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DAVIE, Fla. -- Under normal circumstances, Miami Dolphins coaches and players would be away from the practice field and spending time with their families. Some would be on vacation, while others would rest at home. But this isn't your typical NFL bye week for Miami. Instead, the Dolphins (4-5) are preparing to play Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-6). Miami's scheduled bye was canceled in September during Hurricane Irma. Now, this Week 1 matchup comes full circle for the Dolphins in Week 11.  "You know, it's been a whirlwind season for sure," Dolphins special teams coach Darren Rizzi said. "But I think Adam [Gase] has done a great job of [understanding] we're playing 16 games in a row and understanding the schedule and players' bodies, the rest and recovery. ... I think he's really aware and cognizant of players having to play 16 games in a row."
Gase has met every challenge this season head on. At the time of the Hurricane, he said he would do what it takes to give his players enough rest throughout the season and essentially create their own bye week. In the past two weeks, Miami took five days off following their Thursday night loss to the Baltimore Ravens. This week the Dolphins took Tuesday and Wednesday off following their loss to the Carolina Panthers. Miami, for the most part, enters this game healthy as it prepares for the stretch run. "We're planning the way we needed to plan it," Gase said. "We felt like giving ourselves time as coaches and giving our players the proper time to recover after a game was important to us." Miami can use a boost after playing some of its worst football of the season. The Dolphins lost three in a row by a combined score of 112-45. The defense has particularly struggled during that stretch. This was a group that carried Miami through its first six games in which the team started 4-2, but he Dolphins have allowed 40 points or more in two of their past three games. According to ESPN Stats and Information, Miami had previously allowed 40 points or more in two of its previous 114 games. Coming off a 45-21 loss to Carolina, Dolphins defensive coordinator Matt Burke had the entire defense watch the second half together to get a sobering look at how things fell apart. Burke is one of the few people happy the team doesn't have a bye week. "Things happen in mysterious ways, I guess, right?" Burke said. "Not having the bye week, to be honest, helps us. If we had to sit two weeks and chew on that for a bye weekend and not play for two weeks? As a coach, particularly, it always helps being able to dive back in."
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