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DAVIE, Fla. -- Miami coach Adam Gase, whose Dolphins (1-2) visit Cincinnati (1-2) on Thursday, acknowledges the Dolphins have problems on third downs offensively. They rank 26th in third-down conversions at 30.3 percent. But Gase points to the offensive line as a primary reason the team is struggling in that area.
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"The third-down stuff, the problem with that is if we could just stay on our blocks," he said. "We got exactly what we want as far as guys coming open. 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, he doesn't even have a chance."
Gase could have bigger problems on that front this week.
Miami, which ranks 25th in rushing offense at 83 yards per game, not only has performance issues on the offensive line, it also has injury issues.
Left tackle Branden Albert (ankle) is questionable, and center Anthony Steen (ankle) is probable. Right tackle Ja'Wuan James, benched in overtime of last week's 30-24 victory over Cleveland, is in flux based on his performance.
Gase wants to see consistency, no matter who is healthy. He said it's tough for quarterback Ryan Tannehill to get into a rhythm because of the offensive line concerns.
"There have been a couple times we're getting pressure," Gase began, "(and) he just knows that where he's throwing it should be wide open, and he just throws it up knowing . ...there was one to (wide receiver) Jarvis (Landry), he threw it in that area knowing, 'There's nobody there if I could get a second to get it there.' That's the frustrating part about playing quarterback.
"It's like I told you guys last week, you need 10 other guys to do their job before you have a chance to do your job. Sometimes when we have these minor errors as far as (you) don't sustain your block for one second, all of a sudden there's an issue."
Gase is hoping things improve this week. But there aren't many more options in the offensive line. Reserve guard-tackle Billy Turner, guard-tackle Dallas Thomas and center-guard Kraig Urbik all had shots at starting jobs in training camp and lost.
Still, Gase might have few tricks up his sleeve. Asked whether the Dolphins could make adjustments on this short week he had a firm answer.
"You'd be surprised. ...you can get creative," he said, "and you can figure out what to do in a short period of time and guys adjust and you walk through it and you roll."
