Drive Time: Wildcard Weekend Lessons

all bad. We'll talk about which incumbents on the Dolphins roster can stand to make this team better next year that are not impact players right now, We'll talk about the weekend that was in wild card weekend, and I'll hit you guys with mock off season one point zero. And this is like the crudest one we'll do because I haven't even come close to completing my film study

on all the prospects and freegans to be. So we'll do that to kick off the off season here for you guys, and I think Wednesday will get into the position by a position review as we head into the off season. From the Baptist Hell Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.

It's pretty pretty unenjoyable for most of the year. But there's like a four month window where we have the best weather on the planet where it's like sixty to seventy degrees really all day every day, sometimes up to seventy five eighty, maybe a little bit blowout in the certain cold fronts. But took the kids to a world of beer. We live like right across from this huge commercial complex full of restaurants, and it has like hewey magoos, It has duck Donuts, it has Bubbakups, it has Zuru Ramen.

There's a dumpling panda in there. There's a flan Agains, there's a five guys I get my haircut over there. There's a casino Maderna. We walked over there before the Broncos and Bill's game, and the kids were just happy as can be. Daughter riding the scooter and got a brunch burger from World of Beer, which is one of my favorite burgers there is in South Florida, which I know World of Beer is a chain, but you know, hey, I'm weak, but yeah, man, it was just a really

nice kind of dial things back. And that was despite being sick too, So I hope your weekends were as good as mine. And I didn't realize this as I was doing it. I always talk about the playoff games here on the show, but I was taking notes pretty heavily throughout each of those games and trying to find ways to tie what you were seeing on the field back to the Miami Dolphins, as we do this time of year for every single playoff round, or I should

say every year this time of year. And you know, the last couple of years, we had wild card games of our own to recap and that would give us another week of content. But now I have the full wild card slate for the first time since twenty twenty one to break down and look at it through a dolphin's lens. And I'm sitting there taking these extensive notes, fighting some congestion and in between, you know, playing with

my daughter and my son. I taught my daughter this dap, you know, the tap up where you go high low, low high, then you pound it afterwards.

and seventy six overall. We took the Texans, we took the Ravens, we took the Bills, We did take the Packers wamp wamp and took the Commanders in that really fun game that kind of save what was otherwise a boring weekend. However, all of that said will be about four minutes into the show here. All for a preamble is to number one. First off the top, A man, how great was that first game?

I have clips on my Twitter from back when I used to do this stuff where I would clip, you know, watch every single college prospect every weekend and put clips on Twitter. And that's kind of how I got popular in the first place. And you know, trying to do more of that on Blue Sky. But I would do the clips of college quarterbacks, not twenty nineteen quarterback class

or twenty twenty quarterback class, I should say. And I'll never forget the Arizon State game when Justin Herbert had big moment on top of big moment against the Herm Edwards defense that clowned him. And that was kind of what he was in all those big games. And that's what he's been for the Chargers. No One seems to remember. It was twenty twenty one. They were playing at the

Houston Texans. This is when the like the David Colvey Houston Texans right, a team that won three or four games and was happy to win three or four games, and he threw a stinker, had a bad pick six in that game. I remember watching because I was on the plane ride back from my hometown and we were playing the Saints on Monday night the next night, and the Dolphins needed a Chargers loss in that spot, and the Patriots I think needed to lose a game and

they did to the Buffalo Bills. And it was a really good plane ride watching those games transpire, and like, that's who he's been, and that's what he was in this game.

Lamar Jackson just feasted on the freaking moribund Pittsburgh Steelers without Jay Flowers and then Patrick Mahomes the last couple of years has won super Bowls without you know, well, he's got Travis Kelcey, but now he's got just the corpse of Kelsey and nothing else much around him besides well, I guess Rashid Rice was there, Hollywood Brown is now there and Xavier Worthy.

Kasicki's his top weapons, it didn't look as good. I mean, you can separate the individual, and I always thought too like made that offense, you know, basically at an FCS offense functional, but especially in the case here with the Chargers, where this quarterback has to see it in order to throw it. I don't know who the hell's telling you people, you people that this guy is like an elite processor and anticipator.

of Ryan Tannehill. It's he's when he can get out and get on a straight line, it's very good.

a Dolphins perspective. You gotta have temperature changing defenders. Man watch the way. And this might be too late, you know, after the game's already occurred, but if you guys were watching it with great detail, Kamari Lassiter and Kaylen Bullock are dogs man, young players, hungry players coming off pile, slapping their heads like Jalen Waddle does me he makes a big catch like this me just me absolute psycho pass.

You have to have that. And the Dolphins I thought lacked that outside of like Jordan Brooks and Zach Seeler and like don't I don't want to get into like telling who was not a dog, but we don't. We just didn't have enough, right because there's there are guys in this team that are like that, but there just wasn't enough. Like look at Derwin James, you know, or Dayone Henley for the Chargers on the other side, same

exact thing. The Chargers average three point seven yards per play in the first half of that game.

Texans after they get shellacked next week by the Chiefs. No, they're not going to do that because you can either be the Chiefs and the Chargers or the twenty twenty three Dolphins, or you can be the Cleveland Browns or the New York Jets or the New England Patriots.

a half of what two was was. I guess the Houston Texans, So better start the segments talking about how the Chargers have to change quarterbacks, right. Ravens and Steelers game was was pretty one sided. The Steelers were always frauds.

for the Buccaneers. He's one of the original Draft Network founders. He is very adamant that Mike Tomlin is a very overrated head coach. And I saw him debating some people, some some you know, uh, who was it, Dan Orlovsky, No, it was It was so many big at ESPN that he was going back and forth with and they were like, yeah, I kinda I kind of see it, are great Rosenthals, he it was, and they were like, yeah, I kind

of see it that way too. And it's just like this elite mediocrity does that track for you guys, Like they're a team that they're gonna be in that second tech that tier of well I just talked about Chargers, Texans, twenty twenty three Dolphins, but they're not at the top of that tier and they're never going to break through into the next category until they find themselves a big

time quarterback. When they had a big time quarterback, it was big Ben Roethlisberger, and they their last championship was in two thousand and eight, and so you know, I don't I would love to have a Mike Tomlin. I think a program disciplinarian like that, a program center who is a disciplinarian is a good thing to have in your building. But this Steelers team, man, I'm glad we get them next year. I would like to to prove that fraud fraudulentce is that word from the Miami Dolphins.

So that was the big takeaways. That game was never going to be close.

good as anybody. And remember, like I want everybody to remember right now, what the narrative is on Lamar Jackson. Sixteen points per game in the playoffs, he six in the six games, he's like two and four. Whatever the record is, Just wait what he's twenty seven, twenty eight. It's all gonna end this year and no one's gonna care about that, and that's something I think everyone should keep an eye on because we're gonna talk about Jordan Love and we talked about Justin Herbert and obviously two

was in that category. Now there's a lot of really good quarterbacks that haven't had playoff success because guess what, it's really really hard to win at this stage. It's I mean, the wildcard round often comes down to your draw.

weird surprise, Shocked, couldn't believe it. I did think it was impressive how the Broncos stole that possession in the first half with a fake punt against a team where it's like fourth and medium at around midfield. Kind of a house money game, and you weren't aware of like a possible route from your gunner against a what you call the jammer, the guys who play on the outside

against those gunners. I thought that was kind of strange, but I just noted that in this time of year, you know, the margins get tighter, creating short fields, and

special teams plays can make the difference. And it got me thinking about the Dolphins and like, in each of our narrow losses to the Buffalo Bills, you're really just one special teams play away, right, And go figure that in two of those last three games they had against us where they narrowly beat us, what do they get besides was it a ninety four yard Deontay Hardy punt return touchdown when Cameron Good was in the gap to

make a play and then his leg blew up. Sorry, you know, if you don't laugh, it's it's tragedy or whatever they say.

because you got that splash play. Most likely, if you get a splash play against the Cardinals, against the Bills, against the Colts, you would have won those games and you'd be playing right now, or maybe you would have played this past weekend. So you know, the news that came across that Danny Crossman and both Wes Welker were let go. The Danny cross won. You know, I love coach, he was a really really good dude, But that seemed

like it was long, long, long overdue. And I think the last big special teams play we made, you know, I don't count a muff punt against the Titans last year on Monday Night, was the blocked punt that Andrew van ginkl Jalen Phillips block punt touchdown return against the Bears in twenty twenty two. I think it was like, you know, if you can get those in big games,

it could separate you in tight, close games. So I also noted that in these big time games, which playoff games or you know, must win regular season games, teams typically make mistakes early. To me, it's about managing those mistakes, weathering the storm, and then capitalizing when the other team makes the mistake because we in the first quarter of those games put ourselves behind the eight ball and have

to play catch up the rest of the game. It happened all year last year, in that Eagles game, in that Chiefs game, in the Bills game, they scored on the opening their opening drive after to or through a pick. You know, like it's just that same formula, and we got to find a way to start faster and to be prepared coming into the game rather than have to take a quarter to quarter and a half two quarters

to settle into a football game. I think I think to do that, I think Miami has to find a way to emulate difficult situations because the thing I just talked about is an element of being a tough football team. You know, we used to get that in training camp with the weather. It was brutal. It was nobody wanted to practice in Miami. And while I think that too, a day's for twenty one straight days is a good way to manufacture your own December swoons.

and make it harder on yourself. That was my big takeaway from how just these these little fine margins can make a difference, not in this round so much because there were so many mismatches, but you'll see that going forward and the Ravens and Bills game friends, and they're gonna see plenty of that. I also noted that the Broncos is a good job early and this is funny to say this for a quarterback that had a perfect passer rating their their cage concept. Rushing Josh was how

you have to do it. And basically your ends will basically rush the upfield shoulder of the tackle and try to close back in, but they're gonna they want to be on the upfield shoulder of the quarterback, and you want your defensive tackles to push the pocket, but stay and phase with with their rush, with their blocker, and with the quarterback, and it's it basically is designed to make that quarterback stay in the pocket and play from that position. And there's I'm gonna start put more stuff

on bluees guy, think about educational stuff. And there's a great article about what cage the cage concept is, like, go ahead and throw up on blue Sky. But it got me thinking about how each of the last three games he played against the Buffalo Bills, we didn't have Chubb or Phillips and we didn't have Zach Seeler for one of them. But the last time we did have all three of them, we lost and s gave up

forty eight points. That was just really funny. My last note here was you will not beat Josh Allen in a defensive struggle. He may slump for a quarter two if you're lucky, but you will not shut him out for sixty minutes. You have to do a lot more, way more than what the Broncos offense saved. But rookie quarterback, inexperienced team that was probably given Packers and Eagles. You know, first off, Vic Fangio, I hate saying this, but he

was right. I mean he was right. It's a tough pill to swallow about what he saw and what he wanted to get away from here. And of course his head was always in phillies, so I kind of hate him for that. But he was right about his evaluations here, just about the personnel, but about the way, you know, the way things were, you know, party boys and everything he talked about was not a winning culture at least

what he observed. What he say this year play out with you know, late to meetings and lack of accountability. The coach and the GM told you as much. Now they have a chance to change it, but they have to take ownership of that. Now is back to this game. Putting that quarterback in a blender was really impressive. Jordan Love was terrible in this game, and they had him confused.

those conversions because these teams can do that. We really struggle on those third and one situations. And I think it's the quarterback more than anything else. It isn't just the offensive line for the Eagles. And when you see this too, because you're gonna see all these teams built in the trenches. Like this year that might be the case, but in years past, the Niners, the Bengals, you know, teams with banged up, bad offensive lines have gone deep.

So I hate when everyone's like this is what you have to do to be a championship team. It changes literally every single year. What the Eagles are. Yes, they are a great offensive line. They're just a really good team that can morph and beat you whatever kind of game you want to play. They have enough winning plays to beat you. And then I this is the last two notes here, I'm gonna this is gonna, you know,

delve into the Bucks and Commander's game. I love what McVeigh and Matt Lafleura have done and the packers got their butts handed to them. But what they've done to add a power comp component to an offense that's very similar to ours.

every blade of grass. And wouldn't it make sense because you're getting them running vertically, you're getting them running horizontally, but also that vertical drop they're playing on their heel, right, So what would pair better to that than having a downhill freight tram like a Josh Jacobs or like a Kyne Williams or you know whatever.

about this stuff in general. Last game, Bucks and Commanders, and this is the biggest point I wanted to make of the entire thing that pairs off of that that Lafleur and McVeigh comment. The Bucks went from last last year and rushing yards per attempt and rushing yards per game this year. They they were third and fourth in the NFL in those categories, and the only changes were at center, where they replaced Ryan Jensen, who was like not even not Hall of Fame, but he's all very good,

who was injured in the last couple of years. So it wasn't necessarily Ryan Jensen, but they replaced him with Graham Barton, a rookie. They took him the first round, which, by the way, all these fans that think that they know more than the team, like Chop Robinson's a better draft pick than Graham Barton, bar nun so shut up about that. And then a fifth round rookie running back in Bucky Irving, who was the best rookie running back

in the NFL. So that's kind of a slight to him to call him that, but it is what he was. The real change was incorporating counter to a wide zone scheme. You heard Chris collins Worth talk about it all night long. Liam Cohen, their offensive coordinator, said it was because the offensive lineman they had were good at it, so they

incorporated it. And we're able to get to six seven different versions of counter to go off of that wide zone game, and you could see the way it creates leverage advantages and get that speed to the perimeter for Bucky Irving, like, it's a beautiful way to do it. And they have those different variations and they just kept getting better at it as they worked at it and

went along. So the Dolphins have to find a way to become a team that can do that, a team that can be fungible in the running game, attack and approach things differently when things are going your way. Also, I just love the commander's fourth down approach in that game, like, Hey, if we get down here twice and we go for it both times and miss once, that's seven points. That's more than kicking two field goals. I like the math

on that as a notorious not a math guy. And then my last point, Diami Brown was on my free agent list of guys I'm interested in. After watching that game, he vaults very high to the top of that list. He fits the Crabs Moniker Young hungry. First contract didn't go how you wanted it to. Now you have something to prove in the second contract. Diami Brown would make

a lot of sense, I think for a receiver. Here for your Miami Dolphins last break right there, we're gonna come back and talk about the incumbents and the guys, the unproven players on the roster who could shore up needs that you have. Will also do our first mock off season all that next Draft Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Auto Nation. Oh boy, anybody watch Severance on Apple TV mayhan. Season two starts

on a Friday. As a I rewatched the first season that as one of the best shows I've ever seen in my entire.

become completely forgotten about. Like my example is Andrew Meyer, who's actually not even a practice squad guy. He's on the roster. Does anybody remember that. I know, Chris greerminded you of that. He's been an active all year, but that obviously tells you something, right, They don't want to open him up to the risk of becoming available on the open market. And as much as I liked his camp and preseason tape, like this is a UTEP kid

who has zero NFL snaps? Are you really going to take me seriously if I tell you that he's a solution on the interior of the offensive line, No, you're not. But if I give you Patrick McMorris, you probably think, well, yeah, of course he was a draft pick and he had tangible tape in the preseason. Spoiler, he's going to be in this list. So let's look at the incumbents here. You will get no greater boost to your roster than

hitting on these guys. And look, I still think that Greer has done a really good job with draft picks early. He's done a good job getting free agents here. I think he's done brilliantly in the execution of trades. Now, where you can knock the lopsidness of this roster, you can certainly drill the middle rounds that have been well a dearth for you quite frankly really since the whole

thing began. Which is funny to me because you used to be able to set your watch to guys like you know, Rashad Jones, the original fifth rounder, Bobby McCain, Andrew van Ginkel. Hell, even brief contributors like Tony Lippett and Jay a Jay, But I will agree that Cam Smith, Channing Tyndall, Eric Azukama, those were major, major, major misses.

You're never going to bat a thousand, But imagine if those picks, who are all in the range of guys you expect to contribute right, second, third, fourth round, if they worked out, we would have had a solid backup in a position that has endured plenty of injuries. With the wide receiver room and Eric Azuokama. Lord knows we needed the number two linebacker for a while now. Channing Tyndall and Cam Smith sure would have been nice to have the contributor out there with all the games that

Kendall Fuller missed this year. But that's where this team has missed development of mid round picks and late rounders alike. To give you cheap depth, we've had to sign depth at the cost of Saran Neil. I mean, Jordan Poyer is a starter OBJ at receiver. For depth, I think you get what I'm getting at here. So ahead of a bunch of draft picks on Day two and Day three, you have this year, which by the way, you have one in the first round, one the second round, you're

gonna have one in the third round. You're gonna have two in the fourth round because the Christian Wilkins compick is gonna drop back to the fourth round because he didn't play twenty five percent of the of his snaps this year. What a dumb rule. They still get him, We still lost him. Why does that matter? I hate that rule? And then two picks in the fifth round, no picks in the sixth round, and then three picks in the seventh round.

Before that, we will have guys that will have been in the program that you have that you hope can take a year two or year three jump the way Austin Jackson did versus what Leam Mikenberg didn't do right. But see that there is emblematic of the issue this roster building resume has had. We get it from early picks, but mid and later round picks just have not. You literally have one contributor from the twenty three to twenty four classes.

Larnel Coleman, Jared Doakes. Twenty twenty it was Brandon Jones, Solomon Kinley, Jason Strobridge, Curtis Weaver, Blake Ferguson, Malcolm Perry. You need to start getting something from some of these guys at some point. And I thought, while this team was winning eleven games and putting six players in the Pro Bowl, it was fine. But now for a team that gets depleted down the stretch, each of the last

three years. Look no further than that for why you've been in the position to sign Justin Houston and Bruce Irvin, or to start Jackson Carmen, or to play Duke Riley in a big spot. With a massive preamble out of the way, here are the players at each position that I think could help you reduce your level of needs. Patrick McMorris, the way he plays instinctually and the physicality

of how he plays. He has what I was talking about earlier with that dogged mentality, come off a pile and slap your helmet like you cannot contain you're excitement for the play that you just made, for the physicality that you just issued. I think Patrick McMorris special Teams eight for sure, possibly dime safety, a depth piece that is you know, can come off the bench in a pinch and play for you on the interior offensive line.

I thought Andrew Meyer was a possible backup center for the Dolphins this year had something happened to Aaron Brewer. Luckily he played every single step and didn't have to do that. But Andrew Meyer, I thought was a player that in the preseason had some good movement skills. He seemed to understand the communication of pass protection when it came to his job in the middle of the offensive line. So I think he has a chance to kind of maybe solidify the back end of your interior offensive line.

Maybe he can make Liam Eichenberg expendable. And I like Liam for the for an eighth ninth offensive lineman as a guy that can play all five positions and will play hurt no questions asked. Tight End Julian Hill doesn't really belong here, but I think there's a lot more to come with this player. I still love him as your third wide tight end on the roster. That's why

I hope he becomes this year. We'll talk more about that receiver d s Gridge, the fact that they trusted him to play snaps in Seattle over the league, Washington said a lot. I know Maleiku was coming off an injury, but Deed had just gotten here and he kind of fits the mold of what you want in terms of physical good ball carrier can block on the edge, and

then Grant Dubos and Taj Washington are other options. Taj is an interesting player because of how well he can get vertically, and we didn't see him basically beyond like OTA's last year.

I thought he's an option in that position. And then Braiden Daniels, the guy they added off the practice squad a couple weeks back, is a possible option there off the edge, Cam Good Grayson Murphy's the guy that I really want to focus on. I think that his pass rush skill, the ability to run games. I think he's a great fit in this defense, and he was popping off all through camp early on. Gets hurt, doesn't get a chance to come back and play this year. Keep

an eye on Grace and Murphy next year. Obviously, Mohammed Kamara is a player that didn't get a lot of playing time.

left outs tight end. I'm not put in Tanner, Connor and here because you can't develop if you can't stay healthy. We'll see you about Hayden, Rucie Jackson, Carmen no I said Ryan Hayes, no Neil Ferrell defensive tackle. No. I didn't like it this year Channing and Eric Azukama at linebacker receiver also respectively. No I did a mock off season once Blue Sky, We're gonna run through it real quick.

I signed left guard Tevin Jenkins, a physical tone center from the Chicago Bears who I think is a great fit in the system. Trey Lance, I want to do like a multiple year contract for a developmental backup quarterback like Trey Lance, and get him in the program, get him learning, get him feeling comfortable. You're the backup to two up. You're gonna play. We need you, We're gonna develop you. You're gonna be our short yard solution in the running game as well. Free set Darius Washington from

the Ravens. Did you watch that game? The way he hits, the way he flies, the way he moves, That's the guy I want in the post for us next year. Nick Westbrook a keene a six foot three receiver. I think we need that. He was a touchdown maker for a horrible Titans offense this year. And then Derek Nandi, the rotational piece inside for the Chiefs. And I do think Kalais will come back. So that said my third defensive tackle in there. And then I drafted Tyler Warren,

the Penn State tight end. I took Shamar Stewart, the defensive lineman from Texas A and M even though I know he's not going to go that late, but just for the fun of it, he's a hell of a player. Tes Johnson in the second round for a trade that I got for Tyreek Hill, Lathan Ransom, the safety from Ohio State that I love, and then an Ohio State

offensive guard Donovan Jackson. So I get Tua and lance A chan and right, and my running backs Waddle, Nick westbrook A, Keene tes Johnson, Malik Washington, my receivers, John news Smith, Tyler Warren, Julian Hill. What a great tight end room that is. My tackles are Patrick Paul, Austin Jackson and key On Smith. My interior offensive line is Tevin Jenkins, Aarn Brewer, Isaiah Win, Donovan Jackson, Liam Eichenberg

and Andrew Mayer. I keep saying Mayor Meyer and then Kalais and Zach Steeler with Shamar Stewart who can play defensive tackle and edge of two ninety Deshan Han, Benito Jones. I get JP back, I get chopped or chubb back. I've got chop Bowser, Quentin Bell, Mohammed Kamara, linebackers Jordan Brooks and Tyrrel Dotson, corners Ramsey Fuller, Cohu.