Friday Dolphins Mailbag: Byron Jones, Brandon Jones, Kohou, Defense, and More

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

From Anthony Berardo (@berardo_anthony):

X looks off. I know he was battling an injury, but is Boyer asking too much of him by leaving him on an island all game? He is wearing out and getting too abused. Should we switch up and run more zone? Can’t help but feel a game is coming where opposition figures out the O. Saw CHI w/ a lot of 3-man rush and drop 8 into zone to limit getting beat deep and we picked it apart. Is cover 0 or 1 w/ blitz and pressure on Tua the posssible kryptonite?

Hey Anthony, first off, X wasn’t right physically for a bit because of groin issues and the hope is he gets back to being X because his game has been off, although I don’t know that I’d agree he’s given up that many plays (just more than usual). And running zone goes against the Dolphins’ defensive philosophy, though it is the best course of action against a scrambling QB like Justin Fields. As for the offense, playing man in order to blitz is an awfully dangerous proposition because Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle ain’t exactly easy to cover one-on-one. Where I could see adjustments being made from opponents making a concerted effort to take away the middle of the field, where Tua and the Dolphins have made a lot of their money this season.

From Gbrown1911 (@Gbrown1964):

How is Noah doing? I didn't hear his name last game. I guess that's good... I guess. Is it possible to run a scheme where he plays man on a receiver and everyone else plays zone when there is the call for it? I only ask because that seems to be his strength.

Yeah, you didn’t hear Noah’s name last game because he didn’t play a lot of snaps. It’s pretty clear by now he’s behind Kader Kohou and Keion Crossen in the pecking order because his game is still rough around the edges. And, no, I absolutely would not have him play man-to-man with everybody else in zone.

From Mcdrip’s twin (@TheGreatPhinsby):

What's going on with Ezukanma? Seriously.

It’s pretty simple, he's just not as good or knowledgeable at this time as the other five wide receivers on the roster, which proves once again to be careful about making too much of what happens in preseason games when everything is pretty vanilla in terms of schemes.

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From Mike Mangaras (@magaras_mike):

Need to know Alain, I know you know that I know that you know, has Byron Jones played his last game in a Dolphins uni, in your humble opinion, because we all know this is no longer injury-related?!!

Hey Mike, what if I don’t know what you think you know that I know? All I do know is that this situation is weird, though not like what happened with Will Fuller last year when most of us who cover the Dolphins kind of had an inkling pretty quickly that he wouldn’t be back. My best guess with Jones here — and it’s just a guess — is that he will return at some point, but it won’t be until all parties are completely comfortable with his health status and his ability to perform at peak efficiency.

From mikethewreck (@mgcroteau):

How much of our defensive struggles are missing Brandon Jones? Was he more of a key piece than many realized?

Hey Mike, I like Brandon Jones as much as the next guy, but I’m not sure I’d use the term “key piece” here. Also, while I know it’s fashionable these days to dump on the defense, let’s not forget it won the Pittsburgh game just three weeks ago and shut out the Lions in the second half two weeks ago. So maybe it’s not the dumpster fire many make it out to be.

From It’sTuaClockSomewhere (@MigzSwervin):

Has Kohou done enough to earn a consistent starting position? Even if we weren’t decimated by injuries in the secondary?

Hmm, interesting question, but I would say that might be a stretch because while he is playing well — his tackling in particular is very impressive to me — let’s not make it out like he’s covering receivers the way X or Byron Jones do when they’re right physically. Having said that, he has done a more than serviceable job in Jones’ absence and that’s been a massive bonus for the Dolphins.

From OGHighway (@OGHighWay):

Do you think this game will be heavy RPO given the fact Tua will need to get the ball out fast with how good Garrett has been?

Hey there, I would tell you that Tua has been getting the ball out fast on a regular basis all season, except for those times when the Dolphins take shots down the field. I would see no reason why it would be any different against the Browns. If, for some reason, the Browns are able to cover the receivers off the snap, then the Dolphins can combat that with some screens.

From Andre (@Andre_Maddox1):

Brissett doesn’t run, only Cooper outside, and Njoku slowed with high ankle sprain, does the Dolphins defense go all in to keep Chubb/Hunt in check?

Hey Andre, let me first say that Njoku already has been ruled out, so that’s one big part of the Browns offense gone and, yes, the clear priority will be stopping Chubb and Hunt. And I have confidence that can get done because the Dolphins have done a very good job against running backs all season — it’s the QBs that have hurt them.

From Phinfanalyst (@Phinfanalyst):

All the focus is on Tua because the offense has been able to counterpunch but Miami let Jared Goff threw for 320+ and Justin Fields ran for nearly 200 while throwing for 3 TDs. I understand the DB injuries, but will Boyer figure this thing out?

Yeah, I get the complaints about the defense, but will keep pointing out that nobody was complaining when the defense held New England to seven points, held off Buffalo despite giving up a lot of yards and then won the game against Pittsburgh with two late interceptions.

From Chris Bustin (@ChrisBustin13):

Hey Alain. I was pretty content to root for a wild-card seed this year. However, our 6 wins are keeping pace with everyone else in the AFC East. What are your thoughts on contending for the division this year? Realistic? False hope? Thanks!

Hey Chris, here’s what I would say. At full strength, I still think Buffalo is a better team, but they’re not quite the juggernaut that they may have appeared to be a few weeks ago. Winning at Buffalo is going to be quite the challenge and that may end up being the key to taking the AFC East title. Bottom line is I wouldn’t dismiss the possibility of a division title, though still would think the Bills will end up winning it.

From Javier (@jboy1724):

What adjustments do they need to make on defense in order to make up for the deficiencies? Who are the players that need to step up in order to reverse the trend defensively?

Hey Javier, if I’m looking at individual players being able to make the defense take a step up — and, again, it has won some games for the Dolphins this season — you’d have to start with X, Emmanuel Ogbah, Bradley Chubb, you know, the guys that have the ability to be difference-makers.

From Doug Katz (via email):

Hi Alain, Big Fan up here in Suffern, NY - I watch all the games with Andy Zomback, who is a big fan, too!! (Really enjoy all your content and watching you on the Big O Show — you guys have a fun rapport). Question: What do we know about Byron Jones? Does he go to practices and meetings? Is he recovered from the surgery? Are his current issues related to the surgery or something else? Has anyone seen him? Has he said anything?

Hey Doug, thanks for the kind words and, yeah, Big O and I have a “fun rapport.” LOL. We have not heard from Byron Jones at all this year since injured players are off limits to the media. Have not seen Jones at any practice since the regular season started, though I did see him once or twice during training camp (if memory serves). Jones is allowed to attend meetings. He's clearly not fully recovered from the surgery, otherwise he’d at least have started practicing. Beyond that, it’s one great big mystery.

From Gary M (via email):

Hi Alain. Thank you for all your great work covering the Dolphins! I have been a fan since I was 9 years old and that was 1970 and I make a serious effort to not only never miss a game, but never miss a snap! So I've been reading your praise over the last few weeks on the defense having great games (Pitts, Bills, NE--- I would even put the Vikings game into the good category), all of which were at home in the HEAT! 😎🥵. My beef is the D does not travel well and disappears on the road (Baltimore, Jets, Detroit, Chicago, “decent” in Cinn). With the most “likely” playoff scenario for the Fins being a wild card, they better learn how to bring the D on the road! There won't be any 120-degree thermometers on the opposing sidelines in January/February! 😄 Thoughts?

Hey Gary, excellent points you make. The hope here is that the front-line players will be a peak efficiency once the playoffs roll around and that elevated play will make a difference. But your concern absolutely is legit.

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