While discussing Ryan Tannehill's future with the Miami Dolphins, Adam Gase strongly defended his quarterback.

"The first three games he played pretty good," Gase said, responding to an assertion that Tannehill hasn't been better in 2018 than previous seasons. "You're asking me that question and you don't even know what you're talking about. It's hard for me to defend anything when you don't know what you're talking about. You don't. I've watched the film. I sit there. We evaluate the scheme we're asking him to do and he does a good job on it."

Tannehill will miss his fourth straight game this week because of a shoulder injury.

Gase said the 30-year-old isn't close to reaching his ceiling as a quarterback, citing "rare qualities that you can't find in a lot of guys physically."

As of this Sunday, Tannehill will have missed 24 of his past 29 starts, including playoffs, dating to the end of the 2016 season.

"That's how you look at things. Everything is results to you," Gase said. "We're going through a process because that's what it is. That's what the season is. It's about trying to get guys to trend upward. We were headed in the right direction. We hit a speed bump with New England. Then Cincinnati, he was playing well and then we lose our left tackle and we make two bad decisions."