It's the end of the week and that means it's time to answer your questions! The Dolphins are back home 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: @EliteTua - Can the Dolphins turn things around and make this season into some sort of success?
A: Absolutely! The football season is fluid on a week-to-week basis. History is by no means a guarantee of future results, but we see teams pick it up late in the season all the time, just look at the last few Dolphins teams. Even this week's opponent, the Atlanta Falcons, have turned around what looked to be disastrous campaigns more often than not the last few years (slow starts, strong finishes).
Right now, I think the standings should be the furthest thing from anyone's mind and just focus on improvement and development. There are still a lot of very young players on this team who stand a chance to be part of the Dolphins core going forward and every game is an opportunity for players to carve out their spot.
Q: @SomeDolphins - Why are a considerable amount of people not willing to give Tua a shot? Most Quarterbacks get like 3 seasons, Tua has played less than 1 and some people want to run him out with torches and pitchforks.
A: Unfortunately, it's the microwave society we live in. Our world is one of instant gratification now and we often expect the same of success, lacking the patience required for growth and development. This is true in many facets of life, but especially so in the win-now, "not for long" nature of the NFL. That microwave society equates to a lot of opinions that teams have to have answers on players within the first few games they played, and if that were the case, the Dolphins never would've seen Mike Gesicki, Xavien Howard, Nik Needham, DeVante Parker, and so many others realize their full potential well beyond that rookie season.
A lot of respected analysts have praised Tagovailoa's traits and performances, including the most important voice on the matter, Brian Flores, who had this to say of Tua's latest showing:
"I thought he played very well last week, Flores said. "I thought he was out for a few games and he came back and played I thought very well last week. I think his psyche is in a good place. He's a confident kid. He's a tough kid. And really, he's played in two games this year so he should have a lot of confidence in the way he's played. We have a lot of confidence in him because of the way he's played and we just – our focus is on Atlanta and trying for him to play well again and our team to play well again."
Q: @GhostOfAdamGase - Will we see Robert Jones start a game by the end of the season
A: I personally thought Robert Jones showed among the most progress of any player from Day 1 of camp through the end of the preseason. He was spoken highly of when I interviewed various draft experts after the dust had settled and Miami's entire class was signed, sealed and delivered. I think the continuity over the last two weeks of the season has helped the Miami line put forth some of their best performances, but in a league of attrition, you always need to have guys ready and I think Robert Jones would be ready for that opportunity when it comes calling.
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.
