What's on the minds of Dolphins fans ahead of the Week 8 matchup against the New England Patriots:

From Mark Lever:

I know we have players on the trade block? My question is would we trade for anyone or is that out of the realm a possibility?

Hey Mark, everything is within the realm of possibility, but the Dolphins aren’t making any moves for 2026, so it would take a specific kind of player becoming available to them to acquire somebody via trade. And it would have to come at the right price. It would need to fall within the parameters of what they’re doing claiming players off waivers left and right because this is a no-cost way of getting more young players to evaluate in the hope of finding that one guy who can help in 2027 and beyond. Brian Thomas Jr., for example, could be intriguing if the Jacksonville Jaguars are intent on trading him, but the Dolphins aren’t paying a big price for anybody.

From Jon Russell:

Hey Alain, to keep believing you can win with a roster like the Fins requires good leadership. Hafley may be coach, but who are the leaders on the field? I see more on defense than offense. Who needs to be the voice on offense? Surely Malik, but who else?

Hey Jon, first, I don’t think the Dolphins believe they can win big with their current roster, but I do think they feel they have the start of a good foundation. To answer your question, Aaron Brewer absolutely is a leader on offense besides Malik Willis and he’s the one who really stands out. The other team captains on offense this year were De’Von Achane and Patrick Paul and they do have leadership capabilities, though I would not say not on the same level as Brewer.

THE DRAKE MAYE MATCHUP

From Bamboo Turkey:

Regardless of us winning or losing the game who wins the battle, JRod or Maye?

Hmm, interesting question because I’m not exactly sure how one would go about judging a quarterback against a linebacker, but if you’re asking who figures to have the better game between Jacob Rodriguez and Drake Maye, I think it would be delusional or fan-like to go with Rodriguez in this one.

From JROD’S THE TRUTH:

We’ve seen some big trades already that were not even on anyone’s radar in the NFL. Heard a lot about trading players who won’t bring much in return to the Dolphins. You’re the GM of the Dolphins. You’re sitting down in your office for your morning coffee and you hear a knock on the door. It’s your personal assistant. She says, Mr Poupart, I have GM X on the line. They said they want to talk to you about 1st round pick and Patrick Paul. What happens next?

Hey Dana, I tell my assistant to please put the GM through, have another sip of my delicious Tim Horton’s coffee, get on the phone, and simply ask what that GM has in mind. And that applies not only to Patrick Paul, but to every player on the roster. Now, if the question boils down to whether I would take a first-round pick straight up for Paul, that’s a little more difficult because I think Paul can be a fixture at left tackle for the next decade but also know he’s going to want a big extension sooner rather than later. I honestly don’t think Paul would fetch a first-round pick in a trade, and it would be difficult to turn down, but there’s also something to be said for keeping your valuable players.

THE (JAYLEN) WRIGHT ANSWER

From Jason Kirkland:

Hi Alain, It seems that Wright is met in the backfield at a higher rate than Achane over the last couple seasons and OG II this season. Could it be that there's a high percentage of the time Wright is in the game, he gets the handoff? Have you noticed the same?

Yeah, it did appear to me that way, and then I looked at analytics from this year and they certainly bear that out. Achane had carries on 35 percent (34 of 97) of his offensive snaps before he was injured against Kansas City, Gordon is at 36.9 percent (72 of 195) and Wright is at a whopping 55.6 percent (20 of 36). And the yards before contact at for Wright, compared to 2.4 for Achane and 2.8 for Gordon. The last numbers are according to Pro Football Reference. Now, the YBC isn’t all on the offensive line because there’s something to be said for the back doing his part.

From Dave Campbell:

Greetings Alain! I think my favorite play Sunday was when Dolphins were fourth-and-goal and Ollie Gordon II dived over the pile a la Sammie Smith style and he had the heads up not to stretch the ball over the goal line. Heads up play IMO. I believe Patriots game will be a tougher test for Caleb Douglas. Christian Gonzalez will probably be draped over him like a wet blanket, don't you think? Could be a huge test for that secondary, can't have those communication issues back there. When & who is the last time the Dolphins have effectively covered a TE!? Teams will continue to use that. I'll probably miss next couple podcasts, have a surgery this week (4th in 4yrs). Any prayers, positive thoughts or vibes or a shout-out greatly appreciated. When I get coherent enough, looking forward to both All Dolphins & Dolphins Collective plus all the great written content on Miami Dolphins on SI.Com. 

Hey Dave, first off, absolutely sending you positive vibes from Miramar and will be giving you a shout-out on the very next All Dolphins Podcast. Sure you’ll be back to your old self in a jiffy. Yes, I would think there’s a better than 50-50 chance the Patriots sic Christian Gonzalez on Caleb Douglas after what he did last week against the Jets. In terms of covering tight ends, let me see … the last time the Dolphins didn’t give up big yardage or touchdowns to tight ends was the 2025 season finale against these very same Patriots when Hunter Henry had a modest five catches for 56 yards.

From Thomas Hudson:

I have a bit of a beef on one comment that has shown up a number of times. I have seen it written repeatedly that the Dolphins ST issues are mostly on the players because they are not very good. The comment goes something like ST players come from the bottom of the roster, and Miami's just is not good, as evidenced by the amount of turnover there. I believe that narrative is somewhat incorrect. While there are always some outliers, the bottom 8-10 guys on most rosters are probably pretty much interchangeable. What is hurting the ST is not the quality of the players, it is the roster churn. If the Dolphins had been running the same 11 guys out there on ST every game, they would be a lot better now. But they are constantly working in new guys, which means players are not getting the chance to learn from their mistakes and get better, and they are not getting as much experience as they should working as a unit. I get why the Dolphins are churning the bottom of their roster, though I do question how effective it is. But can we please stop pretending that the churn itself is not part of the problem? It can't be helping that the first ST meeting every week is a meet and greet.

Hey Thomas, it’s an interesting point you make, but I don’t think kick coverage is as coordinated an effort as, say, the offensive line. There are very specific assignments in kick coverage that don’t depend on anybody else on the field and if one player either misses an assignment or gets blocked out of the way, it’s not better familiarity that’s going to make up for that mistake.