Zach Gelb thinks the Miami Dolphins are in the worst situation for an NFL team

WQAM-AM / AM 560 Sports WQAM

Infinity Sports Network radio host discusses why he doesn't expect the Dolphins to compete in the AFC this season.

Transcript

00:00I'm Zach Gelb is on the Toyota of Hollywood hotline. We'll get to him in a sec. Adam Sandler

00:04is coming to the Kaseya Center September 7th. We have a chance for you to win tickets.

00:09Text the word happy. The code word today is happy. Text that to 20357. And if you want more info,

00:17you can go to wqam.com. It's a text contest. Message and data rates may apply. Do not text

00:22and drive. Tickets are available for purchase at kaseyacenter.com. But again, you want to win

00:29the Sandler tickets. Text the word happy to 20357. Zach Gelb can be heard nationally every

00:36weekday afternoon on the Infinity Sports Network. He comes to us from the WFAN studios in New York

00:43City, where by the way, his Jets and Giants will do battle this Saturday. Preseason football.

00:50Dolphins are in Detroit. They've got joint practices with the Lions. Crowder is in Detroit

00:56and they will play the Lions on Saturday, their preseason game number two. Now, I don't know

01:04if you saw any of the reports from Dolphins joint practice today, Gelb. I can't imagine you follow

01:09it as closely as we do. I'm going to tell you, even with the Dolphins seemingly getting out practiced

01:16and having a couple of issues against Chicago, bet the two overs this year and bet the Dolphins win

01:24total over this year. Just consider it a little friendly advice from your old pal Hawk in Boca

01:291043 FM WQAM Miami sports leader home to Homer Hawk Crowder and some schmuck named Solana

01:40racket racket. There you go. Who needs a voiceover guy these days? I'm still listen. Crowder's there.

01:51He watched it and he said the Dolphins did get outplayed and just outperformed in the joint

01:59practice today. Yeah. I mean, can you glean anything from joint practices and preseason football enough

02:06to really know what you're working with for the regular season? So when I was covering the Eagles,

02:11I absolutely despised going to training camp and these OTAs because it's a bunch of monotonous

02:16bull junk. But the only time I would actually get excited was when they would bring in another team

02:22because those joint practices, I think the coaches and the players put more stock in it now in the

02:28year of what is now 2025. And it's been that way for the last few years than the actual preseason

02:33games. I actually though would like to issue something to this show and an edict. If I have

02:40that power to do so, I know Channing is having a great time in Detroit and he is loving the nightlife

02:46in Detroit. I think we should require him to stay in Detroit until the Dolphins go up against the

02:52Lions in this preseason game. I don't like it, Gilby. I'm just, I don't, I don't like this idea.

02:56It's terrible for me. And yes, I'm leaving. We haven't stayed in Detroit till the Dolphins win a

03:02playoff game. I mean, why don't we put some real stakes on the line? He may be there until the year

03:08when I'm like 55 years old. You know how long it's been since the Dolphins, you know how long it's been

03:12since the Dolphins have won a playoff game? The last time they won a play. Oh my, 1998 is my guess.

03:20Pretty close, man. It's been 25 years. It's the longest active streak in the NFL. 25 years.

03:26I'm leaving Detroit to go to Indianapolis. I am rolling now. I have all kinds of stuff.

03:31You know what? JW Marriott is actually a very good hotel in Indianapolis and in the lobby,

03:37I would not expect them to have good calamar, but they do have very good calamar when I was there

03:42about 12 or 13 years ago. Why are you calling it calamar? I don't like calling it calamari. I call

03:49it calamar. You know, that's how I, that's how I Americanize it. How do you, how do you feel about

03:55like guys playing? Because my thing was, we got to stay healthy. If Tua gets hurt, if Tyreek gets hurt,

03:59if Waddle gets hurt, you know, like it's going to set us back. Then I'm watching Detroit today.

04:05Goff's out there. Gibbs is out there. Everybody, Amal Ross St. Brown went crazy. He had like seven

04:10touchdowns a day, just destroyed everybody. And it kind of making me rethink it where if these

04:15top teams are playing everyone during games, like why do I feel that the Dolphins need to put bubble

04:21wrap around their guys? It's almost you're damned if you're due, you're damned if you don't. Like if the

04:26Dolphins don't play their guys and they get off to some sloppy start, people are going to question

04:31them. But if they do play their guys and then people get hurt, people are going to be outraged.

04:36I kind of liked Dan Campbell's approach and it was either a year or two ago. He was very emotional

04:41and he, he was going a little bit tougher in practice than probably more coaches do now.

04:46And he was saying, guys, this is just the way that I know how to win. And I think this is the way

04:50that we have to do it. I hope I'm not putting you in harm's way. So injuries are inevitable.

04:56You know, this probably better than anybody, Crowder. Injuries are inevitable in this game.

05:01Am I optimistic on the Dolphins this year? No, the offensive line seems like it stinks. There's

05:06still questions on the health of Tua. Tyree Kill is a malcontent and that is going to be just a

05:11problem where it's just going to continue. The toothpaste is already out of the tube. I do like

05:16Jalen Waddle a lot, but he gets injured from time to time. And defensively, it seems like the last two

05:21years, there's been so many injuries on this, on this defense. You just don't know where people are

05:25going to be at and how much rust there is to knock off. And the coach, let's be real. That guy,

05:30McDaniel, the honeymoon is definitely, definitely, definitely over. And every time this guy opens up

05:36his trap and tries to be a comedian and this team loses game this year, I hope people eviscerate him.

05:42Wow. Any time you refer to someone as that guy, that coach guy, you know that the honeymoon is over.

05:49Is there a single thing you like about the Dolphins? Jalen Waddle.

05:57Man. And Devon A-chan. I'm a big A-chan fan, right?

06:01That we know. That we know. You're sleeping on them.

06:04What am I sleeping? They're the third team in the AFC East, I think, on paper going into this year.

06:08On paper, you think they are? Can I make a case, though, that on paper, they're the second best team

06:17in the AFC East, at least, and that they're a playoff team? I'm saying on paper, Gelb,

06:22if I try to sell you on the Dolphins, they're front seven. Bradley Chubb should be healthy this year.

06:29Jalen Phillips should be healthy this year. Chop Robinson, we expect him to be healthy. He's told

06:34as he's going to be healthy. He's going to be a stud. Zach Seeler got paid. And then they traded

06:40for Minka Fitzpatrick. I mean, just right there, that's five names that are all Pro Bowl caliber

06:45guys. I'm not telling you they're all going to make the Pro Bowl, but they're caliber guys.

06:48And then on the offensive side, you've got arguably the best wide receiver in the game.

06:52Tyreek?

06:53Yeah, Tyreek Hill.

06:54Not anymore. You see the season he had last year?

06:57Yeah, but he had a season last year where his quarterback didn't play six games.

07:00And if his quarterback is able to stay healthy, you've got Devon HN. You've got Tyreek who was

07:06injured last year. You have Jalen Waddle. I mean, you have four really good guys on the

07:11offense as well. The Dolphins are top heavy, sure. But teams with less have made the playoffs.

07:16I also want to come off here abundantly clear because now we're on FM, so it should be easier

07:20to do that. I'm not saying the Dolphins suck. I'm not saying the Dolphins are trash. I think

07:26the Dolphins are in the worst place you could be in as an organization. Because their floor is

07:31probably right. They're probably at their floor. If everything goes horrible, seven wins. If

07:35everything goes right, they're probably a 10-win team. This team, though, if they're at their apex

07:40this year, they make the playoffs as a seven or six seed, and then they go home wildcard weekend.

07:46So they're not bad enough where you're picking early in the draft, but you're also not good enough

07:51where you have a chance to legitimately win a championship. They are just stuck in the middle,

07:57and almost the Dolphins version of winning a Super Bowl this year would be winning one playoff

08:02game. Like, think about that. That just doesn't get me fired up if I'm a Dolphin fan. You can't

08:06come from not winning a playoff game in 25 years to winning the Super Bowl. You got to take the

08:10natural progression there. In 25 years. I understand. That's all Solana's life. You're not going to win a Super Bowl

08:17after that. You're going to claw your way back into, I don't know, relevance, and that would start

08:25with a playoff win. I mean, that's how it works. So, yeah, that is a goal this year.

08:33We've had the same conversation for the last three years. Can they win a playoff game?

08:37I've had it longer than that. I've had it longer than that. I know. How about this, though? This is where

08:43I think people are getting. Happy football, everybody, by the way. This is where I think

08:47people are, like, sleeping or whatever. Crowder and I, Solana was on vacation. Crowder and I,

08:51I can't remember who this was with. Who would you rather have? Mike Vrabel and Drake May or Mike

08:57McDaniel and Tua Tunga-Vailoa? I'd rather have Mike Vrabel and Drake May. Here's why.

09:02I mean, that's infuriating. I can't even, I can't even listen to your explanation. It's infuriating.

09:08Well, Mike Vrabel took the Tennessee Titans to an AFC championship game. Mike Vrabel is a

09:13better coach fact than Mike McDaniel. Now, on the quarterback side, Tua is good. Tua,

09:22I don't even know if he's a top 10 quarterback in the league. Tua is good.

09:26He's better than good.

09:28But, no, he's not. He's good.

09:29Yes, he is.

09:30You can't say he's great. You can't say he's elite. He is good. He is good. However,

09:35I think I've seen already the best of Tua Tunga-Vailoa. Like, I don't know how much

09:39better it's going to get. Drake May is a question mark, but I was impressed by what he did last year

09:45with basically nothing in front of him. So, I would take the stock of Vrabel with what he's

09:51already done and Drake May and what his potential projects to be over Mike McDaniel, whose ass is

09:57on the hot seat this year, and Tua Tunga-Vailoa, who's one more injury away from probably being at

10:02the league. And with Drake May, have you, you saw it out of him or you're talking about potential

10:07because Ben Volan, this dude is Joe Montana in his mind, but I haven't really seen Drake May.

10:14Volan said that? Uh-oh. I may go with McDaniel and Tua now, if Volan's saying that.

10:19But with Drake May, last year, the offensive line was maybe the worst offensive line. Like,

10:25you think the Dolphins' offensive line has problems? The Patriots' offensive line last year was

10:29horrendous. Now, they made changes this year. I think it's better. Ramondre Stevenson couldn't

10:34hold on to a football last year, and they may as well have thrown Solana in the slot last year

10:39because they had no wide receivers. So, they've made improvements to put a little bit more around

10:44Drake May, but there were times last year where Drake May was running for his life. And I know when

10:50I say garbage into gold, it's going to come off as strong because there's nothing gold about the

10:54Patriots last year, but he showed you the signs that he could be a franchise quarterback last year

10:59with when it was basically one against 11 and he was doing enough from what I saw out of him

11:05individually. Man, people have a short memory about Tua in 2023 and what he looked like at Alabama.

11:13Like, there's a weird thing that happens with Tua, and you'll look at any other quarterback who might

11:19be completely unproven and say, well, the ceiling for him is better than Tua. And I just, I don't see it,

11:25but this is commonplace. Like, your answer is what I would expect 99 out of 100 times,

11:31even though I bet you would acknowledge the quarterback is 50 times more important than

11:38the head coach.

11:39Um, yeah, well, players win championships over the coach. Like, if you tell me I have a great coach

11:45or a great quarterback, yeah, if you tell me great quarterback or great coach, I'd rather take the

11:50great quarterback. Like, for years, people said, if you had to pick between Brady or Belichick,

11:54who would you go with? I said, Brady, that was even before, uh, Brady ended up going to Tampa and

11:59winning a Superbowl on his own. So I get your point. And, and let me just clarify here. I'm

12:03not anti Tua. I think you are. No, no, please. Two years ago, I was the only person that predicted

12:09that Tua Tungavailoa was going to make it through a season healthy. I think Tua is good. My problem is

12:14with society. We say great. We say elite. We say the goat. And there's a lot of guys we call great elite

12:21and the goat that shouldn't be in that conversation. He's a good quarterback. He is a fringe top 10

12:27quarterback in the league, but you look at this Miami dolphin season. I just don't think the

12:33dolphins are really going to progress forward. So you asked me coach and quarterback. I would

12:39rather trust the long-term future of Drake may and Mike Vrabel over Mike McDaniel, who's probably

12:44going to get fired after this year and Tua Tungavailoa, who I like Tua. I'm not certain

12:49that you do. Who would you rather have Devon HN or Derek Henry for one season? Yeah. Derek

12:59Henry for the rest of their careers. I'm just, I'm just trying to give you a little bone there.

13:06You love HN. I was trying to throw you a little bone. I am an HN guy. Very defensive on FM about Tua.

13:12He doesn't want to be painted as a Tua hater, but I mean, uh, do you know the Tua non? I don't

13:17need the Tua non coming after me. I'm an ally to the Tua non. Well, will you consider betting

13:24the Tua overs and the dolphins win total over? What's the dolphins win total? I think it's eight

13:29and a half, eight and a half. Oh, it's right on that number. That's an eight and nine football team.

13:34If I've ever seen one, I'm taking the under, but the Tua Tua, I'll take all of his overs.

13:38Take the overs. Take the rushing overs week one. Rushing overs week one. Do not take the

13:43rushing overs week one. Over overs on concussions. I'm not going to go there. Yeah. I mean, that's,

13:50that's a completely out of line by the views of Alejandro Solana do not reflect the views

13:55of Zach. Have you ever seen the grand Canyon gel? No, like in person. No. Yeah. Yeah.

14:00I'll go there. I've been, I went to Banff recently. Yeah. You love Banff, huh? Very cool.

14:05Yeah. First time ever being there. Very cool. If you go to the grand Canyon, put about an hour out

14:10of your time and you'll be fine. Did you go to the grand Canyon? I love the grand Canyon. I've been

14:15there. It was 20 years ago, but it's, it's the greatest thing ever. Crowder just thinks, oh,

14:20it's a hole in the ground. He said, it's a Canyon. Are there any rides? Is there, are there

14:26restaurants? And so he's, can I parasail? I want to parasail. He wants, he wants to go to mall of

14:33America, not the grand Canyon. He doesn't want to see the beauty and the grandeur.

14:38But when I actually got to the border in Canada and I was going through security,

14:43they said, oh, you're Channing Crowder's friend. You know, Drake says a lot about his life.

14:50He'll kick you right out of Banff.

14:52You've been in Niagara Falls?

14:54Yes. Yes. Yes. Do you have any idea, do you have any idea, Channing, where, where Banff is?

15:00Banff? Yeah. Banff. I thought it was a band. No, no, no. It's, it's like an hour from Calgary.

15:07You're, you're, you're, you're saying Banff with an M. It's N. It has a name. Yeah. Banff. I'm not

15:13saying it with an M. I think you are. Banff. Banff is, Banff is for very fancy people. In Alberta,

15:19right? That's in Alberta. Alberta. I didn't know you were fancy. I'm a bougie talk show host. I had no idea you

15:24were fancy. I come from the Sid Rosenberg school. I'm not going to call it my 51st date, but I'm a big,

15:29big star. Does it have rides? Banff? Yeah, it does. You can go canoeing and kayaking if you want.

15:36Great carnival. Yeah. But you are an Instagram influencer, Crowder. You don't need Instagram

15:40filters in Banff because it's gorgeous. Like, you don't even need to Instagram.

15:44Like the tilter world, Crowder? Like the tilter world? Does it have like a bounce house?

15:50Yeah. They got a bounce house. They got a tilter world. What do you like? Like a candy apple?

15:54Well, you know what? I'm going to come down to Florida. We'll take Channing to six. Let me,

15:57let me, let me have you, let me get you in contact with my travel agent. I'm going to get you right

16:00up. No Mexican street corn. Is that Mexican street corn in Banff? Oh, who doesn't love Mexican

16:04street corn? I had a great bison burger in Banff. I'll tell you that. Did you try the bison wings?

16:10Ever had bison wings? No, but there was a lot of wings. A lot of wings. Try them at Punky Buddha.

16:14All right. We got to go. We love you, Galby. All right. I love you too. And I love FM and I love Tua.

16:19All right.

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