What Dolphins Head Coach Jeff Hafley Wants to Accomplish Against Giants

The Miami Dolphins are getting through their second week of the preseason. They are on a similar schedule to the one they had in their first week with a walk-through Wednesday before facing off against the New York Giants in a joint practice session. That will lead into their second preseason game Saturday afternoon.

Joint practices are the preferred way for some NFL teams to get their starting lineup some work against opposing starters. Some teams don’t play their starters in the preseason at all. The Dolphins were not one of those teams, as they’re looking to build on a masterful 14-play drive with Malik Willis in the opener.

This week’s practice comes against a team who is a trendy pick to make a run at the postseason under new head coach John Harbaugh.

Here are the things to watch for.

Cooler Heads Prevail

One of the biggest concerns in any camp when a team opens up their camp to another team is the fights that can ensue. Just this week, we’ve seen the New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys resembled more of a boxing match than a football practice at times. Head coach Jeff Hafley talked about his concerns about spending too much time around another team in the offseason, and that’s why the team only has one practice scheduled against the Giants.

“Yeah I mean, you're just inviting trouble," Hafley said. "What I've experienced on the second practice, which is what we used to do, whatever team gets the best of the team day one, the other team comes out and tries to overdo it and usually stuff just gets bad and you have a higher chance for injury. I mean, a fight's a fight; if it happens, you quit it up, it shouldn't happen in joint practice. You're just worried about going too far and anybody getting injured. Our job is to protect the team and protect the players."

With strong personalities like Harbaugh and Hafley on the field, the hope should be that cooler heads will prevail throughout practice so the teams can remain productive.

Chop Chop

One of the stars of training camp has been former first round pick Chop Robinson. Robinson added some weight to his frame in the offseason and is looking to maximize his production in Jeff Hafley’s scheme.

This week, he’ll get a chance to face off against one of the better offensive tackles in the sport when he is lined up across from Giants offensive tackle Andrew Thomas.

Thomas would be a good test for Robinson because of what he missed out on a week ago. When the Dolphins took on the Commanders, Laremy Tunsil was out of the lineup. Ultimately, a player like Robinson is going to have his reps weighted higher against the best offensive linemen on the opposing team. As a result, that’s something worth monitoring if Robinson and Thomas lock horns.

Dolphins OL vs Giants DL

The Dolphins have put a high amount of investment in their offensive line. Kadyn Proctor was the first pick of the Jon-Eric Sullivan regime. Everyone else on the roster has either been a premium draft choice, or given a premium contract extension.

The Giants are in a similar spot on the defensive line despite trading Dexter Lawrence away in the offseason. On the interior, they have respected veterans DJ Reader and Shelby Harris who can provide stout presences against the run.

When it’s time to rush the passer, they have a three-headed monster of Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Abdul Carter.

This matchup will be a good test for the offensive line, in addition to the quarterback being able to get the ball out on time within the design of the offense.

No Schemes

One of the benefits of joint practice sessions are that they are not televised, so coaches feel a little safer to run their schemes against another opponent.

Unless you ask Jeff Hafley. The goal for him is to have his players focus on fundamentals, while seeing where his guys can get better.

“Yeah, I'm not looking to see if we can outsmart a coaching staff in a preseason practice,” Hafley said. “I mean, I don't think that gets our players any better. Like I said, just imagine I spent all this time the next two nights trying to draw up a blitz and getting a free runner off the edge. What does that tell us about our players? That they can run off the edge in a period where you're not even going to sack the quarterback and it looks cool? Like that's not important to me. What's important is building the foundation the right way. I want to see who can go up against their really good edge rushers and block them one on one, right? Is there times in a game when we're going to go on a joint practice, if there's an elite pass rusher, are we going to chip that guy and double that guy and slide to that guy? Absolutely. But can we block him one on one? It's practice.”

Identity Building

The Dolphins are in the midst of a rebuild. That’s not news to anyone who is paying attention to the team. They’re trying to establish themselves with a first year head coach and quarterback. That mission has extended into everything they do. That includes practice sessions against other teams in camp.

“This year in these joint practices, it's trying to figure out who we are, what we have, get our players better, get them more confident, push them to compete rather than try to out scheme, confuse and beat the New York Giants in a football practice,” Hafley said. “That would be more ego and that would be a selfish move on my part than it would be about our team and trying to get them better, if that makes sense. And I guess I'm pretty passionate about that, because I feel the same way in preseason games. It's let these guys go play as fast as they can, as hard as they can, and who can get off a block and whose eyes are in the right spot, and who can set an edge and who can do all the little things that really matter in our game when things get hard. And then I think when you get into the season, then it is our job to get our guys in the best positions and protect weaknesses and emphasize strengths and game plan. I personally don't believe that's our time in practice, I want to get our players better.? Can we cover an elite wide receiver one on one and use good fundamentals.”

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