Dolphins Week 1 Sunday Mailbag: McDaniel, Chop, O-line, and More

Third and final part of the Miami Dolphins On SI Week 1 mailbag:

From Olive Grove Jon:

Hey Alain. Bit of a fun one here. If you swap out Tua for prime Marino, Drake Maye for Prime Brady and Fields for Mark Sanchez who wins the AFC East? Huge respect to Jim Kelly here just went with Allen.

Hey OGJ, my first thought is Mark Sanchez? Really? I’m sure Dolphins fans here would be quick to say they’re first with Marino, but I don’t know how you go against Brady here. Sorry.

From Gordon noonan:

Do you think the Colts game could be a barometer for the season?

Hey Gordon, I do not. It’s one game and things change over the course of a season. We’ll have a much better idea about the Dolphins after five or six weeks.

From edge:

Have we reached a point where in game usage of AI is being leveraged for rapid analysis to gain advantage?

I don’t know about rapid analysis being a thing just yet, but it’s probably coming because there are many teams who are heavy into analytics and this is the next step.

Mike McDaniel and the media

From Juan Camacho:

Hey Alain! What do you expect to see from McDaniel for him to show us he’s grown as a coach?

Hey Juan, it’s an interesting coach, but I’m not sure at this point what would constitute the kind of progress you clearly are looking for. Maybe being more persistent with the run game, particularly in short-yardage situations.

From Luis Rodriguez:

Hi Alain. Why is the media and fans so obsessed with Waller? Do we really think he figures to be an important piece to success? I rather him be thrown out there when the offense gets stagnant in Nov/Dec. No need to rush him out now.

Hey Luis, the fascination with Darren Waller is he’s a big-name player with some big seasons on his resume and who joined the team under unusual circumstances. And then you add the fact he came right after the Dolphins traded away Jonnu Smith, and you’ve now got the whole combo.

Miami Dolphins tight end Darren Waller | Alain Poupart/Miami Dolphins On SI

From Marko Sango:

If Miami loses the first 2 games, is their season over?

Hey Marko, they play 17 games, so, no, the season is not over if they start 0-2. It wouldn’t be ideal, but it’s not like they wouldn’t have time to turn things around. But I do know a lot of fans would think it’s indeed the end of the season, that’s for sure.

From Ofilio Arguello:

Who is a better QB Tua or Jalen Hurts? Seems like the ability to scramble and run are worth more than anticipation and reading a defense.

Yeah, it’s kind of difficult to go against Hurts here at this time given what he contributes to the Eagles running game, plus his impressive performances in his two Super Bowl appearances.

From Padrino:

Hey Alain, OL depth is often mentioned as a concern. Now that we have Lamm back, do you think this changes when Meyer and Eichenberg return from injury? Can those 3 as backups give us the depth needed to get into the playoffs if we suffer an injury along the OL?

I think Lamm, Eichenberg and Meyer as a trio of backups on the offensive line is intriguing, though some fans would disagree about Eichenberg being an upgrade and there are questions about Lamm after he had what most observers agreed was a tough preseason with the Eagles. Going by his body of work, though, I like Lamm and I do like the move of re-signing him.

From Prince-Bishop Militantly Aardvark:

Hey, Alain. Hope all is well with you. Have you picked out your tattoo and chosen its location? If so, what and where? Bonus question: If you could, which of Grier's errors would you undo, and why? How would it change the Dolphins' trajectory?

Hey PBMA, for those not familiar, the tattoo question refers to my pledge to get a Dolphins tattoo once the All Dolphins Podcast reaches 3 million subscribers. Since I’m a little bit away from that number (juuuuuust a little bit), I haven’t yet narrowed details just yet. LOL. As for the legit question, one that I really like, I can’t help but go back to the 2021 draft and choosing Jaylen Waddle at number 6 instead of Penei Sewell. And this is not a shot at Waddle, who has been a very good NFL wide receiver, but very good NFL wide receivers are much, much, much easier to find than potential future Hall of Fame tackles and that’s what the Dolphins passed up on. As to how taking Sewell would have changed the Dolphins’ trajectory, perhaps it would have led to a different team-building philosophy for the offense with an emphasis on physicality as opposed to speed.

From rjgrosso:

How do you see the edge pecking order as of now? Has Chop overtaken Phillips and Chubb due to their injury concerns?

Hey Richard, that’s a great question, but I wouldn’t be ready to put Chop ahead of Phillips or Chubb just yet because until proven otherwise they’re more complete edge defenders even though Chop might already be a better pass rusher. What I would suggest is that all three should get a similar number of snaps every week, and let’s not forget Matthew Judon in the mix as well.

From Rick Hernandez:

Hello, Alain. Is it just me or are we always leading (aka as the losing end of) the weekly injury report? Indy has no one on their list? Kinda makes sense - because the season hasn’t started yet! How are we at mid-season form? Why are we always “killin’ it” on this front?

Hey Rick, I haven’t done extensive research on this beyond the fact that the Dolphins were at a similar disadvantage last year against the Jacksonville Jaguars heading into Week 1. But I also remember a few weeks where it was the Dolphins who had the “injury advantage,” if you will. As to why the early-season injury issues, can’t really think of a logical reason.

Mike McDaniel and the media

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