Saturday Dolphins Mailbag: 5th WR, Defense Outlook, Baker and LBs, and More

Tackling various issues on the minds of Miami Dolphins fans, from what to expect from the defense to why Trent Sherfield is likely to earn a roster spot

Part 1 of the new SI Fan Nation All Dolphins mailbag:

From Reza Hariri (@Therealrezpect1):

Favorite Dolphins WR of all time. The battle for the 5/6 WR spot comes down to Williams, Sherfield & Bowden. I think Bowden & Williams possess more upside and unique traits for this offense, but it will come down to production. You like Sherfield to make it, besides contract why?

Hey Reza, my friend, I’m going to answer the favorite question as I always do, giving one name for a player and one name for a person. As a pure player, the one name that jumps out at me is Davone Bess, who wowed in his first camp as a rookie free agent by the way he was always open. It was uncanny. As for my favorite WR as a person, hmm, let’s see … I might be guilty of recency bias, but I think I might go with Isaiah Ford, who’s just a genuinely terrific guy. As for the question about the 5/6 WR spots, I don’t like Sherfield to make the team, I LOVE Sherfield. As, yes, a big part of it is the fact the Dolphins just signed him to a three-year contract, but there’s also Mike McDaniel’s familiarity with him and Sherfield’s experience as a gunner, where he will take over for the departed Mack Hollins in that role. I’d say he’s about 90-10 to make the 53-man roster.

From Phinaholic (@dana_buice):

Hey my friend, the Dolphins have a ton of linebackers and they all seem situational. They just can’t seem to find guys who can do it all. Is this by design or have the Dolphins just not been able to find every-down linebackers? Besides Baker, who will get the most snaps?

Hey Dana, sadly, I don’t think it’s by design the Dolphins haven’t drafted a great do-it-all linebacker in a long time, though Jerome Baker certainly has had his moments since arriving as a third-round pick in 2018. As for the other question, I’m going to leave out edge defenders here and I’d be inclined to think that it probably would be Elandon Roberts who again would have the second-most defensive snaps behind Baker.

From jorge Boyd (@raga1922):

Hi Alain, a too-soon kind of question, do you think the Dolphins have a better team than last year's and, if so, can they beat both the Patriots and the Ravens again this year?

Hey Jorge, this is a not a too-soon question and it’s an interesting one. I don’t think there’s any question the Dolphins have a better team than last year after the offseason acquisitions they made and their ability to keep all their important defensive players. That said, though, it’s also possible they could be better and not be able to match their victory total from last year because the schedule should be clearly more difficult. And Baltimore is a great example. The Ravens were decimated by injuries when they faced the Dolphins — on the road on a short week. The game this year will be played on a Sunday night in Baltimore in Week 2, so it’ll be quite the challenge for the Dolphins. Can they win? Sure. But to suggest they “should” win because they’re better than they were last year when they beat the Ravens isn’t that simple. As for the Patriots, expecting a sweep for a second consecutive season might be wishful thinking, particularly when you consider the Dolphins frankly were lucky to win at Gillette Stadium when they got Xavien Howard’s fumble recovery inside the 10-yard line late in the game. Those games against the Patriots and Ravens are all part of the mystery surrounding the 2022 Dolphins and if they can win all three, then they absolutely should make the playoffs.

From Ken Dasher (@kdash65):

OK Alain here you go; Rock Q: Why do you think (other than $$) nobody is trying to wade into the prog rock genre these days? Fins Q: Brandon Jones, Raekwon Davis, Austin Jackson, Hunter Long. Who takes the biggest step this year? (Your prediction)

Hey Ken, I love the rock questions, but couldn’t begin to venture a guess as to why prog rock is a lost art form, though money always is a good place to start. As for the Dolphins question, I think the obvious answer to me has to be Austin Jackson. I think the new scheme will work to Jackson’s advantage and I easily could see him taking a big step forward in 2022.

From Chris Bustin (@ChrisBustin13):

Hey, Alain. For this week’s mailbag, I was wondering what your expectations are for DC Josh Boyer. Are you concerned (no Brian Flores)? Are you excited (the defensive personnel remains mainly intact)? What are your overall thoughts? Thanks!

Hey Chris, what I would say about the defense is that I’m very curious as to what it will look like with Josh Boyer clearly in control. I absolutely have some level of concern about how the defense will perform with Flores gone because there’s little doubt in my mind that he played the most important role in what the Dolphins accomplished on that side of the ball the past two seasons. I do like some of the talent on defense, though I’m very worried about what would happen if either Xavien Howard or Byron Jones went down for any length of time. I think my bottom line is the defense will be solid, though I’m not ready to say he can be elite yet until I see how it performs against that really though stretch of Baltimore, Buffalo and Cincinnati early in the season.

From Rob Hellebrand (@dolfanrob1):

Going back a ways, but I’m currently going through 2012-13 games on gamepass. I never see TV commentators mention about the Go! and the Go!Go! cue that Mike Sherman instituted. Why would they use such a silly tip-off at the line, telegraphing if it would be a run or pass?

Hey Rob, first off, why would you subject yourself to going through .500 seasons? Just kidding. Yeah, it certainly would be odd to have that kind of a simplistic audible, though maybe the thinking is that the defense wouldn’t have time to quickly react to that word lining up at the line.