Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Can players be relied upon to improve?
Editor’s note: With the start of Dolphins’ training camp six days away, the Sun Sentinel takes a look at the team’s top storylines in a 10-part series. Today, Chris Perkins tackles whether Miami’s philosophy of improvement from within a smart one.
The Miami Dolphins return a large number of players — nine offensive and eight defensive starters — from the 2016 squad that went 10-6 and earned a wild-card playoff berth. They could return as many as 45 players from last season’s 53-man regular-season roster.
The Dolphins, who think continuity is among the keys to success, are relying on improvement from within to take them to the next level.
And they’re relying on coach Adam Gase whose philosophy of accountability and his ability to relate to players, which were credited with wringing the most out of last year’s team, to be the biggest factor in that improvement.
Gase, entering his second season with the Dolphins, has won his team over on accountability in a number of ways, including showing even he’s not above the principle.
Gase admitted during the offseason that he made a mistake by putting Pro Bowl defensive end Cameron Wake, who was recovering from an Achilles injury, on a snap count early last season. That admission earned a large measure of respect from players and made them look at themselves more honestly.
“When your head coach can take accountability like that,” right guard Jermon Bushrod said, “then it’s just a trickle-down effect.”
Prior to that, Gase showed he’s serious about accountability by leaving running back Jay Ajayi at home for last year’s regularseason opener at Seattle after Ajayi reportedly reacted poorly to the news he wouldn’t be the starter, cutting offensive linemen Billy Turner, Dallas Thomas and Jamil Douglas for underperforming, and benching veteran cornerback Byron Maxwell and veteran defensive end Mario Williams for the same reason.
Those actions eventually turned a 1-4 start into a surprising six-game winning streak, the organization’s first playoff appearance since the 2008 season, and became a mechanism for making the team better.
“I think coach [Gase] is very accountability-oriented, one, for his players, [and] two, for himself, and everybody in this particular organization,” defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said. “And that’s something that’s great, because he doesn’t put himself on a pedestal to say, ‘Everything I say is perfect.’ ”
Gase’s ability to relate to his players are wide-ranging. The former offensive coordinator is known for both playfully trash-talking his defense and maintaining meaningful contact with players ranging from quarterback Ryan Tannehill and center Mike Pouncey to running back Damien Williams and linebacker Kiko Alonso.
All those factors, the Dolphins believe, helped make them a better team last year, and will help make them a better team this year.
Obviously, players will have to do the physical work to become better. The Dolphins understand that. But they’re banking on Gase’s ways to inspire players to become better.
The Dolphins think that’s one reason they went 8-2 in one-score games last year.
“Do I think it’s sustainable? I do,” said Darren Rizzi, the associate head coach/special teams coordinator. “We have the same people in the building. We’ve added some great pieces to the puzzle.
“Again, it comes down to playing well in those crunch times. That’s really the bottom line.”
The Dolphins are betting Gase, and his way of conducting business, will lead them in that direction. Dolphins’ training camp schedule: Thursday, 8:20 a.m.; July 28, 8:20 a.m.;
July 29, 8:20 a.m.; July 30, 8:20 a.m.; July 31, 8:20 a.m.;
Aug. 2, 8:45 a.m.; Aug. 3, 8:20 a.m.; Aug. 4, 8:20 a.m.;
Aug. 7, 8:45 a.m.; Aug. 8, 8:20 a.m.; Aug. 13, 8:20 a.m.;
Aug. 14, 8:20 a.m.; Aug. 15, 8:20 a.m.
“It comes down to playing well in those crunch times.” Darren Rizzi, the associate head coach/special teams coordinator