{"id":340873,"date":"2025-09-04T11:34:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T11:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/340873\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T11:34:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T11:34:10","slug":"are-2025-dolphins-tough-enough-mentally-and-physically","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/340873\/","title":{"rendered":"Are 2025 Dolphins tough enough mentally and physically?"},"content":{"rendered":"

MIAMI GARDENS \u2014 Sometimes people set a tone without saying a word. Miami Dolphins<\/a> linebacker Jordyn Brooks is one of those people. If I was a Dolphins fan, I\u2019d want the entire team to share Brooks\u2019 mental and physical toughness. Those characteristics, which become apparent just by watching Brooks, are crucial to helping the Dolphins achieve what should be their minimal goal.<\/p>\n

To be clear, for the third consecutive year the Dolphins\u2019 minimal goal for a successful season should be winning a playoff game. The 2025 Dolphins have talent. But the Dolphins have had talent for a few years now.<\/p>\n

You wonder whether they have that get-over-the-hump type of mental and physical toughness, enough to get that elusive playoff win.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s been the question for everyone in this era of Dolphins from general manager Chris Grier<\/a> and coach Mike McDaniel and through to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, and filtering through the entire roster.<\/p>\n

Did the Dolphins finally get the mental and physical toughness right this year?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the big question, and here\u2019s why \u2026<\/p>\n

Situational football has crushed this team. They fumble (Arizona, Indianapolis, Buffalo 2024). They commit a penalty, giving the opponent a second chance or negating a touchdown (Buffalo 2024, Philadelphia 2023). They drop a pass (Philadelphia 2023). They sustain a key injury due to an unwise risk (Buffalo, Houston 2024). They don\u2019t make the tackle (Green Bay 2024). The run game doesn\u2019t get the late-game first down (Tennessee 2023). On and on it goes.<\/p>\n

You wonder about the mindset.\u00a0You wonder whether the right mentality is being foundationally set through coaching, play-calling, practice, locker room behavior and other such things. The same goes for the physical.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written about this a few times in many ways over the years.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve wondered whether they\u2019re tough enough physically, asking which three Dolphins you\u2019d want by your side walking down a dark alley<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve wondered whether they\u2019re tough enough mentally<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve questioned their motivation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The cold-weather narrative is false<\/a>. I\u2019ve knocked that down. That has nothing to do with the Dolphins\u2019 toughness. It has to do with the Dolphins\u2019 inability to win late-season road games against quality opponents, something else that causes their physical and mental toughness to be questioned.<\/p>\n

Chris Perkins: Dolphins GM Chris Grier talks culture change, Darren Waller and crude emails<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Hope has surfaced in this regard.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written that I\u2019ve seen hints that the toughness is improving<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve seen signs of change as recently as this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But in the past it\u2019s never been enough.<\/p>\n

When you see teams such as Buffalo and Baltimore win division titles and playoff games, you wonder why the Dolphins can\u2019t do the same.<\/p>\n

The Dolphins should be at the same level as the Bills and Ravens, which is knocking on Kansas City\u2019s door but not yet capable of kicking it in. The Dolphins are nowhere near knocking on the Chiefs\u2019 door.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dolphins Deep Dive: Concern over new players in key roles? | VIDEO<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

So many teams have ascended and surpassed the Dolphins in the Grier\/McDaniel era \u2014 Washington, Houston, Tampa Bay, the Los Angeles Rams \u2014 and that it\u2019s crazy. Yes, it\u2019s a topsy-turvy league, but the Dolphins haven\u2019t been topsy in more than two decades, and they should have been at some point in the last couple of seasons.<\/p>\n

So you wonder.<\/p>\n

Is the focus there? Are they dialed in? Are they razor sharp?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always maintained these Dolphins have left too much meat on the bone.<\/p>\n

This is why I think the Dolphins need Brooks\u2019 intensity.<\/p>\n

You saw that in Chicago during the preseason that he feuded with fellow inside linebacker Tyrel Dodson on the sideline<\/a> of the Dolphins\u2019 joint practice against the Bears. Brooks, you might recall, lit up tight end Julian Hill, a teammate, in practice a couple of days before the Dolphins departed for Chicago. That\u2019s a no-no. Practices aren\u2019t meant to be full contact in that fashion. Brooks reportedly wanted Dodson to similarly light up one of the Bears players. That\u2019s also a no-no. But Brooks wanted to set a physical mentality.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, he was holding people to a higher standard,\u201d said safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, someone who shares Brooks\u2019 intensity.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

I like Brooks\u2019 mentality. He\u2019s quiet, but expressive. You never have to wonder what Brooks is thinking. He speaks his mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brooks is the guy who remarked after last year\u2019s Green Bay loss that he thought the cold weather made the defense play soft, that it made them not want to tackle.<\/p>\n

Brooks is also the guy who unintentionally contradicted quarterback Tua Tagovailoa by saying he didn\u2019t think wide receiver Tyreek Hill needed to apologize to the team after his infamous \u201cI\u2019m out\u201d comment following last year\u2019s season finale.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be crystal clear on this important point: Brooks is a class act. He\u2019s one of the nice guys on a team full of nice guys. He\u2019s a pro\u2019s pro. But he\u2019s intense. In a good way. This team needs more intensity.<\/p>\n

The Dolphins have talent. But this team must be tougher mentally and physically.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll soon see if the Dolphins finally got it right.<\/p>\n

More season preview content<\/p>\n

Sun Sentinel staff predictions for 2025 Dolphins \u2014 and the Super Bowl<\/a><\/p>\n

Dave Hyde: Do you believe in Tua? Sixth year is defining one<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a hot-seat season for Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, GM Chris Grier<\/a><\/p>\n

Chris Perkins: Dolphins\u2019 defense has game-changing potential in front seven<\/a><\/p>\n

Chris Perkins: Dolphins\u2019 offense, in Year 4 under McDaniel and Tua, should be strong in 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Five Miami Dolphins players to watch during the 2025 season <\/a><\/p>\n

If Bills run the AFC East, Dolphins look to hold off Pats, earn wild-card spot in 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Season outlook: Dolphins enter pressure-packed 2025 after disappointing 2024<\/a><\/p>\n

Breaking down the Miami Dolphins\u2019 2025 schedule<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI GARDENS \u2014 Sometimes people set a tone without saying a word. Miami Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340874,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2049],"tags":[4835,217,7,216,251,2087,4836,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-340873","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-dolphins","8":"tag-chris-grier","9":"tag-dolphins","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-miami","12":"tag-miami-dolphins","13":"tag-miamidolphins","14":"tag-mike-mcdaniel","15":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115145819066114664","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=340873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}