Dolphins Insider Dishes on Week 15 Matchup vs. Jets, Opines on Tua-Tyreek Debate
A lot has happened in the three weeks since the Miami Dolphins' resounding victory over the New York Jets on Black Friday.
The Jets promptly ended the Tim Boyle experiment after two starts and turned back to former No. 2 overall draft pick Zach Wilson. In his first start back at the controls, Wilson engineered three second-half touchdown drives en-route to a 300-yard passing day.
Meanwhile, in Miami, the Dolphins suffered a stunning primetime loss to the Tennessee Titans and their offensive injuries continued to pile up. To get a read on the latest surrounding the Jets' Week 15 opponent, I dialed up AllDolphins publisher Alain Poupart, who has been embedded in South Florida for more than three decades.
Poupart, who has covered the Dolphins in some capacity since 1989, answered five relevant questions heading into the December 17 divisional meeting at Hard Rock Stadium.
Five Questions for Alain Poupart
RV: What does Zach Wilson need to do in order to have success against Vic Fangio's defense? Which quarterback has had the most success against that unit thus far this season?
AP: There are three that stand out, and that's Will Levis, Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen, and the common thread is that all made things happen off broken plays, though I should point out that Josh Allen has borderline killed the Dolphins since he entered the league. The Dolphins' pass rush will get to or close to Wilson at different points in the game and where he can hurt the Miami defense is making plays on the move or scrambling. One issue against Tennessee for Miami in pass defense was miscommunication in the secondary, though it should be pointed out that Jevon Holland (the Jets will remember him well) was inactive and fellow starting safety DeShon Elliott missed the end of the game because of a concussion.
RV: Has anyone stepped up for the Dolphins in the absence of the injured Jaelan Phillips? How much does the defensive front miss him?
AP: The sample size is pretty small because the Dolphins have played two games without Phillips, and new starter Andrew Van Ginkel had a performance against Washington in Week 13 that could have been worth of AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors but then he was barely visible against the Titans on Monday night. The Dolphins signed veteran Jason Pierre-Paul as another pass-rushing option and this week added Melvin Ingram to the practice squad to perhaps be another option down the stretch. Those moves also could allow the Dolphins to use Van Ginkel more at inside linebacker. Bottom line is the Dolphins have a lot of talent on defense and still can thrive without Phillips, though it hurt to lose him considering how well he was playing.
RV: How significant of a loss is the Connor Williams injury? Will Liam Eichenberg take over center duties and how much of a drop-off will there be in performance at that position?
AP: How about very? It might not even be a stretch to suggest this was the one player the Dolphins could least afford on their offensive line even if Terron Armstead (when healthy) is the best player. Eichenberg started the Week 4 game at Buffalo in Wlliams' place in his first career start at center and it was a rough go, though he improved after that until Williams returned and Eichenberg was moved to guard. Eichenberg returned to center after Wiliams went down against Tennessee and didn't have a great night. Making things worse, he's now dealing with a calf injury himself. The Dolphins signed veterans Jonottan Harrison (former Jets starter) and Matt Skura on Wednesday, but not sure how much of an impact they'll make or how soon. So, yes, this is very problematic for Miami.
RV: Outside of injuries, what has been the Dolphins' most troubling issue this season?
AP: This one is easy and Dolphins fans hate to hear it, but it's closing out games against quality opponents. The Dolphins still have not defeated a team with a winning record at the time of the matchup and only one that currently has a winning record. That's Denver, which was 0-2 and a complete mess when the Dolphins ran them out of Miami in that 70-20 game in September. The Dolphins appeared to have everything rolling and in place to finally clear their hurdle of defeating good teams, but now injuries absolutely have become the primary issue.
RV: If the Dolphins had to be without either Tua Tagovailoa or Tyreek Hill for a game, which player would you rather have available? Which player is more important to the offense's operation?
AP: You do know this is a very sensitive question for any Dolphins writer to answer, right? Here's my simple answer, and it's something I tweeted out BEFORE the Monday night game against Tennessee: Tua is having an MVP-type season, but Tyreek is having a historic year. And then we saw what happened to the Dolphins offense after Hill got injured against the Titans and it only reinforced the idea that Tua is a great fit for the offense and very good at making it work, but Tyreek and his stupid speed and how it creates so many big plays and what it does to opposing defenses in terms of creating so much space for everybody is what makes the Miami Dolphins offense special (when it's clicking obviously).
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