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NFL

How Adam Gase can work magic — again

We can throw out Jay Cutler’s lost season with the Chicago Bears in 2016. Don’t even watch it. Injuries, a new system and he played in only five games.

But we only have to go back to 2015 to find a time when Cutler played extremely efficient football. With 3,659 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 64.4 completion percentage, it was one of the best full seasons of his career. And his coordinator that year? Current Miami Dolphins coach Adam Gase, who spent only one season with the Bears.

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Now Gase has convinced Cutler, who retired early this offseason, to join him in Miami after Ryan Tannehill went down with a knee injury. And if Cutler plays to the level he did in 2015, the Dolphins might not miss a beat.

Here’s what Gase did during that season to maximize Cutler’s strengths and cut down on the negatives. Plus, with the film, we can also get a look at how Cutler can make the Dolphins better right now.

High-percentage throws

We know Cutler has a live arm. He can sling it. But Gase used the call sheet to put Cutler in situations in which he could lean on the quick passing game and routes concepts that produced much more high-percentage throws. Take the risk out of the mix and give Cutler more clean reads in the short-to-intermediate route tree (see example below).

Think of Jarvis Landry for the Dolphins on the quick inside drag route or using DeVante Parker. This is a third-and-short situation. But instead of asking Cutler to make a tight-window throw, Gase uses formation and scheme (hi-lo mesh) to create an open lane for Cutler. This is a simple toss. Just dump the ball to his receiver with plenty of room to produce after the catch.

Run-pass options

Just like we saw with a healthy Tannehill in Miami, Gase will use plenty of run-pass options to give the offense a numbers advantage. These are defined reads based on the defensive alignment. And Cutler has experience running Gase’s RPO packages. Throw the wide receiver screen to Landry, pull the ball on a QB designed run, hand off to Jay Ajayi on the inside zone or hit the inside pop pass (see example below).

Cutler has the athleticism and the toughness to handle the football on these RPOs. And that creates a matchup advantage for the Dolphins when Cutler can read the end-man on the line of scrimmage, pull the rock and force the linebacker to attack downhill before tossing the screen. That’s a modern-day triple-option — and we will see it this season.

Scripted deep ball shots

Cutler loves to take his shots down the field on 50/50 throws. But Gase also used his game plan — based on opponent — to script matchups on deep throws. This allowed Cutler to challenge both single-high and two-deep safety looks while also taking advantage of Gase’s game-planning to find targets over the top of the secondary (see example below).

The Chiefs are a man-free/pressure defense. And Gase knew it. That’s why he called for a deep 7 (corner) route from a bunch formation. This allowed the receiver to break away from the defender’s leverage — with no help to the outside. This ball? It’s a dime. And it’s the type of throw Cutler can make to Kenny Stills when the Dolphins want to take a calculated deep shot.

Boot/play-action

Similar to RPOs, Gase utilized Cutler’s mobility off boot/play action. And with a strong run game in Miami led by Ajayi, the Dolphins can lean on the same schemes to get Cutler to the edge of the pocket. That gives Cutler much clearer throwing lanes and it also cuts the field in half (see example below).

Whether Cutler is under center or out of the gun (as we see here), he is very good at buying time on the edge and using a combination of velocity and touch to find open targets. This also puts Cutler in a situation in which he can pull the ball down and run. Lot of positives to featuring Cutler in Gase’s system off play-action and movement.

Creating favorable matchups

When the Dolphins move the ball into the red zone, look for Gase to use formation and alignment to give Cutler the best matchup possible. That could be Landry inside on the fade route from the slot (the toughest route to cover in football) or Parker on the seam due to his size and ability at the point of attack (see example below).

I really like that play call from Gase because he widened the defense to give Alshon Jeffery an inside matchup. With the running back flexed out wide, Jeffery now gets to work out of the slot. And Cutler absolutely rips this ball for the score. With the talent the Dolphins have at wide receiver, this is an area of the field where Cutler can play smart and productive football under Gase yet again.

NFL

Sources: Cutler leans toward staying in booth

4:47 PM ET

  • Jeff DarlingtonESPN

Jay Cutler is leaning toward staying in broadcasting and not joining the Miami Dolphins, sources close to the situation told ESPN on Saturday.

Although Cutler became intrigued by the possibility of reuniting with Dolphins coach Adam Gase in the immediate wake of Ryan Tannehill’s knee injury, his continued contemplation is swaying him back in the direction of staying retired, sources told ESPN.

  • Jay Cutler and Adam Gase worked well together in Chicago, says Bears OL Kyle Long, and that would make a reunion in Miami possible.

Tannehill suffered a left knee injury in Thursday’s scrimmage that may require season-ending surgery.

Until Saturday, Cutler had been in direct contact with Gase, giving a clear sense of his interest in playing for him, according to sources. The more Cutler considers it, however, the more he questions whether a return to football is what he wants, sources said.

One source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Cutler is “really struggling to leave his family.”

Should Tannehill need surgery, Gase could go into a more passionate sales-pitch mode to pull Cutler back into the mix. Barring such a scenario, the Dolphins will likely need to start looking in a different place — or settle on backup Matt Moore — to handle their starting quarterback duties.

Gase said earlier Saturday that there was one preliminary talk with Cutler, but things haven’t progressed beyond that at this stage.

“When I get there, I will be able to tell you, but I don’t think it’s close to anything,” Gase said. “Like I said, I’ve had one conversation with [Cutler]. That’s where we’re at.

“I’m dealing with this [team] right now. When I know more, hopefully within the next few days, I will have a better idea of what’s going on.”

Gase said the conversation with Cutler was positive. The pair were together with the Chicago Bears in 2015 and developed a good rapport. Cutler had one of his better seasons under Gase, throwing for 3,659 yards, 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Cutler was released by the Bears this offseason and wasn’t re-signed. He took a television job with Fox but seems open to returning to the NFL under the right circumstances.

“He’s interested,” Gase said of Cutler. “But we’re just trying to figure out everything. You don’t expect this to happen. … I know I need somebody either way. I’d like to know exactly with Ryan first. So that helps me make a decision with what direction to go.”

James Walker contributed to this report.

NFL

Lockett comes off PUP, “ready to go”

4:30 PM ET

  • Sheil KapadiaESPN Writer

    Close

    • Covered the Philadelphia Eagles for Philadelphia Magazine and Philly.com from 2008 to 2015.
    • Covered the Baltimore Ravens and the NFL for BaltimoreSun.com from 2006 to 2008.

RENTON, Wash. — Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett came off the PUP list Friday and is on track to be ready for the start of the regular season.

“I’m pretty much ready to go,” Lockett said. “If we had a game tomorrow, I’d play in it.”

Lockett suffered fractures to the tibia and fibula in his right leg in December. He underwent surgery and spent Christmas and New Year’s in the hospital.

Lockett spent the entire offseason in Seattle rehabbing and said he’s been running for the last three months. He didn’t participate in all aspects of Friday’s practice but has no doubts about being ready for Week 1.

“One of the things that I thought about was when I was a kid, I had a dog,” Lockett said. “When you train him, you’ve got to keep him in a little cage. I felt like I was stuck in a cage for eight months after I broke my leg. So as soon as they let me go today, I didn’t know what to do. So I was just running around, having fun, being a little kid again.”

Lockett caught 41 balls for 597 yards in 15 games last season, but he was playing at less than 100 percent for much of the year because of a knee injury suffered early in the season. He’s expected to compete for a starting job in 2017.

NFL

HOF Game gives Cowboys chance to vet young talent

CANTON, Ohio — Football season is back, with the Dallas Cowboys taking on the Arizona Cardinals in the Hall of Fame Game. Well, sort of.

While Cardinals coach Bruce Arians has already said his starters won’t play Thursday, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett has made no such declaration. But Garrett has said he and the Dallas coaches are treating this game like the intrasquad Blue-White scrimmage. So the best chance to see Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, Sean Lee and almost all of the other regulars will come in pregame warm-ups.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be anything worth watching.

“Young players,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. “I’m really anxious to see how they account for themselves in game-like conditions.”

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Jones said Tuesday it was “unlikely” the most intriguing young player, linebacker Jaylon Smith, will play. He has taken part in four of the six padded practices thus far and has had no setbacks in his return from a knee injury that kept him out all of last season.

The patience Smith has learned in rehab will have to continue, perhaps until the Cowboys’ second preseason game on Aug. 12 at the Los Angeles Rams.

The Cowboys have made no secret of their need to play younger players this season. In free agency, they did not make much of an effort to re-sign veteran secondary players Barry Church, Brandon Carr, Morris Claiborne and J.J. Wilcox. They let defensive linemen Terrell McClain and Jack Crawford walk, too.

Along the defensive line, the Cowboys selected Taco Charlton in the first round and Joey Ivie and Jordan Carrell in the seventh round. Charlton grew up down the road from Canton, in Columbus, and will have a number of family and friends at his first game.

Because of his draft status (No. 28 overall), Charlton’s every move has been watched. Going against Tyron Smith and La’el Collins in practice most days has not been too kind to Charlton. He will be glad to see the Cardinals’ tackles and their backups as well.

“I had my struggles day one, but now I’m doing fine,” Charlton said. “I basically didn’t keep my feet up under me. I was too ready to hit something that I wasn’t keeping my feet. As days went on, I got better. Things improved. The pass rush improved. Moves improved and I started winning more.”

In the secondary, the Cowboys selected cornerback Chidobe Awuzie in the second round, cornerback Jourdan Lewis in the third round, and safety Xavier Woods and cornerback Marquez White in the sixth round. And in the seventh round they picked defensive linemen Joey Ivie and Jordan Carrell.

Awuzie had an interception on his first one-on-one snap of training camp. White had an athletic interception this week in practice. Woods has made a couple of pass deflections in the past two practices.

“I’m just mad the stats don’t count if we get a couple tackles or a pick,” Awuzie said. “But it will still be good for our confidence.”

It’s not just the defensive rookies who will warrant watching. Wide receiver Noah Brown, another sixth-round pick, has turned some heads with plays early in camp. Since Brown played at Ohio State, he figures to hear some cheers when he takes the field.

With Bryant, Terrance Williams, Cole Beasley and Brice Butler locks — plus fourth-round pick Ryan Switzer, who will not play because of a hamstring injury — the Cowboys’ crowd might be too big for a sixth receiver. But that doesn’t mean much to Brown.

“I can’t wait for the game,” Brown said. “That’s going to be my first NFL opportunity, the chance to go out there and show that I can execute not only on the practice field but when the lights turn on and it’s game time.”

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