MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) \u2014 Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver gave a passionate answer when asked about where his unit has gone wrong this season.<\/p>\n
The Dolphins have allowed 30-plus points in each of the first three games, are last in the NFL in scoring defense and are one of only three teams in the league without a turnover.<\/p>\n
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Weaver, his signature smile fading and his tone sharpening during a roughly three-minute plea for improvement, said he knows his group can play better. But it starts with changing its attitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m old school,\u201d Weaver said. “I\u2019m a nice guy. I smile, I do all those things, but all of our problems that we need to solve can be solved through violence. Yeah, they want to legislate it out of the game, but we play defensive football. Defensive football at some point you draw a line in the sand and you say, \u2018I\u2019m going to set the edge. I\u2019m going to stick my helmet under this guy\u2019s chin and I\u2019m going to set the edge. I\u2019m going to violently take the ball away.\u2019<\/p>\n
“And that\u2019s what we need to do. With a steely-eyed focus, with resolve, with resiliency, and we\u2019re going to stop people. And I am determined, we are all determined for that to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
They have a chance for a turnaround Monday night against the New York Jets \u2014 a prime time matchup between two winless AFC East rivals. The Dolphins have won nine straight home games against the Jets and are 34-25-1 at home against New York.<\/p>\n
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Miami’s defense is hoping to build on its second-half performance in its Week 3 loss at Buffalo. The Dolphins forced two Bills punts in the second half \u2014 nearly a third before veteran defensive tackle Zach Sieler was penalized for roughing the punter \u2014 to keep the team in the game after struggling to get off the field before that.<\/p>\n
Weaver said the defense’s lack of physicality hurt early in the game, adding that Buffalo \u201cpunched us in the face early\u201d by being able to easily run outside zone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re gaining five or six yards, and we\u2019re misfitting in all these things,\u201d Weaver said. \u201cThat\u2019s not a them thing, that\u2019s an us thing. That\u2019s something that we can control, but at some point, we\u2019ve got to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Weaver fervidly challenged his defense to play better in meetings, and coach Mike McDaniel said that passion was evident all week.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI think it\u2019s a good representation of one of the reasons why Anthony Weaver is here,\u201d McDaniel said. “I was very aware of his tonality throughout the week. … We\u2019re working together through that. It fires me up that (he) was hot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Players appeared to get the message. And they echoed Weaver’s notion that they need to play with more physicality.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to be in a position where we can play fast, because I think when you are playing slow, you\u2019re not able to be violent,\u201d safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said. “You\u2019re more reactionary than being aggressive. When we\u2019re in a position to play downhill and put our shoulder pads on people, knock the ball off of people, I think that\u2019s when you get that violence that he\u2019s talking about. So just knowing what to do, communicating and playing with a sense of urgency.\u201d<\/p>\n