[jwplayer CyWAa1YN-ThvAeFxT]
Adam Gase doesn’t come across as an old-school coach who places an emphasis on physical play and grit. Given some of the offenses he has orchestrated over the years, it’s easy to understand why that’s a thought.
In Denver, Gase oversaw an offensive attack that broke records through the air. With Peyton Manning spreading the ball around to the likes of Demaryius and Julius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders and C.J. Anderson out of the backfield, not much thought was given to a bruising rushing attack or the Broncos’ play in the trenches.
Don’t be fooled by Gase’s past offenses, though. As it turns out, heart and determination are what open his eyes more than anything else.
Jets left tackle Kelvin Beachum has been banged up all season. He has injured his ankle multiple times and has been forced to miss a couple of games. Considering what Beachum has endured this season and how long he has been in the league, he would have every right to worry about his body before the team. Playing in the trenches for nearly a decade is grueling and takes a heavy toll.
Instead, the veteran has battled the pain and done everything in his power to stay on the field.
“My respect level for him is extremely high for what he’s endured,” Gase said on Wednesday. “He refuses to be held out of practice. He’s stepped up big time for them.”
Beachum isn’t the only Jet who has earned Gase’s respect with his perseverance this season. Before landing on season-ending injured reserve, Brian Winters played through shoulder and knee injuries. With the severity of both injuries, Winters could have elected to get surgery and nobody would’ve batted an eye. That was never an option for the veteran guard, though. He’d rather be dragged off the field kicking and screaming than give in to an injury.
“He’s putting duct tape all over his body right now,” Gase said in October. “But he’s fighting through it. He’s giving us everything he’s got.”
Compare how glowingly Gase speaks of Beachum and Winters to the coach’s comments on Kelechi Osemele before he was released. The Osemele situation, combined with Gase’s words regarding Beachum and Winters leaving everything they have on the field, have provided clarity into what Gase really looks for in his players.
He’ll forever be known as an offensive mind looking to light up the scoreboard, but don’t undersell Gase’s affinity for grit. Quarterbacks lead the charge, but sometimes, it is the men in the trenches that form the pulse of a team.
It is now abundantly clear that Gase is well aware of that.