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Adam Gase must fix the turnover differential from 2017

By Brian Miller

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - SEPTEMBER 01: Head coach Adam Gase of the Miami Dolphins looks on during a preseason game against the Tennessee Titans at Hard Rock Stadium on September 1, 2016 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - SEPTEMBER 01: Head coach Adam Gase of the Miami Dolphins looks on during a preseason game against the Tennessee Titans at Hard Rock Stadium on September 1, 2016 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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The Miami Dolphins have a lot of things to fix from last season and Adam Gase knows that one of those is turnover differential.

At his post-practice press conference yesterday, Adam Gase mentioned the turnover differential as being something that needed to be fixed. He called it “ridiculous”. And it was. Very much so.

In 2017 the Miami Dolphins were one of the worst teams in the NFL in giveaways and takeaways. You have to scroll down pretty far to find “Miami” when viewing the list. The Dolphins were tied at 29 with the Oakland Raiders but only Denver and Cleveland had worse numbers.

Miami’s total differential was minus (-) 14. Denver was -17 and Cleveland was -28.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Dolphins were horrible. The team had nine interceptions on the season and six fumble recoveries. Offensively they were worse. Miami quarterbacks combined for 21 interceptions and the team has eight interceptions.

Adam Gase was right. It was ridiculous.

"Really, at the end of the day, it comes down to turnover margin. As a group on offense, are we protecting the football? And on defense, are we taking it away? And both of those areas, if we obviously have any kind of improvement from last year, we’ll be in a better spot. That was ridiculous.” – Adam Gase, MiamiDolphins.com"

Teams in the NFL can’t make the post-season when they are losing the turnover battle in a big way. Tennessee with a minus 4, Atlanta with a minus 3, and Carolina with a minus 1 were the only teams to make the post-season last year with negative turnover differentials.

From pre-snap penalties to turnovers there is a lot of room for improvement. Adam Gase believes that his offense is trending in the right direction but this year is critical that the team takes the next step. It won’t be easy especially with a young roster.

Miami will get a good first glimpse into how things are progressing tomorrow night when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for their first pre-season game of the season.

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