''New Dolphins head coach Adam Gase is keenly aware of Miami's ongoing problems with its offensive line...
Gase sat down this past week with Barry Jackson, of the Miami Herald, to discuss his plans for the offensive line. What the coach had to say was telling: "[Getting] back to some old school [techniques] , let's lift, let's spend our two hours in the weight room, let's get these guys bigger, stronger and faster. So, that's been our big focus. I want to try to give [the trainer] as much time alotted as he's allowed to get these guys in position, where, when we do start, we can see a difference, we can see a difference physically, in our guys, as far as their strength and being able to come off the ball and move people."
... the league also banned the chop block, long regarded as a staple of the zone blocking system, further reinforcing our team's need for a return to a more basic 'line up and blow 'em off the line of scrimmage' philosophy this season. ''
''Gase literally wanted to get the players in the building stronger to strengthen the unit. So the manner in which those players train and come to training camp was studied. Gase looked at the time the team spent in the weight room last year and was not impressed. He saw that under former coach Joe Philbin, more time was spent in the classroom learning the playbook and game plans and such.
And less time was spent in the weight room getting strong, and fast and thick enough to, you know, actually execute on the field.
So last year, while it could be said the Dolphins were studious enough to win up front, they weren't strong enough to win up front. At least that's how Gase sees things.
So that changes this offseason. Dolphins offensive linemen have gotten the message through the grapevine that they better be working on becoming weight room beasts this offseason. And when the offseason strength and conditioning program begins next month, much of the time the team is allotted every day will be used to lifting weights and getting stronger.''
Comment