The Ringer NFL Show - The Dolphins Are No Fluke | The Island

Episode Date: September 21, 2022

Each week, a guest tries to persuade Nora Princiotti to agree with an argument they feel strongly about. This week, Nora is joined by The Ringer's own Danny Kelly, who explains why we should not only ...continue to expect impressive passing performances from Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins' high-speed receiving corp this season, but that we should also keep an eye on the untapped running attack that is characteristic of Mike McDaniel's balanced offensive scheme. Will Nora join him on the island, or sail elsewhere? Host: Nora Princiotti Guest: Danny Kelly Production Supervision: Conor Nevins and Arjuna Ramgopal Production Assistance: Chris Sutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:03 Bill finally gave the ringers Philly crew a podcast. I'm Ben Solac. And I'm Shiel Kapadia. That's right, just a couple of Philly guys with a new space to fire off some Eagles takes, get caught up in the Sixers, chaos, and more. We'll be coming to you twice a week on Sundays and Thursdays, plus bonus episodes whenever we get breaking news or Philly drama. Plus when Hardin and Embed somehow convince you suckers that this year's going to be different, our fellow Philly stands at the Ringer will have you covered on the Sixers and all your other favorite teams in town. It's Philly Sports Shield. What could possibly go wrong? Join the fun and follow the ringers Philly special now on Spotify. Welcome to The Island. I'm Nora Princiotti and I am so excited for today's show because we've got the ringer's
Starting point is 00:00:53 own Danny Kelly here to talk about the dolphins. And as always, he's going to give me a take. And then in 30 minutes or less, we're going to debate it before I decide if I want to go to Danny's island with him. So, Danny, thank you so much for doing this. Will you share what island you are on? I am Danny Kelly and I'm on the. The Dolphins are no fluke island.
Starting point is 00:01:16 Think of the island like a record, spinning on a turntable. Only now, that record is skipping. No fluke. I feel like there's a seafood pun there, but I can't locate it at the moment. So maybe your listeners will help us out with that. It's a delicacy. Yeah, the fluke. I like this idea, though, because, so the dolphins are 2 and O,
Starting point is 00:01:35 we just watch them put up 40 plus points on the Ravens, a good team with, you know, we think a good defense. but the vast majority of that output, which is something that we talked a ton about on the Sunday show, came in the fourth quarter. They're significantly behind up to that point. Four of two is six touchdowns came on third downs. Two of them were against pretty clear coverage busts. So there's this idea, which again was what we were sort of diving into on Sunday, that this is a tail end of the curve type performance. which I guess you could also, another way to say that would be to call it pretty fluky.
Starting point is 00:02:17 Correct. You just defined it pretty much. So I'm very excited to learn what wasn't so fluky about it from you, Danny. Yeah, so I went back and watched the game, and I think absolutely it's very true that a couple of the big plays were coverage busts or like they're just like, you know, you have Tyree Kill running wide open down the sideline. Like that's not going to be necessarily replicable going forward. it's not going to be something that you see every week. But I saw enough, there are enough variables interspersed throughout the entire game and basically week one and week two combined for me to be pretty excited about what this offense can do.
Starting point is 00:02:52 And I'll just start with the top, like speed. Speed is the biggest thing to me. This is a rare combination of speed, maybe unique in the history of NFL, potentially. Like, I don't, I'm not necessarily a huge scholar of NFL history going back prior to the 2000s, but I think this is maybe the fastest pair of receivers the NFL has ever seen together in Tyree Kill and Jalen Waddle. So that alone is like where I'm opening up. Danny, I think you're not giving yourself enough credit for being a scholar of NFL history because as we're recording this, you're sitting in an office that's like of like paneled mahogany. It's very like.
Starting point is 00:03:26 It smells of rich mahogany. I have many leather bound books. You really seem like, you seem professorial in this moment. So I want you to give yourself credit there. I just live in an old house. That's all. that's the only thing. But it does make me look smarter.
Starting point is 00:03:40 You know what? People have gotten very far on living in an old house alone and just letting that that aura sink into their identity. But anyway, sorry, I cut you off. You're telling me why this is no fluke. No, so I think the main thing is, and this is the main reason I was very excited about watching this team coming into the season,
Starting point is 00:03:55 is like the speed element. What you can do with Tyree Kill and Jalen Waddle is pretty incredible. You know, the way that they tilt the field, that both of them can tilt the field, tilt the defense in their direction, make them have to shift, have to pay attention more to kind of like where any individual player is on the field.
Starting point is 00:04:13 When you have two of those guys that can potentially do that, we've seen Jalen Waddle do some of the exact same stuff that Terry Hill could do in terms of yards after the catch, just exploding away from coverage, exploding away from the defense after the catch. I think that to me is what makes this, you know,
Starting point is 00:04:29 less fluky and I feel like it's more repeatable going forward just because like teams are not going to be able to account for this total team speed that they have. So that's the first thing, really, that comes to mind. And then you combine that with Mike McDaniel and what he's able to do scheming up ways to get the guys that these speed guys waddle in Hill in space and able to run after the catch.
Starting point is 00:04:52 I mean, we've seen the 49ers do this for years. They're famously so good at getting guys that can run after the catch and scheming them open. You know, the average yards of separation or whatever for Tua, in terms of where he's passing the football has like dropped dramatically, or sorry, I'm saying the, how open they are. Increased dramatically. Right, correct.
Starting point is 00:05:10 He's basically throwing to open guys this year, which is very different than what he did last year. Led the league in tight window throws last year. I think I don't have it in front of me, but I think it was like 20% of the time. Yeah, and now it's like one of the lower marks in the entire NFL. Like he's, this is the Mike McDaniel effect combined with the speed that they have on offense. That is just to me inherently repeatable.
Starting point is 00:05:30 Like how are defense is going to be able to account for this? And so that those are the two. main reasons that I really like this. I love talking about the Dolphins team's speed on offense because I just like I feel like we all sound a little bit like we've consumed some illicit substances and are just looking at each other and going speed man like speed kills man. It is it's intoxicating. The speed is intoxicated. But the thing that is like is very real about it and I think can make the argument a little bit more concrete than just like speed man, speed kills is what we're essentially talking about
Starting point is 00:06:08 is gravity, right? Like the gravity that players like Jalen Wattle and Tyree Kill force on a defense. And I think that to me is the thing that's the biggest takeaway from the first two weeks of watching this offense because that I think is the common denominator between all the things that have made it look different from how we've seen two in the Dolphins offense in the past and have sort of made it clear to me how that 49ers style offense marries with this quarterback and this personnel because one of the biggest things that's been notable is that Tua is throwing a lot deeper.
Starting point is 00:06:56 He's averaged up the target is 7.3, which is tied with Josh Allen, which also says something about how the bills are playing. And I was looking it up and I was just like, what world? Like, he's well ahead of Justin Herbert, which again, that that's, we can save a Chargers discussion for another time. Like, that's not just about how the dolphins are playing. But it's so, like, I never would have expected that, right?
Starting point is 00:07:17 Like, I never would have expected a couple weeks into the season to go to a tag of Iloa is throwing as deep as Josh Allen and much deeper than Justin Herbert. Something about that is is a little wonky. The second thing is that the shotgun play action game is working for them, which is huge. And not something that I necessarily felt concrete on going into the year, right? Because that 49er style offense tends to have the quarterback under center. And they use a ton of play action, but they're doing it from under center. Tua does not like to be under center.
Starting point is 00:07:51 He's a smaller guy. Right. You go, okay, when they try to put those two things together, how it's going to go? How is it going to go? So this is from true media. They've had 35 dropbacks using play action. 13 of them to has been in shotgun. And on those plays, he's 10 of 12 for 150 yards, 12.5 yards per attempt.
Starting point is 00:08:11 A touchdown, an interception, a sack, overall pass rating, 111. So there have been some bad plays. But overall, the good has far outweighed the bad. And they've been able to be pretty explosive while running shot play action out of shotgun. That is really notable because that is that is the marriage of the scheme and the personnel that felt a little bit like are we going to be able to do this? And I think again, so much of that comes back to how much respect for those incredibly fast players, those two sub four, three guys, they're getting because all of a sudden they have the space to do that
Starting point is 00:08:56 where it's not destroying the offensive line. They don't just have to, you know, run all sorts of RPO's. And areas like the middle of the field end up being more open than we would have expected them to be for a quarterback like Tua, who hasn't succeeded throwing to those areas. Again, because the gravitational pull of having to cover Hill and Waddle is probably even more significant than I expected it to be. Yeah, that's a great point. it's like proof of concept that this play action shotgun game can work with Tua can work with
Starting point is 00:09:31 the personnel that they have in Miami. I think I just remembering last year, it's like they were so, the dolphins were so RPO heavy and everything. And I feel like every defense was just camping out on the short and intermediate routes and like making it really difficult. That's why he had so many tight window throws. Now you got just wide open spaces in the middle of field because you got Tyree Kill and Jalen Waddle running deep.
Starting point is 00:09:52 But in addition to like the successes they're having in play action, I mean, look, if you go back during the Shanahan years, and I'm equating Mike McDaniel and the 49ers kind of together. Obviously, they're not, Mike McDaniel is not the reason the 49ers were so good all those years, but he's obviously had a massive influence from the offenses that they run. He was a big influence on what they were doing. So I think you can kind of like make the connection.
Starting point is 00:10:17 And going back, like Shanahan was able to make any random quarterback pass for like eight plus yards per reception all the time, just because they were able to scheme up ways. to get the guys open in space using misdirection, play action, motion. I believe I saw that the dolphins are number one in the NFL right now in motion prior to the snap. So he's getting guys open off the line into good mismatches. But additionally, to me, the thing that's so encouraging, and this goes to like just Tua himself, not necessarily all the scheme, what's so encouraging is Tua's been really good in just the straight dropback game.
Starting point is 00:10:54 Like when there's no play action, when there's no, you know, schematic ways to kind of like get the defense out of a position where you're talking about, like, you know, dragging people up to the line of scrimbage using play action or whatever. Like, he's just on straight dropbacks. He is number one in the NFL in yards per attempt. 10.4. I saw that per PFF.
Starting point is 00:11:13 And you're seeing some of the, you know, like attributes that you saw coming into the draft for him when he was at Alabama, like quick processing. I think he's third fastest in the NFL in time to throw after two weeks. So he hits his back foot. gets the ball out, he's been decisive, he's been pretty accurate. You know, he's not perfect, clearly. He's made some bad throws, and he's not the most, I would say, physically talented guy. That's like why there were so many concerns about him coming in, like his arm strength,
Starting point is 00:11:39 his ability to throw off platform. Those are all big concerns and remain so. But in terms of just like playing on time and playing within the structure and getting the ball out and being decisive, he's been amazing so far. So I think that we have to be very, you know, encouraged by what we've seen so far, like just him running that offense, him coming in and basically being the, you know, for lack of a better
Starting point is 00:12:02 word, a really high-end game manager, and that's exactly what you'd hope he'd be. That's like the starting point. Like obviously, you know, I think a lot of people thought he should be benched coming into the season. He's like just like a subpar, not even a starter. So everything we've seen from him so far is great. And I was going to come in.
Starting point is 00:12:16 My take was almost that if Tua were right-handed, we'd be looking at him a whole lot differently. There's a lot of anti-left-handed bias, I think, happening. It just looks weird. You think that's it? You think that if we saw him throw right-handed, we would just be like, oh, this dude's amazing.
Starting point is 00:12:33 Look at him. Next, next true breeze, baby. Well, there was a video, a guy, I can't, apologies because I don't have his name in front of me, but someone, like, flipped, mirrored the video, so it showed, like, to a throwing with the right hand. And it's like, wow, this guy's got a little bit of juice on his throat. I just think it just looks weird coming out, left-handed.
Starting point is 00:12:53 Like, people aren't used to that. It's just, this doesn't. look normal. So people are like, I think using that a little bit too harshly on Tua. Did it look better? It does look better, honestly. It just like looks. It just looked more normal. Yeah, it just looks more normal when it happens. It's like, oh, that's a, you know, that's a good starter right there instead of being like, well, this looks weird. Like, how can he throw it with his left hand? Toa is being discriminated against as a lefty island. I love it. Yeah. I love it. Start the NFL week off right with a no sweat same game parlay every Thursday from Fandul.
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Starting point is 00:15:05 18778, Hope-N-Y or text Hope NY 467369 in New York, 1,800-522-470-0 in Wyoming, or visit www. W.1-800 gambler.net in West Virginia. Just to highlight one of your earlier points, the idea of Tua as a high-end game manager is, it's a little fraught, right? Because, like, that's been the thing where sometimes it's what's great
Starting point is 00:15:41 about the 49ers Shanahan-style offense. And sometimes it's the thing that we think puts a ceiling on what they can accomplish. But if Tua is going to be a high-end game manager with an average, depth of target of 7.3 or 10 plus yards on straight dropbacks, as you just said, if that continues to be true, then like, I'm sold, right? Like, I think if that, if that sticks, then I really do buy this offense. I don't know if I'm totally convinced that it will stick. I think sometimes, like, you know, if, if the quarterback starts to make a few mistakes,
Starting point is 00:16:20 he has a game with a bunch of picks. Yeah, yeah. You really want to see the coach or the coordinator, you know, in this case the coach, not get skittish and all of a sudden, AdDOT starts to drop, the defense starts to creep forward. They revert into a former iteration of themselves
Starting point is 00:16:42 that's just not as explosive and, again, isn't taking full advantage of how much space those. fast receivers can create because you're signaling to opponents that, well, yes, you still have to worry about what they can do after the catch, but you don't have to worry all that much about how far the ball is going to travel before the catch. Yeah. That is sort of what I assumed the Dolphins offense would look like.
Starting point is 00:17:13 So I think the fact that, like, even though, you know, Hill and Waddle have combined for 226 yards after the catch so far, that's. is more than 17 teams total. Yeah, of course. Like, that's, that's unreal. That's awesome. But Tua is still pushing the ball downfield himself. And, like, that to me is the hinge that a lot of this rests on.
Starting point is 00:17:35 If they can keep that up, I'm really excited about what this offense can do because I do think that they just put opposing defensive coordinators in an absolute mental pretzel of what do you do about these guys. It remains to be seen, right? but the early returns are very impressive. I always tend to do this, but like, I'll make a declaration the week before they play like the buzz saw team of the NFL and the Buffalo Bills. Like, I think we should take the long view here and acknowledge that they could get their
Starting point is 00:18:05 asses kicked by the bills. And that wouldn't necessarily completely change my opinion because I think the question isn't like, are they a Super Bowl team? Like, it to me is like, is this a total fluke what we saw last week? And I don't think it is. that being said, I don't necessarily all of a sudden think that they're like the best team in the NFL and that Tua is an elite quarterback. I think what I'm saying more is that schematically and like philosophically that the way this offense has worked so far is repeatable. So I think keep a longer view.
Starting point is 00:18:34 I do think generally what we've seen from Tua makes me encourage that he is a longer term starter in the NFL. But it could be pretty ugly this week against a Buffalo Bills team that is absolutely just crushed the two teams they've played so far. So I think there's just to acknowledge that, like, you know, this week is not going to necessarily, I don't think my whole opinion on what the dolphins are is going to hinge on this week just because, you know, they're going up against what might be the best team in the NFL. And a team that has so far crushed the Super Bowl, the defending Super Bowl champions and the number one seed in the AFC for the last season. So, yes, there would be no shame in that.
Starting point is 00:19:12 However, I just, I want to point out my timing is terrible. But yeah. The big picture, though, I don't think it's so terrible because the first couple of weeks of the year, I don't think the AFC has looked quite like the holy moly. There's just so many good teams that we might have expected it to look like. The Bengals are a mess. The Ravens, I think, look good, but obviously the Dolphins just got a head dead win against them. Where do you think, let's say this is, you know, not the 40 point, 42 point.
Starting point is 00:19:45 output part of it. But let's say that the marriage of scheme and personnel has clicked here. And we believe that that's true. And we believe that that's something that's going to sustain. Where do you think the dolphins end up stacking up in the AFC if that's the case? Yeah, I think I can envision them being a like a frisky wildcard team. Like you mentioned it. Coming into the season, like it was kind of impossible to imagine the dolphins making the playoffs because you've got essentially four teams in AFC West that looked like playoff teams. I think after two weeks, that's less certain. That's less clear.
Starting point is 00:20:21 The Broncos are still working out some of their issues. The Raiders honestly haven't looked all that good. You know, you've got the cults who aren't as good as you'd think. So maybe they're not even going to be a playoff team. And then in the AFC North, like, again, it is pretty wide open still. So I think there's more space for the dolphins to be a wildcard team than I thought there would be coming into the season. There's definitely more space.
Starting point is 00:20:43 And so, yeah, I think, you know, obviously, It's a long season. And the crucial thing for me is we've got to have Hill and Waddle stay healthy, which, you know, Hill's been banged up at times in his career. And I think the effectiveness and the explosiveness of their offense would definitely, like, be a lot less if one or both of those guys were hurt at any given time. So, I mean, that's like true for any team, basically, but they're probably more volatile based on injuries to key players than any other team. their offensive line isn't great. The run game.
Starting point is 00:21:17 And the other thing I wanted to mention is, you know, I think we were excited about. And I think one of the reasons he got hired to Mike McDaniel is like he's been sort of this run game architect for the 49ers. And the 49ers have been over the last few years, one of the most run heavy teams in the NFL. And so far, the Dolphins run game has not been good.
Starting point is 00:21:35 And there's a lot of meat on the bone potentially if they can get things figured out in that area to be like a little bit balanced and at least have something to lean on in case Tyree Kill. or Waddle were out for a game or two or whatever. So I'm not putting them in the top tier of the AFC, but I think they have proven already that they can be a frisky team in the AFC. I think the point about the run game is really interesting
Starting point is 00:21:57 because you're right. They have this coach who's known for his designs in the run game, and we felt like, okay, even if the passing game is a little bit shaky, they can probably get some explosives because of the personnel. And he should be able to design, a ground game that gives them something that can at least be sort of stabilizing. Well, they're 25th in rush yards per attempt so far. And it's actually, you know, the offensive line hasn't been great,
Starting point is 00:22:29 but they're 18th in run block win rate. Like, that's not horrible. Combine that with a coach who is good at this. Chase Edmonds, most are, like, those are good enough players that, especially given the increasing amount of defensive respect that they're going to get if the passing game keeps playing like this. I think so far they've had two high safety looks, 28% of the time on early downs,
Starting point is 00:22:57 you got to be able to make something out of that. You should be able to make something out of that that's more than they're getting out of it so far. And I think they will be able to. I would bet that they will be able to over time. So if there's still room for them to grow in that regard, that's when you do really feel like, no, they're not going to have outputs like that.
Starting point is 00:23:17 You know, there were so many records that they broke between Hill and Waddle against the Ravens. But if there's a game when they don't have some of that, they should have a counterpunch. They should have something else that they can go to. And if you start to get a little bit more balanced, they do start to feel like a team that could, could sustain this over the course of a season, barring an injury,
Starting point is 00:23:46 which I think is really important because some of the coolest stuff that they were doing on Sunday was when they would, you know, I love watching offenses that have just like a totally dominant receiver in what they do with three by ones. Like some of what the Packers used to do with Devante Adams was so cool. But you'll just see. Just isolate a guy. Right.
Starting point is 00:24:07 Like you'll just see Hill isolated on the weak side. and then you watch the defense and they're like, they can't, like they can't bring themselves to cheat over to the strong side because they're just like, no, we can't do it. He's over there. Like that guy is over there. And some of those plays ended up giving to us some of the bigger gains over the middle, which again, like, if it's hard to describe a heat map on a podcast, but if you look at it,
Starting point is 00:24:36 there's just like a big glowing splotch. in the middle of the field around 10 yards down the field. That is not what Tua's passing charts have looked like in the past. That is a new thing. Right. So that's very exciting. I know. Actually, you know, I wrote down, because I watched, I rewatched the game last night to prep for the pot.
Starting point is 00:24:57 And I was actually surprised about how many, because we were talking about it on the fantasy show. Like, just, is Tua good? Like, we don't really know if Tua is good. And I was like, I do remember a couple pretty goddamn good throws from Tua. And then I watched a game. And there was. some really nice middle of the field throws that he made. There was
Starting point is 00:25:14 a crossing route early to Gisiki. The touchdown pass he made to Gisiki in the back of the end zone, he just put it basically where only Gisiki could get it. There was a seam throw out of his own end zone to Waddle. That Waddle turned into a big gainer. He basically ran after the catch. There was another deep backside dig, I believe it was, to Waddle.
Starting point is 00:25:32 And then he made a couple big plays in the red zone, including the game winner to Waddle, where he kind of improvised. And I'm like, Again, this is the left-handed bias. Like, if this is any other quarterback, people would be super stoked about this because he made some really good throws in this game. Or if he were right-handed. Just saying.
Starting point is 00:25:52 Just saying, this is absolutely my new favorite. It's just we're incapable of seeing the magic. Big righty is holding down the left-handed guys. Big right-hand. I don't know if that works. Anti-Southposs stance. Yeah. Oh, that's good.
Starting point is 00:26:06 That's good. That was the best sounding one. If you're going to have a conspiracy theory, you have to have a cool name. for it. That's my rule. Yeah. The anti-Southpawb bias, yeah. I'm almost embarrassed to say this because I don't have, like, I don't have stats. I don't have, I don't have math to back it up.
Starting point is 00:26:23 These are the best takes. I think, like, the defense just has to respect the receivers so much that, like, everybody has to kind of widen and back up. And there's just more space. I think he can just see the middle of the field. Like, there's just not, the bodies are. not in the way anymore. And I think that's what it is.
Starting point is 00:26:44 And it sounds a little silly, but like, of course that would work. The issue with smaller quarterbacks throwing in the middle of the field is we just don't think that they can see it super well. And if everybody has to spread out, everybody has to back up, all of a sudden, there are more areas of the field where there are
Starting point is 00:27:02 two or three yards between your guys and the next closest defender, there's just more sight lines available to him. plus the added confidence, obviously, of, oh, there's Jalen Waddle and the next closest guy is five yards away from him. Obviously, you know, as long as you can literally visualize it, that's a throw that a quarterback is going to feel pretty good about making. But I just think that he can see more. I mean, look, I would love to see the numbers on that too, like maybe the heat map. So we can dig that up maybe. But I think you're absolutely right. And I mean, it has a
Starting point is 00:27:38 And this is, you know, it goes to their ability to use like what are called constraint plays, basically plays that keep defenses from cheating too much on any given type of concept. Like, for instance, a read option keeper is a good constraint of guys crashing down and trying to tackle the running back or whatever. Like if you keep it, it keeps the defense from basically cheating and guessing. The constraint play is a screen where if you get guys that are either playing too far off or whatever, you just throw a screen, just throw a little smoke route, and that keeps them from cheating too much. And that helps to kind of like, like you're saying,
Starting point is 00:28:15 like keep everybody spaced out the way that they should rather than cheating in or condensing everything. And, you know, obviously people make fun of, like, teams that are overly reliant. You don't want to be reliant on constraints. You don't want to be reliant on screenplays. But they're fucking good at screenplays, like, because they have two of the fastest guys in the NFL.
Starting point is 00:28:35 And like I was watching, like, the game last night. It's like, man, they just so easily can turn a little toss play to the left into like a 20-yard game. Like, it's crazy. So obviously, this is a small sample and it's against the defense that really had a couple struggles in terms of like coverage busts and things like that. But man, just the way that they're able to keep defense is honest with their speed and the way that that like creates throwing lanes. It creates more space. It keeps everything more, you know, spaced out. basically, like you were saying,
Starting point is 00:29:07 it just gives two, the ability to have, like, better sight lines and vision. You know, I think that could be really big in the long term throughout the rest of the season
Starting point is 00:29:16 because I just, you know, based on memory, like it just feels like teams were really just camping out in the short and intermediate last year, just because he didn't really prove
Starting point is 00:29:25 to them that he could throw it over the top. All right, Danny, I think the moment of truth is here. You are on the dolphins are, the dolphins are no fluke island. And I think we've identified no fluke, meaning that they have a good chance of going through the rest of the season being a good offense. What do you think?
Starting point is 00:30:05 Top third kind of situation? Sure, yeah. That would be like aggressive. If I was saying middle of the road, that's just not, that's not hot enough. Top third, top third percentile or whatever it is. Thank you for keeping it spicy. We appreciate that. I don't say that to like hold you to a specific threshold, but good offense, statistically good offense.
Starting point is 00:30:26 And to me, what it sort of hinges on is by the end of the season, do opposing defenses still go into a game against the dolphins and feel like they have to give them that respect? Feel like they, you know, it hasn't changed in a way where they can start. creeping down and hanging out over the, you know, middle of the field intermediate areas. And I think you're right. I think I'm on the island with you. And it hinges a little bit on what we talked about of I think it, I think it depends on Tua continuing and McDaniel continuing to ask Tua to push the ball down the field a little bit himself because as much as they're getting after the catch,
Starting point is 00:31:16 I don't think it works as well if the quarterback isn't throwing seven plus yards in that kind of territory. Like if you start getting into the Jared Goughian bad Jimmy Gropoleon. Gropoleon?
Starting point is 00:31:34 Yeah. Like five and a half average depth of target situations. Like that's when I think things start to constrict and some of the bad to a situation that we saw last year might start popping up again.
Starting point is 00:31:49 Right. But I think the first two weeks tell us that he can do it. Like the Ravens had a lot of blown coverages, but that's still a decent defense. You're not playing the Texans here. And the fact that they still have another button that I think they will be able to press in getting the running game going a little bit,
Starting point is 00:32:12 especially because, look, if they're getting too high safety looks, 28% of the time on early downs right now with the caveat that the bills are maybe the best team in football and that game is going to be a really, really hard one. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:32:26 What do you think they're going to get after what they just did against Baltimore, right? Like it should only be going up. So health is a big deal. Getting the running game going a little bit more would be huge. But if no fluke, if sustainability for this offense
Starting point is 00:32:44 looks like consistent production, the ability to keep the explosives going. Yeah, I was going. Yeah, I was going to say explosive plays are big. Yeah. But also keep the quarterback throwing deep enough so that the middle of the field stays open, keep him being fairly successful in that area
Starting point is 00:33:06 that's been a weakness in the past. If that happens, you know, I go from, maybe this doesn't sound like a huge jump, but I think it's a significant one. I go from feeling like, eh, I'm not so sure this is a playoff team in the AFC to I would expect the Dolvins to make the playoffs. And I think they could certainly win a game.
Starting point is 00:33:29 Yeah. Maybe more than that, you know? Like, it's not automatic Super Bowl contender, but part of that is because there's just another team, not only in the AFC, but in their division, who's looked like the best team in football. and the Chiefs exist too. So it's hard to say like,
Starting point is 00:33:50 okay, AFC champions, but I think frisky team in the playoffs, team that can win a playoff game, becomes sort of the baseline. And to me, that's a jump. So I'm on the island.
Starting point is 00:34:02 Hell yeah. So happy to be there with you, Danny. Thank you. And full disclosure, we were told right before we started recording that apparently Ben Solek and Shield Capetia are on the island too, but I haven't listened back to that pod yet.
Starting point is 00:34:12 So it's, getting filled. It's getting filled up quickly. I'm curious to hear what Ben has to say, because I don't think Ben was on the island as of Sunday night. So I wonder if he went back and ground some tape and saw Tua making those sharp passes over the middle and felt like, you know what, you know where I want to go? I want to go to an island paradise. Sounds good right now. The Dolphins offense is just going to roll through the year. All right, this has been the island on the ringer NFL show feed. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you so much for Danny. Danny for mounting a very good argument for why we should be excited to watch this team going forward. Very excited to watch
Starting point is 00:34:49 them get absolutely blown out by the bills now that we've done this podcast, which is, of course, going to happen. It's going to be fine. It's going to be fine. Stay the course. We will be back next week, but for now, Shiel Capadio, we'll have you covered on the feed tomorrow going in depth on some newsy NFL topics. That'll be great. Thank you to Chris Sutton for production on this episode, and to Connor Nevins and Arjuna Ramgapal for additional production supervision.

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