Friday Dolphins Mailbag: Safeties, Achane, Josh Allen, and More

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

From Big Ern McDolphin (@dana_buice)::

Holland and Elliott lead the team in tackles. Is this by design or is this a product of poor LBer performance? Do you expect this to continue? Can the Dolphins defense be successful if this trend continues?

Hey Dana, that’s a very interesting question. In Vic Fangio’s 22 previous years in charge of a defense (head coach or DC), it’s usually a linebacker who leads the team in tackles. However, in his three years as Broncos head coach, safeties Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson were the team leaders in 2019 and 2021, respectively. So the idea of Jevon Holland ending as the leading tackler on the team wouldn’t necessarily be shocking. That said, the linebackers have been decent so far this season, but there’s certainly more meat on that bone.

From Carlos Moloti (@Elwatcher25):

I don’t like week 4. Since 2002, Mia had only win 2 games in week 4 (Oakland 2014, bills 2009:2 wins, 15 L, 3 byes) is this a trend? The team is always unprepared in those games… is some related to the way of living in Miami Florida? Or is it only a history of bad teams?

Hey Carlos, I’d chalk this up as just a fluky stat.

From Mad doggo (@Dogadoodle72):

How do you feel about our depth 3 weeks in? You and Omar seemed concerned before the season.

For the record, Omar was more concerned about this than I was, and I’d say the depth so far has proven to be more than adequate. Truth is, you just can’t have studs backing up at every position.

From Chris Bustin (@ChrisBustin13):

Hey, Alain. I’d love for the Dolphins to win some of their tough road games this year, including this week. I ranked this list of road games from most winnable (to me, anyway) to least winnable: 1. Ravens 2. Bills 3. Chiefs (Germany) 4. Eagles What do you think? Thanks!

Hey Chris, that’s a pretty solid list. When I ranked the schedule by degree of difficulty before the season, I had the Eagles game at the top, with the game at Buffalo number 2 followed by the Chiefs game, and the reason for that was that I would expect the crowd in Germany to be pretty evenly split, if not slanted in favor of the Dolphins.

From Zach M (@moofrez985):

Is the best chance a defense has against this offense is to bend till the red zone and clamp down when the field mitigates the speed?

Hey Zach, that’s one way defenses could go about it, except that the Dolphins have been really good in the red zone. The best way probably is for a defense to disrupt the timing because that’s what makes the offense go, either by disrupting the receivers’ routes or getting quick pressure on Tua.

From Marsalis Temple (@marsalis_temple):

What unit needs to have the best performance against Buffalo for the Dolphins to have success Sunday?

Hey Marsalis, tough to pick one out here, but I’ll go with the secondary. But there could be six or seven good answers here.

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

Who gets more touches coming out of the backfield - Mostert or Achane?

Hey Stephen, Achane’s great performance against Denver aside, Mostert still is the lead back on this team. And I don’t see that changing anytime soon — barring injury, of course.

From Marco Crescenzi (@Mafioso1313):

Where is Cedrick Wilson and why are there no targets for the big-money receiver. Why do the Dolphins always get stuck with a Will Fuller?

Hey Marco, it’s a case of you hit on some free agents and sometimes you miss. The reason Wilson isn’t getting targets is he’s just not among the receiving options at this time. It’s that simple. The amount of money he makes ($5 million guaranteed salary) is irrelevant to that. But this also is not the same at all as Fuller, who just wasn’t available.

From RICHARD J. LEONARD (@SLICK6971):

Do we need to shadow Josh Allen? How does Jevon Holland stack up against the best safeties in the league? His coverage skills seem to be verging on elite.

Hey Richard, no, I don’t believe the Dolphins “need’ to shadow Josh Allen, particularly since their zone scheme will allow defenders to react more quickly when he takes off (because they don’t have their back to him). As for Holland, he’s absolutely among the best safeties in the NFL and is starting to get recognized as such.

From Crash Jensen (@Sngly):

How do you feel about Miami’s OL vs. Buffalo’s DL, considering: how fast Tua gets the ball out, all the motion, extra blockers, traps, whams, etc. Which Buffalo front seven defender poses the biggest challenge?

Hey Crash, that might be the best matchup of the game because Buffalo’s DL is very good and very deep. As for which front seven player might pose the biggest challenge, I’d go with linebacker Matt Milano, who’s a playmaker at the second level.

From Brett Campbell (@newbreed_1990):

I’m fascinated to see how Fangio schemes against Allen. I anticipate a lot of zone with QB spies to try to contain Allen. Last year we saw some Tindall in that situational QB spy role, but under Fangio who do you believe is best suited for the QB spy role?

Hey Brett, it takes quite a combination of size and speed to be used as a spy on Allen and I’m honestly not sure the Dolphins have the ideal candidate to fill that role. Maybe this is a spot for David Long Jr.

From Earlwithan_E (@Earlewithan_E):

Do we need to use a game plan similar to last year to beat the Bills or do we need to come up with something new to beat them based on what you’ve seen from the Bills so far?

Hey Earl, if you’re talking defensively, the way to go is to make Buffalo have to get long drives, tackle well and then get opportunistic whenever there are chances for takeaways. It’s how the Dolphins were able to stay in the playoff game at Buffalo despite the offense really struggling that day.

From Tyler (@CardGuyTM):

With Poyer being ruled out today, does that change the strategy on both sides of the ball for the Bills and Dolphins?

Hey Tyler, while Poyer’s loss is a big one for the Buffalo defense, it doesn’t or at least shouldn’t change the game plan for either the Bills defense or the Dolphins offense. He’s a quality player, but not somebody around whom an entire game plan is built.

From Jason (@Pug1988):

What can Buffalo do that Miami can’t ? #AllDolphins

Hey Jason, since you asked, here’s the answer. The Bills can generate pressure with their defensive line more consistently than the Dolphins. And then they have a quarterback who can make a difference with his scrambling ability. Now, there also are several things the Dolphins can do that the Bills can’t, but that was the answer to your question.

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