Why McMillan was playing special teams, from Gase

[AZStryker]

Makes sense.

I must confess I was upset with Gase on Thursday because of this, but I think it was just my frustration over the unfortunate injury bug that's been plaguing us this preseason.

Losing Ryan and a week later losing Raekwon simply sucks.

I guess I'm a little behind you on getting over this but I agree that the loss of Tannehill and McMillan in a week is fueling my blame game. Injuries happen time to move forward I suppose.

 

[roy_miami]

“Because he was going to play it this year,” Gase said. “How many snaps at nickel are we going to play this year? We’re going to play 600-plus. We’re going to play 300 snaps at base, probably. He was going to play base. You’ve only got 46 guys on the roster that are going to play (on game day), so somebody has got to play it. We’re not just going to trot out eight guys because you can’t play any starters.”

The worry warts are annoying Gase.

 

[hoops]

I would have been more upset about Raekwon if we hadn't lost our qb and our season the week prior. In terms of its ceiling potential.

 

[roy_miami]

I guess I just disagree with playing your starting MLB on kick coverage. I don't remember seeing Zach do that. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just seems like a risky move at a very thin position. If anything throw hull and Hewitt out there.

I remember seeing a quote that Zach was drafted specifically to play special teams.

 

[ANUFan]

Because he's a darn FB player?

 

[russdoe]

It seems people prefer the philbin era where rookies don't play all year long, don't gain experience and improve. It is obvious Gase and the staff can develop players. I agree with In Gase I Trust. In a short amount of time he has done wonders for this team.

 

[TarHeelFinFan]

I can see Gase's point about McMillian playing special teams during the regular season. However the question still remains why was he doing it during the preseason? Furthermore how many punts did Antonio brown field last preseason? Anyway, Some might say he was out there for practice, well then what is he doing during actual practice? How much practice does one actually need to run down and cover kicks anyway? No the truth was that he didn't need to be out there with 75 guys on the roster. Gase can sugar coat it however he wants but It was an unnecessary risk that back fired...big time.

Because you don't want him playing in real games without practicing in game-like situations. Special teams matter. A lot. The preseason doesn't in terms of W/L, but it does in terms of the reps and muscle memory.

 

[TarHeelFinFan]

I guess I just disagree with playing your starting MLB on kick coverage. I don't remember seeing Zach do that. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just seems like a risky move at a very thin position. If anything throw hull and Hewitt out there.

ZT absolutely did play special teams early in his career.

 

[Austin Tatious]

I'm sure this is in the category of "I can't believe I have to actually explain this" category for Gase.

 

[Snoop]

“Because he was going to play it this year,” Gase said. “How many snaps at nickel are we going to play this year? We’re going to play 600-plus. We’re going to play 300 snaps at base, probably. He was going to play base. You’ve only got 46 guys on the roster that are going to play (on game day), so somebody has got to play it. We’re not just going to trot out eight guys because you can’t play any starters.”

So technically we can blame the questionable Timmons contract for McMillan being out there on special teams which ultimately led to him getting hurt.

And why would he be a lock to be out there in nickel over Raekwon anyway? He can't cover anymore.

 

[coalesce]

Show of hands: how many people were up in arms when Shula had one of the Blackwood brothers or Jake Scott catching punts on special teams? Does that make Shula stupid?

 

[brumdog44]

If he got hurt at practice, there would probably be people complaining about us playing starters meaningless practice snaps.

 

[ohall]

I guess I just disagree with playing your starting MLB on kick coverage. I don't remember seeing Zach do that. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just seems like a risky move at a very thin position. If anything throw hull and Hewitt out there.

For me I guess I don't devalue special teams like some do. Whether a player plays offense, defense or special teams IMO it's all the same and all 3 phases of the game are important. The way I see it is he got hurt playing special teams as a starter on special teams. I wouldn't feel better if he got hurt playing as a starter on defense.

 

[McDolphins]

I blame the Patriots.

 

[mrhankey81701]

He was playing special teams because he is a rookie and that is what rookies do. The fact he tore his acl on the first play leads me to believe it was just a matter of time before he got hurt. Hopefully he comes back stronger next year and ready to contribute. The good news is he is young, not even old enough to drink, so he should easily be able to bounce back from this, and be a long term contributor.