Come hell or high-water Gase must bring discipline to the offense
Gase tried discipline through gassers… to no avail. What to do, what to do?
Phinsnews has had high hopes for Adam Gase since his introductory press conference. We were rewarded with a surprise, but short Playoff berth. Last season though didn’t have the same happy ending. But extenuating circumstances were stacked 10 miles high… so, a 2017 mulligan was well deserved.
Now here we are in Gase’s third season as Head Coach. While our hope for him and the Dolphins in 2018 is strong, it will be team-discipline that makes or breaks that hope.
A common (and ugly) trend between 2016 and 2017 was sloppy play, especially with pre-snap penalties by the offense. This lack-of-discipline-trend is THE most critical issue that Phins fans should fixate on in 2018. Of all the laundry list issues that must get fixed, discipline is ‘numero uno’.
And yes, the list of ‘needs be fixin’ is long… but this issue is completely correctable.
QB, O-Line, DT, and DB play, and play calling are all critical issues. I wouldn’t fault anyone who ranks those at the top of the charts. Not in the least. BUT, if Miami is again in the Top 5 of most penalties committed, 2018 will be another lackluster season regardless of how the rest of the jazz plays out.
Let’s hit some stats:
Last season, Miami had the 5th least amount of plays run but was 3rd most in pre-snap penalties. They were very consistent though. In 2016 they had 70.9 penalty yards per game compared to 2017 with 72.1. That’s equivalent to seven 1st Downs. That’s the difference between living and dying in the NFL. The worst part is the Phins committed 40 yards more penalties at home than they did in away games. Home sweet home? Nope.
While many spoke about this or that last season, Phinsnews harped on discipline as the key issue, again and again in 2017. We even wrote an article about Miami’s “Art of Beating Themselves” as the quintessential issue of failure.
As much as I like you, it’s ‘make or break time’ coach Gase. Get right with your discipline or get out. It’s that simple.
I read ’em all, but Sun Sentinel has been top of the heap lately
So here we are after the 1st scrimmage and racing towards the 1st Preseason game…and David Hyde summed it up best:
“We’ve got to do a better job of not losing 5 yards,” before the snap, Gase said.
Here’s how to make it matter: In a preseason game, Don Shula was complaining about a penalty to a referee. The referee said, “Don, it’s just 5 yards.”
Shula erupted: “Five yards is my life.”
Man, I’m always hungry for Dolphins morsels and that was a good one…
Wasn’t Don Shula the best!
One of the most crucial differences between Shula and Gase has been that ‘5 yards’. But those 5 yards are critical. Now, Joe “Queazy” Philbin had those 5 yards… but he had nothing else. Under Philbin, Miami was ranked 5th, 2nd, and 2nd in the least penalties committed during his first 3 seasons. It was the primary reason that he managed mediocre seasons. But he was far too much of a nervous Nelly and had terrible interpersonal skills. So it all crumbled after the team tuned him out.
Again, Shula had it all as a coach: discipline, unflappable, and the ability to lead players.
Gase gets a check for being hard-nosed and being relatable to the players… But it’s the poor foundation of undisciplined play on which all of his good as an H.C. has sunk. Consider that 7% (5 of 36 snaps) in scrimmage resulted in pre-snap penalties. Before even the snap of the ball nearly 1 out 10 plays died and made the next snap that much more difficult. Play like this in a Regular Season game and odds are high Miami will lose. Play this sloppy for a whole season and you can bet with the pay per head reviews sites they’ll repeat 2017… or maybe even worse.
Discipline is critical and foundational, but the most correctable issue Miami has
The good news is if Gase can get this team to play with even mediocre discipline, or better, then good times are right around the corner.
In 2017 Miami was ranked #7 in penalty yards of opposing teams and was the beneficiary of 1077 yard. Unfortunately, their 1154 yards in penalties more than equalized their opposition’s mistakes. Never interrupt your enemy when they are making mistakes.
Gase has turned up the discipline over the last couple of practices with gassers when they committed penalties. But Gase admitted it hasn’t made a difference.
If it were me, talent or not, I’d start benching the perpetually undisciplined players. You can’t win when you have to fight your own side and the opposition. At least with ‘clean play’, you give yourself a chance to let the opposition beat themselves. When your sloppy defeat come from within and without. Two front wars never go well.
‘However and whatever’: Gase needs to finally put a professional team on the field. While most of this 1st Preseason Game is meaningless, for this Phins team, penalties will be a very good or very bad sign for the 2018 Season. I still stand by what I said last week that YBC (yards before contact) is the most crucial stat I’ll have my eyes one. But, it won’t matter if they are losing yards even before the ball is snapped. Can’t wait till Thursday to see the good news. Go Phins.