MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Very good start, Anthony Weaver.
The Miami Dolphins‘ new defensive coordinator had his group ready to go from the first snap of their Tuesday joint practice with the Atlanta Falcons — an early hint that the scheme change won’t lead to another slow start to the season for Miami’s defense.
Atlanta Falcons-Miami Dolphins Joint Practice Recap Aug. 6
The Dolphins’ defensive front was the more physical group in its trench matchup with the Falcons, and as a result, Atlanta running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier had little room to run.
The Falcons’ first eight plays in team drills totaled no more than eight yards, and things didn’t get much better for Robinson, Allgeier, Kirk Cousins, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts from there.
Among the top Dolphins defensive performers Tuesday:
- LB David Long Jr., who had a number of big run stops and strong plays in coverage (Long even had an interception in his hands, which he dropped)
- CB Jalen Ramsey, who broke up a pass thrown to Darnell Mooney
- EDGE Chop Robinson, who was repeatedly in the backfield during his first joint NFL practice
- DT Zach Sieler, who had a sack and also at least one pressure
- DT Teair Tart, who dropped Allgeier for a TFL, then later had a pressure on Cousins
“That’s what we’ve been working on every day,” said Dolphins defensive tackle Calaias Campbell. “This defense we’re in is built to stop the run and then creating pressure through different blitzes and different things. [Weaver] being a D-lineman, he lets us rush four a little bit so we can get a little more opportunity to hit the quarterback.”
Campbell added: “This defense is, I think, special. … Today, I feel like we did a really good job. You know, of course, they made some plays because, you know, they got playmakers on their squad. But overall, I feel like we just made it hard on them, we made it really hard on them.”
MORE: Simulate the NFL Season With PFN’s Playoff Predictor
That went for both the running and passing games.
On the day, the Dolphins did allow Cousins — who still doesn’t look super mobile nine months removed from Achilles surgery — to 17 completions on 25 attempts, but all but a handful were checkdowns.
Cousins had just one completion that traveled more than 15 yards in the air: A pretty 20-yarder across the middle to London, which led to the only scuffle of the day.
London apparently took issue with how Ethan Bonner was covering him and shoved the Dolphins DB after the play. That led to the benches being cleared, although the situation deescalated relatively quickly.
“I think we got a whole bunch of guys that are scrappy,” Campbell said. “There’s a narrative that I think we’re trying to change. We want to be tough guys, you know. That’s just part of it, you know, just going out there and showing that we aren’t going to take nothing. But overall though, it’s about the work.”
Dolphins Offense vs. Falcons Defense
The action on the other field practice wasn’t quite so lopsided, but the Dolphins’ first-team offense certainly had some good moments against the Falcons’ defense Tuesday.
The highlight? A 49-yard touchdown bomb from Tua Tagovailoa to Tyreek Hill, who got behind Mike Hughes for the score.
FREE: Subscribe to PFN’s NFL Newsletter
Hughes bounced back later in practice, intercepting Tagovailoa after his roll-out throw to River Cracraft was hurried. That was about the only ugly moment of the day involving Cracraft, who is solidifying his spot on the Dolphins’ 53-man roster.
The Dolphins’ offensive line wasn’t great Tuesday, particularly on the interior. The Dolphins should keep the heat on Liam Eichenberg, who begins the preseason as the team’s RG1 but is no sure bet to stay there.
Dolphins Injury Update
The status of wide receiver Jaylen Waddle is something to monitor with the preseason set to begin.
He missed his second straight practice with an undisclosed issue. Waddle, as you might remember, suffered a chest injury in last year’s joint practices with the Falcons that impacted him for weeks.
Other Dolphins not participating in Tuesday’s practice: WRs Braxton Berrios and Erik Ezukanma; RB Salvon Ahmed; LBs Anthony Walker Jr., Jordyn Brooks, and Mohamed Kamara; and safety Jordan Poyer.