00:00Anybody have thoughts, just out of curiosity here, on the Dolphins after two preseason games,
00:06several joint practices?
00:08We know there's going to be a joint practice this week with Jacksonville and then the final
00:12preseason game.
00:13Anyone have any thoughts to where they've changed their opinion on what they thought
00:18the Dolphins were going to be based on before training camp started to now?
00:24I've been skeptical, and I think I'm still there.
00:27Just talking about the cornerbacks, seeing the O-line not playing together.
00:31Just the same thing we've been saying.
00:34The O-line had to swing me, and they haven't.
00:36Austin Jackson's been hurt.
00:37That O-line they put out there against the Lions, I wouldn't want to play behind that O-line.
00:42And then we talked about it earlier in the show with Isaiah.
00:45What's the new guy's name?
00:47Smalls.
00:49Isaiah Smalls, yeah.
00:50There is deep concern in my heart for the cornerback position.
00:54And we can pass rush all we want, but you're going to have to cover somebody after a while.
00:59Although, I have made the point before, though.
01:01Doesn't every team have at least one position point that's going to be a deficiency?
01:07Yes, but the other ones have to really make up for it.
01:12You bring them up.
01:14We know who they are.
01:15The Ravens, the Bills, the Chiefs.
01:17Those guys, yeah, can the Chiefs run the hell out of the ball?
01:20No, but Patrick Mahomes is about to go out there and go crazy if they can't.
01:24I don't know if we have that super strong group that's going to make up for the deficiencies.
01:32Delana, you?
01:34Yeah, I mean, the first thing that pops into my mind is I'm one of these people who fell for the overreaction of that joint practice.
01:44Because then the Dolphins go out there in the preseason game again, and there were some really positive takeaways, I thought, from the second preseason game and from the first preseason game as well.
01:56But as far as, like, big sweeping takeaways from, you know, what I had of concerns going into this season, I don't think anything's changed.
02:06I still think...
02:07Because I think you've been the most negative Nancy when it comes to the Dolphins so far, no?
02:11So, from the macro perspective, absolutely.
02:14I'm still very disappointed with the idea that we're going into this season, I'm talking about the organization, and the expectations have to be tempered because they're not go compete with Buffalo to win the division.
02:27Instead, it's like, well, let's see if we can sneak in as a wildcard team and turn some heads.
02:32And I wanted this year to be, let's go try to win the Super Bowl, or at the very least, let's go try to win multiple playoff games.
02:39I don't think that's a legitimate possibility.
02:42But I'm with where we were on Friday.
02:45The idea that this team is going to be a dumpster fire, they're going to win four games, Mike McDaniel is going to lose his job week five.
02:51Like, I'm not there at all.
02:53I think this team, if Tua stays healthy, we talked about it a little bit before you jumped on today, Hawk.
02:58As long as Tua's healthy, which is always the big if here, I think this team is good.
03:03I genuinely do.
03:04Even with the cornerback room really being as thin as it is, I still think they're going to put up points.
03:10And I still think Tua to Tyreek and to Waddle is one of the best offensive attacks in the NFL.
03:15But is that positive, but you're by far the most positive on this show, Hawk.
03:23Is the positive 10-7?
03:25Because that's, like Solana said, that's a good team.
03:29Well, listen, when you have Buffalo in your division, again, I know Solana's using the word tempered as if it's a huge negative towards the organization.
03:40But I use it in a grander sense of when Michael Jordan was playing for the Bulls, everyone had to temper their expectations.
03:49If you're in a division with Kansas City, you have to temper.
03:54I mean, if you're in the AFC, you have to temper your expectations only because it doesn't really matter where KC ends up in the playoff seedings.
04:02You feel like they're a potential Super Bowl team.
04:06Same thing with Buffalo.
04:07So I do think you have to temper stuff.
04:10I don't think they could be a dumpster fire unless they get injured, just injured, injured, more injured.
04:16ESPN did a ceiling and a floor for every team in the NFL.
04:23According to, you know, what they look at, what's the best possible scenario and what's the worst possible scenario?
04:30For the Dolphins, ESPN has the ceiling at 11-6.
04:35Now, if they were 11-6, you'd have to argue that that's a hell of a season.
04:40Yes.
04:41Yes.
04:42Yeah.
04:42And they're going to the playoffs as a wild card.
04:45And we're right where we, yeah, we're right where we've been.
04:49But that kind of stuff, like to me, you can't account for, oh, well, we didn't have someone that was better than Josh Allen.
04:56Like that, I mean, you know, Josh Allen's come around once in a blue moon.
05:01So to me, if you're 11-6 or 10-7, like that's a heck of a season.
05:07I'll tell you what ESPN wrote just as an aside.
05:11They say, and by the way, they have the floor as 6-11.
05:17I'll ride with that.
05:18Which I could actually see, again, if things go poorly.
05:22They say the biggest X factor is the secondary.
05:27Can the Dolphins' secondary hold up behind a strong front seven?
05:31Miami shouldn't have trouble pressuring quarterbacks this season with Jalen Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Chop Robinson, and Zach Seeler all healthy in training camp.
05:39Maybe you had Matthew Judon, too.
05:41Behind them, safety Minka Fitzpatrick leads a secondary that replaces four of its five starters from last season.
05:48The Dolphins' cornerbacks are young and unproven, but their inexperience could be mitigated by what should be a proficient pass rush.
05:58Which is kind of what we've talked about.
05:59That, hey, maybe your front seven is so strong that it gives a little extra flexibility to your secondary.
06:07Which they're going to need.
06:08I mean, there's no question.
06:08I made the most innocuous statement of, I'm pretty cool with Storm Duck as a cornerback.
06:16And you'd have thought that I suggested the Dolphins were going to win the Super Bowl based on your guys' reaction.
06:21And I didn't say he was an all-pro.
06:24And I didn't say that he was the next coming of Jalen Ramsey.
06:27All I said was, I'm kind of okay with Storm Duck at cornerback.
06:30And you thought that, I mean, the way you guys reacted was, I had said the most outlandish thing in the history of watching Dolphins football.
06:38So that shows you what people think of the Dolphins secondary.
06:42If just that innocuous statement generates that.
06:45He's no Sam Madison.
06:47I'll tell you that much.
06:48Right.
06:49But I didn't say that.
06:50All I said was, hey, I'm kind of cool with Storm Duck back there.
06:56What?
06:57Yeah.
06:58It was crazy.
06:58Now, I temper it all with Chris Cody has just DM me, we're going to stink.
07:05So, you know, it can go kind of all kinds of ways, according to fans and broadcasters.
07:13You know what?
07:14To be positive, because I am negative, Ollie Gordon.
07:18To have a big back now.
07:20To me, if you can come out of training camp and preseason games and go, hey, I think we got someone here.
07:27Although we've done that with Skylar Thompson.
07:29But, you know, if you can come out, honestly, if you can come out of training camp and preseason games and go, you know what?
07:35I think we got something here at running back.
07:38That's pretty cool.
07:39No, I think.
07:41No, that's perfect.
07:42Even beyond that.
07:43Even beyond that.
07:44Like, hey, if Patrick Paul this year is a really good left tackle.
07:48Hey, you made a great draft pick.
07:51Right?
07:51Like, he's going to be given the opportunity to be the left tackle that they drafted him to be as a project behind a veteran last year and now taking that place.
07:59I think Kenneth Grant has already proven to you, not that he's going to be a superstar, but that he was a solid pick.
08:07High upside, and he's showing you already that he probably can take snaps already as a rookie in that defensive line.
08:16Like, there's definitely some really solid picks that Miami has made and some really solid improvement top to bottom on the team.
08:24Again, I'm just coming at it with I wanted it to be more than that.
08:29I thought this was going to be a, let's get back to where we were in 2023, pick up where we left off, and let's try to go compete with the best teams in the AFC.
08:37And instead, it feels more like a, hey, we've made some lateral moves, and we think we're really improving in certain areas, but we're not considering this to be like the all-in season.
08:48And that's where the question, that's where the 6-11 to 11-6 go.
08:52If Patrick Paul can be good, if Austin Jackson's healthy, if Brewer's still there, if the front seven can protect the secondary, if we can get a tight end that's productive.
09:01There's a lot of ifs, and all those aren't going to be yeses.
09:05So we need a lot more yeses with these question marks.
09:07Anyway, we'll find out more.
09:10There's one preseason game left, and then it will be a payback day for Xavier Howard and the Indianapolis Colts in week one.
09:22Three picks, one pick six.
09:25You know, I mean, it's so guaranteed.
09:29There has never been a stat line more guaranteed than multiple interceptions from Xavier Howard week one.
09:36Yep.
09:37What is the line on that game?
09:39Has it changed at all?
09:41Let's see.
09:42Because what was it?
09:43Weren't they like two-and-a-half-point dogs?
09:45Wasn't it one?
09:47Was it one?
09:48I like game one because—
09:50Dolphins are favorites.
09:52Three-and-a-half-point.
09:53Anthony Richards—
09:54Oh, no, no.
09:54Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.
09:56They're not—no, I'm looking at the Jags game.
09:57I'm sorry.
09:58I'm sorry.
09:58I'm looking at the Jags game.
10:01Anthony Richardson is not that good, and Daniel Jones is his backup.
10:05If you can—you should be able to beat the Colts team.
10:08Miami's plus one.
10:09It's down to plus one.
10:10I love that.
10:11I love that plus one.
10:16Oh, I just need them to post some player props on that because two are rushing over.
10:20I mean, at the house.
10:22You know when they go into the—when the Dolphins go to play the Bills, they're going to say,
10:26this is a litmus test to see if you can play with the playoff teams.
10:28The Colts game week one is a litmus test to see if you can whoop a bad team.
10:35If you struggle with the Colts, the next couple games are about to be ugly.
10:39Right.
10:40Especially when you've got two weeks to prepare for them and, like, yeah, you should handle them.
10:46Yes.
10:46So if we can't whoop the Colts—
10:48I'm watching the Dominique Foxworth podcast just up on my TV screen up here.
10:54And they have some white guy on the show named Charlie, and the headline underneath it is
11:00Charlie went to Magic City in Atlanta last week.
11:03So they've done our bit, except he actually went.
11:06Told you, Hawk.
11:07You're safe.
11:09I'll make the call.
11:10I can't go.
11:11I'll make the call, Hawk.
11:13I ask every dancer which show they prefer, Friends or Martin.
11:17And the only way I'm going to be satisfied is when I get the answer, Friends.
11:22I don't know what this white boy up here talking about.
11:27Hey, do you consider yourself more of a Monica or Rachel?
11:34That ain't my damn name.
11:36You gotta go.
11:38Oh, you're a Phoebe.
11:39All right, let's give away these Marlins tickets.
11:44We've got a four-pack of Marlins tickets.
11:46All right.
