Every Friday this season is your chance to participate in the discussion of this year's team both on Drive Time with Travis Wingfield and here in our weekly mailbag.
Each Wednesday, I will put out the call for questions on Twitter (@WingfieldNFL) and answer a handful of them both on the podcast and here on MiamiDolphins.com.
Let's kick it off ahead of Sunday's home opener against the Buffalo Bills.
Q: From @KyleTheCommish -- A lot of teams have a "go make a play" guy when they need it the most and they get them the ball no matter what. Who do you think is (or will/can be) that guy in our offense?
A: He has a long way to go with just one game under his belt, but Jaylen Waddle has looked the part to this point. Hearing only five names before his on draft night tells you what the Dolphins and the league think about his potential, and that potential expands beyond the speed. Waddle is a terrific route runner and has shown early on a propensity for making the contested catch. All of those traits combine to make a target that pass defenses have to account for on every down.
Q: From @305Dolphan -- What do you expect for the next game vs Bills?
A: A competitive contest in a fired-up atmosphere. Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen is coming off a video-game season from a statistical standpoint, and the Dolphins will have their work cut out for them at Hard Rock Stadium. Some of the additions made this offseason could help take the Miami defense to the next level after finishing first in takeaways and third-down defense in 2020. The Bills are loaded at the skill spots and will provide a tremendous challenge for a talented and deep Dolphins secondary.
Q: From @Jason_Sarney -- The defense has a ball-hawking tendency, as proved Sunday. Would you say this is more talent? Coaching? Or a mixture of both?
A: A mixture of both, without question. The Dolphins drill fundamentals every day, over and over. One of these drills is the opening tackling and turnover circuit immediately after the initial stretching portion of practice, and it's not exclusive to one position group. Each group rotates from drill-to-drill to focus on catching, scooping and stripping the football. Leading the league in takeaways in 2020 was no accident and it's done through a combination of talent, training, and schematics, and so far it has carried over to 2021.
If you didn't see your question here, listen to the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield where John Congemi and myself get your questions every Friday.
To submit questions, keep an eye on the @WingfieldNFL Twitter handle each Wednesday when the mailbag thread goes up.
