Wednesday Dolphins Mailbag: Achane, Ahmed, Eichenberg, and More

Part 2 of the midweek All Dolphins mailbag:

From Earlwithan_E (#Earlewithan_E):

After watching the Eagles lose, what do you think Miami’s chances are to get their first win against a top opponent?

Hey Earl, I thought the Dolphins had a legitimate chance even before the Eagles lost. The big question is how well the Dolphins can handle the Eagles offensive and defensive lines, though the O-line won’t be the same if Lane Johnson can’t play.

From Pancanman (@Pancanman58):

Thoughts on Liam E’s 2nd game at center?

Major improvement over the first game, but the circumstances also were way more favorable because the opponent wasn’t nearly as good and the game was at home.

From Jon (via email):

Good Morning Alain, this is my first time writing in. I just turned 50 and I have been a Dolphins fan since I was about 8 years old. The last time the Dolphins won a Super Bowl I was probably in my crib watching the game in January of 1974. Based off the Dolphins salary cap situation and current talent, that this year and possibly next year are the best chances the Dolphins to win a Super Bowl. I promise I have a question here in just a second. Given that Xavien Howard has a groin injury and Jalen Ramsey might need a little time to get into football shape it seems like the perfect time to make a trade for Patrick Surtain II. Given the Dolphins’ trade history with the Broncos (Bradley Chubb) and Surtain II would be a plug and play since he knows Fangio's system, it seems like a trade that could happen. I believe Surtain is under his rookie contract for this year and next. The goal would be to have Ramsey in the nickel and Surtain and Howard on the outside if everyone is healthy. I believe this makes the whole entire defense better and one could argue The Team to Beat in the NFL! I would send the Dolphins 2024 first-round late draft pick) and a 2025 second or third round to the Broncos for Surtain. I believe this is a fair trade for both sides. Do you think this fair for both sides? Would you make this trade if you were the Dolphins GM? Do you think they make an offer for him?

Hey Jon, hmm, interesting thought you have there. And, yes, Surtain is under contract through the 2024 season and then the Dolphins could use the fifth-year option on him for 2025. It’s a trade that makes sense for Miami and I certainly would imagine that Chris Grier at the very least would make a phone call. But I have a hard time envisioning the Broncos making that move. Yes, they’re in sell mode, but they’ll need good players for the rebuild and trading away the one good young asset they have doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense — unless they get a gigantic return (maybe more than just a first and a second).

From Jesus (via email):

DOLPHINS DEFENSE MUST PLAY MAN TO MAN DEFENSE INSTEAD OF ZONE DEFENSE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Jesus, we’ll make sure to let Vic Fangio know. Hope you’ve braced yourself for the possibility that this isn’t changing.

From Santi (via email):

Hi Alain, Santi here. Thank you for your work. All the talk around this team is about the record-breaking offense. But if you take the outlier Denver game, the stats are just good. The defense still suspect.

Hey Santi, if you remove the Denver game from the equation, the Dolphins are averaging 453.2 yards per game, which still easily would lead the NFL. No other team is at 400 yards per game. So I can’t agree with your point there. The defense, yes, is a bit suspect at this time.

From Daniel Kucera (via email):

I am not a fan of so much zone defense. If backs keep backing into the same depth all the time, aren't QBs and WRs just playing pitch and catch. Adam Thielen made catch after catch without any tight coverage. I mean we kept 7 guys back and their WRs were open all day. What's the point of that? It seems to me that Fangio waits until he has to make a stop and then brings a little more pressure. Why give up all that 1st half yardage? What do you think his master long-term strategy is in calling the defenses?

Hey Daniel, I’ve always been a proponent of a very aggressive, blitzing, man-style defense as opposed to heavy zone, little blitz, but the philosophy is that if you make a team have to put together long touchdown drives, eventually they’ll make a mistake or you’ll force a turnover. Overall results on defense haven’t been great so far, but it’s hard to argue with 5-1 and the defense did come up big at the end of the games against the Chargers and Patriots.

From rogersingh (via email):

I believe all the starting OL except Armstead are all free agents this March. Who do you believe gets to stay?

Hey Roger, first off, you are correct. Second, yeah, it’s going to be a busy and fun time for GM Chris Grier in dealing with all the pending free agents. At this point, I’d be inclined to believe the pecking order would Connor Williams, Robert Hunt, Austin Jackson, Kendall Lamm and Isaiah Wynn, though obviously contract demands will play a role in who stays and who leaves.

From Brandon Quinn (via email):

Do you think Claypool was brought in to fill EzE’s Deebo role? Can’t have a guy with neck issues running into D-linemen regularly.

Hey Brandon, yes, I can see Claypool getting Deebo-like work in this offense — once he learns it. As for Ezukanma, yes, I’m worried about his status at this point.

From JimmyB (via email):

Hey Alain! "Gronk" recently said he has a desire to come out of retirement to play for Mike McDaniel's offense. What do you think of that?...

Hey Jimmy, who wouldn’t want to play for that offense right now? I wouldn’t put much stock in it, to be honest.

From FinsUpMass (@paulbdotcom):

Is the run D issue due to lack of a true 2 gap NT? Is there an answer on the roster?

Hey Paul, excellent question and maybe there’s something to it. And, no, the Dolphins don’t have a high-end true nose tackle on the roster at this time.

From Omar Davila (@OmarDav98500491):

Alain, you had stated earlier that Achane and Ahmed were the same player ... obviously they are not. What went wrong in the initial evaluation?

Hey Omar, I said they were the same player in terms of style during training camp and myself and every single solitary member of the media had a hard time differentiating between the two at practice. Also understand that training camp practices are not remotely the same as game action where everybody is at full speed and defenders actually are trying to tackle folks. So, yes, I stand by my statement that Ahmed and Achane looked awfully similar in camp, but the move to the regular season obviously brought out the clear difference between the two.

From Pat McCollum (@PatMcCollum):

OK, I’ll admit that this question is probably a no-brainer. Given the injury to Chris Brooks, is Jeff Wilson being activated for Sunday a slam dunk?

Not a slam dunk after Wilson was listed as doubtful on the final injury report last week. Maybe he had some kind of setback. If he’s good to go physically, then he absolutely will be activated.

From Crash Jensen (@Sngly):

How do the Dolphins take advantage of Philadelphia’s depleted secondary? The Bills had serious issues with their DBs and depth, but Miami couldn’t exploit them.

Hey Crash, the answer is simple and it entails not letting the Eagles defensive line dominate. And while Buffalo had DB issues, they also had a great game plan on the back end with getting physical and making sure tackles and they executed it very well. If the Eagles aren’t on top of their game, the Dolphins offense will exploit that.

From Craig B. (via email):

I know the O-Line has been playing well and we still have a couple of the big boys coming back from IR. But, do you think it was wise to spend roughly half of the remaining cap space (correct me if my math is wrong) on Chase Claypool when WR is not one of our areas of concern. I can see OL being an area that the Dolphins may need to add depth to later on.

Hey Craig, totally fair point. Seemed like Claypool was a luxury at this point. Of course, one or two key injuries at wide receiver and we might be changing our tune.

From Earl Gottfried (via email):

So have the Dolphins finally found a place for Eichenberg to play? PFF grades for last week put him at the top of the O-line players. Could he be a reason for not bowing down to Williams' demand/request for a top-5 contract? Maybe the groin injury has been a blessing in disguise, and to top it off Jackson has remained in the lineup for six games. Is that a new "record" for him? This year with Armstead being out more than in it would seem almost hard to put him back in if/when he regains functional health with Lamm playing well and the o-line getting some consistency after adding Wynn at LG. Do the Phins have an "out" for Armstead's contract should he continue to be out of the lineup more than in?

Hey Earl, lots to untangle here. Eichenberg has a ways to go to make the Dolphins want to play hardball with Williams. Jackson played all 17 games in 2021, so that’s recency bias. Armstead’s cap number for the next three years is over $20 million and he’d be almost impossible to just let go after this season. A restructure is a much more likely scenario with him.

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