It's the end of the week and that means it's time to answer your questions! The Dolphins are off this week, but the mailbag is not! And as we do weekly, we want to hear from you!
We'll dive into three questions posed on the weekly Twitter thread (can be found on the timeline of @WingfieldNFL).
Q: @DonKearnsJr - I watched the Giant game thru my binoculars in the west end zone…and it looked to me as though Tua is really looking off safeties, particularly in cover 2. Is this the case?
A: An astute observation from that distance! This was always an area of the game with which Tagovailoa has excelled, dating back to his time in college. There was a prime example of this picked up by our exceptional video team here back in OTA's where Tua hooked up with Jakeem Grant on a long ball after using his eyes to hold the safety and create a window.
More recently, both of the Dolphins touchdowns in the game you're talking about occurred after some manipulation by the Miami quarterback. On the Mack Hollins score, you'll see a pair of Giants defenders crash on the flat route of Jaylen Waddle creating a lane for the strike to Hollins.
Later, when Isaiah Ford sprinted parallel to the goal line for the front pylon, a Giants defender matched him step-for-step until Tagovailoa caused some hesitation with his eyes.
"The Giants actually covered it pretty well," Ford said. "Tua did an extremely good job of buying some time and deceiving the defense with his eyes a little bit and it gave me enough time to go back right at the front pylon. He threw a great ball and I was able to make the catch."
Q: @tonelantern - Some people in the "Twitter World" have suggested that Tua isn't Flores guy. Can you give any perspective of what you have seen either to confirm or deny that claim? Great job & when I went to the Carolina game it was near to hear your voice over the PA while I walked to my seat.
A: One of my favorite things about this Dolphins regime is the consistency in the things they do, and that includes limiting leaking internal information. I'm not sure who it would benefit for that type of detail to get outside of the walls here at Baptist Health Training Complex, but the simple fact of the matter is that there is a collaboration of front office, personnel and coaching staff that goes into the decisions the team ultimately agrees upon. If Brian Flores wasn't interested in acquiring a player, the Dolphins would look elsewhere.
Q: @TheGreatPhinsby - Trav!! Why isn't Mack Hollins the clear cut starter over Wilson yet? He's far more important to this offense, clutch player. I get the talent of Wilson though
A: It's all about opponent, game plan and the specific role of the given week. Sure, the Dolphins have players that are heavily involved in the plan each week, but you can see that both Wilson and Hollins have had fluctuating roles throughout the course of the season. And they're very different players -- Mack has the size and has proven to be a real threat in the red zone, where Albert can do so much from a horizontal stretch, pre-snap motion and even ball-carrier perspective. One factors heavily into the screen game while the other is a premier blocker. I think they both have important roles and they only extend Miami's ability to be flexible.
Q: @DejectedFolfan - Do you have any confidence that we'll see Will Fuller on the field again this season?
A: Will is working very hard to get back. I know we as fans can get a little bit agitated when guys miss time with injuries, but it's important to remember that it's 10 times harder on them. Imagine something out of your control taking away your ability to perform your greatest passion. If I couldn't write or podcast, I would be a lesser version of myself. If Will is able to play again this season, then yes, we will see him.
Q: @KarlYuBulletin - Do you think Gerrid Doaks will see any playing time this year?
A: Similar answer to the Fuller question above -- if Doaks gets his opportunity, he'll be ready for it and make the most of it. Coach Flores has touched on this at various points this season.
"I think Gerrid (Doaks) is doing a good job on the practice squad learning the game plan every week, he said. "He takes the approach that he's going to be out there and that's good. We want that for all our – everybody on the roster. When his opportunity presents itself, I think he'll be ready."
Q: @DolphinsCasual - Best storyline on The Office and why is it the Michael Scott Paper Company one?
A: We usually only answer the football questions here and save the irreverence for the podcast, but this is too good to ignore. I think the only thing that made me laugh harder than Michael crawling around the floor trying to collect contacts while avoiding Charles was when he had Andy wheel him into the conference room on the cheese cart.
That said, and I know I'm very much on an island here, I think Ryan is hilarious. His rise and fall, both in terms of employment and the level of respect of his peers, is a highly, highly underrated plot point. I know he's a generally bad person but the way B.J. Novak plays the character makes him so lovable -- to me, at least.
Q: @BGGuitartuition - Trav, my man.... Can a winning streak beard be shaved on the bye week? I'm assuming no and that we should respect the streak, but wife hates it.
A: If it helps your decision making at all, I took the beard off after the Ravens game. I also have a very staunch "no superstitions" approach that actually as me going out of my way to squash any idea of jinxes or things of that nature. And remember…I played baseball from the time I could walk up through college!
Q: @CF3_87 - Travis, what has the mood been like in the facility the past few weeks? I would love to hear just your thoughts, maybe on drive time, about how you have felt the atmosphere change
A: The guys know how to have fun. It's all ball all the time, but this is still a kid's game and I think there's a terrific balance between the two. I actually asked Christian Wilkins something very similar a few weeks ago (after the spitball incident).
"It's all business. It's always all business," he said. "It's always time to work but at the same time, I like to have fun when I work so I try to keep a good spirit, keep good energy around here and a lot of the guys have that same mindset too. It doesn't matter what we're doing, just try to find some fun in it. We're playing a kids game and we get to call it work. I'm always going to have fun playing this game."
To submit questions, keep an eye on the @WingfieldNFL Twitter handle each Thursday when the mailbag thread goes up.
