0:00

That keep looking down

0:03

fail touchdown, Miami drawn?

0:13

What is up? Dolphans And

0:16

welcome to the Drive Time Podcast,

0:18

part of the Miami Dolphins podcast network,

0:21

covering your team, your Miami

0:24

Dolphins. How's it going everybody? It's a Thursday.

0:27

I am your host, Travis Wingfield

0:29

and as always, I am here to

0:31

bring you your daily dose of Miami

0:34

Dolphins football. And on today's show, it's

0:36

a preview Thursday. We played a game

0:39

one week ago, but we'll have to wait three more

0:41

days for this one. As the Dolphins travel

0:43

up to MetLife and bring a bunch of rowdy

0:45

fans with them, including myself, Seth

0:48

Levin O J. Mcduffee for the MetLife

0:50

Takeover. We'll break this game down with an introduction

0:53

to the current Jets position by position

0:55

matchups, the three keys to the game, and

0:57

how Miami can win their third straight. From

1:00

the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist

1:02

Health Training Complex, this is the

1:05

Drive Time Podcast.

1:09

It's time for a preview podcast and a

1:11

trip to Jersey to take on the New

1:14

York Jets. As we do every week here on

1:16

the preview edition, we start with an

1:18

intro into our opponent the first

1:20

time this season Dolphins and Jets,

1:22

and they actually will break a deadlock in this

1:24

game, provided there's no tie fifty

1:27

five to fifty five to one all

1:29

time in this series. And we're gonna

1:32

see this team twice in a

1:34

four week span. And I always like

1:36

saying it's a team with the wrong

1:38

shade of green, and I know Aqua

1:41

isn't technically green. I think it's more

1:43

on the blue side of the spectrum, if I'm correct

1:45

on that, but it still works, right.

1:47

I mean, I remember seeing a promo for college hoops

1:49

back in like I don't know, two thousand

1:52

two. I used to be really into the Tar Heels

1:54

and Blue Devil's rivalry, like

1:56

the Antoine Jamison days, and

1:58

I think that was about as good as it ever

2:00

got. Maybe I'm wrong on that, you basketball fans can't

2:03

correct me, but anyway, there was a promo for

2:05

that game that ran for like a week up to it,

2:07

and the voiceover on the promo said something to

2:09

the effect of two teams separated

2:12

by only eight miles in six shades

2:14

of blue or something like that. And now I

2:16

apply it to my own personal most

2:18

hated division rival. It is Jets

2:21

weak. And as I mentioned on the Seth and o J

2:23

podcast. The Rex Ryan years

2:25

was what really stirred up the victual for

2:27

me. But since then it's been a rough

2:30

road for our division rivals up to the North.

2:32

They won fifty nine games the

2:34

last ten years and only two

2:37

teams had less victories over that span

2:39

in Cleveland and Jacksonville. Are

2:41

you guys fans of the Around

2:44

the NFL podcast on NFL Media. I'm

2:46

always privy to the successes and failures

2:48

of our a f C East rivals. But Dan

2:50

Hans is the host of that podcast, is

2:53

as die hard for the Jets as we all are

2:55

for the Dolphins, and he has talked a lot

2:57

about how devoid of joy the last

2:59

deck Gata football has been for the Jet fan

3:02

and even more so you know these last five

3:04

or six years. And in fact, the first year

3:06

I began listening to the A t N pod

3:09

was the off season of ten, when

3:11

they were coming off a ten win season in which

3:13

they had a chance to go into Buffalo

3:15

in Week seventeen win and get in.

3:17

And I believe that Buffalo team was either six or

3:19

seven win team that season, and the Jets

3:22

came up short behind the arm of Ryan Fitzpatrick.

3:24

He had three picks in that game. But since

3:26

then, it's been a really rough go for them from

3:28

steen to present five and eleven, five and

3:30

eleven, four and twelve, seven and nine,

3:33

which was kind of propped up at the back end of

3:35

the schedule after a slow start and a softer

3:37

part of the schedule, and they kind of won some games there

3:39

down the stretch, then two and fourteen

3:42

and now currently two and seven,

3:44

But those wins this year came

3:47

against the Titans and Bengals, So

3:49

don't think they won't pick you off. You cannot have

3:51

that mindset. You have to get that in

3:54

there. But this segment is more about how the Jets

3:56

got to this current place and as we do every

3:58

week on the Preview podcast, want to talk about

4:00

this team, and actually I think they are

4:02

on the right track. It's just too early into

4:05

their process to truly evaluate the

4:07

win lost total that first year on a

4:09

kind of tear down, rebuild, the wind

4:11

lost whole thing. Not that big of a deal lot to me for

4:14

the most part, but I think Joe Douglas has done

4:16

a fantastic job of really maximizing

4:18

the resources and assets that he had,

4:21

namely parlaying Jamal Adams, you

4:23

know, into a into a pair

4:25

of first round draft picks for a guy who right now,

4:27

you know, he's a pressure and run defense safety who's

4:30

just not doing a whole lot for the Seahawks on that side

4:32

of the football. And to get two first rounders

4:34

and possibly a top ten pick next year,

4:36

which I believe will go below that because

4:39

the seahawks current struggles will probably stop now that

4:41

Russell Wilson's back at the controls.

4:43

But that's besides the point. They maximize that resource

4:46

the way Miami did with their resources back in twenty

4:48

nineteen. Right. In a lot of ways, it was kind of

4:50

Miami's approach in that same time span. Anytime

4:52

you're presented better than market

4:54

value, or I should say at least the

4:56

perceived market value, you want to capitalize

4:59

on that. And if you do that enough times repeatedly, you'll

5:01

start to see it kind of bare fruit for you. Process,

5:04

process, process, Right. We talked about that all the time.

5:06

It's kind of the theme of the Drivetime podcast.

5:09

Now, some of their draft capital has had some injury

5:12

problems. McKay Beckton looked like a future

5:14

All pro before the medical begin to take a toll

5:16

on him and he's a big body, dude. I

5:18

love Elijah Vera Tucker, although

5:21

I'm not crazy about spending multiple

5:24

mid round draft picks to go up for one guy

5:26

on the offensive line when they really had multiple

5:28

spots to fill this offseason, But at the end

5:31

of the day, you get a good player and Elijah

5:33

Vera Tucker. I thought Elijah Moore

5:35

was an absolute steal for them in the second round.

5:37

Quentin Williams is a true shop wrecker, so

5:39

was John Franklin Myers. Michael Carter

5:42

the running back. They also have a cornerback by the

5:44

same name is having a stellar rookie season,

5:46

and I thought Corey Davis was a nice signing this offseason

5:48

to give Zack Wilson some more weapons.

5:51

So they're loaded with draft capital and have a very

5:53

young team, and this year is certainly

5:55

one for building for them. But the one thing

5:57

you always want to see in those kind of rebuild

6:00

the years is the flashes, right and

6:02

I mean we all pointed as Dolphins fans

6:04

in twenty nine team to the Eagles and Patriots

6:06

victories, and rightly so as great signs

6:08

of progress. And the Jets have a pair

6:10

of wins over the best team right now as far

6:13

as record goes in the a f C and Tennessee

6:15

and another playoff contender in the five and

6:17

four Bengals, who have kind of fallen off since that

6:19

loss, but again, a competitive team,

6:22

so this league, you always gotta bring your

6:24

best. It'll be interesting to see how these two teams

6:27

progress in their different stages of

6:29

building under their young, first time coaches.

6:31

But enough of that. Let's get to the game on Sunday,

6:33

and as we do weekly, we start with the Jet

6:36

quarterback against the Miami Safeties

6:38

and first off, major thanks to the Jets

6:41

for announcing early on Wednesday before recording

6:43

this podcast that it would be Joe Flacco

6:46

starting under center for the Jets.

6:48

Robert Sala announced this citing

6:50

Flacco's experience over Mike White,

6:52

who threw four picks and their loss to Buffalo

6:54

last week, after Jets

6:57

fans were kind of excited to see if maybe he could

6:59

up end Zach Wilson's early start here

7:01

to his career. That obviously will not happen now, but

7:04

Zack Wilson's at the four week mark of a two

7:06

to four week injury, so giving him

7:08

a little more time to heal up. You have to

7:10

imagine we'd see him in that game down here at

7:12

hard Rock Stadium in about a month. But

7:15

it's flat go for now. And this is intriguing

7:17

to me for a number of reasons. I'm sure the

7:19

topic of last year's game, a Dolphins shutout

7:22

over Flacco in the Jets, will make its

7:24

rounds on Twitter and the pregame shows and

7:26

whatnot, but I don't think that plays

7:28

here. Obviously, both teams are gonna be different

7:30

from the year ago, but that system couldn't

7:32

be more different than it is now. And truthfully,

7:36

I think the idea of Mike Lafleur

7:38

coming from that NFL current

7:40

predominant system, of that Shanahan McVeigh

7:43

tree and system to kind of construct

7:45

a play action slash boot heavy

7:47

attack to maximize Zach

7:49

Wilson's ability to kind of go off platform, off

7:51

script and throw from different arm

7:53

angles with the arm talent and mobility

7:55

he has. But again, he's not in the

7:58

lineup this week, So how does that system ish

8:00

with what Joe Flacco does. Well, Flacco

8:02

isn't gonna be a part of designed runs. He's

8:05

not gonna be your wildcat r

8:07

P O or zone read quarterback

8:09

out of the pistol. He's just not gonna beat your

8:11

contain on rollouts. But he does have

8:13

a giant arm and can drive the football

8:15

field the football down the field, so you definitely

8:18

have to be privy to some of those deep passing

8:20

concepts. He steps into an offense

8:22

that currently operates almost exclusively

8:25

out of two packages eleven personnel,

8:27

which of course is the NFL's bread and butter,

8:30

and then this year you've seen a huge increase in twelve

8:33

personnel across the league. That's one back,

8:35

two tight ends, and two receivers at

8:38

so if my math is right, that's eight

8:40

nine percent, and honestly, it's

8:42

a very standard look in today's NFL,

8:45

not a bunch of two back sets, which was something Flacco

8:47

had a bunch of success with up in Baltimore,

8:49

as well as twelve personnel. And obviously

8:52

he's made four stops with three teams

8:54

since that time with Broncos, Jets, Eagles

8:56

now back boom ringing to the Jets once more.

8:59

But they're only other offensive package with more

9:01

than two percent utilization is ten

9:03

personnel. That's one back, no tight ends, four

9:06

receivers set. So you generally

9:08

know what you're getting with this Jets

9:10

offense as far as personnel goes, and

9:12

we saw Miami have a bunch of success

9:14

against both twelve and twenty one personnel.

9:17

The heavy approach of the Baltimore Ravens

9:19

obviously vastly different quarterbacks

9:21

and offenses. But I'm really intrigued to see

9:23

what they cook up after that game plan

9:26

they rolled out last week. It was brilliant, tasted

9:28

great, five stars. But we get to

9:30

the Miami safeties here Before we do, I should

9:32

say here is exactly what Sala

9:35

said of the decision to go with Joe Flacco.

9:37

Quote Joe. One of the reasons we got Joe

9:39

was the experienced part of it, not only

9:41

for the playing ability for the room, but also

9:43

situations just like this. Miami's got

9:45

a dynamic coverage situation when it

9:47

pertains the defense with Cover zero

9:49

and all the different coverages that they run. Joe

9:52

has been kind of a kind of been there, done

9:54

that, and just kind of steadying experience

9:56

that we felt like a post in the best position to

9:58

win this game. So there you go. We've covered

10:01

a lot of the safety play for the Dolphins

10:03

over the last few weeks, and that's because these

10:05

two guys are just playing

10:07

really good ball right now. And actually it's three

10:09

because Eric Rose having his best stretch of

10:11

the season as well, and it's been

10:14

through plenty of blitzing, as we've noted here on the podcast

10:16

and otherwise. And while I don't have the blitz

10:18

numbers on Flacco this year, because while

10:20

he just took three snaps for the first time this season

10:23

and mop up duty against Buffalo and he actually

10:25

went three for three for forty seven yards and a teddy,

10:27

good for him, good for Joe. But last year

10:29

in that game against Miami, the Dolphins sent

10:32

an extra rusher on twenty two of his forty

10:34

seven dropback, so a

10:36

little less than fifty I know that math

10:39

enough. At least against the blitz, Flacco

10:41

was ten for twenty three with four sacks,

10:44

eighty eight yards in a pick. So it was very effective

10:46

against him a year ago. Will it be this year?

10:48

He's got better weapons and a better offensive line in a

10:50

different system, so we'll find out.

10:52

And just to finish it off, we talked

10:54

about the La Fleur and Shanahan mckmcveigh

10:57

connection there. Miami played both

10:59

of those teams last year, the Rams and the Niners

11:01

and had great game plans for really all

11:04

those wide runs, the quarterback boots

11:06

and blitzing to flash color. But then

11:08

once you flash the color and force a

11:10

Jared Goff or a Jimmy Garoppolo or

11:12

a Joe Flacco to kind of hitch

11:14

and tuck the ball and try to protect himself as he

11:17

climbs and searches for an escape route. That's

11:19

when you can have a lot of success and put hits in the quarterback

11:22

negatively impact there down in distant situation,

11:24

maybe you force an Erran throw. And those

11:26

were two of the Dolphin's most successful game plans

11:29

a year ago, where they really pressured the

11:31

naked boot option off the wide runs

11:34

to really contain the edge from both the run and

11:36

the quarterback trying to leak out and give himself

11:38

a clean pocket, which I'm sure you'll see some of that in this game.

11:40

I'll be curious see how Miami goes after

11:43

that. And really, if you look at the average

11:45

points allowed, takeaways, third

11:47

down comparison against those two opponents a year

11:50

ago, compared to what they do what they did against

11:52

everybody else, it was a huge departure

11:54

for this Dolphins defense to get those teams off track.

11:56

So hopefully we see that again, but I'm

11:58

just generally curious to see the planned adjustment

12:00

for both sides, and Miami's gonna need both

12:03

Holland and Jones to continue disguising

12:05

the coverages and making plays on

12:07

the back end moving out wide to the

12:09

Jets receivers slash tight end versus

12:11

the Miami cornerbacks. They

12:13

made two additions this offseason

12:15

that really bolstered this unit from the one

12:17

we saw a year ago. Corey Davis

12:20

is a big, strong, physically gifted

12:22

receiver, you know, physically gifted enough to

12:24

go fifth overall in the draft a few years back to the

12:26

Tennessee Titans. And before we get into these

12:28

matchups, I found it interesting that in forty

12:31

four coverage snaps a week ago, Tradavious

12:33

White for Buffalo saw just two pass targets

12:36

against the Jets, so they went away from him

12:38

and you can watch it on tape. They didn't want any part of

12:40

Trey White. Will the story

12:42

be the same here this week regarding Xavien Howard.

12:44

I mean, Byron Jones is pretty damn good too, but

12:47

x did get a pick in both Jets games. Last

12:49

week's so might not be the worst

12:51

idea. But as for Davis, a lot

12:53

of his work came late in the game when

12:55

the result was already in hand. He's

12:58

been their go to guy for hundred

13:00

forty two receiving yards in the season and four touchdowns,

13:03

but he's catching less than six of his

13:05

targets, while Elijah Moore has kind of come

13:07

on here late in the season. He has two hundred

13:09

and seventy four yards and far more limited

13:12

time, but he's starting to come on here. For this Jets

13:14

offense, he's gonna get open. He's a tough

13:16

ask inside. He's one of those glue

13:18

hands guys that just catches everything that doesn't

13:20

really make sense to you. And in a game where you obviously

13:22

want to get pressure on Flacco, he might

13:24

be that quick outlet that you want to take

13:27

away off the top to force Flacco

13:29

into a secondary decision or to hold

13:31

the ball for an extra beat and look elsewhere.

13:33

They also love to get the football to Michael Carter in

13:36

space or all those quick checkdowns. More on

13:38

that here in just one moment. So whether that's

13:40

a bracket or a double team, or even

13:42

chipping and disrupting the release

13:45

of a Elijah More with a backer

13:47

or an edge defender, I think you probably want

13:49

to get hands on him early in the route and make him

13:51

take some more time to get to that release. You

13:53

don't want to get any quick access here for

13:56

Elijah More in this game, and they're gonna find a way to

13:58

stack him and to motion him and get him clear access.

14:00

So just keep an eye on Elijah More. I think he's kind of the key

14:02

to the offensive game plan here for the Jets.

14:05

After that, it's kind of a mixture

14:07

of guys that they have made play slash

14:10

been active options for the Jets

14:12

this season. I mean Denzel Mims, he's

14:14

only been up for six games after a rookie

14:16

season where he looked like he might be a solution

14:18

there. Jamison crowd of the same deal, six

14:20

games. Keelan Cole, a guy that's only seen twenty

14:22

nine targets. So when I look at who takes

14:25

who, I have to imagine the Jets will

14:27

move guys around because they just are not beholden

14:29

to one guy at one position with this receiving

14:32

corps and kind of buying into that flexibility

14:34

mindset, so they're gonna try to dictate matchups

14:36

my thing here again, Elijah More, I

14:39

think he's the answer to the quick game for them, And

14:41

again, kind of one thing that this offense does is

14:43

condensed the field and forces you to play inside,

14:46

so that can also kind of help Miami with regards to

14:48

getting extra hats in the box, but also kind

14:50

of the pressure package, and I think that's where the

14:52

success came from a year ago, where you have, you

14:55

know, this wide zone and kind of misdirection

14:57

and get linebackers taking false steps

14:59

and create knows in the passing game. With all

15:01

that I candy, because of those condensed

15:03

packages, you can then get even more creative

15:05

with your rush and who bails out because there's not as much

15:07

distance to cover when you do bill out. So

15:09

I think it's kind of beneficial to Miami in

15:11

that regard. And of course, your primary

15:14

answer for the

15:16

Jet passing game is the blocking up front, which

15:18

takes us to the Dolphins defensive line

15:20

versus the Jets offensive line. Some pressure

15:23

numbers here for these big dudes. Still no McKay

15:25

Beckton back for the Jets, so we get to look at the

15:27

fan slash Moses tackle combo

15:29

with Vera, Tucker McGovern and Van Rotten

15:31

Rotten inside just the name

15:34

power alone. Another tip of the hat here to Joe

15:36

Douglas for getting this line at least partially

15:38

turned around from what it had been in years prior.

15:41

Obviously still some work to go, but getting Moses

15:43

really kind of saved them from having to go to

15:45

the practice squad for a swing tackle. With

15:48

Chuma Adoga also down, Moses

15:50

and Fan obviously playing a lot now at those positions,

15:53

and that veteran presence inside I

15:55

think can really help along with first rounder Elijah

15:57

Vera Tucker. So for four d and twenty

15:59

three little snaps on this offensive line,

16:02

Greg Van Rotten, Elijah Vera Tucker,

16:04

and Connor McGovern have all played wire to

16:06

wire. Moses on three nine

16:09

two pass blocking snaps and pant three

16:11

eight six, so pretty good continuity there. They

16:13

just haven't had well those tackles

16:15

they normally had for most of the season, but Fan

16:18

four team pressures allowed, two sacks and no hits.

16:20

He's been by far their best offensive lineman

16:22

in past protection. Vera Tucker

16:25

twenty seven pressures, one sack and five hits.

16:27

McGovern thirteen pressures, three sacks

16:29

and no hits. Van roten thirty two

16:32

pressures, three sacks and a hit, with Moses

16:34

getting twenty nine pressures, two sacks

16:36

and eight hits on him, and a few things

16:38

here stand out to me. George

16:41

Fan has been really good. He was a guy that

16:43

I actually targeted a couple of years back as a possible

16:45

free agent idea just because of

16:47

his athletic ability and lengthen the size

16:50

composition that he fits with the Dolphins down here, but

16:52

he wind up with the Jets. Moses has

16:54

been solid despite the high pressure total

16:56

and then the guard positions have been kind of vulnerable,

16:59

not just in terms of total pressures allowed, but

17:01

converting those pressures into sacks.

17:03

And that's the sign that those guys kind of when they get beat, it's

17:06

not good for them. Even over the center position,

17:08

where McGovern has allowed just third team pressures this

17:10

season. So how do teams get those pressures?

17:12

Well, Van wrote and allowed

17:14

nine pressures the last two weeks against Indian Buffalo.

17:17

That's a Grover Stewart DeForest Buckner

17:19

combination, which two different players

17:21

ones long and strong and incredibly powerful

17:24

with with wicked hands, and Grover Stewart's

17:26

more of a squatty body power guy that can run three

17:28

you, and then Buffalo has kind of the same

17:30

mindset there At Oliver he's more of your Buckner

17:32

where Starlatu Delay is more of your Grover

17:34

Stewart. But he had a two game stretch with

17:37

third team pressures allowed back in weeks two and

17:39

three versus Denver in New England, and those are

17:41

completely different schemes stylistically, so

17:44

I guess there's different ways to approach this. But to be fair,

17:46

he did bounce back with one pressure allowed

17:48

against that tough Patriots front slash system

17:51

just five weeks later. I'd be an area

17:53

to dolf for the Dolphins to attack their Elijah

17:55

Vera Tucker third team pressures over the last three

17:57

weeks against the Bengals, Colts,

17:59

and Wills obviously same as the above players,

18:02

but his lowest PFF pass blocking grades

18:04

occurred the last two weeks, so maybe

18:06

there's something happening there. And you know what, as we kind

18:08

of continue this, this is just a theme for this team.

18:10

A lot of the pressures have occurred over the

18:12

last few weeks, and that coincides with

18:15

the QB change. QB change quarterback

18:17

change. Obviously, Zack Wilson was

18:19

and is a very mobile quarterback so

18:22

an adjustment period for them to get a little more

18:24

familiar with a more of a pocket

18:26

style quarterback, and no quarterback

18:29

is more of a pocket quarterback than Joe

18:31

Flacco. But back to the offensive line, Moses

18:33

twelve pressures last three weeks against that

18:35

same group, six against the Colts, and

18:37

Comoco to Ray had a great game there,

18:40

so did Quitty Pay and you know

18:42

Terray and Pay kind of Actually

18:45

it's a bad round. I'm trying to go for a stupid rhyme. But

18:47

Terray compares kind of in

18:49

the same mold of Agba with the length

18:52

and that first step quickness. But it was Quity Pay

18:54

who had the biggest game there. He had nine pressures,

18:56

working both sides of the offensive line.

18:58

And what does he have. He's an

19:00

explosive first step rusher and

19:03

the ability to really work through contact and shed

19:05

blocks again, two things I think are real

19:07

strengths of both of Jalen Phillips and Emmanuel

19:09

Ogbass. So trying to find that matchup hairing there

19:11

that looks good for the Dolphins and working off

19:13

that left side. Fan has only allowed three

19:15

pressures or more in just one game, and

19:17

that was last week. But obviously that was a ton of pass

19:20

attempts because that game got out of hand quickly for

19:22

the Jets up in Buffalo. Maybe it was in

19:24

New York, I can't remember, but just one pressure allowed

19:26

in two games against the Patriots. So I think

19:29

the idea here I'm trying to get to is the interior

19:31

rush kind of takes precedence, and that's

19:33

where Miami is really really good and has a

19:35

lot of those games they can call upon. Adam

19:37

Butler's first step quickness I think comes into play

19:39

here. Christian Wilkins and what he's done all season

19:41

long. Obviously Zax either getting

19:43

after a rerae Kwon Davis. I like that matchup

19:45

from Miami inside with those guys going up against

19:47

this kind of young and experienced Jets interior.

19:50

So that's

19:52

why I think Miami can exploit in this matchup, condensing

19:55

guys inside and getting that kind of look where

19:57

Phillips goes into three tech or the four eye,

19:59

same Emmanuel Ogba showing pressure

20:01

with backers and safeties mug up those

20:04

games up inside, Butler setting

20:06

the table, Wilkins getting the job done. Agba and

20:08

Phillips pairing up together on the same side of the formation

20:10

to get in position to come off the edge or inside.

20:13

Interesting matchup here. I like Miami's

20:15

chances. Let's go ahead and finish up with the position

20:17

group that has one of my favorite players

20:19

in this past year's draft class, and that's the Jets

20:22

running back versus Dolphins linebackers

20:24

Michael Carter formerly

20:26

of North Carolina, and I like Javonte

20:28

Williams a lot too. Is up to of

20:31

their workload, and that's actually been pretty

20:33

consistent since the beginning of the season. He's

20:35

got speed to burn. If he gets clear

20:37

into the second level, he can turn a chunk

20:39

gain into a home run. Even though his season

20:41

long is eighteen yards, he only has two runs

20:43

of plus fifteen yards this season. Just

20:46

don't let them get out of the gate, because we saw what he

20:48

can do down at the Senior Bowl and mobile in

20:50

that arena. Can't have that. Also,

20:52

the passing game production he leads the team

20:54

and receptions and they'll just they'll do

20:56

it almost exclusively from the backfield. He

20:58

has just thirty seven of three snaps

21:01

coming anywhere besides the backfield. So

21:03

Texas routes flat screens that type

21:05

of thing, and with Fara, Tucker is kind of a lead guy.

21:08

You can see why. But once again, though, there's

21:10

a spike in his workload based upon the change

21:12

of quarterback and the old adage says that

21:14

young quarterbacks rely on backs and tight ends

21:17

more right, And since Mike White entered

21:19

the lineup, Carter has twenty nine targets.

21:21

Where prior to that, in the first five

21:23

games with Zack Wilson a rookie, he

21:25

had just third team. So will that continue

21:27

with Joe Flacco. I don't know the answer to that, but if

21:30

it does, Miami has options, and I would imagine

21:32

one of those options is to just directly blitz

21:34

at him and force him to stay in like, hey,

21:36

you gotta pick me up. Because if you can't get into the route

21:38

when your scan produces an alert like ping,

21:41

gotta go get that guy in pass pro, then you're

21:43

not gonna be able to get in your passing routes. That might be one

21:45

way you can limit Michael Carter's receding

21:47

production in this game. They also put the

21:49

football a lot to Tie Johnson, the other running

21:51

back that plays the most. Uh. Well, we saw

21:53

it last week with the speed at the linebacker position

21:55

really benefiting Miami in that game with

21:58

Jerome Baker, Andrew Van Gink, Goldiland Phillips.

22:00

I think they need the same thing here this week against

22:02

this Jets offense. Onto the other side.

22:04

Hello from the and I'm not gonna

22:07

do the adoo Dolphins quarterback

22:09

versus Jet safeties. To is expected

22:11

to start this game, as Brian Florest holes on Wednesday,

22:14

And if you haven't seen it already, make sure you go back

22:16

and check out Tungo by Lois press conference on

22:18

Wednesday and keep close eye on the

22:20

very end when he does a little dance for us

22:22

at the podium. It's I don't

22:25

know how you can't love to. He's the best, but he sure

22:27

does hold the attention

22:29

of the press when he does media in that little room

22:31

back there here up in our building. But as for the

22:33

game goes, Marcus May went on injury reserve last

22:35

week and they went back to Jared Wilson

22:38

last week after he didn't play since the Week

22:40

five game in London against the Falcons.

22:42

Wilson is a coverage slash run defender.

22:45

In fact, both safeties are just four pass

22:47

rush attempts on his one d and seventy six

22:49

total snaps, and he's been pretty solid and run

22:51

defense, which checks out because Ashton

22:53

Davis is more of a coverage guy. He was a slot safety

22:56

combo at Cal. He was a

22:58

coverage dynamo and a playmaker there,

23:00

but it hasn't quite clicked for him here yet. One of

23:02

my favorite players not that year's draft cycle,

23:05

but he also does not blitz three pass rush attempts

23:07

on three total reps. This season,

23:10

it hasn't been as smooth of a transition.

23:12

He's been targeted eighteen times and allowed

23:14

seventeen catches this season. That's gonna

23:17

be a theme throughout the podcast here for the Dolphins

23:19

offense as a whole. The Jets are surrendering

23:21

explosive plays of

23:23

their past plays. Those are twenty plush yard

23:25

gains and that's thirty second in the National

23:27

Football League in that ranking. And

23:30

again to kind of bring this back to solos

23:32

philosophy, philosophy, when

23:34

he was with the forty niners, it was aggressive,

23:37

one gap penetrating style to crank up

23:39

the heat with those guys and play coverage.

23:41

So perhaps Miami has a little more time

23:44

to set up longer developing plays

23:46

and some shot plays down the football field. I

23:48

mean, we saw Jalen Waddle catch some routes,

23:51

some deep over routes from those deep crossers the

23:53

last couple of weeks, and those came from max pro looks,

23:55

working off play action or just finding ways to

23:57

create those clean pockets. With the Jets

24:00

on balance blitz of the time,

24:02

it's actually middle of the pack, and that probably

24:04

has a lot more to do with the personnel opposed what they had

24:06

in San Francisco with Joey Bosa and

24:08

DeForest Buckner and Eric Armstead and all the

24:10

guys. They had to bring pressure on the quarterback,

24:13

but their pressure rate is twenty at three

24:15

point nine. I'll be curious to

24:17

see if they do that

24:20

this time around, or if there's some adapting

24:22

to try to maximize the opportunity with the

24:24

big plays this Jets defense has allowed. You don't

24:26

just show up and hit it. You've got to execute.

24:29

But how will Miami try that, because as it pertains

24:31

to toa I mean, we've seen teams approach

24:33

him differently all season long. Buffalo brought

24:35

the heat and really helped limit the offense and both

24:38

those outings, albeit for just a few snaps

24:40

the first time around, but the Patriots played

24:42

more coverage and rarely blitz to Uh in

24:44

that game, and he made some big plays to thirty

24:46

plush yard completions in that game, but the

24:48

offense ultimately only had three scoring

24:50

drives. And outside of those big plays and the three

24:52

scoring drives, wasn't much cooking for the Miami

24:55

offense. And the Falcons did the exact same thing, played

24:57

coverage any three for four touchdown passes in that

24:59

game. And one way he can replicate that success

25:01

is from some help from his friends. Taking

25:04

us into our next matchup here, the Dolphins

25:06

receivers and tight ends against the Jets

25:08

cornerbacks again, Jalen Waddle. He's

25:10

seeing an increasing role at the receiver position.

25:13

We heard coach Grizzard talk a little bit

25:15

about him playing outside more last

25:17

week, and to I talked about this Wednesday

25:19

how having guys that played every position

25:21

makes his job easier to identify

25:24

matchups. And that's gonna

25:26

be the theme of the week from me here. Who do the Jets

25:28

having that back end? Well? Marcus may is out law. Marcus

25:30

Joiner was hurt in Game one only who played

25:32

nine snaps after signing here as a free agent, He's

25:34

gone for the season. Their best cover guy

25:37

has been Bryce Hall, who they were able to get

25:39

late in the draft because of an injury his final

25:41

year there Virginia. He was like cornerback one,

25:43

I think for a lot of folks before the injury. But he

25:46

starts alongside Brandon Eccles last week

25:48

and then Javelin Gidgerey played the same number of snaps

25:50

as equals both twenty nine snaps each, so

25:52

they're really going by committee there though Michael Carter

25:55

not the running back, a different player is second

25:57

and snaps at the position with four and

25:59

twenty six. This is a unit that was

26:02

coming into the season an area they had to focus

26:04

on, you know, next offseason, a little bit undermanned

26:06

coming into the year because they're rebuilding, right, they can't

26:08

do every position at once, but it has really been

26:10

bitten by the injury bug. So I think about

26:13

finding matchups as it usually is. You

26:15

know, I'll be curious to find out if Miami will

26:17

find their rabbit, the guy they want to go after

26:20

an attack relentlessly, or

26:22

will it be more about feeding someone specifically

26:24

on your own offense and just kind of looking at some

26:26

of the numbers here from coverage standpoint, Bryce

26:28

Hall three hundred and fifty six coverage snaps

26:30

allowed three hundred thirty seven yards and three touchdowns

26:33

Carter to sixty seven and coverage

26:35

three hundred nineteen yards seventy

26:37

five point six percent completion rate, echoes

26:40

two hundred and fifty seven coverage snaps just a

26:42

hundred and twelve yards and javel and Gidrey

26:44

one thirty six coverage snaps a hundred

26:46

and seventy six yards. There So giddre mostly

26:49

an outside corner eighteen reps in the slot

26:51

equals has just two slot reps. And then

26:53

Bryce Hall has not played in the slot at

26:55

all, so to use a combination of backs and safeties

26:58

to help fill that role. But last week with Hole

27:00

Beasley for the Buffalo Bills, he only

27:02

saw two targets for fifteen yards. Both

27:04

were catches. But teams have gone

27:06

back and forth in terms of who they go after inside

27:09

or outside Michael Carter, Bryce Hall, Brandon

27:12

Eccles or Javelin Gudrey. So I just don't

27:14

I don't think it's about trying to go over the matchups

27:16

here in Miami likes to move people around,

27:18

and I think it'll be a play by play deal to

27:21

just find out who you want to go after. There's options

27:23

there. But in order to do that, how about the past

27:25

protection upfront? Dolphins offensive line versus

27:27

the Jets defensive line, and this is where the

27:30

Jets strength lies on the d line, particularly

27:32

inside with big Old Quinnin Williams. What

27:34

an impressive player. Twenty three pressures this year,

27:36

twenty run stops. He does everything, so

27:38

does John Franklin Myers. One of the most underrated

27:41

players in the league. And I blamed that on a very generic

27:43

name, like if it was skid

27:45

bart boot Bop, he'd probably be a lot more popular,

27:47

right, And that's you go ahead and isolate

27:49

that sound for you for Twitter. But

27:52

anyway, John Franklin Myers, this

27:54

guy is outstanding. You have to find a way to not let

27:56

these two guys erect the game. The Jets were

27:58

pretty excited back and Hamp with the prospect

28:01

of wrecking things inside with those two guys

28:03

and then Carl Lawson doing his thing off the edge,

28:06

but Lawson was lost with the season back in training

28:08

camp and after those two guys, there is

28:10

a significant drop off in pressure numbers

28:12

because Bryce Huff, the edge player,

28:15

is third on the team with just thirteen quarterback

28:17

pressures. Luckily, for Miami. The

28:19

pass pro on the interior has been solid

28:21

this year, so it could be a big week for the tackles

28:24

in their one on one matchups where you kind of slide

28:26

to help with those interior bodies, which

28:28

to me would say you might get some instances where

28:30

you have either of your tackle and one on one

28:32

situations with one pass rusher and

28:34

you try to help. Otherwise it's gonna be a big matchup

28:37

there if that is the case. But John Frank la

28:39

Myers had nine pressures and the win over

28:41

Tennessee, and Williams had five in

28:43

that game, So there you go. That's how they won

28:45

at least one of their games, half of their games with

28:47

those two guys inside piling up fourteen quarterback

28:50

pressures. They had just three in

28:52

the Bengals win, but that game was a shootout,

28:54

the Mic White game, so you found out how they won that one

28:57

is it's a little some weird bounces here and there.

29:00

But finally, we don't want to be one dimensional,

29:02

right, So the Dolphins running back first as

29:04

Jets linebackers, but first before we talk about the

29:06

running game as pass rushers. Mosley

29:08

leads all Jet linebackers with thirty nine

29:11

pass rush reps and just three quarterback pressures.

29:13

And I'll be curious to see how Miami wants to play

29:15

this because you can obviously dictate defensive

29:17

packages with your own personnel. We've

29:20

seen Miami run more twelve personnel than anybody

29:22

else in the league. So do they want to get more linebackers

29:24

on the field or they want to go after that secondary.

29:26

Well, both matchups are pretty favorable.

29:29

Both Mosley and Quincy Williams play

29:31

a significant number of reps in coverage and

29:33

they've combined to be hit for fifty nine

29:35

catches on seventy targets Mosley

29:38

thirty eight receptions on forty two targets

29:40

combined. That's eighty four percent completion

29:42

for five hundred and fifteen yards, and

29:45

three hundred and ninety nine of those yards have

29:47

come after the catch. So tight ends and backs,

29:51

I mean, really the whole gamut. There's really options across

29:53

the board. But also you want to find a way to balance that

29:55

in the running game. If it's not working, though, I would

29:57

just find a way to go after these guys in coverage because

29:59

they had a tough time all year long and over

30:01

the last four games since nineteen sixty. Nobody's

30:04

allowed more points in a four game stretch than

30:06

that Jets defense, So there's your opportunity.

30:09

Special teams d v o A rankings Dolphins

30:11

twenty five, Jets fifteen. Their punter,

30:13

or rather their kicker, check that Matt a Mandola

30:16

is ten for thirteen. He's over two though

30:18

from beyond fifty yards. His other miss

30:20

came in the forty nine yard range, and

30:22

Thomas Moore Stead averages forty

30:24

eight point two yards per punt. With Braxton

30:26

Barrios their primary return man, just

30:29

six punt returns, they don't really get very many

30:31

punt opportunities there, but he does average a nice

30:33

twelve point eight yards per punt return and also

30:35

twenty four point seven yards on thirteen

30:37

kick returns. The Dolphins

30:39

will win this game if the defense keeps

30:41

it up. I mean, if they play like they have the last three weeks,

30:44

they're gonna suffocate the Jets offense, and if

30:46

they can get pressure on the quarterback out of the multiple

30:48

looks they've executed in those games over the last

30:50

couple of weeks, it's gonna be another tough day

30:52

of sledding for the opposing offense. And then Miami

30:54

can execute their complimentary game plan on

30:57

the offensive side, the Jets will win if

30:59

Quentnin will Hims and John Franklin Myer's ruined

31:01

the game that Miami wants to execute by

31:03

crashing the interior pocket and wiping

31:06

out the run game. Can't have that. Don't hit the quarterback.

31:08

Three keys of the game. Generate pressure on Flacco and

31:10

account for Elijah Moore and Michael Carter in the

31:12

passing game. Get that pressure, take

31:14

away the first option, force him into tucking the

31:16

ball and hitching up, and get your quarterback pressure

31:18

and mistakes from that big plays on offense.

31:21

This is the thirty second ranked big play defense

31:24

in terms of big plays allowed and the thirty

31:26

first ranked big play defense on the

31:28

running game. So both run and pass game can allow

31:30

big plays and number three, don't let

31:32

defensive tackles Quinnin Williams and John Franklin

31:34

Myer's ruin the game. Thursday

31:38

Night Football Patriots and Falcons. I

31:40

really want to take the Falcons here, but

31:42

if Cordel Patterson can't go, which I don't

31:44

know if you will, I probably gotta

31:46

go Pats even on the world on the Thursday Night. I

31:48

hate to say it, but I think I'm going Patriots here to beat

31:50

the Falcons on Thursday Night football. All

31:53

right, that's gonna be my time. You all. Please

31:55

be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple

31:57

Podcast. Leave us a rating, leave us a

31:59

review. You can follow me on Twitter at

32:01

Wingfield NFL. Follow the team at

32:03

Miami Dolphins. Check out the fish Tank

32:05

podcast and the postgame show. On five sixt

32:08

w q A M with myself with

32:10

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32:12

all going to be up there for the MetLife takeover.

32:14

We're gonna be at Slattery's on Saturday, so come

32:17

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32:19

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32:30

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32:33

He's coming home.