The Miami Dolphins need to make an attitude adjustment after their joint practice with the Chicago Bears at Halas Hall on Friday.
Per Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald, the Bears’ defense came out aggressive at the practice and took multiple cheap shots at Dolphins offensive players like wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, running back De’Von Achane and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Kelly claimed the Bears’ defense tackled Tagovailoa multiple times on Friday, which goes against how most joint practices are conducted, where quarterbacks are protected.
Kelly thinks the Dolphins coaching staff didn’t stick up for their offensive players because they were afraid they’d help perpetuate their stigma of being soft.
“What you gonna do … You gonna cry about it and say, ‘Hey, you’re hitting me too hard.’ Like, what do you do?” Kelly said on an episode of “Dolphins in Depth” on Saturday. “But it was dirty. It was, without a doubt. Tua was hit multiple times, put on the ground multiple times practice … What are you going to do when you know your team’s reputation, you know the world, the league perceives you as soft, and here you go.”
Kelly didn’t like how the offense responded to the Bears’ bullying of the offense, accusing Miami of folding before practice ended.
“Now what I didn’t like is, as you know if you’re a Dolphin(s) fan, they get punched in the mouth, they fold,” Kelly said. “They got punched in the mouth, and you watch them fold during the 11 on 11 periods in practice.”
The Dolphins needed to respond with likewise energy against the Chicago defense. Miami’s coaching staff should be concerned the offense didn’t want to fight back after watching Tagovailoa suffer multiple hits at a joint practice.
By not complaining about the cheap shots and instead deciding to fold, the Dolphins chose to continue adding to the list of evidence that head coach Mike McDaniel’s teams are soft.
