Gase calls Landry’s actions ‘embarrassing’
Ejection of star receiver hurt Miami late in loss to Bills.
DAVIE — Dolphins coach Adam Gase is usually first in line to defend his players, especially the core group, but he’s not about to excuse what Jarvis Landry did to get ejected in the season finale.
Gase was thoroughly irritated by Landry, who ignited a brawl by charging at Bills safety Jordan Poyer, headbutting him and hitting him in the facemask. Landry compounded that by verbally abusing an official, leading to his ejection.
“I think that was the pinnacle of what I’ve ever seen with him during a game,” Gase said Wednesday. “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.
“Whether people think we weren’t in the game or it was garbage time or whatever it was, all I know is we were in the game and we’re going on our last drive of the game and two of our best players on offense aren’t in there. That was very, very frustrating to watch and standing there, not being able to do anything. We need way better control from our best players in the heat of the moment.”
Running back Kenyan Drake was also ejected after he took a Buffalo helmet and threw it 20 yards. He spoke about the incident Monday and admitted it was “stupid” to lose his composure and get tossed.
Landry blamed Poyer for putting his hands in his facemask and grabbing his neck and called his own actions “defending myself.” He also denied disrespecting the official, though Gase said in his postgame news conference that Landry did.
Landry not only took himself out of Miami’s final two possessions of a 22-16 loss, he also prevented himself from polishing off an exceptional season. He finished with 112 catches, 987 yards and nine touchdowns. Another 13 yards would’ve given him his third consecutive 1,000yard season.
The Dolphins are at a critical point when it comes to evaluating Landry as he hits unrestricted free agency in March. After playing out all four years of his rookie contract with tremendous production at a bargain price, he’ll likely want something in the range of Antonio Brown’s recent four-year, $68 million deal.
While he might not quite reach that financial stratosphere, it will require a massive commitment from Miami to sign him to a new contract. As the team weighs whether it wants to do that, Landry’s temperament will be a consideration.
“I think you can’t take one isolated incident and overreact, but at the same time, you have to make sure that you look at everything we’ve been doing over the last couple of years,” Gase said. “That’s where a lot of our decisions are made when you look at the body of work.”
Gase has referred to himself and Landry as hotheads, but usually portrays Landry positively when discussing his demeanor and describes him as competitive or passionate.
The concern, however, is when he becomes so demonstrative that he loses control and his tone starts rippling through the sideline. That’s something Gase can’t tolerate no matter how valuable Landry is on the field.
Stills admits to injury: This is typically how injury discussions go in the NFL: the player brushes off whatever he’s playing through during the season, but afterward he’s willing to be a little more open.
That’s exactly how wide receiver Kenny Stills handled the right hand injury that affected him for most of the season. After coyly saying he wasn’t even hurt at the time, he admitted this week he played through a torn tendon in one of his fingers.
“It’s just part of the thing where you just start playing through the pain a little bit,” he said. “You guys saw it in practice, where I didn’t catch balls one of those weeks and it was just trying to get through the week and make it to the game. Regardless of what’s going on, I’m always going to try to be out there for Sundays. It’s fine.”
The good news for the Dolphins is Stills will not need surgery on his hand this offseason. The rest will be enough for it to fully heal.
The week leading up to Miami’s Week 4 game against the Saints, he was unable to catch passes in practice. The quarterbacks would either pretend to throw him a ball or toss him a tennis ball when he ran routes.
Credit Stills for putting up an impressive season. He was second on the team in catches (58), yards receiving (847) and six touchdowns. His 14.6 yards per catch ranked 22nd in the NFL.