A (3:00)

I think so. I, I think, look, I think winning last week would have been a huge step. I, I think everyone thought, okay, two and four, you weathered the storm. You went one and three without two, it wasn't pretty. But you beat Arizona at home. You're three and four. You go tough, test Buffalo regardless, win or lose, play a good game, you're still in position where, hey, you can get to that 9, 10 win point which you think will get you in really 10 is what you're shooting for. Now all of a sudden you lose to Arizona, now you're facing Buffalo and you know how tough they are and how difficult a challenge they are to you, having to go on the road especially. So where are they now? I mean, they're staring potentially at 2 and 6 and in a position where they pretty much can't lose more than one or two games the rest of the way, make the playoffs. Two is healthy again and cleared. I mentioned he played well. Tyree Kill, Jalen Waddle, John Smith, they've worked with the offense. They've got really nice pieces at running back between Devon, Achan, Raheem Moster, Jalen Wright. But now the defense you're worried about because you lost Jalen Phillips, you still don't have Bradley Chubb back, Zach Sealer, who was phenomenal for them, one of the underrated players of the NFL. How bad of a luck is this that in preparation for the Arizona game, gets poked in the eye, hit in the eye and practice and missed the game and he's been out now. So they're in a position now, Mike, where it's almost desperation. It's going to take a Hail Mary type miracle play. And it starts against Buffalo, which is the Worst place as a Dolphin fan to want to get some sort of turnaround started.

B (4:19)

Let's talk a little bit about Tyreek Hill. You know, we just saw two big players move at the trade deadline, you know, when the Bills ended up making their move for Amari Cooper. And then of course, the Chiefs always find a way to make a move and they get their big receiver. Was there any thought, do you think, of Hill wanting to move on? He seems to not talking specifically about the incident that happened before the game, but he does seem to really enjoy being in Miami and being with this Dolphins franchise. Do you think there was or is still any talk of moving on from a guy like that?

A (4:54)

No, I don't see that happening. And for a couple reasons, Mike. Number one, as you mentioned, Tyreek likes it here. I don't think Tyreek is miserable here. I don't think Tyreek cares. You know, like he's in that position where like, I gotta get out of here. I haven't got any sense of that. I don't think anyone who covers this team, who's around this team, certainly in that locker room gets a sense of that. Tyreek is happy here. He's had some of his most productive seasons. Obviously this year with tour injury, it's been derailed a bit, the incident you mentioned. But I mean, he loves it here. He's got his big contract, they restructured it. They gave him that big deal early in the season. He's happy here. And I think the Dolphins, from their perspective are still all in, Mike. I mean they, they went out in this organization led by Chris Greer for a long time. Now Steven Ross is his 80s, their team owner. They want to win now. The window for them is now. So the thought of moving on from Tyreek Hill, of making other deals to either shed salary or get picks for the future. The future is now. And while the present is 2 and 5, this organization I think is still very much buying into. We need to win in this window. We resigned to the big deal. We have Tyree Kill, we have Jalen Waddle, we have all the other pieces. We need to win now somehow.

B (5:56)

What about the rest of the offense? You know, you see that the trend in this league, I say where, you know, running has become more and more important. You have Achan. Is this a team? It's funny when you look at that speed and you look at those guys at wide receiver and you look at what to likes to do, do you think they can still be an effective enough running team? Here's a team like The Bills has struggled stopping the run. It's almost the better way, I think, to attack them and then hit them with a pass. Do you think they could come in here with a plan to get Achan going? Because he did run well in the first game against the Bills, get him going and then try to get things lit up with Tyreek and their wide receivers.

A (6:40)

Not only Mike, do I think that, you know, is a good plan or, you know, an idea. I think it should be the plan. And I think sometimes because of Mike McDaniel's early success, the 70 point game last year, the whole motion and movement and the excitement of two a lead in the league in passing yards last year. The offense though, really much for the last, I would say 10, 12 games dating back to last year has been pretty calm. It's been pretty quiet. It's been that whole open throwing the ball around has kind of died down. When they have now been at their best and we saw it a few weeks ago, it's New England, it wasn't the prettiest of wins, but they ran the ball for 40 plus times. And I think sometimes Mike McDaniel has to look at that and get away from the whole sexy offense, throwing it around. Get two oh with the 40, you know, 4050 yard bombs to Tyreek and just give the ball to Devon H and Raheem Mostert and their rookie Jalen Wright, who's been very explosive when he gets the football. That is a good plan to go into a tough place. What does it do? Number one is it controls the clock, gets the ball away from Josh Allen, keeps the ball away from Buffalo's offense, keeps your defense off the field. But number two is I truly think those are where most of your weapons lie, where you can really get some chunk plays with a chan and those guys I mentioned. So yeah, not only do I think that's a good idea, I think that should be the plan. As they enter this game, we have.

B (7:53)

To talk about TUA and the concussions. I mean, obviously everybody in the league sees it. Tua is a well known player and two of these incidents with TUA have happened against the Bills. We had the Milano push when he went down in the end zone, then came back in that game which led to it. And then the last time with Demar Hamlin when he got hurt. I'll give you my two cents. From afar, I hear everybody and their brother telling him to retire when that first happened and, and I looked at it and thought, okay, maybe that will be the right thing for him, but it's still this man's decision about his career and his life. And I know he's talking to neurologist. I know he's talking to doctors. When he said that all about the risk, you know, I. I felt like he. I felt like he felt he needed to really push back on it and say everybody is at risk. It is his choice. Where. Where are you on him coming back to play and where is the organization in supporting him because he wants to be on the field?

A (8:59)

I mean, you and I are aligned, I think, in our thoughts of. To me, a player decides his. His future, his president, his future. A doctor decides the medical part. Sometimes a player, the decision in the end for medical reasons is out of his hands. But once you get the clearance, like, hey, you can continue to play football, and everything shows up clear in the scans and the testing and everything. Doctors say you're fine as a player, you absolutely can go back and play. And Mike, I think the thing that not bothers me, but I think bothers to us. He doesn't want to be the face of concussions. The organization backs his decisions medically, right? Number one. But from a football standpoint, once he's cleared medically, but from Tua's end, he's a football player. Every single football player has the same risk when they take the field. Everybody knows concussions exist. Everyone knows brain injuries exist in football. It is a violent game. Excuse it doesn't make it good. Doesn't say, hey, that's what it should be. Advances are he made to try to help it. But in to his point, I think he looks at it, Mike, and says, why am I being singled out? You know, why There. Last week in this game, there was a concussion. Last night, I'm watching the Giants game. Their talented running back Tyrone Tracy runs for 145 yards. He's knocked out of the game late with a concussion. No one's telling these people to retire. Why are you telling me to retire? I think we know the answer in this mic is because the concussions have happened in a way where, you know, the way he ends up on the field, the posture he has this. It just looks the image scary. But he's right in the sense that all these players know their risk, and if they're cleared to play, they have every right to play if they want to.

B (10:27)

Isn't it? I think part of it too is again, we watch from afar. I hear what you've said. I hear what other people said, like what a good dude he is, what a Good teammate. He is. The people who around him love him. He's also a smaller player for the NFL in terms of. Even for quarterbacks. I mean, Josh Allen, all six foot five of them. I think some of that plays into it a little bit. It makes it feel almost like he is more vulnerable to those type of hits in any kind of hit. I did see him execute a pretty good slide.

A (11:00)

That was a heck of a slide.

B (11:02)

That is a plus, a biggest.

A (11:04)

The crazy thing is the crowd. You can hear it as he's running slide. And that it's. It's wild that it's gotten to that point, Mike, but because it's become such a narrative to him and to your point of his size. Yeah. And I think also up to it gets very aggressive. We've seen him initiate contact. The demar Hamlin situation is a perfect example. He should have slide. They should have slid. We know that. He knows that. The contact itself wasn't impactful. Hamlin kind of stopped, and he just kind of ran into his stomach and he had a concussion. So is there a medical reason to get more concussions than other? It's seemingly four and five years old. Things have happened. There probably is. But again, once he's cleared, he just has to play smart football. And if he's cleared to play, he's going to continue to play.

B (11:49)

When I bring up people rooting for TUA as a guy, I mean, look, you know, the brotherhood in the NFL and the players, you know, nobody wants to see injuries. There's guys they root for, but there's players who. I think the general census in the consensus in the league is they're liked and respected. I'm in the locker room when we were in Miami, saw you down in Miami, and Dion Dawkins was talking, and he said, man, we're on the sidelines at that point, and just in their minds, like, or someplace, you know, thinking slide to it. And when he ran into Demar, it was, I would say, unnecessary contact, but it was that my sense wasn't about that play. I mean, Dion's a pretty responsible guy. He loves the league, but he roots for tua. And he didn't say, like, that guy should quit. He was just like, we don't want to see that happen to anybody. And even though they're competing with him, they like the guy and they want him to do well. And that's what I always get a sense is around the league about tua.

A (12:50)

I agree. I think that you said it perfectly. I mean, Tua is a likable guy. He loves the game. And the one thing he was a little in his press conference when he first came back, a little defensive, because I think he's tired of being labeled that way. But I also think he just wants to show everybody I love football. This is what I live for, this is what I love. And the window that I have to play, whether it's three to five years or 10 years, I'm going to enjoy every moment of it. And I think players see that. They gravitate to him. He's a likable guy. He's done a nice job in the community as well. We're all rooting for him from a football standpoint, but also from a health standpoint. I think that's where this, because of what's happened, where it all comes together.

B (13:25)

All right, before we get to the defense, because there's a few players I wanted to ask you about. I want to ask you about where Mike McDaniel is now, because obviously an innovative guy. A lot of people excited about things that he's done. He gets some attention. He's a different type of NFL head coach.

A (13:41)

That's a good way to put it.

B (13:42)

Where is he with the organization now?

A (13:45)

Well, I mean, look, they gave him a contract extension aligned with Tua's contract through 2028, right before the season. So obviously they feel confident. You know, two, two consecutive playoff appearances. They expected, obviously bigger things than a 2 and 5 start. But I don't think anyone in the organization is jumping ship on Mike McDaniel. I tell you who's probably jumping ship, a little bit of them, and that's fans. But you can't, you can't build football teams and build your future around what fans think or what media think, by the way. I mean, you have to, as an organization, look at what you want, look at the person in charge and say, is this person leading me in the right direction? And he's still got the full faith and confidence of Stephen Ross, the owner of Chris Greer, the general manager. And I don't think in any ways he lost that locker room. Mike. I think players just, you know, everybody's frustrated. They lost two of. They couldn't win games. They've lost some close games. And again, one day it's the defense, one day it's special teams. For a four game stretch, they were averaging 10 points a game on offense without Tua. But I think Mike McDaniel, his biggest thing now is this is the first real rough patch in his career. He's been that guy the excitement, the offense. And yeah, he's lost two playoff games. But there felt like there was an upward trajectory with this organization, and now that's stalled and if anything, taken a notch down. It's the biggest adversity he's had to face as a head coach. And. And I think that organization and the team wants to see how he handles it. You know, how is he going to handle his 2 and 5 start? Are the dolphins going to go 6 and 11 and be terrible, or are they going to turn this thing around and flirt with a playoff berth? And that's what the rest of the season, I think, is going to dictate for McDaniel.

B (15:12)

All right, let's look at the defensive side, and before I get to some of the other players, I want to ask you about Jordan Poyer. Very popular guy in Buffalo. It's funny because he's a guy from. Spends his time in South Florida. He's always talked about the Dolphins and he makes the move and he goes to Miami. He's been a great player in this league. He did slow down a little. Where do you see Poyer and what has he brought to this team? How has he helped or maybe not helped with this defense?

A (15:45)

I think it's the problem, Mike, is that the player like Jordan Poyer, you know, a lot of his leadership, right experience, getting guys in the right place, making plays, he was injured early on and had the issues to get on the field, gets on the field, the team struggles. You don't have a lot of pieces. Again, the pieces of what we thought this defense might be, they go out and get Kendall Fuller, you know, to put away along Jalen Ramsey. Jalen Phillips works hard to come back. He gets injured again. Bradley Chubb's still not back. I mentioned Zach Sealer. There are so many moving parts of this defense that it's been really hard for Jordan Porter to make any kind of significant impact. Now, does he make an impact in the locker room? Does he make an impact from a leadership standpoint? Absolutely. He's as well respected of a player as there is in the league, you know, but I think when a team is two and five, when a team can't anything go their way, it's hard for a Jordan Poirier or any veteran to come in and truly make an impact. And I think his impact from that perspective probably hasn't been as significant as some had hoped. But I do think that as the season goes on, the leaders of this team have to be the veterans that drag them out of this hole. And Jordan Porter has to be one of those players.

B (16:47)

What about Calais Campbell? You talk about a respected guy, an absolute mountain of a person. I was at the super bowl one year, and he was getting the man of the Year award, and I was with Mark Dalton from the Cardinals. And I'm standing there and. And because he was with the Cardinals and he's getting there, and I'm thinking this might be the biggest human.

A (17:08)

He's every. Yeah, he's a huge guy.

B (17:10)

I. I mean, I know he's late in his career. He's been around a long time, but you talk about trying to build this culture. The veteran guy, what has he brought is. And. And on and off the field for the team.

A (17:23)

Unlike Poyer, more so on a football field impact. Claes Campbell's made an impact. I mean, he. There are stretches of games where he's all over the field, batting passes down, making plays at the line of scrimmage and in the backfield, disrupting quarterbacks and what they want to do. He's still 16, 17 years in, is still a very impactful NFL player. Now he has to do it on less snaps. Obviously, you're not gonna have him on there all the time, but there are stretches, Mike, in a game where you look up batted ball. Oh, Clay's Campbell line of scrimmage, guy dropped back, Alais Campbell, you know, quarterback pressure. Calais Campbell. I mean, he has. And that is the football part of it, the leadership part of it. Walter Pay, the man of the year. You talked about that. I mean, he's great with the media, he's great with teammates. He's just truly been perfect addition to this team, to this locker room, that they hit a home run to get Kalais there. And it's a shame they're two and five because it goes a bit more unnoticed than it should. But he's actually made a huge impact on and off the field for the Dolphins.

B (18:19)

Jalen Ramsey has. He's been one of the top corners in the league. He's been in Miami now for a while. We talk about where players are, and as things move along, are they still elite? Are they still that type of player? Where would you put Jalen Ramsey?

A (18:36)

Still at the top. I mean, he's still one of the best corners in the NFL. And the beauty of Jalen is, you know, you always talk about corners and lockdown corners. You don't throw the direction, and very few people throw in Jalen's direction. But more than that is he'll make his impact. He's chasing down guys in the backfield, he's blitzing the quarterback and that. And I would expect against Josh Allen in particular, who's such a tough guy to bring down, you want to try to keep him in the pocket, you're trying to contain him. Jalen Ramsey is going to be part of that, that process of trying to get him down. You know, Jalen Ramsey's been phenomenal at bringing down quarterbacks who are trying to run, at chasing down running backs and obviously his main role of locking down receivers. He is still, Mike, one of the elite corners in the NFL. He's having, to me, a Pro bowl type season, All Pro type season. He's been that good. Go back to the record in the 2 and 5 and the struggles there. But when you look at what Jalen Ramsey's done, he's every bit the lockdown corner still, even this far into his.

B (19:27)

Career and last one on the defense. I always look for somebody that the fans don't know that has stepped up. You know, you lose some players in free agency. You've mentioned all the injuries, and usually there's a guy on a team that people are going, where did he come from? Or I didn't know about him. So, you know, Bill's fans know the Dolphins pretty well. But is there somebody on that defense that has stepped up this year and made plays that people are going to start looking going, who is this guy and where did he come from?

A (19:59)

You know, honestly, the bad part about this, Mike, is the true answer is Zach Sealer. And that because he's so underrated, but then he goes out, unfortunately gets hurt in practice, but he is the guy that there was slowly momentum building to say, hey, this guy is a Pro bowl type player. Look at the impact this guy's made. He's had to because of all the injuries along the line of all the injuries you know, that they've had, right when you think it's coming together. But again, he falls into that category. But I think Bill's fans have seen him enough that they know how good he is. I think in general, NFL fans have it like there is this whole wave of push here in South Florida, like, hey, man, stop. Let's stop mentioning this guy's an underrated guy. Like, he's not underrated at all. But unfortunately he gets hurt, which is, I guess, you know, it's fitting, Mike, that that that's the theme of this team. And it's not to make excuses because I know Bills fans aren't going to care. They just want to beat The Dolphins and get another win and drop them 2 and 6. But there are a lot of pieces that can make an impact on this team that are missing right now. And I don't think there's any bigger than Zach Seelor.

B (20:58)

All right, last couple of questions on this. You know, I thought last year when the Bills came down for that last regular season game that was such a monumental game really for both teams. The Bills had struggled, they had that mess going on and they just found a way to win in Miami and that sent the Dolphins on the road and had to go out to Kansas City and they crazy cold and then their season comes to an end. Yeah, it's very different now, but it still looks to me, and as you mentioned, the beginning, that this is one of those moments. Let's be honest. Most people are expecting Miami with their two wins to come and do what they do, which is lose in Buffalo. How big is this game? I mean, it's big for both teams obviously, but how big is this game and what would it mean to the Dolphins not only to beat the Bills when they were riding pretty high, but maybe to get themselves right back in it?

A (21:49)

It's a season saver. I mean, it is, it's not, it's not an exaggeration to say that it is a season saver. This is the way you turn it around. Like it takes something jarring to turn around a season. Not just a squeak out, a one point win against a bad team. You need to beat a good team. You need to do something unexpected. You need to show signs of life. The Dolphins can't go into Buffalo and play a solid game and just come up short. You know, they played them tough to the end, but we still lost. Again. No, that can't be the attitude. They have to find a way, Mike. It's as simple as that. And it is going to be a difficult way. It could be what we talked about earlier. Grind it out 40 times, keep the ball away from Josh Allen, run for 175 yards with your three headed monster at running back, you know, protect to, to. Maybe he's not going to go, you know, throw 40 times for 300 yards, but maybe it's 27 times for 185 yards. You know what I mean? But smart football, don't turn the ball over. That is the way to win. And if they can do that, it's, it would save their season. Like it's, it's. I, it's almost like I said earlier, it's like a Hail Mary. I mean you win this game, you're three and five. You have two are down the stretch for your final nine games, you. You think maybe you can go seven and two, six and three of those and have a chance at the playoffs. You lose this year, 2 and 6, I don't know how you get out of that hole, Mike. I just don't know how. Because now, forget the division at that point, what are you, four, four and a half games back? You know, when it's all said and done, if you lose but the playoff race in the AFC is going to be tight, and the further you get away, the harder it is to get back in.

B (23:11)

Yeah, and from afar. But you know what's going on here. To see the Bills where they are after letting a bunch of players go now, making some moves. Allen playing very well again. When you look at the Bills, even the team you saw earlier this year, and now they're six and two and they've gotten rolling again. What do you think of the Bills?

A (23:32)

I mean, you and I have had this discussion, you know, half dozen times, right, when we talk about these playoff or these previews and in playoff games, too. But when we talk about the Bills and Dolphins and you know how big of a fan I have of Josh Allen, even dating back five, six years ago, when Josh Allen was just first getting started and would play the Dolphins and you'd see this incredible quarterback. I just think Josh has gotten to the point that nothing surprises me about the Bills because he is one of the top two or three players in the league. And when you look at the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, when you look at the Ravens, Lamar Jackson, how these teams are continually winning despite the people around them changing. I feel the same way about Josh Allen. Like nothing the Bills have done this season surprised, surprised me because in the end, you can move pieces around, you can lose veterans, bring in draft picks, guys get injured. But as long as you have Josh Allen, you're going to be one of the most competitive and best teams in the NFL. And the Bills are just that.

B (24:21)

Yeah, well, we'll see what ends up happening this week. You know, the Bills, like you said, in a good spot, but it's a division game. Any fan can just look at what Cleveland just did, going and taking care of Baltimore. When they play these games, they're close. I know you're busy. Like I said, you got the U, you got the. The heat getting going and you're following the Dolphins, let everybody know where they can find you.

A (24:44)

You can always find me on social media. On Twitter X at willmanso. Just my name and check it out there with. Always love chatting with fans, even Bill's fans. Not. Not Giants fans, though. I'm tired of talking about Daniel Jones and the Giants, so. Oh, don't send me. Anybody who knows me knows I'm a Giants fan. I don't want to talk about any of that.

B (25:02)

Yeah, it's, it's, it's rough times. They, they dropped another tough one this week and I know it hasn't gone.

A (25:09)

Story of my life. Yeah, it's always a pleasure, Mike.

B (25:12)

Well, we appreciate this and we look forward to the game and we will certainly catch up with you soon.

A (25:18)

You got it. Thanks, Mike.

B (25:19)

All right, that's Will Mansoe from WPLG down in Miami. Always a friend of the Buffalo plus podcast and we appreciate it and we appreciate you for watching. Please make sure to like, comment and subscribe and we will see you next time on Buffalo Plus.

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