Dolphins win over Bills was fun BUT it doesn’t mean Miami can be trusted to beat bad teams

Dolphins win over Bills was fun BUT it doesn’t mean Miami can be trusted to beat bad teams

Josh Appel’s a broadcaster nationally for the NFL on Sports USA. He will be on the call this weekend for Orande Gadston II and the Chargers who play the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hope he plays. Yeah, I don’t know if OG’s going to be playing or not. He’s daytoday. He’s got the thigh bruise, but uh kind of exciting to be on the call for that for Josh Appel. Where is that? Is that in Jacksonville or is that in LA? It’s in Jacksonville. I wish I haven’t I haven’t been to LA in a few years uh for a game at that stadium. I wish I was going, but no, it’s up in Jacksonville. Supposed to be a great stadium, right? That stadium is the nicest thing I’ve been in. Yeah. Um let’s talk about uh the Dolphins here. Could you believe because what I asked who was who we have on uh yesterday? Perk. Yeah, Chris Perkins. And I was like, can you believe what you what you witnessed? Can you believe what you saw from the Dolphins against the Bills on Sunday? Did you think, not that they weren’t capable of that in a game, but did you think coming off the Baltimore game, the Greer firing that I did you think that was possible against Buffalo? I thought beating Buffalo was possible because they have come pretty close to beating the Bills the last couple of years. We just saw it. We it was almost the same situation where the Dolphins were coming off of that horrible loss in week one to the Colts. They blew the game at the end uh to the Patriots. They were Devon Achan foot out of bounds away from winning that game. And then we’re thinking, “All right, well that’s blowout demoralizing loss. Now you’re going on the road to Buffalo where you never win. This is going to go terribly.” And the Dolphins executed a really good game plan and made two crucial mistakes in that game and lost. And that was on the road in prime time. So now you come home in November, obviously hottest month of the year in South Florida. So the Bills are obviously going to be affected by that. I think Greg Rouso is going to make another OSHA complaint after after Sunday’s game. Quotes are ridiculous. But the Dolphins honestly did something very similar in Sunday’s game that they did in Buffalo. They had a good game plan, but the difference aside from the timeout and the false start before the game even started, they didn’t make any mistakes that came at crucial times and a crucial situations. The two picks that Tua threw third down. I know we can debate about the validity of an arm punt, but they were arm punts and one of them there was a penalty on the return, so they started inside the 15. The other one was early enough in the game. They played really well. I was surprised that they were able to hold James Cook in check the way they uh were able to. Um, and the same with J Josh Allen just kind of looks off. The Bills are going through something right now where there’s a disconnect between the skill guys and Josh Allen. And it feels like Josh is trying to overcompensate for it more than he normally does. And the Dolphins were able to create some turnovers, force some mistakes. And yeah, I’m shocked that they won the game by three scores. I’m not shocked that they necessarily won, but the the manner in which it happened. Yeah, that’s pretty shocking. And and Josh, what’s your take on this arm punt thing? I It’s Vince Lombardi, Jimmy Johnson. Now, you can name all Andy Reid. Nobody arm punt. I think it’s dumb. I really do believe it’s dumb. There’s less tacklers on the field. If a good returner gets the ball, he can run it back. I don’t I don’t get the arm punt where, oh, okay, well, it was going to be down there anyway. Let him have a chance to catch it. I don’t agree with that. If it’s third and like 15 or third and 22 because you’ve gotten a penalty or two on the drive and you heave something up deep and it gets picked off, I’m okay with an arm punt in that spot. On third and 10, get 12 yards. You have a million plays that you can attack the middle of the field and get a first down. And if you don’t get it, okay, then you punt, but give yourself a chance instead of just chucking it up in the double coverage. Blue moon, like not as part of your game plan. Anytime there’s going to be third and 10 Let it fly. Just let it let it fly. Cuz I I like a 50/50 ball. I like when you throw deep and you could get a PI. Like there’s there’s things that can happen on the positive, but that does seem a little weird. Every time third and 10, you’re just going to arm punt. It seems I don’t know a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. Run a draw. And I’m not I’m not a fan of running a draw, but I but I’m not a fan of running a draw. but maybe lull them into the sense of complacency with the arm punt a couple times then run a draw. I would I would much rather see the swing pass with no blockers on the edge to Devon Aan the reverse pass behind the line of scrimmage. Yep. Yeah. Um Josh Appel is with us. Does Sunday’s game lead you to any broad conclusions about anything or or do you just say, “Hey, the team’s not as bad as they’ve looked most of the season. some weird season that’s been like a perfect storm of cataclysmic events. Um, or do you take it even further and go, you know what, they’re better than people think they’re they’re like what what do you make any broad conclusions from Sunday? No, because we saw them put together a great performance against Atlanta and then follow it up with an absolute dud. You’ve got to see this over the next three games. I think it was Crowder yesterday who said, “Well, you know, you’ve got the Commanders, the Saints, and the Jets all coming up next. That should You look at that, you go, that’s three more wins. Get to six and seven.” Well, the Dolphins also lost to Cleveland this year. Like, you can’t you can’t The way the Dolphins have played this year and they’ve uh looked fantastic at times and looked like the worst team in the league at times, it’s hard to know what you’re going to get on a weekly basis, especially from the quarterback position. So, I think to say that those are a shoein, three wins coming up or to make any grand conclusions, you can’t really do until you see them replicate this performance a little more consistently. I’m not saying they got to blow everybody out by three scores every week and win. But, you know, string together multiple wins in a row and the schedule’s setting up for it that way. But, I mean, I don’t know that you can trust them to do that. But is it anything or is it just hey enjoy a fun win over Buffalo where everything went right for Miami, everything went wrong for Buffalo. Just enjoy it. Dolphins fans, don’t worry what it means. Well, yeah. I mean, definitely enjoy it. It’s a good win and a team that the Dolphins never beat, but I also don’t think that you can really extrapolate much from it big picture because I think I still think they have the same general issues that they’ve always had all season long and all offseason long. Although uh maybe Juju Brent, is that a player? Wow. Yeah, Chris Greer signing. But but Josh to that to that point where I don’t know what Chris Greer could have done. Maybe he was holding ju or hiding Juju Brent on the practice squad. I don’t know what he did to make them be able to look different against the Bills. But is it good for them? Let’s say they do have three I don’t say cupcakes because the Dolphins they they would be a cupcake too. It’s a cupcake bowl going on for the next three weeks. Well, for them to beat those three teams. Let’s say now we’re sitting at six and seven. Then they go ahead and you know two and eight nine something like that. Is that good for him with this terrible start for them to end strong? Now you’re going to have people jumping back. Salana’s already getting back on the MC Mc bandwagon, whatever he calls it. I just think we’ll be right back in the place we have been for years and years and years with these coaches. Do we like him? Do we not like him? I think that it depends on your perspective whether or not that’s good. If you’re Mike McDaniel, that’s great because that means you’ve kept the buyin of the team and you’re likely keeping your job going into next season. If you are a general fan of this franchise and you want this era to be over, then going on a winning streak here and being in the in the hunt graphic for the final few weeks maybe not so great. But at the same time, like there I’m intrigued by like Fernando Mand Mendoza. I’m intrigued by Dante Moore. I think Ty Simpson has done a lot of uh things to get into this conversation for the top quarterback in the draft. I don’t know that this is the year to beat the worst team in the league to need a quarterback. Those guys might be good, but by all accounts, this is a quote unquote weaker quarterback class for the long-term health of the franchise. Probably better off if they, you know, don’t win a lot towards the end, but you never want to poo poo winning. Winning is always fun. It was fun. Sunday was fun. It was fun. So, yeah. I mean, you understand the benefits of a higher draft pick and you also understand the fun that comes with winning. Like, I don’t I’m not going to hate on winning. I just don’t want to go back in with another I don’t go into 2026 and we come out again at one and three and we’re all sitting here. We saw this last year, but they won five at the end. I just I don’t want to be in this. There’s a very good chance that happens. But, you know, it’s funny because that’s this is this would be the third time in Tua’s career that it happens. Yeah. Yeah. did it with Flores, did it with McDaniel, and now they’re they’re I feel like he’s just about to get over the hump. I think next season is actually that if he can just stay healthy. I’d bring Greer back, but that’s me. I saw from Juju Brent that made me think this guy can identify talent. Hey, and how about Riley Patterson? you know, he misses the the extra point, maybe one of the worst extra points I’ve ever seen attempted in an NFL game, but he bounced right back with that 48 y later in the game. I mean, even Riley Patterson, got to give him some respect. Chris Greer can’t kick over 50 yards. They they can’t even try, but you got to give him some respect, I guess. Um, what do you expect Sunday in Spain? because they seemed revitalized and Washington is banged up beyond belief. But the the Dolphins don’t have a great track record when it comes to these international games either. Okay, so I just had the Commanders over the weekend against the Lions. Not only is Marshon Latimore done for the season with a torn ACL, he didn’t play, but their other rookie corner who’s drafted in the second round, he has a fractured tibia. I believe it’s either a tibia or fibula. So, I doubt he’s going to play on Sunday. So, they’ve got Jonathan Jones who also uh had his groin acted up in the middle of that game. I can’t remember if he came back or not, but he left for a moment, then walked back to the sideline, but it was such a blowout. I don’t know that they put him back in. Then you got Noah Igmanogy and another guy off their practice squad playing a corner. If the Dolphins offense can’t have success against a team like that, who’s also going to be without Don Payne because he pushed Brown Dolphins team total over maybe and he got suspended. This is a a Washington team that has lost four consecutive games, three consecutive games by 20 or more points. They are getting blown out every single week. There’s no Terry McLaren. There’s no Austin Eckler. There’s no Jaden Daniels. Bill Crosky Merritt and Chris Rodriguez are the two running backs there. Like, it is as depleted of a roster right now, especially on defense, that you’ll find in the NFL. And if the Dolphins can’t take advantage of that, well, we’ll be having a a similar conversation to a lot of the other segments we’ve done uh this year. Dolphins team total is 25 and a half. I would take it. Josh’s point. Hell, there’s they’re playing with kids off the street. Did Did you see what Jamir Gibbs did to their defense last week? You don’t think the Dolphins are going to try and do use a Chan that way? You see what uh Cuz I’m I’m worried about Noah Igbon because did you see what Jaylen Phillips did last night Packers? I’m not supposed to be mad at that, right? Nah, but man, it’s so perfect. Like, you can’t be mad at it, but it is perfect. Absolutely perfect. Um Appel the McRib is back. This is a soft It’s a soft roll out of the McRib. Sometimes it comes back with a lot of fanfare. This time it’s just kind of appearing at select McDonald’s locations. You had your first McRib with me, right? Last year when it came out. Yes. And you not you have not changed your mind on this. You uh because you only had like one or two bites, right? Yeah. I I could not stomach anymore. I went and ordered two McChicks after that because I couldn’t stand the taste of the McRib. What was it that you didn’t like? Because I’m trying to Why you laughing? Sandwich obviously didn’t like Let me think about it. Uh everything. Well, you don’t like barbecue sauce. Um I I I will use barbecue sauce. I like a pulled pork sandwich, a barbecue chicken sandwich. Like I know what that meat looks like before they put it on one of those press machines to heat it up. I can’t imagine. I’m just It looks like a flank steak. What flank steak? It looks like a flank steak. That patty looks like a flank steak. Yeah, like a nice thin little flank steak. You could build another McDonald’s with the frozen McRibs because they look like bricks. What are you talking about, man? That’s how the burgers look too when they’re frozen. That’s crazy talk. That’s And that roll is so tasty. So you’re not in for a uh a McRib outing. I’ll join you, but I won’t eat a McRib. Well, no. If we do a McRib outing, this is what happened with the Hawkman burger at Tucker Dukes. You’re like, I ate the Hawkman burger. You’re like, “Oh, I’m going to show up, but I’m going to get it plain.” Which is what Jimmy did. Well, everything on it. We know what you did, though. You took all the chili and somehow it ended up on the plate and you said that you ate it all, but there was a big mound of chili and cheese and sour cream on your plate. The only thing on that burger I didn’t get was the sour cream. That thing was packed with chili. The idea that you don’t think chili would fall out of that burger after every bite is insane. We all had them though. I saw how it fell on everybody else’s plate. You ended up with more chili than what started the burger. I don’t know what happened. He was musher. But you can’t he can’t like I can’t invite him to my McRib night if he’s not going to have one, right? Like I I mean it does it just doesn’t seem right. I might lean more appperol spritz myself. How about an apperal spritz and a McRib? That sounds like the single worst combination in the history of meals. I don’t even know. If you had to pick one though, are you going appper? I don’t even know you. Um I’d probably go appperol, but I would say this, Hawk. The incentive for me to get an invite to the McRib outing is whether it’s you, whether it’s Dr. Chuck, after my one bite, you basically get another full McRib to enjoy. Oh, that is a good point. He handed me his McRib. He’s like, I’m not going to eat this. And who would I would never let a McRib go to waste. I might even have to pay. That’s actually a good point. That’s actually a good point. I get an extra McRib if I invite a pal. But I think I end up paying for everything. So I think I’m playing I’m actually buying a McRib with a bite in it. I think it’s a terction for me. You’re not above that. Pale Hawk. I’m not above anything. He pays for everything anytime we go anywhere. It’s crazy. I I We got to stop having events. I snuck up on you the other night. Oh, I know. That was That was not sneaky. Wait, Crowder, you don’t even you don’t even do the thing where you take out the wallet and you like pat it and then you make Hawk give you the little the little brush off it. No, no, I got it. You got to do the act. Listen, first four or five times I did it. No, no, it’s just like, oh, big man over there got it. Yeah, yeah, sure. Josh always like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I got you. I got you. I got you. And he hands me four singles. I got I got you. I’ll I’ll handle the tip. Here’s $2. All right. I do tip the people, though. I I’ll shoot him a little 20. Josh Appel, he will be on the call for Sports USA Sunday in Jacksonville. Hopefully Aronda Gston in the second will be playing. Thank you, Josh. Appreciate you guys.

Is there any ‘big picture’ takeaway from the Dolphins beating the Bills? NFL broadcaster Josh Appel joins the show to discuss.