Friday Dolphins Mailbag: AFC East, Berrios, Waddle, and More

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

From Big Ern McDolphin (@dana_buice):

The entire AFC has been reshaped after week one not just the AFC east. The Chiefs, Bengals and Bills all lost. The Jets won but are now without a QB. The Dolphins and Jags might be the cream of the crop. How has your opinion changed in terms of a complete AFC picture?

Hey Dana, I absolutely get where you’re coming from, but we’re falling into dangerous territory of massively overreacting to Week 1. The only outcome that should be taken as a game-changer to me obviously was Aaron Rodgers being lost for the season. Having said that, I stated on the All Dolphins Podcast before and wrote that I have the Dolphins with possible outcomes ranging from missing the playoffs to going to the Super Bowl and nothing has changed my opinion. But I do think it would be a mistake to think the Bills, Chiefs and Bengals are heading for slides just because they lost their openers.

From Reza Hariri (@Therealrezpect1):

It seemed that by alignment we put our front in a tough position to stop the run. Also we have a very thin rotation with 5 guys playing most of the snaps and 2 guys rotating in, worried that doesn’t hold up in a game or season. Thoughts?

Hey Reza, oh, without question, there is a lack of depth up front, and we have been saying that since the start of training camp. While the Dolphins don’t use their pure defensive linemen very much, having only a rookie free agent (all due respect to Brandon Pili) behind Wilkins, Sieler and Davis is not ideal.

From Leon Fresco (@FrescoLeon):

Are you impressed the Bill Belichick named every Miami Dolphins player by heart at his press conference? I know he does similar things every year, but this seems like he really follows the Dolphins.

Hey Leon, as you mentioned, Belichick does this every year and I was really impressed at first until I realized it’s part of his M.O. He’ll go over every player on offense and defense and throw out compliments left and right, like every player is headed to the Hall of Fame. And it’s also not a major deal for a coach to know all the starters for their opponents.

From Dave (@angryvet59):

I took some flak by comparing Sunday’s defense to the days of Thurman Thomas running with ease. Is it lack of the " thumper LB"? Players playing Hero Ball? Lack of preparedness ? Love the Podcast keep up that great content. You & @OmarKelly are a great team.

Thanks Dave, how about all of the above to explain the run defense problems against the Chargers, adding the idea that maybe the defense sacrificed the run defense a bit to make sure they wouldn’t give up a ton of yardage through the air. And I’ll take issue with the Thurman Thomas era comp because we’re taking about one game and it’s way too early to suggest the run defense is going to be that bad.

From Matthew (@theMatthewPryor):

How good is Braxton Berrios? I'm still very much a rookie in watching/understanding the game, but some of the catches he made last week were mightily impressive in my opinion, and have maybe gone under the radar due to how well the Tua/Hill combo came off also.

Hey Matthew, you’re not wrong on either count. It was easy for anybody not named Tua or Tyreek to get overlooked Sunday and Berrios absolutely had a strong performance. He’s a really good player with good short-area quickness and dependable hands, and he’s a good returner as well. I loved his addition in the offseason.

From Chris Bustin @ChrisBustin13):

Hey Alain, how concerned should we be with how competitive the Patriots were against the Eagles last week? The combo of a good Patriots performance and a putrid Dolphins defense from last week has me feeling Joe Philbin’s “a little queasy.”

Hey Chris, they’re all NFL teams the Dolphins will be facing. You can’t get overly concerned about what each team does every week. I don’t think you should feel any more worried about the Patriots than before the season because they played the Eagles tough in Week 1. Winning at Gillette Stadium always was going to be a challenge, though it’s certainly a game the Dolphins can and maybe even should win.

From Miami mark (@MarkWardLaw97):

How’d you get along with DVP and the other former Dolphins now in New England personally when they were still on the team?

Hey Mark, I will tell you that Mike Gesicki got better and better with the media with each passing season he was with the Dolphins and I got to enjoy him very much in 2022 during what was a tough season for him. As for DeVante Parker, he’s a nice kid, but he never was comfortable having to talk to the media. In a one-on-one non-media chat, Parker was much more forthcoming. Raekwon McMillan is another former Dolphins player on the Patriots, though he’s on IR, and he was a good dude.

From Tyler (@CardGuyTM):

Will Fangio dial up more blitz packages seeing the success they had last game to close out the game?

From LilOrphanArnie (@TheGreatPhinsby):

Hey Alain, do you think Vic learns from last game and blitzes more? Personally I feel he should but not drastically.

It’s an interesting point and Fangio was asked about number of blitzes when he spoke this week and he kind of indicated he’s not going to become blitz-happy because the more you do it, the more you lose the element of surprise.

From Bob Curvelo (@curvelo13):

Do you see the defense playing better than week 1? And how?

Hey Bob, saying the Dolphins will play better defensively than in Week 1 shouldn’t be all that difficult considering they gave up 34 points and 233 rushing yards without creating a turnover. So, yes, the Dolphins defense should be better. How much better? We’ll find out Sunday night.

From Herb (@dominationdj):

Philosophical question…. To me #Tua reminds me more of #Montana, smaller qb, good foot work, decent arm, great slant thrower, accurate, fits coach’s system. So if #Brady and #Montana are considered the best QBs ever, aren’t #Tua’s best traits similar to these two greats?

Hey Herb, yes, Tua’s best traits are similar to those of Montana and, to some degree, to Brady, though Brady had a much bigger arm. You also could add Drew Brees to that list of comps when it comes to physical traits.

From Taylor Simpson @TaylorS34728333):

What’s the dolphins game plan if Tyreek is taken away?

Hey Taylor, heavy dose of Jaylen Waddle would be the best guess, and he’s already gotten some big plays against the Patriots in his career.

From Jon Rambo (@thejonramob80)_:

What player/position matchup are you looking forward to the most in this game?

Hey Jon, have to go with safety Jevon Holland against tight end Mike Gesicki. I don’t really think I need to explain why, right? I should preface this by saying I don’t know for a fact it’ll be Holland against Gesicki in coverage, but that seems to make the most sense to me, though maybe Kader Kohou also could get the assignment given how physical he is (even though he gives up a lot of size to Gesicki).

From John Flora (@Capt_Cavephin):

Are we going to see more David Long Jr. this week?

Hey John, don’t know for sure because it’s not like Mike McDaniel or Vic Fangio would tell us ahead of time, but I would find it surprising if Long didn’t play more than the 17 snaps he got against the Chargers. Remember, though, that Vic Fangio said that Andrew Van Ginkel earned that nickel linebacker job in camp, so he’s not getting yanked out of there for no reason. Now, could the Dolphins line up with three linebacker more often against New England? Absolutely.

From Pepito Stan Account (@kgreenne829):

Hope this doesn’t count as a prediction question, but do you think Achane is a good fit for this game. I think his speed is a really great attribute to have and feel like he can really be a great player for us.

I asked Mike McDaniel specifically Friday whether it was more likely than not that Achane would play against the Patriots and he didn’t answer the question, saying it would depend on what happens at other positions. While Achane does have a lot of speed, so does Salvon Ahmed and Ahmed has a lot more game experience. So I think there's any guarantee it'll be Ahmed and not Achane again.

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