Dolphins backup quarterback Quinn Ewers didn’t have a good game in Friday’s 20-7 loss at Washington in the preseason opener. He was 1 for 8 for 27 yards and one interception. But coach Jeff Hafley said Saturday afternoon that he’s not thinking about bringing in competition for Ewers’ No. 2 job behind starter Malik Willis. Hafley, however, had a caveat in his answer about Ewers, the 2025 seventh-round pick who started the final games of last season. Hafley said he’d just finished team meetings and hadn’t yet gone over the film with general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan. The problem is Ewers’ misfortunes continued a pattern of ineffective play that took shape at the start of training camp three weeks ago. But Ewers might get some grace considering he looked good last season and in the offseason program. “I think if you just watch the game and you’re just watching as a fan or watching in general, certainly there were some missed throws, some missed opportunities,” Hafley said. “The interception that he threw clearly wasn’t a great decision, especially in that point of the field.” But Hafley said he showed the team two examples Saturday of situations where a receiver should have helped Ewers, one of which Hafley said would have been a 25- or 30-yard gain. “So while clearly there’s some throws he wants back and there’s some mistakes there, the process was right on those two,” Hafley said. “It’s just the result wasn’t good.” No. 3 quarterback Cam Miller threw two interceptions against Washington. Rookies have mixed reviews but do well overall in debut Hafley cited a few rookies as performing well Friday, particularly left guard Kadyn Proctor and cornerback Chris Johnson, the first-round picks. But there were a few rookie hiccups. “I thought there were some really good moments and really good plays made,” Hafley said. “I thought some of the guys, it wasn’t too big for them. They were able to lock in and execute the calls and be detailed while maintaining the play style. “And then I think there’s some others that it’s the first time in an NFL stadium and the first time playing in a game and their eyes were in the wrong place and they struggled to line up and they were peeking and they just, you know, they kind of got out of their training and just were freelancing a little bit.” Teaching moment for Ollie Gordon II Hafley used a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against running back Ollie Gordon II to let Gordon and the team know that such behavior won’t be tolerated. The third-quarter play turned a potential third-and-4 into an unmanageable third-and-15. Hafley took Gordon out of the game and spoke with him firmly on the sideline. “I’m not a big fan of presnap penalties and postsnap penalties like that,” Hafley said. “Those are not acceptable to me. It’s disrespectful to the team, it’s selfish, and it’s how you lose games… I had to take him out and he had to learn his lesson. Because if you’re going to have a standard, there has to be consequences. Or your standard is just a bunch of BS, if not.” Related Articles
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Teaching moment for Caleb Douglas Rookie wide receiver Caleb Douglas is being celebrated nationwide for his dynamic one-handed catch that went for 28 yards against Washington. ESPN made it No. 1 on its Top 10 list. The video is all over social media. Hafley said the team celebrated the spectacular reception. However, Douglas also had a negated reception of 33 yards because he didn’t know where he was on the field despite being wide open and stepped out of bounds after making the catch. “…I think then the important piece,” Hafley said, “is to get in the film room and say, ‘Hey, you need to flatten out this route more,’ and ‘This would have been an explosive play, too,’ or, ‘You need to stay on this block longer. You had a MA (missed assignment) and here’s why,’ and ‘You’ve got to clean some stuff up, here’s why,’ and ‘We’ve got to clean some stuff up.’ “So, there’s a ton of parades, right?” Hafley continued. “Awesome job. Go enjoy it. You should. It was a pretty impressive catch, but we’ve got to get to work. Put it to bed after today. It’s done. It doesn’t mean anything. And let’s go get better tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next day and keep challenging.”