Sunday Dolphins Mailbag: Teammate Comments, OTA Fascination, Offense vs. Defense, and More

This edition of the Miami Dolphins mailbag features topics ranging from expectations for the offense to potential issues with a lefty quarterback like Tua Tagovailoa to the right tackle position

From John Kerns (@yitwail):

I agree with you that "teammates complimenting each other, particularly in May, is pretty much a given,” but did Tua's teammates do that last May? Isn't it also possible he's actually improved?

Hey John, first off, you agreeing with me proves you have a brilliant mind. LOL. All seriousness, yes, there were similar last offseason, specifically from Mike Gesicki and DeVante Parker when they were asked about Tua. As you mentioned, teammate compliments are a given. And it’s absolutely possible, if not likely, that he’s improved. I just wouldn’t automatically accept that’s the case based on teammate comments.

From EVERYTHING305 (@EverythingCANE):

My ? is beyond simple: Why do fans love the minutia and BAF mental masturbation of OTAs?

Well, your ? is certainly direct. It’s simple, really. It’s the nature of the sport, where there are no games happening these days and all fans are looking for any nugget of information or any indication or sign to try to project and/or predict what’s going to happen starting in September. I’d say there’s nothing wrong with offseason information, as long as it’s kept in the proper perspective as to what it might mean in the long run. It’s like the combine, which attracts a lot of attention but should be considered a very small part of the evaluation process.

From Jose JARERO (@jjarero):

Alain, left-handed success or failure is based on the mechanics of QB or the mind-set of all players thinking before reacting on left-handed QB?

Hey Jose, I don’t think we should make a major deal of the lefty/righty issue, and I’d say that even if I weren’t a lefty myself. Sure, the ball comes out differently from a lefty, but it’s not like we’re talking about a different game altogether here. The success or failure of the offense won’t come because Tua is a lefty.

From Jose Mata (@JoseMata_Jr):

If Skylar Thompson was taken in rd3/4 instead of rd 7, would we be discussing his performance differently? It seems like he had a good practice last week.

Hey Jose, I can’t speak to the two practices that were not open to the media, but Thompson did have a very good practice Tuesday and that’s exactly what I wrote in my OTA story that day. As for whether we’d be talking about him differently had he been picked in the third or fourth round, that’s a fair point because his outlook would be a lot different. But we would be talking about his potential role being different, not his performance. I praised his work that day not because he’s a seventh-round pick, but because he had a good practice.

From Joe Lopez (@mountaindewed):

My deepest wish is this time next year we're hearing "Teams are looking for the next Mike McDaniel." Last year, the attitude was if the offense somehow scored then something went right. Do you think now the team's expectation is if the offense doesn't score, something went wrong?

Hey Joe, interesting question. Yes, I do think the bar has been raised for the offense with the addition of McDaniel and the offseason acquisitions, like Terron Armstead and Tyreek Hill. There is zero question about that and it would be a major disappointment if we didn't see clear improvement from the offense in 2022.

From Bob Curvelo (@curvelo13):

Do you think Skylar Thompson can make the 53 and maybe replace Teddy as Tua's backup?

Hey Bob, solid question, but I would think that would be extremely unlikely because you want to have a veteran presence if the starter goes down. The best-case scenario for Thompson as I see it at this time is that he performs well enough in training camp and the preseason that he convinces the Dolphins to keep three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.

From Remi Lesot (@LeCoachRay):

Salut Alain! How did the rookies and the 2nd year players perform during the 2 weeks of OTAs??

Salut Remi, let me start by saying that the media was allowed to see one practice each of those two weeks and at the first one there was very little 11-on-11 or 7-on-7 work. That said, Jaylen Waddle had a very nice high grab in the first practice we saw and Jean Phillips got the first orange jersey as practice player of the day, so there were some good signs. Rookie free agent wide receiver Braylon Sanders had a long touchdown on a pass from Skylar Thompson this week.

From James Sonny Burnett (@JamesBurnett11):

Do you think that the offense or defense will finish ranked higher this year?

Hey James, I’m going to go ahead and pick the offense for this one after the hiring of Mike McDaniel and the additions of Tyreek Hill and Terron Armstead. I also think that would be the best sign for the team as a whole.

From Eddie Unzueta (@eunzueta2):

If the left side of the line is essential to a right-handed quarterback, why didn’t Miami spend more on the right side of the line with their lefty QB?

Hey Eddie, that’s a fair question, but I’m not sure that applies as much anymore as it once did. For example, look at the impact that Tristan Wirfs has had at right tackle for the Bucs even though Tom Brady is a righty QB. We also might argue that Lane Johnson has been Philly’s best tackle in recent years and he’s also a right tackle not protecting the blind side. All that said, adding Terron Armstead instead of a right tackle was more about the player than the position. Lastly, the Dolphins coaches appear confident they have answers at right tackle already on the roster, starting with 2020 first-round pick Austin Jackson.