The second leg of an 11-day road trip for the Miami Dolphins began Wednesday with the first of two joint practices against the Detroit Lions.
Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell is famous for many things, perhaps nothing more than his famed "biting kneecaps" introductory press conference. Since, Campbell has built one of the best programs in the NFL with a focus on physicality and toughness. Ben Johnson, the Bears head coach, worked under Campbell for four years. He hopes to bring that same mindset to Chicago.
For the Dolphins, scheduling practices against two teams cut from the same cloth was by design.
"It was very intentional to bring our organization to Detroit and practice against this team based on the football that they like to play," Head Coach Mike McDaniel said. I think they don't take practice for granted. I love Dan Campbell and his approach. It's very authentic. I'm expecting people that have intensity to come to practice and challenge the opposing team who will have intensity."
The Dolphins matched that physicality, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive tackle Zach Sieler and outside linebackers Bradley Chubb and Quinton Bell all sacked Lions quarterback Jared Goff in the final period of practice. Finally, cornerback Ethan Bonner finished off the series forcing an incompletion to Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams. Bonner pinned Williams to the sideline taking him out of bounds before the ball arrived.
Another Lions wide receiver, Amon Ra St. Brown, hauled in several passes from Goff. He had a monster day, but the Lions struggled to find much else, especially in the red zone.
Rookie defensive tackle Kenneth Grant picked up a sack. He also teamed up with Sieler and fellow defensive tackle Benito Jones to shutdown numerous Lions goal line runs. Linebacker Jordyn Brooks was all over the field. His big camp continued with more pass breakups and tackles in the run game.
The Miami run game found footing on outside runs, particularly with running back De'Von Achane.
"It's a lot of fun," offensive tackle Patrick Paul said. "That's what I describe it as. I love this game and I love everything that it brings. So just going out there and competing against different teams, the traveling, exploring. All of it is fun."
The aerial attack did not have the same success.
The bread and butter of the Lions' DNA is their aggression, often sending the kitchen sink at the opposing quarterback. The Dolphins didn't have wide receivers Tyreek Hill nor Jaylen Waddle for most of practice (Waddle did catch a touchdown, but was limited in his rep count), and the passing game struggled.
"Today offensively was a very frustrating day in regards to what we wanted to do, what we said we wanted to do," quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said. "Came out and we just weren't able to get things jumpstarted, so that was very frustrating today."
"I think you've got to face it head-on," he continued. "Any of these challenges, any of these hardships that you go through as a team collectively, you've got to look at it head-on, you've got to face it, you've got to look at it for what it is. You've got to learn from it."
The Dolphins and Lions will again tee it up tomorrow. Friday is an off day ahead of the second preseason game, which will kick off at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Ford Field.
For more coverage from Dolphins camp, download the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield, available wherever you get your podcasts.
