New Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley makes camp feel like game day

 MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (WINK) — The Miami Dolphins are back on the practice field for week one of preseason camp under first-year Head Coach Jeff Hafley.

Hafley has built training camp around 11-on-11 football, making practice feel like game day. Football in July may look like practice, but to Hafley, it's supposed to feel like Sunday.

"You want to play the game, right? You want to know the down and distance. You want to know the personnel. You don't want to just go out there and run plays," Hafley said. "When you do seven on seven, there's no rush. There's no for the quarterback. They're not going to feel anything. There's no timing. There's no rhythm."

Hafley says every practice is planned with purpose. Wide receiver Malik Washington says the change just makes sense.

"Seven on seven sometimes can be a little bit unrealistic, so I think us actually just playing football is the best way to get better at football," Washington said.

That means Dolphins' running backs practice behind a full offensive line. Running back Jaylen Wright says it will make the offense more prepared.

"Running that rock is very important. It's crucial," Wright said. "I'm happy that you know that this coaching staff is really invested into the O line a lot. I'm ready to go to work and go to war with them."

Veterans say Hafley's identity is starting to take shape. They say every practice is designed to push the team and make game day feel easier than what they experience during the week.

Center Aaron Brewer says the team has embraced Hafley's aggressive style. Now the challenge is building on it every single day.

"Practice like you want to make practice as hard as it can be. We want to compete, want to push each other, push it all the way to the edge," Brewer said. "Yesterday was our first day, and that's the floor, and so anything beneath that is going backwards."

Others commend Hafley's philosophy—they say if practice feels harder than the game, you're doing something right. Brewer says it's just real-life football.

"That's just real life football. We're not here playing flag football," Brewer said. "Like when you go to game day, it's 11 on 11, not seven on seven."

The Dolphins' first preseason game is at the Washington Commanders on Aug. 14. You can watch that game on WINK.