ESPN Analyst BASHES The Miami Dolphins For Darren Waller Trade!

ESPN Analyst BASHES The Miami Dolphins For Darren Waller Trade!

ESPN analyst Mina Kimes has some pretty harsh words regarding the Miami Dolphins acquiring Darren Waller. We will discuss that. Also, we will go further in depth on Darren Waller’s relationship with Miami Dolphins OC Frank Smith. Plus, on top of that, you know, we got a little bit more to talk about. We are also going to cover well an NFL GM compared the trade between the Miami Dolphins and the Pittsburgh Steelers to rearranging seats on the sinking Titanic. Oh boy. Plus, we’ll discuss the quarterback situation and so much more. Please do me the favor, smash the like button, subscribe if you are new, and always, let’s get into this. [Music] [Applause] You have got to be kidding me. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Beautiful [Applause] [Music] [Applause] day to be a dolphin dance. Let’s go. [Music] What is good fin nation? What’s good? It’s your boy Reason. We’re back here for another one. And well, a little bit of a calm day as all of my American friends get ready for July 4th in just a couple of days. Maybe they’ve turned down the dial a little bit in Miami until after the holiday. But we had the first quiet day of the week, but there is still plenty to talk about and plenty to cover. Let’s start off with this. I’ve talked about this before and I’m going to cover it again. Okay? No, the Miami Dolphins should not sign a Xavier Howard. And whoever is telling you that they should, do not trust them, okay? Because they clearly, whether they claim they watch film or not, didn’t watch the film or were put on their Stevie Ray. Sorry, their Ray Charles My bad. They’re Ray Charles. I’m going to say Stevie Ray from Harlem Heat. But those Ray Charles glasses when they were watching the film. Okay. I’ve seen this being pushed around on Twitter and such. No. No. Okay. Let’s go through just the basic evidence. Okay. Number one. Number one. Yeah. We got arguably the weakest quarterback room in the NFL right now, but we weren’t the weakest quarterback room last year. And all the teams with weak cornerback rooms last year, what did they do? Oh, yeah, that’s right. They passed on Xavier Howard. Okay, that’s number one. Number two, all right, the guy had serious lower extremity issues, was losing a step in coverage. Clearly, he was trailing a lot more. a lot more than he had in recent past. So, no. From a coverage standpoint, no, we’re good. All right. Now, number three. Listen, guys. This guy sent explicit photos of a woman to her underage son. This team right now is trying to change the culture. They claim they they claim they’re trying to. So, why would you bring that back? You already got a guy in Tyreek Hill you can’t get rid of that you want to get rid of. Now people are going to say, “Well, they got Tyreek Hill.” Yeah, they’re already stuck in that contract. If they could, they would get out of it right now. That’s number one. Number two, Tyreek Hill is not washed from a player standpoint. And yeah, Tyreek Hill has done a lot of bad things off the field, but he hasn’t actively sent explicit pictures to underage children. So, no. Add this all together. This makes no sense whatsoever. No. Go with the youth movement. See what you have in BJ Adams, Ethan Robinson, Ethan Bonner, Storm Duck. See if Cam Smith is finally going to give us something. No. Xavon Howard is that’s heading towards the wrong way and down a path that hasn’t worked for you in the past before. So why revisit that? So I I’ve seen this on Twitter. I’ve seen it floating around. No. And it’s never going to happen. So it shouldn’t even be a discussion cuz I’m I’m telling you why it shouldn’t happen when realistically that’s why it won’t happen. And the Dolphins are not going to bring them back. So, it’s it’s a lost cause. That’s it’s not even worth having the discussion about cuz they’re just not going to do it. Like, they’re they’re just not it’s over. That chapter in the Miami Dolphins history has been closed. All right. Now, continuing on here, speaking of off- field issues, Buffalo Bills first round quarterback Maxwell Harist, remember the kid out of Kentucky? He is being sued for sexual assault in civil court in Kentucky. The lawsuit claims that Haristen followed a woman into her bedroom, ignored her repeated refusals, forcibly removed her pajama pants, and then sexually assaulted her. So, the Bills off to a good start with with their new uh addition to the cornerback room, that’s for sure. So, um man, see, Dolphins aren’t the only one with character issues in the AFC East. That’s clear, huh? You know, o now, has anyone heard a single word from Minka since the trade? Is anyone really worried about that? The guy could be on vacation right now. You know, is anyone really worried about this? He could be sitting on the flip side, he could be sitting there asking for new money. I don’t know. I’m not going to sit here and jump to conclusions based off the fact that Minka hasn’t got Twitter fingers, you know, on his hands at all. Let that situation play out. Well, you know, if he doesn’t show up for training camp, okay, then get a little worried. But, I mean, what are we, you know, now? Are we just trying to like make something out of nothing right now and pull stuff out of the air? you know, if you really want to go there. Mika Fitzpatrick, you know, when he talked about being a Steeler, he was frustrated at the fact that guys weren’t taking that job serious enough and guys weren’t taking that honor of being a Pittsburgh Steeler enough. So anything he wasn’t happy with his teammates in Pittsburgh, you know, but does that mean all of a sudden that, you know, he he hated being a Pittsburgh Steeler because no one was buying in like him? No. So, you know, it is what it is, man. I I don’t Do I need to see a video of Ma Fitzpatrick doing cartwheels and back flips? Darren Waller hasn’t come out since he came out of retirement and got traded to us. Should I be worried that Darren Waller isn’t all in right now? You know, like I I just don’t it doesn’t matter. Like that that stuff doesn’t matter. I get it. It’s slow season. We all need something to talk about. But, uh, pardon me if I don’t jump to conclusions, you know, just because the guy hasn’t tweeted out something like I care, you know what I mean? The way I see it, let’s be honest here, the way I see it, it’s probably better if he doesn’t tweet out. I’ll what we’ve learned with from Tyreek and such and even Ramsay himself. I’m down for him just sitting back and chilling. I don’t need a big song and dance. J to Jason Kek’s point in the chat. Bingo was his Nemo with what Jason Kek basically said. All right. You know, like I don’t care if he tweets. I just care how he plays 110%. That gets my full endorsement right there. That’s the mindset that we should be taking right now. We’re in a nonsense season that needs results. I don’t care what like I ain’t trying to see talk on Twitter right now. I’m trying to see the talking done on the field and the statements made on the field. That’s what I’m trying to see. All right. So, let me lay that out for you. All right. Now, before we get into everything here, I do want to shout out today’s sponsor being Clean the World. Clean the World works with over 8,300 hospitality partners to divert their soap bars and plastic amenities from landfills and recycle the collected soap into new bars. By doing so, Clean the World helps reduce pollution, save water, and decreases the carbon footprint of thousands of hotels globally while helping improve the lives of women, children, and communities. Since it was established in 2009, Clean the World has distributed over 80 million bars of soap. 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So, shout out to Clean the World and everything they do. Fantastic stuff. All right, let’s get into this. Shout out to Ryder McConville in the chat. Go check him out. Go show support to the real content creators that give you the real information and they make you smarter fans by tuning into them. Ryder being one of those individuals. Go check him out. Go give him some support. I’m trying to work on something we can do together. I got some ideas in the back of my head that I haven’t even brought to him yet, but I’ve told him sit tight. We got I’m going to think of something we can do. So, definitely more content is going to be coming in the future for me and Ryder. Go support him. Go check him out. Speaking of supporting and checking out, go support and check out the Diear Boys. They just dropped a video last night. They interviewed my boy Malik Washington. So, go check that video out if you do get a chance. All right, go show them some love. Appreciate you too, Ryder. You don’t know I got your back, bro. All right, now let’s get into all of this. Let’s start off with Mina Kimes. All right, this is what Mina Kimes had to say regarding the Darren Waller trade. Needless to say, she’s not a huge fan.
I think if he was younger, I could maybe work up a little bit more excitement. Um, you know, I with all due respect to his rapping career, I believe it was, uh, as you guys I’m sure remember maybe the most embarrassing music video of all time that he dropped after him and Kelsey Plums. You remember this, right, Shan? Yes. Never won. Um, I it’s it’s hard for me to get excited about this. It’s also hard for me to get excited about it specifically for the Miami Dolphins because they seem to be leaning in committing to the bit that they’re not a physical football team when everybody for now two or three years has been saying the one thing this team needs to get better at is January is running the ball and instead they’ve so they go out they get a tight end last year John Smith who I thought was excellent not in terms of he’s not like a real blocker but he was getting those yards after the catch underneath. they’re like going away from it and it feels like they’re leaning even more into their identity, but we already know that identity has not worked out over the long term. All right, so I you know I got a few issues here. First of all, like you talk about like leaning in right now to what you know this identity they’re trying to change it. Mina, I mean Mina has been one in the forefront of nationally discussing how bad our offensive line is and at times she has not been wrong whatsoever. But if you just talk about the offensive line, I mean, they added Jonah Sevaniah and they added James Daniels to improve that running game. They added Alexander Madison to the fold and drafted Olly Gordon to add some thump to that running game, not just speed. Why do you think they brought in Terrell Why do you think they brought in tight end Pharaoh Brown? You think they brought him in for his receiving skills? No, they brought him in to be a true inline. Why? So they could run inside more with him, right? Like you know, I mean, what are we talking about here? They dedicated some money to Nick Westbrook kind because of why he come in the slot and he can block really well. He’s a really one of the better blocking receivers in the NFL, right? You flip over on the defense, you know, drafted my boy Kenneth Grant. Do I got to get into, you know, how physical this is? This man himself told everyone, “I’m a culture changer. He knows how to win.” You know, Jordan Phillips, Zeke Biggers, you know, these are guys 63, 65 over 320 pounds each. You know, I know he’s had some injury history, but Ephiatu Melofanu can lay the lumber. He can be as physical as they come. Like they’ve actively this off season tried to shift away from it. Darren Waller is just the cheap option to replace what they fear they’re losing in John Smith when they need to threaten the seams, right? When when they when when they need a guy to flex out in the F, you know what I mean? From the tight end position. That’s all that is. someone who can offer you some upside in one-on-one matchups. Um, and who can also offer you some upside in the red zone and on third down potentially. That’s all Darren Waller is. I don’t expect Darren Waller to get as many targets as John Smith got. I mean, we saw what happened when tight end became the primary focus of this offense. They went from a top five offense in 2022 and 2023 to not being a top five offense. Now obviously the injury to Tua tongue of Aaloa, Tyreek Hill being banged up, etc. played into that as did the offensive line. So I don’t necessarily agree that hey, you want to bash the guy’s music career, knock yourself out. I could care less about the guy’s music career. To our point earlier that Jason Kek made in the chat, I don’t care about the social media. I don’t care about what he can tweet out. I care about what he going to do on that field for me. I care if this guy’s going to be able to stay healthy and if his hamstring is is is is good because remember 2022 2023 Darren Waller was battling serious hamstring injuries. So for Mina Kimmes, who’s been very, you know, been a very big advocate of how bad our offensive line has been and the lack of, you know, resources put into it, um, etc., etc. I find it very disingenuous that she’s not looking at our offensive line alone and saying, “Oh, look at this. They’re clearly trying to change it up.” I think they’re the Miami Dolphins have proven this off seasonason the opposite of what she said. They’re not leaning into finesse. You know, let’s talk about Mika Fitzpatrick. Mika could come up play the run, you know, put the nose of his helmet right into your chest and make you pay for trying to run on him. This man could we there’s you can find plays and Ryder will tell you this. You can go back and watch a film and play find plays of this man stopping guy like Derrick Henry at the line of scrimmage, bro. Like what are we talking about here? They’re clearly trying to change things right now. Not not to mention their edge guys are back in terms of Phillips and Chub. I mean, they went out and tried to add Drake Greenlaw to that linebacker room, people. They didn’t want Tyrell Dawson back. They were going to go get Dre Greenlaw. What do you think that is? What do you think? Yeah. Does he have injury history? 110%. But is anyone up here going to call Dre Green Law a soft player when he’s healthy? No. So, if anything, they’ve been leaning into trying to kill that finesse and soft narrative in the cold winter months of January and December, etc. Because remember, two has got a winning record in December. It’s January where I believe he’s one and three that’s the issue. So I think this is kind of a disingenuous incorrect take by Mina Kims and you know trying to bash us for this move in the sense of oh they’re just another finesse team and I mean I saw it you know I I saw some analysts tweet out about oh Dolphins’s going to do Dolphin and I’m paraphrasing Dolphins thing’s going to do Dolph Dolphins gonna do things. They’re gonna add Darren Waller when they already can’t run inside when it matters the most. Listen, do you think John Smith was helping us run inside? Even still, we weren’t successful running inside last year mainly because we were leaning on Robert Jones and Liam Iikenberg to get that push on the inside. Are we serious right now? I don’t care who you have back there. What are you going to be able to do? You’re going to need a yards after contact monster with if you’re running inside with Liam Iikenberg and Robert Jones on each of Aaron Brewer’s shoulders. I’m sorry. You’re going to need like you’re like even S you think Saquon Barkley I mean we’ve seen Saquon Barkley struggle with bad offensive lines in New York then go look look at the wall they put in front of him in Philadelphia and what happens career year for Saquon unbelievable year for Saquon but again I’ve talked about the Eagles that’s a franchise who know their identity right since Andy Reid’s been around. They’ve never skimped on the offensive line. Look at how long Lane Johnson has been there. Remember, and I hate to bring up that, you know, I wanted him and said we drafted Deion Jordan. We drafted a project over a surefire tackle. I want Lane Johnson was the guy I wanted in that first round with that pick. I’ll never forget being so pissed off when they took Deion Jordan. now. So, you know, but they know their identity. You know, it’s like, look at the Steelers. Look at the offensive line picks the Steelers have made the last couple years because they don’t skimp on the offensive line. They’re a team that wins in the cold weather because they know it starts on the offensive line. They’ve had good offensive line. How do you think they went to Super Bowls with Cordell Stewart, Jerome Bettis behind a great offensive line and a solid defense? How do you think Trent Doe won a Super Bowl? It wasn’t only one of the best defenses of all time. People just want to talk about the defense. No, no, no, no, no. How good was that offensive line? And it allowed Jamal Lewis to be an absolute monster behind them. So, you know, you got teams that have identities and foundational principles instilled in their franchise that we don’t have. And that’s what’s one of the most frustrating things about I talk about all the time. Chris Greer was here for the unicorn line. Chris Greer saw the blueprint right in front of him in 2016 when remember Tanahill was having his best career ever. Jai was running like a bat out of hell. The blueprint was right there. Even if you traded Larry Tonsel like we did, the blueprint was right there. But they went on to ignore it. And since then, I’ve talked about this. Chris Greer has treated the offensive line like a running back room. Well, just go for the cheapest option, whatever works. While also being way too overcommitted to draft picks he should have moved on from, period. You know, it’s you got to look at it this way. When you look at the Ravens, when you look at the Steelers, when you look at the Eagles, all right, those are just a few examples I use. It’s almost like they have a list of commandments, right? A list of franchise commandments where, you know, thou shalt always draft good offensive linemen, right? Oh, sorry. Thou shalt all always invest in offensive linemen. And they always end up being really good linemen. They got good scouts, right? Because these guys, they find profiles that fit. They find profiles that work and that continue to hit at the NFL level. And so those profiles that they seek in that scouting department become ingrained in the culture and the foundation of of their franchises and they never go away from the formula because it keeps working. You know, did they change the offense when they went from Flaco to Lamar Jackson under Harbaugh? Yeah, I talk about this all the time. They did. Harbaugh deserves a lot of praise. But look at what they did. They didn’t change how they built that offensive line. They didn’t change how they invested in that offensive line. Look at Kansas City learned that lesson when they lost against the Bucks, right? And then this year again, they got hurt and it learned that lesson again. But when they were winning championships after they lost to the Bucks, it was because look at the investment they were making on the offensive line. They decided to just ship out Tyreek and they said, “No, we’d rather invest that money in the offensive line and then on the trenches on the flip side with Chris Jones and stuff.” I mean, it’s the old cliche. I, you know, games are won and lost in the trenches. Some teams realize that and they it’s not it’s it’s not it’s not a coincidence they end up being successful in January and December. Some of them even in February. It is what it is. And we are hoping that by adding Seaniah, by adding James Daniels, by spending what they spent on Patrick Paul, this is a start of correcting the self. But it’s going to come down to Chris Greer. And what I mean like by that is, let’s give you an example. If Patrick Paul doesn’t look competent this year, you should either be making a move and you’re winning somehow. you should be making a move at the trade deadline for an upgrade and or you should be looking at the draft to replace him, not trying to continue to make the square peg fit in the round hole just because the the capital you spent on them. You got to know when to cut the bait and cut the losses. Any good GM in any sport knows that. And I know he fans know what I’m talking about. And there’s hockey fans that know what I’m talking about. There’s baseball fans that know what I’m talking about, etc., etc. So yeah, I I just think Mina kind of is a little disingenuous on that. And if you look at Waller, it’s really, you know, it’s an incentive laden contract with the potential to get up to 5 million. So what does that tell you? They’re right back to the financial hit potentially at maximum that they were paying John Smith. All they did was shift the money That’s it. And Mr. Grumble’s 110% right. You keep two up, we win. I’ll do you one better, Mr. Grumble. You’re correct. Keep two up, you win. Keep that offensive line healthy and intact. And the run game is now eating. And again, I go back to this, the Denver game where we put up 70 points. That was the only game in the last few years where we had our full starting five that was projected coming into the season healthy for one game, right? Last year, we had to lean on Robert Jones and Lee Mikeberg because of injuries, right? Isaiah Win went down in the Eagles game in 2023 and Raheem Moser didn’t have a 100 yard rushing game after the fact. So that right there, go to that 70point Denver game. That right there shows you what this this team offensively could be with a fully healthy and quite frankly a good offensive line because Isaiah Win, remember all these media guys? Remember how they were pushing back? Oh, he’s here to play right tackle and I was the one telling you no, they’re going to shift him to left guard. He is going to back to what he played in Georgia. They were all all pushing back on that notion. and who ended up the guy who can actually watch film compared to the national media guys. Just because they tell you, “I’ve been putting film on 28 on I’ve been putting, you know, broadcast footage on Twitter since 2018.” Doesn’t mean they know what they’re talking about. All right? In fact, that just makes it even worse because you’ve been doing it for what, eight years, and you still don’t know what the hell you’re looking at. My lord. So, yeah. I I I just I I think I I’ve already said this regarding the Darren Waller trade. We need to let training camp play out. Training camp will tell us, should we be excited or should we be down on this acquisition? We don’t know what he is right now. We have no idea. We didn’t see him play in 2024, you know. And remember, you can go back and find this Art Stapleton who covers the New York Giants. All right? He talked about the 2023 preseason for the Giants. And he talked about how Darren Waller was one of the most dominant players he had ever seen at a Giants training campable to what they saw to Malik Neighbors last year as a rookie. And we know how dominant Malik is, how special that kid’s going to be. So, you just give me 70% 75% of what Art Stapleton was seeing in 2023 at in at a at Giants preseason in training camp. And let’s cook, baby. Cuz I don’t think this is going to be a thing where he’s finishing with 80 or 90 targets. I think this is going to be maybe like what 60ish 60 may I don’t even see 70, but 60ish give or take. five or 10 on either side. You know, that makes sense to me. I I you know, I don’t think this is going to be they’re gonna continue to give Julian Hill his snaps to continue to develop. If Tanner Connor can stay healthy through the training camp in preseason, I’m sure he’ll make the team. Then on top of that, we don’t know what Jaylen Conurs is yet. We don’t know what Hayden Roocci’s going to be in year two. There’s competition there. It’s just not any big sexy names except Darren Waller and we’re that’s probably the most skeptical next to Julian Hill. That’s probably the most we’re skeptical about right now is what is he? He’s an unknown. He’s a mystery. But we’ll get our answers soon enough. Don’t you worry. All right. So, um let’s go a little further here. I thought this was interesting. All right. Um, look at what a NFL GM I’m just going to show the quick excerpt here of this article. I’m not going to read the whole article in detail. Look at this. Look what an NFL GM said about the Ma Fitzpatrick Jaylen Ramsey blockbuster trade. Versatility, physicality, ball skills. These have been Jaylen’s Ramsay’s calling cards as an elite defensive player in the NFL for nine seasons. So why did one NFL GM tell me Pittsburgh’s move to acquire the corner in a blockbuster trade for Mink of Fitzpatrick to bolster their struggling secondary was just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Wow. That’s what That’s what an NFL GM thinks of Jaylen Ramsay right now. Right there, they’re saying Pittsburgh they’re just rearranging seats on the on the sinking Titanic right now. Crazy, right? Um, and and he even goes on to say that the longtime NFL personnel decision maker that he spoke with questioned paying Ramsay the hefty total compensation he said to make for the upcoming season. You know, I mean, I don’t know what else to say. Uh, like anyone who wants to sit there and say the Miami Dolphins didn’t win this trade, I’m sorry. I I just can’t get on board with that at all. The Miami Dolphins clearly won this trade. I mean, you got an NFL GM and decision maker basically saying we got rid of a wash player from Minka, you know, I guess you I bet guarantee it was an AFC North rival, too. But I find that absolutely hilarious. So, you know, I know a lot of people it everyone was pretty hyped if we were going to get Minka for Jaylen straight up and everyone then caught some feelings when they saw Janu was involved, etc., etc. Man, we’ll be fine without Janu. I wanted John to stay, but we’ll be fine. We will we’ll we’ll be fine. All right. If Darren Waller ends up giving us anything, we’ll be fine. Remember, Darren Waller’s a better athlete. Yeah, he’s a little older, but it’s a guy who ran a 446. John Smith ran a 462. His 20 yard and 10 yard splits are better, too, as well. I mean, we got the better athlete in Darren Waller. It’s just a matter of can he stay healthy. And that’s what we’re going to have to wait and find out. So, I mean, I still sit here and say the fact we got anything for Jaylen Ramsay, let alone Minka Fitzpatrick, a three-time allp pro, five-time Pro Bowler, but please, like, this is a W, you can say what you want about Greer. You can have your agendas, whatever you want against Greer. That’s fine. That that that’s cool. But I just can’t get down with bashing this trade. I think it’s a win. I really do. So, you know, I’m a fan of the trade. 110%. Guys, over 350 of you in the room. Do me the favor. Smash the like button. So, let’s throw some before we get into the cornerback room. Let’s throw some Darren Waller content your way. This was Darren Waller and his discussion with John Gruden. And I want you to listen to what he talks about here because again, we talked about a player um that clearly wanted to be here, right? You know, it it came out that he told the Giants this is where he wanted to come, right? You know, this is where he wanted to this is where he wanted to be. So, I believe this is from March. This is from March. All right. Um, and and this is what Waller and Gruden discussed. Check this out.
I look at your body, man. You look like you could still roll pretty good, man. I know you’re doing that CrossFit stuff. What are you doing? Tell me what you’re doing now.
Uh, it’s Hy Rocks.
Hi Rocks.
Yeah, Hierrox is a bit is uh is a big movement. I’m uh I’m doing one at the end of May in New York. I’m training for it. It’s it’s uh it’s nothing to be played with. But uh
is there any chance you’d come back and play?
Uh no.
What if I got a coaching job? Would you come back and play for me?
The only two people I will listen to, I will say, is you and Frank Smith are the only two people I will hear out and uh give them my ear.
Miami doesn’t throw it to the tight end, man. You ain’t going down there.
They got they got sports cars down there, man. They got everybody down there running a 4-3. You got to uh
No doubt you fit in good with that crowd. Yeah. So, this is back in March. This is back in March. I believe the it came out what? March 28th. Back in March, he’s saying the only person I’ll listen to if he calls is Frank Smith. And look at what Gruden says. You’ll fit in with all those speed guys out there because I told y’all, you know, he runs a 446 for his size. You know, and the other thing to take away from there is he’s been training. He’s been in shape, right? He’s He has been in shape 110%. Like, I gotta love it. You know, how how can you hate on what he’s saying right there? You know, he’s in shape, man. You know, I I love it. I love it. So, I mean, he’s in shape and I’m telling you this guy. He is all about He is all about Frank Smith. Him and Frank Smith have a real special relationship. Real special relationship. like it it’s it’s evident here that they have a real real relationship. All right. Um so man, I’m uh that is that is some good stuff right there. Right. That is some good stuff right there. You know, I keep going back to it. This is why it’s it’s it’s it’s got to be it’s got to be a wait and see thing with training camp. Let’s see what he looks like at training camp. Let’s hear what we are. Let’s wait and see and what we hear at training camp. I’m going to be down. I’m confirming it. I’m booking everything. I’m going to be down the week of the Jags joint practices. I’m probably going to be there for the 19th and 20th practices and then I’ll be there for the joint practice on the 21st. So, I’ll be down there for a week of training camp and I’ll be going live after training camp to bring you guys um you know, some content here. All right. So, I’ll be live, you know, boots on the ground for all of you guys. We’re doing it again. All right. So, shout out to um the homie Pen. You know, I love Pen. That’s my girl right there. She gifted five inside the NFL memberships. Deontay Monroe, Hugo, Jennifer Forbush. Well, I see you watching in the background, Jen. Huh? Blake and Milton Guerrero. Shout out to all of you. And shout out to Pen for continuing to expand the Finide fam. All right. Now, all right. I got to address this quickly because you you know Big Nick, you know I love you, bro. You know you know I love you, bro. You know you’re my guy. All right, but all right, here’s the deal. The Miami Dolphins offensive line was the 27th most expensive in 2025. All right, just so you know, they only spent about $37.7 million on their offensive line. To put it in perspective, the Chiefs spent 81.5 million. The Eagles spent 55.8 million. Just to put it in perspective now, to continue on there. All right. Since 2022, the Miami Dolphins have invested the third least amount of draft capital in the NFL. That’s not good. That’s not good. So, you’re not spending money and you have the third least amount of draft capital spent since 2022 on that offensive line as well. Something’s got to give here. And again, look at what they did. They restructured Austin Jackson, who he’s like on the hook for like 16 million next year, and the guy stays healthy less than Tua. and Jordan Phillips. So, hey, Big Nick, you know, I love you, though. But let’s, you know, let’s let’s not distort the facts. All right, let’s not distort the facts, my friend. A lot of people would have drafted a replacement for Austin Jackson by now. Not be, oh, well, we got Keon Smith, please. All right. Now, did they do it right with Patrick Paul? 110%. But look at how bad the depth is on the offensive line. Why? Because of the lack of investment through drafting and financials. God forbid James Daniels or Jonas of Ian go down, we’re right back to Robert Jones and Liamenbergville. So, let’s keep it a buck 50 here. Let’s keep it a buck 50 here. So, you can’t just go out and buy starters. And that’s what they’ve had to do now, right? They had to go out and buy James Daniels. They had to go buy out Taran Armstead. They had to go buy Connor Williams. They had to go buy Aaron Brewer because they weren’t drafting them. It would be one thing if it was when you, you know, you got like the 27th least expensive line in the NFL, but if the other number was reversed and you were like the third most invested since 2022 in terms of draft capital, because we could sit here and say, “Okay, well, they got a bunch of studs, but they’re on cheap deals.” So, I’m telling you right now, these are the facts. They’ve invested the third least draft capital into the O line since 2022. They were the 27th most expensive offensive line in 2024. I’m just I’m bringing the facts, brother. Like, I’m just, you know, facts over feelings on this one. It is what it is. compared to other teams. I’m sorry. It’s just there. It’s not a conversation. The Eagles spent almost $20 million more than us and they’ve spent much more in terms of draft capital. Look at the capital the Chiefs have spent trying to get that offensive line right. And for anyone who doesn’t believe me and think I’m rifling off the numbers, it’s right there in front of you. Right there. Their TW their line is 27th most expensive this year. It’s not because they have a lot of young starters. They’ve invested the number three least amount of draft capital into the O line since 2022. Right there, right there in front of you. And then Warren Sharp continues to go on as to detailing this is why we have a terrible pass block win rate, etc., etc., etc. So, you know, I hate to go off script a little bit there, but let’s let’s let’s keep it real about this offensive line here. And they got James Daniels on a deal because he tore his ACL. Sorry, his Achilles. I apologize. He tore his Achilles. They wouldn’t have got If James Daniels was healthy, he would have been making 16 plus million. He wouldn’t be in Miami right now. So, those that would be even worse. We’d be leaning on like Will Hernandez who’s still out there right now. So, I’m just saying, you know, you know, Big Nick, I love you, bro. I got No, there’s no I’m just, you know, cuz it’s not even so much for you. I see a lot of people out there trying to say this is more so for the people that say O line hasn’t been an issue. It’s been all Tua. Well, you know, cuz it’s not just two, it’s it affects the run game, too. So, anyways, um more right here. Let’s let’s talk about the relationship between Darren Waller and Frank Smith because this clip from the QB collective, which remember Mike McDaniel was a part of. That’s how we met Frank Smith. Very, very interesting stuff here. Very, very interesting stuff. All right. Hey, Regel. Not only are you setting the QB up to fail with that offensive line, you’re setting the run game up to fail. And you’re wasting a bunch of money on a bunch of Ferraris on the boundary because you got to have the ball out in two seconds. You know, you’re not doing anyone from the receivers to the quarterback to the running back. You’re not doing any of them any favors. And then the worst part is you bring a tight end to help and four men rushes are still whooping your ass when you face a good defense. Anyways, so this is Darren Waller and Frank Smith. Some interesting things were said and from this clip and this just goes to show how close they are and this really goes to show and further prove the point that this was a Frank Smith call.
What are you taking from our experience going forward?
To keep it simple, I would say uh always be willing to understand, to give, and to learn. Um I would say understanding, meeting people where they’re at, however they learn, however they just go through life, not demanding that they be a certain way or molded a certain way, but meeting them where they’re at and forming a relationship that way and allowing them to be themselves and you being yourself in the process. Nobody needing to change who they are is what allows a great relationship to form. Whether it be a romantic relationship or friends or anything like that’s how it should be. I feel like I definitely have a great example of that from you. Being able to give, giving of your effort like I was willing to give my effort, you were giving your effort as far as preparing us uh preparing yourself to be able to give to us. um giving of your time, giving of your space in your home, allowing us to come in and always, you know, just having an open hand, not looking to like what am I getting, but it’s like it was always about what you could give. It was never a a hint of, oh, Frank’s mind is elsewhere or he it was always you were always here and always giving in the moment and just and learning. You could always tell that you were trying to get better at your craft. you know, remember the tight end evaluation systems and all the things that you’re creating of like, okay, how can I get a better idea of what’s going on here and, you know, trickle down into us as far as me just being like, I want to, even though I’m here, even though we’ve gotten to these certain places, we still have more to learn and we approach the situation with a certain level of humility. So, I would say understanding, giving, and learning. And if you willingly do those things, I feel like I’ll end up where I’m supposed to to end up. And I’m reminded of those things with you.
Yeah.
I mean, you can tell their bond, eh? Like, see, this is why I’m not worried about him coming here and buying in. I I am not worried about He wants to be here. He wants to be under Frank Smith and I think he wants Frank Smith to rejuvenate his career. You know, listen, again, he’s 33. What do we What can we really expect here? But again, if you give me 75% of what Art Stapleton said he saw at 2023 preeason and training camp with the Giants, then we are all gravy here. We are all gravy because I think either way Johnny Smith, his targets were going to be reigned in this year. here. I think the focus is going to go back to the wide receiver unit. So, that’s another reason why they were kind of weary on that 200% pay raise, right? It’s just it wasn’t going to make sense based off what the production was going to be asked of. And so now that they brought in Darren Waller and it remember it’s up to 5 million. So, it’s not 5 million, right? So, you can tell like this guy’s bought in. This guy wants to be back here under Frank Smith. And that’s really all we can ask for besides him staying healthy because if he is bought in, if he does want to be under Frank Smith and you know, we need more good soldiers. We need more guys that are going to listen. I don’t like using the term falling in line because I think that’s terrible. But we just need more guys that are going to be receptive, that are going to be listen, that are going to listen and execute what they’re asked to do. I mean, we all remember Tyreek getting called out last year for by the quarterback and the head coach for running wrong routes, not running the right play. So, you know, I I just feel like, hey, you know, I I think that’s a good point. I think that’s a legitimate point. So again, we got to let training camp play out a little bit to see what the deal is with with our boy Darren Waller. And we’re going to figure it out. Don’t worry. We are going to figure it out. All right. So, I’m not overly, you know, I’m not I’m not concerned yet. If I start hearing things that are bad, okay, let’s have a discussion about it. Now, some of these notes I I want to go over here from um a six-ack of notes um with um Barry Jackson here. All right. So, I want to start in the middle of his article here. And there’s a couple things I want to go over here. So, keeping with the Darren Waller stuff, you can be sure that the Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith was looped into Miami’s pursuit of tight end Darren Waller. He’s coming out of retirement to play for Miami after being traded from the Giants. He said Frank helped him so much with his transition to the Raiders, Waller said. And that’s why Waller honored Smith at the 2020 Coach Corping Coaching Corps’s game changer a rewards where athletes from different Bay Area professional sports honor coaches who are special to them. He said he was a friend that was in recovery like I am who worked the 12step program and went to rehab. He was able to understand me by understanding his friend. We learned a lot from each other. He was able to welcome me without putting too much pressure on me. But he wasn’t allowing me to be someone just happy to be there. He had me set goals, something I never did before that. It really opened my eyes to the fact that I could be great. I never really thought I could be great. Smith said in 2020 that Waller is an extremely intelligent person who is athletic. So again, I mean right there I you know if someone came to me and said, “Yo, you guys are going to get a better version than what the Giants got.” I you probably wouldn’t actually hear an argument from me. You’d probably hear me say, “Well, let’s wait and see how it plays out.” But I wouldn’t be shocked if that’s what ended up happening. Let’s say that. I wouldn’t be shocked. Now, interesting thing here about the punting situation. All right. Money and cap ramifications would seemingly favor Ryan Stonehouse over Jake Bailey if their punting battle is close. Stonehouse, who has the better body of work of the two over the past three years, is due 1.2 million ng guaranteed. His cap hit would drop from 1.7 to 75,000 if he’s cut. Bailey, he’s due 1.9 million non-G guaranteed and his cap hit drops from 2.5 million to about 550,000 if he’s cut. How much will holding for kicks factor into the battle? I think everything holding, punting, directional punting, distance, hang time, all that stuff, said new special teams coach Greg Arman, who coached Stonehouse during his two elite seasons in Tennessee. Obviously, Jake has a lot of reps with Jason Sanders, but it’s also going to be our job to get Ryan and Jason ready just in case he ends up winning the job. Who knows? But Jason had an unbelievable year. And I credit Jake with that, too, because it’s tough to go through a bunch of long snappers in a season. Thought those guys handled it like pros last year. And obviously, Jason had one of the best years of his career, which is unbelievable. Everything will be factored into the competition. So Stonehouse like Waller, it’s kind of where depending on coaches that they excelled to their highest level with can bring either all of that or some of that out of them to make them a difference maker in Miami for the team this year. So um I I I I think Stonehouse wins this job. Bailey. I mean, are they hoping Baileyy’s going to push him? I mean, really, that’s where we’re at, you know? I I just don’t I don’t I don’t see anything like that. I I think it’s time to move on from Jake Bailey. He’s not good. So, the guy’s up and down like the sun on a 24-hour cycle. It’s ridiculous. Now, in that article, Barry Jackson also said the Dolphins believe that Frell Brown is going to be a difference maker in their run blocking, which I mean, I said that earlier, right? Pharaoh Brown and Julian Hill are still going to get their reps and the majority of their snaps. That’s not going to change with the addition now of Darren Waller. So, um, we’ll see how the tight end position does in fact play out. And a little further on the cornerback room here. So, Barry Jackson today, he quote one of his own tweets. His original tweet said, “Been busy week for the Fins with at least one veteran quarterback of interest to Miami. There has been no renewed push to offer money this week. So there you go. With at least one veteran quarterback of interest to Miami, but there’s been no renewed push to offer more money. Is he talking about Razul Douglas? Certainly always possible they could target a name I’m unaware of. Miami clearly wants someone at their preferred money amount, which is what I’ve been telling you guys. Things I’ve been telling you on my Patreon and my channel updates that they have a set cost that they don’t want to come up from. I’ve been saying this. Things didn’t work out in the end to varying degrees with Ramsay, Aavian, and Byron Jones. So, the wallet is no longer open to spend lavishly on quarterbacks despite the glaring need. I think it’s deeper than that. Weaver comes from a place where they don’t they don’t spend a ton of money. I’ve been telling you guys that it that we are going to make the transition under him. They’re going to build from the front to the back. No longer are the days of them building from the back to the front like they did under Flores. These are different ideologies and these are this is a different philosophical beliefs in what they want to run defensively. You know, that’s just where we’re at. We are now going to be a team that invests heavily in the front seven and you know Minka is probably going to be your biggest ticket item in the secondary, right? Because look it and why do they invest in safety a little bit more than corner? Because safeties can move up to the box and to the line of scrimmage, offer you run support. You know, you could have the hi, you know, play that hybrid linebacker role. There’s much more they can do in the front seven with a safety than they can do with a corner obviously, right? You know, you can even, you know, disguise it and they end up flexing out into a nickel. So, there’s just much more stuff you could do, which is why you’ll probably see more of an investment. Now, how much longer is Weaver going to be here? Is he gonna get a job next year? I don’t know. But man, I’m telling you, if they add if a Asante dam if Asante Samuel gets cleared and he’s okay and he stays healthy, they might have enough in that corner room to supplement what they built in that safety room and what they built in the front seven. So, you know, and and listen, I’ve been telling you guys this and I’ll tell you again. Stop underestimating Kateru. You throw on the tape of last year, the second half of the last season, the light was going on for him. And every defensive coordinator we’ve had through here during his time has been a fan of him. They’ve been they’ve been serious fans of him, right? So I you know I just what Kater Kohu is your primary guy right now. Even if Asante Samuel Jr. comes here, even if Razula Douglas comes here, that’s going to be your primary guy. I expect to see Arty Burns out of the nickel a lot more. Karoo is their guy right now. And then you add on Storm Duck can be thrown in the rotation. Is Cam Smith’s light finally going to go on, right? Is Ethan Bonner going to be given a fairer chance than he was in year one under Weaver? More of a chance like how he’s given under Fangio? Is BJ Adams going to show into something? Because they always hit on a UDFA. You know, say what you want about Greer, but he always hits on those UDFA corners, i.e. Nick Needam, i.e. Storm Duck. So, you know that corner room that I’ve been I have been telling my patreons, I’ve been telling my channel members and then after I post those updates, I’ve been telling you guys they are more comfortable with the youth movement at corner than a lot of us fans are. So, I look at Razul Douglas or Asante Samuel, they will be added to complement what they already have in that room. It is what it is. I’m going to be honest with you. I trust Anthony Weaver and I I’ve told you guys this. I trust his vision. I trust what he’s doing. He earned my trust last year and I’ve told you guys this. I mean, I know other platforms have tried to stake claim to, you know, oh, I was the first to say Weaver was No, no, no. I was suggesting during the season that if you have to fire Mike McDaniel, promote Anthony Weaver. So, I’ve been saying for almost a year that if McDaniel goes, Weaver should be the next guy up. So, guys, smash that like button, subscribe if you’re new. Me and Neil will be back tomorrow on five o’clock for Finn to Deep. Make sure you tune in. The best duo on Dolphins YouTube. That’s what y’all keep telling us. So, I appreciate y’all. Smash that like button. Fins up. And I’ll see you tomorrow for Finn Too Deep at 5:00 PM.

On this episode of Phinside The NFL, Reason discusses how an ESPN analyst RIPPED the Miami Dolphins for acquiring Darren Waller from the New York Giants!

Does she make a fair point?

A NFL GM called the trade between the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers “rearranging seats on the sinking titanic”, so is he right?

Plus, we’ll dive further into the relationship between Darren Waller and Frank Smith, the Miami Dolphins cornerback situation and much more!

PHINS UP! SMASH THAT LIKE BUTTON!

Time Stamps:

0:00 – Opening

0:48 – Intro

1:57 – Thoughts On Xavien Howard, Maxwell Hairston & More

12:38 – ESPN Analyst Mins Kimes Bashes The Miami Dolphins Over The Darren Waller Trade

31:13 – NFL GM Compares The Steelers Trading For Jalen Ramsey To The Titanic!

33:46 – Darren Waller Has Wanted To Play For Frank Smith Since March!

39:22 – Addressing The Miami Dolphins Offensive Line (Lack Of) Investments Since 2022!

46:04 – Can Frank Smith Get The Best Version Of Darren Waller For The Miami Dolphins?

50:58 – More Proof Why Darren Waller’s Relationship With Frank Smith Landed Him In Miami!

52:47 – What Will The Miami Dolphins Do At Punter?

55:15 – Update On The Miami Dolphins Looking Into The Free Agent Cornerback Market

1:00:35 – Final Thoughts

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