Sunday Dolphins Mailbag: Defense, Special Teams, Tua, and More

Part 3 of the pre-Charges game SI Fan Nation All Dolphins mailbag:

From BLT (@BillfromBoynton):

Good morning, Alain. Are the Dolphins going to designate a spy on Ekeler, much like they would Allen, Hurts or Lamar? His 85 catches is worrisome.

Hey Bill, the difference here is that while Ekeler is a productive offensive player, he’s not nearly as dynamic as Allen, Hurts or Lamar. And I frankly don’t see the necessity of having a spy for Ekeler, while at the same time obviously being aware of him in the passing game.

From Bob Curvelo (@curvelo13):

Do you see/think the defense turning things and getting back to the defense of last year? They should actually be better with Chubb and Phillips in year 2. I think the defense has been a disappointment so far this year.

Hey Bob, while the defense hasn’t been quite as productive as it was in 2021 or more so 2020, I’m not sure I’m ready to call it a “disappointment,” partly because of the injuries and partly because the defense was most responsible for a few wins this season. And I’m not sure about getting back to the level of last year simply because not having Byron Jones at cornerback opposite Xavien Howard just makes a huge difference. Kader Kohou has been a great story as a rookie free agent and he’s got a nice future in the NFL, but we have to acknowledge he’s not as a Jones level at this time.

From EsStephen (@Joacossss):

Is Byron Jones going to be cut at the end of the year, which is why he’s not playing?

Hey there, I’m not 100 percent sure at this time why Jones isn’t playing, and it’s been a mystery all season for everybody outside the team. As for what happens next offseason, it’s entirely possible that Jones indeed will get cut, but it would have to be with a post-June 1 designation because of the salary cap ramifications.

From Jeff (via email):

Hey Alain, whenever I see highlights or film review of the defense I can't help but ask myself how different things would be if we didn't play "hard press" or zero blitz looks so often. When you play with everyone at the line, doesn't it always result in someone being out of place trying to take extra steps back into coverage, similar in how playing too cautious opens up the short throws very easily. I guess my real question is about formations. How often does the team line up with ~6+ defenders at the line and play with just one middle defender? Is this type of a play call costing us, making us predictable, and pushing the DL and DB to overextend themselves because we don't have a certain skill set in the Mike position? Is it because of injuries on the DB group? Are we not adjusting correctly to those injuries and missing talent in the backfield? What is really going on?

Hey Jeff, I don’t have the metrics available to me, but from my vantage point I certainly haven’t seen too many instances where the Dolphins lined up six players in the box this season. They actually did it quite a bit the past two years and it was very effective for them, and the reason they just haven’t done it as much has to be the absence of Byron Jones because cover zero puts a lot of stress on your cornerbacks and the Dolphins simply don’t have two blue-chip guys at the position this season. That’s what I’ve seen.

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From Crispian T. Routh (via email):

Alain, with the rash of injuries suffered at the QB position this season, do you see a scenario where the NFL brings back the “emergency 3rd QB” (QB3 is inactive unless the QB1 & QB2 are injured) rule? I think the Dolphins only had to use the “Emergency QB” once (Tyler Thigpen in 2010) but I always thought it was a good rule.

Hey there, I absolutely think bringing back the rule would make sense, though how often has a team lost two quarterbacks in the same game in the past, say, five years? And there’s nothing preventing teams from carrying three QBs on the 53-man roster, just like the Dolphins do, and nothing preventing them from having all three active on game day — it’s just that teams have to sacrifice another position if they do that.

From Fernando Rovitto (via email):

Hi Alain, why didn't Fisher sign with any team this season? He played 15 games last year with Indy so doesn't like he was out injured. Seems odd other teams were aggressively pursuing him if he can contribute at a high level like most Phin fans are expecting.

Hey Fernando, I’ve stated many times and will do so again here that fans always should keep expectations realistic when the team signs a player during a season. And it’s simply because there’s a reason that player was available after the season starter. As for Fisher specifically, there was thought early in the offseason that the Colts were going to re-sign him but they couldn’t come to terms and then apparently no other team wanted him badly enough. By all accounts, Fisher didn’t have a typical Fisher season last year for the Colts after coming back from a torn Achilles tendon he sustained while playing for the Chiefs in the 2020 AFC Championship Game.

From Robert Shepard (via email):

Why can’t we just understand that Tua & the Dolphins had a bad day. It happens. I do think that the “diagnoses” provided by many folks is looking too close at the fly-poop. The Dolphins have already proven that they have evolved, although not completely, into a power team. A little more tweaking needs to be done but not a whole lot. As a Miami native and a fan since their beginning, I have watched from the beginning. Let them do their thing with a HC & GM that obviously know what they are doing. By the way, this loss may have been one of the best things to happen, gravity is a wonderful thing.

Hey Robert, agree on all counts.

From Michael McDonald (via email):

Hello Alain, it's April 23, 2020. You're the Dolphins GM. Who do you draft? Tua or Herbert? What's the primary reason for your pick? Herbert was the easy answer until this year. Now? Not so sure.

Hey Mike, if I go back to April 2020 and I know then what I know now, my pick is Herbert. The reason is simple: The guy has everything necessary to become a Hall of Famer, plus he’s got the frame to last. And, yes, Tua is having the better season, but he's also got the better circumstances around him this year and the question is how well would each perform if they were on the other's team. All that said, the selection of Tua obviously looks much better now than it did at the end of the 2021 season and that's all that should matter to Dolphins fans.

From Christian DeGobbi (via email):

Hello Alain. Thank you for your Dolphins mailbag! It is must reading for all Dolphins fans! On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate Bradley Chubb so far. Are you disappointed, satisfied, or neutral towards his performance so far? Any reason for concern?

Hey Christian, I would say his performance so far has been decent, maybe not quite as impactful as one might have hoped. I certainly don’t think there’s reason for concern at this time, though. He’s a legit good player.

From Gene Hauze (via email):

Hey Alain. Thanks for taking my question. I am very upset with the performance of special teams this year. Particularly, the play of the punt team. Against the 49ers, they had two punt returns that averaged 17 yards per return. Against the Texans, they had five punt returns that averaged 16.2 yards per return. This is totally unacceptable. Do you think it is time to dismiss the special teams coach Crossman and get someone else to turn things around? Or, is there something else causing the problem?

Hey Gene, I’ll be honest with you, barring something drastic behind the scenes, I’m not a proponent of making in-season coaching changes when the team has a winning record. And let’s also not forget that coaches coach, but players have to make the plays. Having said all that, it’s pretty obvious the special teams have been disappointing this season and it’s absolutely fair to examine things in the offseason to see what went wrong, up to and including a coaching change.

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