Dolphins Saturday Mailbag: Chop, Johnson, Douglas, More

Part 2 of the pre-49ers game Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag:

From Ed Helinski:

In your opinion, how do the Dolphins match up against the 49ers in this one?

Hey Ed, they really don’t … if we’re going to be honest about it, nor are they equipped to match up against many of the teams on their schedule, unless we see dramatic improvement up front on both sides. That said, any given Sunday certainly does apply in the NFL and there have been bigger upsets than what a Dolphins victory on Sunday would represent.

From dandi144:

Alain, on how many of Robinson's snaps was he double or triple-teamed by the Raiders? Without doing a play-by-play analysis, it seemed like it was pretty constant throughout the game to me. And, if true, it is much more of an indictment against the rest of the defense for lack of pressure on Cousins than Robinson himself.

I’m afraid, upon rewatching the All-22 that I didn’t see anything resembling “constant” double or triple teaming. There were a couple of instances where a second offensive lineman helped out after Robinson seemed to be getting past the tackle and there was one time when two other Raiders players came to help out, but I saw way more one-on-one blocking of Chop than anything else. But it’s fair to indict everybody involved in the pass rush because there simply wasn’t enough on Cousins, also allowing for some quick/short throws.

WHY THE DOLPHINS AREN'T SIGNING NAME PLAYERS

From Mark Malbeck:

Hi Alain, people are suggested that we sign free agents to help this year. Would it really help? I think they just play this year out , and only sign players for injury replacements. This week I’m just looking for improvement. Not expecting a win. What are you looking for?

Hey Mark, what you wrote there is what I’ve been writing since the spring and I don’t know how Jon-Eric Sullivan could be any clearer not only by his actions but also by saying right before the Bradley Chubb cap space arrived not to expect “splash signings.” And then look at the players the Dolphins have signed so far and who they’re bringing in to tryouts. Other than Malik Willis, it’s one-year, prove-it contracts for basically the minimum salary. So, no, don’t look for any kind of name player to be signed … unless it’s somebody looking to revive his career.

From JROD’S THE TRUTH:

This week rookie Chris Johnson took a lot of heat and frankly I don’t think it was deserved. Yes he was targeted 11 times but he only gave up a 55% completion percentage and last I checked that was pretty good. Cousins completed 70% for the game and the league average when targeted is 65%. He was solid in run support collecting 11 tackles. Which is not the standard for most corners. He did give up 2 TDs but Hafley and Taaffe both said that it was not on him. That he was in the correct position playing the right leverage but his teammate let him down. He did not look Darrelle Revis out there but overall for a rookie debut I thought it was a solid outing. My question is what is your overall review of his rookie debut?

Hey Dana, I’m totally with you and it’s often just too easy to look at the result of the play, and automatically assign blame to the player closest and then do the same thing in reverse if a player makes a tackle no matter the circumstances. Another factor is that playing slot corner is no easy task. Overall, I’m there with you that Johnson’s performance was nowhere near as poor as it’s been portrayed. The coverage wasn’t terrible and he showed himself to be a good tackler.

From Lloyd Heilbrunn:

If Chop Robinson is unable to play Sunday, will we be able to tell the difference?

Editor’s note: This was sent before Robinson was ruled out with the concussion he sustained in practice Wednesday, and all I’ll say is the Dolphins absolutely need more from him the next time he’s out there.

From Dave Campbell:

Greetings Alain ! Wasn't aware about a postgame mailbag but I probably would have said game was a coin toss problem was I called Heads & it came up tails as in the knocked on their.....butt. Anyways I digress. Is the Hafley defense a Bend don't Break style defense ? I DESPISE that style. Bad memories of Tom Olivadotti defenses . I was really surprised about run game being so bad. I'm not calling for OC Bobby Slowick's head but not a good beginning. Always look forward to both All Dolphins and Dolphins Collective podcasts. Behind Enemy Lines segment is really informative. Dolphins on SI.Com is great for all the detailed stuff on STILL my favorite team.

Thanks as always Dave. Yeah, there is a clear bend-but-don’t-break element to Hafley’s scheme, and I’m like you I prefer to have a defense forcing the action, even if it means giving up the occasional big plays. I prefer that to giving up 5, 6 yards play after play. And the running game absolutely was disappointing and let’s just hope it was part of the growing pains this team inevitably will have to go through. And be aware I'm planning on doing a postgame mailbag to run on Tuesdays after every game this season. Here was the one for the Raiders game.

TALKING CALEB DOUGLAS AND DE'VON ACHANE

From SciGuy17:

Two bright spots for me going forward. Watched isolation video of Douglas. DBs had hands full. He could be special player. Do you think Cooper gets more reps? He rated higher than most other DLs and balled in preseason.

Yes, Caleb Douglas has the look of somebody with a very, very high ceiling. There’s a fluidity to his running in the open field and a nice ability to fake out defenders with a herky-jerky movement. As for Cooper, yes, he balled in training camp and the preseason, but the regular season is a whole different ballgame and he was barely noticeable on those plays when he was on the field against the Raiders. There’s something there with him, but I wouldn’t expect too much too soon.

From Jonah Sniffen Jr.:

Hi Alain, what can the Dolphins do to improve their special teams. Is this bad coaching or lack of talent? Thanks for your coverage of the team.

Hey Jonah, I’d be cautious against overreacting to just one game, but the kickoff coverage obviously was troublesome. It’s also too early for me to decide whether the issue is coaching or scheme, but usually this comes down to ability and desire, and one factor that can’t be overlooked is it’s usually back-end-of-the-roster players who cover punts and kickoffs and we know the Dolphins don’t exactly have a ton of depth on their roster. So, yeah, this is something I’d keep watching closely.

From Bubba:

Aloha Alain. Are we (Dolphins) wasting Achane’s prime years as we go through a couple years of development? Wouldn’t it be best for him and the Dolphins to part ways? I feel bad for the guy. He ain’t the biggest, so his body can’t sustain these hits compare to other RBs that lasted.

Hey Bubba, I hear what you’re saying, but the Dolphins rewarded Achane handsomely for him to be one of the guys leading the charge through this rebuild. He’s also young enough that he still should be effective by the time Miami is ready to compete if everything goes as planned. But, sure, it’s never fun for any player at the top of their game to be playing for a team with little realistic chance of competing for a playoff spot.

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