The Dolphins wrapped up mandatory minicamp on Thursday with a competitive practice. As the team continues to establish a new standard and develop chemistry this time of year, results take a back seat to the process.
With a new coaching staff and roster turnover, the growth over the three-day camp was evident. The timing between quarterbacks and receivers was sharper and the communication on the defense was better, but one thing remained at the forefront of Head Coach Jeff Hafley’s mind – his team’s effort.
“I watch effort when I watch the film on every single play,” Hafley said Thursday. “I meet with the team every morning and I go through probably 30 to 40 clips on both sides of the ball, and I talk about ball security. I talk about taking the ball away. I talk about fundamentals and technique. I pull out plays on both sides of the ball, and I show good execution, poor execution, why it happened.”
These core tenets are evident early in practice. The Dolphins spend a significant portion of their time on the grass drilling individual technique and fundamentals, and practicing alignment, ball security and putting hands on footballs for the defense.
This approach has helped the game slow down throughout the offseason program, especially for the passing game. NFL defenses have recently put a focus on eliminating the deep ball, and it’s brought offensive numbers down. Scoring, yardage totals and the number of possessions have decreased over the last couple of years in the NFL as defenses are forcing quarterbacks to play smart football and take what’s there.
“Staying disciplined is one of the hardest things to do at that position, period, through the course of a season,” Offensive Coordinator Bobby Slowik said. “It’s hard to get over 70 percent completion. Like you have to be an extremely disciplined player and them being able to get a whole lot of reps at that, I think will wind up benefiting us.”
That discipline helped quarterbacks Malik Willis and Quinn Ewers throw a handful of touchdowns in Thursday’s red zone work. Wide receivers Malik Washington, Theo Wease, Jalen Tolbert and Terrace Marshall Jr. all scored while tight end Greg Dulcich found paydirt on a pass from Willis.
Rookie wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. polished off a strong week with several catches. He has shown a knack for uncovering early and being a dependable target for his quarterbacks. The same goes for fellow wideout Tutu Atwell, who plucked three more catches today during 11-on-11.
The defense had its plays as well. Safety Dante Trader Jr. broke up two passes while cornerbacks Jason Marshall Jr. and Chris Johnson both had breakups in the end zone.
Edge Chop Robinson had another sack – that’s at least one per day all week. He and defensive lineman Kenneth Grant forced Willis off the spot on one play and later hemmed the quarterback in after he tried to go off structure to kill the rep.
Off the field, the Dolphins officially signed the last two of the 13 players taken in this year’s draft, with first-round cornerback Chris Johnson and fifth-round tight end Seydou Traore putting pen to paper.
For more analysis on the day’s work, download the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield, available wherever you get your podcasts.
