Friday Miami Dolphins Mailbag: How to Beat the Bills, Offseason Outlook, and More

January 13, 2023January 14, 2023 Admin

Part 1 of the Super Wild-Card Weekend SI Fan All Nation All Dolphins mailbag:

From Craig M (@Dolfan2334):

Alain, if the Dolphins were to beat the Bills Sunday, could you think of a sports upset of bigger proportions? Bigger scoring difference, the Bills/Dolphins game Sunday or the College National Championship between Georgia and TCU?

Hey Craig, man, you have become one bitter guy lately! First, I can think of many bigger upsets than it would be if the Dolphins were to beat Buffalo, including Villanova over Georgetown in college BK, U.S. over USSR in ice hockey, Patriots over Rams in the Super Bowl, and that’s just off the top of my head. And then for your other question, come on, this ain’t college football.

From Flipper13 (@Flipper13):

Your projected starting O-line for the Fins?

Hmm, great question without knowing who’s playing and who’s not. The fact that Terron Armstead practiced Friday is huge, and I’m going to go optimistic here and assume he plays. We’ll do the same for Kendall Lamm, who also returned to practice Friday. I think they we’d be looking at a starting O-line of Armstead, Robert Jones, Connor Williams, Robert Hunt and Lamm.

From Bob Witmer (@witmer_bob):

When is the earliest that Alain Poupart can announce that Tom Brady has taken his talents to South Florida…?

Hey Bob, I can tell you that will NEVER happen — because I despise the phrase “taken his talents.” Answering the real question, Brady won’t officially be a free agent until March and there’s no way the Dolphins are going to initiate any contact beforehand after being docked a first-round pick for tampering with Brady and Sean Payton. So if this happens, it’ll come out and start being reported in March.

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From Evan Pukajlo (@PukajloEvan):

How many points do the Dolphins win by if Teddy starts and finishes the game with the context that he was not limited for practice the whole week?

Hey Evan, I’m going to assume this isn’t some kind of smart-ass question based on my previous suggestions that Bridgewater would absolutely, positively move the offense with a week of practice as the starter and WITH Armstead in the lineup. If it’s indeed legit, what I would say is the Dolphins were going to be underdogs in this game regardless of who lined up at quarterback — Tua, Teddy or Skylar. If this indeed was a smart-ass question, then you can try to guess what my answer would be.

From Chris Bustin (@ChrisBustin13):

Hey Alain, we’re playing a playoff game with a rookie seventh-round pick, Skylar Thompson, at the helm. How confident are you that the front office will do what it takes to make sure that we’re never in this situation again? Thanks!

Hey Chris, yeah, that’s a completely valid question you ask, though it should be pointed out that the 49ers also are playing their playoff game this weekend with a rookie seventh-round pick and nobody’s sweating it. But, yeah, for sure it’s not ideal for the Dolphins to have a starter and top backup with durability issues, and it absolutely should be addressed in the offseason.

From J Soto (@dolphin_4life):

Do you see Ross parting ways with Grier if we don’t win on Sunday?

Hey J, my answer to that would be a pretty confident no. Ross is pretty loyal to Grier, and it would be strange to see this move after the Dolphins made the playoffs when it didn’t happen after several playoff-less seasons.

From JohnnyB27 (@JohnnyB2713):

What are the 3 most important things that need to happen for a Dolphins upset?

Hey Johnny, those usually are the same from game to game, but may be more pronounced for this game. The first thing is winning the turnover battle, the second is avoiding costly penalties, the third is hitting the big play on offense whenever the opportunity presents itself.

From Julio Torres (@JulioTmo):

Hey Alain, do you think the best approach to Sunday’s game is the game plan Shanahan & McDaniel implemented last year in the divisional round vs GB?

Hey Julio, not sure about that. There was no magic for the 49ers in a 13-10 win that was largely the result of a punt block in the fourth quarter. The 49ers gained only 212 total yards that day and didn’t score a touchdown. So, yeah, that’s great if the defense can hold Buffalo to 10 points, like the 49ers did to Green Bay thanks to getting five sacks, but are we really expecting the Dolphins defense to do that against Buffalo?

From Jon V (@Jon_v6):

Question. What is the national media fascination with Tua re: concussions. Mitch Morse, Kenny Pickett, Freiermuth, Olave, Darrisaw, etc., tons of players have had multiple or concerns. Is the media urging they retire?

Hey Jon, first off, why is that such a big issue for some Dolphins fans? And why take offense at anybody suggesting that Tua retire when it’s done for the sake of his long-term health? But to answer your question, Tua is a much higher-profile player than anybody else you mentioned, and he’s also the one who had the frightening concussion in prime time on national television. That’s why it’s discussed more than other concussion issues.

From Mr. Mozzarella Sticks (@markjoelcaplin):

Will you be playing tennis after this weekend?

Ha! Yeah, I need to get back to playing tennis, but it’s got nothing to do with whether the Dolphins still are playing. I can manage to do both.

From Harold Potter (@HarrryP1701):

What time in the morning should we start drinking?

Hey Harold, you are soooo asking the wrong guy here, considering the extent of my drinking is having an occasional glass of wine.

From Jose Rodriguez (@HotHorod):

Is there a chance Tua is cleared if the miracle of the century happens Sunday?

Hey Jose, if you’re asking about Tua getting cleared for a potential divisional round matchup against Kansas City, yes, I would say there would be a chance, but I honestly don’t know if we’re at the point where Tua is being shut down for the rest of the playoffs and Mike McDaniel just doesn’t want to address it — he has been consistent in saying he doesn’t want to make projections about Tua’s outlook beyond the day at hand. Besides, no two concussions are the same, so I think it’s not fair to speculate.

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