Sometimes a punch in the mouth is good.
That way, you know what to expect. You know how hard the opponent hits. And, arguably most important, you can figure out what to do next.
The Miami Dolphins certainly took a haymaker to the face on Wednesday courtesy of the Detroit Lions. Luckily, they regrouped and responded accordingly on Thursday.
“It was very important,” Dolphins center Aaron Brewer said Thursday of the team’s ability to bounce back. “It’s just the the name of the game. You have your good days, you have your bad days. And once you have your bad days, you flush it and come back better.”
Offensively, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa looked sharp to start practice — even without star receiver Tyreek Hill. Tagovailoa consistently connected with wide receivers Jaylen Waddle, who dominated during red zone 7-on-7 drills, and Malik Washington, who caught a hitch then shook off a defender to run for a touchdown during team drills. Receiver Dee Eskridge even made a big play over Lions cornerback D.J. Reed for 20-yard touchdown during 11-on-11 that elicited shrieks of glee from Dolphins players as they rushed over to celebrate while a hush fell over the crowd.
“I think we were all sitting on the sideline waiting for a play to be made,” Washington said. “We counted on our guy and he made a play and came through for us right there.”
Added Brewer: “That s*** had me juiced. Can’t even lie. That s*** had me turnt.”
Defensively, there was more of a fight – especially at the end of practice.
Yes, Lions receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams certainly made their fair share of plays. Yes, the Dolphins pass rush was unable to get home for most practice without defensive tackle Zach Sieler and edge rusher Jaelan Phillips. Yes, Lions tailbacks David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs had at least one big run a piece.
But when the two sides lined up during the situational period at the end of practice, the Dolphins defense clamped up.
The scene: the Lions started at the 50-yard line with one minute left. Over the next nine plays, the Dolphins recorded a sack courtesy of safety Minkah Fitzpatrick as well as two pass breakups, one from cornerback Storm Duck and the second from safety Ifeatu Melifonwu. Not only did Melifonwu’s deflection effectively end the Lions’ drive, it was a bit of revenge for the fifth-year safety who started his career in Detroit.
“It felt good but I should’ve picked it though,” Melifonwu said. “I’m more mad that I didn’t pick it.”
As much as observers want to overreact to the results of joint practice, what certainly became a bit clearer was the Dolphins’ character. The team had every reason to lay down after a dud of a performance on Wednesday — especially with no Sieler on Thursday. What Wednesday’s tape revealed, however, were a bunch of self-inflicted wounds.
“It wasn’t that bad,” edge rusher Bradley Chubb said of the tape, later adding that “we know that wasn’t us. It’s just about correcting it, learning from it, correcting it and not letting it happen again.”
As Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said, Wednesday’s joint practice is exactly why you practice against a team of the Lions’ caliber. It can simulateously show how far you have to go and how far you came. And while it certainly wasn’t the best showing, the Dolphins did look better on Thursday in large part due to the team’s “short-term memory,” according to Brewer.
“It shows what we’re made of and how we deal with adversity,” Brewer said. “That’s when you see who your team is — when you have adversity and how you respond to it.”