Chubb says ‘obnoxious communication’ key for Dolphins defense against Patriots

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — After what head coach Mike McDaniel called an “embarrassing” 33-8 season-opening loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Miami Dolphins’ defense is eager to turn the page before Sunday’s home opener against the New England Patriots.

EDGE defender Chop Robinson said the focus this week has been on regrouping and preparing for a Patriots offense led by quarterback Drake Maye, who showed mobility in his debut.

“A guy like him, just like last year I remember playing against him, he can use his feet a lot,” Robinson said Thursday. “He’s not a guy who just stands there, so when you’re getting off the ball, you’ve got to be conscious of running past or rushing past him, or counter back too early because he can escape high. So it’s a different game mindset-wise when you’re going against a quarterback that can move his feet.”

Robinson said the Dolphins aren’t dwelling on their recent success against New England.

“I mean that’s all in the past,” he said. “It’s a new season, a new team, a new coach over there. We’re just focused on the Patriots now, we’re not worried about the past.”

The Dolphins gave up 33 points and struggled with communication in the opener, something linebacker Bradley Chubb said has been addressed in practice this week.

“The point of emphasis this week is loud and obnoxious communication,” Chubb said. “We can’t have one guy hearing one thing, one guy hearing another thing. All being on one accord and that’s how you play good defense – everybody being tied as one and together.”

Chubb also stressed the importance of not letting frustration from last week linger.

“What the game was is dead and gone,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s about how you build on it and how you get better from it.”

Linebacker Jordyn Brooks said the defense held a players-only meeting to reset after the Week 1 loss.

“Just stay locked in,” Brooks said. “When you lose like that, it’s easy for people to get discouraged and start looking and questioning maybe yourself or others, so making sure that we all lock back in and making sure that the belief is still there. You lose belief, you don’t have nothing.”

Miami has beaten New England in five of the past six meetings, but Brooks emphasized that this weekend will come down to execution.

“Anybody can play great in the heat one day, or you can play bad in the heat one day,” Brooks said. “I think we’ve just got to go out there and have a mindset that we’re going to win this game. I think that’s going to be our advantage is our mindset.”

The Dolphins (0-1) will kickoff against the Patriots (0-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.

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