At 0-2 in a division with three 2-0 teams, the Miami Dolphins are going to need to turn things around quickly if they want any chance of playing meaningful games late in the season. And some Dolphins players are saying that needs to start on the practice field.
“We have to start practicing like it’s the game,” safety and defensive co-captain Yeremiah Bell told Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. “We have to do that because so far, we’ve been playing a lot like we practice.”
Said running back Daniel Thomas, “I definitely agree with that, we have a lot of mental mistakes in practice, and sometimes it carries on into the game.”
The Dolphins work on their red zone packages in Friday practices, and when asked why they’re struggling in the red zone on Sunday, quarterback Chad Henne said, “We’ve just got to do better in practice on Friday.”
Bell said that as a captain, he sees it as his job to change the way the team practices.
“That’s why we’re captains on this team,” Bell said. “It’s our job to get guys going and get them energized so they do what they need to do to win.”
That’s also why there are coaches on the team. None of the players said so directly, but indicting the Dolphins’ practices is also indicting the Dolphins’ coaches.