Sunday Dolphins Mailbag: Wynn, Tua, and More

Part 3 of the pre-Patriots game All Dolphins mailbag:

From Miami mark (@MarkWardlaw97):

There’s a couple of guys that have been floated around as potential trade targets. Does OL become a spot we look at trading for someone? The front five have done great so far but the injuries are concerning.

Hey Mark, yes, the injuries are concerning, except Connor Williams soon will be back, Terron Armstead’s return is around the corner and teams just don’t trade quality offensive linemen. So I wouldn’t hold my breath for a trade for an O-lineman.

From Brian Juhl (@bjuhl4720:

Is Akiem Hicks injured or does he want too much money? It feels like he'd be a perfect fit here and the D could use D-line depth...I don't know why they haven't pursued him.

Hey Brian, yeah, we’ve often wondered about him and I’m frankly not quite sure what’s going on with him.

From Stephen A. Hall, II (@Shsquared):

What will be impacted more by Wynn’s injury — run game or pass pro? Based on what you’ve seen from Cotton, can he plug in and hold his own?

Hey Stephen, I think Wynn’s forte was in the running game, though he was solid in both aspects. As for Cotton, I liked what I saw from him in training camp, but he was thrown into a difficult situation last week at Philadelphia having to come in early in the game against one of the best fronts in the NFL. I do think Cotton can get the job done.

EXAMINING THE DOLPHINS-PATRIOTS MATCHUP

From Ed Helinski (@MrEd315):

Not to sound pessimistic but what might derail the Dolphins against the Patriots?

Hey Ed, yes, that is very pessimistic! Why think that way? LOL. As always, turnovers could be a problem if they arise and I’d also be concerned about special teams being a factor like it was, though it didn’t cost the victory, in the first matchup.

From Olive Grove Jon (@Owlizee):

Hey Alain, what do you want to see from this game other than a victory?

Hey OGJ, hmm, I think I’d most like to see the run defense continue the strong work it’s shown in recent weeks. That probably would give me the most confidence moving forward.

From Travis Amendt (@AmendtTravis):

Thanks Alain for all you do. During last night's game, they mentioned how the Bucs offensive line stayed intact and only had 1 different line combo...in your memory, when was the last time Miami made it through the season with no different line combinations?

Hey Travis, that just doesn’t happen to never have any injuries up front. The Dolphins did come close in 2011 when the starting five of Jake Long, Richie Incognito, Mike Pouncey, Vernon Carey and Marc Colombo missed only four combined starts.

From Shaun Braley (@shaunbraley):

More a question I’ve been curious about your perspective than the game this week. Do you think that football has caught up to baseball in stat keeping? Is it going too far or do they have a similar entertainment value?

Hey Shaun, if you mean like analytics, you’re talking to an old-school guy who’s not a huge fan of that. If you’re talking about stats for fantasy purposes, then those are cool.

TUA TAGOVAILOA TOPICS

From Dan Ford (@CaribbeanClark):

What was with Tua’s “I hope we get Tyreek back somewhere down the line” comment? I know the team tries to lock down injury info as much as possible, but that was downright misleading. Maybe sticking it to the media after being forced to be on Hard Knocks?

Hey Dan, yeah, that was kind of strange because “somewhere down the line” turned out to be the very next day. But I don’t believe there was any vindictiveness on Tua’s part because that’s just not who he is.

From Mark Schoninger (@SchoningerMark):

I keep hearing from coaches, players and media that injuries are not valid excuses/reasons for losing a game. In your opinion, is there a number/severity of injuries where they could be blamed for losses? What about bad officiating calls?

Hey Mark, that’s a good question. Injuries is tough because every team has injuries, though there are certain instances where it’s kind of ridiculous like when Denver was forced to start a wide receiver against New Orleans in 2020 (I believe) because their entire QB room had COVID or even the Dolphins win at New Orleans late in 2021 when half their team was out. As for officiating calls, yeah, they can become an issue if it happens at a key moment and it’s so blatantly bad. But it’s a slippery slope to get on, though.

From Sportyfoot (@Sportyfoot1):

This looks like a trap game to me. How can the Fins combat the air of desperation coming from NE and who to you think Belichick focuses on taking away from Miami's offense. The first game Belichick tried to take Cheetah out of the game plan.

Hey there, you combat an air of desperation with being desperate yourself. If the Dolphins have designs on earning the top seed in the AFC, they can’t afford a letdown at any time. As for your Belichick question, there’s no reason to think his focus won’t again be Hill. That just makes too much sense.

From Buffalo Dolfan Drew (via email):

While reading all the expert-analyses & think-pieces about Cleveland’s “Deshaun Watson problem”…and while watching the Jets & Dalvin Cook flop in the breeze looking for trade partners…is it time to exult in Chris Grier’s desire to stand pat on Tua and our RB room? And from that, (especially when it comes to Tua), have the last year-&-a-half taken the air out of Brian Flores’ complaints (& lawsuit)? Again, it really looks like Grier knew what he was doing, right? And if the Flores situation came down to a “him or me” confrontation (whether it was Grier or Tagovailoa on the other side of the “or”), it sure feels like the Dolphins made the right choice.

Hey Drew, well, yeah, the Dolphins obviously made the right call when it comes to Watson and Cook with the way things are playing out right now. I’m also not sure Flores’ firing was as simple as being strictly about Tua, though that likely was a factor.

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