Friday Dolphins Mailbag: Ramsey, Tyreek, and More

Part 1 of the pre-Patriots game All Dolphins mailbag:

From Big Ern McDolphin (@dana_buice):

Pass rush, run defense, or pass defense. Which is a more important defensive aspect to a Dolphins victory in this game?

Hey Dana, hmm, I can’t answer: all three, right? If I have to pick one of the three, I think I’d go with run defense because you don’t want to let the Patriots control the clock. And I don’t think that’s going to be a major issue actually.

From James Sonny Burnett (@JamesBurnett11):

If Ramsey is activated, which DB gets cut? Can't believe that they would keep 9 DBs rostered.

Hey James, as I look at the Dolphins roster, I’d be inclined to think that Kelvin Joseph’s roster spot would be in major jeopardy. He’s been inactive the past three games, has played a total of only 97 snaps (76 on special teams) and there are no financial consequences to letting him go. He’d be the player I think would be cut to make room for Ramsey.

From Crash Jensen (@Sngly):

How is this Patriots team different than the first time they played? Can McDaniel counter the Patriots 3-safety look that limited Tyreek and slowed Miami’s offense?

Hey Crash, the biggest difference is that their offensive line isn’t banged up the way it was in Week 2. Defensively, they did lose Christian Gonzalez and Matthew Judon, but they didn’t have in that game cornerbacks Jonathan Jones and Jack Jones. Yes, Mike McDaniel can come up with something to counter the three-safety look, but it all comes down to execution on both sides.

JALEN RAMSEY TOPICS

From HAYES (@theonlyHayes):

Do you think Ramsey will play a tight end eraser role more than a boundary corner back?

That’s a great question, and I do think that Ramsey could end up being used in a multiple role that would include covering opposing tight ends — whenever he does get into the lineup. Ramsey has the ability to handle a lot of assignments, which is party of what makes him so valuable.

From James (@Jay7kilo):

Do you see Ramsey being on a pitch count or is he full go Sunday ?

Hey James, Ramsey’s status is an absolutely mystery and at this point I’d probably make it 50-50 that he’s active. And if he is active, I certainly could see him being worked in gradually as opposed to a full work load from the start.

THE DOLPHINS LEFT GUARD POSITION

From Jorge boyd (@raga1922):

Who do you think might play better at left guard? Is Robert Jones a valid option?

Hey Jorge, Robert Jones absolutely is somebody who’s a valid option, and Mike McDaniel just called him an “ascending player.” But it’s going to be Lester Cotton who’ll get first shot at the left guard with Isaiah Wynn on IR and out of commission for maybe a long time.

From Max Lopez No DM please. (@themaxlopez):

Who starts at LG Sunday?

Hey Max, that will be Lester Cotton, barring a major surprise.

From Omar Davila (OmarDav98500491):

Alain what role does Frank Smith -OC play in this offense?....game plan?, play construction? ...and do you see him being a head coaching candidate next year? You think it's better to rest the players for the KC game even if it means taking a loss this week? They have the bye week after that.

Hey Omar, the Dolphins always talk about everything on offense being a group effort with everybody throwing in their ideas, though it all starts and stops with Mike McDaniel. I have seen in many places Smith’s name being mentioned as a future head coach candidate, though I don’t know if the fact that McDaniel is the play-caller is going to hurt him in that pursuit. As for your second question, no, no, no and no. You worry about the game right in front of you.

THE PATRIOTS AND OTHER DOLPHINS OPPONENTS

From brady Nichols (@bradynichols88):

Pats played well (beat) Bills. Can they do that again?

Hey Brady, that’s the big question, right? Was New England’s performance against Buffalo a fluke or a sign the Patriots are turning things around? Wish I could tell you the answer for sure, but we just won’t know until Sunday, though I suspect the game might not be as easy as it looked a few weeks ago.

From Jared Fox (@jsaefox98)P

Do you see our defense twisting and stunting against this new Patriots O-line that played OK against Buffalo last week? Maybe show blitz in spots as Vic likes to do. Thanks, love the show!

Hey Jared, yeah, I would always expect the Dolphins to do different things up front because keeping the same attack style becomes easy to counteract. And that does include some blitzes, particularly because Mac Jones simply isn’t very mobile and pressure will make things difficult for him where he can’t hurt the Dolphins on the move the way Jalen Hurts did.

From Jeff Rettberg (@JeffRett80438):

Love listening to the podcast!! Thank you to you and Omar! Rapid fire: What will be the most important area of growth need for the team to finish strong and win the division? How do we improve our short-yardage/power football on 3rd/4th down? Most fun team in the last 20+ yrs?

Hey Jeff, thanks much. Rapid-fire answers: the ability to handle physical defensive fronts is the biggest area of improvement needed; the biggest way to handle short-yardage work is a dedication to doing it through power as opposed to finesse; it’s easily the most fun Dolphins team since the glory Marino years, though that’s offensively. I really enjoyed the defense of 2020 much more than the more conservative approach of this season.

From Brian Z (via email):

The media narrative right now seems to be that the Dolphins have not beat a good team yet. Perhaps the narrative should be focused on the rest of the NFL top 10 teams. Correct me if I'm wrong, but all (most?) of the other top 10 teams, other than the Dolphins have lost to bad teams. The Dolphins have lost twice to good teams. An AFC East champion, and perennial AFC Championship game team, and the NFC champion from last year. Actually, these are not "good" teams. These are top 3-5 teams. The sky is not falling, Chicken Little. Thoughts?

Hey Brian, not sure anybody has said the sky is falling, but it’s an undeniable fact that the Dolphins have beaten bad teams and come up short against the elite teams they’ve faced. And there’s something to be said for the ability to always handle bad teams on your schedule, but the issue is that you won’t be playing those kind of teams in the playoffs.

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