PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Adam Gase wasn't surprised when Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey was selected to the Pro Bowl earlier this week.
Miami's head coach knows the Dolphins (7-7) will be challenged Sunday against one of the best corners in the NFL.
Recommended Videos
"I don't know if I've seen anybody look as smooth as him when somebody's running across the field," Gase said of Ramsey during a conference call with Jacksonville media Wednesday. "He stays tight. He's not holding and grabbing guys. It's almost like he knows the route and he's running it for them."
Ramsey, 24, has quickly made a name for himself in the NFL as a brash, trash-talking defensive back with something to say about everything. He's taken shots at Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
Of course, Ramsey said all this before the season began. At the time, his team was expected to contend for a Super Bowl after hanging with the New England Patriots in the fourth quarter of last year's AFC Championship game.
The Jaguars got payback, beating the Patriots 31-20 in Jacksonville in an early-season rematch. Jacksonville got off to a 3-1 start, but then the wheels fell off.
Jacksonville benched quarterback Blake Bortles in favor of Cody Kessler, who was acquired in an offseason trade with the Cleveland Browns.
But Ramsey hasn't stopped talking.
Ramsey was criticized for saying he's only concerned about himself after the Jaguars (4-10) blew a lead Sunday against the Washington Redskins, losing for the ninth time in 10 weeks.
He was relatively complimentary -- by Ramsey's standards -- when he spoke about Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill in an August issue of GQ magazine.
"I don't know much about him," Ramsey said. "I haven't heard the greatest of stuff about him, but I don't know him personally so I can't tell you. I don't watch their games either."
He'll get to know Tannehill and the Dolphins this weekend.
But Gase already knows all he needs to know about the two-time Pro Bowl player.
"He's so smooth with everything he does," Gase said. "It looks exactly the way that you wish you could teach every player how to do it. He just does it because he's that good."