The Dolphins passed their first test under coach Jeff Hafley last week at Washington — they were physical in Wednesday’s joint practice against the Commanders and they stayed that way in Friday’s preseason opener, especially in the trenches. “I was really proud of how hard and physical we played,” Hafley said. Although Friday’s game ended with the Dolphins losing to the Commanders 20-7, Hafley saw a victory in his team’s physicality, a non-negotiable characteristic for players during the regime of Hafley and general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan. “It was awesome,” Hafley said. “The one thing I am so proud of is even starting in the practice, our run defense, it was physical. I thought that our (starters) vs. their (starters), they had a tough time running the ball and our run defense showed up.” The physicality continued into the game, especially offensively. Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis and the starting offense drove 93 yards in 14 plays for a touchdown, using 7:03 off the clock in their only possession. They rushed for 48 yards on nine carries (5.3 yards per carry), had no penalties, no plays for negative yardage and were 2 for 2 on third downs. Yes, they played largely against Washington’s second-team defense but that’s OK. The Dolphins ran a clean operation, which is also a big hurdle to clear in the opener. More specifically when it comes to being physical, it showed up in the trenches. Right guard Jonah Savaiinaea seemed confident and forceful as he returned to his college position, where he’s more comfortable. Left guard Kadyn Proctor, the No. 12 pick of the draft, pulled on a third-and-short and a first-and-goal and appeared agile and athletic, just as he has throughout training camp. “I’ve got to give it up for Jonah,” Hafley said. “I thought Jonah took a step. He was physical. I showed some clips in front of the entire team (Saturday) morning of him just coming off the ball and driving people back, knocking guys on the ground. “And same thing for Proctor. There were a couple where you know in some of the gap scheme plays where the whole side of the line was caved down.” Hafley also mentioned tight ends Greg Dulcich and Will Kacmarek along with left tackle Patrick Paul. “I thought Dulcich was a guy who showed up physically…Will Kacmarek had some plays where he was just driving people back,” Hafley said. “Pat Paul on one just stayed on a guy down the field.” Hafley also expressed happiness with the defense for its physicality. “Was it pretty all the time? No,” he began, “but for where we are in camp, if we can continue to build on the play style with the (defensive backs) getting off blocks and running to the ball, the safeties were throwing it in there, (rookie safety Michael) Taaffe was throwing it in there. (Safety) Zayne (Anderson) had a big hit, (safety) Lonnie (Johnson Jr.) had a couple, (safety) Major Burns I thought tackled really well. We had a couple hits on the quarterback. The physicality is, it’s getting closer to what I want, it just needs to be, can we do it when we get tired? Can we do it later in camp again? Can we do it when we get tired? Can we do it in the second preseason game?” Going back to Wednesday’s practice, which didn’t feature tackling, Hafley cited edge rusher Chop Robinson among others as being physical. “The interior guys, they were squeezing,” Hafley said. “We were setting edges, Chop was violent. I thought the linebackers did a good job. I thought the safeties showed up.” The Dolphins starting defense was also OK in the game Friday, holding Washington, which didn’t start quarterback Jayden Daniels, to a six-play, 27-yard drive that resulted in a punt. Washington also played a mostly second-team offense but it was good for the Dolphins’ starters to force a punt. Related Articles
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The problems for the Dolphins came after the starters left the game. Miami’s reserves showed lots of opening-night jitters as they gave a penalty-laden, error-prone effort that allowed the Commanders a 17-point second quarter. Washington rushed for 108 yards on 16 carries in the second quarter, led by running backs Jaytron Allen (eight carries, 36 yards) and Robert Henry (six carries, 57 yards). The Commanders ran 30 plays in the quarter and gained 180 yards, going 4 for 6 on third downs. “While there were mistakes, and we have got to be more detailed and we got to clean up some of the penalties,” Hafley said, “we played physical from the start to the end.”