Dolphins' Adam Gase to team: Perform or get benched

Kevin Patra wrote:New Dolphins coach Adam Gase sent his first big message: Perform or take a seat.

"I'm over discussing any of this stuff with players," Gase said, via the Miami Herald. "We're either going to start getting the job done, or we're going to make changes."

Gase began his benching fury on Sunday, telling right tackle Ja'Wuan James to grab some pine after the former first-round pick got burned badly on a rush that led to a strip sack on the Dolphins' final drive of the fourth quarter. If the Cleveland Browns had a competent placekicker, the sack would have cost Miami a win in their home opener. Gase knows his team could be 0-3 right now.


"We just want guys to do it right," Gase said. "Whoever wants to do it right, those are the guys that we're going to put out there. Talent's irrelevant at this point."

Gase wouldn't say whether James would get his job back after what the coach termed two "bad" plays. In reality, Gase might not have a better option than James.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000710815/article/dolphins-adam-gase-to-team-perform-or-get-benched

I have to agree to disagree with what Gase is saying. The players do need to perform better but at the same time he needs to do better at play calling. I can see what he is doing to make sure that people are doing what they are suppose to be doing but I have to agree that if the players don't perform they need to be benched

A young, rookie head coach calling out players after a 1-2 start?  Could be a recipe for disaster after a couple more losses.

I'm all for holding players accountable - but the coaches need to be accountable too.  The lack of prep on defense is very obvious, and the way the offense struggles in the first half each week indicates that they aren't prepared either.  It's time for the entire team to get their act together - coaches as well as players.

Although i don't know exactly what kind of changes but.......consider that James has been serviceable as a RT......but 2 crucial plays have hurt.....when you replace him with Dallas Thomas i gotta say "WTF were you thinking?" Were you really thinking that protection would be better by replacing the guy with a guy who has been in the league for 4 years and hasnt done squat to improve?

James is the best option available on this roster. If you wanna get the message across make it to someone who really gets beat all game.   Like Maxwell!!!!!! Press corner? Hell Naw, Physical Corner? Not no but hell naw...Bad Footwork? HELL YEAH!!!! But we do nothing about it.  

Your message needs to be clear and concise.  It needs to align with your overall coaching philosophy.  Right now you are straight talking outta your ass...and we all forgave for the Bullshit that you gave on why Tunsil wasnt a starter till he earned it.

Just be consistent in the messages you put out there.  If you're serious about accountability, why do guys like Tannehill, Maxwell and Jenkins get a free pass?  Why is James the only one that gets publicly called out? 

I'm not saying Tannehill should be benched - he shouldn't.  But when the coach praises him after he plays like dogcrap in the first half, something's not right.

I honestly thought we got the right guy but if I had to grade him right now it would be an F!!!! He's in over his head. The measure of success by NFL Standards is Super Bowls! Period. The measure of a successful coach is actually improving your team. Hence the F grade

Umix10 wrote:He's in over his head. 

Yep - that's it.  Outcoached and unprepared in his first 3 games - not off to a good start.

The Dolphins love to hire inexperienced coaches that have to learn on the job - so far, all it's resulted in is losing seasons.  Looks like Gase is headed that way too.

IMO, He one that is trying to find his own way but with what he has he having a hard time making the right decisions. He got put in a difficult position to make the right calls with the wrong guys. The next off season will be his first legit off season so I really want to see what he does.

I'm not impressed with half of the staff he assembled. That right there tells me more than anything he says.

JMP wrote:Just be consistent in the messages you put out there.  If you're serious about accountability, why do guys like Tannehill, Maxwell and Jenkins get a free pass?  Why is James the only one that gets publicly called out? 

I'm not saying Tannehill should be benched - he shouldn't.  But when the coach praises him after he plays like dogcrap in the first half, something's not right.

I think Tannehill is fragile mentally (see: last year whining at the practice squad about their "practice squad trophy"), and he's terrified that if he breaks him and he stops performing altogether that his (Gase's) job is attached to that as well.  I'm sure he was told that Tannehill was his guy for the next few years and if he couldn't get him to perform by Year 2 he was gone as well as Tannehill was.

Maxwell/Jenkins - it's a depth issue, and at this point calling them out would probably only make things bad in the locker room.  If the FRONT OFFICE (theme I have been pushing for some time) would do their part and bring in some talent to push these guys (including the fucking QB position) then the coach would have a little more leeway to actually call these guys out.  It's too early in the season for him to be shaking things up radically, particularly when the guys behind Maxwell and Jenkins may very well be terrible due to Tannenballs' talent evaluation.  Let's not forgive Jeff Ireland or Hickey though.  They have just as much a part of this as anyone.  Ireland may seem less so since it's been some time, but he put this team back possibly 10 years with terrible drafting.  It's completely evident now that we can see that we have no depth at all, and anyone with any starting talent gets plugged into a starting spot.

Many people have said that we have "addressed" spots every year, but we haven't.  We have spent money and brought in bums, but we have addressed nothing.  Lots of talk about spending money on the offensive line for Tannehill, as well as draft picks, but addressing it doesn't fix the god-damn thing.  I'm not saying it has to be perfect, but it has to be better.  How many tackles are we going to draft before we figure out what a god damned guard is?  Oh, and we need a center too.  So, let's think about this "addressing" of the offensive line.  With all of the three GM geniuses we've had, we now have, in my opinion, possibly two legitimate NFL starters, and one of them is a rookie we got because of pure unadulterated luck.  All of these years and the front office has been unable to field an even decent offensive line.  It's unforgivable.  Ryan Deberg Tannehill is what he is, but he would most certainly be a hell of a lot better with good protection.  He's never had it, and he still doesn't.  It's not going to stop some of the head-scratching plays, but maybe it'll stop some strip sacks, rushed INTs, etc.  The fact that each year they roll out this group of shitburgers and call it an offensive line is appalling.  

Until the front office is fixed, we will suck ad nauseum.  No coach will overcome terrible talent, especially not a coach who's doing this for the first time.  Nearly all rookie coaches seem like they're over their heads from time to time, but if you saddle them with the incompetence of this franchise when it comes to talent acquisition and evaluation, they are nearly doomed to fail.

the predispostion of Adam Gase is the issue right now.  He was hyped as being an offensive Genius.  Cutler and Manning was his claim.  Both had established careers.  Both had good surrounding casts.  this is his crutch!!!!! what worked for them isn't working for us.  He hasn't got that yet. His true test is for HIM (Gase) to evolve...Not the team!!!!!  When he evolves the team will improve. He needs to understand that everything is a situation!!!!!! he is not in the same situation with Cutler or Manning..... he has got to evolve

Umix10 wrote:the predispostion of Adam Gase is the issue right now.  He was hyped as being an offensive Genius.  Cutler and Manning was his claim.  Both had established careers.  Both had good surrounding casts.  this is his crutch!!!!! what worked for them isn't working for us.  He hasn't got that yet. His true test is for HIM (Gase) to evolve...Not the team!!!!!  When he evolves the team will improve.  He needs to understand that everything is a situation!!!!!! he is not in the same situation with Cutler or Manning..... he has got to evolve

100 percent agree, and it's the hallmark of a great coach to change, evolve, adapt.

I'm getting the impression that it was the Tannehill late game fumble caused by James that should've cost them the win that got Gase all pissy, and James is being scapegoated. I heard he got a really angry look on his face when that happened.

I agree with Jmp, if you're going to yammer on about holding players accountable, then they ALL need to be held accountable. None of this cherry-picking business.

I also agree that the coaches are as much to blame as anyone. How can you expect Maxwell NOT to suck when he's being ordered to play so far off everybody?

DolFan 316 wrote:I'm getting the impression that it was the Tannehill late game fumble caused by James that should've cost them the win that got Gase all pissy, and James is being scapegoated. I heard he got a really angry look on his face when that happened.

I agree with Jmp, if you're going to yammer on about holding players accountable, then they ALL need to be held accountable. None of this cherry-picking business.

I also agree that the coaches are as much to blame as anyone. How can you expect Maxwell NOT to suck when he's being ordered to play so far off everybody?

I have to agree with the cherry picking as well. IMO, He needs to make sure that he isn't single out players and making sure that all players are being responsible for there lack of play.

To be fair, that strip sack was 100 percent James' fault. Watching it on the coaches tape, he's all over him like stink on a monkey in less than 2 seconds. I said somewhere else, it was the closest you can come to a whiff while still being "engaged".

That stuff you do during the meeting not in a news conference. I remember getting chewed out by the coaches during meeting while watching film.

Degarmo wrote:I think Tannehill is fragile mentally (see:  last year whining at the practice squad about their "practice squad trophy"), and he's terrified that if he breaks him and he stops performing altogether that his (Gase's) job is attached to that as well.  I'm sure he was told that Tannehill was his guy for the next few years and if he couldn't get him to perform by Year 2 he was gone as well as Tannehill was.

Yep, you may be right.  Tannehill has been treated with kid gloves his entire career, no question.

Degarmo wrote:Maxwell/Jenkins - it's a depth issue, and at this point calling them out would probably only make things bad in the locker room.  If the FRONT OFFICE (theme I have been pushing for some time) would do their part and bring in some talent to push these guys (including the fucking QB position) then the coach would have a little more leeway to actually call these guys out.  It's too early in the season for him to be shaking things up radically, particularly when the guys behind Maxwell and Jenkins may very well be terrible due to Tannenballs' talent evaluation.  Let's not forgive Jeff Ireland or Hickey though.  They have just as much a part of this as anyone.  Ireland may seem less so since it's been some time, but he put this team back possibly 10 years with terrible drafting.  It's completely evident now that we can see that we have no depth at all, and anyone with any starting talent gets plugged into a starting spot.

Yeah, depth is almost non-existent at LB and CB.  At LB, at least, you can plug in Hewitt and see what he does.  At CB, the team made the extremely stupid decision to keep just 5 CBs - two of whom (Lucas and Lippett) are not even close to being ready to play and should be on the practice squad.  So I guess you're right...we really can't bench Maxwell, because there's literally no one else. 

I guess the Phins think Culliver will be a savior if/when he gets back.  I expect nothing from him, but even if he's good, it will be too late by then.

Degarmo wrote:Many people have said that we have "addressed" spots every year, but we haven't.  We have spent money and brought in bums, but we have addressed nothing.  Lots of talk about spending money on the offensive line for Tannehill, as well as draft picks, but addressing it doesn't fix the god-damn thing.  I'm not saying it has to be perfect, but it has to be better.  How many tackles are we going to draft before we figure out what a god damned guard is?  Oh, and we need a center too.  So, let's think about this "addressing" of the offensive line.  With all of the three GM geniuses we've had, we now have, in my opinion, possibly two legitimate NFL starters, and one of them is a rookie we got because of pure unadulterated luck.  All of these years and the front office has been unable to field an even decent offensive line.  It's unforgivable.  Ryan Deberg Tannehill is what he is, but he would most certainly be a hell of a lot better with good protection.  He's never had it, and he still doesn't.  It's not going to stop some of the head-scratching plays, but maybe it'll stop some strip sacks, rushed INTs, etc.  The fact that each year they roll out this group of shitburgers and call it an offensive line is appalling.  

Until the front office is fixed, we will suck ad nauseum.  No coach will overcome terrible talent, especially not a coach who's doing this for the first time.  Nearly all rookie coaches seem like they're over their heads from time to time, but if you saddle them with the incompetence of this franchise when it comes to talent acquisition and evaluation, they are nearly doomed to fail.

1000% correct!  All the Dolphin GMs do is put lipstick on a pig, use a band-aid on a severe chest wound, etc.  It's all crap.  Free agency and drafts kill this team year after year, and it's all due to total incompetence in the front office.  The assclowns running this team have no idea what they're doing, and it all trickles down from King Assclown Stephen Ross.  Disaster.

I guess the Phins think Culliver will be a savior if/when he gets back. I expect nothing from him, but even if he's good, it will be too late by then.

I have more hope for Culliver, and from the initial timetable he should be not too far off from seeing the field. At the very least, he is a viable plugin starter if either Howard or Maxwell gets hurt.

white1 wrote:

I guess the Phins think Culliver will be a savior if/when he gets back.  I expect nothing from him, but even if he's good, it will be too late by then.

I have more hope for Culliver, and from the initial timetable he should be not too far off from seeing the field.  At the very least, he is a viable plugin starter if either Howard or Maxwell gets hurt.

I'm very nervous about the idea of counting on a veteran coming off a serious injury with zero experience in the defensive scheme.   Plus, I don't think Culliver is all that good to begin with.  I guess we'll see...

Dang straight! I saw the end of regulation and OT, and James did not even TRY to move his feet. I thought to myself, "Hell, what is Dallas Thomas doing playing RT?!?!?"

James has not been the same since coming back from the toe injury IMO. The whole right side of the O-line is a craptacular crapfest!!

This team has some personnel problems NO DOUBT, but to struggle at home vs. Cleveland and have to get LUCKY to beat them just reveals that ALL the problems are not personnel problems. A lot of this has to be coaching IMO.

Since ol' DoubleDipShyte Cam Cameron just got axed at LSU, I will restate my sentiment that this whole off, pre, and now regular season has reminded me MIGHTILY of the failed Cam Cameron / Randy Mueller experiment.

If the Phins go to Cincy and get pole-axed by the Bengals, that will just reinforce that sentiment.

Let's hope 1-15 is not the record????!!!!

Although, having the top pick with a chance at a new QB....

Go Phins!!! To Cinncy and beat the Bengals.

Yeah, actually if we're going to suck, let's do it right and get the No. 1 overall in a weak QB draft . . . on second thought, never mind. This front office would fuck it up anyway.

On the topic of Tannehill, I liked this segment on PFT.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/09/28/is-tannehill-still-the-long-term-answer-in-miami/

One of the more interesting quotes, to me, was this:

When the Dolphins hired Adam Gase to coach the team, the assignment came with the understanding that Gase would have the ability to decide based on the 2016 season whether Ryan Tannehill should continue to be the quarterback in 2017 and beyond.

I actually agree with Omar on one point. As of right now, the Dolphins have problems much bigger than Tannehill. He's not the number one problem, but he's not the solution either. He will never be the guy to "carry" a team like Brady, Rodgers, or Brees. For most QBs in the league, that's a true statement also.

However, before you dump him - who's going to replace him? As Degarmo just said, it's a weak QB draft class coming up.

Also, the following items I consider glaring needs before we even get to the topic of QB:
- Offensive line play definitely improved in pass protection, but they are as bad as ever in run blocking. Are we going to finally get a quality guard or two? Remember, Tunsil probably kicks over to LT in 2017 or 2018 at the latest.
- Defensive line. Old, expensive, and playing badly describes everyone not named Suh. Phillips had one good game then disappeared, is he going to pan out? Will we ever capitalize on having a huge talent at one spot, by supporting him with at least above-average guys who can benefit from the constant double teams he eats up? We could take a no-miss prospect at pass rusher in round 1 with no regrets, especially if he's a Tunsil-caliber talent and the QBs are weak.
- Linebacker. We have a whole lot of nothing at this position, and Alonso is playing the last year of his rookie deal. You could argue we need an upgrade at all three spots, not an easy task.
- Corner. If Howard pans out (looks like he will), what is the decision on Maxwell? Right now he looks like a grossly overpaid and under-performing corner.
- Tight end. I think we resign Sims, because he's a great blocker and catches well enough. But we will need a complementary threat for seam routes. I don't see Cameron here next year.
- Running back. We have four guys that played against Cleveland, and no one clearly grabbed the starting job. Drake had the best stats, but he's an injury waiting to happen.

From a team perspective, we still can't stop the run, we can't run the ball ourselves, and we can't cover all that well. In fact, our defense is a total mess right now and for once, I can't say it's scheme it looks like it's the players. If those problems remain a problem into 2017, changing the QB out won't help a damn bit. We'll have someone better or worse than Tannehill, and we'll still be losing games. I'd rather see us fill out the entire roster - THEN decide if the QB is good enough or not.

As of right now, Tannehill statistically has improved. And he made one clutch play in OT to win a game. The strip sack was James fault, evidenced by his immediate benching.

Gase has a decision to make after this year. As of game 3, it sounds to me like he still believes Tannehill MIGHT be his guy. The rest of the roster? Man, we got problems. Big ones.

I'd add that the departure of Stills at WR will leave another hole to fill. Honestly, given the state of the roster, if I'm going to gamble at a spot it's WR. Would be comfortable targeting all the other huge, glaring needs first and letting Landry, Parker, Carroo develop with Grant/Hunter as wild cards.

All true, white - this team is nothing but holes and the offseason needs are staggering.

That said, if you have an opportunity to get a high-upside QB - you do it.  Teams in recent years have drafted QBs outside of the first round with success (Wilson, Prescott, Garropolo), others have pooled their resources to move up to get their guy (Wentz).   The key is to keep drafting them.  There's absolutely no reason why the Dolphins can't draft a QB somewhere in rounds 1-4 in 2017 - regardless of what happens with Tannehill.  It's the most important position on the team, bar none.  And whether or not Tannehill ever becomes "the guy", it is ALWAYS in a team's best interest to keep adding talent at the position - ALWAYS.  It trumps everything else.  It certainly beats trading a boatload of picks to overtdraft a reserve receiver, or using a third round pick on a backup=-caliber RB.

Tony Romo should be available next season

As far as Tannehill, yeah, right now, I'd be looking to fill a shitton of other areas first. He may not be "the guy" but he can be "the guy before the guy" as they get this team ready. No one's going to be successful with this team, at least not championship successful. We might have someone that can will us to 9 or 10 wins, but we're not getting by anyone in the playoffs, because a large number of players on this team are not good, and they will shrink against the better teams.

I don't even put Tannehill into the equation anymore for team improvement because although many folks think we've gotten better, we've gotten far, far worse, particularly in the depth department.

If we win 8 games this year, I'd say both Gase and Tannehill will have outperformed themselves.

Still, at his current level, Tannehill outperforming himself only takes him from Steve Deberg to Vinny Testaverde. I hope the kid figures it out, I really, really do, for all of our sakes, and this is his third offense in five years, but they were making that excuse for Jason Campbell too.