Friday Dolphins Mailbag: Breaking Down the Baltimore Game

How to get the running game going? Has Connor Williams erased the doubts about his move to center? How to attack Lamar Jackson? Those and other questions from Miami Dolphins fans

Part 1 of the pre-Ravens game SI Fan Nation All Dolphins mailbag:

From Reza Hariri (@Therfealrezpect1):

Miami needs to run the ball to get boot game/PA/RPO game to be successful. Do you see them making a bigger effort toward run game against Balt? Will Tindall be used as a spy vs Lamar or too early?

Hey Reza, two good questions. First, I would take issue with you on the first because you seem to suggest they didn’t make a big enough effort to run the ball against New England (it ended up being 23 runs and 36 pass plays) when the Dolphins ran on 14 of 25 first-down plays. The issue is that those 14 runs averaged only 3.4 yards, and if that average can go up, rest assured they will run more often. On the second question, I would put the odds of Tindall being asked to spy Jackson at somewhere between 0 and 10 percent, and I’d say it’s closer to 0. Tindall just isn’t ready for that kind of assignment.

From James Sonny Burnett (@JamesBurnett11):

Which OT will be brought up for the game Sunday? Because we both know someone is.

Hey James, if ever there was a question about the Dolphins bringing somebody onto the active roster, it disappeared when they put Austin Jackson on IR on Friday because they’re just flat-out not going to go into a game with just seven offensive linemen, particularly with Terron Armstead at less than 100 percent. In addition to the seven O-linemen on the 53 (Armstead, Eichenberg, Williams, Hunt, Little, Deiter, Jones), the Dolphins have Larnel Coleman, Kion Smith and James Embrey on the practice squad. Based on what we saw in training camp and the bigger need for an offensive tackle, I’d say I feel very confident in predicting that it will be Larnel Coleman who gets the practice squad elevation.

From jorge boyd (@raga1922):

Hi Alain, if the Ravens use 6 DBs for most of the game, do you think the Dolphins will be able to run on them, do you think they'll be able to stop Hill, Waddle and company (too many weapons for the Dolphins maybe)?

Hey Jorge, that’s going to be the big question, but know that Baltimore is well balanced on defense, but is dealing with a lot of injuries in the secondary. So it could be that it might be easier for the Dolphins to move the ball through the air, but that obviously is going to require good pass protection up front.

From Ken Dasher (@kdash65):

You're the defensive coordinator, Alain. Do we try to reproduce last year's game plan or expect that Baltimore adjusts and adopt a different strategy? (Like, what?)

Hey Ken, first off, thanks for the job, when can I expect my first pay check? LOL. There’s something to be said for throwing something different at the Ravens with the expectation they’ll be well prepared for all the all-out blitzes, but there’s also something to be said for doing something until an opponent proves to you it can handle it. And given that all-out aggressiveness is the Dolphins’ calling card on defense, I don’t really see a major reason for doing something different. And then if things don’t start off so well, you obviously adjust and adapt.

From Anthony Berardo (@berardo_anthony):

Will Ingold play more as a vital piece in the run blocking of the run game? Are they easing him back from injury?

Funny you should ask because I wrote a story Friday on Ingold’s first game with the Dolphins and it included a comment from offensive coordinator Frank Smith about how the coaches will be looking to expand his role throughout the season. In terms of playing time, Ingold played 22 snaps against New England and I would imagine that count might go up progressively, though, I wouldn’t expect him to become like a full-time player. As a pretty interesting coincidence, Ingold played 37 percent of the Dolphins’ offensive snaps against New England, the exact same percentage as fullback Kyle Juszczyk played for Mike McDaniel’s former team, the 49ers, in their opener at Chicago.

From Luke Fader (@lukefader):

Do you think the Ravens are playing chess with their comments about being ready for the Cover 0 blitz in the media? Are they saying it in hopes the Dolphins won't game-plan to use it as much?

Hey Luke, no, I don’t think comments from either side would impact a game plan one way or the other. Every coach also is aware of potential games that can be played through the media, so the Dolphins will base their game plan on what they think is going to work best based also on what they think the Ravens will do, which they might suspect based on film and tendencies, but not on comments in the media.

From mikethewreck (@mgcroteau):

The Dolphins have been out-physicaled by the Ravens in past years. Do you think this happens this year? What do you think is the Ravens' biggest vulnerability? Is it their depleted secondary?

Hey Mike, you are absolutely right in your assessment, and I’d say that from a Dolphins offensive standpoint that absolutely would have to be a concern given that the offensive line is maybe more about finesse than power. I would feel more confident about the defense’s ability to match up physically at this point, particularly with somebody like Raekwon Davis in the middle of the defensive line. As for the second question, Baltimore is a pretty talented and balanced team, but they have injury concerns at cornerback and also at left tackle with Ronnie Stanley still out and Ja’Wuan James going down in Week 1.

From Craig (@kinneydog):

What needs to occur to get the run game going this weekend?

Hey Craig, this is kind of basic and steady from week to week, and it’s simply everybody executing their assignments, from the linemen and tight ends blocking to the running backs hitting the right holes at the right moment. I’m not sure there’s a great magic formula here. The Dolphins do have to avoid letting second-level defenders shoot through the line of scrimmage untouched as happened a couple of times in the New England game.

From Phinaholic (@dana_buice):

Two big questions that emerged before the season started were; was moving Williams to center the right move? Was last year’s defense all Flores or is Boyer a capable defensive coordinator. After Week 1, have they silenced their critics and if not, how much more do you need to see?

Hey Dana, good question and we certainly can say the results were very good in the season opener on both ends. Life in the NFL is all about consistency and being able to repeat success more often than not, so we’ll hold off a bit on declaring both a rousing success while applauding the Week 1 performances.