Lions Linebacker Grant Stuard Believes the Dolphins are Soft

Lions Linebacker Grant Stuard Believes the Dolphins are Soft

A prevailing notion about the Mike McDaniel era Dolphins has been that the team is not tough. Their focus on speed and finesse has left them ill-equipped to deal with teams that want to slug it out in the trenches. This lack of toughness has seemingly extended to the team’s mentality; late-season collapses and the inability to play in inclement weather serve as proof of the team being mentally weak. 

Many fans assume that when the Dolphins culture is maligned, it’s shorthand for criticising the team as being mentally weak. Players who don’t want to work hard or do the dirty work that is required of championship teams. Consider Vic Fangio’s departure from the Dolphins for Philadelphia, where the defense immediately became a top unit in the league and helped the team win a championship.

When Fangio left, players openly celebrated on social media by posting vague tweets and videos kicking rocks.

Actions that reflect extremely poorly on said players in retrospect. 

Unfortunately, with the preseason underway, the perception has lingered.

Last week, Miami participated in joint practice with the Chicago Bears. The biggest storyline out of the practices was that the Dolphins were pushed around by Chicago. The Dolphins’ timing-based offense was thrown off by the physicality they faced, something they clearly weren’t used to encountering with their own defense. 

Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote about a particularly difficult practice for the Dolphins offense. 

“Tagovailoa had thrown only one interception all training camp. Friday, he threw three, capped by Edmunds’ juggling pick. He was playing without all-world receiver Tyreek Hill, who sat out with an oblique injury. Jaylen Waddle, the Dolphins’ second-best receiver, left practice briefly after a big hit from Tyrique Stevenson.

The Bears shoved around the Dolphins’ receivers, both during and after plays.”

When it came time to play the first preseason game, Miami’s starting offense put itself in scoring range but was ultimately stuffed at the goal line. Short yardage struggles were a key point of contention with the team last season and seem to be following them into 2025. 

The Dolphins are set to hold joint practices with the Detroit Lions this coming week, and the perception of the two teams could not be more different. Head Coach Dan Campbell has brought with him a classic old-school style toughness to Detroit. One has to wonder if the Dolphins will once again be pushed around in practice. Lions linebacker Grant Stuard seems to think so. 

In an appearance on the Detroit Sports Podcast, Stuard didn’t mince words when it came to Miami. 

“I don’t know if they ready man, I’m going to keep it a stack. Just cause I’ve played in other places and played against that team last year and I’ve joint practiced against that team twice when I was in Tampa and I don’t know if they practice how we practice.” 

While it isn’t fun to hear this said about your favorite team, there is no denying that the Dolphins have earned this disrespect.

Fortunately for Miami, they have a chance to prove that they aren’t a soft team against the Lions. I believe that this could be a big moment in shifting the perception around the team if they embrace it. 

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