Thursday Dolphins Mailbag: Waddle, Wilson, Chubb, and More

From Ziggla Wiggla (@WigglaZiggla):

Has anyone seen Jaylen Waddle? It’s most definitely a career-defining couple of weeks coming up. Can he accelerate his future?

Hmm, is it really career-defining? Maybe if Tyreek Hill has to miss a game or two because then the Dolphins absolutely would need him to step up. But Waddle has produced big numbers since he joined the Dolphins, but he’s taken a back seat to Hill this year for sure. But not sure about career-defining.

From Josh Streimer (@Josh_streimer):

Where do we go from here? (While remaining not negative).

Hey Josh, they’re going back to Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday and will try to take care of business against the Jets. The team’s goals are still in front of them despite that bad loss and we’ll see exactly what they’re made of coming up, particularly with injuries just mounting and mounting.

From Michael Gura (@MichaelGura4):

Grier has made some awesome moves, but his failure to adequately address the O-line will derail a potential Super Bowl run. True or false?

Hey Michael, false. When the Dolphins were rolling all over Denver with their true starting offensive line, would you have said that. It’s not anybody’s fault that guys have been injured one after another. I’d say he actually built up better depth than they’ve had up front in a while, but at some point no team can keep taking body blow after body blow.

From therealO (@TheRealO035):

Do we put this on the defense for allowing 2 scores back to back? Or Tua for choking again on the last play of the game?

I think pretty much everybody has a part in this collapse, and that includes the defense but not just Tua no offense. I don’t recall him exactly having a ton of time in the pocket on that final play before it collapsed.

From Sagitterrorist 11/30 (@nowaaron_):

Is it worth mentioning that Achane is WR3? As Cedrick is ineffective in that position while being more effective as WR1?

Not quite sure what the question is or the point, but not Achane is not WR3. But the Dolphins absolutely will use him as a receiver out of the backfield.

From Pancanman (@Pancanman58):

Top-rated QBs put the team on their shoulders when crunch time arrives. Is it Tua’s lack of “fire in the belly,” “lack of confidence” or “surrounding talent” that seems to be holding him back? What does he seem to be lacking that elite have?

First off, not everybody QB can put their team on their shoulders at crunch time, and lack of fire in the belly or confidence isn’t somewhere I would go. Tua is a good QB who’s had a really, really good year but he’s at his best when he can operate on schedule and he just won’t make a lot of those wild plays off script like we see from Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen. He certainly did against the Chargers with that beauty of a throw downfield to Tyreek Hill while moving up in the pocket, but that’s usually not his game.

From Al Hertz (@AlHertzb):

Can you explain the abrupt movement penalty on Seiler? I have been watching football for over 50 years and do not remember ever hearing that call before." How does that compare to linebackers charging the line of scrimmage to simulate blitz and not going over?

From Dave Scheeler (@sure2rain):

Can you explain the "abrupt movement" penalty called on the defense? Never heard of this. Often when the QB is trying to get the D to jump, there is abrupt movement but never have I heard of being penalized.

Hey Al and Dave, first off, it has been called before around the NFL, though not often. Basically, the spirit of the rule is to prevent defensive players from making sudden abnormal moves solely for the purpose of making an offensive lineman flinch. And I certainly do believe that applies to charging linebackers as well. Of course, the rule leaves a lot open to interpretation.

From CT (@CTRAW:

Will the Dolphins win another game this year? Are we in store for another December collapse? No Connor, no/limited Tyreek, playing great teams. And assuming they do collapse, how quickly does all the narrative change on Tua and even Mike M (genius??)?

Wow, that’s a depressing question! I’m going to predict they’re not in for another December collapse because the defense is too good for that to happen. But if it were, yeah, there would be some discussions to be had about both coach and QB.

From Logan Guthmiller (@guthmiller2):

Why do they keep throwing the goal line fade? It only worked 1 time this year.

Hey Logan, beats the hell out of me. I’m not a fan of that play unless you have a basketball-style jumper who’ll go get that ball way more often than not, and the Dolphins may (Chase Claypool) or may not have that on their roster.

From Jon-a-Fin (@bomb_shot):

Do you think all the months the team practices and plays in the Miami heat take a toll on their bodies? They are worn out and broken down for the December run?

Hey Jon, don’t buy it for a minute. Understand that the Dolphins are very big into sports science and I’m sure if that were a factor somebody would have picked up on it already and adjustments would have been made (such as way more indoor practices).

From BigPat242 (@pkarthur86):

Why, if you’re Vic Fangio and you’re down two starting safeties don’t you say to your two All-Pro CBs we are going to man up and play two safeties over the top? The miscommunication on the back end killed us for 15 points. Playing man and bringing more pressure was needed.

Hey Pat, I can’t say I have a major issue with the point you’re making.

From supergold1973 (@matthewhmandel):

Alain, please explain why McD continues to call passes and other crazy plays on short-yardage plays — especially when we can pound the ball.

Hey Matthew, your question contains a question I have for you, one that might explain why McDaniel continues to do what he’s doing in short yardage. Can the Dolphins pound the ball? Seems to me their most effective running comes from misdirection and spreading the field horizontally, which isn’t so easy to do in obvious run situations. McDaniel also clearly has more confidence in his passing game than running game to pick up those yards, otherwise he’d change his M.O. I encourage you to check out this story I wrote Thursday that kind of touched on all of this.

From Ed Helinski (@MrEd315):

In Dolphins history, has there ever been a late-game collapse like this? Or what might be something close to this mess?

Hey Ed, for a late-game collapse, I’d argue the 2002 season finale at New England was worse. That’s the one where the Dolphins were up 24-13 with five minutes left and lost 27-24 in overtime, getting knocked out of the playoffs in the process. The stakes made that one worse.

From Adam Schultz (@Schultzy1227):

So I was right to want the Bills to drop that game to KC, huh?

From Jeff Levi (@levi1994):

Is it still a good thing that the Bills beat the Chiefs?

Hey Adam and Jeff, and I was wrong for having bigger aspirations for this team than winning the AFC East title when it had a three-game lead with five games left. I still can’t fathom them not winning the division title, so, no, I don’t think you were right to want a Buffalo loss because they won’t affect Dolphins seeding but KC could.

From Bert (@Bertbaby34):

What does Bradley Chubb and his massive contract bring to this team that Ogbah couldn't have done??? After all, Ogbah has 6.5 more career sacks.

Hey Bert, sorry, but Bradley Chubb simply is a better player. And Ogbah actually is the one with the biggest 2023 salary on the Dolphins roster, not Chubb.

From Ryan (@Ryan63422248):

Why aren't we using Chase Claypool in goal-line situations?

Hey Ryan, that’s a great question and I don’t know the answer, other than to say that Mike McDaniel indicated they had a package of plays for Claypool in this game but Cedrick Wilson Jr. basically outplayed him in practice.

From Steven (@SteveA305):

Fustrating play call on offense and defense to close out the game. Is this team self-destructing in December again?

Hey Steven, can I get back to you on that and let you know on New Year’s Day?

From Jj (@jjjara1317):

Tua can't lead this team to victory. He wrinkles in difficult moments. He is very soft. What do you think?

I think I’m not going to bash Tua in a game with so many injuries on offense, most notably on the line and with Tyreek, while also saying he didn’t play a particularly stellar game.

From Kris (@newmanusps):

With being exposed (against Tennessee) as basically the Jets offense without Tyreek, and way too many injuries to be serious in postseason, you think major changes come this offseason?

Hey Kris, can’t answer that until we see how the rest of the season plays out, but my initial thought is to not expect massive changes beyond those necessitated by the salary-cap issues.

From Zel (@Zel_done):

Do you believe Waddle is being used probably? Because I believe Waddle should be put in motion or used similar to Tyreek.

I have a hard time complaining about the offense in a big-picture look when it’s tops in the NFL in some many categories, and that includes how Waddle is used. If there’s more Waddle and less Hill, does that make this offense better?

From Terry Nielsen (@TKN_OHIO):

I say the next 4 games will define Tua's entire career. Win 3 and you’re elite, lose 3 and you are just another middle-tier QB, your thoughts?

Hey Terry, as somebody who’s not a fan of fixating on won-loss records for QBs (understanding they’re part of the evaluation), I’m certainly not going to make it that clear cut. What if he plays great football down the stretch, but the defense falters and the result is losses? Or what if he's just “meh,” but the defense bails him out and the Dolphins win? Remember that Zach Wilson had a 5-4 record as a starter for the Jets last year and no one would suggest he was a good quarterback in 2022.

From Matt DePeri (@MattDePeri):

Why do the Dolphins always find a way to disappoint us??? WHY????

Hey Matt, always? Were you disappointed when they came back to beat the Chargers? When they almost set the NFL scoring record against Denver? When they handled the Jets on Black Friday? See where I’m going with this?

From Tim Ryan (@tryanfins):

Tennessee game was a disaster on so many fronts, what’s up with Jeff Wilson and Claypool, neither are seeing the field. Thank you for AllDolphins news.

Hey Tim, yeah, Wilson and Claypool clearly have fallen out of favor and it seems the only way they’ll get to contribute much if with injuries at their positions.

From THE DEER COP (@The_Deer_Cop):

What does Tua look like in an offense with good, middle-of-the-pack receivers vs elite Tyreek?

As somebody who has believed all along that Tyreek Hill is the guy who makes this offense what it is, my answer is simply that he could be effective but not quite as productive.

From Armando Acevedo (@Chincue):

Do you expect Fangio’s defense to continue to be conservative?

Hey Armando, he’s thrown some blitzes more often lately, though not against Tennessee and I’m not sure why. So, no, I don’t expect him to stay overly conservative.

From Confabulist (@confabulist):

Do the Fins have anyone even smaller than Tyreek to try using for that F-ing fade route in the end zone? Does McDaniel think using a tall receiver would be unsportsmanlike?

A little sarcasm there, I see. But you’re talking about Tyreek. The Dolphins also tried a fade to Cedrick Wilson and he’s not short, so there’s that.

The Top 10 Hard Knocks Episode 4 Moments