It's the end of the week and that means it's time to answer your questions! The Dolphins have arrived across the pond 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). We also answer a handful of your questions on the Friday edition of Drive Time with Travis Wingfield, your daily podcast on the Miami Dolphins podcast network
Q: @finatic1972 - How confident are you we can turn it around and start stacking W's beginning Sunday in London? I believe we can.
A: I'm personally very confident in the people in the building. Things obviously have not started the way anyone hoped, and the errors I've seen on the tape are correctable. Despite the score not reflecting it, Miami were far more disciplined in critical areas with regards to mental errors Sunday in Tampa Bay.
Next, there needs to be improvement across the board in other fundamental areas -- dropped passes, missed cuts by the backs, missed throws, blown assignments in blocking and in coverage. During media availabilities this week, a handful of players discusses staying true to their individual job and not try to do too much, like jumping a gap in run defense for example. This is a talented team with good coaches. They can certainly turn it around, but the key is a one-game-at-a-time approach.
Q: @stu_rim - What is the most important thing to look for from Tua these next few weeks. Aggressiveness and big throws? Pocket presence/quick feet. Decision making at LOS? We all want to believe, and seen those flashes. But what would give you the most confidence that he is/can be the guy.
A: I know the preseason and training camp are not automatic indicators of success, but I thought the things we saw all summer were positive signs that he would in fact be able to make that Year 2 jump. The ball was coming out quickly. He was getting through his progressions and spreading the ball around despite missing a handful of his key receivers. The accuracy to allow guys like Jaylen Waddle and Albert Wilson to make big plays after the catch -- all of this was on display.
Also, his ability to mitigate issues around him and elevate the team is one thing you like to see from all quarterbacks. Again, it's just exhibition, but Tua had a lot of success in the same offense over the course of the preseason and in spurts of that season opener in New England. If he can assist in turning around the offensive production, I think that would say a lot about his value to the club.
Q: @alexbrewtiful - What's changed on Defense this year to cause such a drastic drop in performance? Except for perhaps the loss of Kyle Van Noy we've retained a lot of talent and perhaps even got better players in specific positions.
A: I wish I could tell you it were one thing, Alex, but it's a collection of missteps. First, there have been too many instances of missed fits in the run game, zone coverages where defenders aren't covering a man but rather spaced of grass, and the disguises haven't been good enough to fool some of the quarterbacks Miami have faced. Which brings us to the next point: Tom Brady, Josh Allen and Derek Carr are playing among the top five or six quarterbacks in the league. We've seen Mac Jones have a solid start to his rookie year and Carson Wentz gets better every week -- those guys have all made plays.
Finally, the time of possession has to improve -- they've been on the field way too long. It's all about complementary football and the offense and special teams could help the defense out in addition to the stop unit correcting their own errors.
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 Thursday when the mailbag thread goes up.
