What do the Dolphins have to do in order to stay as Playoff contenders?

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What do the Dolphins have to do in order to stay as Playoff contenders? With the Dolphins facing elimination, the guys get into their good ole heated discussion on Liam Eichenberg who is unsure if he'll start this week at right guard for Dolphins.

Transcript

00:00And now the Dolphins are up against elimination this week.

00:02One more loss the rest of the season and they're out.

00:06Even again, it's kind of a long shot.

00:07I need a lot of teams to lose.

00:09The Colts definitely got to lose once everybody else loses.

00:13But, you know, first they got to win all their games, which is already a big task.

00:17Who the hell knows what is more likely?

00:22Colts losing to the Dolphins winning to.

00:26Well, they can't lose, they can't lose even one.

00:29They got to win all three just in general.

00:32Colts losing to well, they only got to lose one.

00:35The Colts have the same record as the Dolphins.

00:39OK, so they got one out of three.

00:42I think Dolphins can win out.

00:43Yes, I do believe that, even though.

00:48We've said that.

00:50The last three weeks.

00:52Mm hmm.

00:54No, I can say that we knew they were going to lose to the Texans.

00:56We talked about it.

00:59I mean, yeah, Texans, Houston, Texas.

01:00Yeah, history.

01:01I, I actually I'm not sure how to feel this way.

01:05I mean, I know that San Francisco is very banged up, but I also.

01:09You know, I don't know how much I don't know

01:11really how good the Dolphins are right now, like their their line is in tatters.

01:15They're probably going to bench Eichenberg this week.

01:17Thank God.

01:19For who?

01:21Probably if I would say they probably they're going to start.

01:25They got an undrafted rookie, Andrew Meyer, who they haven't played yet.

01:28Right.

01:29So they could go with him.

01:30They could put Rob Jones over at right and then put win at left.

01:34But Eichenberg sucks, dude.

01:36I mean, like he's and even he said he's like he said he wasn't like,

01:40I guess he was asked by reporters yesterday about if he is going to get bench.

01:43He goes, I'm not even sure right now.

01:45Obviously, the last game didn't go as planned.

01:47I mean, over the last four years,

01:49there are certain things I can control and obviously I didn't play well enough.

01:53They want me to be out there.

01:54I'll be out there.

01:54If not, it is what it is.

01:56I'll just keep working.

01:59Eichenberg right now is from the Miami Herald.

02:01Among the seventy five qualifying guards.

02:06I don't want to know.

02:07He ranks 70th.

02:1270th still might be our best lineman available.

02:1570th still might be our best lineman available.

02:18Chris Greer laughed in our face.

02:21Yeah, he has a guy who's seven years with you.

02:25Seventy like, oh, that's fine.

02:27And like, we can keep going to that.

02:30But the fact of the matter is you are where you are now.

02:33Just deal with it. Right.

02:35My question is.

02:37Is if they kept putting Eichenberg out there

02:41and here's how I think.

02:46Everybody in that building wants to win.

02:49Eichenberg is their best option.

02:52So if it's gotten to the point.

02:54Where they're going to put somebody else in there.

02:59I'm a go out on a limb and say

03:02they never really thought that guy was better than Eichenberg.

03:07Otherwise, he would have been there a long time ago,

03:09unless he's returning from injury.

03:13Well, when is returning from injury?

03:15When when kind of I think he was active two weeks ago

03:18is when he got back from his quad.

03:19So he was you understand what I'm saying?

03:22Like it like when people say, oh, why is that guy out there?

03:29He's out there because of all the options that they could put out there.

03:32That's the best option.

03:33Doesn't mean it's great.

03:36Dude, I can't.

03:37I have a hard time believing that there's any organization or coach

03:41or GM or whatever that say, we know this guy is better,

03:44but we're going to put the other guy out there.

03:46Guys get guys get more chances because of their draft status all the time.

03:50But. You can still justify that guy being better.

03:57I don't know of an organization that will put a guy out there

04:02or not put a guy out there that firmly believes he's better than the other guy.

04:07Yeah, we saw Storm Duck undrafted play above Cam Smith second round

04:11for a long time.

04:12And guess what?

04:14Cam was mostly got questions about, but Cam was mostly banged up, though.

04:17Like Cam came out of he came out of camp with a bad hamstring injury.

04:21Then he had a shoulder injury.

04:22So like there are there are qualifiers there as well.

04:25Like you didn't.

04:25And again, I said that.

04:27Hmm. But but in the long run, you think Cam Smith's

04:31going to be better than Storm Duck?

04:32No, no, not at all.

04:34No, don't care about injury.

04:35Don't care about nothing because there's the old.

04:38We're going to hold him a couple of more weeks to make sure he's healthy bit.

04:43Right. I'm familiar with that.

04:46That means that we're not going to embarrass you

04:47by starting an undrafted rookie ahead of you.

04:50That's what that means.

04:52Now, I don't know that to be the case, but I'm saying there's work.

04:55There's verbiage that can be used.

04:58To make you think what?

05:02They want you to think.

05:04Now, the Eichenberg thing.

05:07I've always said this, right?

05:10As much as you say, Eichenberg sucks.

05:13He does his best available.

05:15And that's fine. Right.

05:17And so my whole question, my whole issue with this

05:21the whole time has not been about Eichenberg.

05:26It has been about the fact that you dismiss

05:30the need to have an offensive line.

05:33I'm not this quality offensive line.

05:35Are you talking about the dolphins?

05:36We're talking about the dolphins, not you.

05:38It's ego. It's ego.

05:40It's Chris Cruz ego.

05:41He barely he barely he very, very clearly came into this

05:46season with an element of hubris that I have put together the offensive line.

05:51That's why he told everybody I'm laughing at your concerns.

05:55When everybody has watched this guy, he's tried to stuff him down our throats

05:59for the last four years, putting him at five different positions.

06:02He sucked at every one of them.

06:04The season went down the drain last year when the season went down

06:07the drain last year when we tried putting him at center.

06:10They tried to put his ass at center.

06:11And then all of a sudden, the whole line's getting pushed back this year.

06:15What happens? Oh, the team can't run anymore.

06:17Shocking. Eichenberg, worst lineman in the league.

06:20You know how bad it is.

06:21Seventy five linemen.

06:22He's 70th and he's never been thought of.

06:25No one's thought to bench him. Nobody.

06:27You know why?

06:28Because the guy playing behind him might be 84th.

06:30Get out of here doing this.

06:33You don't like Tobin.

06:35Here's Tobin.

06:37Please understand this.

06:38When I tell you, stop acting like every player that sucks on your team.

06:44There's a better one on the bench.

06:46Come on, dude.

06:47There's not a better guy.

06:48That's why I mean, you never know unless you try.

06:51You never know unless you try.

06:53You want to call me like that?

06:55Where would the Hebrews throw people in there?

06:58Where would the Heat be if they kept with that logic with Terry Rozier?

07:00You never would have found Drew Smith.

07:02They knew Drew Smith.

07:04They had Drew Smith before here.

07:07Well, they did have him before.

07:08But he didn't get his chance until he got his chance.

07:10Basketball is different.

07:13Basketball, you could get blown out.

07:15You could throw somebody in there, right?

07:17And see some shine.

07:19Football doesn't operate like that.

07:21It does at that position.

07:23Okay, but why?

07:25I guess that's my question.

07:26Can I just say the linebacker lost his job.

07:29The running back lost his job.

07:31Receivers have lost their job.

07:33Why is the lineman any different?

07:35Because offensive line, believe it or not.

07:39They work on continuity more than any other group on the field.

07:44Is a continuity of awful.

07:46No.

07:47All right.

07:48I give I give I give like it is what it is.

07:52I'm trying to explain to you why it is.

07:54But for some reason, you logically, you can't accept that.

07:59If he's the best you have, that's who plays.

08:04The problem is that he's the best you have.

08:06I'll accept that.

08:07And I'll take my Lickins on Monday.

08:08If the Dolphins continue to get blown up.

08:11And if you go, I will take my Lickins on Monday.

08:16If the Dolphins continue to get blown up inside, if he's benched.

08:19However, however, however, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

08:22I want gotten to the point where he's so bad that now your theory takes.

08:29Makes sense.

08:30My theory has been the theory since he's been drafted.

08:32Okay.

08:32All right.

08:33My theory has been the theory.

08:35Okay.

08:35I don't want to.

08:36I'm not going to, I'm not some Johnny come lately.

08:37I can Berg sucks.

08:38No, but I'm the president, but you do realize that the sentiment of the guys

08:45who actually make those decisions, weren't the same as yours two years ago.

08:49But their sentiment is stupid.

08:50Their sentiment.

08:51This is why aren't you coaching this?

08:54Why do you act like everybody who makes football decisions?

08:56Make smart decisions.

08:57We just, we've been making fun of the giants all year for letting

08:59go, let go of Saquon Barkley for the same thing, but with Tobin.

09:04The only reason why I said, this is a weird thing for you.

09:06This is a weird mountain for you to be on.

09:08I don't understand.

09:08Listen to me.

09:09I really don't.

09:10I have none of it makes sense.

09:12Understand this.

09:14I'm not saying that the decision to have, I can Berg in the game is good.

09:21A good option.

09:23But I'm saying that based on what they have on the roster, that's the best option.

09:29Understood.

09:30Here's the thing though.

09:31This is how they've treated him his entire career.

09:33Leroy.

09:34I can Berg.

09:35Can you be a left tackle?

09:37No, he sucks there.

09:38All right, let's try them at right.

09:39Tackle.

09:39Does he good there?

09:40Nah, left guard sucks there.

09:42Maybe he can snap.

09:43Nope.

09:44Let's try him at right guard.

09:45Nah, sucks there too.

09:47Like they've tried, they've tried your method.

09:49Cause they've thought, ah, there's something there maybe.

09:53And they've tried to, they've tried to put a square peg into a round hole.

09:57His whole career.

09:59Because they haven't had five healthy linemen since he's been here.

10:03That's why that's played out that way.

10:05Not because he's good enough to play.

10:06He's the only option.

10:11See the contrary to popular belief, coaches and GMs don't like winging it.

10:18Right?

10:19You just want to wing it.

10:21Just try somebody else.

10:23That is the one group on a football team.

10:27That works strictly off, mostly continuity.

10:31And the fact that you had so many players hurt the last two or three years,

10:36you've had guys in and out.

10:37It's made it impossible to do.

10:39And guess what?

10:40You ended up with Eichenberg playing three positions.

10:43Yeah.

10:43And he's gotten that.

10:44And he hasn't had that excuse this year.

10:46He's played the same position all year.

10:48Still terrible.

10:48My body was hurt.

10:50No Leroy.

10:50That was his starting job from the get go in training camp.

10:54He has been the right guard all year.

10:56Hasn't been moved and he's been among the worst in the league every single week.

11:03This was his last stop on the train.

11:05His contract is up.

11:06I hope he's never a Miami dolphin again.

11:08And I'm sure wherever he goes, he's going to become a three-time pro bowler.

11:11All that is great and perfect, but you want to make decisions without

11:18fully understanding that they might not have a better option, which

11:25leads us back to the point.

11:28I've been making all year.

11:31Is that how can you not in the NFL?

11:36Put a premium on offense and defensive lineman first, all the successful

11:42teams in NFL have done that.

11:45So I'm annoyed that we got even have this conversation because the

11:49conversation we should be having is why hasn't this team put more of a

11:54premium on offense and defensive line, all the other good teams have done.

12:00Fine.

12:00But the thing is like, you, you know, with this guy in particular, he

12:05legitimately by metrics by, by, by eye test, by all of it could not do worse.

12:11They had a guy get last week, started right tackle who had never played

12:16tackle and he played better than Eichenberg not much better, but he played better.

12:21Not much.

12:22Which which if you put the qualifier out there and say not much better.

12:30Then you shouldn't have too many questions.

12:31Why are you team struggled with two of the best pass rushers on in the

12:35league, right nightmare, right?

12:38It's this offensive line situation for the last two years.

12:44I won't even say two years because when when Hunt was here, they could

12:48run run the crap out of the ball.

12:50They really could.

12:51Okay, so the fact that there's certain positions on this team that they

13:00have treated like, oh, we can just go find another one.

13:03And now they're finding out that that's not the case.

13:08Maybe we should make like Woody Johnson and just look at Madden ratings.

13:12See that story.

13:13Well, guess what?

13:16Even with Madame ratings, Madden don't rate lineman.

13:20They don't only rate is the skill position.

13:21So technically that's how the dolphins are doing it.

13:24They don't they don't rate lineman.

13:26No, there's no names.

13:27All it is is the skill positions.

13:29I don't think that's true.

13:30I think they rate everything in Madden.

13:32Really?

13:34Really?

13:34I don't play video games.

13:35So nobody, nobody, nobody said I'm going to get the Philadelphia Eagles

13:39because Kelsey is rated 95.

13:43Dave South is saying they definitely rate lineman.

13:45I think they rate everybody dude.

13:46Okay.

13:47So who's using Madden ratings to build a team?

13:50Woody Johnson turned down Jerry Judy, who's having his best season

13:53and he turned him down because his kids told him his Madden rating

13:56wasn't high enough.

13:59You know what?

14:04Here's the deal.

14:07As a fan.

14:10When you get mad at the players and you get mad at the players,

14:17you get mad at some of the play you see on Sunday.

14:22And then you hear a story like this.

14:25What do you think as a fan?

14:26I'm curious.

14:28I'm literally curious to think that when you see an owner didn't

14:32want a player because of his Madden rating.

14:35What do you think?

14:38I had this.

14:38I had Jeffrey Lauria as the owner of the Marlins.

14:41Now, I have a broker Jeffrey Lauria, but it like but a less crazy one,

14:44but Jeffrey Lauria did this stuff all the time.

14:47Great.

14:47That's how we ended up with an 80 million dollar picture.

14:50We never pitched or we ended up with the GM as the manager.

14:54Oh my goodness.

14:57Who told us the winds are like the doughnuts.

15:00You like them so much.

15:00You want to keep eating them.

15:03They didn't eat many.

15:03They starved that year starved for what happened.

15:07No doughnuts.

15:08No, no wins.

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