Adam Gase speaks to the media. Promises no Cutler-type redo

Miami Dolphins coach Adam Gase addressed local reporters on Thursday, his first press conference since March. This is what he said:

The most important topic? The quarterback position, of course...

Gase loves his quarterback room despite the fact the team did not draft a quarterback.

"There's a lot of confidence as far as the guys we have right now," he said. "We did a good job of lining up the quarterback rankings. We felt like those guys were going to go before 11. We knew that was probably going to be the case and we were comfortable with what we had with Ryan starting and Brock and David competing for that No. 2 spot."

The Dolphins added Brock Osweiler and re-signed David Fales as free agents. Most people assume Osweiler will be the starter but Gase isn't there.

And the fact it took Gase a while to be convinced to sign Osweiler while he really likes Fales may be one reason the issue is not resolved.

"I probably took longer than everybody else," Gase said of coming around on Osweiler. "Guys [within the organization] were talking about he's 27 years old ... I had to make sure he was good understanding the situation we were in and what he was going to be competing for. I didn't know what his money was."

Obviously Gase came around.

"Just hearing him and where he was mentally and what he wanted to accomplish, how he wanted to get his career rolling again ... after we had that conversation, and everybody in the building liked him and I felt good about it, we ended up making that move," Gase said.

Gase said he's comfortable with either Osweiler or David Fales as his starter if Ryan Tannehill cannot be. Tannehill, you'll recall, missed the end of the 2016 season with a knee injury and then all of 2017 with a knee injury.

He said if Tannehill is injured again at any point in 2018, he's not going out looking for another quarterback.

"If I wasn't comfortable," Gase said of Osweiler or Fales as starters, "we wouldn't have those guys here."

Matt Moore was on the team last year. Gase was apparently comfortable with him. But when Tannehill went down, the team went out and signed Jay Cutler.

Gase's impression of Fales is very positive -- probably more than fans might have. Part of those good vibes apparently come from familiarity.

"I've been around him for multiple years now. I love the fact we were able to give him that last game of the [2017] season. People can look at that as a throw-away game, but I know the team we were playing, that was not a throw-away game for them. I mean, that game was, 'We get in the playoffs or we don't.' When you're playing a game like that you're going to get their best."

"Dave had a chance to go in there and see what he could do in a real, live game. And when we look at it, we're able to say, 'He's right, he's right, this guys wrong, who's doing the right stuff.'

"The things he did in that game, I was impressed with the things he did in that game. But it's a lot of stuff you see in practice but you don't know unless you get him in the game. His anticipation, how his pocket presence is, he's one of those guys that you get in a game and you're not sure how he did that. But the game's a little slower for him. It's to call plays when you know the ball's coming out and you better be in the right spot. "

About the defense

There's been much speculation about whether the Dolphins are thinking about a scheme change on defense in 2018.

"No," Gase said when asked about that.

Gase obviously likes Minkah Fitzpatrick. But he says the plan right now is to keep T.J. McDonald at safety so the speculation that McDonald is moving to linebacker seems a bit misguided at this point.

"He's not moving to linebacker," Gase said. "He's going to be a safety and we're going to figure out a way to get our best 11 players on the field."

About the tight ends

Gase said he liked the tight end group as they were but the board was stacked favorably for pass-catcher Mike Gesicki.

As for doubling down on the position with Notre Dame's Durham Smythe, Gase said Smythe "is a better route runner than" other people give him credit for being.

Odds and ends

Gase said younger receivers, such as Isaiah Ford and Drew Morgan are already following recent addition Danny Amendola around. Amendola was signed, in part, to impart leadership among Dolphins receiver.

Gase nonetheless called Kenny Stills "the leader of that room."

Said Gase: "He's one of those guys that guys look up to, they watch what he does, how he goes about his business. And they follow his lead. When he speaks in that room, he tells guys what he thinks, he's very open and doesn't sugarcoat things, they listen to what he says."

Gase hinted Kenny Stills in the slot at times might be an option.

This story was originally published May 10, 2018 at 1:41 PM with the headline "Adam Gase speaks to the media. Promises no Cutler-type redo."