Wednesday Miami Dolphins Mailbag: Tua, Baker, Thompson, and More
Part 2 of the post-Patriots game SI Fan Nation All Dolphins mailbag:
From Ricardo Hernandez (@Ricardo96451182):
Hey Alain. I like McDaniel a lot, and I saw you were pretty adamant that he should be retained, but it’s been pretty rough lately. Has the coaching matched the talent level? Is your opinion based on simple fairness, or do you believe he’s the guy despite any big-name alternatives?
Hey Ricardo, totally fair question, and I do believe McDaniel deserves another shot, though I haven’t liked his work as much recently (obvious when the team is losing). Has coaching matched the talent? Yeah, I’m thinking the talent on the team might have been a tad overestimated.
From Jeff Horst (@JeffHorst4):
Alain, what has happened to Jerome Baker this season? He seems to miss tackles frequently; under Flores he seemed to have a bigger impact, especially blitzing the quarterback. Has he been misused or underperforming?
Hey Jeff, that’s a great question. And I’m going to take the wimpy way out and suggest that maybe it’s a combination of both. The bottom line is that Baker simply hasn’t been a significant factor this season.
From Dave (@angryvet59)’:
Alain, thanks for your reporting this year, been great. The offense to me seems different without Tua. Can whoever is QB not named Tua win against a Jets team wanting to play spoiler?
Hey Dave, maybe the offense seems different without Tua because the Dolphins haven’t had a game without him where their QB didn’t get injured. Or maybe it’s because Terron Armstead missed most of the three games that Tua completely missed. It also didn’t help Teddy Bridgewater last Sunday that Mike McDaniel kept calling running plays on first down, which is the best down to throw the ball. So I’m not buying the premise entirely. And, yes, the Dolphins can beat the Jets with either Bridgewater or Skylar Thompson at QB, particularly when you consider that the Jets have major issues at quarterback also.
From Elliot Zovighian (@ElliotZovighian):
If the Dolphins lose Sunday, what roster moves would you make. If Rodgers or Brady want to come here, would sign one of them for a shot, or stick with Tua knowing his durability issues?
Hey Elliot, you can forget about Rodgers because the cap ramifications would be astronomical for the Packers, so they’re not trading him. With Brady, the question obviously is his age and the reality is that he could retire at any time. Realistically, this is a one-shot deal. On the other hand, there are the durability issues with Tua, and the still-unanswered question of how far the Dolphins can go with him at quarterback. This is a tough call.
From Hebert Gutierrez Morales (via email):
Hi Alain, Happy New Year! I know there’s a lot of negativity when a team loses five in a row, and it’s natural. Despite this situation, every fan wants to be in playoffs but, an honest doubt, is it worth to be in playoffs playing garbage? Maybe we can pass as the 7th seed only to be defeated by KC or Buffalo. And also the playoffs won’t fix all the problems that we have. For me the playoffs right now would be like Fools’ gold. The playoffs only serve, in my opinion, to save some people’s jobs. What do you think? Music question, do you have favorite songs from U2 that are not popular? Some valuable hidden gems? For example, “Elvis Presley and America”, “Promenade”, “Mothers of the Disappeared”, “Miracle Drug” or “Who’s Gonna Ride Your wild Horses?” Thank you as usual from your honest job, Alain.
Thanks Hebert. First, I dn’t buy the idea of making the playoffs being pointless if the team isn’t playing well. I’d rather have the team make the playoffs ALWAYS if the option is NOT making the playoffs. It doesn’t change how the team is playing, but it offers yet another chance to have a great performance. As for your U2 question, the two that stand out to me would be “Van Diemen’s Land” and “Red Hill Mining Town.” I also do like “Miracle Drug” and “Who’s Gonna Ride.”
From Earl Gottfried (via email):
Hello Alain, Happy New Year to you and yours! Keep up the good work. So with the QB situation up in the air for the end of this year and possibly next, do you think the Dolphins should look for a veteran change from Teddy B, re-sign Teddy B with the possibility of a starting role for the season, or draft a QB with the best pick they can come up with (2nd round at least) in the upcoming draft? Whether Tua plays again this year or not, it seems like they can’t put all of their eggs in his basket. Skylar T. isn’t playing like Brock Purdy, so it looks like it might be good to double down in the draft if they see someone intriguing. Looks like an uncertain off-season for year 2 of Mike McD’s tenure, who still looks like a keeper.
Hey Earl, after he failed to finish his only two starts, I think it would be tough to justify re-signing Bridgewater, particularly to back up a quarterback with durability issues like Tua. I don’t buy the idea of taking a QB in the draft in the second round when you’ve already got a developmental QB with Thompson.
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From Michael K (via email):
Oh, where to begin, AP?! What a dismal end to a dismal century of Dolphins football. My first question is simply, is there a chance Tua plays Sunday? If not, I do not see any way they can pull off a win with anyone else. My second question is, where does this franchise go from here? Limited picks, salary cap hell, mediocre coaching staff (although I like MMD). My goodness!
Hey Mike, not buying your premise of the Dolphins not being able to win without Tua. It sure would help, though, if the starting QB actually could finish the game, which has yet to happen in a game Tua didn’t play. As for where to go from here, improving the O-line and finding a cornerback would be two good places to start.
From Lucas (via email):
Happy 2023. Tua over Herbert in 2020. Now in 2022, Skylar over Purdy. Do you see any similarity in these decisions? What does It say about Grier and his management of the draft process?
Hey Lucas, short and to the point, huh? There are zero similarities between the two QB decisions because one came at the top of the draft and the other was in the seventh round. In the Purdy-Thompson situation, let’s not forget that the 49ers have a much better team right now than the Dolphins. On the other call, it’s certainly safe to wonder whether Grier was the only decision-maker involved.
From Jeff (via email):
Hello Alain, Happy 2023! I apologize if this seems harsh, but respectfully … apart from pride, why would the current Miami Dolphins team want to make the playoffs? Do we really want to see Tua back out there this year given his concussions? Do we have a decent option at QB? That same thing you can expand to half of the defense, just about half of the offense, and so many guys sitting on IR waiting to recover. This team needs one thing, recovery time. I see a lot of fans clamoring about how bad of a team we are given that we started with a certain win %, but what I have witnessed every single week starting at OTAs was 2-3 guys just getting hurt and then trying to either play hurt all year or have someone come in who gets hurt as well. We make the playoffs, what good does that even do? How abnormal has this year’s injury issues really been in your eyes?
Hey Jeff, making the playoffs always beats the alternative of not making the playoffs because you never know what can happen in one game. I actually don’t know if the injuries have been so unusual. There have been quite a few, but it’s not like the Dolphins have been the hardest-hit team.
From Barry (via email):
Hi Alain, long-time reader, first-time emailing … Frustrating and frustrated with this team. Lots of promise for most of the season and now this. Been a Fins fan since they lost to the Cowboys in the Super Bowl but this December/January crash is so hard to take. Maybe because this is a “young” team, this nose dive is to be expected, but it is so hard to watch. The silver lining (and small at that) is they win against the Jets and the Patriots lose. Just needed to vent, thanks for listening.
Hey Barry, I’m not sure the nose dive was to be expected because this isn’t necessarily a “young team.” I certainly get the frustration, though.
From Dave Rozhon (via email):
Seems like the Dolphins tend to have a high number of soft tissue, strains, sprains the last few years. Know we get new coaches, but do we get new trainers also? Can more be done to prevent these injuries?
Hey Dave, yeah, I’m not sure the Dolphins have had more soft-tissue injuries than other teams. If you look at a lot of the injuries this year, you’re looking at an Achilles, ACL, things of that nature.
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