FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots have a new sports car in their driveway, and it’s still unclear whether they’ll dust if off this weekend.
If wide receiver Josh Gordon does play Sunday at Gillette Stadium, though, the Miami Dolphins will at least have some idea of how he runs.
That’s because Dolphins offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains spent one year with Gordon in Cleveland as the Browns’ quarterbacks coach in 2014. Loggains was one year late to Gordon’s coming-out party — the wideout played in just five games that season due to suspensions after leading the NFL in receiving yards in 2013 — but still saw enough evidence of Gordon’s immense talent, according to Miami head coach Adam Gase.
“He’s always talked positive about (Gordon), talked about what kind of player he was,” Gase said of Loggains during a conference call Wednesday. “… So, we know — if he’s active, we have an idea of what his skill set is.”
That question may not be answered until Sunday. Gordon, who joined the Patriots last Monday via trade from the Browns, was inactive against the Detroit Lions in Week 3 while recovering for a hamstring injury. He practiced Wednesday and *should* be ready to make his Patriots debut Sunday, but nothing is a safe bet in New England.
Gordon’s presence could breathe much-needed life into a Patriots offense that’s grown stagnant in the past two weeks. Quarterback Tom Brady’s wide receivers struggled to get separation against the Jacksonville Jaguars’ and Lions’ secondaries, allowing both clubs to load up on stopping tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Even if Gordon doesn’t play, though, Gase expects some new wrinkles from Patriots offensive coordinator and old friend Josh McDaniels, who hired Gase as his wide receivers coach for the Denver Broncos in 2009.
“It’s a challenge, period, just dealing with anything that Josh has his hands on, because he’s going to be multiple,” Gase said of McDaniels. “You’re not going to have a great feel until once the game starts, then you might have a little bit of an idea, but he’s always going to have that next step ready to go, and usually he’s that step ahead.
“He’ll show you something before you’ve really adjusted (to) what the issues are. It’s hard to prepare (against).”
The Jaguars and Lions seemingly had no problem bottling up McDaniels’ offense, so Patriots fans will be hoping the offensive coordinator gets more creative in Week 4.
