Dolphins 2023 Training Camp August 8 Defensive Observations

What stood out on defense during the first joint practice for Miami Dolphins against the Atlanta Falcons

There was a flashback to the Chad Henne days of practice watching the Miami Dolphins defense go against the Atlanta Falcons offense Tuesday.

For most of the 11-on-11 period, the Falcons offense stomached a heavy diet of check-down passes. 

Pair that with Miami’s stingy run defense, which was a good sign to see Tuesday because of the Falcons' efficiency running the ball last year, and it was a solid performance for the defense.

The practice ended with Miami’s defense keeping Atlanta from advancing down the field during a situational period, and Younghoe Koo missing a 53-yard field goal attempt to close practice.

Koo finished the day 1-for-2, making a 50-yard field goal in an earlier 11-on-11 series.

Here are highlights, lowlights and observations from the 10th practice (day 14) of Dolphins training camp, better known as the first joint practice with the Falcons.

RELATED: The Offensive Observations for the First Joint Practice with Atlanta

Xavien Howard likes facing big receivers

Xavien Howard enjoyed the joint practices because he finally got to defend bigger receivers instead of the speedsters the Dolphins have on the roster. 

Howard thrived during one-on-ones going up Drake London, the Falcons’ 2022 first-round pick. London is 6-foot-4, 219 pounds. And the Falcons' other starter, Mack Hollins, whom Dolphins fans are familiar with from his time in Miami, is 6-4, 221 pounds.

Justin Bethel and Trill Williams were each flagged for pass interferences during their one-on-one reps. Williams was finally out of the red jersey and got involved in more physical aspects of practices.

Kader Kohou had a nice breakup on a pass intended for Scotty Miller. He’s been thriving inside as a slot defender, but still gets handsy from time to time.

During 7-on-7, Noah Ighinoghene had a nice breakup of a Desmond Ridder pass.

Miami's special teams unit got owned

I generally don’t watch special teams periods closely, but was curious if the unit would rebound from last season’s struggles, and what I saw Tuesday wasn’t encouraging.

The Dolphins got owned in both special teams periods. The Falcons created return lanes on kickoff coverage at least three times, and potentially could have gotten to midfield on each return.

Then when Miami’s blocking unit got their chance, the Falcons stopped them behind the 30-yard line consistently.

Mixing and matching players on that unit usually waters down the group's efficiency. So let's look back at the end of the preseason to see if this surfaces as an issue.

11-on-11 action

Christian Wilkins opened up the meaningful portion of practice with a 2-yard stop of Bijan Robinson, the Falcons’ first-round pick. But the Dolphins’ most impactful defender of training camp sat out most of the 11-on-11 work. It would have been nice to see if Wilkins' dominance wasn't a byproduct of Miami's O-line shortcomings, but that wasn't in the card.

The Dolphins defense contained Robinson for all but one run during the 11-on-11s, and that was a play where Jerome Baker, the orange jersey player from Saturday’s scrimmage, didn’t fill his gap.

But most of the 11-on-11 session Falcons starting quarterback Desmond Ridder either had pressure in his face, or was forced to check the ball down because nothing was open downfield.

Pili makes his presence felt

One Dolphins player who delivered an impactful practice was nose tackle Brandon Pili, the undrafted rookie from USC, who I included in my list of 10 players who haven't impressed in camp's first two weeks. 

Pili sacked Taylor Heinicke during the first 11-on-11 series, and recorded two tackles for loss during his 11-on-11 work.

In his first practice with the Dolphins, newly signed defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand recorded a sack on a Logan Woodside series.

Elijah Campbell had a phenomenal breakup of a pass downfield, and is seemingly settling into the safety spot the former cornerback began playing last year with the Dolphins. At this point I can comfortably place Campbell as Miami’s third best safety. But that doesn’t factor in Jones and Williams.

Speaking of Jones, he and rookie cornerback Cam Smith got beat deep for a 50-yard bomb from Heineke to Josh Ali.

Kohou had a cornerback blitz that ended in a sack.

Bijan Robinson caught a touchdown pass from Ridder that had David Long and Noah Igbinoghene in coverage. Igbinoghene had a relatively inconsistent day, which cooled off his hot Saturday scrimmage showing.

Safety Verone McKinley pulled down an interception during red zone work that would have been a pick-six because he was far ahead of any Falcons defender before the play was blown dead for the sake of saving time.

Jaelan Phillips contributed two would-be sacks on Ridder, and Sieler produced one.

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