling to find
those at the current time. I'm always curious DJ about this question, and we could do it every single week across the National Football League, because hell, our next three opponents are featuring Bobby Slowick, Kyle Shanahan, and Kevin Stefanski.
It's a case in point.
With this offensive system that all the coaches has produced across the NFL, you're gonna find familiarity every single week. It seems like, how do you think that familiarity with the offensive system on either side of the ball can add intrigue to this matchup?
Yeah, so I'm ready.
I was talking to somebody about this yesterday on Mike duguar our guy athletic, and I was just, you know, I was like, man, I'm curious to see what anything Weaver does against Bobby Sloyds, mainly because I want to see it's gonna use a lot of the same game plan that he had against the Rams. Were they able to slow down that offense and hold him to only
fifteen points. So I'm really curious in that aspect for you to go a bunch of too High to the Texans offense actually has struggled a decent amount on a yard per play standpoint against too High. They run the ball very effective against that, especially against teams that are good stopping round. Obviously, some of the numbers gonna be a little juiced since they did, you know, see some of the cowboys in Jags, and they're able to run pretty effectively.
But those two teams struggled at everything on the defense.
So against better teams, I guess the Titans, Joe Mixon had fourteen carries for twenty two yards, you know what I mean. So I'm incaid to see what the game plan is going to be there in terms of cause obviously he's seen that offense already goes against a variation of the offense in practice we kept week after week. So I'm curious that aspecting him Demko knowing Mike McDaniel, so they're on the same coaching staff back in San Fran,
he kind of knows what Mike like to do. He was the I guess, the first guy that I was able to start to slow down Miami's offense going back in twenty twenty two when they went against them in San Francisco. So I'm really curious to see, like what's that going to be. But I think the difference between twenty twenty two team, what he had with San Fran versus this Texas team right now is currently constructed. I
don't know if he has the same amount of horses. Obviously, I think on the D line there's some comparable comparable responssiblity have a friend. Obviously, Jimmy War was a lot younger, and in that aspect, I think they still have War at that point. Steaming warded comparable Sting having a phenomenal year, but Lufanga like they don't have that right now.
You know what I'm saying.
You have Armori is a is a good corner, talented corner, but he's still young, so I'm really curious to see, like what else, what's that going to look like? Because the Texans they play a lot of quarters on early downs and that's when teams can hit their shot place against them. They're gonna play a lot of quarters, and I'm curiously how Miami is gonna attack that because the Texans safety struggle and coverage down the field, Like there's been a lot of times where teams have been able
to exploit that. The Titans game when if you go back and watch that one, well, Levis had a career day because Brian Callahan was just calling up shot plays, putting the safeties and buy and putting the safeties in one on ones down the field and they were just losing.
And even mac Jones even last well not like well, I guess.
You said, technically last week when they went against the Jags, he stepped in, Doug Creeterson cast some shot plays and is able to get Brian Thomas down the field for some one on ones they didn't conneence. But still that kind of goes back to the point of if you really want to attack the Texans defense, you attack up the spine. And that's why I felt like the Z's lost is going to be a big one because he's pretty smooth and coverage.
And the Dolphins obviously love it's tack in the middle of the field.
That if the spine of your defense is weak in terms of past coverage, Doll, I mean, you know that's going to be a problem against a team like Miami who thrives and throwing in between the numbers.
Yeah, they love to throw those deep shots against brackets. So we've seen Tyreek beat a couple of those over the years. And they tried to slant and go to waddle on the game tying field goal drive. But DJ Rea did a good job of staying with him and getting vertical to not let him split that bracket.
So good stuff there.
And just for clarity, Mike Dugar writes for The Athletic covers the Seattle Seahawks.
He went to Washington State.
He says, go Koog's on my favorite podcast, the Head the Call podcast all the time, I say on my show all the time. So a good company there, DJ and microor Tight, So good stuff.
Man.
Let's let's go back to the quarterback here, because you know this is this is my setup here, DJ for telling you. I loved CJ coming out and still love his game. I had this content idea where I wanted to like compare him into for how they process and their accuracy. It just I just think they're really good in the critical areas of the position. But my question
is what's been different for him? And remove all the you know, this is probably kind of you know, cheating the process, but like remove the external factors between the offensive line, the play calling, the receipt, whatever you want to say, is impacting CG. I know that the offensive line play hasn't been great, but from his perspective, what's been different between rookie year CJ.
Stroud and sophomore year c J Drowd good or bad?
So I think he's actually a better quarterback now he has more on his plate.
I think the piece around him obviously has kind of gotten a little bit worse, especially the offensive line, But I would say that just kind of leaning more on playing boying football. I think he's kind of at the stage within this offense that tool was in where you know, pushing the ball down the field you have a lot of success, and then team started taking away. Sometimes you should try to force that and the way too is playing now where he's just all right, that's not there.
I'm gonna just hit this Ki John Smith unerneath.
I'm on hit Chen and the backfield or on the hit just you know, on the kneath route and keep the offense on schedule. I think sometimes he still trying to fit it in because he's still averaging almost ten yards per tenth in terms of the air yards. So I think he's at that point of his maturation where now he says, okay, things going around.
Me are in great in terms of pass detection.
All right, if this isn't there, let me just hit the check down and let's let's keep the offense on track. So he's more playing more fishing football in that aspect, because you know, I was talking to a coach a couple of weeks ago who coached not coach, but the game plan against CJ. And one thing he said is he's a big play hunter, so he doesn't necessary plays.
He isn't play boring football all the time. He can do it.
That's what sometime he could be kind of I don't want to say frustrating, but intriguing to watch his maturation in that aspect because he even admitted that sometimes he could play better by just taking the checkdown. But he's such a big play hunter, dating back to what he did back at our state and his first year in the NFL, where he was able to really strike team the park well actually let the league in passing yards
FORER game at two seventy four. So I think for him, it's more about just trying to take him what the defense gives you and kind of go from there.
I think he sees the feel extremely well. He's rare where he like gets fooled, like like.
I haven't there haven't been Like even all the interceptions he's throwing this year, he throw nine's compared to the only five last year. The majority of it has been like you can see what his thought process is that he just missed the throw or someone makes a great play, you know, but you can see the thought process.
Like it's really rare.
Where like he thinks he's gonna be discoverage and it's not that he forces the ball into that coverage now like most of the times, it's he's seeing it pretty well. He'll be a little off on the throw or you know, he'll force the throw that doesn't need to be like
one against the Titans. He's trying to hit a dagger when it did coming across and the linebacker sinks Undernico and he's all right, I'm gonna try to throw it and whoop it over the linebacker, and the linebacker made a great play, like he made a full extension intercept that he called intercept and he.
Had a full extension right.
Granted, he probably wouldn't throw that ball, but again he wasn't fooled by the coverage.
You know, Yeah, I mean that that tracks to I guess where the struggles have happened, because, like you to your point earlier, like some interior offensive line struggles for a big play hunter who's not you know, CJ's athletic and has mobility to get around in the pocket, but he's not gonna, like you know, Lamar Jackson, beat you off the edge with his legs. So I think that kind of tracks with where the struggles have been this year.
Let's take a real quick break, come back on the other side and talk more about this matchup in the Texans defense. That's next Draft Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Auto Nation. Back here with my guests from ESPN Houston DJB enemy talking Dolphins and Texans, and let's go ahead and pivot to the defensive side of the football here, DJ. You know, it sounds like that could be a possible benefit for the Dolphins this matchup.
But one area of the Texans are probably kind of looking, you know, licking their chops with here is the Dolphins could be down both their starting tackles if Toron Armstead cannot go. Austin Jackson obviously out for the season, So in that case, it would be Kendall Lamb and Patrick Paul, who both played really well in that Jets game. But let's be real, I mean, the Texans have maybe the best edged combination of the NFL with the you'll Hunter
and Will Anderson. What do you think about that match up? And can they just fly out wreck this game for the Texans?
Yeah, that can be problematic for the for the Dolphins because the Texan right now, they're fourth and pressure rate. I just to go and double check that because the Cowboys might have you know, jumped them. But either way, they're both you know, almost at forty percent per drawback.
And both of them all have over ten tacks. I think like ten and a.
Half to both and Will Anderson missed like three games, so he's at ten and he's missed a few games, so that could be a massive problem. I think what Demiko would try to do is make to a hitch and try to beat his reads to the spot, beat the spot to the reader or how do you want
to put it? And then because I know dred Buberg was saying because they run a very similar scheme and in that aspect that you know, if was hitting his back foot like it's kind of hard to get to him, but the way it gets him is, you know, make him hold the ball.
So I think that.
If it's going to really start with the coverage, I always say when you're when you're going against a guy like to a it's not about your front It's more about your coverage. It's more about your back end spot. But they have to be able to make to hold the ball for more than two point six seconds, so then you have time to get to him if you're not if the coverage on the back end isn't good or.
It's not doing supposed to do, because you get the ball out.
So many games I remember arguing with a bunch of people like that before they played the Eagles last year, and I was like, they were like, Oh, the d Lion is gonna get in to it, and then that's gonna be what I'm like, No, it's gonna be about the coverage on the back end making them hold the
ball long enough for God to get to them. So it's really still even though yes Danil and yes will you rec Havoc, they're gonna it's still gonna come down of sting Jum not Jeleen PG, but Jimmy Warden Slot and Kamari Last on the outside being able to force too to hold the ball just for a smide it so then those guys can get to him because if not, it doesn't really matter, because it doesn't really matter to remember, I know, you remember last year Week one against the Chargers,
Khalil Mack and Joey Bolsa coming off the edge with no armstead. It didn't matter because you can get them all out, you know exactly, you know, And even last week the judge of a good defensive line like Will McDonald is to the topping sacks. You have Quinn Williams and you have Hassan Reddick zero quarterback hits zero sack because if he's hitting his back foot and he's seeing things pretty quickly, you're gonna get the ball out where he needs to go and and that's gonna be that.
So it's gonna come back. It's gonna come all the way back.
To the coverage, the question is what coverage do you play against them? You know, do you just try to play a bunch of cover two that we've seen hasn't worked for a lot of teams. Obviously the Packers had some success for two was still through for almost four hundred yards. Do you do that or you just try to cloud to play a bunch of cloud covers because you're gonna have to throw some disguises because if you're kind of static, it can get a little wonky for you.
I'm curious if they will try to play to almost bait the Dolphins into the deep game, because Miami just hasn't had those DJ all year long. It's been well, you're not gonna let reakan watle get on top of us. And to your point about the CJ. Stroud, you know, evolution of his game. The thing that most impresses me
about two and I know you like the podcast. So you know, I've heard I've talked about a lot, but uh, I just I really love the way they've evolved the offense to attack every blade of grass where they like the Jets played all this off coverage against him, and they just kept throwing those outs to the field, which you know, the knock on too was he can't he can't make those throws. But he made it like eight times in that game. Was impressive to watch. So that, man,
what a fun matchup. I'm curious, do you do you think they'll come after him with the blitz because somebody asked me about two was blitz numbers today and he like, he's been sacked twenty two times, only four of those were on the blitz. He's completely like seventy five percent of his passes against the blitz and has like one hundred and ten passerwating, Like you kind of get burned if you do it. But Demiko's the kind of coach that I would trust to cook up a good brush plan to come after him.
What do you think he might do on Sunday?
So the Mikojoni Blitz is on, he put on a thirty percent of his job. I think like that around twenty seven. I think third downs when he blitzed a little bit more. The issues for me is that he trusts Jimmy Ward, Talm Bullock, and Eric Murray and coverage to do that. I know he'll trusting and I know he'll trust Kamari. The issue is, I think we'll do it on some third downs. So third down when it happened.
The issue is it's gonna be high variants, so some place where it works, some places where it might go for fifty yards, you know what I'm saying.
And is he okay with that? You know?
Because as much they've caught sixteen interceptions, second most of the NFL, but they've given up the most passing touchdowns in the NFL, I believe at twenty five or twenty six the two. So they're a high variants defense across the board. So that so that I'm really curious about because I do not think that there are five dbs. Obviously stingly I think can hold Tyreek one on one. I actually think he's had an amazing year. I don't think that the other guys who can cover the other
guys on on one, you know what I'm saying. Or with with the safety help over the top, because we saw what the Jets did to them on Thursday Night Football, right the second half of when they made their adjustments and then boom yet scored on every single drive, right because third downs. That's why I think the Blizmones go down third down, the Migo kind of goes man coverage
or some variation of match. So you're gonna have you know, basically Waddle versus Kamari or against Jimmy Ward and O'Dell against whoever, and John will Smith against the linebackers or you know Henry Totoe, Devin White or heaven his.
Name or make you laugh Neville hew it, you know what I mean? Or yeah, yeah, that's a real throwback, you know, or Eric Mary.
So it's it's gonna be. He's gonna throw some disguises. But the thing is he didn't disguised as much this year because he doesn't have to. I believe he doesn't feel like he has the horses that he did last year. Last year he disguised way more.
On the back end. I can see some really really interesting coverages, some really cool coverages.
But he's a little bit younger now back there and he's really anti giving up explosives. Even know he's given a bunch of exclusive but he does one of the guys to play fast, and when you throw all those you know, erotic looks, guys intend to play a little bit slower. So we'll see, we'll see in that regard, I think he'll he'll try to cook some stuff up. I think for me, it's going to be more about how the Dolphins is just in the second half, because the second half is when the Texans fall apart.
Good Bobby's gonna took some good stuff up early drives.
The Texans will probably have ten points at some point midway through the second quarter, may be able to score one more at the end of the second because they average like I think, like fifteen points in the first half.
It's the second half where everything fall off a cliff.
They average like eight points in the second half, and the defense gives up like I want to say.
Fourteen and a half fifteen points per game in the second half.
So for me, it's more about we're standing the sheer physicality and speed that the Texans do present defensively and schematically on the offense. You know, well stand that to the game close, and the second half is when you can usually have your way with the Texans because they struggle that Justin could have very very very much a you just got to out execute you.
Sometimes you got to outskieme people.
Well, Hopefully for the Dolphins they get off to a hot start because they've kind of struggled to get out of the gates and these big time games. And to your point about the coverage, it sounds like maybe and Jillen Waddle's first game back in his hometown, maybe he could have some opportunities for a big day out.
Here against the Texans. Just real quick? Didjy finish up for us? Real quick?
I usually ask the Texans could win this game if, but this is such a big game and a fun matchup, I just want to ask, what's your lean?
What's your gut telling you about how this game might go on Sunday.
My lean is all over the place, mainly because it's like there's two ways for both teams to win. And like the Dolphins, obviously they just keep doing what they're doing, especially last week, they'll be able to move the ball. The issue is saying, well, Daniel and will wreck the game in that aspect if the coverage in the back end works, and I.
It's it's so up and down. So I think for me, like it's really good gonna come down to.
I think they'll probably come down to which kickers on because both kickers have been pretty good with fifty yards. So if coming's one, then you know, Texans will win. If Jason Sanders is on, then I think the Dolphins win. I think both offices have some success moving the ball. It's really gonna come down to probably who has the ball last. In all honestly, at that point the quarterbacks would have seen everything. Yeah, and then you know, kind of go from there. But I'm leaning right now.
I'm leaning towards Miami.
Because of the Texans safety issues on the back end, and I think they'll be able to exploit that and I think we could see some, you know, some big plays.
Because every team has tried it. Like the book is out. The book is out.
And when Miami played the Miko in twenty twointy two, they did lose that game.
But I know, whenever you want back and watch.
The film, there's a lot of opportunities left out there, and the Miko strikes me more of the guys we're gonna exteally you and go from there. I don't I don't see him as a guy that's gonna be like, oh, well, we're gonna completely vamp everything and change it, you know. I don't see him pulling dan Quinn where dan Quinn against the Dolphins when we're gonna just go a hello to Hi, you're gonna drop back.
We're not gonna play as much man as we usually do.
I don't see the Miko kind of switching what he's always done at the DC, And I think we'll see a lot of quarters match coverage on third down as when you come down to the Dolphins, you know, the trio of Wadle, Tyreek and John new winning.
I don't think textan I mean, don't think Dolphins don't run the ball effectively much unless you know.
The only time I think they can run the ball is if whenever Daniel and Will rotate, then you might be able to run the ball and hit some outside of zone runs and things of that nature.
But outside of that, it's gonna be back on the arm of tour, just being able to ride with the emotions of the game because they're gonna be there, gonna be some sacks. There will be some sacks. There might even be an interception.
But just ride with the emotions of the game, and I think, uh that that secondary outside of Sting and Kamari will for sure girls.
From explosives well, and think it was possible. You got me more excited for this game comes Sunday. I'm looking for a big Dolphins win Texas reporter for ESPN. His name is at his name or his as I should say, is his name on social at Djbenemy, DJ appreciate you man. Enjoyed that beautiful Houston son and that dog you got hanging out there behind you, my friend, no.
Problem right now, I was like thick some degrees, so the Sunda ain't that beautiful.
It's cooler here too, so we're actually enjoying it. Take care, DJ appreciate you man, No problem, and away he goes. Always fun talking with DJ. Let's go ahead and take our last break right there. Come back on the other side. I have lots of thoughts about the playoff picture and Sunday's matchup. Next Drive Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Auto Nation, So this whole segment is completely off script.
I have a plan to kind of do.
A live four week prediction or four week simulation, I should say, of the NFL Playoff machine. But I first just want to put this to you guys, because I talked about it on the air when I did a pregame show before the Packers game with OJ McDuffie, the Great Juice obviously, and I was telling Oj, like, I love this matchup. I went over the film all week long. I think the Dolphins can exploit the Packers defense in
so many ways. Didn't feel the exact same way about the Dolphins defense against the Packers offense, and it played out that way. Offensively, did not play out the way I thought it would. But even despite the confidence I felt from the x'es and o's, and I'll never forget Seth telling me like, sometimes you have to factor in
like the human element. That's why with that Jets game, I was thinking, like, these guys might come down here and think they're on vacation because they've already given their all for what a three to nine season, And that too was wrong, which plenty of stuff you say on a podcast when you do this is going to be wrong, because this league is impossible to predict and why I'm so damn proud of that seventy one percent rate I
have right now in my picks. But the point is, despite all the x's and o's looking a certain way and how I thought it, you know, benefited Miami, I just could not shake that feeling of despair, of anticipatory regret, and you know, sadness, I guess is the way I'm
looking for. I was thinking about the game in Buffalo in twenty twenty two and how the Dolphins had just lost that Niners game and the Chargers game, and going into that one, it was a chance to get back to within a game with a division a big win on the road in Buffalo, and the whole day I was like, sad, Travis, like, you're gonna lose this game, and they did, but they came out and competed at a very high level and actually had a double digit lead in the fourth quarter of that game and showed
me something I didn't expect that day. But that's the feeling I have in these big games now. I didn't feel that way back in Week two against Buffalo. I thought that was gonna be a different game.
Did not go that way. I did feel that way in the Week nine game against the Bills.
I felt that way big time in the game against the Packers, and I cannot help but shake that feeling again heading into the Texans game, even though the Texans have issues and they're struggling. I don't know, man, maybe it's just being a Dolphins fan, but I just have this sinking feeling that it's not gonna work out.
I don't know.
I feel like they should beat them, but it just can't get over that feeling. We'll see how that tracks throughout the course of the week. On Sunday, I'll keep you guys updated on my feelings. Not that you care about those, but I just want to get it out there because I feel like some of you probably feel the same way. It's rough to go into these big matchups and just feel like everything that can go wrong will go wrong. You'll muff a punt, you'll have three
penalties in your penalties in your opening drive. Offensively, you'll blow coverages, you won't tag. You just are conditioned to think that way. And I hopefully it changes this week and we get a big win and we have a huge, huge, huge home game next week to basically put ourselves in the driver's seat for playoffs if you can beat the Niners.
After beating the text and speaking of that, let's go ahead and take a look at how this might play out here, because everyone's wondering how this might turn out. And fun story for you guys, a little TMI. I was in the bathroom at halftime of the Dolphins and
or was it before the game? I forget it was either halftime before the game of it was halftime of the Dolphins in Jets game, and I the the press box bathrooms were busy, so I had to go down to the concourse and I was able to get in there, but the line was starting to back up at halftime with all the fans filtering out, and I overheard a fan saying, like, there's no way the Broncos are going to lose two more games and we're not going to play for playoffs. Why won't we go for the fourth
down like we're are? Season's over anyways? And I just don't see it that way. I still firmly believe that if the Dolphins win the final four games, they will go to the playoffs. Now my opinion has shifted. I thought they could do that I don't think that anymore. I think the defense is tired and is too banged up to continue to play at a high enough level to beat some of these better offenses we're going to see, like on Sunday or in two weeks against the Niners.
But I don't think the rest of the AFC will be the reason why. And I want to tell you guys about it right now, because as I go through these predictions, let's just say NFC games don't matter. Ravens over the Giants. Let's just find the games that matter here, Bengalle Chiefs over Browns. If the Dolphins, So the Dolphins have to win, right, So they beat the Texans, Broncos and Colts. That's an interesting one because I think you probably want the Colts to win that game. And here's
I'll tell you why won. Because if the Broncos lose this one, I don't there's no way the Broncos run the table. So the Broncos losing this game to me automatically means at least at least a ten to seven record, if not worse. I tend to think they're gonna lose a couple more games down the stretch. Now, the Colts have an easier road the rest of the way, so we'll see. I do think the Colts are not good
enough to run the table. I just don't think they can be to four NFL teams in four consecutive weeks. But I am picking the Colts because I think their game translates more into what could be bad weather and Denver. So they win that game, that's gonna go ahead and continue through. Do you want Buffalo to beat Detroit on Sunday, by the way, because that keeps them in contention for the one C with KC you need Casey to slip up at some point as well. I'm also gonna take
the Bucks over the Chargers. I just think the Bucks getting their offensive pieces back, and that quarterback is you know, high variants. But the Chargers like play Dave Wanstead football, and I think if you have anything offensively, you can beat that team. I just don't trust them. With Lad mcconkee down, Will Distleey got down, they might come back in this game, but that quarter I just don't know. I don't trust them. So the Bucks in that one.
And so if you get that, if you get the Colts to win on Sunday, and the Bucks to win on Sunday, you open up this massive like world of opportunities for the Dolphins to find their way and the Playoffst's go ahead and pick the Eagles over the Steelers, Packers over the Seahawks.
NFC games, who cares? Who cares? Who cares?
So you go into Week sixteen if you get that Colts game and that Bucks game in your favor, Now you have a Thursday night football matchup where the Chargers and Broncos play and they're both at eight and six. So whoever loses that game it has seven losses.
And so there you go.
You found your way in already, and the Dolphins will have the tiebreakers should they go ten to seven against a ten and seven Denver or Chargers teams. Let's go ahead and pick I guess we'll take the Chargers in
that one. But here's where things get interesting, and why if the Colts beat the Broncos, it's doubly good because you could have a situation where the Texans are the one on the outside looking in, and if you beat the Texans, you would have the tiebreaker over them because check this out, Texans lose to the Dolphinslet's say that happens, that would put Miami at seven and seven and Houston at eight and six. Guess who the Texans played next Saturday.
They play at the Chiefs, and the Chiefs have voodoo magic. It does not allow them to lose football games, So you pick them to win that game. All of a sudden, Houston's nine to six, and if the Colts can beat the Titans, they be up to eight and seven, one game back of the Texans. And the Texans finish with the game at home AVERSUS the Ravens. Do you feel good about that one? And then they play at the Titans to finish the year. So let's say they lose to the Chiefs and the Ravens after losing to US.
If the Colts do their business and they win their games, guess who they jump the Texans in the division. So if the Colts beat the Broncos and then you're saying, oh no, there's no more games they could lose the rest of the way, then you have to flip it where you root for the against the Texans against two really good football teams, because the Colts could actually take the Texans spot atop the AFC South.
And then here's something else.
It's probably not gonna happen, but if that is the result you get, there's an outside chance Miami finds us way into the five seed. I don't think it's gonna happen. Can you imagine playing the Colts in Indy with TUA in the first round of the playoffs? You could say goodbye to the playoff drought if that happens. But I don't think it's gonna happen. So I digress there, but just giving you a look at some of the options here.
So the Dolphins went out that Colts Broncos game kind of gives you information about how to root the rest of the way.
That Chargers Bucks game becomes massive.
If they can find a way to take down the Chargers in that one, the Dolphins would have a great shot to be able to basically just went out and not worry about anything else because it'll take care of itself. If the Charger would have lost that damn Falcons game that they should have lost sixteen times over again, we would be like, literally win and in situation.
But it's not going to be that way.
So this weekend Chargers and Broncos is the rather Broncos and Colts is the big one. I think you want the Colts to win that game, and then if you get the Bucks over the Chargers, that is a massive, massive boon and there's not really any point doing the rest of this. So basically, if the Dolphins can beat Houston, you get those two matchups, two results the same week.
Sixteen becomes a playground of games to watch. And the cool part about it is it would be Broncos and Chargers on Thursday, Texans and Chiefs on Saturday, with Ravens and Steelers Saturday as well, and then you have the one o'clock window for the Titans for the Colts to play against the Titans, and we don't play until four to twenty five, so you would get all these games you get to watch and enjoy with implications for the
Dolphins playoff hopes before that for twenty five games. So what I'm saying is, hey, Dolphins, please win this game so I can enjoy like multiple more NFL slates to root for or against, impacting Dolphins playoff hope. So that segment didn't go exactly how I planned it, but I like it basically telling you again, ten and seven will get the job done.
Can Miami do it?
I don't think so, but hopefully they can prove me wrong after my prediction previously, I've already said it's wrong, even though it's not wrong yet as they are four and one since I said they have finished the year eight and one.
All right, let's get out of here.
Tomorrow game preview, gonna go deep into the film and check check out who's gonna win that game? And I'm lenolm Texans right now. I'm probably gonna pick the Texans, but we'll see the film and see how that goes. Friday, Zach Szeiler joins me here on the podcast, as well as Kyle Krabs.
You don't want to miss any of that.
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