Part 1 of Miami Dolphins on SI Preseason Starter Mail Bag:
From Jack Dixon:
Kion Smith? Is there little news about him at the tackle camp and Paulon?
Hey Jack, I'm going to start with Borom, which isn't that impressive indeed, but has appeared lately. As 10 players I watched in the 10 season openers wrote, I’m not exactly the moment I liked him as a backup swing tackle, but now I’m closer than before. As for Smith, I tend to think he will be a 53-man roster and it looks very serviceable.
From Prince Check Casher:
Did McDaniel last this season?
Hey PCC, if that didn't happen, I would be shocked. I can't see the Dolphins changing the start of the season, unless the season is about to change, the schedule is good early on Indy's game and at home against New England (the Patriots will improve a lot, but this is home game in September and the Pats may take time to Jer).
From Jason Kirkland:
Hi Alain, no draft position or contract is taken into account, just based on the performance you see, who should: Starting with Brooks, is the third and fourth wr, launching CBS, including Slot, including Slot, next to Minkah?
Hey Jason, very strictly based on camp performance, Dodson has recently surpassed gay, but in the ILB next to Brooks, Willie Gay Jr. The third and fourth wide receivers will be Malik Washington and Dee Eskridge; the starting CBS will be Storm Duck and Kendall Sheffield, Mike Hilton is Nickel (although Cornell Armstrong looks good too), and the safety next to Minkah is John Saunders Jr. (although this doesn't happen in the real world).
From Jorge Boyd:
Hi Alan, I read somewhere that the Dolphins plan to play three perimeter guards at the same time. If so, who will be the top 7 and who will be on the de dl?
Hey Jorge, yes, if we classify Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb and Chop Robinson as Olbs, then the dolphins will definitely have (or should) packages. This is likely to have obvious pass situations, so there are at least five DBs on the scene, so now we are talking about six DBs. And, that top six will probably have the three players mentioned above along with Zach Sieler, Jordyn Brooks and Willie Gay Jr. or Tyrel Dodson.
From Sal Cano:
Why not poach from a team with good teams: Philadelphia, Baltimore, Buffalo… Omar always says they have depth, well, that should include practitioners, right?
Hey Saar, that's what the Dolphins tried to do when they signed Jack Driscoll's free agent last year, but then they decided they prefer rookie free agent Andrew Meyer and released Driscoll. So, it's not that simple. That said, yes, the Dolphin will definitely be exempt from wire search for O-Linemen and will pay attention to those better teams than most and add HE HE DETROIT LIONS to the list you provide.
From rjgrosso:
Here…If the glowing camp reported Willie Gay Jr. Pan, do we have logjam on ILB? We don't know much about Dodson, and Dodson seems to have performed well for us last year.
Hey Richard, yes, the dolphin does have a lot of depth on ILB, not necessarily logjam. You mentioned these two players, they will join Jordyn Brooks and KJ Britt, which should be a solid foursome. I hope these snapshots will go beyond Brooks, the latter should be everyone.
Miami Dolphin LB Willie Gay Jr.
From David Campbell:
Greetings Alain. I admit to being upset with a redshirt rookie (Paul) and rookie Savaiinaea as the starter on the left (sorry, I can't help it), but at an age, I can remember a few rookies named Webb & Sims and it turned out to be very good (no comparisons yet). I really haven't heard of RB Jaylen Wright too much. Although in early (in pencil only) depth maps, will Mattison slowly adopt the RB2 slot? Also, what is the Crystal Ball of the Great Poapart a rare but unheard of, but unheard of second-round picks (CAM Smith) player swap or mid-round pick? Life has been busy, so I owe you some great podcasts.
Hey David, thank you All Dolphin Podcasts, I encourage everyone to check out. I think there is a wide open battle for the second-place running position right now, which may have a slight advantage over Wright because the Dolphins like his potential. And, yes, hopefully, Paul and Jonah are the next Webber and the Sims, even though that's a high bar. What I'm recording on is that my prediction for Cam Smith is that he'll be traded, but the Dolphins have a zero chance of getting his midterm pick from me sitting there. The best is the seventh or Dolphin trade Smith, with seventh in sixth.
From Jeff:
Hello Alain, on the depth map of the Dolphins, they list a weird defensive formation/program. Basically, they have a 4-man front, but they have an OLB and list two MLBs. What is the “official” defense plan? 4-3 or 3-4? How many OLBs are there on the roster? Dolphins only have one “elastic” position on the DE/OLB on the defensive end? Thank you very much for everything you did.
Thank you Jeff. this The first thing I want to point out about defense on the depth chart is that there are 12 players Four defensive informants, three defenders and five defensive backs are listed. So obviously this is not a real first team. As for the “official” plan, it's a hybrid that we can call different things based on the way we want to list Chubb and Robinson, which the Dolphins use as defensive ends, but are actually marginal guards. So based on last year's Dolphins will do a lot of 3-4-4 aligning, about 2-4-5 (two pure linemen, four with two linebackers and five DBSs), and sometimes with a 4-3 look in short code situations.
From Gburg63:
Are you confident that DL (and Blitz package) can put enough pressure on the relative QB so that our weaknesses in CB are not exposed?
That's the key question, right? I think Anthony Weaver is a very sharp DC who will lighten as much as he can to make sure we don't repeat the first half of 2024, when the Dolphins obviously didn't put enough pressure on the quarterback.
From Olive Grove Jon:
Hey Alain, the words about the fins not being able to run in short code situations. What do you think about how they can solve this problem with the addition of Mattison and Gordon? How do they look at the camp?
Hey ogj, Mathisson looks great, even though he puts the ball on the ground too much. As the camp progressed, I felt Gordon more and more. So I think the dolphins have addressed the need to have a bigger back (assuming they keep the field on the third and short-lived field), but still don't know where the lockdown is ahead. This answer will appear in the regular season.
The Miami Dolphins ran back to Alexander Mattison (8) and guard Cameron Goode (53) during training camp at the Baptist Health Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images/ Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
From Phil Montgomery:
After you, I really want to hear if you think Ben Johnson is the real deal or if he is just the next Adam Gase, an O coordinator who was promoted due to the success of the team.
Hey Phil, that's a good question, if I say I have a firm belief in it, I'd lie. I do believe Johnson will have better success than Gase. I also hope to consider that Johnson saw him at the beginning of his NFL coaching career with the Dolphins over a decade ago.
From Mason:
Alan, do dolphins have any discipline issues? It seems to me that you always report too many signs on the field. I noticed that these dolphins are listed in Chop, Chubb is listed as DT with Jones and Sieler. Will the Dolphins switch to 4-3 in order to keep Chop, Phillips and Chubb on the field at the same time?
Hey Mason, Part 2, see my early answers. But there is no point in their identity on the scene where they list players. I question Chubb and Robinson's list of things that look like Olbs or Edge Defenders for many people. But yes, in some cases, these three will be on the scene at the same time. As for the issue of discipline, I just say there are too many signs (too many flags) and the frequency has not slowed down yet. This is frustrating.