Jordyn Brooks saw something he didn’t appreciate and confronted Tyrel Dodson about it while walking off the field.
The exchange that took place during Friday’s physical and feisty joint practice against the Chicago Bears got so heated that the Miami Dolphins’ two starting inside linebackers got into a shouting match that concluded with them exchanging punches.
That’s right, teammates were fighting each other during a practice, and this was from the unit that was actually performing well against the Bears.
Brooks and Dodson had to be separated by teammates, but after the dust up happened the team and linebackers carried on like nothing had taken place the rest of the practice.
Former Dolphins team captain Terron Armstead, who was in attendance at the joint practices, said on his “The Set” podcast that the exchange centered on Dodson not playing with the physicality Brooks was demanding from his unit.
And that’s just it, everything about Brooks’ play, practice, talk this season had made it clear that the Dolphins are his defense, which means he’s responsible for setting the tone for a defense that delivered a three-and-out on the starting unit’s one and only series in Sunday’s preseason game against the Bears.
It has been a challenge for this sixth-year veteran, who is soft-spoken by nature, but one that everyone involved with the team knows is necessary for the evolution of this team.
“It’s not easy to do,” Brooks said of his new challenge, becoming a more vocal leader. “You got to step out front and be consistent day in, and day out, [making sure] your actions follow behind your words, especially in the heat we have down there in Miami. It’s a challenge I embrace. I honor the role. Being an older guy in the locker room, a leader, whatever you want to call it, is something I embrace.”
There was a huge void when Armstead retired and Calais Campbell left the Dolphins to sign with the Arizona Cardinals this offseason.
Armstead and Campbell were some of the best leaders I’ve ever covered in professional sports. It can be argued that last year’s 8-9 team would have possibly fallen apart without their leadership and mentoring. They were the glue that held last year’s troubled team together.
One of coach Mike McDaniel’s biggest challenges has been to find new leaders who will create a healthy, improved culture for the Dolphins, one that holds players accountable to one another, and the team.
That was a major issue last year, which is why we saw a ridiculous exodus of veterans leaving the team this offseason, and that includes star cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
“I think it fits within the model of non-negotiable growth attainment,” McDaniel said. “I’m constantly talking about getting better at who you are, what you are and being a bigger component towards the team. Generally, that fits right within asking people to do things outside their comfort zone.”
That means the “silent leader,” the “leader by example,” players such as Brooks, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, defensive tackle Zach Sieler, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, pass rusher Bradley Chubb and offensive linemen Austin Jackson and Aaron Brewer have to do more.
They have to speak up.
“Challenging things, hard things, 100% of the time, has worked in the favor towards wins if you allow them,” McDaniel added. “This team has really embraced difficult things, which part of that is, as I’ve explained to them, being in positions of leadership. Heavy is the crown for the best players on the team.”
It’s about creating a standard of expectation, and ensuring that your teammates follow through on it. That journey starts with making sure you, yourself uphold those standards. And not sometimes, but all the time.
“We have a lot of young guys and they will go as we show them,” McDaniel said. “That I think is one of the reasons we have a chance to be a team that we want to be is because guys are recognizing that it is not OK to just be in neutral. You have to be pushing yourself because you’re either getting better or getting worse.
“This league rewards the improving player and coach and moves on from the resting pace player or the resting pace coach. That’s just the way it is.”
Originally drafted in the first round of the 2020 Draft by the Seattle Seahawks, Brooks has been a steady defensive producer.
And fortunately for him, he also had a great mentor in linebacker Bobby Wagner, one of the integral players of Seattle’s heralded Legion of Boom defense in the early 2010s.
According to Brooks, the two seasons he spent playing alongside Wagner were invaluable. He emulated his on-field play, and now he’s trying to replicate his leadership style.
“He wasn’t a guy who talked all the time, but he’s very consistent in how he showed up to work,” Brooks said. “I definitely took some of his leadership style as far as being the same guy every day.”
Now the Dolphins need Brooks to not only produce on the field, but be the player who speaks up, or puts his dukes up when needed.
“I just want to do the best that I can for the guys around me,” said Brooks, starting all 17 games last season, leading the team in tackles with 143, the third-highest total in Dolphins franchise history since 2005. “I want to do all I can do to help us win.”