Why Anthony Weaver Is Preaching Violence

Though there have been many questions about the Miami Dolphins so far this season and suggestions about how to right the ship, defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver has one solution in mind: violence.

"All of our problems that we need to solve can be solved through violence," Weaver said during his weekly media session Friday morning.

There were flashes of that physicality against the Buffalo Bills in Week 3, but it wasn't enough of a response to notch a win.

"They came out early, and I didn't think we were playing physical enough," Weaver said. "I thought they punched us in the face early. Our response to that wasn't what I would think would put us in position to respond accordingly."

The Dolphins' defense did come alive against the Bills in the second half of the game, stopping the high-powered offense from scoring in the third quarter and for most of the fourth quarter.

Still, it wasn't the kind of violence that Weaver preached through his entire press conference.

"In defensive football, at some point, you draw a line in the sand and you say, I'm going to set the edge. I'm going to stick my helmet under this guy's chin, and I'm going to set the edge. I'm going to violently take the ball away," Weaver said.

"And that's what we need to do with a steely-eyed focus, with resolve, with resiliency, and we're going to stop people. And I'm determined, we're all determined for that to happen."

Weaver also spoke about the lack of execution in terms of players not doing their job, and also going above that.

Whether it's run fits or stopping a team like the Bills from playing outside zone to toss the ball 5 or 6 yards each time, Weaver said Dolphins defenders need to handle their responsibility, do their 1-11th.

But there's another element he wants to see. Yep, violence.

"At some point, it comes down to changing the math through violence," Weaver said. "Our whole point of defense is we want the offense to feel like we're playing with 12 and 13, but you can't do that if you're just like, 'Yeah, I did my job,' " Weaver said. "No, I need you to do more than your job. I need you to whip that guy's ass in front of you and then fall off and make a play."

The Dolphins defense currently has zero takeaways this season, which is something that needs to be rectified if the unit wants to make opposing offenses second-guess themselves..

When asked how the defensive unit can play stronger and get more takeaways, Weaver's response was the same.

"I don't know how many times I got to say violence," he said. "You want to take anything away from somebody, particularly in the game of football, you have to do it with aggression. And that's what we need to do."

Weaver on Working With a New Defense

This Dolphins defense has a wealth of playmakers in Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, Chop Robinson, Tyrel Dodson, Jordyn Brooks, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and many more.

Though there are rookies and new faces, Weaver balked at the idea of not having enough talent.

"You'll never hear me say that I don't think we have enough talent," Weaver said. "You find me a coach that doesn't think they need more talent. That is not a diss on the guys that we have. We have everything we need to go out there and play better defense. It's our responsibility and ultimately my responsibility to get that done."

Still, the concerns of a lack of talent for the current group and the banged-up secondary are something that generally falls to General Manager Chris Grier. Weaver posed a logical response to the idea that Grier did not bring in enough depth or playmakers over the offseason.

"My job ultimately is to cook the dinner with whatever ingredients are bought," Weaver said.

A lot of those ingredients were hurt in training camp and through the course of the regular season. Still, even with the "next man up mentality," Weaver understands that this wholly new unit needs time to settle in with their "growing pains."

"You have an entirely new group of safeties, right? Our three starting corners right now got here during training camp," Weaver said. "Bradley Chubb did not play a year ago. Jalen Phillips played three games. We have two new starting rookies on the defensive line, along with (Zach) Sieler and Jordyn Brooks and T-Dod (Tyrel Dodson). So we're definitely going through some growing pains."

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