According to Miami Dolphins linebacker Quinton Bell, there’s a scrappiness to the team’s defense this year, and he believes that veteran cornerback Jalen Ramsey set the tone.
Earlier in training camp, Ramsey was seen giving a speech to his teammates after a practice. It was later revealed to the media that he told his teammates on defense that it’s time to play like bullies.
Bell recently shared more on the speech.
Asked about the fact that the Dolphins had numerous dust-ups with the Atlanta Falcons while practicing together — and if there’s a certain scrappiness to this version of Miami’s defense — Bell provided a fantastic answer.
“No, yeah, man,” he said of whether there’s a scrappiness to the defense. “I mean, yeah. I mean, Jalen Ramsey set the tone, man. He had a big talk with us about how we wanna — all these narratives about the Miami defense bein’ soft, the Miami boys, whatever people are sayin’, man. We’re gonna dead that this year. We wanna be the bully defense. … Obviously, our offense is great, one of the best offenses in the league, and everyone knows that, but we wanna take a title for ourselves and be known as a defense for the Miami Dolphins as well.”
Bell has been one of the biggest surprises of training camp for the Dolphins. He is looking to earn a role with the team going into the season, and with players like Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips still recovering from injuries, the door is open for Bell to step up.
The 28-year-old has had a wild NFL journey and only has nine regular-season appearances to his name in his career. That could change this season.
Ramsey, on the other hand, had a strong first season with the Dolphins despite missing a good chunk of the campaign. He earned a Pro Bowl nod and helped the team secure a spot in the playoffs, although Miami’s postseason run lasted just one game.
He appears to be taking a great deal of pride in the way the Dolphins represent themselves on defense, a very positive sign that he’s embracing a leadership role. As a seven-time Pro Bowler, three-time All-Pro and one-time Super Bowl champion, Ramsey is an incredibly accomplished figure whose voice should carry a lot of weight with his teammates.
The Dolphins had a serviceable defense for parts of last season, but there were certainly some flaws, and it sounds like the team is motivated to send a message this coming season.
Miami will open its regular season on Sept. 8 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. That will give fans a nice opportunity to see if Ramsey and company are playing with an edge to start the campaign.
