Miami Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks acknowledges what many around the league think of first when you talk about the Miami Dolphins: speed.
And who could blame them? With an offense featuring players like Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Mostert, and De'Von Achane, Miami put up video game numbers last year, including a 70-point mark against Denver in September.
However, there's also a perception that the Dolphins aren't a particularly physical or tough team. More of a finesse team. And that's something that Brooks, who signed with the Dolphins on a three-year deal back in March, says the team is working to change that perception on in 2024.
“Just be physical, just be physical," Brooks said. "I think a lot of that is just because of how much attention Tyreek Hill draws on the national stage, the speed and everyone pays attention to that, which they should cause it’s that good, but the defense kind of gets overlooked in that way. I think that’s everybody’s mentality coming in. New guys like myself pride ourselves on being physical, and I think of any great defense, you have to be physical. We want to be feared and so right now, we’re in the process of doing that. Not everyday is going to be perfect, but that’s why we got the pads on working in the heat and just emphasizing it day after day until we get to the point where we feel like we’re the bullies on the team.”
Brooks uses the word "bullies", and that's something that one of the biggest names on the team - CB Jalen Ramsey has been working to instill among his fellow defenders. According to Brooks, Ramsey talked about taking the fight to opposing offenses and being bullies.
“Well Jalen Ramsey just talked about it for about ten minutes after practice – a long time. I think there’s just a mentality. You have to have that mentality on defense, because we are reacting to what the offense wants to do which really makes it harder in my opinion, to play defense because they know exactly what they want to run already. We got the call, we can have some awareness of what they might run, but you don’t know for sure, so you’re always on your heels. So if we can be the initiators, we can be the bullies, I think that makes you a dominant defense to where you’re proactive rather than reactive.”
As far as what exactly Ramsey said, Brooks was leaving that among his fellow teammates.
“Yeah, I’ll just leave it at that. Just a lot of things the team needed to hear, but that was one of the biggest things, just being a bully on defense.”
The Dolphins seemed to get physically handled by the better offensive lines they faced last year. They were simply less physical against Philadelphia, Baltimore, Buffalo (both times), and Kansas City (both times). That's got to change if Miami is going to become a better defense under Anthony Weaver in 2024.
Fortunately, it sounds like the Dolphins' players recognize the issue and are already taking it upon themselves to show they're a different unit this season.
