Gase: I have to get Bell ball more

Adam Gase wouldn’t touch the trade-deadline drama, instead focusing on the sad state of his 1-6 team and the need to find a way to avoid a rock-bottom moment Sunday against the tanking Dolphins. The Jets’ coach would, however, discuss one of the reasons his team fell short against the Jaguars — the inability to get Le’Veon Bell more involved — and pointed the finger at himself.

“That was disappointing last week. I wanted to get him the ball more,” Gase said Wednesday before practice. “He just [had] nowhere to go. There were some passing-game stuff, we were trying to get him the ball. The ball just went other places.”

Bell had just 12 touches — nine carries for 23 yards and three catches for 12 yards. The nine rushes were by far his season low. His previous low in touches was 15, in the team’s lone victory, Oct. 13 over the Cowboys.

“We just have to make sure that he has touches. Last week was bad. That was on me,” Gase said. “I just kept seeing every time he ran the ball, there were two or three guys that were waiting for him. We just got to make sure we got guys covered, we do a good job of creating some kind of hole for him to go through and he can get to the next level. We at least got to get him to the linebackers where he’s clean.”

Bell was involved in trade rumors Tuesday, but wound up staying put. After the deadline passed, he released a video on social media in which he stressed patience and said, “I’m happy as hell to be a New York Jet.” It was consistent with the positivity he’s exhibited since joining the team.

“That’s what he’s like during a game. Anytime he goes by me, he says ‘ Hey stick with it, we’re good,’” Gase said. “The positive attitude he has throughout a game is awesome. It’s never, ‘Hey, I need this or that.’ It’s, ‘ Hey, call the play you called earlier, it was open. We just got to protect it.’ Or, ‘Go to this run, they’re doing, this, this and this.’ He sees the game extremely well. It’s been impressive to kind of witness it.”