Thursday Dolphins Mailbag: Chubb, Williams, Cold, and More
Part 1 of the Thanksgiving week, pre-Texans game SI Fan Nation All Dolphins mailbag:
From Lucas Aleman (via email):
Hello. Great coverage of the Dolphins. Are they going to stay in California between games in San Francisco and Los Angeles in early December?
Hey Lucas, yeah, whenever you see an East Coast team with back-to-back games in California, you can pretty much assume that the team will stay out West between games. It’s also pretty common for teams to request for their two California games to be scheduled back-to-back specifically for that reason.
From John M (via email):
Alain, can't thank you enough for your reporting. SI gives the Phins a power rank of only 9th. Do you have input with that or do you agree with it? I believe the addition of Bradley Chubb has helped with consistency on D. Would you agree?
Hey John, the SI ranking that I use on a weekly basis comes from the national group and, no, I do not agree with the Dolphins being ninth. Given their 7-3 record and their wins against Baltimore and Buffalo already, plus the fact they’ve won four in a row, I don’t know how you keep the Dolphins out of the top five. As for Chubb bringing consistency to the defense, I’d say it’s still too early to say.
From James Cassettari (via email):
Good stuff, Alain. What's the story behind Connor Williams move to center? Was that a consideration before his signing or something that developed during OTAs? If before, someone deserves a lot of credit. Either way, great move.
Hey James, thanks. I wrote about Williams this week and OC Frank Smith indicated that the idea of moving Williams to center came after the new coaches assessed everything they had along the offensive line. Not exactly sure which coach came up with the idea, but whoever it is absolutely deserves credit because Williams has indeed been very good at center.
From Michael McDonald (via email):
Hello Alain, while covering the Dolphins for over 30 years years have you ever felt uncomfortable around a testy player similar to Gene Atkins vs Jason Cole? It seems I remember reading that Marc Colombo was quite territorial in the locker room while he was doubling as a turnstile. Also any personal uncomfortable moments with Shula or another coach? Any surprisingly positive moments with players or coaches?
Hey Mike, those are really good questions. I certainly never had anything to the level Jason did with Gene Atkins. I do recall Brock Marion one time not liking something I had written and Zach Thomas also at one time didn’t like something I had written, but not about him but about Larry Izzo. Marc Colombo just refused to talk to anybody that entire season he was with the Dolphins. I never had confrontations with any coach (that I recall), though Shula gave a former college classmate of mine a hard time at one point for prefacing a question about the Buffalo Bills by pointing out (correctly) that the Dolphins had had their problems with them in the recent past. Positive moments have happened periodically, but nothing that really jumps out at the moment.
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From Dan Wilson (via email):
Any special preparations for cold weather games? Maybe arriving a day or two and get in some practice in those conditions?
Hey Dan, I’m not sure what the Dolphins are planning yet to deal with potential cold weather in Buffalo and New England, but I think I’d doubt them going up there a day early. It’s not one day that’s going to get you acclimated to the cold (just like it’s not one day that’s going to get you used to the insane South Florida heat in September).
From Bruce T.
Alain, I’ve been a Dolphins fan for half a century but have never written a letter to any sports columnist. I enjoy your answers and thought I’d ask for a few myself. BTW, I worked with many progressive rock bands over the years, including Genesis, Yes and ELP and enjoy your comments on the genre. As to my Dolphins questions, first, do you think their final six games will be a bridge too far? Three straight road games, including trips back and forth across the country on consecutive West Coast trips, followed by a journey to frigid Buffalo seems a little bit much to ask. Home for the Jets and Packers only to have another plane ride to ice cold New England. I’m thinking the Dolphins could lose a lot of those games. It just seems daunting. But if they take 5 or more, that would be a real statement for the playoffs On the same note, does the NFL scheduler hate the Fins? Who makes these things up? Back-to-back West Coast trips? Any chance the team stays on the coast? And is it my imagination or do the Dolphins actually always end up playing in New England and Buffalo in December?
Hey Bruce, first off, hat tip for your work with Genesis. One of my all-time favorite bands. As indicated earlier, in any season where a team from the East has two West Coast games, it’s common for that team to ask the NFL to make it back-to-back games specifically for the purpose of staying on the West Coast and avoiding having to make two long trips. So, yeah, the Dolphins aren’t making back-to-back cross-country trips. As for the schedule and the Dolphins possibilities, I’m at the stage when I refuse to rule anything out. The Dolphins easily could go 2-4 or 3-3 in their last six, but who’s to say they can’t go 5-1?
From Hebert Gutierrez Morales (via email):
Hi Alain, thank you for answering my first question a couple of weeks ago. I really appreciate it. I have another two, and I hope you can answer them. The Dolphins one: I know the coaching staff know who are the better players to every game but, as far as I see, Bethel had made a great work in the limited snaps as CB he gets. Would he be a good option to start with Howard? I know he’s a special teams ace, but I think he would be more important as CB. The music question: I know the “What if?” doesn’t exist but, if Tom Chaplin wouldn’t have his solo career, do you think Keane would be the excellent band that they used to be? I still love them, but certainly the last work was not as good as the other ones.
Hey Hebert, thank you. I really like Bethel’s work at cornerback on the snaps he’s gotten and I have no problem with him getting more as the season goes along. But I’m not sure I like the idea of him starting, in part because he's very valuable on special teams but also because rookie Kader Kohou has been very solid starting opposite Xavien Howard. As for Keane, I absolutely LOVED their first four albums, but like you was really disappointed by their last one. I’m not sure I’d attribute that to Chaplin’s solo career, just maybe that a lot of bands change their sounds as years go by and can’t maintain the same level.
From Reza Hariri (@Therealrezpect1):
After self-scouting during the bye week, any new wrinkles that will be added to O & D? Besides tackling, what didn’t we do well pre-bye?
Hey Reza, I think if there are new wrinkles coming, they’d be more on defense because they’ve now had Bradley Chubb for two games and can develop more scheming to take advantage of his skill set. As for what the Dolphins didn’t do well before the bye, that’s a tough question to answer coming off a pretty dominating performance against Cleveland. I don’t think the pass rush has been consistent enough personally and scrambling quarterbacks have been a problem too. Offensively, it’s tough to find anything to complain about after three consecutive games with 30 points or more.
From NY – Fins Up (@azomback34):
I feel like the two most important things the Fins need to focus on to turn this exciting season into one of the most memorable in years are: 1. Defense get significantly better at getting off the field on 3rd downs 2. Need a home game in 1st round of playoffs. Your thoughts?
Hey there, the Dolphins are 26th in the NFL in third-down defense, so that absolutely is an issue that needs improving. And that’s where Bradley Chubb needs to make a difference for the Dolphins with his pass-rushing ability. I don’t know if the Dolphins “need’ a home game in the playoffs, but it obviously would help because their passing game has a better chance of humming in South Florida weather than in the cold of, say, Baltimore or Buffalo.
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