A whole bunch of Miami Dolphins defenders are going to get a taste of filling one of Jeff Hafley’s most important roles on defense
There will be a whole bunch of players who get a chance to fill one of the Miami Dolphins’ most important roles on defense this summer.
Jeff Hafley is, apparently, going to give a number of Miami Dolphins defenders a chance to step into the role of the most important player.
The ‘green dot’ is the designated player responsible for being on the communication with the coaches to help set calls. And, as you may expect, if you can’t get lined up right, you’re probably not going to be very effective on defense. It’s an important gig. This role was filled last year by Tyrel Dodson — and the staff alluded to rookie Jacob Rodriguez as a future ‘green dot’ player in Miami. But don’t expect those two to be the exclusive contenders this summer. Jeff Hafley revealed some other plans this morning.
The Miami Dolphins will experiment with a whole bunch of players wearing the ‘green dot’ this summer
“I wouldn’t call it a battle for the ‘green dot’. We’ve mixed around who has worn the green dot in practice, when I was in Green Bay I, in practice, truthfully, had the safeties in the green dot. I had all the linebackers in the green dot because I want them to hear how the call comes in. So they can start training for that. I think the misnomer is ‘oh, he won’t be able to handle the green dot…’, I don’t believe in that. I believe you can teach guys and, over time, train them all so if they have to call it, they have to call it. So when we get into training camp, we’ll figure all that out.”
— Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley on who is running communication and calls on his defense
Hafley’s already conceded this offseason that he plays the game within the game with his safeties. And now he’s telling us outright they’ll spend some time this summer on the microphone with him during practice, too. The obvious contenders to fill the role in the regular season are Dodson and Rodriguez. But maybe Hafley finds a contender he likes elsewhere and it sticks? I’d suspect that second-year safety Dante Trader Jr. will get some time this summer wearing the green dot. It sounds like it is all on the table. As it should be as Miami feels out who can do what amid this grand reset.
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