The Miami Dolphins may have won the game on Thursday night against the Atlanta Falcons, but the battles are only just beginning. And head coach Brian Flores wasn’t shy when discussing where the Dolphins would need to be better — primarily in the tackling department. But that doesn’t mean there were positives that Flores took away from the contest. Flores spoke with the media this afternoon and discussed his impressions upon a review of the tape.

He liked the Dolphins’ communication and execution, first and foremost.

“I thought our operation, just in and out of the huddle. When you watched the tape, you see Atlanta had some trouble kind of getting lined up from time to time because we were in and out of the huddle pretty quickly,” said Flores.

“I liked the operation. From that standpoint, we can catch or keep people off guard and off-balance that way. I think that gives us an advantage, so I thought that was something that was good.”

That can serve as positive reinforcement for the Dolphins as they look to continue to buy into Flores’ philosophies — smart, tough, disciplined football. Seeing the Dolphins understand what they were supposed to do — and in-game situations of discipline — should be heavily applauded.

How about wide receiver Preston Williams popping up quickly on his vertical route that kickstarted Miami’s 2-minute drill to ensure the offense could get back on the line of scrimmage quickly for another play?

That awareness can be easily overlooked, but it shouldn’t be. Those are the kind of small things Brian Flores wants to see this team conquer in order to stay competitive as an undermanned team in terms of talent in 2019.