Dolphins Sunday Mailbag: How Much Will the Offense Lean on the Run Game?

Third and final part of the Labor Day weekend Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag:

From John Hunt:

Will the team be staying out west for the 49ers game in week 2?

Hey John, that is the plan. And this was a scheduling request by the Dolphins to put together their road games in Las Vegas and San Francisco. This actually is pretty common practice and the Dolphins did just that in 2022 when they played at San Francisco and L.A. in back-to-back weeks.

From Richard Prieto:

Why is James Daniels never spoken about? He’s no longer injured, right? Why didn’t they try to see if he could play again?

Hey Richard, the Dolphins released Daniels in the offseason and that cost them cap space, so there never was going to be a reunion. The issue with Daniels, who hasn’t signed with any other team, is the Dolphins believed he could have returned from his triceps injury last season and yet he never did. So the new regime decided to move on from him.

From Mike:

Week 1 prediction? I have Dolphins winning by 120, or at least winning 27-10.

Hey Mike, it’s too early for that. I always save my game predictions for the end of the week. I’ll just say now that it’s a very winnable game for the Dolphins.

From Bick Whitener:

Alain: Thank you for all you do. I appreciate it. Now, my question. What is your best guess for the O game plan's run/pass %'ages for game 1? I'm guessing the plan will be 60% run and 40% pass. I'm guessing the coaching staff wants to see this OLine run blocking a lot.

Hey Bick, I’m inclined to agree that it will be skewed toward the running game because that’s where the most proven aspect of the team is, with De’Von Achane at running back and four starters back on the offensive line along with first-round pick Kadyn Proctor. I could go with a 60/40 split.

From Bill Aquila:

Hi Alain, it’s a new season and hope springs...kinda. From your perspective have the vets on this team bought into the housecleaning and new direction? What are they looking forward to, or grumble about? Thanks, and keep up the great work. I've enjoyed your columns for decades!

Hey Bill, thanks for the kind words. Here’s the thing if we’re going to be honest about it. There are not a whole lot of veterans left on this roster, and it’s not like Jordyn Brooks, Aaron Brewer or De’Von Achane are going to complain after all getting contract extensions. Those veterans who maybe would have reason to complain are Zach Sieler and Austin Jackson, particularly Jackson after he was asked and accepted a pay cut, but that’s not their style.

From Rich McQuillen:

Henning, Priebe and Cox had a good training camp and made the initial 53. They have to be better than the worst from the PS; do you think we'll bring them back to the PS at some point? Note: Priebe definitely looked better than Cole Strange, who started last year.

Hey Rich, if they weren’t brought back on the initial practice squad, or even after the second PS wave like Ethan Bonner and Max Llewellyn, I would suspect the ship has sailed for AJ Henning, Josh Priebe and Marques Cox. Also understand that maybe Henning wants a fresh start after spending all of last year on the practice squad, making the initial 53 but then getting cut to make room for a waiver wire pick-up. That’s enough to make any player decide it’s just not going to happen for him in Miami.

From Charles Boyd:

Alain, thank you as always for entertaining our questions. You are the No. 1 Dolphins writer in my book. I am curious to know, now that the offseason is over, are you more or less optimistic about the direction of the new leadership, and why?

Hey Charles, I don’t know that my view has changed very much because the biggest test for me always was going to be the regular season. I would tell you I have liked almost all of the personnel transactions so far (though I would have claimed Joe Milton III off waivers), but coaches play it close to the vest in terms of scheme and game plan in the preseason, so don’t know yet about Hafley as a game-day coach.

From Jeff Horst:

Alain, from your practice and preseason game observations do you feel the Dolphins are a more physical team? Will we see the third-and-short running game succeed most likely? Can we run the QB sneak with Willis when needing inches?

Hey Jeff, I’m going to start with the whole notion of not being physical enough, which always was overblown in my eyes. That said, I suspect the Dolphins will be better in short yardage, if for no other reason than the addition of the massive Kadyn Proctor, who’s got the ability to move guys at the line of scrimmage. I do think Willis should be able to QB-sneak, though I wouldn’t necessarily be a huge fan of it.

From Bubba:

Will they ever use the 1997-2012 logo as their throwbacks? And would they call Christian Wilkins and see if he’s interested? A prove-it type contract.

Hey Bubba, I can’t help you in terms of the throwbacks and what logo they’ll use, other than to say it’s always been the 1970s logo so far for throwback games. As for Christian Wilkins, there’s basically no chance he comes back to Miami — OK, make it 0.0001 percent. And that’s about as much of a chance there is he takes a prove-it contract.

From RIP:

Why should I care about the Dolphins? After watching every game for 50 years, last year I just gave up and stopped. Thank God for the Hurricanes.

Are you going to be back on board if they turn it around? Do you someone to alert you when that happens?

From THE CHOP SHOP:

What are some weaknesses that the Raiders have that the Dolphins should look to exploit in the season opener?

Hey Dana, this is a really difficult question to answer because it’s the opener, so we don’t have any point of reference as to what the Raiders defense will look like, particularly since they have a new defensive coordinator in former Dolphins assistant coach Rob Leonard. Based on the personnel, it does look as though the biggest question mark would be the middle of the defensive line, where the listed starters are former Dolphins player Adam Butler and second-year player Tonka Hemingway.

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