Question of the Week: Are DeVante Parker’s Issues a Smokescreen?

Is DeVante Parker really injured? The answer to that question could make the difference between victory and defeat for the Miami Dolphins as they open the season in Seattle against the Seahawks’ infamous “Legion of Boom”.

If the Miami Dolphins  were ever in need of a high-flying receiver capable of going deep and wrestling the ball away from elite cornerbacks, it would be during this Sunday’s showdown with Richard Sherman and the Seattle Seahawks. Yet, according to reports out of Miami, the perfect man for that job, DeVante Parker, may not be anywhere near the field.

Parker is reportedly still suffering from nagging hamstring problems that have plagued him through much of training camp and into the preseason. It is an irritating problem that seems all to familiar to Adam Gase.

"“We’re going to keep strengthening him up,” Gase said recently, according to the Miami Herald’s Adam Beasley. “I feel like I’ve been through this with Demaryius (Thomas) in Denver. Felt like he was always hurt. One thing after the other.”"

By referencing Thomas, Gase seemed to be implying that Parker’s persistent injuries are due to the wideout’s lax approach to conditioning away from the field.

“Sometimes it takes some guys more time to learn more than others,” continued Gase. “Eventually you get tired of being the guy standing on the sideline. I do think he’s a little frustrated. He’s been the odd man out all the time. Eventually… he will know how to push through certain kinds of pain.”

Eventually you get tired of being the guy standing on the sideline. I do think he’s a little frustrated.

The coach may have good reason to sound annoyed. In recent months reports have surfaced that Parker has ignored conditioning fundamentals such as keeping himself properly hydrated and eating breakfast on a daily basis.

If Parker is, indeed, unable to play against the Seahawks, it would be a significant blow to the Dolphins chances of pulling off an upset. After all, the youngster is just about the perfect prototype receiver for the style of offense Gase prefers to run against aggressive defenses like Seattle’s. In particular, his leaping ability makes him one of the few receivers in the NFL capable of testing Sherman’s ultra tight coverage. In other words, for this game, he is practically indispensable.

As I pointed out in Step 5 of my series, Adam Gase’s 12 Steps to Rehabilitating the Dolphins, the main weapons in a Gase offense have traditionally been his deep threats. As offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos and the Chicago Bears, Gase employed a deep passing game to spread the field, creating space in the flats for possession receivers, as well as opening up running lanes for his backs to crank out big chunks of yardage. Fortunately for the rookie head coach, he hasn’t had to build that kind of offense from scratch in Miami because the Dolphins already had Parker and Kenny Stills, two excellent long ball receivers, on the roster by the time he arrived in town.

Career Statistics

So, when Gase says Parker isn’t likely to play, and sounds frustrated in doing so, we should automatically believe him….right? Well, not so fast. Just a few weeks ago some media outlets reported that the Dolphins were going to ignore Tannehill’s mobility and keep him primarily as a pure pocket passer. Then, shortly after that, Gase publicly declared that the NFL was a “Dink and dunk league”, and did so with a tone of approval.

It was an odd statement to be sure, particularly since it ran counter to what the rookie head coach has done with previous offenses. For example, notice the marked rise in Peyton Manning’s deep ball statistics during the three years (2012-2014) he and Gase spent together in Denver.

 TDsINTsComp 20+ YdsComp 40+ YdsRating201559.822496.891724767.9201466.247277.9391566*11*101.5201368.354778.3551068*13*115.1201268.646598.0371164*7*105.8201166.347006.9331743991.9

What the numbers in bold tell us is that, under Gase, Manning threw an astonishing 229 long passes over a three year period. That style of attack proved so successful for Gase that, in 2013, the Broncos set NFL records with 606 points and 76 Touchdowns. As such, it is hard to believe that he would suddenly embrace a possession style offense with a pair of deep threats like Parker and Stills on his roster.

But if you are looking for more recent reasons to question whether or not you can take everything Gase says at face value, consider that just days after the “pocket passer” and “dink and dunk” comments, Tannehill rolled out from behind the line against the Dallas Cowboys and hit Stills on a beautifully executed 55-yard bomb.

Was Gase then being purposefully misleading to the media? Well, the idea of a coach being less than honest with the press and, more importantly, opposing coaches is hardly unheard of. After all, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots toy with the injury report on a weekly basis, listing a slew of players as questionable when they are perfectly capable of taking the field. As such, one can’t help but wonder if Gase is doing the same thing with Parker.

While that possibility sounds a bit far fetched, it cannot be totally discounted because opening the season against the Seahawks in Seattle may well be the Dolphins’ toughest test this year. It is a game in which every little advantage will matter. Thus, given those circumstances, would a little misdirection really be that surprising?

Gase’s reputation as an offensive coordinator is well established, but, at this point, we know next to nothing about him as a head coach. It is possible that the offensive genius is also a master of human chess, and, as such, decided to kill two birds with one stone; motivating Parker to get his act together, while at the same time, trying to lull Sherman and the Legion of Boom into a false sense of security.

If you still doubt this scenario is possible, take note of Gase’s most recent message to the media.

Perhaps, the real question isn’t whether Parker is hurt, or how badly, but rather………Is Adam Gase the kind of coach that plays mind games?

If Parker does play against the Seahawks and turns in a big game, it will, in some ways, be a bad news/good news scenario.

The bad news? Well, we, the fans, will never again be sure if we can trust what Gase is telling us. Then again, the good news is, opposing coaches won’t know what to believe either.