Gase’s newly installed pass routes are intricate
DAVIE— It started in offseason drills. The Miami Dolphins receivers were running rub routes and pick routes, and with much more frequency than in previous years. Therewere also more routes with double moves, and the red zone routes were keeping the defensive backs guessing.
This is the new passing game, the one coach Adam Gase developed after years as offensive coordinator for Denver and Chicago, and it’s different than previous passing games quarterback Ryan Tannehill has run for the Dolphins.
“It’s different concepts, some things I’ve never run before,” Tannehill said. “We’re learning the plays throughout this process, and we’re still putting new stuff in.”
The Dolphins wide receivers and tight ends— primarily Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills and Jordan Cameron — have high praise for Gase’s offense and its pass routes.
When you talk to the Dolphins defensive backs they’ll tell you this year’s routes are more varied, that the receivers keep the defensive backs guessing. In previous seasons, the defensive backs said they knew the routes the receivers were running. Now, they’re uncertain.
Cameron sees it all the time in practice.
“It’s like we have a formation thatwe run 10 different plays out of so they can’t be like, ‘Alright, we’ve seen this formation and know what they’re going to run here,’ ” he said. “They don’t know. It keeps them on their toes and keeps them guessing.”
Tannehill, for the most part, has thrown to open receivers in training camp and preseason games. Whether they catch the ball consistently is a different topic. But they have had few problems getting open and that’s partly because of their routes.
Many of the same routes that have gotten the receivers open have also worked for the tight ends, and the running backs, too, to a smaller extent.
“The more those two positions (tight end and running back) can do outside the wide receivers, the better it is for us and the tougher it makes it for people to defend us,” Gase said.
Andthe Dolphins haven’t even unveiled their full arsenal of routes. They haven’t unleash the double moves that are designed to get them open on deep passes. They’ve worked well so far in practices, but haven’t been called upon much in games.
“It’s something we’re working right now, especially as we start up the season, or as we’re getting close to it,” Tannehill said.
“We haven’t worked a whole lot on those double moves and down-the-field big shots [in games], so we’re getting a little work in here before we start the season.”
Things still need to be polished. Landry got whistled for a pass interference call last week on a rub/pick pattern, and wide receiver Brandon Shippen, who was cut Saturday, was flagged against Dallas for a similar infraction.
But the receivers are using more routes and more route combinations and that’s because Gase thinks they have the talent to get the job done.
“I do think we try to mix it up a little bit,” he said, “and we do have some guys that have very good ability to do multiple things.”
Even though the Dolphins’ passing game is largely six to 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, the routes are more intricate, and Gase keeps building on the previous day’s knowledge.
“[We’re] learning the plays throughout this process, and we’re still putting new stuff in,” Tannehill said. “Coach comes up with new thoughts all the time and we’ll put it in, in practice, and we’ll see what it looks like.
“Maybe one time [we run a play] and never run it again, and maybe [it’s] a great play we stick with and keep [practicing]. We’re always experimenting, always trying to find an edge and another play to give us an advantage.”