Training Camp Practice 2 Observations:

It's not necessarily shocking for the defense to be ahead of the offense in the early portion of any training camp, and that's most definitely what's going with the Miami Dolphins.

After the defense came up with three takeaways in the first practice of camp, that number was four Thursday and maybe five depending on whether another play would be classified as a sack or an interception.

What was clear was that edge defender Chop Robinson absolutely shined, both against the run and in the pass rush, even with one play where Patrick Paul threw him to the ground after getting his arm around his teammate's neck in a pass-rushing situation. Robinson also got around Austin Jackson on another passing play to get pressure on Malik Willis.

The defense came up with two interceptions, one each by Zayne Anderson and A.J. Green III, and fumble recoveries by Chris Johnson and Robinson. Then there was an interception by Ronnie Harrison Jr. that came after Robinson beat Paul inside and quickly got to Malik Willis, who continued the play because defender can't touch the quarterback.

The Dolphins again had perfect attendance among players on the active roster and rookie wide receiver Chris Bell and cornerback Darrell Baker Jr. again watched practice from the sidelines. Baker again did some mental reps, slow-motioning the drills his position teammates were doing.

The only player not spotted was cornerback Storm Duck, who like Baker is starting training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list.

This practice was a bit longer, lasting almost two hours.

THE BIG STORY OF THE DAY

It wasn't just the turnovers that plagued the offense on this day, but also a slew of pre-snap penalties.

We counted six pre-snap penalties, most of them false starts but also some alignment issues.

This is the kind of sloppiness that head coach Jeff Hafley will want to see disappear sooner rather than later, the kind of mistake he wants to go through and correct as quickly as possible, one of the reasons he prefers 11-on-11 sessions instead of 7-of-7's.

While the offense had a handful of productive runs — and those basically involve simply getting through the line of scrimmage because there was no tackling — it was not a good for the defense by any measure.

Again, it's not a big deal until it becomes a big deal, and that will happen if we're still seeing the same kind of sloppiness, say, a week into camp or more.

THE WILLIS WATCH

Because of the circumstances, we'll be tracking Malik Willis' performance each and every practice, just like we did in the OTAs and minicamp.

As we've indicated before, it's about a process for Willis and expecting him to light it up given the circumstances is unrealistic.

Based on our count, Willis completed 7 of 12 pass attempts on this day with two interceptions, but this is where context matters.

The first pick came on a perfectly thrown pass that Tutu Atwell misplayed and bobbled right into the hands of Anderson. The second was the Harrison play where Willis went through and threw the ball off his back foot, something we're not convinced he would have done in a real game setting.

Willis came awfully lot to another pick, though, when Tyrel Dodson stepped in front of a receiver before dropping the ball.

THE OTHER QBs

Nothing that happened Thursday should change the outlook when it comes to the pecking order at quarterback.

The bottom line is the passing game struggled with all the quarterbacks on this day.

Quinn Ewers, who overall was pretty good in the spring practices open to the media, again had a rough time leading the offense. Based on our stats, he was 5-for-15, though he wasn't picked off this time.

But the accuracy was a bit off, certainly nothing like what we saw in the spring.

Cam Miller threw the other interception on this day, but that also was more on the receiver, in this case tight end Cole Turner. He was 2-for-5, while Mark Gronowski completed one of his two attempts.

OTHER PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS

As always, remember that Dolphins reporting rules prevent media members from divulging certain information, such as where players lined up or who played with the first, second and third units, for example.

-- Cool to watch the Dolphins having their kickoff returners practice fielding bouncers (or "dirty kicks," if you prefer). That wasn't something I recall ever seeing under Mike McDaniel.

-- Terrace Marshall Jr. led all receivers with three catches, including a nice one near the group from Ewers. He did, however, had a bad drop on the very next snap. Marshall did have a nice reception at the sideline on a pass from Ewers when he beat Chris Johnson on a 50-50 ball. Marshall has made plays since the spring, but consistency has been an issue and that's what might keep him from making a serious push at the 53-man roster.

-- Newcomer Clelin Ferrell, who was signed Monday, had a nice first full practice with a couple of pressures in pass-rushing situations.

-- Ollie Gordon II had one of the team's most productive runs on a pitch to the left side, but he continues to run very high and was stripped of the ball by Chris Johnson on the second fumble.

-- Wide receiver Jalen Tolbert made a nice high catch for a completion from Willis early in the 11-on-11s.

-- Carlos Washington Jr. again showed good quickness near the line running the ball.

-- On a productive run by Jaylen Wright up the middle, we noticed Kadyn Proctor with a nice block to neutralize Zach Sieler.

-- After getting a pick Wednesday, rookie safety Michael Taaffe had a great pass breakup when he came flying from the deep center field to knock down a pass intended for Jalen Reagor.

-- Long-shot defensive tackle Alex Huntley got into the offensive backfield on a couple of running plays.

-- Cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. had tight coverage on Tolbert to force an incompletion from Willis.

-- David Ojabo got pressure getting around Charlie Heck, who has looked a bit shaky in pass protection so far in camp.

-- Cornerback Ethan Robinson batted down a pass after coming on a blitz, similar to his interception that clinched the victory against the Detroit Lions in the preseason last summer.

-- Veteran safety Lonnie Johnson also had a good pass deflection.

-- On the last play of practice, edge Seth Coleman got around new tackle Gottlieb Ayedze for what would have been a sack of Cam Miller.