RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesIn just one week, the Miami Dolphins will have a joint practice with the Washington Commanders leading into their August 14th preseason game. On Friday, Jeff Hafley addressed South Florida reporters and said the day's session would be “a hard practice .”
Before the team hit the field, he previewed the agenda by saying, “Today's going to be a lot of unscripted, move the ball, see where it lands, coaches call it, players respond without having the script because sometimes when you go into practice, the offensive or defensive coaches can hand them the script.”
With the team practicing on Saturday within Hard Rock Stadium, Hafley added, “Today is going to be a long, hard practice, and I'm looking forward to see how they respond to that. And then it will be fun to get into the stadium. Really it will be my first time in there in really any mode on the field, so I'm excited for that.”
After over a week’s worth of evaluation, Hafley gave his assessment of the team so far. He told media, “There's a lot of aspects I'm really happy with, and I am very satisfied with, and there's others where we have a ways to go, if I'm going to be honest with you. I think the buy-in, the attitude, the effort, the strain, the how hard they're trying to do all the little things that we ask to do.”
Added Hafley, “Guys are showing up on time. They're where they're supposed to be. I think they're connecting. I think we're building the foundation as far as our culture goes and what it wants to be, but we've got work to do. We've got work to do as coaches. We've got work to do as players: scheme details, consistency. Just like everyone else around the league, there are injuries where you're trying to find out your depth.”
He then said, “So I think there's some things, yeah, like there's some nights I go to bed, and I'm like really proud of where we're at and how hard we're working. And then you wake up, and you're like, okay, we got a long way to go. So it's kind of a balance.”
The rookie head coach also discussed the progress of edge rusher Chop Robinson and was asked about his growth and expanding his game beyond just the pass-rushing element.
Hafley answered, “Confidence. He's starting to believe in himself, and I think his teammates are starting to believe in him, and I think that's huge for all of our players. He’s been more aggressive. You can tell he's having fun with it and he's playing faster. He's playing more physical, and he's playing more aggressively, and he's taking steps every day to become a complete player.”
He added, “I think it's important to see he continues to do that and has consistency. The Washington practice, I think those will be key for him. But I think it's confidence and I just respect the way he's gone about his business.”
Another important aspect of the last few days was the progress of rookie wide receiver Chris Bell. Working hard to return from a 2025 ACL injury, Bell appears to be closing in on a full return, and Hafley gave his thoughts and update.
Hafley told the media, “Yeah, I'm sure you guys saw him running yesterday, right? Chris is progressing nicely. You saw him run yesterday. I mean, he's accelerating. He's decelerating. He's able to cut. I think that's a credit to Chris how hard he's worked. I think it's a credit to Kyle (Johnston), our training staff. I think it's a credit to Todd (Hunt), our strength staff.”
Exhibiting caution, Hafley then went on to say, “We want to be certain that he is ready so he does not have setbacks early in his career. Is it going to be day-to-day? No. Do I think it's going to be long term? No. Does that answer the question exactly how you want it? No.
Showing a bit of gamesmanship, he then threw in, “He looks good though, doesn't he? You can say yes.”
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Jeff Hafley evaluates two key pieces of Dolphins future early in camp
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