Monday Dolphins Mailbag: Long, Achane, Center Spot, and More

Part 3 of the post-minicamp SI Fan Nation All Dolphins mailbag:

From rings culture (@sports_feed):

Vic didn’t sound super thrilled in his press availability this week. Is that just how he is or should there be concern about the middle of this defense?

Howdy, I don’t know Fangio personally, but I also didn’t read his comments as being overly critical as much as saying he needs for some guys to take advantage of opportunities and step up. For full disclosure, I wasn’t next to Fangio when he spoke to reporters because I was talking to WR coach Wes Welker at that moment.

From Roy Moxam (@RoyMoxam):

Should we look into bringing in DJ Fluker?

Hey Roy, I think the Dolphins have enough guys for the interior of the offensive line at the moment and I think they would have made the move already if they were going to. Now, if somebody gets injured, things would change, but I wouldn’t count on it otherwise.

From Eugenio Taloone (@Ertallone):

How much do you think the arrival of Messi will influence the future of the various sports teams in Miami (including the Dolphins)? Some, a lot, nothing? Thank you so much.

Hi Eugenio, please forgive me for my answer if you find it offensive, but I don’t think it will have any impact whatsoever. The reality is South Florida always will be attractive to any athlete because of the weather and, just as important, the lack of a state income tax.

From Elliott Guzmon (@ElliottGuzmon):

Besides LB and DT, what other positions do you think need addressed before training camp?

Hey Elliott, I think that pretty much wraps it up pretty well. Sure, it would be nice to get more of a receiving threat at tight end, but I don’t see anybody available right now to fill that need.

From Joe Barrett (@JoeBarrett14):

So who do you see as a top Miami Dolphins starting offensive line?

Hey Joe, I think at this point I would imagine the starting offensive line would be the same one we imagined heading into the offseason program with, from left, Terron Armstead, Liam Eichenberg, Connor Williams, Robert Hunt and Austin Jackson. And I do think that might be their best option, unless Isaiah Wynn shows in camp he needs to be in the lineup.

From Ted D’Alessio (@TeddyD13):

What are the roles and responsibilities of the safeties in Vic defense and is there a lead dog to start opposite Holland at this time?

Hey Ted, the one thing about Fangio’s defense that has come up is he tends to prefer having two deep safeties as opposed to one guy closer to the line of scrimmage with the focus maybe being more on coverage than run support (though both are expected, obviously). As for the leading candidate to start opposite Holland, I’d be inclined to think that guy would be newcomer DeShon Elliott, and that might be even if Brandon Jones fully recovers from his 2022 torn ACL.

From Divingpelican31 (@divingpelican31):

What makes Phins better for 2023, adding Dalvin at 7 to 9 mil or adding two or three quality depth players on D for the same $?

Hey DP, I see where you’re going with this, and I think I pretty solidly would go for depth players on defense than adding Cook.

From mr. mojo risin’ (@dennisgriffin7):

I saw Eichenberg got the orange jersey other day for his play at center. I think that's great and all, but any chance it was also shot at Connor Williams, who's holding out for new contract?

Hey Dennis, first off, don’t assume the orange jersey is being handed out strictly for practice performance. We’ve never been given a full explanation of what it entails, but it very well also could have to do with work in the weight room or in meetings. As for the second part of your question, I think the Dolphins giving snaps to Eichenberg at center would have been all the messaging they needed. And that’s going to continue in training camp, I would imagine, if Williams decides to do a “hold-in.”

From Bob Curvelo (@curvelo13):

Hi Alain, it's always a pleasure reading these. With Long's injury, have you heard how bad/serious it is? Do you see them making a move, either by trade/FA for another ILB to cover his injury?

Hi Bob, thanks. While David Long Jr. didn’t do anything in 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 work in the offseason, he was on the field every time the media was there. That would indicate his injury wasn’t serious, and linebackers coach Anthony Campanile told me Thursday he’s expecting him ready to go and show what he can do in training camp.

From Prince-Bishop Militantly Aardvard (@MilitantlyA):

If Achane and Salvon Ahmed are the same player, which is what Omar seems to think, why did the Dolphins pick Achane as well as retaining Ahmed? Could it be that Achane has a different role — and what might it be?

Hey PBMA, I actually was the first Dolphins media member who made the Achane/Ahmed comparison (unless somebody else said it and I didn’t hear it), and while Achane certainly might be a tad faster, there’s a lot of duplication there. I can only imagine the pick was made because Achane is super fast, as opposed to Ahmed being very fast.

From Hebert Gutierrez Morales (via email):

Hi Alain, I really appreciated all your work (and Omar’s) during this offseason. Thank you very much again. After hearing the point of view of Omar, I’m convinced that it would be more productive, and cheaper, to extend Sieler and Davis in the DL instead of Wilkins. I know Wilkins is a better player than Sieler, but I don’t see a huge drop between them. Do you think the Dolphins see Sieler as potential replacement of Wilkins in the starting lineup? It would be cheaper and almost the same quality level. My second question is related to R.E.M. I know you are a big fan and you wrote in other opportunities which are your favorite songs, but which songs do you like less (or even hate) from the group, and why?

Hey Hebert, thanks as always for the kind words. Here’s the thing: The three defensive linemen are under contract for 2023, and Sieler and Davis have very low cap numbers, so there’s not a major incentive for the Dolphins to do anything beyond making sure they don’t get to the free agent market next spring. A Wilkins extension would serve the dual purpose of keeping him around and also lowering his 2023 cap number, but he’s going to be a lot more expensive than the other two. Ultimately, I’m not sure it’s an issue of one or two versus the other here. As for the R.E.M. question, hmm, I can’t think of a single one of their songs I would say I dislike and the closest to an answer I can give is “Losing My Religion,” but not because it’s not a great song but rather because I’ve just heard it too much already.

From Daniel Kucera (via email):

My question is the scheme of the offense. It seemed last year the Bills and the Bengals figured out how to shut down the Tua/Tyreek/Waddle express. It seemed that other defenses copied their playbook. I don't have the advantage of game tape, but thought I saw the LBs dropping deeper into pass coverage and crowding the middle of the field. I kept thinking, why are they not doing dump passes to the RBs and TEs and let Mostert and Wilson try to make big plays. What really happened and what are we doing to avoid the same results?

Hey Daniel, yes, the tricks that were used to slow down the Dolphins offense included dropping the linebackers and the Chargers also decided to get very physical against Hill and Waddle, which worked because the refs let the DBs play. The Dolphins did have success at times dumping the ball off and it’s what they should have done way more against the 49ers when they really dropped their LBs but Tua kept trying to throw downfield.

From John Nuzzo (via email):

Hi Alain, many thanks for all the great OTA and minicamp reporting that you and Omar provided. Am I crazy, or did Liam working at center seem to have more to do with reminding Connor that he's not irreplaceable than just an exercise in cross-training and building depth? Also, did you ever take in a Dead show?

Hey John, having Eichenberg work at center during the offseason indeed was very interesting, particularly considering he’d never done before. There surely was something to it about cross-training, but as it pertains to Williams, I think it probably had more to do with protecting themselves in case that situation goes sideways (and also understand that Dan Feeney didn’t do team sessions in the offseason program (he was wearing a compression sleeve on a leg). And I've never been to a Dead show. Can't say I was ever a huge fan of their music.

From Brandon Quinn (via email):

I remember suggesting Eichenberg and Williams swap spots last year. Any way that’s in the works once Williams returns to the fold?

Hey Brandon, O-line coach Butch Barry described Eichenberg working at center as an issue of cross-training and I’m also not sure I’d get the logic considering Williams made that transition last year and by all accounts played well and Eichenberg hasn’t played center before.

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Alain Poupart has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989. You can follow him on Twitter at @PoupartNFL. Feel free to submit questions every week for the All Dolphins mailbag via Twitter or via email at fnalldolphins@yahoo.com.