Friday Dolphins Mailbag: Slide, Skylar, O-line, and More

Part 1 of the pre-Jets game SI Fan Nation All Dolphins mailbag:

From 3o5 CASPer 95b (@mickeydeez321):

Man, Poup, this season has really deflated me. I was on top of the world just a couple of months ago. December did a number on me. I've been a die-hard since 2000 and thought we were really cooking with fire this time. Thought wrong.

Yeah, I hear you. Life was good for Dolphins fans when the team was 8-3, though a lot of folks were suggesting to wait until after the brutal three-game road trip before forming conclusions about this team. Don’t think anybody saw a slide of this magnitude coming, though.

From Dan Giunta (@Dan_B_Phin_Phan):

With a full week of practice, do you believe Skylar Thompson can lead the Dolphins to a win over the Jets?

Hey Dan, I hear what you’re getting at, but I just don’t like the idea of “can lead” the Dolphins to a victory. It’s a team game and everybody has to contribute. And this is why I always rail against this stupid (in my eyes) over-emphasis on quarterback W-L record. The Dolphins very well might defeat the Jets without Thompson necessarily “leading” them. It’s not all about Skylar.

From Chris Bustin (@ChrisBustin13):

Hey, Alain. I hate to be that guy to add to your “Tua (of course)” questions, but I just can’t help myself. Fellow fan @AmplifiedtoRock recently tweeted this wise sentence about whether Tua’s the guy: “If you still don’t know, you actually do.” I couldn’t agree more. Thoughts?

Hey Chris, I don’t mind all the Tua questions and they’re understandable because he’s the quarterback. But, yeah, it’s been three years now and that’s a pretty good amount of data that’s been collected. Tua had overall a pretty good season, but I don’t know how anybody can sit here and say with conviction that he’s a franchise quarterback.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR EVEN MORE COVERAGE ON THE MIAMI DOLPHINS, CHECK OUT SPORTS ILLUSTRATED'S MIAMI DOLPHINS PAGE ON SI.COM

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

From Mike Bursik (@ChathamDolfan):

A couple of beefs, just going by the eye test, is Robert Jones not the better option at guard than Eichenberg? And put Tyreek on punt and kickoff return! It is all or nothing season and we need a spark ! Also doesn’t Justin Bethel seem to be a better player than Igbo? Why not use Bethel more and same for McKinley at safety over Rowe. And please just try Tindall at LB; he can’t be worse than Eguavoen or Riley ??!

Hey Mike, you make some very good points, but understand that coaches don’t play favorites and if they’re not using Channing Tindall on defense, for example, it’s got nothing to do with anything other than they simply don’t have as much trust about his ability to carry out assignments than others. But I’m with you that Robert Jones is just as good as Eichenberg, if not better; there’s no reason for Hill not to have returned punts considering how lame the returns have been all season; and Bethel does look like a better corner than Igbinoghene at this point.

From Tom Jennings (@tomjennings):

What's more important in a quarterback: occasional flashes of transcendental playmaking genius, or week-in/week-out durability?

Hey Tom, it’s an interesting question … but “transcendental playmaking genius”? Whoa! Really? From who? Mahomes? Allen? Herbert? But I digress, week-in, week-out durability and production always is preferences to occasional flashes of anything.

From bonafide861 (@Bonafide861):

Can this O-line improve with another season of coaching or do we need to get a new line?

Yeah, that’s a good and valid question because that line looks might ordinary when Armstead isn’t playing and actually not at all that much better than it did in 2021 when it was so maligned. At some point, maybe it’s not about the coaching and the Dolphins need to continue to make moves to bolster the personnel.

From tanusjuancarlos (@tanus_jc):

I think the Dolphins should start Skylar Thompson, Teddy Bridgewater is not 100%, and will probably abandon the field any way. What do you think? Do you think Tua will come back next season? I mean, Tua is so fragile and he is very concussion-prone. Will the Dolphins pursue Derek Carr?

Skylar Thompson indeed will start against the Jets. Tua does still have durability issues that will need to be evaluated and assessed in the offseason, and how to proceed at quarterback obviously will be the top issue for the Dolphins. One thing to remember with Tua is that the Dolphins have him under contract for 2023 as a reasonable contract and he shouldn’t be dismissed unless there’s a better alternative. Is Derek Carr really an upgrade over Tua? He is in the durability department, but maybe or maybe not in the production category. I have a hard time the Dolphins moving on from Tua for Carr.

-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Dolphins news and analysis year-round. Also, you can follow me on Twitter at @PoupartNFL, and that's where you can ask questions for the regular All Dolphins mailbags. You also can ask questions via email at fnalldolphins@yahoo.com.