Sunday Dolphins Mailbag: QBs, Armstead, Wilkins Watch, and More

Why wasn't there a better off to Dalvin Cook? Should veteran tackle Jason Peters be considered as an option? Those and other questions from Miami Dolphins fans

Part 2 of the Houston weekend SI Fan Nation All Dolphins mailbag:

From Big Ern McDolphin (@dana_buice);

Hey my friend, my Twitter feed has been blown up with criticism of Chris Grier. Personally I think he’s done an exceptional job of bringing in talent and getting value in trades. What is your complete evaluation of him as the GM of the Miami Dolphins?

Hey Dana, I see we’re (not you specifically) back to going to one extreme or the other when it comes to Dolphins players or coaches/executives. Why can’t it be somewhere in the middle? I think Grier deserves some credit for bringing in high-end talent to the roster, starting with the first-round pick of Christian Wilkins in 2019 (his first year as a true GM), but the acquisitions of Tyreek Hill and Jalen Ramsey need some context because both players wanted to come to Miami and their teams wanted to trade them because of financial considerations. There also have been some draft misses and the 2020 draft — with three first-round picks — is still under evaluation. Lastly, I don’t think we ever could use the word “exceptional” without a playoff win.

From Jeff Golden (@Goldenjeff72):

Once and for all can a QB really turn it on (aggressive) during practice, then turn it to off (throw away) during games? It’s been mentioned in a few podcasts (both opinions) and I would love clarification?

Hey Jeff, that’s a very interesting question. A lot of football preparation is repetition, so there’s something to be said for getting it into your QB’s mind to throw the ball away if there’s nothing there quickly. On the flip side, there’s merit in pushing boundaries in practice to see exactly what could work in a game situation without concerns about a big game-turning turnover. So I can see both sides. Given that Tua, for example, is a QB who is more efficient than he is athletically dynamic, decision-making has to be the top priority IMO, so I’d advocate more about drilling into him the idea of giving up on a play in practice than trying to force something he’s not likely to do in a game setting.

TERRON ARMSTEAD AND THE RUNNING BACK ROOM

From Brandon Quinn (via email):

Who is getting fired for letting TA practice? That man is fine China. You break him out 20 times a year max. If something happens then, so be it, but you crack my fine China on any other day, I’ve got serious questions for you.

Hey Brandon, only problem with your premise is, can Terron Armstead be Terron Armstead if he never practices? I think we can go overboard with this, to be quite honest.

From Dave (@angryvet59):

Is our OL coach finally stabilized? McDaniel is OK w/RB room. I'm not quite on the Achane train & haven't heard you or Omar singling any great RB play. Dec/Jan cold weather protect a slim lead in the 4th, who's that guy? Love the Podcast & all the hard work Alain!

Hey Dave, what the Dolphins are some very capable backs, though not necessarily a bell cow like Derrick Henry or Christian McCaffrey or, yes, Dalvin Cook. This is going to be a back-by-committee approach like it was last year. As for Achane, yeah, I think too many are getting carried away too quickly — despite his obvious high-end potential — and a lot of that has to do with stories that came out after Jaylen Waddle had some glowing remarks about him, the kind of remarks you hear all the time from players about young teammates.

From Gary Savin (via email):

Hi Alain, is Armstead a progress stopper with his constant injuries. Can his frequent absences have a negative effect on the chemistry of the O-line going forward?

Hey Gary, I get your point, but the reality is that Armstead is so much better than any other lineman on the roster — which was glaringly evident when he was out last year — that whatever you lose in chemistry is made up for in talent. And I don’t think that’s debatable.

From Matthews 4 (@@MATTHEWS4):

Are the Dolphins not extending Wilkins in part because it is unclear as to what they will spend at the QB position moving forward? Can teams force the Dolphins scheme into throws that Tua struggles with on a consistent basis? What is the best thing about working with Omar?

Howdy, I suspect the Dolphins are not extending Wilkins just yet because his salary demands are higher than what they feel he’s worth at this time based on the idea that he’s not as impactful as a pass rusher as some of the other DTs who got big contracts this year and maybe they want to see him become more of a factor in that area in the regular season. The matchup between the Dolphins offense and opposing defenses always will entail adjustments and it’s up to the Dolphins to find ways to get Hill and Waddle into space and then come up with counters when defenses made that difficult or impossible with their scheme. Lastly, I enjoy working with Omar because he's a good dude, he's a hard worker and he knows football.

From Craig Wilson (via email):

Alain, Cook signs for the Jets and it doesn’t seem like the team are all that concerned about it. Having watched our RBs in practice, do you think maybe one of the reasons we never made Dalvin a better offer is because we’re considering cutting both Ahmed and Gaskin in favor of Brooks making the roster? He’s a big fella and maybe complements the room with a differing skill set? Do you see him making the cut?

Hey Craig, I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Chris Brooks from the start and I do think he’s got at least a shot at making the 53-man roster, though I still see it as a remote possibility. But, no, it wasn’t the reason the Dolphins didn’t offer Cook more money. That had more to do with the organization’s belief in not spending a ton of money on running backs.

QUARTERBACKS AND OFFENSIVE LINE ISSUES

From yolo (@MollyCharlieDog):

Are our backup QBs good enough, and who do you think with start week 1 at LG?

I’m going to start off by saying I feel a lot better about Mike White now than I did in the spring and my question would be, What does “good enough” exactly mean? If you mean, can the Dolphins win the Super Bowl with their backup QB, I’d say doubtful. But I would make the argument the Dolphins would have a better chance of winning the Super Bowl without Tua than the Chiefs without Mahomes, the Bengals without Burrow, the Bills without Allen, the Jaguars without Lawrence, the Chargers without Herbert, or the Ravens without Jackson. And for those who are going to bring up what happened last year when Tua out, I’m going to repeat for the 38th time, that Teddy Bridgewater never started and finished a game, and that neither Bridgewater nor Skylar Thompson had Terron Armstead in the lineup with them outside of the playoff game at Buffalo.

From Iaskquestios (@iaskquestios1):

Do you think with Jake Bailey being the placeholder for field goals. Jason Sanders’ field goal percentage goes up?

Hmm, not buying that. Not saying Sanders’ FG percentage won’t go up, but I’m dubious about the holder being a major factor. After all, Sanders had a so-so 2019 season and then was lights out in 2020, and Matt Haack was his holder both seasons.

From LiefAintThatBad (@LiefAintThatBad):

No question coach McDaniel needed to be better as a situational decision-maker. Do you see potential for growth in that category throughout these preseason competitions? Or does he view this as strictly roster management and we can’t know if he’s better until the bullets are live?

Yeah, the preseason is more about roster evaluation and practicing specific situations than game management and trying to win above all else. We won’t know how this has changed until the regular season.

From Greenview Construction (@CrispyChicken30):

Would you sign Jason Peters?

By all accounts, Peters had a decent season for the Cowboys last year, but he played more than 21 snaps only once in his 10 games. He also turned 41 in January. He’s also a left tackle and the Dolphins have a pretty good one in Terron Armstead. And even if Armstead were to go down for a long stretch, could the Dolphins really count on a 41-year-old? I think I’d be inclined to just stick with Kendall Lamm at this point. Now, if we’re talking 2015 Jason Peters, now that’s a different story.

From Dino Marino (@Down_Aykroyd):

Omar Kelly is concerned with the CB depth. Decimated by injuries last year and the CBs still played adequately in a man-heavy scheme. Won’t Fangio’s zone scheme only improve the CB group overall?

Hey Dino, I don’t know if it’s as simple as zone equals better corners. It does for Noah Igbinoghene, but that’s because his skill set is more suited for zone. But I might take issue with the depth concerns because the Dolphins have a lot of capable corners on their roster. They’ve just gone through a bad spell with injuries early on (Ramsey, Crossen, Bethel).

From Thomas Hudson (via email):

Hi Alain, nice job as always with the mailbag. People sometimes say I am contrary, though I tend to disagree. So here are a couple thoughts on the line that are a little different than what I usually see. First, I went back and watched the Texans game from 2022 from the spot that Armstead left. The left side of the line was Robert Jones and Brandon Shell, and they got Tua killed. They gave up 4 sacks in something like 12 plays, and another sack that was nullified by a penalty. So I am not sure how on board I am with the "Robert Jones was solid" line of reasoning. Second, I am sure most of us have seen the stats about how much more pressure the Dolphins QBs were under when Armstead didn't play. But the Dolphins only played one game with Tua where Armstead didn't play, and he was pressured on 17% of his dropbacks by a team that pressured opponents on 23% of their dropbacks. I explain that pressure change with two sets of stats: First, Armstead missed games against the Jets (#3 pressure team) and Pats (#7), and all but 8 plays in the first Jets game. So they faced their biggest pressure opponents without him. Second, Tua's pocket time last season was 2.3 seconds. Thompson's was 2.6 and Bridgewater's was 2.7. So it seems harder to get pressure on Tua, regardless of the line. For what it is worth, Mike White's pocket time last season was 2.3 seconds. Am I crazy, or does that make at least a little sense?

Hey Thomas, first off, love the “people say I’m a contrarian, but I tend to disagree.” LOL … and I can relate. With Robert Jones, me thinks you’re kind of picking one bad outing to portray his overall effectiveness. I’ll still say he’s solid overall. As for the issue of Armstead, it can be both that Tua is quicker at getting rid of the ball than Skylar and Mike White AND the pass protection isn’t the same without Armstead regardless of opponent. I like and respect analytics as much as the next game, but at some point you also have to trust your eyeballs and it’s crystal clear the pass protection isn’t the same without number 72.

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