When the ball came out quick, the Dolphins hit a few plays against Detroit's starting defense on Thursday. Give them credit for that. But if Tua Tagovailoa dropped back and needed time for things to develop, his pocket typically collapsed. Aidan Hutchinson was the biggest problem.
The very first series of full team drills started with a wide receiver screen to Jaylen Waddle, who broke a tackle for a big gain. It ended in the next two plays when Marcus Davenport broke through Miami's line and (depending on your perspective) either pressured Tagovailoa into a get-rid-of-it throw that was knocked down by Alex Anzalone or straight-up sacked him, followed by Hutchinson getting home for a sack with DJ Reader right behind him.
Who knows how the Dolphins' offensive line will fare this season. It should be noted that their starting right tackle is injured, with backup Larry Borom taking most of the snaps at that spot Thursday against Hutchinson. It should also be noted that Hutchinson, by all accounts, was the best player on the field that featured the Lions' defense and the Dolphins' offense the past two days in Allen Park.
"We like to joke, but in the NFL you have man-boys, like, men amongst boys, and every team has one," Lions cornerback DJ Reed said after Thursday's practice. "He's that one on our team. He's just different. Obviously if you look at him he's a specimen, but just the technicality he plays with, and the hand movement, the explosiveness, he has the strength to beat you, he has the finesse. I don't want to say he perfected the D-end position, but like, if you go and create a D-end, you'd probably want him to be like Hutch, like a Nick Bosa type of guy. He's like that. He's one of one."
On their next drive, the Dolphins' first-team offense tried running the ball and found little room. When Tagovailoa dropped back and flung one deep down the middle to Waddle, it was rookie defensive tackle Tyleik Williams who was in the quarterback's face. Waddle made the catch, but Williams' pressure (if not outright sack) likely would have negated the throw.
The Dolphins again tried to go deep to Waddle on the first play of their next series, but not before Hutchinson flew around the edge for another sack. Reader smothered a run on the next snap, followed by Reed denying a pass to the sideline. After a strong run by Jaylen Wright, the drive ended like this: sack by a blitzing Anzalone on a play-action rollout, incompletion, throwaway with Hutchinson closing in for yet another sack.
Jared Goff was growing weary of the Lions' defense, which has had the upper hand on the offense for most of camp. Prior to these joint practices with the Dolphins, "I told them I was excited for them to go annoy somebody else," he said. Safe to say they did. With every starter on the field Thursday other than All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph, Detroit's defense gave the Dolphins very little room to breathe.
The Lions had the second highest blitz rate in the NFL last season under former coordinator Aaron Glenn. They might be bringing even more heat under Kelvin Sheppard, who has a keen feel for what his players do best, especially his linebackers. The Lions basically have two green-dot backers in Jack Campbell and Anzalone, both of them capable of relaying the calls from Sheppard based on what the offense is showing. Anzalone noted recently, "We’re pressuring a little bit more."
"I wouldn't say (Sheppard's been) more aggressive, I’d just say more creative. Gives us a little more freedom on the ability to change a pressure," he said. "We would pressure with AG, it was just a little more set in stone as opposed to us having the freedom to switch it."
Anzalone was sidelined for the start of camp by a hamstring. He returned around the same time the pads came on and the defense really started to pop. Goff spends most team drills trying to stay a step ahead of Campbell, Anzalone and Sheppard at the line of scrimmage, while they try to read the offense's hand before the snap. Goff said that "what's stood out the most" about the defense from his vantage point is "their communication has been so good."
This is one of the natural benefits of promoting a coordinator from within.
"I think Jack’s done a great job at MIKE, but when they got Alex back, that veteran presence there, being able to communicate and get everyone on the same page, obviously the D-line is doing what they’re doing, Hutch is doing his thing, Davenport is doing his thing, but the communication from the back seven I think has been really impressive and it (makes it) really hard," Goff said. "They’re doing a good job."
The Dolphins eventually scored against the Lions in a red zone period, thanks largely to a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage. Brian Branch sold out for the pick with the ball fluttering toward its target over the middle and arrived a half-second late, allowing the receiver to turn into the end zone once he secured the catch.
Miami found the end zone again on what looked like a terrific grab by Dee Eskridge on a fade to the back pylon with Reed in tight coverage -- but the Lions will have you know that Eskridge came down out of bounds. Terrion Arnold was quick to let the Dolphins know himself when they mobbed Eskridge in the end zone, asking them what, exactly, they were celebrating for.
The Lions got the last laugh either way. In the situational period at the close of practice that started with the Dolphins at the 48-yard line, trailing by four with 59 seconds to play, the offense went four and out.
First, Hutchinson pressured Tagovailoa into a quick pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine that was broken up by Amik Robertson. On the next play, Hutchinson appeared to get to Tagovailoa for what would have been his third sack of the day, but the play was allowed to continue for a short pass over the middle. Tagovailoa couldn't connect with an open receiver on a slant on third down, and Branch snuffed out the Dolphins' last chance when he closed hard and broke up a pass to Tarik Black.
Again, the Dolphins are a relatively unknown commodity this year, and they practiced the past two days without star receiver Tyreek Hill. But the Lions' defense looks like it might be a legitimate strength. As Goff acknowledged, "they've certainly given us fits, and we try to give them fits when we can."
For Tagovailoa and the Dolphins, it was much more of the former.