Saturday Dolphins Mailbag: O-line, Ogbah, Tindall, and More

What is going on with David Long Jr.? How should we describe the depth on the offensive line? Those and other questions from Miami Dolphins fans

Part 1 of a Houston weekend SI Fan Nation All Dolphins mailbag:

From Rémi Lesot (@Remi_Lesot):

I think the O-line depth isn't that bad. It is not a popular opinion, but to me the O-line personnel is more than decent. Adding Wynn, Feeney and emergence of Cotton should make the Dolphins O-line and average one (between around 15th in the league). Do you agree?

Bonjour Rémi, I agree with your overall assessment and would suggest the offensive line is much deeper than it was at this time last year. The only hesitation I have is that line took a massive dive last year when Armstead was out, and it’s not a good sign to be that reliant on just one player, no matter how good he is.

From Mark Doyle (via email):

Brandon Pili, how is he?

Hey Mark, Pili went down toward the end of practice Thursday and I wasn’t in a position to see what happened to him, though I was able to see trainers working on him between fields. I certainly don’t want to speculate on the nature of the injury, but it didn’t appear to be in major distress. That said, given reports he was down on the field for a bit (my view was obstructed) I certainly wouldn’t expect him to play against Houston.

From Bipbop1966 (Bipbop1966):

Channing Tindall had a bunch of tackles in the 1st preseason game. He, for some reason for me, didn't stand out, even then? What your opinion on him going forward?

Hey there, I am in agreement with you that his numbers in the preseason opener (nine tackles, one sack) didn’t reflect the impact he had on the game. I’m still in a kind of show-me mode with him and if you were to tell me he wound up getting cut, I wouldn’t tell you that you’re crazy.

From Jabari Morris (@jabmorris):

What players do you think can help themselves the most with a good performance this week? What unit will you be watching the closest during the game?

Hey Jabari, I broke down 10 players to watch in this game answering that very question, but right here I probably would tell Noah Igbinoghene jumps out because he’s got such a great opportunity in front of him if he can convince the Dolphins they can rely on him to start opposite Xavien Howard.

From AG (@JonHammJr):

Ogbah struggling to be relevant as a standup rusher in Fangio’s system … why not try him in the rotation as a 5 tech?

Funny, you should ask because Ogbah talked about this very question when he spoke to us after practice Thursday. He basically indicated that he does have the option to line up with his hand on the ground (like a 5 technique) but sometimes is asked to drop back into coverage. I also should push back here against this “struggling” commentary. While he hasn’t necessarily flashed at camp, “struggling” is a bit of a reach.

From Jeff (via email):

Hello Alain, I didn't see anyone mention it, but in McDaniel's press conference after the game he commented how it would be fair to give Skylar a shot at the field with the higher-string players on the depth chart. From what we've seen, briefly, from the QBs it's a bit of a concerning trend for the Miami Dolphins and it's been a thing since as far back as I can remember. We get the ball, make some progress and seemingly forget how to play football in the red zone. Defenses "pinch" and they can cover a bit better, there's a lot that goes into it. In that context, what do you need to see with Skylar on the field this week in particular to feel like everything on the organization side isn't the same old issue over again? How do we know that McDaniel is improving in his play-calling and what sort of things should we as fans look for on the offensive system side of the ball? I think it's missed by a lot of fans how low the TDs numbers have been, for decades, compared to the top teams in the NFL. I appreciate your time and perspective.

Jeff, thanks as always, but I’m going to take issue with your premise, which sounds like an overreaction over what happened last week. Yes, the Dolphins were 0-for-3 inside the 10, but after the one bad throw by White, you have to analyze the other two misses. The first came when White’s arm was hit as he was throwing to Braxton Berrios as the result of an offensive lineman being pushed back into him, and that O-lineman won’t be on the 53-man roster. The second came when his pass hit a helmet at the line. My bottom line is I’m not going to get crazy over this just yet.

From Elliott Guzmon (@ElliottGuzmon):

If you could guess who makes their case for starting safety next to Holland this game? Thanks.

Hey Elliott, the answer for me has to be Elijah Campbell. I think he’s maybe a bit more of an unknown than, say, DeShon Elliott, but it could be he has more upside and it’s up to him to show it.

From Robert (@Robert70865361):

Interested in your take on the L.G. situation. Seems like a Battle Royale with Eichenberg, Wynn, Cotton, & the forgotten man, Bob Jones, who held his own last year filling in for Eichenberg.

Hey Robert, you are absolutely correct. It is indeed wide open and I could see just about any of those four winding up with the starting job, though at this time I would predict — as I did on the All Dolphins Podcast on Friday (and you can get my reasoning there) — that it would be Cotton.

From Walt Thiessen (via email):

You and Omar Kelly gave different appraisals of Channing Tindall's preseason game against Atlanta. He thinks Miami has found a "decent role" for the "weakest linebacker". You says that while Tindall was active, he certainly wasn't a difference-maker. Is this just you setting the bar higher than Omar?

Hey Walt, that’s a good question. I left that game not necessarily impressed by what he did and then I look at the stats and saw he had nine tackles. So I went back and researched them and six of them came after gains of 5 or more yards. And the one sack came when Falcons QB Logan Woodside gave himself up. Bottom line, though, is I don’t think either of us are overly impressed with him yet, though Omar is a bit higher on his potential as a pass rusher.

From Flippin’ Miami (@iTacoLots):

Don't hear much from y'all about David Long. Have they not been working him?

Yeah, David Long Jr. has gotten his steady share of work. He just hasn’t made many noticeable plays. On the flip side, I also don’t recall seeing him badly beaten on any play or clearly missing assignments.

From . (@elons18thchild):

Should we expect Tua and the 1st team offense (minus Armstead) to play a couple series or closer to the full first half?

It’s a great question and I examined the idea of playing (or sitting) Tua on AllDolphins.com on Friday. My best guess — and it’s just a guess — is that Tua sits out again. And, as I explained in the story, it’s not because Armstead is not playing because Tua played two preseason games last year without his left tackle.

From Rock Exposito (@RickontheBeach):

A few bloggers are pushing for Robert Jones at Left Guard. I remember last year he held his own when he played. What is your opinion?

Hey Rock, my opinion is that Jones absolutely is in the mix for the job, there’s definitely some potential there if given the full-time opportunity, so I personally would have no issue with this.

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