Dolphins Mailbag: Deep Thoughts, Playing the Blame Game, O-line Issues, More

From jorge boyd (@raga1922):

Hi Alain, is T.Y. Hilton going to play? I thought I had heard he wasn't going to play against the Dolphins; does the D-line has a chance to get to Wentz now that the Colts have injured OL, especially the right tackle?

Hi Jorge, T.Y. Hilton is not going to play against the Dolphins. In fact, he's not even on the active roster because he's still dealing with a neck injury. And, absolutely, this should be a game where the Dolphins defensive line could assert itself because the Colts have major injury issues on their offensive line.

From Reza Hariri (@Therealrezpect1):

Do you think Miami will get away from dink and dunk and throw deep to Waddle, Fuller & Wilson? If we stretch the field and take shots, it will open up run game and underneath routes.

Hey Reza, you're preaching to the choir here. We saw late in the Vegas game that even if there's no completion, a deep pass can produce a DPI and a big gain. I understand the issues in pass protection have made it more difficult for the Dolphins to throw deep on a regular basis, but I'm not a huge fan of the "taking what the defense gives us" excuse for not throwing deep. If that's the case, then the Dolphins should be able to move down the field in small increments fairly easily.

From Sal (@TrendKillemAll):

How great of an idea was it to win meaningless games to “build culture” leading up to the 2020 draft with players that likely weren’t going to be on the roster the following season, foregoing a shot at Joe Burrow? Many of us were beating the table for him.

I hear you, Sal. It's part of my big issue with the NFL not having a lottery system because you're currently being rewarded for losing. But I also think winning those games helped the players who WERE back in 2020 completely buy in to what Brian Flores is selling because they saw results late in that 2019 season. Besides, even with those late wins, the Dolphins still could have gotten the clear gem of the 2020 QB class (at least for now), Justin Herbert.

From marino (@renvez):

Who’s the play-caller on offense? Seriously. I’m still unclear.

There might not be anybody outside of the Dolphins organization who knows with 100 percent certainty who's calling the plays, though by all appearances and logic, it's George Godsey. It also was suggested by both Bill Belichick and Jon Gruden before the Dolphins faced the Patriots and Raiders, respectively.

From ChrisDavis (@KyLouFinFan):

I agree it’s not a must win, but isn’t this in a way a “must play a lot better in all phases” game? Have to start getting it together, don’t they?

Hey Chris, you're referring to my story against the notion of the Colts game being a "must win" for the Dolphins, but even though I see your point about "must play better," I still don't think we're there yet because there's so much season left. Please don't misunderstand this to suggest it's OK if the Dolphins play a bad game because every game is important, but the first Sunday in October is too early for me to make those kind of statements.

From A-Rod the phinphan (@TheGreatPhinsby):

Hey Alain, has Miami even looked at some free agent linemen the past week?

Hey A-Rod, I can't tell you whether there were conversations with any FA linemen, but I do know there were no visits or tryouts that took place based on all the reporting on those events that took place.

From Cliff Wagner (@HerePromotions):

Neto looked to maul some DL during preseason games. Why not give him a shot?

Hey Cliff, when it comes to situations like this, I always defer to coaches because they see what's going on at practice and we don't (the media is allowed only during warmups and individual drills). I can't imagine one reason the Dolphins would not use Durval Queiroz Neto if he represented a clear improvement over the players in the lineup.

From John (@theopjoog):

If the Dolphins lose to the Colts, do you think someone will be fired? Flores, Grier, Godsey, etc.

Hey John, no, I don't see anything of the sort happening — unless, of course, something extraordinary unusual happens.

From Steven Montoya (@stevemontoya84):

More responsible for O-line, Grier or Flores?

Hey Steven, the Dolphins bend over backward to say everything is a collaborative effort, so that means we have to blame both equally.

From Brian Garberich (@garberichb):

Will the OC(s) open it up and throw downfield?

Hey Brian, yes, I certainly would expect some downfield throws against the Colts, who have injuries in the secondary, but for that to happen the offensive line needs to get better in pass protection to give Jacoby Brissett time to set up. The dink-and-dunk approach didn't work nearly well enough against Las Vegas to justify going back to it in this game.

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