MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins are four days away from their first regular-season game, and head coach Jeff Hafley says the team is focused on executing at the highest level when they face the Las Vegas Raiders this Sunday.
The sounds of fans cheering and crowd noise played during Wednesday's practice to simulate a game environment as the team worked through its final preparations.
WATCH BELOW: Dolphins ready to 'play free' & 'fast' in season opener against Raiders
"Our process is to do everything we can. We just finished a walkthrough; we have practice coming up now, then we're going to go out and practice, then we're going to watch the practice, and then they're going to recover, and they're going to go home," Hafley said.
The goal is for players to be confident when kickoff arrives.
"I just want them to go play free, play as fast as they can, as physical as they can, clear mind, fast feet, and let it rip, and however that falls, we'll look at it," Hafley said.
Hafley mentioned the two key factors they will focus on heading into the early part of the season.
"Turnover margin is going to be huge, especially early in the season. You've got to protect the ball and then penalties early in the season," Hafley said.
With a young team and plenty of rookies, Week 1 can hold lots of emotions for players, with the coach saying the team will need to manage that energy.
"I mean that first game, and there's going to be some anxious guys and some guys that are fired up to play the game, and you got to take a deep breath and trust your training," Hafley said.
When asked whether he would hold back the team's top plays for later in the season or go all-in to secure a Week 1 win, Hafley was direct.
"I'm going to call what I believe our guys can execute on a high level," Hafley said. "But I'm not going to go in with the intent of saving bullets for a later time. I'm going to do everything that we possibly can do to win the game with whatever calls that I need as long as our players can execute them at a high level. Because it's not about me tricking anybody, it's about our guys playing good football," Hafley said.
Sunday will mark Hafley's first regular season game as an NFL head coach. He said he might take a moment to reflect before kickoff.
"Probably during the national anthem is usually sometimes when I can finally take a deep breath for a few seconds and just reflect on important people that have helped me throughout my life and usually in that time I'll think about them," Hafley said.
The Dolphins play the Raiders in Las Vegas on Sunday. Kickoff is at 4:25 p.m. ET.
