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MIAMI GARDENS — Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis is coming into his own both on the field and as a leader on his new team.
He’s not only making throws both in the pocket and on the move, plus starting to open up his playmaking ability with his legs the deeper the Dolphins get into camp.
The fifth-year quarterback is also quickly becoming comfortable leading as he enters his first season as a starter just five months since signing with his new team.
Dolphins rookie offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor revealed after the Dolphins’ Saturday practice that Willis stood up in front of the entire offense Friday and delivered a few words.
It wasn’t necessarily any stern message Willis’ teammates needed to hear. The Dolphins don’t have a players-only meeting controversy before they’ve even played their first game under the new regime of general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley.
Willis simply wanted to keep his offense sharp as they get into the middle stages of camp.
“I just wanted to talk to the offense and just have a man-to-man conversation,” Willis said, after he had a solid day’s work at the team’s open practice at Hard Rock Stadium. “We got to understand this is a business, and we got to take what we do personal. We got to take pride in it, and we got to do it to the best of our ability.”
Willis had to clear up to teammates that, even if the defense stops the offense in practice, it’s about the process of practice and building good habits.
“We’re not calling plays to beat the defense,” he continued. “We’re calling plays that we want to use throughout the year, and we’re trying to get better at those plays. And whether we win the down or not, are we doing everything that we can do to execute the play-call? Are we doing our job on the O-line? Are we doing our job at the receiver? Are you at the right depth, regardless if I have to check it down or it’s a touchdown? Is everybody doing the right thing?
“That’s what it’s about, building confidence in those things. So when we get in those moments, and we need them, we just revert to our training.”
Willis’ teammates offensively appreciated the gesture.
“(It showed) how much he cares,” center Aaron Brewer said. “We want to be perfect. We were just talking on the little things. Him talking to the team, it just showed how much he cares about the game, how much he cares about the team, how much he cares about us.”
Proctor was fired up and impressed.
“That took a lot of courage to talk to the team right there, just man to man, just keeping it real,” the rookie starting left guard said. “He’s a tremendous player. You can see that, and I love blocking for him.”
To Willis, though, it was no big deal.
“It’s just a conversation, more than anything,” he said. “I don’t know if you need some super courage or anything else. These are the people I work with every day, I go to war with. We’re in the weight room. We’ve been together, what, six months already. So, it’s just talking to the guys.”
Willis continues to make progress with his game in camp. He has limited mistakes, really only having one bad practice the second session of camp more than a week ago. He’s not repeating mistakes.
On Saturday, he found rookie wide receiver Caleb Douglas on both in-breaking and out-breaking patterns, as the two continue to build chemistry.
“He’s been making nice grabs in the times where he’s the option, where he’s the read,” Willis said of Douglas. “I’m excited for him. I think he’s doing a great job getting open. I think he’s attacking the mental side of it. It’s been great.”
Willis has flashed his accuracy on the move. He delivered strikes in stride to tight end Seydou Traore and wide receiver Tutu Atwell.
And then the scrambling ability. When the offense was on the 2-yard line in a situational setting, Willis correctly identified that his first, second and third reads weren’t open in the pocket. He felt the pressure come from edge rusher Chop Robinson come from the right side, spun out of it — although Robinson said he had him for the practice sack (quarterbacks don’t get tackled in practice) — and, while Willis looked for his fourth option, he saw the opening on the right side to swoop into the end zone.
Willis’ progress in camp leads him into finally facing an opponent next week, as the Dolphins take to the Washington, D.C. area for a joint practice Wednesday against the Commanders and preseason game Friday. Before that, Miami has another intrasquad practice Monday in Miami Gardens.
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He’s not only making throws both in the pocket and on the move, plus starting to open up his playmaking ability with his legs the deeper the Dolphins get into camp.
The fifth-year quarterback is also quickly becoming comfortable leading as he enters his first season as a starter just five months since signing with his new team.
Dolphins rookie offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor revealed after the Dolphins’ Saturday practice that Willis stood up in front of the entire offense Friday and delivered a few words.
It wasn’t necessarily any stern message Willis’ teammates needed to hear. The Dolphins don’t have a players-only meeting controversy before they’ve even played their first game under the new regime of general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley.
Willis simply wanted to keep his offense sharp as they get into the middle stages of camp.
“I just wanted to talk to the offense and just have a man-to-man conversation,” Willis said, after he had a solid day’s work at the team’s open practice at Hard Rock Stadium. “We got to understand this is a business, and we got to take what we do personal. We got to take pride in it, and we got to do it to the best of our ability.”
Willis had to clear up to teammates that, even if the defense stops the offense in practice, it’s about the process of practice and building good habits.
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“We’re not calling plays to beat the defense,” he continued. “We’re calling plays that we want to use throughout the year, and we’re trying to get better at those plays. And whether we win the down or not, are we doing everything that we can do to execute the play-call? Are we doing our job on the O-line? Are we doing our job at the receiver? Are you at the right depth, regardless if I have to check it down or it’s a touchdown? Is everybody doing the right thing?
“That’s what it’s about, building confidence in those things. So when we get in those moments, and we need them, we just revert to our training.”
Willis’ teammates offensively appreciated the gesture.
“(It showed) how much he cares,” center Aaron Brewer said. “We want to be perfect. We were just talking on the little things. Him talking to the team, it just showed how much he cares about the game, how much he cares about the team, how much he cares about us.”
Proctor was fired up and impressed.
“That took a lot of courage to talk to the team right there, just man to man, just keeping it real,” the rookie starting left guard said. “He’s a tremendous player. You can see that, and I love blocking for him.”
To Willis, though, it was no big deal.
“It’s just a conversation, more than anything,” he said. “I don’t know if you need some super courage or anything else. These are the people I work with every day, I go to war with. We’re in the weight room. We’ve been together, what, six months already. So, it’s just talking to the guys.”
Willis continues to make progress with his game in camp. He has limited mistakes, really only having one bad practice the second session of camp more than a week ago. He’s not repeating mistakes.
On Saturday, he found rookie wide receiver Caleb Douglas on both in-breaking and out-breaking patterns, as the two continue to build chemistry.
“He’s been making nice grabs in the times where he’s the option, where he’s the read,” Willis said of Douglas. “I’m excited for him. I think he’s doing a great job getting open. I think he’s attacking the mental side of it. It’s been great.”
Willis has flashed his accuracy on the move. He delivered strikes in stride to tight end Seydou Traore and wide receiver Tutu Atwell.
And then the scrambling ability. When the offense was on the 2-yard line in a situational setting, Willis correctly identified that his first, second and third reads weren’t open in the pocket. He felt the pressure come from edge rusher Chop Robinson come from the right side, spun out of it — although Robinson said he had him for the practice sack (quarterbacks don’t get tackled in practice) — and, while Willis looked for his fourth option, he saw the opening on the right side to swoop into the end zone.
Willis’ progress in camp leads him into finally facing an opponent next week, as the Dolphins take to the Washington, D.C. area for a joint practice Wednesday against the Commanders and preseason game Friday. Before that, Miami has another intrasquad practice Monday in Miami Gardens.
Continue reading...
