Wake primed to excel yet again
Veteran excited to play with rookie DE Harris
DAVIE — NFL coaches rarely publicly admit their mistakes. When they do, it forces people to take notice.
The biggest mistake Adam Gase made in his first year as the Miami Dolphins’ head coach was underestimating Cameron Wake.
Because Wake was coming back from an Achilles tendon injury that ended his 2015 season and is well into his 30s — which in NFL years means he should be applying for his AARP card — the Dolphins put the defensive end on a strict snap count, which essentially made him a backup over the first five games.
Wake hardly got on the field during Miami’s 1-4 start and had little impact on the defense. But once Wake was named a starter against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6, he shined. He ended up making his fifth Pro Bowl and served as one of the main catalysts for a turnaround that landed the Dolphins in the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
Gase admits he misread Wake, who is annually fueled by whatever disrespect or doubts he can find going back to his days in the Canadian Football League.
“Are you trying to throw the first five games intomy face there?” Gase joked with reporters at this week’s minicamp. “I made a mistake. I should have been playing him more early.”
Good thing Gase isn’t stubborn, because unleashing Wake allowed the 35-year-old to show he still had the skills to be considered one of the NFL’s most forceful pass rushers.
“We’re all human, right,” said Wake, who finished last season with 29 tackles, 11.5 sacks and five forced fumbles. “We make mistakes. Players make them on the field. Coaches make them off the field.
“As a man in this game you’ve got to be able to admit when that happens. I think
there are other coaches who don’t do that. [Gase] being a different kind of guy, I think that’s part of the reason guys respect him, relate to him, and love him.”
Wake labeled his relationship with Gase as “tremendous,” and proof of that was the fact the Dolphins extended Wake’s contract an extra year for the second straight offseason. Sources say Gase lobbied for both extensions.
Wake is slated to make $8 million for this season, and another $8 million for 2018. His extension was the first move Miami made this offseason, and it was purposely done thatway to send the locker room a message that the organization takes care of its own.
Wake, who has 81.5 sacks and 21 forced fumbles in his eight seasons with the Dolphins, has repeatedly said he hopes to play his entire career in Miami.
Last year was Wake’s first time participating in the playoffs, and he insists the lessons learned from the 2016 season — and Miami’s 30-12 loss to Pittsburgh in the wild-card round — will be used as a “stepping stone to greater things.”
“Most of the guys who are still here know what that journey was like. We know what it took, how hard it was, every week, scratching and clawing, winning close games, the sacrifices it took day in and day out to say we only got so far,” Wake said. “If anything, now you know what it took to get that far, now what do we have to do to go even a step further to reach our ultimate goal?
“We don’t have complacent guys. We have guys whoare hungry and thirsty to do more, and they already know what it takes. It starts now.”
It starts with teaching the young players the way, and that’s what Wake has been doing with Charles Harris, Miami’s 2017 firstround pick.
The Dolphins plan to use Harris and Wake on obvious passing downs, and based on how Harris has looked during the offseason program, they could be quite a disruptive duo.
“I’m excited. I’m excited for him,” Wake said when asked about Harris. “I think he has the right mentality and the right mindset to come into this game and be able to be successful.
“Physically, he’s very gifted. He’s obviously explosive, aggressive, and obviously to play this position, there’s no other way that you can be successful unless you have those tools.”
However, don’t expect Wake to take a backseat to Harris, who is 13 years younger than him. Wake, who only trails DeMarcus Ware (85 sacks) for total sacks since 2009, plans to continue his push to be viewed as one of the greatest whoever played his position.
“He’s in great shape,” defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said of Wake. “I think this will be a very fun and exciting year for him. Obviously, he’s not having to worry about injury or anything of that sort and is having a good offseason fromthe looks of it.”