The Dolphins are leaning into the label that’s hanging over them before Week 1, and Jordyn Brooks is making no apologies for it.
Brooks said Miami is stepping into the season with an underdog mindset, and he’s eager to set a tone that starts with the kind of play he believes doesn’t require any special skill at all. “I don’t think we have a choice, honestly,” Brooks said, via the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
“I don’t think there’s one outlet, social media, anyone that’s got us picked to win anything. Not that it matters, but it’s just what it is.
I don’t think any of our opponents respect us. So, 100% underdog mindset.
And I think that’s always the best position to be in. So we’re going to carry that mindset into the season, have that ‘us against the world’ mentality and do our best to win football games.”
Brooks also made it clear what he wants that identity to look like once the games begin. “To me, physicality is a choice.
It takes no talent,” Brooks added. “It’s just a decision that one man has to make on whether he wants to be physical or not.
It’s a mindset that we’re trying to bleed into this team on a consistent basis.”
In New York, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic shared several takeaways from the Jets’ offseason program as the regular season nears. He gave Geno Smith a grade in the “B/B-plus range,” pointing to a mix of strong practices and a tougher showing during the joint session with the Buccaneers.
Rosenblatt also noted that Garrett Wilson was Smith’s most frequent target throughout training camp, though the quarterback may have looked most in sync with Adonai Mitchell. After Wilson, Smith’s next three targets were Isaiah Williams, Mason Taylor and rookie Omar Cooper Jr.
At quarterback, Rosenblatt wrote that Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe never really mounted a challenge for Cade Klubnik in the competition for the No. 2 job.
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Washington already looks like a player whose spot can grow if the offense leans differently, while Marshall could profit from the new defensive structure and the opportunities that come with it. Savaiinaea is the more intriguing one because the Dolphins are looking at him through a completely different lens now, after a rocky first year under the old staff. For a team trying to reset without turning over everything, these are exactly the kinds of internal wins that can matter, even if the full payoff has yet to show itself. [Read more 🡒]