PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK: Dolphins coach sees a more comfortable Gordon

Miami Dolphins head coach Adam Gase says that Josh Gordon now looks at home in the Patriots' offense. Gordon made his debut with the Patriots against the Dolphins on Sept. 30, catching two passes in their 38-7 win.

FOXBORO – Adam Gase says that Josh Gordon looks “more comfortable” than he did when their paths crossed back in September.

Which has to be make the Miami Dolphins head coach feeling less comfortable as Sunday afternoon’s game with the Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium draws near.

“He’s more comfortable. He knows the offense better than what he knew … that week,” Gase said during a conference call with the New England media on Wednesday. “He seems like he’s healthy. I don’t know. I’m sure everybody in the NFL is banged up a little bit, but I know he was coming off an injury at that time (in September).”

Acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 17, Gordon arrived in New England with a hamstring injury. After being listed as inactive in the Patriots’ 26-10 loss at Detroit six nights later, the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder made his debut at wide receiver with them in their 38-7 rout of the Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 30, his contributions that day consisting of a rather modest two receptions for 32 yards.

Since then, Gordon has developed into a player with game-changing ability in the Patriots offense, a case in point coming this past Sunday. Untargeted until that point in time, Gordon’s second-half production – he caught three passes for 58 yards and a touchdown and drew a 20-yard pass interference penalty – helped turn a 10-10 tie with the Minnesota Vikings into a 24-10 Patriots win at Gillette.

“He’s a tough guy to defend,” said Gase. “He can catch the ball at all levels. He can stretch the field. He can work underneath. He can win in the quick game. He makes some incredible catches. He’s a tough guy to deal with.”

Gordon heads into Sunday’s rematch with the Dolphins with 34 receptions for 605 yards (a 17.8-yard average) and three touchdowns in nine games with the Patriots.

As for his conditioning now, going on three months since his arrival from Cleveland, Gordon said Thursday “it’s night and day, huge difference,” adding “I think I’m as good as I’ve been.”

Howard DNP: Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard, the league leader in interceptions with seven, did not practice for the second straight day due to the knee injury he suffered while picking off two passes to earn AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors in his team’s 21-17 victory over Buffalo last Sunday.

Howard intercepted Tom Brady twice in the Dolphins’ 27-20 win over the Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium last Dec. 11.

On the Patriots’ side, both Brady (knee) and tight end Rob Gronkowski (ankle/back) were removed from the practice participation and injury report on Thursday, while tight end Dwayne Allen (knee) and safety Patrick Chung (shoulder) continue to be limited in practice.

McCourty nominated for award: Safety Devin McCourty is the Patriots’ nominee for the 2018 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award.

The award recognizes an NFL player for outstanding community service off the field and excellence on the field.

Each of the league’s 32 teams nominates one player for the award with the winner to be announced during “NFL Honors,” a two-hour awards special to air nationally in prime time on CBS on Feb. 2, the eve of Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta.

Additonal information on the award can be found at http://www.nfl.com/manoftheyear.