Friday was one of those days you saw coming a mile away, but when it came it still hit you.
He has left the Dolphins building much to the dismay of receiver Tyreek Hill, whose locker was next to Gecicki’s but was apparently unaware of the latest development until he checked social media Friday morning.
“Sorry you had to find out like this,” Gecicki tweeted to his now-former partner. “But I’ll still see you twice this year.”
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1. It will be interesting to see how the Patriots use Gecicki.
The reason Gesicki is still not a Dolphin is because he was not considered a fit in coach Mike McDaniel’s system, which relies more heavily on tight end blocking. As we all know, Gesicki is and will always be hard.
or is he?
No, I’m not suggesting that Gecicki will suddenly bulldoze linebackers. I wonder if Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien will accept the idea of Gecicki as a tight end. Converting him to a receiver would eliminate the whining about what Gesicki doesn’t do well and maximize what he does well. That’s what coaches do.
It was late in the season that McDaniel admitted that he failed to get the most out of Gecicki, coming off a 780-yard season, but halved his targets, receptions and yardage.
Meanwhile, Cedric Wilson signed an $8 million contract to seize the No. 3 receiver role behind Hill and Jaylen Waddle and seemingly in prime position, finishing with 12 receptions for 136 yards.
If “wide receiver” Mike Gesicki’s numbers dip back into the 800-yard range and he comes back to make an impossible catch, people here will be wondering 1) about Wilson’s money and 2) Gesicki. Why wasn’t just listed as one of the receivers here, let everyone else run with it.
Final point: Check out what Belichick said about Gecicki a few years ago: “He’s a big receiver. I mean, he’s not really a traditional tight end.
2. What’s up with all the gems the Dolphins got in Round 2?
Gesicki was drafted in the second round out of Penn State in 2018.
Just for fun, I skimmed the Dolphins’ draft in the 2000s, looking at every second-round pick, and these were some of the names I saw:
S Javon Holland (2021)
G Rob Hunt (2020)
Te Mike Gesiki (2018)
CB Xavien Howard (2016)
WR Jarvis Landry (2014)
QB Chad Henne (2008)
WR Chris Chambers (2001)
Very respectable neighborhood, wouldn’t you say?
Just for laughs, I skimmed the rest of his No. 2 back through history. And …
CB Sam Madison (1997)
G Keith Sims (1990)
LB John Offerdahl (1986)
WR Mark Duper (1982)
FB Andra Franklin (1981)
NT Bob Baumhower (1977)
WR Freddie Solomon (1975)
RB Benny Malone (1974)
Te Jim Mandich (1970)
DT Bob Heinz (1969)
This is the point where I may be contradicting (and whining about) the players the Dolphins drafted in Round 1, but you know who they are.
Just kinda interesting how many times the dolphins discovered gold in round 2 and cubic zirconia in round 1.
3. I confess. I was wrong.
There was a time when I wondered if Gesicki’s amount would be too much.
Gesicki finished his rookie season with 22 receptions for 202 yards and zero touchdowns. But it wasn’t his stats that worried me. I just didn’t feel any rush to get better. He was groomed to a high standard, had a rookie contract and seemed very satisfied.
It’s not just me talking. Back in May 2021, during a patent Gesiki rant in defense of Tua Tagovailoa, here’s what Mike said about going from Year 1 to Year 2 in the NFL:
“You understand the game more. You see things happen. I think it’s just kind of a game. I think that’s the difference between me and him, because he’s already made the game. My rookie year, I don’t think I did a terrible job of making a play.”
Key words there: “My rookie year.” Because after that season, Gecicki did a lot to make plays. To improve. You can criticize his blocking if you want, but in the three seasons following Gecicki’s rookie year, his numbers haven’t skyrocketed by accident. Day after day, practice would be over but Gesicki would be out in the sun catching balls from the jugs machine.
4. Rant. We will definitely miss the banter and laughter.
The above rant was classic Gesicki. A verbal mess, you might say. It came terrible Zoom season, so picture the scene: With the practice complete, media members remained in their viewing area under an umbrella at Nova Southeastern. A terrible storm came, bringing rain, thunder and lightning and proving how ineffective the canopy was
But nobody cared because Gecicki was obsessed with Tagovailoa. Gesicki had a lot of criticism of Tagovailoa and chose that moment to fight back. What tickled Gesicki was that “people were saying stupid, uneducated things about him.”
It took nine minutes for Gecicki to get all this off his chest, by which time a member of the Dolphins’ PR staff suggested that reporters leave immediately before someone was struck by lightning, not verbally as Gecicki had stated.
Then there was the time Gecicki showed up to talk to reporters wearing close friend Durham Smythe’s No. 81 jersey as a message to GM Chris Grier.
Gecicki said, “Today, I thought I’d come here and pay all the praise to him and start my drive to be the Miami Dolphins next year and go on.” “So Chris, if you’re listening, this is my campaign for Durham.”
Obviously, it worked. Soon after on Twitter:
“According to a source closer to the situation than anyone else (ME), the Miami Dolphins have re-signed and made the best signing of anyone in the league this free agency period and to a 2-year contract Have signed TE/QB sneak guru Durham Smythe,” Gesicki wrote. “It’s all over South Florida now.”
Along the way, Gesicki couldn’t resist a zinger on Smythe: “I know he wouldn’t do it for me, but I’d do it for him.”
Of course, nothing would top his gift to South Florida: his griddy. His unbelievably awful abomination.
“She wasn’t proud,” Gesicki said of wife Halle’s reaction when she performed for the first time. “She told me never to embarrass her like that again, so she’s made me practice several times a day ever since.”
Naturally, this became a Gesicki trademark.
5. An entirely different ballgame in New England.
Gesicki would see some acquaintances in New England, including O’Brien, who recruited him to Penn State even though he did not end up coaching him there.
In addition, the Patriots have receiver Davante Parker and defensive tackle Devon Godchaux, ex-teammates on the Dolphins.
They have Hunter Henry at tight end and are adding receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
But they’ll have to make an adjustment on who’s throwing the ball: Mac Jones. Let’s compare Jones’ 2022 stats to Tagovailoa’s.
Jones completed 65.2 percent of his passes, which was actually slightly better than Tagovailoa’s 64.8.
But what he did with those dice is a different story.
Yards per attempt: Jones 6.8, Tagovailoa 8.9
Yards per completion: Jones 10.4, Tagovailoa 13.7
Touchdowns-Interceptions: Jones 14-11, Tagovailoa 25-8
Passer ratings: Jones 84.8, Tagovailoa 105.5
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be contacted here [email protected] and follow on twitter @gunnerhal.
This article was originally published on the Palm Beach Post: Mike Gesicki from the Patriots: Five thoughts on the TE leaving the Dolphins