The pass protection continues to impress. After his nearly flawless tape Friday night in Washington, guard Jonah Savaiinaea put together another impressive practice Monday. Just like in the game, he drove linemen out of gaps, stalemated pass rushers and always found extra work.
In a team meeting Saturday, Head Coach Jeff Hafley singled out Savaiinaea’s clips from Friday as an example of what the coaching staff wants to see. In true offensive lineman fashion, Savaiinaea is not one to accept individual praise.
“It feels amazing, being able to be shouted out like that,” Savaiinaea said. “But at the end of the day, it’s all a team…it was all of us. Like I said, (Aaron) Brewer, ‘AJ’ (Austin Jackson), ‘KP’ (Kadyn Proctor), (Patrick) Paul and everyone in the room, they’ve helped me become the person that I am today.”
The one player who found his way into the backfield with regularity Monday was the same guy who has been doing it all camp. On Friday, Chop Robinson won across the face of the right tackle on his first rep of the preseason. Monday, it was more of the same. Robinson is pairing tremendous up-field burst with his power inside, and it has resulted in an impressive month.
Behind Robinson, rookie inside linebackers Kyle Louis and Trey Moore continue to impress. Moore, who led the team with 48 snaps played Friday, shut down multiple run plays during Monday’s practice. Louis, who was a hybrid player at Pittsburgh, said Monday that his experience playing in different areas of the defense has helped him understand the bigger picture.
“Just having all these different perspectives and all these positions, it’s helping me see the bigger picture,” Louis said. “Instead of seeing things through a straw, I’m seeing the purpose behind everything so it’s already elevating me to another level of player.”
Louis’ college coach, Pat Narduzzi, said in his 10 years at Pittsburgh, nobody watched as much tape as Kyle Louis. The Dolphins are bearing the fruit from that experience early in camp.
Finally, some roster news. The Dolphins activated rookie wide receiver Chris Bell off the non-football injury list prior to Monday’s practice. The team also signed defensive lineman Cam Rice and waived safety Tanner Wall.