Adam Gase says first contact practice will be uppers only

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Adam Gase is getting better at this coaching thing but he needs his team to show it on the field. He will get a good look on Saturday.

Gase talked with the media after today’s practice and ahead of the first contact practice on Saturday. Gase was quick to point out that tomorrow practice will only be “uppers’ a reference to shoulder pads and helmets. He told the media that the team will practice a few days in just the uppers for a few days before going full upper and lower.

Gase said they get just as much good practice this way and that it keeps players off the ground. Miami will still get their first contact tomorrow and players like Charles Harris and Raekwon McMillan will get their first NFL contact.

Gase talked about the defensive tackles and Laremy Tunsil returning to his natural position but much of the focus remained on practicing and during his interview the padded tackle to the ground practices was brought up again. Gase was non-committal as to when or even if the Dolphins would go full-contact to the ground tackling. He said that in practices you don’t want players take on repetitive hits and then made a joke about Jay Ajayi’s carry count and the media. You can read his full transcript below courtesy of MiamiDolphins.com.

If there is one thing that has been said about Gase is that he knows how to relate to people, not just players and many in the media have been impressed with Gase’s handling of the press among other things. Especially for a 2nd year first time head coach.

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Here is the full transcript.

Friday, July 28, 2017

Head Coach Adam Gase

(We saw CB Cordrea Tankersley leave the field. Is there anything you can tell us about his situation?) – “Yes, he got a little over-heated, so our guys pulled him in. I just saw him a few minutes ago. He seemed alright.”

(Cramps?) – “No, he’s just dehydrated. Overheated.”

(The first day in pads will be what and with your first two defensive draft picks, what specifically on each are you eager to see with them in pads, with DE Charles Harris and LB Raekwon McMillan?) – “Tomorrow will be the first day that we’ll have our uppers on. We don’t go the full lower body pads. We’ll be in those for a couple of days before we go full pads. We’re a little selective on the full pads. Just guys stay off the ground when we go with uppers and we still get good work out of it. Really, all I’m looking for is to keep seeing what we’ve been seeing so far. Guys have been doing a good job of doing their job and you see those guys flash – whether it’s a run game or pass game. We’ll just keep working those guys in, giving them different looks and the longer we go, hopefully that will help them get ready for what they’re going to see in the preseason.”

(How comfortable are you with LB Raekwon McMillan making those calls?) – “Fine. That’s why we drafted him. He’s really smart. That’s the least of my worries. He does a good job of being vocal. He’s very clear. He knows what he’s doing. He’s going to make mistakes because that’s part of it; but a lot of the things are still done by Kiko (Alonso). It’s not as big of a deal as a lot of people think.”

(CB Alterraun Verner, I didn’t notice him out there in team stuff. Was he out there or did you guys just kind of bring him…) – “I mean we’re going to be rotating guys all over the place so I don’t know the reps until I watch the film and kind of see what’s going on. We kind of … Everything is moving real quickly. Every once in a while I’ll get informed that somebody’s been pulled out; but I’m not going to sit there and count the reps during practice.”

(It looked like the DT Davon Godchaux and DT Vincent Taylor made a couple of plays. What have you seen?) – “It seemed like the whole defensive line was making a lot of plays. They really made it tough today. It was a frustrating practice for the offense because the defense was really doing a good job. They made it hard for the run game to get going. That’s really what we kind have been expecting. We knew it was going to be tough this training camp because these guys have a really good feel for what we want to do on defense. They did a really good job of executing today and they’ll make it a rough practice for the offense. That’s what we want. It’s kind of one of those … it’s frustrating for one side, but the other side, that’s what they’re getting paid to do. That’s why we’ve got those guys up front. We want them to stop the run first and make them one-dimensional.”

(You have a lot of athletic big guys there to play that defensive tackle position but not many have that much game experience. What do you hope to see during training camp that will keep you encouraged?) – “We’ll give them so many looks and really you’re just trying to get them prepared for the preseason, so that’s not like a shock to them. The faster we can keep those guys playing, the better, and it just becomes a game of reaction. I don’t want them thinking, which that’s why our defense is set up really for those guys to get up the field and penetrate and just play hard and fast. We don’t try to over-complicate anything and right now, those guys are doing a really good job. They’re making it really tough – whether you’re in the one’s, two’s or three’s – because they’re getting a ton of reps. It’s really been … It’s an encouraging sign that the front, they’re trying to really push each other. That whole group, I mean you can see the leadership of those veterans has really been paying off for us because those guys are pushing those younger guys and they’re setting the tempo of practice early, and those guys are following suit.”

(It what ways has T Laremy Tunsil grown and improved now versus a year ago?) – “I mean he’s playing the position that really he’s been playing his whole life. So for him it’s … I know he enjoyed … When he plays tackle, he really … That’s his thing. He really kind of did that for us for one year – going inside – and did a good job and had to learn real fast, and that’s the way we were built last year. Now with him being able to bump out there, that’s just more his game. It’s nice having him out there. It’s just every day you look out there going, ‘I’m glad he fell to us.’”

(Does it fit his T Laremy Tunsil’s skillset better?) – “Definitely.”

(How so?) – “He’s a big man that’s very athletic, great with his hands (and) just has a really good feel. It’s just one of those things, he’s just so used to playing that spot and when you get bumped inside, everything’s happening a little quicker. It’s a different perspective. Your eyes are going different spots and things get a little tighter. It’s a whole different game for him, and then you throw him at left tackle and it’s hard to get around him. It’s hard to get inside him. He can redirect so good. It’s good to get him out there.”

(Does he compare to anyone that you’ve coached at left tackle or coached against?) – “That would be hard for me to say. I haven’t really … I’m trying to think. Really I was with (Ryan) Clady there for a second before he started getting hurt all the time; but coming into 2009, he was a dominate guy in the league when he was a young player. I haven’t been around too many guys that have those kind of skillsets.”

(Do you guys have some clarity with your offensive line? Is the group that we’re seeing out there now the plan as it stands today?) – “We’ll see. I don’t know. I don’t have to put a depth chart out yet.”

(You don’t have to.) – “I know.”

(I asked you. It’s your prerogative.) – “(laughter) I don’t know, just keep watching. Chart it. (laughter) It’ll give you something to do during practice. (laughter)”

(Back to G/T Laremy Tunsil, do you see a change in his personality in Year 2? So often guys do change a lot from their rookie season.) – “He’s very … I would say he was real quiet last year. He was trying to find his niche in the locker room and now you can see he’s got some ability to talk a little trash every once in a while. So you can tell he’s having fun. I think he really enjoys playing left tackle again.”

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