Gase's Dolphins look to stop Steelers' Bell in battle of Spartans

EAST LANSING – It’s been nearly two decades since Adam Gase was part of Michigan State’s program. But the Dolphins head coach is leaning back on lessons he’s learned from watching his Spartan football family.

Miami’s objective is to try and stop Le’Veon Bell.

“It’s hard for me to compare him to anybody else,” Gase told reporters this week as his Dolphins prepare to face Bell and the Steelers (1 p.m./CBS) on Sunday in Pittsburgh in an AFC Wild-Card Playoff game.

“Just seeing him really become the guy that he has become, I’ve obviously paid attention to him when he was in college being a Michigan State grad myself.”

A lot of people have been paying attention to Gase in his first year with the Dolphins.

The Ypsilanti native and Marshall High graduate was a student assistant for Nick Saban at MSU from 1996-99, then followed Saban to Louisiana State as a graduate assistant. Gase then progressed to the NFL, where he joined the Lions and Steve Mariucci’s staff in 2003 and remained in Detroit until 2007.

After stints in San Francisco and Denver, where he eventually served as offensive coordinator, Gase landed in Chicago last year as offensive coordinator before the Dolphins hired him.

Gase has a pair of Spartans on his roster in fourth-year tight end Dion Sims and second-year cornerback Tony Lippett.

Sims started 11 games and had a career-best 26 catches for 256 yards and four touchdowns, all career highs.

Lippett, who converted from receiver out of college, has started the last 13 games at corner. His four interceptions are tied for 11th in the NFL this season, and Lippett also has 10 pass break-ups and 67 tackles. He’ll be charged with trying to slow down Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and the Steelers’ potent passing attack.

Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin called Lippett “a long and talented cornerback.”

“He has been playing increasingly well over the course of the season,” Tomlin told reporters this week. “This is a guy that has a wide receiver background, a former Michigan State player. He is good at the ball. He doesn’t tense up at the ball. He shows natural ball skills down the field. I think his background aids him in that.”

But the biggest concern is stopping the Steelers’ Pro Bowl running back Bell, whose NFL-leading 157 yards per game from scrimmage were the third-most in league history. He also became the first player ever to average more than 100 yards rushing (105.7) and 50 yards receiving (51.3), finishing the regular season with 1,268 yards and seven touchdowns in just 12 games.

“It’s been very impressive to just see how he’s grown as a player from the time he was drafted,” Gase said of Bell. “If he’s not the best one in the league, he’s one of the top three. I just can’t think of a lot of guys that are better and as versatile as he is. He’s such a weapon for them and he’s a guy that obviously we have to make sure that if we want to be in this game in the fourth quarter, we have to do a great job of just making sure that he doesn’t have a ton of explosive plays.”

That’s exactly what the Dolphins did in their 30-15 win over the Steelers on Oct. 16. Miami kept Bell out of the end zone and limited him to 53 yards on 10 carries and 55 yards on six catches.

Sunday is Bell’s first career playoff game.

“I know how hyped up I am going to be. I think I deserve this,” Bell told reporters. “This is going to be my first playoff game in my fourth year in the league. I am obviously going to be excited, anxious and pumped up, and I need to keep my energy up, have my teammates feed off my energy and let them know how important this game is to me.”