Dolphins Monday Mailbag: Tua, Tyler, Skylar, and More

Head coach Mike McDaniel and GM Chris Grier are among the latest topics to be addressed ahead of the Monday night game against the Tennessee Titans

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) pitches the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Part 2 of the Miami Dolphins On SI pre-Tennessee game mailbag:

From Jerry (@UFGatorJer):

Does Snoops’ mobility free up Hill and Waddle on Monday night to have more production?

Hey Jerry, in the sense that he can keep a play alive longer while scrambling around in the pocket, yes, that could help. To what degree, I’m not quite, but I don’t think I’d overstate that impact.

From Mark Jones (@chiefkfc):

Hey dude love your work...this offense screams for some up-tempo at times...why in the hell is this so difficult for the Dolphins...??

Hey Mark, that’s never part of this offense, to be very blunt. I know the play calls tend to be elaborate, so I’m thinking that plays a big role in it.

From Rico’s RoughNecks (@TheFin22):

In terms of athleticism (arm power, accuracy, mobility, scrambling, speed, etc…), where do you rank Tua out of the 32 starting QBs? I put him at 31st just above Kirk Cousins.

Hey Rico, I’m not sure I see the need to do this because I think it’s pretty well established that Tua has physical limitations, though his accuracy is among the best in the NFL. If we want to go there, the biggest issue for me is that Tua is undersized without the speed and quickness to lessen the impact of that like, say, Kyler Murray.

THE NEW DIMENSION WITH TYLER HUNTLEY

From Ed Helinski (@MrEd315):

How you feeling about Tyler Huntley starting? I think he gives the Dolphins that running & scrambling dimension that is lacking in the offense? Agree or disagree?

Hey Ed, there’s no question that Huntley brings a different dimension to the quarterback position and I think the Dolphins would be foolish not to take advantage of that a few times against Tennessee. I do expect a better performance than we saw last week from Skylar Thompson, but he’ll need a better performance from the O-line and I’d still caution against expecting too much.

From Chris Bustin (@ChrisBustin13):

Hey, Alain. How can fans determine this season if the defense is better under Anthony Weaver compared to how it performed under Vic Fangio? Is there a certain metric that you like most? Thanks!

Hey Chris, my measure for a good or great defense is that it always (or almost always) looks like a major accomplishment for an opponent to move the ball. This is what you see when you watch teams like the Steelers, Chiefs, Ravens, Vikings, who look dominant more often than not. I think it’s that more than any stat, though I’m big on pressure and takeaways.

From Mark Lever (@MarkFinsfan):

What are Snoop Huntley’s strengths and weaknesses in your opinion?

Hey Mark, Miami Dolphins On SI contributor Dante Collinelli did a great in-depth scouting report on Huntley that addresses this in detail, but my reader’s digest version is that his strength is his mobility and his weakness is the accuracy is very inconsistent.

From Michael Gura (@MichaelGura4):

I’m in no way meaning to insult McDaniel. But he looks/sounds…off. He rambles/stammers even more than usual as of late, his game day coaching is woeful, & he looks disheveled & disinterested. Big mistake to reward mediocrity w/a contract extension. No sense of urgency! Thoughts?

Hey Michael, how could anyone be insulted by your comment? LOL. Whatever criticism you might have about his game-day coaching — and I haven’t liked some of his decisions so far this year — I never would call him disinterested. This is a guy who is fully invested in his job and the team. As for his rambling, I’m here to tell you that this is nothing new. He’s always been verbose in his media sessions, but maybe some fans are noticing more or maybe bothered by it because the team is going through a rough patch.

From Yeti-Eddy (@Rainorshine7775):

Let’s see how you answer this. Do you believe the offensive side of the ball stops playing hard when TUA goes down? If yes, why?

Pretty curious as to the “let’s see how you answer this” line. Like what does that mean? Anyway, no, I don’t see any difference in how hard the team plays, but it clearly isn’t nearly as well and a lot of that has to do with McDaniel putting everything together offensively to fit what Tua does best when his backups don’t have the same skill set and also haven’t had the thousands of practice reps with the receivers like Tua has. But effort? Nah, don’t see that.

THE DOLPHINS AND THE 2024 OFFSEASON

From Big Ern McDolphin (@dana_buice):
I’ve noticed a shift in the media in the 72 hours. I’ve noticed it from you, Chris Perkins and most noticeably from  Barry Jackson. . I believe someone from the Dolphins has given you all a pep talk about Skylar Thompson. The first words that come to mind when I think about Skylar’s play are: skittish, indecisive, inaccurate and hesitant. He moves out of the pocket when there is no reason to. He doesn’t trust his reads. He has poor pocket presence. You can never be successful in the NFL with those traits. The man has played in like 8 games and started 4, I believe. He’s started a playoff game. He’s thrown the ball over 150 times in the NFL. His numbers to be kind have been substandard, even for a backup, and that is being very kind. He’s shown you exactly who he is. Believe him. What did I get wrong? Why won’t the Dolphins believe the tape Skylar has put out? Why should Dolphins fans believe he’s going to be anything but terrible when he plays?

Hey Dana, you do realize that Thompson has played two-plus quarters of regular season football in the past two years? And QBs can evolve (do I really need to point to another QB you’re familiar with)? Is it possible that all of us — Perk, Barry and I — can recognize that Thompson didn’t look good against Seattle and that the possibility still exists he could become a decent backup? Whether that happens certainly can be debated, but what would it say about the Dolphins if what we saw from Thompson in Seattle is exactly who he'll always be? It would be gross mismanagement by the front office in not securing a better backup in the offseason, which is exactly what I wrote last week based on Skylar’s Seattle performance. Having said that, doesn’t Skylar deserve another start, especially considering how little help he got from the O-line? Oh, and no, if anybody changed their opinion here — and I personally haven’t — it wasn’t because of some message from the team.

From Carl Bueckert (@BueckertCa94374):

What is your impression of how MM and CG addressed this season knowing perfectly well that this team has so many deficiencies. Thank you sir.

Hey Carl, as I wrote two weeks ago, this current four-game stretch was going to be a referendum of the offseason decisions to stand pat at backup QB, IOL and replace Christian Wilkins with quantity over quality (with all due respect to Calais Campbell because he just can’t play as many snaps as Wilkins did), and the first test was failed pretty miserably. But let’s see how the next three games unfold.

From Pajake Japat (@D1nonlyJP):

I hope Tua is able to come back this year to finish the year strong. However, I think the organization can no longer deny we have an issue with the quarterback position again. If you had to guess, what’s going to be the approach next year? Draft…trade…?

Hey Pajake, that’s a great question and I’d be lying if I said I knew because I don’t think the Dolphins know either. I think a veteran would be preferable to a rookie unless the Dolphins wind up with a high first-round pick (which would mean bad news for this season). And the question then would become what kind of veteran to get (established starter or journeyman), which would dictate to route to get him. But this conversation is still a bit premature in my mind.