Dolphins Mailbag: Hollering for Hollins, Duke and Doaks, Better Protection, More

On this Thanksgiving Day, it's a perfect opportunity for me to express my gratitude to all my readers and Twitter followers, who are the ones who truly make SI Fan Nation All Dolphins go. Thanks also to all who submit questions for the mailbag.

All the support is more appreciated than you know.

With that, here's part 2 of the latest All Dolphins mailbag:

From James Sonny Burnett (JamesBurnett11):

How many more safeties will we draft this spring? Or tight ends?

Hey James, I sense some sarcasm in your question. One would think (and hope) those would not be high-priority positions near the top of the 2022 draft.

From William C (@WilliamCebula):

The OL gave up zero sacks (against the Jets). Is this an improvement on their part or Tua's pocket presence and quick release?

Hey William, it’s a combination of everything you mentioned, just like it’s not always entirely on the offensive line when there are sacks given. But, yes, there were a lot of quick throws against the Jets, which meant receivers were getting open quickly and Tua was making quick decisions, but there also were instances where the line simply did a good job of blocking, such as the key third-and-7 completion to Jaylen Waddle when the Jets blitzed and the line picked it up with ease.

From J Soto (@dolphin_4life):

Should we expect more touches for Duke Johnson? I liked what I saw on Sunday.

Hey J, the first thing you should understand is that Johnson was a practice squad elevation against the Jets and that can happen only once more because the Dolphins then would have to waive him before using him a third time. That said, yeah, I liked what Johnson did and it’s certainly possible he eventually could be used ahead of Salvon Ahmed. As an editor's note, this question was sent in before the Dolphins claimed Phillip Lindsay off waivers, and now it's probably even more unlikely that Duke Johnson makes much of an impact moving forward.

From David Nastali (@DNastali):

Can some reporter please impress upon our idiot coaches to give Hollins more play and leave Williams, Parker, and Fuller in the trash can….and have Long active for one damn week. Flo and staff define ineptitude.

Hey David, first off, I would ask whether you think the Dolphins coaches were idiots when the team was going 10-6 last year? And while we’d all love to see Long on the field on Sundays, understand that those coaches watch him at practice every single day and you and I don’t, so maybe they’re seeing something that they don’t like. Rest assured, they’re not having him sit every week out of spite or just because they feel like it. As for Hollins, I don’t necessarily disagree with your point because I like him as a wide receiver, though he’s not as good as Parker or as fast as Fuller.

From Jake (@JakeMc945):

Should the Dolphins bring in a kicker for a tryout to piss Sanders off? Love him and he has been money but he needs to get his head right.

Hey Jake, there’s nothing wrong with Sanders’ head and what’s the point of bringing in a kicker when you’re not cutting Sanders after giving him a contract extension in the offseason.

From Dan Giunta (@Dan_B_Phin_Phan):

It looks like Byron Jones has been relatively aggressive with his play over the last two weeks. He got lucky on a few against Baltimore but got burned by Elijah Moore this past week. What do you think he needs to do better in order to avoid being on the bad side of these plays?

Hey Dan, if you watch the replay, you’ll see Jones was put in a really, really tough spot on that play based on the coverage where he was asked to cover half the field against a speedy wide receiver and with Flacco having enough time to let the pattern develop. It also took Jevon Holland a bit to get back to the outside to try (in vain) to stop Moore. The big question there, and one only Dolphins coaches and players (and they won’t tell) is what exactly the coverage was on that play. But while Jones was burned, I’ll repeat that he got put on that play in a really, really tough situation.

From Scott Kraszewski (@skrasz):

How come Waddle, it seemed, was coming off the field a lot inside the 10-yard line when going in to score?

Hey Scott, it’s all about situations. You get close to the goal line, the field is compressed and wide receivers have less room to operate and bigger generally is better in that spot. That’s why Waddle sometimes comes off the field near the goal line.

From Dave (@angryvet59):

My continued beef this year is RB. Our short yardage & goal line is putrid. Any rumors about a Doaks call-up?

Hey Dave, there has been no rumor of a Doaks call-up beyond the fact he seems to be protected from practice squad poaching every week. I did think it was very surprising that Duke Johnson was elevated from the practice squad ahead of Doaks for the Jets game. I suspect we’ll see Doaks in a game at some point this season, though I’m not sure exactly when that will happen.