Dolphins’ Gase ready to turn tables on Belichick
DAVIE — The onething that makes Adam Gase tighten his jaw every time he faces Bill Belichick’s defense is the unpredictability.
Whatever Gase sees on film from the previous week might not look anything like what manifests on game day. He’s sure Belichick is going to clamp down on his best players, but he’s never quite certain how he’ll go about it. It changes every year, every week, and it’s maddening.
“You never know what you’re going to get,” Gase lamented last year. This week, he added, “Just know that there’s going to be things that you haven’t seen before . ... Every time we’ve played them, it’s been different.”
But for the first time in Gase’s three-year run, the uncertainty cuts both ways.
When Gase drew up his plan for this season, he did so free from convention. That alone gives a defense pause when
it tries to figure out what he’s up to, and there’s sure to be some guesswork on Belichick’s part heading into Sunday’s Dolphins-Patriots game at Gillette Stadium.
That’s progress for Miami.
This offense is more vibrant than it’s been at any point under Gase. Ryan Tannehill is putting up the best numbers of his career and the running ability he showed against the Jets, for example, creates hesitation.
And whatever the Dolphins do, they’re doing it with lightning speed. They hit on four plays of 30 yards or more last week and their players are outracing the defense so decisively that they’re high-fiving each other before they reach the end zone.
Gase was determined to shake loose his offense after what he described as two years of “just garbage.” He wanted an array of skill players that could be mixed and rearranged in a variety of formations, not the same three receivers in the same three spots. He wanted to play mad scientist, and so far his concoctions have been explosive.
In three games, he’s made good use of the flexibility.
Albert Wilson has played receiver, running back and quarterback. Running backs Kenyan Drake and Frank Gore have lined up wide and occasionally been on the field together. Rookie tight end Mike Gesicki’s been at receiver. Jakeem Grant, previously a return specialist, is averaging 22 offensive snaps and is already halfway toward matching his total playing time from last year.
Gase has prioritized causing trepidation for defenses, and the Dolphins’ skill player speed and no-huddle pace make that a scary proposition. Opponents don’t know what they’ll do, only that they’ll do it quickly. Gase is doing the same thing on offense that drives him nuts about Belichick.
“You try to do that,” Gase said. “It doesn’t always work out in the game . ... The more plays you get, the more you can be multiple and get more guys involved and really show a good range of things the defensive coaches have to prepare for leading up to the game.
“We’ve had a little bit of that this year, but hopefully we can increase our play count and keep getting guys more involved.”
It feels as though there’s more coming, that Gase has merely set the stage for grander plans. As good as his offense has looked during a surprise 3-0 start, he’s not out of moves. Not even close. No one would believe that he came into the season knowing he’d get the Patriots in Week 4 and didn’t save something special for them.
What will the Dolphins unleash next? That’s the essential question Belichick faces this week.
DeVante Parker, Drake and Gesicki are three guys who have yet to really get going. Parker is the biggest one to watch this week after easing his way into an offense that was already chugging along with two catches for 40 yards against the Raiders.
“He came in with speed and was playing extremely fast,” Tannehill said. “He made the big catch down the right sideline for us. Tight coverage. He fought through contact and was able to get his hips in front and make a nice catch downfield. Huge play in the game for us when we needed it most. I look forward to more of that from him.”
Interestingly, some of Parker’s best games have come against New England. He hit his career high of 106 yards against the Patriots in each of his first two seasons. He’s a unique long-range target who can come up big for the Dolphins down the field, and his season is barely underway.
Drake has done well the first three weeks, but has just 30 carries and nine catches. The ball’s going to increasingly be in his hands as the season progresses, and he showed late last season what he can do with it.
Gesicki has the chance to be something the Dolphins’ offense has lacked for years, and he’s in line for a bigger share of offensive snaps if veteran A.J. Derby remains out with a foot injury. He’s a relatively untapped resource at this stage and should only get better.
There’s a lot to keep track of, a lot of players to turn loose, and Gase is as much of a wild card as any coach in the league. He called a play last weekend that never looked the way it should have in practice, saying he pulled the trigger on it against the Raiders because “sometimes you just go with your gut, man.”
He’s dangerous right now, which is an unusual feeling for a franchise accustomed to coaches like Joe Philbin and Dave Wannstedt. Gase is the unpredictable one, and that puts the Dolphins on better footing as they try to upend a team that’s kept them guessing for years.