The first game of the Jeff Hafley era is upon us. The head coach of the Miami Dolphins has spent the last seven months laying a foundation and establishing a culture for a team that lists six rookies as starters on the first depth chart of the season. Evaluation never stops in this league, and the Dolphins will learn about this young team each step along the way, but the mission remains the same each week: to win the football game.

Preparation, preparation, preparation

Sundays in the NFL are a test. A quiz that measures the level of preparation the individual and the team did throughout the work week. Players and coaches both talked about the work that goes into the product we all see on Sundays.

Hafley on preparing for a team with a new coach and quarterback: Week 1, 2 and 3, there's not a lot of tendencies, right?... it's a big challenge. I think early in the season, it's got to be about yourself and that's my message to the team. It's got to be about using our rules. It's got to be about the fundamentals and techniques that we've talked about all training camp because we don't know what it's going to look like."

Quarterback Malik Willis on his work week: "Go through a week of practice, and good or bad, make mistakes or successful every time, it doesn't matter. I think just getting those reps and being able to go through it on the field and in the walkthroughs and all those mental reps, I think that's what's important, just having that in your mind to continue to grow. When an opportunity comes and when you face that situation in the game, you have had it, you have a rep on it, you know what to do."

NFL debuts

The Dolphins have the youngest roster in the NFL and several rookies are expected to make their NFL debuts on Sunday in Las Vegas. Here's what the rookie are saying about realizing a lifelong dream:

Cornerback Chris Johnson on pre-game nerves: "I feel like that's a part of the game. Like I get butterflies before every game, and I feel like that's how I know I'm prepared to play. If I'm not nervous, I feel like I either haven't studied enough or I'm just not confident enough if I don't feel nervous."

Wide receiver Caleb Douglas on what he's most excited about: "Really just the opportunity. Being able to play as a rookie and being able to contribute as much as I can, it's going to be a good one out there."

Guard/Tackle Kaydn Proctor on pre-game emotions: "I feel like they'll be high. First NFL game, I know it, but like I said, just being where my feet are and once we get there, we'll see how it goes. I'll probably cry a little bit. We'll see."

A plan for Maxx

The Dolphins won't see All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers, who will miss Sunday with a knee injury, but they will see one of the NFL's best sack artists of the last seven years in defensive end Maxx Crosby.

Offensive Coordinator Bobby Slowik – "The guy's an unbelievable player. He just plays with his hair on fire. It's so fun to watch his film. I mean, it really is. He's everywhere… As a pass rusher, he's a very efficient pass rusher… And for us and how we have to approach him, like that has to be at the forefront of our mind. Everybody on the field, it doesn't matter what position you are, you need to know where 98 is at all times. And there's things that we have to help try to negate his effect on the game – the reality is when it's an elite player, you're only going to negate it so much. And then when he gets you, he gets you and we got to get back up and we got to go play the next play. But we got to limit the amount of times that he's affecting the game."

Center Aaron Brewer – "You have to acknowledge a great player when he's a great player. He's one of the elite rushers in the league, so you got to respect his game but also don't make it bigger than it is. He's still a player in this league and you a player. And so when it comes to that, have confidence in your training and what you know, your technique and your effort. Don't do nothing more than what you've been doing, so I feel like that's the recipe when you're going against an elite player."

For more on Dolphins-Raiders, download the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield, available wherever you get your podcasts.