‘We need our leaders to step up’

Adam Gase says team discipline lacking in 2017

DAVIE — Jarvis Landry and Kenyan Drake, the Miami Dolphins’ top two offensive weapons, couldn’t be counted on in the season finale.

Both players got ejected last Sunday for fighting with Buffalo’s players in the fourth quarter while the team was trying to rally back from what turned out to be 22-16 loss.

What made their conduct seem worse is that this was just one of many scuffles coach Adam Gase’s undisciplined team — which finished second to the Seattle Seahawks in penalties committed — were involved in this past season.

While only one other scuffle led to a player’s ejection, the apparent lack of discipline, and absence of composure was so glaring this season numerous players privately acknowledged it was a contributing factor to Miami’s disappointing 6-10 record.

Gase took some, but not all of the ownership for those issues on Wednesday considering he called out the team’s leadership.

“It’s never going to be the way we really want it, the way we keep talking about it [being] until guys take control of this thing. There are a lot of things I can do to make things the way we need, but at the end of this [it’s] on player accountability,” Gase said. “We need our leaders to step up. We need them to be vocal. We need them to actually do their part in the leadership role.”

Gase, didn’t name names, but was likely referring to Mike Pouncey, Ndamukong Suh, Cameron Wake, Kenny Stills, Reshad Jones and Michael Thomas, the team’s six captains in 2017.

And it’s safe to conclude that Gase expected some of the team’s top performers, like Landry, to set a better example. According to Gase, Landry’s emotional outburst on Sunday, which led to his ejection following a fourth-quarter touchdown, was the worst he’s seen from the fourth-year veteran, who has had numerous on-field tantrums throughout his career.

“The hardest thing about [leadership] is its exhausting. That’s why it’s hard. That’s why it’s not a lot of great leaders when you look at players. There’s a lot less [leaders] than you would think,” Gase continued. “I’ve been around enough really good players, Hall of Fame players, and I see what they look like after the season. It takes a lot of effort. It takes a lot out of them. On top of them doing that, they have a job to do, they have to play well.”

Gase was clear that the Dolphins will need better leadership moving forward.

Quarterback Jay Cutler provided a veteran presence, but calling him the leader of the offense would be overstating his role in the team’s power structure. Especially considering Cutler was a rental as an NFL starter, and conducted himself like one despite his $10 million salary.

Ryan Tannehill is expected to return as Miami’s starting quarterback in 2018, but he’s still developing as leader, whose command of the locker room gets enhanced or weakened by his productivity level.

Landry has long been viewed as the emotional leader of the team, the alpha male in the Dolphins locker room. But his own teammates opted to not name him a captain last summer, instead giving the title to Stills, the most veteran receiver in the locker room.

And Sunday’s meltdown showcased the biggest concern about Landry, who will become an unrestricted free agent in the coming months if the Dolphins don’t get a deal done, or place the franchise or transition tag on him.

“I think that was the pinnacle of what I’ve ever seen with [Landry] during a game,” Gase said. “I know there’s been times where some of those guys kind of got in the mix a little bit; but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it get to a level where it was extremely bad. Last game, that was about as embarrassing as I’ve seen in a long time. It’s just something that we can’t have happen.”

Suh has become a better leader, working to shed his mercenary reputation. That’s why he was named a captain for the first time with the Dolphins in 2017, but on numerous occasions Suh lost his composure in losses.

Wake, Jones and Kiko Alonso have all gotten better, but these three veterans can only do so much because being vocal is out of their character.

That leaves Miami with a leadership void.

“We have the talent and at times we played like an elite team but we couldn’t consistently play at that level in all three phases of the game,” tight end Anthony Fasano said Monday. “I think that’s pretty much the reason why we’re 6-10.”