FLOWERY BRANCH — For the third time in four offseasons, the Falcons are set to hold joint practices with the Miami Dolphins in Miami Gardens, Florida.
“I think it’s amazing,” Falcons linebacker Kaden Elliss said Tuesday. “They’ve got some special stuff going on on offense in Miami.”
The Falcons practiced with the Dolphins last season and in 2021.
The practices will be held Aug. 6 and Aug. 7 before teams play in an exhibition game Aug. 9.
The Falcons’ defense will get tested by the Dolphins’ high-ranking offense. The Dolphins led the NFL in total offense (401.3 yards per game) and was second in scoring (37.2 points per game) last season.
The Dolphins feature quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle and a strong rushing attack.
“Getting to see variations and differences and how teams do it is good,” Elliss said. “How teams are going to try and attack you in their core schemes, I think getting to see that anytime in the (exhibition) season, especially in a practice setting, when you’re able to get reps, reps, reps, reps and reps.
“It’s just going to help you in the season when you see those things again or when you get new variations in Week 17, you’ve already have got some building blocks there.”
The practices with the Dolphins have not seen any major fights.
“We’re out here during OTAs going against each other, and we’ll come back in training camp an go against each other again,” Falcons safety Jessie Bates III said. “It kind of gets repetitive. You start seeing fights and stuff. We don’t want to fight each other.”
The Falcons will have two more exhibition games after facing the Dolphins. The Falcons basically didn’t play any starters in the exhibition games last year. A lot of stock was placed on the joint practices.
“It’s nice to go and take that out on Miami,” Bates said. “Hopefully, there won’t be too many fights, but being able to play against a different team and playing against a guy like the Cheetah (Tyreek Hill) and Odell (Beckham Jr.). ... That’s going to be good for us to feel some speed three weeks away from the season. So, I think that it’s always productive for us to have joint practices.”
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