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Dolphins?
And welcome to the Drive Time Podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins podcast Network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins.
How's it going? Everybody?
I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show, a Thanksgiving special episode of the Draft Time Podcast, We're gonna hear from former Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Caroline is here in the house. Say hi, ha, she's here with me right now. We're gonna also pick the week twelve games. We will also hear from assistant coaches and Mike McDaniel from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Trading Complex.
This is the Draft Time podcast.
Maybe, Jeff, let's go ahead and get to my guest today, the great Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is a tradition unlike any other. And I can't imagine anybody'd rather go back to my local bar with than former Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitz you are looking as quafft as ever, my friend.
How are you doing this one?
I'm doing great? Thank you. Yeah. I was getting poured on last night in New York City, so the hairs still got some water in it.
I always tell you this every time I see each other.
I think that your beard gets all the attention, but the hair up top is is what really steals the show. So that's my intro every single time we do this podcast together. Pivoting here to Thanksgiving. The Dolphins gifted their employees the annual pies last last night, and I cracked in the mind ahead of Thanksgiving for the Hard Knocks episode of the Dolphins premiere down here, and I'll just say an elite key line, pie to me is unstoppable.
Fit.
You once made headlines talking about a different dessert birthday cakes, but I'll give you the chance here to do it again with Thanksgiving dessert. What's your go to Turkey Day dessert.
I'm not a key line guy. I'm just not. I don't know why, but I I don't know for the people pecan or pekan, but I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go with pecan pie. That is my absolute favorite. My grandma made a great one. And you know, my birthday's coming up on Friday, the day of the game, and so before we left, we had a Fakesgiving and so we did the turkey. We did a few desserts, but that's always my request. So on Fakesgiving the other day,
I got a peak on pie. It was unbelievable. But that's definitely my go too.
That's a new twist. I haven't heard you. I know friends Giving, but Fakesgiving is a new one for me.
That's two my kids came up with the name. But I thought it was pretty good. I like Bryan and Turkey every year, and you know we're going to we're in the city, we're going to do Thanksgiving somewhere else. So I still wanted the opportunity to fry the bird. So that's why we put it on there.
Well, it sounds like a fun little tradition for you guys, but also a little bit of twist being up in New York obviously, and happy birthday. My friend wasn't aware of that, so happy birthday coming here.
Yeah, I'm getting old, geez.
I just told some one other day I'm the same age as to Ron Armstead, and they that like blew them up blew them away for some reason. I'm not really sure why, but I fell you man, I'm approaching that that forty mark as well myself. So I mentioned Hard Knocks just a minute ago in the episode they covered another fun new tradition there where coach Campanelli, our linebackers coach who you know in the turnover cakes, Speaking of Hard Knocks fits, I mentioned this to you before.
I think one of my favorite Hard Knocks moments of all time was you evaluating a speech from quarterback Jamis Winston like I was just fit his character perfectly and fit your character the way they got that moment there on camera. What do you remember most about being on Hard Knocks with the Bucks that year?
Uh? So, that moment definitely went viral. But you know the thing, the thing I'll say, Hard Knocks does a great job. They're they're there, but they do a great job and not getting in the way. They do a great job of presenting it the way it should be presented. You know, I think you always go into that as a player a little bit worried about, you know, the access that they have and the things are going to show and what it's going to make you look like.
But they do a really, really great job. So I was really impressed with their staff, and you know, you end up becoming friends with them because you're seeing them every day, seeing them in the meal room and everything else. But I walked away from it very impressed by the way that they operate. And then you know, just the fact that it wasn't in your face, you kind of get comfortable with it because you know they're around and they're trying to do right by you as well.
That's impressive because you were with him for what I guess five weeks and now it's going to be the whole season, hopefully into a deep playoff run here for these Dolphins, and you know, Hard Knocks, I'll call it the green Bean cast role of this interview will very good. The main attraction is still, of course the bird or the ham, depending on what you go with. Are you a hammer Turkey Gey, No.
We're definitely Turkey family. We'll do a ham on Christmas, but definitely a Turkey's family.
Makes a lot of sense to put the media's feet to the fire at his press conference this week, saying that ham and pineapple is the way to go. Kind of fitting for a kid from Hawaii, but no one really knew about the Hawaii Are the pineapple ham mixed there?
Have you ever gone that way?
I haven't. I mean, my wife's favorite pizza is the ham and pineapple, and I just can't. I just can't do it. Love to if I was going to his house for Thanksgiving, to be on board, but if he came to mind, I think we have to be the Friday Turkey.
That's classic. I'm a big pepperoni pineapple guys, so I love it too. I'm with your wife on the pizza idea. I know most folks disagree with that, but good company there. Maybe you chose will, but Dolphins and Jets coming up here on Friday first, I wanted you to give me your ten thousand foot view of two teams you played for here and played very well for late in your career, facing off in a spotlight game with the entire nation watching, I'm so fired up. Like I mentioned to you face,
I love Jets Week. It's my fair week of the year. How fired up are you for this game on Friday?
I mean it is awesome And for us at Amazon, this is like a new holiday, is what we're looking at it as this Black Friday game. I mean, we found another space where the NFL could squeeze a game in. Why it hasn't been on this day yet, it's surprising, but the synergies with Amazon being in New York City, I think we're really fired up with this on and it's going to be you know, for us, the pregame show, halftime, post game, there's going to be great deal. There's going
to be a lot of fun. There's going to be a little bit of talking about football. But you know, it's a great game. It's a great new holiday to think we're starting the Jets. You know, I think it starts that quarterback. You know, we're going to talk about that a little bit. You know, they finally decided to make a change from Zach Wilson. They've been in a tough spot all year. I mean, their defense has been
absolutely lights out all year. So you know that as the season wears on, the divide into the locker room, when you have one side of the ball, it's outperforming the other side of the ball, you know, and you feel like the offense has been holding him back. It's something I'm always interested in seeing that dynamic because their defense has been great this year. With Miami, it seems like, you know, the narrative of well, they haven't been any good teams yet, and when they don't play good teams,
they blow them out. When they play the good teams, they can't get over the hump. This is a great defense and the Jets, aside from last week with Josh Allen did to them, they really had a number of all these great quarterbacks. They've done a great job all year. So I feel like Miami's offense has slow down a little bit. You know, the run game hasn't been as dynamic. I don't know what the status of Ashan is, but you know he'll be a huge us for anathon back.
But it just comes down to can you stop Tyreek Hill. I mean, wow, it's a consistency that he has shown all year, and it's just, you know, it's it's plays like that first touchdown last week where he catches the ball. There's four guys around him, and somehow he, more than anybody in the league, has the ability to turn on the Jets and just go and score. I can't wait to see him play. I can't wait to see Tua.
I know Tua's got a new hairstyle. You know, I'm a little confused, but I can't wait to see him and talk to him about that. So there's a lot of things I'm pumped about going into this game.
I could do a full fight minute podcast with you and two just talking about Harold Loan. That would be great to me. So you mentioned you mentioned the Jets quarterback situation, and that's kind of something I want to follow up on there because you've been in both situations right where you've come off the field and come into the game and really sparked a team and rejuvenated, you know, life into an offense that maybe previously didn't have that life.
What do you think that the Jets are experiencing right now as they pivot to a quarterback and hasn't seen a lot of action in this league on a short week against a good team like Miami.
Yeah. Well, and that's the other thing is Miami's defense, who's been playing great. They're really the big Fangio style, you know, Jalen Ramsey back. I think they're they're starting to really figure it out. So this isn't going to be an easy game for a young quarterback to step into. You know, it's hard the quarterback position when you get to a point where he's got a great defense, and basically the narrative is, okay, just don't turn the ball over and you know, don't put your defense in bad
spots and we're going to be fine. To get too conservative. So you know, for this Jets offense, it's been a huge struggle and if you look at some of the stats, amount of time I think, you know, the scoring drives, the drought that they've had, they haven't had the ability to take the ball in for ten or twelve plays, bring it down and put a touchdown the incident. So if i'm them, I'm talking about how do we generate the big plays? And you can't be conservative when you
have a chance to take a shot. It doesn't matter if it's Jalen Ramsey or Xavien Howard. You've got to put the ball down the field because it had such a hard time sustaining drives. But I think there's probably a little bit of optimism just because it's something new. You've got a new quarterback. You know, there's some intrigues and interest. How is it going to be different? But it's been really bad on that side of the football this year for the Jets.
Yeah, and then to your point of it impacts the defense too because they're going back out there after those three and now it's that's just consistently being put in spots where you have to get critical stops time and time Againnick, and where you're down, I'm sure on that
side of the football. On the other side of the Dolphins offense, you know, we talked in May for the schedule release, we talked about Tua in the first year of Mike McDaniel, how impressed you were by the way they had put together, you know, a relationship and really
kind of taken off in that first season together. Now with ten games into the second year in this offense, his first time having the same play caller and back to back years since high school, what have you seen in terms of Tua's growth and just the overall stass of where he is with his game right now.
Yeah, it's been awesome and I'm really excited. I'm really excited to see it because he's been so consistent, and I think first and foremost the health of Tua, Like he's been very healthy. He's been able to avoid the hits, he is getting the ball out. That stuff has all been really good. But he's such a great quarterback when he threw the rhythm, you know, and we've seen that for the last two years now when he hits that
back foot and the ball's coming out. He has some special weapons and in this offense set at time and time again. But it's tailor made for him because it's a rhythm offense. It's hitting these guys on the end, breaking routes and letting them catch the ball and run with it. So you know, it's also a reason why brock Purty is playing so great in San Francisco is because he's so good at anticipate, anticipation and throwing the
football accurately and on time. So great for Tua. You know, this this is going to be a enough balance for him, you know, because this defense is really good, they're going to try to get after him. They rush to pass it really well. You know, it's going to be more the same for Tua. Can he make those quick decisions? Can he put a ball in Tyreek's hands or Model's hands where they're going to be able to catch him running hill? But everybody in the league is afraid of
those two in their speed. Uh and two it does a great job and get involved in the offense.
That's a great little transition to this next question. I wanted to ask you here too, because Fitz, you know, when I was you know, before I got to the team your first year at the Dolphins, I was doing analysis for a different you know, publication, and when I put your tape on, like, man, you balled for the
Bucks when you were with them. Then you came down to South Florida and had a really good twenty nineteen season as well, where anticipation throws and going into spots and just these really high level processing type of actions. And you played so fast, so aggressive, so confident when you were here. I'm wondering, you know, because you just talked about two was processing and decision making and all
that stuff. How does processing for a quarterback become maybe not easier as the term, but I guess more second nature as you begin to rack up years of experience and multiple reps. Like do you feel like late in your career that you were just a better player because you've seen a lot more?
Yeah? I think so. You know, confidence is always a big thing too, And I think two is right and high right now with this confidence, and Mike McDaniel's on a great shove of that and trying to allow him to regain and find that. But for me, I think the later I got in my career, it wasn't you know, after the ball was snapped, how fast could I get through my progressions? It was more before the ball was snapped? What can I cancel out? Where do I the ball
is not going? And once I figured that little tid bit out and was able to you know, let's say on every play, you've got five guys that you can throw the ball to, and I'm able to eliminate two guys from that too, Like could say, look, defense isn't great for these two guys. I love these three guys. I think once I figured out that, and before I had the ball in my hand. I was already able to only have you know, two or three guys that had the opportunity to get the ball. That was when
I really started processing fast. And the other thing for me everywhere I went was always you know I was talking about earlier in this but giving guys chances. You know, when I came to Miami, DeVante Parker, I'm sitting there scratching my head like, how has this guy not been you know, a thousand year receiver every year, so great with the fifty to fifty ball. Mike is SICKI you know, was a guy that was like how is he more
passes than in the field? And so trying to unlock the confidence and those guys has always been a big part of where I've in my game. And man, it makes me smile because I loved. I love my time in Miami thinking about those guys. And I got my
old my old ear on right here. But tell you what, when I'm when I go and now as an analyst, but I go to these games and I get to see, you know, the players, it's great, but I mean the equipment guys, it's trainers, Like I am so excited to see the staff on Miami because these are some of my best friends in the world.
I was gonna say, I recognize the travel gear anytime I see it, So I'm glad to see you rocking
out right now in New York City. Pretty cool to rep that on a Dolphins Jets game week for us here and you mentioned Devonte Parker, They're like, I think I think it was at the Giants you had a twenty five yard touchdown pass to him that was one of the just the prettiest touchdowns I've seen in the Miami Dolphins game ever, where you threw up the scene and like you let that thing go before he was even off the press of the last scrimage, and man, it was fun to watch twelve hundred yards for him
that you're like you mentioned, you know, after not having a thousand.
Yard season prior to that.
I'm gonna ask you the same question I asked Trent Green on the podcast last week. Fits So apologies for redundancies here for the audience, but I think that it would be a miss to not ask you this as well.
It's a hypothetical.
So you're twenty eight years old again, whatever you considered the prime of your career, we talked about how good you were in your late thirties, but maybe you want to go back to a Times No.
Thirty. I'm thirty seven. Okay, go ahead.
So the hypothetical is you just found out you're right where you want to be in your pro career, and you found out you're going to be quarterbacking of Mike McDaniel offense. What would your reaction to that be just in terms of how excited you are about getting to work with coach as a quarterback.
Well, I'd have to work through the Harvard Yale thing first off, you know, that would be a big sticking point for us. I'm actually going to avoid them before the game because ZL did just beat Harvard. Definitely will be avoiding him. I've seen these pretty fast though. I
would be so fired up. I think you know all quarterbacks watching the success that Too has had the last two years, the amount of his coach believes in him, and for me, the workiness, like I think I get a kick out of, just like a lot of other people do, is press comferences and Wake carries himself and it's just so different from and refreshing from a lot of the head coaches that you've seen and that I've
played for them. But his ability to marry up a run game with the play action the past game is awesome. It looks like a master class every week, and so I would be so fired up, you know, if I ever had that opportunity to do that the last couple of years. I'm telling you people, every game, somebody gets here, Hey you coming back. I am retired, and I'm so happy. Seventeen years was enough, but you know, I'm loving life
right now. But that would have that would have been a great opportunity at some point.
It feels like a like a buddy cop movie or something, you and him hanging out together.
It would be perfect. The Harvard yelping. I didn't even think about that. It's a great connection there.
Good on you for acknowledging that, and then the fact that you how to avoid him despite the fact that he could chase you down like he did on that great Snday night football run.
Back to the locker room. A few weekspect Ryan.
Fitzpatrick, my guest from the Draft Time podcast, a couple of questions about the defense for the Dolphins here. We talked about it earlier, but just curious when you plug the tape on our watched this team play, like Jalen Ramsey came back three games ago and they averaged just allowing fourteen points per game in the game since he returned.
How does his presence change what coach Fangio and that zone heavy, you know, light box defense and all the things that he does that really well across you know, a long football career. How does Ramsey really help this defensive scheme go to the next level.
I think he really helps the scheme just because he's an all Pro type player. But I think he elevates everybody. I mean, from last week at the beginning of that football game Xavian Howard, it just seemed like he was really into it. He was really engaged. He was making tackles and hits behind the line of scrimmage. I think his presence elevates everybody. And Andrew Whitworth do I work with, you know, Thursday Night Football with the Amazon Prime stuff.
He Andrew told me a lot of great stories about Jalen in La and his presence, his leadership, and how much he demands of himself and how much he demands and that of everybody else. So his presence the buildings, hurt, howing, some meetings and all that stuff. You know, I've heard great things and with Miami and the position they're in to get him and all of a sudden for that
defense to flip the switch. They're playing at a high level right now, and I think a lot of that is due to Jalen Ramsey's return and his presence in the lineup. I think that elevates everybody else's game.
I'm not sure I've seen a person more singularly focused in Jalen Ramsey as he is all ball all the time. It's fun to watch and it's fun to be around. Just a real quick follow up on the defense here, real quick, because you've played against the Spangio defense a few times in your career. They one of the principles is light boxes that allow them to get more guys in the coverage and they can get out of the
quarterback with four. They can defend the run with with those guys as well, and David Long a big part of that. Jerome Baker in the middle, and of course you know Zach Sealer, Christian Wilkins, like these guys. This is a very good front seven, and these guys play a lot of snaps as well. How does this personnel allow Miami to play that stuf defense because of the players I just talked.
About two of my favorite guys in the world. He just mentioned Christen Wilkinson, Zack Steeler. You Zach has been so amazing for Miami. It's nice to see him get the new deal. But yeah, I mean it's just you know, these guys play fast, they play tough, and it really thinks. But it really seems like, especially on the back end, that they're starting to understand the principles of this defense.
So it makes it tough on a quarterback. And another thing, you got to remember when you have an offensive scoring all of a sudden, this feeds into Fangio's defense a little bit too. You know, he's got a team that's trying to play ketchup and they know they're going to score because they're watching Tyreek Won will run all over the field and you see the scoreboard getting lit up. Puts a lot more pressure on the imposing quarterback, and again that just kind of feeds into the way he likes to play.
So big game here here on Friday, Ryan fis Patrick my guest coming up on Black Friday up in the middle Lands, Dolphins at Jets. One last question here for you fits. A lot of people are gonna be picking the Dolphins. This one question to you is how do the Jets challenge the Dolphins and make this a tighter contest with the divisional matchup on the road. Obviously some of those factors go into the Jets, but how do they hang around this game and make it close to the very.
End of Yeah, I mean, I think the amazing thing about the NFL is you do get these divisional Jets. You know, crazy things always seem to happen, even you know, looking back last week with the Rams in Seattle, it's like it just these games are always closer than you think they're going to be. And you know they're going to rely on a lot of obviously great defense and big plays from their defense, creating some turnovers, maybe scoring on defense, scoring on special teams. I think we're going
to see the trippery. I mean, they've got nothing to lose at this point, right that's dangerous when you're playing a team there's absolutely nothing to lose, and I think that's the point of the season that the Jets are at. So we make our picks every week. Right now, I think I know I'm sitting up on top of the panel. I think I'm eighting one. Uh. I can't tell you who I'm going to pick because I know that work who's on my heels is going to be watching your podcast,
so I'm sure he's a huge fan. But I'm going to keep my pick to myself right now. But very much looking forward to the game.
Hey, your sweathriss has it all my friend. Now, I'm just kidding when we're in this pot like that. But now, very good stuff.
Happy Fanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving, Happy soon to be birthday. Here Ryan Fitzpatrick.
You can find him on the pregame show on Friday on Amazon halftime postgame as well. Hopefully some Dolphins up on that panel with you guys after the fact. From MetLife fits, It's always a pleasure, man, Keep killing it. Love you in this new industry, in this new walk of life. We'll see it on the line of my friend.
Thank you well.
Audio on that wasn't great, but the content was right. Very happy to talk to Ryan Fitzpatrick. So gracious of him to take time out of his vacation right now with his family he's up in New York with the entire Fitzpatrick family before Friday's game up in New York, so appreciate his time here on the show. Always makes
time for us here with the Miami Dolphins. Go ahead and take our first break right here, deep into the podcast, and it's gonna be a long one today, but we only have a few episodes this week, so I don't feel too bad about it. We are gonna come back on the other side give you my thoughts on Hard Knocks. We'll also hear from Fangio, Frank Smith, Mike McDaniel to a tongue Mailoa all that. Next Draft Time podcast your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Auto Nation. So
we all watched Hard Knocks on Tuesday? Right, yeah you did. You're not listening to this podcast and you didn't watch Hard Knocks, Come on, don't lie to me.
It dropped on Tuesday.
The first thing I wanted to touch on is just the reception of it, because seeing all you guys on social raving about it, my friends who are also fans of the Finns texting me telling me they're all in on how pumped they are about this episode, and this team and look for someone like me, like you guys, it's a can't miss right. You're not gonna get that type of access to the team and think it's anything.
Less than awesome.
What I love the most was the conversations on the practice field, because that's the most like inside football you're gonna get in any capacity. And it was just really cool to see Mike hyping the guys up. The no look past reaction, the Max Crosby Quinton Bell roll, which by the way to a thanking Quinton for nudging him and bumping him every time he goes past.
Him, is hilarious. Gets hit.
Thank you, sir, May I have another? I thought Coach Camp stole the show. In fact, we're gonna do top three MVPs of the episode. He'll be in there. What's funny about the intensity he brought there was that you won't find a better person in a more like kind of reserved personality.
When he's just talking to you on the building.
Camp's the kind of guy that asks you how the family's doing, how are you feeling, how's your week been? He just cares, and we love him for that. I thought Mike's opening speech was outstanding. And isn't that just fitting like in terms of who he is? Because people always ask me, you know, I'll do radio spots or I did a show for nfl UK last week. They always asked me, what's Mike Like, what's it like working
in this building with Mike McDaniel in charge? And I always just go back to the well of he is the genuine article. He encourages everybody to be themselves, from QB one to the stupid podcast guy back here on the other side of the building. Be you, and we'll have our most success through you being your authentic self.
I really, really really liked the accounting of the days practices, games left, even though it was a little bit sobering because you realize that we only have forty seven days left until the playoffs, and then like it goes by so fast from there and then it's back to watching baseball, which I love baseball, but it ain't football.
What else?
The offensive line dinner was outstanding. I knew we'd get laughs if Rob Jones got his beautiful face on the screen, and that happened in about two seconds eating that tiny little burger. Awesome to see tarn Armstead's leadership on display like that. I kept on saying throughout the show to my wife, Oh, it's one of my favorite people in the world right there, And she's like, you said that about everyone on the.
Show so far. What can I say?
This is a building full of likable people.
Kendall Lamb. Yeah.
If you heard the Wednesday podcast, Wait Tuesday podcast talking about the Jets, Kendall, you and I kindred spirits, my friend. I love Kendall Lamb. I also loved Wes Welker marveling at both Tyreek speed and Tua's anticipation that one big hitter they had in practice. In fact, I clipped the audio.
He let that go at the hash I would say it was crazy, you got.
It like dame near inside edge of the numbers.
But yes, listen to Stephen Ruiz tell you about too his skill set, right, Yeah, I think I think Wes Welker, I might take his word. First, I thought the Tyreek at Home stuff was really good. First. I liked that they went to him first because if anybody can handle this distraction or you know, quote unquote distraction, it's definitely him. But hearing him talk about his experience and maturity as
he approaches his late twenties. It's made some mistakes, right, but it sounds like he's got, you know, his kind of situation in terms of where he wants to be in the man he wants to be figured out, and that's kind of cool. I thought it was cool they showed him catching damn near the same route, if not the exact same route that he scored a touchdown on in practice. Also the those twenty five yard far hash comebacks or out routes that he was throwing that I
rade about on the All twenty two podcast. It was cool to see that in practice and then of course in the game. And then of course just how he's different. Man, Like the hand was bothering him. Hell Kyle Johnston athletic trainer putting the splint on his hand, saying I'm glad you're built different, Like, thanks for doing that for me.
That's all I can say. Man, He's just different. Shout out to the starring role for Vera Halim our outstanding communications department over here, and she is a big part of that. Not a lot of people can challenge Tyreek like that, and she's just one of them, Like though she's one hundred percent right, one hundred and forty six yards and a touchdown is not exactly not doing ish. Tyreek loved him saying, Tyreek that is we never know
Tua's next move. Speaking of Tua politeness personified, Ah, my goodness. And then my penultimate note here, I just loved his leadership after the game, going with all the skill guys, all the defensive guys, saying I need to be better telling the defense.
You guys carry the day today.
You can just see the way his teammates feel about him, and it's been obvious to us for a long time. Hopefully you'all get a better look at that now. Christian Wilkins winning dance, like had to put that in there. Marino after the game, gosh, just so so good. And finally a tip of the cap to NFL Films. The pictures, the visuals, they're just stuf. How can you not love all the highlights they showed you. The edit was great and the facility the stadium South Florida constant stunning visuals.
I am so pumped for the show. We have at least seven more weeks. I think ten or eleven more weeks personally, and like Coach said, they are just documenting the season and hopefully it's a special one that we can all look back on with this type of access as a very very memorable year. Just think, if you go and accomplish what we all want to accomplish this year, if Hard Knocks was here for that and the access you'd have to it pretty fun opportunity. Hopefully the football
gods work out in that way. Let's go ahead and move next to the sound bites of the week and the game picks in the third segment. That's next the Drive Time Podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by out donation. We're gonna hear from Tula, McDaniel, Smith, and Fango here. Let's go ahead and start with Tula because the short week in the NFL always fascinates me, especially with how and you'll hear this from coach McDaniel,
how regimented these guys are. And it's very very much your same schedule every single week, routine, routine, routine, and so when you throw that off, it changes things. So I ask QB one, how much more challenging is it to prepare when you don't have as many live reps on the practice field.
It is more challenging, you know, only because you play a game. You know there's there's the science behind the forty eight hour time window of practicing.
Or or not practicing.
So you know, it's it's a lot of mental reps for for all of us. And then I think we'll have we'll probably have one day of a field practice to just run around and you know, make sure everything is is on point and on time. But outside of that, this is a well, what makes these short weeks tough is a lot of these these things are mental, more mental than physical.
QB one kind of echoes the sentiment of the head coach with regards to the mental aspect of it. And you're gonna hear a long SoundBite here from coach thinking about chopping up. But I kind of want to play the whole thing because it was very insightful, very good. I asked coach the exact same question. He was about four times as long as to a here's McDaniel.
It is a completely different challenge. You have to let go of some of your idiosyncrasies as a coach to where maybe your plan is uh, you know, it just adjusts everything you do. You have to keep in mind you can't have your cake and eat it too. You only have a certain amount of reps. So how do you do things within the realm of players comfort so they're confident, but also give an element of edge that is necessary to be any NFL team. You're you're trying
to balance a lot of things. It is a strain. You want to talk about something that no one talks about that is so real is we are a creature of habit, right. We have the same orchestration of work week and that that is where people live in a high stakes world of professional football. Well, we are meeting all day and putting in so much stuff on Tuesday, which is the player's day off. So that is the challenge that you enter into because they're conditioned. Even it
doesn't matter how bad they want to they're tired. It's like, oh, man, to me, just play, Yes you did, So you have to really go after it that whole player day off, which is now your Wednesday and Thursday combined, and then you have to all of that is hard, and then you have to get up and do it again the next day, except this time you're practicing as you would on Thursday on a Wednesday, which is different to the.
Clock, you know.
I mean there's a professional athletes have the most O, C D and routine and are more routine oriented than anybody that I've come across, Like they are regimented. That's the only way that you can maximize your physical performance. Talking about meals how like stretching, massages, treatment pools, tubs, all the different things that go into it. So that inherently is a challenge. But when it's a uncontrollable then it's not about this is hard.
It's about okay, so.
Then how do we how do we combat that? And you know, I feel very fortunate that we have a lot of competitors that when it was explain to them through that lens, they're up for the challenge. And I'm expecting some some exciting football here today on the practice field.
Yeah, that's gonna be a long podcast here because that was just so good. Like I I loved the He's just so self aware of the situation. How the athlete might, you know, react to his certain situation. And that's why I think, you know, in addition to the great offensive scheming and game plans and quarterback you know knowledge, I think that's the biggest advantage the coach has is just the overall self awareness and how to relate to the
modern day athlete. Speaking of that, this guy loves himself from Jalen Ramsey and why wouldn't you also, by the way, Jalen Ramsey AFC Defensive Player of the Week. After those two picks, where else would you go with that? He was asked about Jayleen Ramsey's involvement in all the meetings and stuff this offseason, or rather this season after his injury and how impactful that was and how that helped him drop right into the defense. Another long answer here,
but he compared him to a certain movie character. I think you guys will all resonate with no.
I think it's I think it's absolutely everything. When I tell you, never in my career have I seen someone with.
Months, not week's.
Injury be as involved in a team. Mind you, he had two practices under his belt with this team. So to have two practices, understand have the wherewithal to understand your impact on people and how your injury was. I mean, our our team was in the tank until he talked to the team and explained that, hey, I'm gonna do this, and they did it each and every day. You know, when your most talented players epitomize your beliefs and how to do things as an individual, uh, with regard to yourself,
but also with the regards to the entire team. When you have the most talent and then you exhibit the exact.
Model of the.
You know of Rudy, Like that's like the guy that you're like, wow, Like you have Rudy in a you know, once in a once in a generation type skill set. You know, for a guy that size and like it, it it can't help. There's no way to avoid the ramifications for the rest of the team.
You know.
I think he comes back and it raises people's level of game because he's an elite player, but you also know what he did to get back here, and so then you, you know, maybe you take an extra thirty minutes to review your your tip sheet that you get from your coaches the night before the game, Like the residuals are endless. If you want to be a winning program, that has to happen or you're just wishing and hoping. So I can't say enough good things about that guy.
One of my top three favorite players of all time, and I've only been on a game, in game situations with him like what four times three three?
Two more soundbites here.
Let's go ahead and start with Vic Fangio, because I'm fascinated by this concept of preparing for a player who just doesn't have a lot of tape, going back to his Yukon days with one touchdown, thirteen picks in nineteen games, which is still the most fascinating stat I've ever seen in sports, more so than cal ripkens Ironman record, more so than Nolan Ryan's six no hitters, more so than.
Oh, shoot, what was the last one I had?
There?
The Ted Williams hitting streak.
The fact that Tim Boyle made the NFL after going one in thirteen in touchdown interception ratio is the greatest at of all time. Let's go ahead and hear from Vic Fangio about how you prepare for a quarterback who has not played a lot of action in the National Football League.
He played in the preseason for the Jets this year. He played in Chicago, which was the same system that he's in now. Because you know, he was in Green Bay with coach Hackett, the offensive coordinator in Chicago, was in Green Bay when he was there, he was with Chicago. Now he's back with coach Hacketts, so he knows the system and there's some video out there.
Very last one here a question that I wanted to ask McDaniel or Frank Smith, because a couple of weeks ago McDaniel allude to the difficulty of coming off the bench in game for an offensive lineman. So I asked Frank Smith why is that? And his answer as always very detailed, very informative. Here's Dolphins OC Frank Smith.
When you play in a group that's with you know, four of their guys and you're working together and having to communicate together to do accomplish a job, it's not like you're an individual. Like wide receivers can work in tandem or in groups as far as their pattern they're running. You know, running backs can work with the old line. Dolphinsive line of one of them is not in phase with the other. You know, it kind of sticks out.
So the government in the middle of the game and be get into the swing of things and make sure you're communicating. They've they've already seen things going on in the game, so then may be a step ahead of you as far as the you know, the first thing that comes out of their mouth is like, yo, like I remember, you know, playing in college starting in three years, I mean by the end the center and the like. I didn't even I was like, hey, yep, like you don't even have to you don't even have to.
Really say it.
It is kind of sense because you're you already talked during the week, so you know exactly what you should, what the other guy's thinking. I mean, the more the closer you are, the better that occurs. So coming off the bench at that position, it is challenging, especially when you may have prepped here, there, everywhere, and then now all of a sudden, it's like, hey, well, by the way you're going out of here, you know. So I think that's a real challenge, and that's why they train
they do. That's why we train the way we do to hopefully help them to be ready for those situations.
Okay, let's go ahead and conclude this episode with the Week twelve picks a big week back in week eleven, eleven and three, we are so back losses in the Lac VERSUS Green Bay Game, Washington and New York, Minnesota, and Denver, but the eleven and three record brings us to one fifteen and fifty one on the year. That is sixty nine point three percent. Going closer to that seventy percent goal.
We have heavy two.
I forget, I don't care, but get over seventy is the goal right now, and I think these picks on Turkey Day might assuage me. Is that the right word for that goal to happen? Because I'm taking two touchdown underdogs on Thanksgiving?
Give me a Green Bay over Detroit. I don't know why.
I just feel like Detroit to do for a loss, especially after that comeback win over the Bears at home, a much inferior team. Jordan Love getting a little bit hotter, playing some better football here, still believe in his skill set. I will take the Packers on Turkey Day. Give me Dallas over Washington. Give me Seattle over San Francisco playing in that building on a short week for the Niners, A big game next week against the Eagles coming up. I don't know why, but give me the Seahawks with
Gino Smith. Dolphins over Jets. Duh.
Give me Houston over Jacksonville.
I just don't think Jacksonville is I think that the national media narrative around Miami should be on Jacksonville.
I think CJ. Stroud's great. I love Texans right now.
Both teams make the playoffs, but Houston gets a big win and secures division lead with they win over Jacksonville. Give me a Pittsburgh over Cincinnati. I will not pick Jake Bryant to win any games year. Give me the Saints over the Falcons and the Battle of Mid. Give me the Titans over the Panthers, and another battle of less than mid. Give me Tampa Bay over Indy. Kind of the same story. A lot of that in the NFL right now. Give me the Patriots over the Giants
in the big game. As far as quarterback availability in this year's draft, go Patriots in that one. Broncos over the Browns another game where I don't think either offense can do much, so another fun seventeen to thirteen game. I'll take the Broncos because they have Russell Wilson compared to a rookie in Dorian Thompson Robinson. Give me the Cardinals over the Rams. Kyler Murray's back, he's playing good.
Both those defenses are horrible. I like his chance to make bigger plays than Matthew Stafford's behind a bad Rams offensive line. Give me the Eagles over the Bills and that would be a big victory for the Dolphins in the race for the AFC East Crown. To put this thing away in bet, put it to bed, I should say rather early, give me the Chiefs over the Raiders.
Hopefully not.
That's pretty obvious to me. Give me the Ravens over the Chargers. I hope the Chargers win that game, but I think the Ravens running attack is going to be way too much for that Chargers defense to handle. And then on Monday night, snoozer. But give me the be to get the upset over the Minnesota Bikings. All right, that is my time on this edition of the Draft Time podcast. You all please be sure to subscribe to
the podcast. But first before that, you all have a very very happy Thanksgiving because it's a great time of year. Enjoy your family, enjoy the food, enjoy your football. And let's go ahead and get one message here from my little girl. Have me good dear me, Ah, she's the best.
I love that little kid.
All right, Subscribe, rate review, follow all that fun stuff, fish tank. Check us out on the YouTube channel for the Bradley chub breakdown. Please go click on that seven or eight times and give us some better views and nest we can do it more often for you all in the future.
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Dolphins dot com Until next time, Vita, Carolin, Cameron, and Daddy.
He's coming home to eat key lampi and hang out with y'all.