MIAMI GARDENS — Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver smiles when he hears his players talking about being "bullies."

After all, Weaver spent four years as a player and the past three years coaching in Baltimore, an organization whose defense has a reputation for bullying the opponent.

Weaver was asked whether that is something that has to be taught or if it is innate.

"I think with the guys we have on defense certainly it is innate," he said Friday. "So it's our job to make that come to light. And you do that through your actions, right? Just going out there on the practice field and trying to be purposeful and have clear intention, what we're trying to get done, and trying to solve all our problems with our pads.

"And ultimately, we get an opportunity to do that 17 times this year, hopefully, at the end of day, they say we are bullies."

Playing with a bully mentality was the latest talking point after camp's first dustup that included running back Jaylen Wright, cornerback Kader Kohou and offensive lineman Patrick Paul.

Offensive lineman Rob Jones pegged it as the unofficial start to training camp, and an example of the Dolphins' new attitude

More: Miami Dolphins training camp practice report Day 8 Friday

“This year, we’re gonna be the bullies," he said.

Weaver likes that attitude after coming from a Ravens team that led the league in fewest points a year ago and was third in 2022.

"If we can be the initiators, we can be the bullies," linebacker Jordyn Brooks said. "I think that makes you a dominant defense to where you’re proactive rather than reactive.”

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• Weaver praised the character and leadership of 17-year veteran defensive lineman Calais Campbell, along with his ability to keep performing. "If you haven't been around Calais, you don't know the impact he can have off the field," said Weaver, who coached the 37-year-old Campbell for two years in Baltimore. "Everybody sees the phenomenal football player that he is, he is one of the best leaders I've ever been around. On the field, at his age in particular, I truthfully don't know how he goes. It's like LeBron James in basketball and Calais Campbell in football in my mind, like, they're just, they're just human marvels. I don't know how he gets it done."

• Weaver will keep his big men fresh with a liberal rotation system: "You're out here right now," he said to reporters about the interview that was held under a tent outdoors in the heat and humidity of South Florida. "It would benefit me if I could have somebody else come finish this interview right now. So for those guys, particularly those bigs if we wanted to play with uncommon effort, which is something we preach day in and day out, I think it's important for them to stay fresh in order to get that done."

• The Dolphins have a very versatile group of defensive backs, led by Jalen Ramsey, and Weaver will use that to their advantage. "You have a guy like Jalen Ramsey, he has a cornerback skill set, but he is a football player," Weaver said. "So because of his football, intelligence and God-given athleticism and talent, there are multiple places you can use him. And ultimately, for us as a staff, our challenge is to make sure that we can put him in spots where he can be most impactful in the game."

• Weaver was cautious with his comments on first-round draft pick edge rusher Chop Robinson from Penn State. "He's still a young player, still trying to learn some of the finer techniques and fundamentals of the game," he said. "But you see his athleticism and his skill set. And what I love most about the kid is just his intent when it comes to work. … You can see him just contemplating every single thing that's been given to him and try to see what bits and pieces he can take from people to use with his game."

Trash-talking in the NFL

The subject of trash-talking was raised. Weaver loves to see it in his players because he believes it exudes confidence, allowing a player to recover from a bad play.

Then he was asked if there is much trash-talking between himself as the defensive play caller and head coach Mike McDaniel, who calls the offensive plays.

"I love Mike. I'm not much of a trash-talker, particularly to guys that are smaller than me," he said. "Every offense, defense football team in the National Football League is going to get beat. You're going to face adversity, everybody's good. Our job is to win the next play. Win the next play, win the next game, win the division, win the conference, win the Super Bowl. So if you don't have that next-play mentality, the emotions, emotional ups and downs of this game will crush you. So you have to always be ready for the next play."

That's what you call a "Mike drop."

Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and golf reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator says his unit will be bullies