By james art Part 2 of Arizona Miami Dolphins Pregame On SI mailbag:
From David Nastali (@DNastali):
Since you like the stats so much, what is the all-time record of Fins v Cards, including the most recent matches and details.
Hey David, you know me very well, don’t you? I like statistics. As I indicated in overall game review, The Dolphins are 10-3 all-time in the regular season against the Cardinals, winning the last two meetings after losing the previous three. For some details on these games beyond what’s in the game preview, the 2020 game was Tua Tagovailoa’s second NFL start and arguably his best of his first two seasons with the Dolphins. The 2016 game was notable for the knee injury that knocked Ryan Tannehill out for the rest of the season and, ironically, current Dolphins defensive end Calais Campbell hit him on the play in question. The 2012 game at Arizona was the one where Brian Hartline had a monster game (253 receiving yards), but the Dolphins gave up a fourth touchdown before losing in overtime. Finally, a loss to Arizona in 2008 dropped Miami to 0-2 in Tony Sparano’s first year as head coach, and it was during the comeback from that game that the Wildcat idea was born.
From Jake McVeigh (@JakeMc945):
Hey Allen, what’s going on with Durham Smythe? He had such a good year last year blocking and being a sneaky good receiver.
Hey Jake, yes, this is the big mystery of the 2024 season (or at least one of them). It’s pretty clear that he’s edged out by Julian Hill when it comes to blocking for the run game, and Johnu Smith is clearly a better receiver, so that leaves Smythe as the odd man out.
From Dave Gober (via email):
Hi Alain! I have a confession to make. I fell for the glitz and glamor of high-octane crime. The big names, the speed, the scheme, everything was fine for two-thirds of last season. This game is physical, it requires discipline and schemes have to adapt to players’ strengths and cover up their weaknesses, but unfortunately we don’t do any of that. This year we played 4 games without Tua and scored 3, 12, 15 and 10 points respectively. Tua wasn’t tearing it up before his injury, and his return won’t cure everything — unless he catches, runs, blocks and tackles. I know injuries play a role, but all teams deal with injuries. Why did this team fail in these aspects of the game? Is there hope or have we hit rock bottom and it’s time to hit the reset button? Keep up the good work!!!
Hey Dave, first of all thanks a lot. Second, you make some very good points, and what I’ve said all along is that running a timing-based offense that’s more about speed than physicality will always reduce the margin for error because it’s easier to reject that kind of offense than to overcome a physical group. The idea of a reset isn’t crazy, but the Dolphins doubled down on their philosophy in the offseason when they extended Tua, Tyreek and Waddle, so it’s hard to imagine a drastic change in approach anytime soon.
From Jason Kirkland (@1bigdad424):
Hi Alain, based on the last few games Tua has played, I think it’s reasonable to expect Miami to score around 20 points per goal with him. While that’s an improvement over the 11ppg they got in the last 4 games, it’s still not great. Agree or disagree?
Hey Jason, I disagree, but the hope is that the offense gets better than it was in the final weeks of the 2023 season or early 2024, and not just continue down the same path. Because if it’s more of the same, the Dolphins aren’t going anywhere and are in for a long season.
From Chris Shields (@shieldsc_):
All we heard during training camp was how great Bell and Chop were looking. Now is the time to step up. Will this be the week that one of them makes an impact game, and if not, when?
Hey Chris, this is a great cautionary tale about falling for the training camp headlines. Understand that beat writers have to constantly come up with new content, so players who come out of nowhere and look impressive and/or get praised by teammates (happens all the time) will get headlines. It should not be used as a gauge. This happens a lot with fullbacks because the pass rush in training camp is not the same as the pass rush in the regular season. Having said all that, I’m not sure I’d be holding my breath for a Chop or Quinton Bell breakout anytime soon.
From Dave Shelley (@DaveShelley627):
You wonder about Cracraft’s status and whether you think he’ll come off IR to help a depleted receiving room or if he’s done for the season. thank you
Hey Dave, I don’t believe River Cracraft is done for the season, especially since the Dolphins already used IR back on him by placing him on IR on August 27th. I also think rathan will come back sooner rather than later.
From Rico’s RoughNecks (@TheFin22):
From a betting perspective, AZ’s total team is predicted at 20.5. Are you under/over? I’m leaning because of Murray’s dual-threat ability, Sieler out of the game, and MIA’s improvement in scoring.
Hey Rico, while I understand that everything I say here will be for entertainment purposes only, I didn’t have Arizona reaching 20 points in my final score prediction in my comprehensive game review.
From FinFan Flop (@71jeffpre):
What are the reasonable expectations for the offense now that Tua is back — assuming the injuries to Reek and Waddle aren’t significant? Love your work, keep it up!
That’s a great question. If we look at Tua’s history, the two times he came back after missing a few games, he was a little bit in Jacksonville’s game in London in 2021 and he was a lot in Sunday night’s game against Pittsburgh in 2022. That said, it’s not a great Arizona defense and I expect Mike McDaniel to try to get Tua back into rhythm sooner rather than later. We know the offense will be better than it was with the bench players, and we have to be confident it will be better than what we saw against Jacksonville and Buffalo earlier in the season, but how much better, I’m not sure . And that answer holds the key to the season.
From Bubba (@bubbakeez):
If we lose on Sunday, what would Allen do if he was Steve Ross on Monday? Money and contract aside, what changes would you make, or would you make any changes?
Hey Bubba, I get the point, but I don’t expect big changes no matter what happens and it’s hard for me to put myself in Steve Ross’ shoes because I wouldn’t have made some of the decisions he made in the offseason (extensions Tua, Tyreek , McDaniel). The only thing I would consider is maybe seeing if I can build up some mid-round draft picks (5th round, say) for players who may not be in the 2025 plans, like maybe Jeff Wilson Jr. or even Emmanuel Ogba.