Friday Dolphins Mailbag: Assistant Coaches, Tua Runs, Houston Game, and More

Is the offense sometimes too pass-happy? Can the team win the Super Bowl? What assistants could become head coaches in 2023? Those and other questions from Miami Dolphins fans

Part 2 of the Thanksgiving week, pre-Texans game SI Fan Nation All Dolphins mailbag:

From Evan Blouin (via email):

Happy Holidays Alain, Appreciate & Enjoy your coverage/opinion of the Miami Dolphins#1. FINS UP!  Living in the heart of Patriot Nation (Massachusetts) I’ve held my own for a couple decades as a diehard Fins fan. Especially around the holidays (when we’re usually looking mediocre), nothing would be sweeter than to tote a shiny 2022 title over these bandwagoneers arrogant heads. Apologize. I digressed. I’m feeling more than optimistic with this squad and they’re putting it together against whoever they line up across. Playoffs are nice yet, it’s Super Bowl or bust for me at this point. My question for you is this: What team would you like to see the 305 match up with in the AFC Championship and Super Bowl? If you say Titans (21) and Niners (85) for revenge purposes I’ll have to play the lottery.

Hey Evan, love the optimism. And interesting question. And, to be honest, I’m not sure I even care who they would play under your scenario. But to pick a team, for the AFC Championship Game, let’s see … how about Buffalo? Or the Bengals or Chargers (for a matchup of 2020 draft QBs). As for the Super Bowl, Eagles would be cool for a Tua-Hurts matchup or the 49ers for the obvious McDaniel-Shanahan angle.

From Bellal73 (@bellal73):

Who gets the best shot to be a head coach or interview for a HC job next year on this staff?

Hey there, that’s a very good question, and the two names that have been mentioned by national reporters so far have been offensive coordinator Frank Smith and QB coach Darrell Bevell. With Bevell, it’s important to note he’s had two stints as an interim head coach, which certainly could help him in getting a job. They’re the two who clearly stand out on this staff, but things can get complicated for either of them because head coach Mike McDaniel also is the play-caller.

From Big Ern McDolphin (@dana_buice):

The Dolphins are facing probably the worst team in the NFL, at home, after a bye week. I feel like unless the Dolphins set some kinda team or NFL record it will perceived as a disappointment to many. How should the Dolphins gauge success and failure in this game?

Hey Dana, the Dolphins have won four in a row and have played good enough football for the past month that I’m not sure they need to do anything in this game other than win. Sure, a blowout would be nice, but let’s also be realistic and understand teams aren’t going to operate a peak efficiency every week. It’s also an easy game for the Dolphins to look past considering Houston’s record and the fact that the 49ers await a week from Sunday.

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FOR EVEN MORE COVERAGE ON THE MIAMI DOLPHINS, CHECK OUT SPORTS ILLUSTRATED'S MIAMI DOLPHINS PAGE ON SI.COM.

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From Jorge boyd (@raga1922):

Hi Alain, thanks for all the mailbags they are fun to read and very entertaining. Do you think the Dolphins will be able to run more against teams that defend the run well? Will this game help them in the future in the running game?

Hey Jorge, yes, stats suggest the Dolphins should have success on the ground in this game considering how bad Houston is against the run, but the one issue with the run game at this time is the fact that Raheem Mostert is dealing with a knee injury and didn’t practice either Wednesday or Thursday. The running game no doubt should be able to help in the future, but how much success it can have against a run good defense still needs to be determined because Cleveland does not have a good run defense.

From Rodney Keister (@LeftyRod):

Will Coach Boyer be fired?

Hey Rodney, very simple answer: Why would he be? Last I checked, the Dolphins are 7-3 and the defense was largely responsible for the wins against New England and Pittsburgh and also pretty a big role against Buffalo (gave up a lot of yards but only 19 points). Oh, and don’t forget that pretty much every significant long-term injury the Dolphins have dealt with so far this season have come on defense. So, no.

From Mike Mangaras (@mangaras_mike):

Happy Thanksgiving Alain, thankful for what you do for us, much appreciated. After Houston we face the gauntlet; I believe we win 2 of 3. Do you believe since covering this franchise this is the best team since the Marino years, and can this team win the SB?

Hey Mike, it was a very enjoyable Thanksgiving, hope yours was as well. I generally don’t like to make grandiose statements like this, but at this time, if pressed, I’d say that, yes, this team looks like the best Dolphins team since the peak Marino years. Can this team win the Super Bowl? Since you’re asking me in the middle of a four-game winning streak and after a pretty flawless performance against Kansas City, it would be almost silly of me to dismiss the possibility. I do think we’ll have a better idea there after that three-game gauntlet you mentioned, the road stretch against the 49ers, Chargers and Bills.

From Chris Bustin @ChrisBustin13):

Hey, Alain. Do you think 11 wins is absolutely necessary for the Dolphins to make the playoffs? Or do you foresee some 10-win teams making it in the AFC Conference? Thanks!

Hey Chris, I absolutely would be shocked to see no team in the AFC playoffs with a 10-7 record. The conference looks a bit more spread out than last year, but don’t forget that Pittsburgh got into the postseason in 2021 with a 9-7-1 record.

From Show Em Tua (@Blue42Dolfan):

Any developments on his new team?

Hi there, yeah, pretty generic question we got here. Yes, the development was the signing of defensive tackle Justin Zimmer to the active roster Tuesday. He filled the spot left open after Emmanuel Ogbah was placed on injured reserve. Hope that satisfactorily answers your question.

From Giancs13 (@Giancs13):

First-time asker here: Does Tua’s concussions/injury risk limit the Dolphins playbook in term of QB sneaks or running up the middle a la Josh Allen. Feels like if you don’t have to defend that, then that’s one less thing. Yet no one has figured out our offense, so here we are.

Hey there, I don’t think Josh Allen is a good example here to use as a comparison. Allen is listed at 6-5, 237; Tua is listed at 6-1, 217. That’s apples and oranges in terms of size. Tua’s forte is passing and he’s more consistent at it than Allen, whereas Allen brings this added dimension of being able to do a lot of damage with his running. Even if it does eliminate one thing for opposing defenses to have to worry about, it makes no sense to me, given Tua’s size and injury history, to have him run QB draws and I’m also not a fan of using him on sneaks.

From Tom Reinhardt (@tsrcontractin):

My question is do you think that are offensive series are too fast and our defense is on the field too much? Coach gets pass-happy once in a while.

Hey Tom, I’d agree with you if the offense wasn’t getting the job done, but it’s tough for me to find much to complain about after three straight games with 30 points or more. Yes, ideally, you’d like to have that great run-pass balance, but the bottom line is putting points on the board and if that means throwing the ball a lot, then that’s what the Dolphins should do. And at this point, the passing game is way ahead of the running game.

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