0:02

Looking down Field, clutchdown,

0:04

Miami

0:08

Run. What's

0:13

up, doll fans and welcome to

0:15

the Drive Time Podcast, part of the Miami

0:18

Dolphins podcast network, covering your

0:20

team, your Miami

0:22

Dolphins. How's it going, everybody? I am

0:25

your host, Travis Wingfield, and

0:27

I'm here to bring you your daily dose of

0:30

Miami Dolphins football. And on today's show,

0:32

it's a preview. Thursday edition of the Drivetime

0:35

Podcast will examine Sunday's matchup

0:37

with the Houston Texans, position by position,

0:40

tell you about some tendencies and key to the

0:42

game. The Dolphins will win if the

0:44

Houston Texans will win, if we'll show you

0:46

the Three Keys, will pick Thursday night's game

0:48

and go in depth on Miami versus

0:50

Houston on Sunday from hard

0:53

Rock Stadium. All of that and more from

0:55

the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist

0:57

Health Training Complex. This is the

1:01

Drive Time Podcast. Before

1:06

we dive in off the top here with the

1:08

preview, I just want to let you guys know I'm not going

1:10

to cover the career and Flora's pressers

1:12

from Wednesday outside of some of the football

1:14

commentary here maybe the coach made, but you

1:16

can find those in their entirety

1:18

on the team's YouTube channel, Busy

1:21

morning on Wednesday at Baptist Health

1:23

Training Complex and Sunday across

1:26

the street there's a football game. I don't know

1:28

about you, guys, but I can't wait. I always

1:31

Sundays the sanctuary away from all the other

1:33

drama and media attention that goes

1:35

around the stuff outside of the actual game

1:37

of football. And I like to keep the main thing

1:40

the main thing in anytime there's a game, that's

1:42

the main thing for me, and this podcast it's

1:44

all about football. So let's dive into the Houston Texans

1:47

here. We start these pods with a little

1:49

bit of recent history on the opposition, and

1:51

most of you are probably pretty well

1:53

versed with the Texans in the way they

1:55

have gone the last few years, the way you would be a divisional

1:58

opponent, because well, we've been tracking

2:00

those draft picks for a couple of years, haven't we, And it

2:02

was ups and downs at time, no more

2:04

fun than in kind of tracking

2:07

their weekly progress and in that draft

2:10

or I guess the season for one

2:12

draft which helped produce a draft pick that

2:14

Miami turned into an addition additional

2:17

first rounder three and

2:19

Jalen Waddle onto their current roster.

2:21

So with Houston, I mean they

2:24

were recently an annual

2:26

division champion, winners of

2:28

the a f C South four out

2:30

of five times under the Bill O'Brien

2:32

era, and that stretched as far

2:34

as a twenty four point lead in the twenty nineteen

2:36

divisional playoffs before Patrick Mahomes

2:39

went Patrick Mahomes on them. But that

2:41

was the peak of that run

2:43

among four division championships and a couple

2:45

of playoff wins here and they're including one with brock ost

2:47

Wilder at the Helm that later resulted in a loss

2:50

to Tom Brady in the New England Patriots.

2:52

But they've not had a lot

2:54

of draft picks to restock their cupboards

2:56

after really a handful of those

2:58

prominent Houston texts is that were parts

3:00

of those division championships departed

3:03

the franchise and that was a roster for a long time

3:05

that was really loaded up top. But when they

3:07

started getting injuries to guys like J. J. Watt

3:09

or Whitney Merciless or but Nardrick

3:11

McKinney or whatever the case may have been, that

3:14

was difficult from the rebound from that. And

3:16

then of course now Deshaun Watson, the recent quarterback

3:18

there in Houston, not so much this year as

3:20

he has not played a game, but J. J. Watt,

3:22

DeAndre Hopkins, but Ardrick McKinney, a

3:24

significant portion of that core that really

3:27

led them to those division titles are

3:29

no longer there as they looked to rebuild the roster

3:31

now as they kind of start to get their draft picks

3:34

back right there. That last year was the last year as

3:36

far as their picks coming this way, and they

3:38

spent some picks otherwise on like a David

3:40

Johnson trade for instance, so starting to

3:42

get a chance to get back into the draft here in the future.

3:45

They've got an interesting constructed football

3:47

team because of a very crazy offseason

3:49

where they signed something like twenty seven free

3:51

agents I think it was, and the majority of those

3:54

were one year deals to veterans. That stop

3:58

gap is probably the wrong word, but is that you

4:00

just didn't expect to have a long term

4:04

outlook with the club, especially not all twenty

4:06

seven of the guys. That's never how it works. But they had

4:08

to throw out that roster right they they didn't have the draft

4:10

picks, they didn't have the means to fill the roster oute that way,

4:12

so they had to get someone in there to play football.

4:14

So as they transition in a year where

4:18

their previous starting quarterback has been an active

4:20

all season and the number two quarterback has been

4:22

injured since Week two, it's been the Davis

4:24

Mills show, who was their first draft pick back in

4:26

April in the third round, And that's

4:28

where we start here, the Houston quarterback

4:31

versus the Miami Dolphins safeties. And

4:33

admittedly my

4:35

exposure to Mills in the pre

4:37

draft run up was pretty limited. I really

4:39

only did work ups on those top five guys. But so

4:42

far through seven games and six starts as of

4:44

pro seven touchdowns, eight picks,

4:47

completion rate, six point five yards per attempt,

4:49

twenty sacks taken for a hundred and thirty

4:52

yards of lost yardage, and a net five

4:54

three five net yard passing attempt

4:57

figure, along with an eighty point two pass

4:59

a rating and a twenty nine point two quarterback

5:01

rating. And going back over the tape, the

5:04

New England game was his best so far,

5:06

and in that contest, I thought he did a good job of taking

5:08

what was offered to him. As far as the defensive

5:11

structure, it was a lot of coverage

5:13

and clamping in the red zone for the Patriots. But he

5:15

did throw three touchdowns and three hundred

5:17

and twelve yards in that game, and he was blitzed

5:19

only seven times and completed four

5:22

of six passes for twenty

5:24

nine yards against the Blitz, but he was under

5:26

pressure on seven dropbacks, only

5:29

completing one of four passes, taking

5:31

three sacks for three yards of positive

5:33

yards in the past completion. He was kept

5:35

clean in that game with

5:38

three hundred nine yards and three touchdown passes

5:40

on non pressure dropbacks,

5:42

but he did take advantage of the opportunities he

5:45

had in the vertical game, hitting three of

5:47

five passes in the twenty plus yard

5:49

air yard range for a hundred forty four

5:51

yards and two scores. Now, that was

5:53

the one game I pointed to because we know the Patriots

5:55

and Dolphins have somewhat similar defensive

5:57

styles as far as man coverage some of the

6:00

games up front and playing more of a bend

6:02

but don't break style, which has become more commonplace

6:05

across the National Football League. But

6:07

that was that game I wanted to focus on because

6:10

on the season he's had some ups and

6:12

downs against the Blitz, which is expected for

6:14

any rookie quarterback. Complation

6:16

is great six point two yards per attempt

6:18

is not terrible against the blitz because

6:20

the ball comes out of your hands quickly right, and then it's

6:22

kind of incumbent on the receivers to make blaze at that

6:25

point after the catch. No touchdowns

6:27

and two picks. However, when not blitzed,

6:29

six interceptions, So maybe that was the idea

6:31

where to play that kind of seven man

6:33

coverage and don't send extra bodies and

6:36

sacrifice from the back end to get pressure on the

6:38

front end, because you can make plays when

6:40

there is just no pressure on the quarterback.

6:42

And one thing I think the Dolphins need to get back to defensively

6:45

is those big plays sacks and takeaways.

6:47

It's been a bit of a departure from what

6:49

it was last year, and with Mills in

6:51

the lineup, twelve of their

6:54

plays have resulted in a sack

6:56

or a pick. So they need to keep that trend rolling

6:58

here from Miami, and it starts in some

7:00

ways with the content we focused on yesterday,

7:03

right those Dolphins safeties Javon Holland

7:05

and Brandon Jones, and Miami's

7:07

ability to get flexible with those two young safeties

7:09

I think could come into play here. We've seen them

7:11

down around the line of scrimmage, either one of them.

7:14

I'll be really curious to see the plane for the Dolphins

7:16

here. Do you want to force the issue and attack

7:18

Mills? And I keep kind of thinking about that Rams

7:20

game last year war They would pressure him with with

7:22

you know, the boot action, shutting that thing down,

7:25

bringing blitz up the middle, forcing those quick throws

7:27

in the zero coverage, and it would cause some tipball,

7:29

some batted getting his arm hit when he went

7:31

to throw the football, which caused to pick against

7:33

U or the Eric rohe picked off in that game.

7:36

Do you do that or do you sit back and stay

7:38

patient and let those opportunities come to you.

7:40

With regards to the Patriots and the limited blitzing

7:42

action, they're actually below the league median

7:44

and blitz rate point one percent,

7:47

while Miami is third most at thirty three

7:49

point six percent. When interesting dichotomy there,

7:51

and I think maybe maybe

7:53

that was more indicative of

7:55

the Patriots plan this year on defense opposed

7:58

to that specific game plan. That's where you want the

8:00

games though, right We're gonna find out about how Miami wants

8:02

to approach this thing and Davis Mills,

8:04

and this is why I tend to favor

8:07

the blitzing action a little more. He's just not gonna

8:09

scramble a whole lot. In fact, he has only

8:11

two scramble runs all season long. He's played

8:13

seven games to scramble runs two

8:16

does that pretty much every single week. It's you know, not

8:18

to say one is better than the other, but it's just

8:20

an interesting comparison. So if you can

8:22

get him off the spot, that's

8:25

where some of those forced errors

8:27

or big play creation can come from, I think.

8:29

And if you can do it with winning with four man pressure,

8:31

fantastic. But if you have to bring extra guys

8:33

and play that blanket coverage in the back end, I'm good

8:35

with that too. But how about his options in the

8:38

passing game. Before we get to that, first, let's

8:40

go ahead and talk about the fact that Tyrod Taylor

8:42

has a chance to return this week,

8:44

and if he does well, he's

8:46

a completely different quarterback than what Davis Mills

8:48

is. He's one of the best creators there is

8:51

out there in the game right now and would certainly

8:53

change the entire dynamic of that game. Taylor

8:56

scares me a little bit. But back to the weapons. Houston

8:58

receivers and tied ends versus Dolphins cornerbacks.

9:00

We touched on the potential presence of safeties

9:03

in the box or up on the line, and

9:05

check out these splits for a second. Jordan Aikins

9:08

was a tied end from UCF a couple of years back. No,

9:11

you know you're gonna like that. He has the

9:13

second most past targets on the team

9:15

with twenty four past targets. That's one

9:17

better than David Johnson, five more than

9:20

Nico Collins, the rookie out of Michigan, and

9:22

that trend continues on down to Pharaoh

9:24

Brown, fellow tight end Danny Amondola.

9:26

We remember him, Chris Conley, Chris Moore,

9:28

Anthony Miller. But who's the top

9:30

that list? There's we're going in a direction

9:32

with this. Brandon Cooks has sixty

9:35

nine nice, has the

9:37

go to guy without a doubt in the offense. So what's their focus

9:39

going to be, Which means it's

9:42

probably gonna be Brandon Cooks right, and that means

9:44

that has to be the defense is focused to right.

9:46

That's kind of how the math works there. But real quick,

9:49

back to the tight end position. Aikins is a big

9:51

body, post up type of tied down with some athletic

9:53

ability who can flex out. So it's Eric

9:55

Rose matchup maybe or is there some more

9:57

Holland and Jones on him, maybe some more

9:59

backer cut Ridge. I'll be keeping an eye on that

10:01

because you can't let him go off either. But back

10:03

to Cooks. That's the start and

10:06

finished really with US Houston Texans offense as

10:08

far as where the football goes to. We saw Miami

10:10

kind of alternate their double teams last week between

10:13

digs and Sanders and sometimes even inside

10:15

with Cole Beasley, and he talked about how the times

10:17

that he was left one on one he made both

10:19

the most of it. It might be a

10:21

little more clear here with regards to the guy you cap and funnel,

10:23

because the targets tell you Brandon Cooks is

10:26

where the football goes and he's one of the best route runners

10:28

in the entire game. His career

10:30

is kind of an enigma to me. I mean, he's

10:33

incredibly quick and decisive. He knows how to set

10:35

defensive backs up and attack blind spots with

10:37

leverage advantages. I was a huge

10:39

fan of his game coming out of Oregon State,

10:41

and he really blew me away at the Senior Bowl as well.

10:44

But he can run by you and make

10:46

tough catches, just a combination of

10:48

everything that you want from the position. He really encompasses

10:51

all of it. And the reason his career is an

10:53

enigma is because he's always been

10:55

that good to me and he's played for so many

10:57

teams like it's just one of those unusual

10:59

situation is where a guy, despite high

11:01

level production, has found his way out

11:03

of a couple of cities with different teams. But

11:06

he's a seventent

11:08

split as far as outside and slot goes.

11:11

So three force and about a quarter of the time

11:13

in the slot, I should say three force out wide,

11:15

one quarter in the slot, and that gives you obviously

11:17

eight percent left over, but zero of that

11:20

is in line and those nasty splits. So where

11:22

does it come from? Well the backfield, So keep

11:24

your eye on Brandon Cooks. They're gonna manufacture

11:26

receptions for him behind the line on the

11:28

screen game. So it's imperative to tackle

11:31

well on the perimeter and continue to show the

11:33

exemplary effort we've had on screens

11:35

with not just the cornerbacks fighting through blocks,

11:37

but the defensive line retracing those things

11:40

and making big plays for you out wide.

11:42

When the cornerbacks can force the receiver to

11:44

bubble on those screens. I thought

11:46

Miami really handled it well last week

11:48

in that regard, so doing it again and tackling

11:51

well could be a big key in this game. And

11:53

you see that manufactured reception idea

11:55

on display with his catch rate. Dudes got

11:57

fifty one grabs this year for a seventy catch

12:00

rate. Those are good numbers. Eight point

12:02

four yards per targets, a good number eleven

12:04

point five yards per catch. Not like

12:07

blowing you away, but it's still a decent number.

12:09

On twenty plus yard throws of of

12:11

intended air yards, he's caught four

12:13

of nine, so that's that's a pretty efficient

12:15

downfield striking there with Brandon Cooks

12:18

in the intermediate range though, thirteen

12:20

of seventeen, so very efficient. He

12:22

makes the most of that high number of targets.

12:25

Six catches behind the line on six targets

12:27

and twenty seven of thirty three in

12:29

the zero to nine range. Two of the passes

12:31

for Cooks this year have been picked off. So it

12:34

kind of goes back to my thought there about Xavier Howard

12:36

and putting him on the most targeted player

12:38

because it gives you more chances interceptions.

12:41

But I kind of feel a different way about this this week,

12:43

and I'll tell you why here in just one second. Something

12:45

else. Houston does a good job with us getting him

12:48

matchups on non cornerbacks. He had three

12:50

receptions last week against safeties and linebackers,

12:52

and that's kind of a weekly thing for him. So Miami

12:55

will have to make the choice between zoning

12:57

it up, which can create those matchups, and

12:59

playing more man, which basically,

13:01

you know, just check him with one of your best corners, or do

13:03

you double him with other players? Options

13:05

exist here when you have a kind of one

13:08

player heavy oriented offense, but I would

13:10

think you want to focus on the guy that has tripled

13:12

the targets of the number two passing

13:14

option. So for me, I

13:17

like the idea of, you know, need

13:19

Um or Coleman with

13:22

with a cap on top like a safety maybe

13:24

you're in big Nickel there or a linebacker

13:26

just finding a way to force him to have to beat

13:28

two guys to beat you. Because the other

13:30

guys in the receiving corps, it's they kind

13:32

of spread it all over the place. And the situation is the same

13:34

at running back and tight end too. It's it's a

13:37

very unique, interesting offense as far as the distribution

13:39

goes. Chris Conley is one of the guys that gets

13:41

targets, but he's one of these more kind of athletic

13:44

and fast guys. We heard a bunch of the defenders

13:46

on Wednesday's media availability talk about

13:48

the speed this Texans offense has, which has really

13:50

increased this year compared to last season.

13:52

But Chris Conley is one of those guys. And you guys know,

13:54

I typically feel like with with a player like Conley's

13:57

physical makeup that Byron Jones is

13:59

to well, I mean it's not to

14:02

me. It's just a fact athletically, testing,

14:04

wise, change the direction, all that fun stuff

14:06

that's really his bread and butter. So I kind of like that

14:08

matchup. I like the idea of that matchup

14:10

Nico Collins with Xavier Howard just kind

14:12

of takeaway because Collins is the next highest

14:15

receiver in terms of targets, Just take him out of

14:17

the game with one player. I think x can do that.

14:19

And then at this in the slot position against Brandon Cooks,

14:22

double it, double look heck out of it, Conley

14:24

on Jones, X on Collins.

14:27

And then with Chris Moore Amondla Anthony

14:29

Miller. There's so many guys that have

14:31

so many snaps here, but we'll figure that out as we go along. Those

14:34

are the three matchups I'm most concerned about. And then

14:36

also with Jordan Nakins, just I'm

14:38

not really sure on that one. Maybe it's a safety

14:40

matchup and you just try to reroute him early and live

14:42

with underneath stuff. But I really do

14:44

like those matchups there for Miami. Now,

14:46

before the ball gets into the air, it's always important

14:48

to win the matchup up front, right, So the

14:51

Texans offensive line the Dolphins defensive

14:53

line, and they're down some dude. You're not gonna see

14:55

Linony Tunzel, he's on injury reserve. No Justin

14:57

Brett, they're starting center, and no Marcus

14:59

Canon, who has played spot duty there for them

15:01

a little bit. But the pressures allowed

15:03

by the projected stars on Sunday are As

15:05

follows. Charlie

15:07

Heck eight pressures on a hundred and sixty

15:10

seven pass blocking reps, Max Sharping

15:12

fifteen pressures on two four,

15:15

Justin McCray six on one seventeen,

15:18

Jaron Christian Senior four

15:20

on one seventy, and Tias Howard

15:22

sixteen on three hundred and seven,

15:24

but fourteen of those for Howard are hurries.

15:27

He's by far the best healthy alignment on that offensive

15:29

lineman right now, eighty one pressures

15:32

allowed in total banged up group. Can

15:34

Miami capitalize on that? They need

15:36

to pressure this quarterback, and Howard's

15:38

the most proven, most accomplished this season.

15:41

He's been really solid since really weeks two, where

15:43

he allowed four pressures in the first two

15:45

games each eight total, but since that time

15:47

in six games, just eight pressures allowed,

15:50

and that's odd bas matchup, and you go back

15:52

to some of the matchups where he did get beat a little bit

15:54

Jacksonville with Dwayne Smoot or Josh Allen

15:56

and those guys. His ability to kind of convert those speed

15:59

to hour moves and the heavy handed ends,

16:02

I really think that's something to keep an eye on here. If Oga

16:04

can kind of get similar production he's been

16:06

doing it all He's along so far with pressure

16:08

production, batting the ball down the line, run

16:10

defense. Keeping a big eye on that matchup,

16:13

and if they can't handle that, that's gonna open

16:15

up so much other stuff for this Dolphins front. Because

16:17

inside, with all the games that Miami

16:19

runs, all the depth they have in the ability to

16:21

rotate bodies up front could help keep them fresh

16:23

while dialing up that pressure look. But it's

16:26

another new offensive line combination for

16:28

Houston had a rookie quarterback, and

16:30

it would seem to me you want to kind of test that communication.

16:33

And with Christian and adams quickness off the snap

16:35

and Ray Kwant and Zack's pure strength

16:37

and power at the point, I like that

16:40

matchup a lot. And this also incorporates the

16:42

linebackers, which brings us to our final

16:44

matchup on this side of the football. Houston

16:46

running backs and Dolphins linebackers. First,

16:49

Houston's averaging just three point three yards per carry

16:51

and no gap has a better average than three

16:53

point nine yards per carry, which is off right

16:56

tackle Tyas Howard again, so

16:58

Miami needs to needs

17:00

their linebackers to really fit the run this

17:02

week and do the same job, do

17:05

the job in the same way the defensive line doesn't

17:07

set up those third and long plays and get those

17:09

big play opportunities. I think this is a great

17:11

chance for Miami's defense to get healthy in that regard

17:14

with some of the sacks and the pressures that lead to turnovers.

17:16

It's such a focus for me this week and the

17:18

Texans use a bevy of running backs. Mark

17:21

Ingram no longer. They're back in New Orleans, which,

17:23

by the way, thank science for that fact,

17:25

because the fact that he is back there gives us the pairing

17:27

of Alvin Kamara and mark Ingram

17:30

at joint press conferences, which is the best

17:32

thing ever. But David Johnson and Rex Burkehead

17:34

and Philip Lindsay all get work. This is what I'm talking

17:36

about. This the construction of this team is just so

17:39

unique in terms of the different

17:41

Like these guys are not the same player

17:44

obviously, but they're they're somewhat interchangeable.

17:46

And there's not like a young guy and a veteran. It is just three

17:49

guys you know, from the last five or six years

17:51

of the National Football League that all found their way

17:53

to Houston. Johnson will flects out and

17:55

run receiver routes. We know that about him from his

17:57

days in Arizona. Not the same player he

18:00

as then, but he can still be productive that way. It's

18:02

so imperative that whether it's Baker,

18:04

Baker or Riley, and Baker talked about

18:06

being day to day in his press conference on Wednesday.

18:08

It's so imperative that they can handle

18:11

those receiver routes from David Johnson, because

18:13

you can't double that route and still have success elsewhere.

18:15

In my opinion, so important that those guys

18:17

can handle that one on one matchup. And if it's

18:19

blitzing more like like I talked about

18:21

earlier, does Sam aguav And get an increased

18:23

role? I think he would In that instance. Rex

18:26

Burke has a past receiver that's kind of his game.

18:28

Continue to find a way to cover him without committing,

18:31

you know, really integral parts of

18:33

the perimeter coverage, of the safety coverage on

18:35

that back. And then Philip Lindsay My note

18:37

on him was just you have to slice him.

18:39

You have to cut him down before he can get that one

18:42

cut slashing style that he does, because once

18:44

he gets that second level, he becomes very difficult

18:46

to tackle at that point. So don't let him open

18:48

it up. As far as this Texans offense deployment

18:51

goes, uh pretty standard.

18:54

Out of eleven personnel out

18:57

of twelve personnel, it's one back, two tight ends,

19:00

so they will use that Farrell Brown Jordan

19:02

Aikin's tight end package and then they do run eight

19:04

percent out of thirteen personnel, which

19:06

of course is one back, three tight ends on

19:08

the other side of the football, Dolphins quarterback versus

19:10

Texans safeties. First off, Lovey Smith

19:13

as a defensive coordinator, you know what that means.

19:15

Tampa two coverage all day. Do you know what Tampa two means.

19:17

It means you have two high safeties who basically play

19:19

cover two where they both take a half a deep

19:21

half, and then you have a middle linebacker that runs

19:23

the pipe down the middle of the scheme of the field

19:25

and the scheme and that's been really his

19:27

scheme since I was in junior high good

19:29

thinking back to those early Bears days and

19:31

that's what the Texans run. So for Twah,

19:34

he needs to be very sharp identifying the

19:36

times that they come out of it. They roll the coverage,

19:38

maybe they invert the two. Inverted two is where

19:40

your safeties come up and play the short stuff and the cornerbacks

19:42

get depth to play the deep half. All of that stuff

19:45

they can do out of that package. Too. Needs

19:47

to focus on the safeties because those guys will tell you

19:49

where the coverage is gonna go, and it

19:51

also typically means that there are opportunities

19:53

in the middle of the field. More on that in the next

19:55

segment here. Justin Reid is one of the

19:57

best Texans players from my money, maybe even

20:00

the best. He's limited completions

20:02

to just eleven for seven team, which sounds like a lot,

20:04

but look at other safetys numbers, it's not. It's a good number.

20:07

He's rangey, very smart player who

20:09

can come down play on the line of scrimmage as well. I kind

20:11

of nose for the football two picks this year. You

20:13

must account for him in those robber

20:15

roles if if they disguise their two and play

20:18

one and he comes down and robs those crossers.

20:20

You have to watch for that to be very

20:22

aware. Number twenty and then also

20:26

the ability to go over the top of rounds like think about the

20:28

Derham Smith pick a couple of weeks ago back in the

20:30

Atlanta game. He can make those kind of places

20:32

too, So just keep an eye on Number twenty

20:34

pre snap and from tape. It looks to me

20:36

like he's kind of the key to the disguise

20:38

of their defense. So again, just keep your eye on that guy.

20:41

Lonnie Johnson might remember that name from the draft

20:43

a couple of years ago, is a converted corner

20:45

who plays some safety with Justin Reid as

20:47

well. He's got three picks himself. Now

20:49

the duo combined has allowed seven total

20:51

touchdowns. So it's big plays like big

20:54

risk, big reward for those guys right who can

20:56

make more big plays. But back to our point

20:58

about Tampa two, that's a tight ends

21:00

scheme and you at least

21:02

need to have a seam buster who can take advantage of

21:04

that. So with the Dolphins receivers and tight ends

21:06

versus the Houston Texans cornerbacks, slash

21:09

linebackers and safeties and coverage, who will

21:11

match up with Mike Kisiki. Mike

21:13

has been making big plays really for

21:16

a solid five weeks stretch now, He's

21:19

been catching tons of balls. That's got to be their

21:21

focus in this game. And I think it'll be interesting if

21:23

they asked their linebacker to run

21:25

the pipe with them. Do you want to do that? You sure

21:27

about? That's why those to me are

21:29

some of two's best throws, those over the

21:31

top, quick pops down the middle. So I'm really

21:33

in tried to see how that plays out in this matchup.

21:36

For instance, Cambu gruge Hill, we know who

21:38

he is, was in coverage on eight targets

21:40

last week, and five of those came against Robert

21:42

Woods or Cooper Cup. If you get Jalen

21:44

Waddle on a linebacker, for instance,

21:48

it's probably where the ball should go. Those guys caught

21:50

four or five targets for a hundred and seven yards

21:52

and a touchdown when gruge Hill was in coverage

21:54

might be something to look at. So as I look at that with

21:56

the scheme, it makes me think about some of those

21:59

in breaking routes. My aim. He's had success on square

22:01

and his digs slants, some of the

22:03

crossers that get hit early in that first window,

22:06

that might be an area to go after. Now, as far as the

22:08

cornerbacks go, Desmond King was kind of the main dude

22:10

on the outside for them, but he was a healthy scratch last

22:12

week for disciplinary actions. A couple

22:14

of weeks ago, DeAndre Hopkins was his primary

22:17

target, and he caught all four of his targets

22:19

on Desmond King a couple of weeks ago. King's

22:22

a zone cornerback in the zone schemes. You can

22:24

see why that makes sense. And in that game, zach

22:27

Ertz matched up on Justin Reid,

22:29

Comu, gruge Hill, and Christian Kirk and

22:32

he on four targets. He caught three balls for sixty

22:34

six yards and a touchdown. So again, if

22:36

that's what Mike sees, if that's what Mike Kasiki gets,

22:38

I have to believe the ball goes towards number

22:41

eighty eight quite a bit. And then Vernon Hargraves

22:44

was a nineties seven percent

22:46

snaptaker a week ago just got released. Interesting

22:49

dynamic there. Terrence Mitchell plays about

22:51

the same number there, snaps the hard Graves did, and

22:53

so does Tavier Thomas who played roughly

22:55

the same workload there. But will King be back out

22:57

there? I have to imagine he is in place

23:00

of Vernon Hargraves, but it's hard to say.

23:02

I mean, on the perimeter, for these guys, it's more

23:04

size and strength and length and kind of disrupted

23:06

at the blind scrimmage and then turn them free

23:08

and get your eyes back on the quarterback. So from Miami

23:11

kind of working on that cover two or two man

23:13

type of defense, they typically played

23:15

the disrupt and then get depth. And it sounds

23:17

like King will be back, but in his own based defense,

23:20

it's kind of hard to paint the matchups here. So for

23:22

to be on time, being rhythm, be

23:24

sharper the decisions and locating number

23:26

twenty. Those are my suggestions. Now up front

23:28

Miami's offensive line versus Houston's

23:31

defensive line. They just traded Charles Amna,

23:33

who who I loved coming out of the draft. A couple

23:35

years back out of Texas, he led the team

23:37

with sixteen quarterback pressures. He's now gone.

23:39

Malik Collins on the interior defensive

23:41

line leads the team now with fifteen quarterback pressures.

23:44

Jacob Martin four team Jonathan Grennar.

23:47

Grenard and DeMarcus Walker

23:49

both have thirteen apiece as well. Up front,

23:51

they don't bring a ton of pressure, so Collins

23:54

will test you inside. He's kind of a squatty body,

23:56

load to the ground, six ft two pounds,

23:59

plays with a great pad level, so it's imperative

24:01

to try to be the low man and kind of dig him out.

24:03

Always make sure you get your hands inside. Don't

24:06

get him outside. Get him inside on that guy, otherwise

24:08

he will control the rep and get a flag on you. No

24:10

pressures against the Rams, Pats or Browns, but

24:13

he had three or more against the Cardinals, Bills, Panthers,

24:15

and Jaguars. So can you find a way to contain

24:18

maliek Collins would go a long way towards keeping

24:20

the pocket cleaning for your quarterback and maybe give

24:22

us a chance to attack vertically in this football

24:25

game. Jacob Martin opposite deal.

24:27

He's long, he's he's a little more thin

24:29

and can get at you with some speed. Uh

24:31

and he has that really good bend off the edge

24:33

that you love to see as far as far as

24:35

four man pressures go. But something to keep an

24:38

eye on here. The Dolphins line had really

24:40

good week two weeks stretched there

24:42

with Atlanta and Jacksonville. In a tougher game last

24:44

week against the Buffalo Bills. Keep an eye on this match

24:46

up to see if they can get back to it. Being

24:48

at home I think certainly helps no more crowd noise

24:51

to deal with and obviously not as complex as

24:53

the system that Sean McDermott has put

24:55

together over the course of four or five years there in Buffalo.

24:57

New defense there in Houston's the kind of rebuild that

25:00

thing under Lovey Smith. Dolphins

25:02

running backs versus Texans linebackers. Christian

25:04

Kirksey is a fantastic tackler. If

25:06

you don't get him a race in the running game with blockers

25:08

and chips and climbs, it's tough for the back

25:11

to do it. But again, one of Miami's strong

25:13

points in the running game, I think this year has been some

25:15

of those doubles, some duo action

25:17

and climbing up to that second level. So

25:19

hopefully we can see some of that from Jackson

25:22

Ryder and Robert Hunt inside.

25:24

Zach Cunningham's the speed merchant of the group.

25:27

He doesn't rush. Actually, none of these guys ever rush.

25:29

We'll talk about that here in just one second. He'll play

25:31

some coverage. I'll be curious to find out if

25:33

they can get some backs matched up and flexed out

25:35

wide, because that can kind of stress their defense

25:37

by displacing that middle linebacker out

25:39

wide, and that can create some of that space inside

25:41

against that cover too, for some free releases and

25:43

some quick pops on your interior receivers.

25:46

And it doesn't hurt to just to try it, see how they

25:48

react. Maybe you get a bit of discommunity

25:50

or discombobulation and miscommunication out

25:53

of it when you try that. Miles Gascon can certainly

25:55

run routes from the number one receiver position

25:57

all the way out wide, and again, they just don't

25:59

use these backers to rush the quarterback. Just

26:01

sixteen pass rush reps for Kirksey,

26:04

only ten for Cunningham and twelve for Commo,

26:06

who we saw do it with some success last year here

26:08

in Miami. So coverage and run fits

26:11

their sound tacklers again, can

26:13

we find a way to get them out of the box. That's

26:15

the challenge. That's the matchup you want. In my opinion,

26:19

as far as special teams go, Houston

26:23

v o A Miami's twenty nine. They're punter

26:25

Cameron Johnson forty six point eight yards

26:27

per punt, Kyami fairbarons three for

26:29

five this year with a miss from fifty plus as

26:31

well as one in the forty to forty

26:33

nine range. Not much of return game there,

26:36

So Mike Michael Pollardi, the punt team here can

26:38

maybe get some flipped fields for you. Here is John

26:40

Conjimmas to tell us about getting long fields.

26:42

But Desmond King had a twenty yard or

26:45

this year in average just twelve point eight yards per

26:47

per return on four returns the season. Andrew

26:49

Roberts has thirty three yards on eight returns

26:52

with a long of eleven. So those

26:54

are your position by position matchups.

26:56

I have The Dolphins will win if they exploit

26:58

the middle of the field. On off fence and if they can

27:01

heat up Davis Mills and create

27:03

some splash plays on defense, and the Texans

27:05

will win. If Miami beats

27:07

themselves and puts themselves behind the chains,

27:10

gets some bad fouls on defense, misses some tackles

27:12

on third down, just don't beat yourself. Miami,

27:14

play your best football game of the season, and you

27:16

should be able to come away of this with the victory.

27:19

We've gotta get the best game of the season here here soon,

27:21

hopefully it's this week. My three keys

27:23

splash plays on defense, interception

27:25

slash stack rate that's more than six

27:27

such plays a game, forced the issue and

27:29

capitalized. Number two locate Brandon Cooks

27:32

every single snap sixty nine targets. The

27:34

next closest has twenty four. Take it. Look

27:36

at Brandon Cooks and try and take him out of the football

27:38

game. Number three feed Mike Kisiki the

27:40

scheme, ask for it. They're gonna put backers on

27:43

him. Go after your big play tight end my

27:45

Thursday night football pick this week. And just

27:47

so you know, I'm not even gonna talk about my record last

27:49

week. It was atrocious. We'll come back

27:51

to it tomorrow. But Colts over the Jets.

27:54

That's the pick. That's the podcast you

27:56

all. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast

27:58

on Apple Podcast, Leave us a rating,

28:01

leave us a review. You can follow me on

28:03

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28:05

the Dolphins at Miami Dolphins. Check out

28:07

the Fish Tank Podcast with Seth and o J Sean

28:09

Smith on this week, the YouTube channel

28:11

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28:14

and of course Miami Dolphins dot com. Until

28:16

next time, fins up Caroline,

28:19

Daddy's Coming Home.