Dolphins coach Adam Gase is demanding accountability, and he is more than prepared to bench guys to prove his point.
The latest was right tackle Ja’Wuan James, who was pulled after allowing a strip-sack fumble near the end of regulation, which would have been costly if the Browns could hit field goals.
“I’m over discussing any of this stuff with players,” Gase said, via Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. “We’re either going to start getting the job done, or we’re going to make changes.”
Gase didn’t promise that James would return to the starting lineup Thursday night against the Bengals, and was generally displeased with the protection being offered to quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who has been hit 19 times in 132 dropbacks.
“We just want guys to do it right,” Gase said. “Whoever wants to do it right, those are the guys that we’re going to put out there. Talent’s irrelevant at this point. . . .
”It’s hard to throw a ball with any kind of timing where they pressure and we get it picked up, but we get beat so fast that the quarterback doesn’t even have a chance.”
Gase is clearly protective of Tannehill, knowing that’s his best chance to be successful in the short term there. But if he’s not upright, he can’t do that.