Dolphins Saturday Mailbag: What Playoff Hopeful Does Miami Most Resemble?

Part 2 of a Labor Day weekend Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag:

From Charles Boyd:

Alain, thanks as always for answering questions. I hope this isn’t a dumb question but since the Dolphins only have 1 fullback on the roster, does anybody fill in for him if he is injured in a game or do they just not run those plays?

Hey Charles, there is no such thing as dumb questions. The Dolphins can use Julian Hill in the Alec Ingold role for certain plays in Ingold’s absence, though he’s not accustomed to being a lead blocker the same Ingold is. So it’s kind of a combination of both.

From d. Edward:

I am confused about Waller. Did the Dolphins waive the physical exam requirement for him before signing him? Did he pass the physical and suddenly become injured?

What’s going on with Darren Waller is just very bizarre. There’s zero chance he didn’t take a physical before the Dolphins made the trade for him and signed him, and Mike McDaniel and Chris Grier have not once mentioned anything about an injury, even though the question specifically was asked of Grier last week in regards to whether there was some sort of physical issue. The response from both is that Waller needed ramp-up time and they want to make sure he’s good for the long haul, but it didn’t make the whole situation any less bizarre.

From TheHotChili:

With the yearly carousel on the offensive line, which top 10 team do you think this team resembles?

Hey THC, the big question here is what teams you consider “top 10” teams. I’d still say the Cincinnati Bengals would be the team I’d compare the Dolphins too, with great wide receivers, a shaky offensive line and questions on defense.

From Brian Lewis:

Did the Dolphins do enough post-waivers to help their depth? And was Cole Strange a miss?

Hey Brian, it’s difficult to call Cole Strange a miss when the Patriots just gave up on him before he finished out his rookie contract. The Dolphins did help the depth with the additions of JuJu Brents, Rasul Douglas, Kendall Lamm and Greg Dulcich, without question, but I don’t that anybody would call them a deep team, though.

From Bubba:

NFL teams can elevate 2 practice squad players for a game up to 3 times before they must be signed to the 53-man roster. So on game day you can have 55 players on a roster? Am I getting that correct? But I also read you can have only 48 dresses on game day. Could you clarify pls?

Hey Bubba, this is correct. There is a difference between the active roster and the game-day roster. Teams have 53 players on the active roster and those players elevated from the practice squad for a game don’t count against that number. But teams can only have 48 players active for every game (that’s if you have eight offensive linemen, otherwise it’s 47). Hope that clears it up.

From Mark Lever:

This is the lowest expectations I’ve seen for our fan base in years. Is there anything that gives you hope for this season? Any way that you see us win a playoff game or possibly going further?

Hey Mark, funny you should ask because I posted earlier today a story about the five biggest reasons for optimism for the Dolphins in 2025. Of course, there’s the flip side and Sunday I’ll post a story about the five biggest reasons for concern.

From FinsUpMass:

Do we have a TE on the roster that can actually block and have reliable hands? I don't care about being a super athlete at the position, just block and catch!

Yeah, I’m not sure the Dolphins have the kind of all-around tight end you seek because Darren Waller and Tanner Conner are receiving specialists who aren’t great blockers; Julian Hill and practice squad tight end Hayden Rucci are blocking specialists; and new practice squad tight end Greg Dulcich is like Waller and Conner.

From StevO SC:

Are you guys still saying Miami is having a soft reset?

Yes, we’re saying it because it’s the truth, and Chris Grier said the same thing this week. Just look at the free agent contracts the Dolphins gave out this offseason; there were no mega deals. The Dolphins also moved on from some big contracts (Ramsey, Holland, Smith to some degree), indicating a change in philosophy.

From Jim Hall:

Alain, I’ve heard thru various other podcasters, etc.(& Dante noted him in his SI article about potential waiver claims) that the Dolphins may have something in this tight end from the NYG (Dulcich?) — do you know anything about his game? Is he more of a blocker? Receiver? Both?

As indicated before, the book is Greg Dulcich is he’s pretty much just a receiver. This was the scouting report from his NFL.com draft profile before the Denver Broncos took him in the third round of the 2022 draft: “Move tight end with some vertical talent who can't be expected to add much as an in-line blocker. Dulcich is a long-legged, duck-footed runner who is faster than he looks, averaging 17.6 yards per catch for his career. He can improve as a route-runner but might have three-level potential as a pass-catcher. He's urgent and determined, adding extra yardage after the catch. He has a decent catch radius and tracks it well, but lacks desired body control for tougher catch adjustments down the field.”

From Thee Dolphins Dum Dum:

With an excessive amount of procedural and pre-snap penalties, does this show a lack of precision? Does McDaniel put too much emphasis on trickery and getting the opposition out of position and not enough emphasis on execution? Is he capable of getting this team to focus on the fundamentals or is he always going to rely on outsmarting his opponent?

Hey Dana, yeah, a big part of what the Dolphins want to do offensively is confuse and deceive the defense, but I get the frustration and the need for some balance. Does McDaniel put too much emphasis on trickery and trying to get the defense out of position? You can debate that, but I don’t see anybody complaining about it when it works, such as the Denver game in 2023. There is some concern, for sure, about how far you can go when that’s so much of the offensive identity.

From Jake McVay:

Hey Alain, who is your favorite current Dolphins player to interview, and why?

Hey Jake, off the top of my head without looking at a roster, I’ve really enjoyed the media sessions we’ve had with Ollie Gordon II so far. He’s just got this great personality. Willie Gay Jr. also has great exuberance, which always nice.

From Lloyd Heilbrunn:

Is it more important to save 2 or $3 million against the salary cap or to integrate your veteran corner into the defense's scheme during OTAs, training camp, and preseason games?

Hey Lloyd, not sure what your question is about … are you suggesting the Dolphins should have paid Rasul Douglas $2-3 million more to make sure he signed in the offseason. Yeah, that’s a slippery road and it's not a good way to do business. Maybe Douglas should have just accepted the offer the Dolphins made back then. It works both ways. Besides, Douglas said he didn’t sign earlier because of a family situation, so there’s that too.

From Josh Gottlieb:

Trade targets you’d be interested in targeting AND trade candidates on this roster you’d believe have value in the case of a rebuild??

Hey Josh, I’m not really on top of who’s on the trade market at the moment, so pointing out a trade target is difficult. From the other side, I think Tyreek Hill is somebody to watch around the trade deadline if the Dolphins are out of contention. If Bradley Chubb gets off to a great start, he also could be somebody to watch. And the same goes for Jaelan Phillips if the Dolphins make up their mind at some point they don’t want to re-sign or franchise him next offseason.

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