The Exorcist, starring Adam Gase
By Carlton Ray
Leading into Halloween, Adam Gase has started cleaning up the cobwebs, and bringing light into Dolphins manor.
It is only fitting that in this month of ghouls, ghosts and goblins that head coach Adam Gase played the role of the exorcist in leading his Miami Dolphins to a huge victory over Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills. Gase has brought a breath of fresh air, and a sense of confidence, to the team and its fan base.
Gase’s fingerprints were all over the victory, from his commitment to the rushing attack against the Bills fearsome pass rush, to the quiet confidence and poise that his players showed in coming back from a 10-6 halftime deficit.
Obviously, the main story has been Jay Ajayi’s ascension from Gase’s doghouse to the NFL’s penthouse. But what we Dolphins fans have seen over the past few weeks is that Ajayi’s amazing efforts have been partly the result of having a healthy offensive line, and having a coach that gets rid of slackers and perhaps most importantly, one who runs the ball even while behind on the scoreboard.
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Recent Dolphins coaches, particularly Joe Philbin, were allergic to running the ball whenever the team trailed, which made no sense, especially since the Dolphins offensive line is not great at pass blocking, as evidenced by Ryan Tannehill leading the league in sacks taken over the past 5 years. Gase has quickly realized that the combination of big offensive lineman plus the Miami heat will wither opposing defenses, and lead to longer time consuming drives, more rest for the Dolphins defense, and a sense of fear, or at least discomfort, when opposing teams see that they have to play in Miami.
As anyone who has played at any level of football knows, defending against the run hurts a bit more than defending against the pass. It may be embarrassing to give up a long touchdown pass to Robert Woods or Kenny Stills, but it certainly doesn’t hurt like it does to shed a block from 315 pounds of Laremy Tunsil and then try to take down 230 pounds of Jay Ajayi. Most teams in the NFL are now smaller and faster to stop the spread offenses around the league, but teams like Dallas, Kansas City, Tennessee, and maybe now Miami are banking on their running games to counter those lighter defenses.
Dan Campbell recognized that last year when he toughened the team up through the use of Oklahoma drills and a commitment to the run. However, the loss of Cam Wake plus the organizational chaos caused by the firings of Philbin and his staff left Campbell and the Dolphins at a disadvantage that was too much to overcome with just toughness.
Now Gase has picked up where Campbell left off, with the goal of out-toughing his opponents. With the Jets coming to town in two weeks, with their vaunted defensive line, it will be a good test to see whether Ajayi can rack up rushing yards against one of the best front four’s in the league. If he can, then we could be looking at the beginnings of a very successful run for Gase and his squad.