Dolphins Week 4 Game-Day Mailbag: How Improved Is Jonah Savaiinaea?

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

From Carlos Ramirez:

I don’t think many teams would have a winning record with our schedule so far. We knew we’d struggle early, but how much do you think our SOS has contributed to it? Or would we have struggled this much regardless? Happy to see how much progress we’ve seen nevertheless.

Hey Carlos, facing the 49ers and Chiefs in the second and third game always was going to be a major challenge for the Dolphins, but the truth is they figured to be a talent/experience disadvantage in every single matchup after their roster overhaul. So I’d say SOS has played a part in the 0-3 start, but only a very small part.

From JROD’S THE TRUTH:

Is it official? Is Jonah Savaiinaea officially not a bust? Not saying he’s All-Pro but so far he’s had a Patrick Paul-like growth in his second season.

Hey Dana, there is no question that Savaiinaea has looked better early in his second season than he did as a rookie, but I wouldn’t call it a Paul-like jump to this point. There still are some issues in pass protection. But he has looked good in the running game and there has been a clear improvement.

From John K:

One Tony Pauline claimed multiple Dolphins players blame Hafley’s defensive schemes for NFL worst defense. Any truth to this as far as you know?

Hey John, the Dolphins do not have the worst defense in the NFL. They are last in completion percentage allowed, but not last in opponent passer rating. That out of the way, all I’ll say is I have questions about this story based on anonymous sources, starting with exactly which player would have enough standing or the credentials to be questioning the defensive scheme (even if it’s not said directly to the writer in question). The second question would be why anyone would think the pass defense would be much better with more man coverage than zone when the Dolphins don’t have Patrick Surtain, Derek Stingley or Christian Gonzalez at cornerback. Having said all that, I’m not about to suggest that Pauline is making up what he was told, but it’s just a bit weird for me.

From Dave Campbell:

Greetings Alain! On one hand, Jeff Hafley should be very familiar with the Vikings after playing them the last two years. On the other hand, there's Brian Flores hungrily waiting to put a whupping on the team that fired him (and other reasons). I have to give advantage Flores. You? TEs are a sticking point, and have been even pre-Hafley. Is it time to closely examine practice squads for a slot corner that can cover TEs? Best one for Miami that I can remember is.... I can't. If Bobby Slowik can get an effective run game without Achane, I change my opinion on him. Thoughts ? As always, look forward to best Podcasts out there in All Dolphins and Dolphins Collective PLUS best information on my favorite team since they lost to Cowboys in the Super Bowl, on Miami Dolphins on SI.Com.

Thanks as always, Dave. Covering tight ends isn’t just a Dolphins issue, there just aren’t many teams that have players capable of dealing with high-end tight ends. And those guys are not going to be found on another team’s practice squad, I’m afraid. As for the Flores-Hafley matchup, when it comes to X’s and O’s, there aren’t many better coaches than Brian Flores. And, yeah, getting a run game going without De’Von Achane is going to be quite the challenge, especially considering the run game struggled more often than not even with him this season.

From colindolphin73:

Hi Alain, I expect Flores to throw the kitchen sink at Willis and his line. How do you think the line has been progressing? Apart from the rookies, who has really impressed you with their play so far. For me it's Jonah. Thanks for all your hard work.

Hey Colin, when we evaluate and try to rank the offensive linemen, the question is whether we’re grading on a curve, in which case Jonah absolutely would rank at the top because he’s made the biggest jump. But that doesn’t mean he’s been the best offensive lineman on the unit because I think I’d lean toward Patrick Paul for this exercise. The line as a whole has progressed reasonably, but by that it means the group is coming off a good game against Kansas City after not-so-great outing against the Raiders and 49ers.

From Toby Marmorino:

Hey Poup, why do I get a feeling that Brian Flores is going to blitz the hell out of Malik Willis this week the same way he blitzed the hell out of Lamar Jackson that Monday night game 5 or 6 yrs ago? It was clear after that first series when we blitzed Lamar two or three times that he had no clue on how to handle it, and I think the same thing will hold true this Sunday. I'd like to see the Dolphins come out with six offensive linemen and just try to run the ball down their throat. Thanks and keep up the good work.

Thanks Toby, we should expect Flores to blitz like crazy simply because that’s what Flores does, Lamar Jackson, Malik Willis or any other quarterback these days. And the idea of running the ball down the throat sounds great in theory, but the desire to do so doesn’t mean it’s going to happen, particularly if the opponent is expecting it. To me, the biggest key here would be Willis being able to escape the pocket and make the Vikings pay for their blitzes when their corners are in man and have their back turned to the offensive backfield.

From Rob:

Alain, long time, first time. Any insight on Miami moving to an inside power blocking scheme for the OL, and moving away from the outside zone? Noticed this over the first couple games that Achane is not getting the outside zone runs anymore. Power blocking definitely feels more like Hafley’s preference, but with 4/5 OL drafted to be outside zone blockers, is this too much trying to fit square pegs into round holes? Thanks for all the work you do!

Hey Rob, yes, I agree with you that Hafley would prefer a physical style of running game as opposed to stretching the defense horizontally, like the Dolphins have done. We could see maybe more balance in that regard as time progresses, but a full switch to a power blocking scheme might not happen for a bit.

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