Tua Tagovailoa, Running Game, Defense, and More

Part 2 of a Miami Dolphins mailbag on the final weekend of June:

From Charles Boyd (@Charlie00WB):

Alain, what are your thoughts on Miami using the Wildcat on short yardage? With Achane, Mostert and Ingold in the backfield, I think they would be pretty hard to stop.

Hey Charles, I loved the Wildcat when it first surfaced in 2008, but at some point I got sick of it (because it was overused) and I’d be OK with never seeing it again. That out of the way, sure, that could be another option for the Dolphins in third-and-short situations and I’m sure Mike McDaniel could have fun with it if he decided to implement it.

From Jason Kirkland (@1bigdad424):

Alain, some of the top offenses in football are, in no order: Baltimore, 49ers, Eagles, Lions and Dolphins. Lamar has the least to work with, skill position wise. The other 4 have incredible talent. The difference that I see is that all the teams I listed have good/great olines, except 1, Miami. I know how much you like nuance, so when we’re talking about these QBs/teams, shouldn’t this be mentioned? I like that Dave brought it up on the podcast this week. This o-line will be a problem, especially against good teams. Yes, Miami cover it with scheme/getting the ball out quickly, but that doesn’t cover it completely. Did they have a great ypc last season? Absolutely. But it’s one thing to pick up chunk yards on 1st & 2nd down, when the threat of a pass is there. It’s another thing when everyone in the stadium knows you’re going to run. I believe McDaniel knows that and that’s why he throws so much on 3rd & 4th and short. Your thoughts on where Miami’s line ranks and my take in general.

Hey Jason, can’t disagree with anything you said (wrote). But everything also was built with the emphasis on speed/mobility/quickness and that includes run blocking where the emphasis is on creating space laterally with, among other things, misdirection as opposed to straight-ahead power blocking.

From Ed Helinski (@MrEd315):

Might the Tua contract situation drag into training camp and through the preseason? Or better yet, when might it end?

Hey Ed, that’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? Not sure anybody knows the answer, though the feeling all along has been that something would get done before (at least) the start of the regular season. If neither side is willing to budge from their current position (which obviously hasn’t produced a contract agreement), then it may get to a point where Tua simply would have to play on the fifth-year option because holding out once the regular season would become a very pricey proposition for him.

From TC (@WineMxiers):

If the “market is the market” for QBs, what is the market for Tua, and what other teams would be interested in bringing him in?

By saying “the market is the market,” Tua was suggesting that he needed to get a Jared Goff type of contract (because Trevor Lawrence hadn’t been signed at that point), and he’s got the individual stats to back up his claim he deserves just as much, though Goff does have a Super Bowl and two NFC Championship Games on his resume (and this is where personnel around the QB can be brought up in all discussions). The Dolphins, on the other hand, reportedly have pushed back against the idea that every new QB who gets a contract needs to go to the top. As for other teams that would be interested in bringing him in, I think we’d need to look at teams that are heavy passing teams and play in warm-weather cities.

From Olive Grove Jon (@Owlizee):

Hi Alain, do you think there is an element of the Dolphins playing hardball with Tua because they don’t believe other teams will be knocking the door down to trade for him?

Hey OGJ, first off, not sure about the notion of “playing hardball” as a term for a team not giving a player exactly what he wants in terms of contract. I think the Dolphins issue with Tua probably has to do with protecting themselves against injury and therefore maybe not getting up in guarantees as high as Tua would like.

From Gerald -HTX Finsfan (@GJJEFFERSON2):

How comparable is Mike McDaniel’s Miami offense to the Bill Walsh and George Seifert timing offenses of the ‘80s-’90s?

Hey Gerald, the best way to say it would be that the McDaniel offense, which comes from the Kyle Shanahan offense, which comes from the Mike Shanahan offense, is an offshoot (or from the same tree) as the Walsh offense with the emphasis placed on quick passing and stretching defenses vertically.

From Bag of Donuts (@BagofDonuts1):

Why won’t Tua sign? Doesn’t he know he’s really lucky to be making anything in the 40 range based on his performance in the last month of the season? Why won’t the Dolphins offer $50MM? He’s the best Miami QB since Marino. Is a compromise forthcoming?

Hey BOD, you kind of nailed there, right? While numbers haven’t been thrown out, I’m not sure the Dolphins haven’t gone up to $50M in annual average, but the holdup just might be in terms of guarantees. And, yes, I do think eventually the two sides will reach a compromise.

From Bob Curvelo (@curvelo13):

With the RB unit being 6 deep not counting Ingold, how many do you see them keeping, and who do you think is going to get cut/traded?

Hey Bob, the Dolphins have a very good and deep running back corps, but I feel the idea of being able to trade one of those players always is overstated because backs generally are pretty easy to find. I see the Dolphins keeping four running backs tops, not including Ingold, and the question is who makes it beyond the obvious (Mostert, Achane, Wright). The only one I could see with a remote chance of bringing the Dolphins a draft pick in return (and a very late one at that) might be Jeff Wilson Jr.

From Chris Bustin (@ChrisBustin13):

Hey Alain, you said that you would like Tua to play on his fifth-year option. But isn’t the same situation as Ryan Tannehill? That is, at what point would you no longer need to see anything more from Tua because he’s not the answer? How many more seasons beyond this fifth one?

Hey Chris, it’s not so much that I “like” the idea, I just think it’s the best course of action for the team. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting another year of data with Tua and maybe there are no injury issues this time and then we’d have an even clearer picture to make a fork-in-the-road decision next offseason. If the result is exactly the same, for Tua and the team, in 2024 (meaning great starts, great stats, coming up short versus playoff teams), then the Dolphins will have to ask themselves whether that’s good enough for the long term.

From James Sonny Burnett (@JamesBurnett11):

WHY is Cam Wake not in the Ring of Honor yet?!

Hey James, there are two factors at play here, the first being that the Dolphins have dropped the practice of putting players on their Honor Roll in recent years. Wake also is somebody who wants to avoid the spotlight, so not sure it’s something he would care about one way or the other. But if the Dolphins do resume putting folks in the Dolphin Honor Roll, then Wake absolutely should get there pronto.

From El Ax (@AxLopezC):

Hey Poup! Did the other teams in the division make a better job in the offseason? Are they better teams? Thanks! Alex from Mexico

Hey Alex from Mexico, I think every team in the division took some positive steps in one way or another, though the Bills lost the most star power and maybe the Jets added the most (though they have a lot of older players with long histories of injuries). The Dolphins also had a good offseason and probably got better on offense with Smith and Beckham leading the way among newcomers and made up for the loss of Wilkins on defense by adding Calais Campbell and getting better at linebacker.

From Luis Rodriguez (@Elfrijol3232):

Hi Alain, why does the Fins D get a pass for last season? It’s always Tua didn’t deliver against playoff teams, facts, but neither did the D. Outside of the last Bills game, D was horrible against playoff teams.

Hey Luis, not sure I agree with your premise and let me point out why. Let’s start with the playoff game, where despite having Ingram, Houston, Irvin and Reed as the outside linebackers because Chubb, Phillips and AVG were out, the defense gave the Dolphins a fighting chance. Then you have the Dallas game, where the defense held the Cowboys to 20 points. And then what about the first Chiefs game when the defense gave up only 14 points (remember the fumble return for a TD). So out of the seven games against playoff opponents, I have the defense doing its job three times (DAL, BUF, KC in Germany), doing not great but OK (KC playoffs) and failing three times (at BUF, at PHI, at BALT). So “horrible”? Not even close to that IMO.