Is it time to blame Adam Gase for the offensive struggles?

The Dolphins’ offense is abysmal. Anyone who watches Miami play knows that. The question now becomes, who is to blame for the struggles after the offense thrived in the last 11 games of the 2016-2017 season.

For anyone who thinks Miami’s offense is not as bad as it looks because the Dolphins are 4-3 right now, you are wrong. The stat sheet says it all in this case.

The Dolphins are last in the NFL in yards per game (252.4), points per game (13.1) and yards per play (4.1). Miami is T-28th in first downs per game, and 31st in 3rd down conversions with a conversion rate of 29.5%.

The Dolphins are also the only NFL team without a rushing touchdown. That’s bad folks.

For the first six games this season there was one person to easily blame: Jay Cutler. Especially after Cutler got injured and Matt Moore lead a 14 point comeback against the Jets.

Then Thursday night came and the offense looked atrocious once again. Matt Moore threw two interceptions, and Miami put up another zero on the scoreboard.

So what is going on with the offense that makes it so hard to even watch? Are the receivers not getting open? Is the line not blocking well enough?

Or is it Adam Gase?

Deion Sanders seems to think so as he tweeted this Thursday night.

It’s tough to blame Gase simply because the Dolphins are 13-5 in their last 18 games, and made their first playoff appearance since 2008 last season.

However, something is different with his play calling this year. If you are wondering what that difference is, it’s this.

Gase isn’t calling plays that allow Cutler to take shots down the field. Last season with Tannehill he wasn’t afraid to take deep shots.

The Dolphins passing offense ranked fifth in yards per play (7.8) in 2016-2017. This year, the passing offense ranks 31st in that category (5.5).

Last year Miami completed 46 passes of 20 or more yards which was T-19th in the NFL. This season, the Dolphins have completed 15 such passes. Therefore, the offense is on pace to complete about 12 less passes of at least 20 yards.

To take this even further, Miami ranked 3rd in the league last season in completions of 40 or more yards with 15.

This season the Dolphins have not completed one pass over 40 yards. Not one.

The receiving corps has not changed, but obviously the quarterback has. And with Cutler, the play caller might not have changed, but the play calling certainly has.

Gase has openly admitted to making the offense simpler so players will make less mistakes. However, it’s obviously easier for defenses to diagnose.

In fact, he said it again after the game Thursday according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.

What’s frustrating is the players just can’t seem to grasp the full playbook and Gase has to continually dumb down the offense.

The players should be getting a better grasp of the offense in their second year under Gase. Instead, they just seem more confused.

You can’t blame Adam Gase for that.

The bottom line is the offense is not performing, and unless that changes fast, the Dolphins are in trouble.