Malik Willis has simple explanation for Dolphins OL struggles against Giants

The Miami Dolphins had a rough day against the New York Giants' defense on Thursday during their joint practice. From Austin Jackson getting tossed out of practice to Abdul Carter taking a swing at Patrick Paul, nothing was working in Miami's favor.

Dolphins starting quarterback Malik Willis knows why, and he isn't overly concerned about what happened on the practice field.

Miami Dolphins can't blame the offensive line entirely for the bad practice

Jeff Hafley has to share at least part of the blame, and honestly, fans shouldn't be too upset that the offensive line performed as they did. The head coach has made it crystal clear that he has no desire to waste time game-planning for practices or preseason games.

"The focus on practice right now is to get our players better with what's important to me, and that's the fundamentals of how you play this game," Hafley said to the media ahead of this week's joint practice. "It's fundamentals, it's technique, it's toughness, it's effort, and then we'll worry about scheme as we get into the season."

Willis' comments echo that same sentiment. The QB said that in a game, they would have had a game plan in place to help with the blocking situations. This was straight-up football. Miami's offensive line confidence has been growing in recent weeks. This shouldn't affect that.

It's not clear if the Giants spent any time working on schemes or a practice plan, but they did get the better of Miami's linemen, especially with their edge rushers. John Harbaugh called his pass rush "ferocious."

Hafley wants to win in every aspect of football. He made it clear that when he enters into a joint practice, something he puts more value on than a preseason game, he wants to win, but not at the expense of developing his players' fundamental standards.

So the Dolphins got beat up today. They will watch the tape, work on the techniques, and get ready for Saturday afternoon. Hafley isn't too concerned.

The Dolphins are young, especially along the offensive line, where they are anchored on the left by Patrick Paul, entering only his second year as a full-time starter. Kadyn Proctor is a rookie, and Jonah Savaiinaea is in his second season. There is a lot riding on these players getting up to speed quickly.

The good news is that Paul and Proctor looked good during one-on-one drills. Those are good barometers for how a lineman is progressing. Against the Giants' top edge rushers, that's saying a lot.

In the end, practice may have been ugly, but as Willis pointed out, there was no game planning or scheme implementation that would have helped the Dolphins' offensive lineman.

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