Sunday Dolphins Mailbag: Tua Topics, Jackson, and More

Tua's contract, interceptions and health highlight the long list of questions from Miami Dolphins fans

Part 1 of the post-Jets game All Dolphins mailbag:

Before we get going, let's mention that there were an awful lot of questions regarding what the Dolphins will do at outside linebacker in light of the injury to Jaelan Phillips, and we felt it was significant enough a topic to do a separate story about it and you can check it out by clicking here.

Let's go with the questions:

From NY – FinsUp (@azomback34):

So it seems like the NFL may be pressured to convert all playing fields from turf to grass to help the odds at least of preventing injuries. My question is: if the NFL owners & NFLPA agree, is there any real reason it can’t be mandatory before the start of the 2024 season? … I’m certainly not a DB expert but my understanding is they judge when the ball is approaching the WR by watching when the WR put his hands up to catch the pass. Maybe WRs are being taught to wait to very last minute. If you rewatch the Tyreek game winning catch in week 1 at LAC, Tyreek does that exact same thing. The WR doesn’t help the DB by not reaching for ball. Any merit to this in your opinion?

Hey my man, if the owners had a strong desire to get rid of all artificial turf surfaces that would have been already because you know it’s not the players who want that. I hope the change will happen at some point, but not sure I’d hold my breath it’s happening before next season. As for the DB coverage, yeah, more often than not there’s a tell from the receiver whether it’s putting out his hands or maybe even just a look. And then some CBs (they’re rare) just have a feel for when the ball is coming.

From Rich Miller (@treetop70bg):

Who were the players on our final OL after injuries and the Jackson ejection. Why did Austin get ejected?

The Dolphins ended the game with Kendall Lamm at left tackle, Lester Cotton at left guard, Connor Williams at center, Liam Eichenberg at right guard, and Kion Smith at right tackle. Jackson was ejected along with Jets D-lineman Michael Clemson, even though he wasn’t part of the official’s announcements of the penalties on the play. Based I can tell, Jackson got involved in a scuffle after that PAT on the Mostert touchdown to start the fourth quarter.

From Kelly Patterson (via email):

Shouldn’t it be obvious to everyone the Dolphins know exactly how far Tua can throw a football given various foot placements, and how long it will take that ball to reach a certain spot on the field? It’s a timing offense. There’s no way they would call a play requiring a throw Tua can’t make, and no way Tua would attempt it anyway. Tua’s passing velocity is therefore irrelevant to the interception conversation. What happened against the Jets is that Tua put the ball exactly when and where he was supposed to, but unfortunately the defenders didn’t bite inside like they were supposed to. You can’t blame Tua if sometimes the opponent fails to cooperate. If the pick-six was a failure due to Tua’s arm, why would they go back to the same pass 60 seconds later?

Hey Kelly, I didn’t see the two picks as the same passes at all. The first interception came because Tua threw the ball way too late when Braxton Berrios ran an out route and that allowed Brandin Echols to undercut the route. Yes, the pass was a bit of a floater, and because of that it needed to be released before Berrios made his cut and not after as it was. The velocity was different on the second pick, but in that case Hill just flat out wasn’t open. D.J. Reed was all over him and I just don’t know how Tua could have fit that ball in there.

From Chris Bustin (@ChrisBustin13):

Hey, Alain. I have a hypothetical question this week. Let’s say that Tua’s stats remain the same throughout the rest of the season. However, let’s also say that Tua ends up averaging 1 interception per game. Would this scenario earn Tua a lucrative long-term contract? Thanks!

Hey Chris, I get the question, but I’d need more data before being to answer that question. How bad are the interceptions? When do they occur? Do they cause losses? Without all those factors put into the equation, I can’t give a point-blank answer.

From JAurich (@AurichJLAurich):

When was the last time we had a team that didn’t have to play perfect to blow teams out?

“Perfect” is a very strong word. I get the premise of your question and it’s wondering when’s the last time the Dolphins had a team with such blowout capabilities and obviously last year was similar. Let’s just say this team has more offensive firepower than any Dolphins team since the Marino years. That’s how I’ll answer the question.

From Shaun Braley (@shaunbraley):

Should we consider Shaq Leonard so AVG can be primarily a DE?

Hey Shaun, the Dolphins don’t have true defensive ends. Wilkins, Sieler and Davis are interior defensive linemen, while Chubb, Phillips, AVG and Ogbah are edge defenders or outside linebackers. AVG has split his time between outside and inside linebacker, so your premise makes sense to keep AVG strictly outside, but then does Loneard come in as a backup for David Long and Jerome Baker or as part of a rotation? And would he be cool with that? And at what price?

From Ed Helinski (@MrEd315):

In your estimation, was it the Jets defense keeping the game close, especially in the first half, or a bit of Tua being ineffective? Or maybe a combination of both?

Ed, the game was close in score only at 10-0 because the Dolphins were badly outgaining the Jets, and then it got very close at 10-6 after the bad Tua throw on the pick-six. And then the Dolphins got back their double-digit cushion and it wasn’t close from there. So, short answer long, it only got close for a brief moment in the first half because of Tua’s really poor throw but the Dolphins otherwise were in control from start to finish.

From Zach M (@moorez985):

If we aren’t in a spot to fight for the bye, does seeding matter if we win the East and get a home game?

Hey Zach, it matters in getting the second seed because that guarantees a second home playoff game with a first-round victory and then it means hosting the AFC title game if the No. 1 seed gets upset in the divisional round. So, yes, I do think it matters, particularly when it comes to the No. 2 seed.

From James (@Jay7kilo):

I’m cool with McDaniel going for it on fourth down but why not try to run on third-and-short or even fourth-and-short? He’s forcing it to Tyreek on those plays when everyone knows it’s going to him, why not catch everyone off guard and run?

Hey James, the Dolphins actually failed on a third-and-1 against the Jets on a pass to Durham Smythe and not to Tyreek. But I agree with you. To me, a lot fewer things have to go right to gain 1 yard on a running play than on a pass, but it seems pretty clear that McDaniel has more trust in his passing game than running game when it comes to getting that 1 yard.

From EVERYTHING305 (@EverythingCANE):

Tua’s numbers since he got rocked b4 the end of the half against the Raiders are not looking impressive at all…will this trend continue, and do you see it getting worse???

It's way too small a sample size for me to see any correlation and Tua looked perfectly fine to me against the Jets with the exception of two bad throws/decisions.

From Justin (@jhorst_20):

Dolphins were way better on 3rd down today offensively, 11/16. Minus Tua’s two boneheaded turnovers, do you think the Dolphins found their footing on O again? Or should we not get our hopes up.

Hey Justin, the Dolphins got almost 400 total yards against a very good Jets defense and they were over 200 in the first half before that Jets defense wore down. So the offense in general had a pretty solid outing, particularly up front despite all the injuries. So, yeah, I’d say it’s OK to be optimistic.

From Rtate4 (@rtate4th):

I thought the story of the game was how well the offensive line played despite all the injuries and shuffling of players. My question, why did the offensive line play so well against a stout Jets line???? And can they keep it up??

I agree with you that the offensive line had a very good game. In fact, we barely heard from Quinnen Williams outside of the very first Dolphins offensive play and that got nullified by a Jets penalty. The Dolphins offense, with shovel passes, jet sweeps and bubble screens, is designed in part to make life easier on the offensive line (along with taking advantage of the team’s speed), so that plays a part in the success. And then the guys up front maybe are better than a lot of folks want to give them credit for. Let’s say this for sure: The Dolphins backups on the O-line are way better than those of the Jets.

From Free2Talk (@Free2Talknow):

Can we trust Tua? It is always something with him every season. Last season concussions, this year stupid interceptions.

That seems kind of a loaded question. Look, he’s played well enough this season to have helped the offense rank No. 1 in the league the whole way and to be among the NFL’s passer rating leaders. So from that standpoint, I don’t see a reason to dump on the guy, while at the same time acknowledging that something missing from his resume is good December numbers.

From Sean Beachem (@beachbob1):

Happy holidays Alain. The defense has been playing outstanding lately, so play along with a hypothetical scenario. Dolphins offense vs Dolphins defense, assuming everyone is healthy and 12 possessions, how many points does the offense score?

Hey Sean, happy holidays to your and your family! I’ll play along and under your hypothetical scenario I say the defense wins that battle. I just think right now that unit is in a better place than the offense. But the offense also wouldn’t get completely shut down, so how about 24 points or maybe 31 points (12 possessions is an awful lot, by the way).

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