Is Panthers’ Kuechly a Ray Lewis-level talent?

When Gase puts on his play-caller hat, he studies the opposing defense and looks for weak spots.

When Gase turns on the Panthers defensive film, his attention goes to the middle of the field and player No. 59, a linebacker who reminds him of one of the NFL’s greatest all-time linebackers. Yes, Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly reminds Gase of Ray Lewis.

“It’s probably easier to say, ‘What challenges doesn’t he pose?’” Gase said of Kuechly. “I mean, the guy is a special player. And I don’t think I’ve seen a guy communicate as much as he does on defense. I can think of one other guy, and he played in Baltimore for a long time. It’s impressive to watch, as a coach you just kind of sit back and you can admire what he’s doing.”

Since entering the NFL in 2012, Kuechly has been credited with 758 tackles, the most in the NFL. This season, Kuechly has 72 tackles, 2 interceptions, 2 passes defended, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.

Dolphins quarterback Jay Cutler is extremely impressed with the NFL’s top-ranked defense.

“Incredible, incredible defense,” Cutler said. “I’ve played against those guys before. The core group of guys are still there. 59 (Kuechly) and 58 (Thomas Davis), they control everything. They’re incredibly smart players. They get everyone else in position.”

Gase wants to protect Cutler, who has broken ribs and is behind a banged-up offensive line, by utilizing short passes to Kenyan Drake, Damien Williams, Jarvis Landry and Julius Thomas. Kuechly blows that stuff up.

“How he runs that defense,” Gase said. “How he gets those guys into the right stuff, when teams give him oddball formations or plays. And then he makes a ton of plays, sideline-to-sideline. A very tough player to go against.” —