Dolphins Sunday Mailbag: Cornerbacks, Weaver, Tush Push, and More

How good can the defense become? What's an ideal weight for Tua Tagovailoa? Tackling those and other Miami Dolphins issues

Bills Khalil Shakir drags Miami's Kendall Fuller a few yards after making the catch during second half action at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Nov. 3, 2024. Joining Fuller on the tackle is Marcus Maye. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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

From Luis Rodriguez:

Hi Poup. If you were Fins GM, would you offer Browns a 2nd or 3rd for Newsome? Cleveland can’t afford him and he’s a FA after this season. Newsome and a possible Asante Samuel addition would be good, no?

Hey Luis, hmm, I think that would be a no for me. First off, Newsome didn’t exactly have a great 2024 season when he started only three of the 13 games he played and had a really bad PFF grade (not that PFF is the end-all, be-all). Then you have to consider that if you want him beyond 2025 (and there’s no reason for give up a 2 or 3 for just one season), you’ll have to give him a new contract after he makes $13.4 million on his fifth-year option this season. So, no. Sign me up for Samuel, though, if he checks out physically after undergoing neck surgery.

From Justin:

Do you think the Dolphins would consider signing an old pair of CBs once Ramsey is gone for this season? Someone like Gilmore may be better than what we currently have and a good mentor and even Fuller if he hasn’t signed. Injury-prone but decent play when healthy.

Hey Justin, yes, I do think the Dolphins would consider going that route, but for one veteran, not two. And the price would have to be right. But the idea of an older, steadying influence to serve as a mentor absolutely makes sense.

From Thee Dolphins Dum Dum:

I watched you on the Dolphins Collective and the All Dolphins Podcast, which I encourage everyone to do. You seem to be skeptical on how successful the Dolphins defensive line could be this season. Last season the Baltimore Ravens finished second in total sacks with 54. Between Robinson, Phillips, Chubb and Sieler, I think they could easily combine for 40 sacks if they’re all healthy. The rest of the team would only have to combine for 14 sacks to match what the Baltimore Ravens did last year. Does your skepticism simply come from health issues or are there other factors that I have incorrect or have overlooked? And please correct me if I misinterpreted your feelings on the D-line.

Hey Dana, first off, we should differentiate between D-line and edge defenders. For example, Chubb, Robinson and Phillips belong in a different category from the D-linemen, which is the group that includes Zach Sieler, Benito Jones and the rookies. And I wasn’t so much skeptical about their ability as I pushed back against the assumption that the Dolphins are going to have an elite front seven when Kenneth Grant and Jordan Phillips haven’t played an NFL down yet. If you want to combine, the pure D-linemen with the edge guys, the potential is very high if Chubb and Phillips can regain their old form and the rookies produce, but that’s some big ifs.

JALEN RAMSEY AND THE SECONDARY QUESTIONS

From Jake McVay:

Is there a deal already in place for Jalen Ramsey, and it will be announced June 1?

Hey Jake, I examined the Ramsey situation earlier today and something I did leave out is that given the nature of how stories break these days, if the Dolphins had an agreement in place for a Ramsey trade, somebody who would have leaked it already to a national reporter, whether it be Adam Schefter, Tom Pelissero, Jordan Schultz, Ian Rapoport or any of those guys. Since I’m of the opinion one sticking point to any Ramsey trade will be the Dolphins’ willingness to absorb some of Ramsey’s salary, this logically would become a waiting game to see which side caves in (and to what degree) first. So. It makes perfect sense that nothing has been consummated yet, even if it was to be processed only after June 1.

From J_rivera:  

What is the confidence level that Weaver could produce a top 10 defense this year assuming some surprises in the secondary?

First off, I would tell you for me that I’m not so focused on the defensive ranking in terms of yards allowed, but more so points allowed and takeaways. That out of the way, the Dolphins will need for an awful lot of things to go right for the Dolphins to become top 10 in whatever measure, and that includes the rookie D-linemen producing, the veteran edge defenders coming back to form and, absolutely, some surprises in the secondary. But being a top 10 defense is a very ambitious goal, no doubt.

MAKING ADJUSTMENTS ON OFFENSE

From Damien Werts:

It was about a season and a half that Mike McDaniel had the league on its heels. That O looked unstoppable. And while I know injuries certainly haven't helped, it also seems like sometime around the DAL game in 2023 his scheme got figured out. Last year, all we heard about was the Two Deep, etc., and I get that. But other teams with deep weapons (Chase in CIN, for example) seem to find a way to not be utterly shut down by the opposing defensive scheme. So my question/thought.... what does he need to do to evolve this offense? O-line aside, there's still weapons aplenty. If he's going to have a long run as a HC, he needs to find his 2.0. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Hey Damien, yeah, McDaniel kept coming back to the deep passing game having kind of disappeared because of defenses keeping their safeties deep, which did open things underneath for Jonnu Smith. But there was more than that, such as a combination of maybe Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle not getting open deep against single coverage as regularly, Tua Tagovailoa and the other QBs sometimes being hesitant to chuck it deep, and the offensive line sometimes not holding up in pass protection. If defenses are overplaying the deep end to protect against passes over the top, the way to combat that is to make them pay with the run game and short passing. There’s no great secret there. The Dolphins did it successfully at times last year, particularly right after Tua Tagovailoa returned from his injury, but it requires longer drives and that can lead to more opportunities to make mistakes offensively.

From Lee:

Hi Alain. Great work. I read every article. Been a Dolphins fan in the UK since 1982. Wow, it's been a hard slog! Wanted to ask a question regarding the Dolphins support for the tush push. I watch a lot of football and every Dolphins game. It seems to me (only from anecdotal evidence) that the Dolphins, for obvious reasons (Tua’s fragility) can't make use of this play but moreover I see the Dolphins rarely pile on running backs and receivers to initiate a shove in the open field for extra yardage. It seems that the players are coached not to take advantage of this rule and of course, their preference for a more finesse style of player on offense doesn't lend itself to take advantage either. Seems to me that this is yet another example of the dysfunctional Dolphins front office strategy. Their opponents are proficient in exploiting this rule and the Dolphins aren't. Any thoughts on why they voted against banning it?

Hey Lee, while Mike McDaniel expressed his support for the “tush push” at the combine this year, saying he didn’t want to punish a team for having success at something, it’s ultimately owner Steve Ross who cast the vote. And Ross doesn’t speak to the media, so we won’t know his rationale. McDaniel is scheduled to speak this week and I’m sure he’ll be asked whether he asked Ross to vote against the ban and we’ll see whether he wants to comment on the topic. But, yeah, it’s weird that the Dolphins wouldn’t want to go ahead and vote to ban a play that basically is of no use to them.

From David Campbell:

Alain, your podcast is best in my book! I 100% agree with you that Tua needs to take the sack, throw it away (not while getting sacked) & slide! I get the competitive tendency, lord knows I've done dumb things in the heat of the moment, lol. Also, I agree Tua has reached his ceiling but not a true Tua hater like TD is on the Collective!! Question is what's a good weight for him ? How's he look? Also, showing my age, I remember when Robert Edwards tore his knee up playing flag football during a Pro Bowl event. What's your thoughts on a player playing in the Olympic event?

Hey Dave, first off let me say you’re a man of remarkable taste! LOL. We’ll see Tua up close this week for the first time this offseason, but based on the Dolphins’ social media post, he does look like he’s a good weight. As for his ideal weight, not sure about exact numbers, but I’d say he needs to look a lot more like he did in 2024 than 2023, with the added point that the extra weight isn’t why he was able to stay healthy the whole season (because the biggest reason from here simply is that he didn’t put himself in a harm’s way). And I do remember Robert Edwards, who had just finished a great rookie season with the New England Patriots when he tore up his knee in a beach event at the Pro Bowl and later wound up playing for a bit with the Dolphins. I don’t have a major issue with players playing flag football in the Olympics … let’s just make sure they’re not playing on sand.