The Miami had the chance to draft Matt Ryan, but didn’t. Now he is on his way to the Superbowl
Matt Ryan had a lot of ups and down before this year’s monster output
Matt Ryan is in his 9th season in the NFL, and it feels like almost yesterday when the Miami Dolphins held the rights to the #1 pick in the 2008 Draft.
Bill Parcells and company had the opportunity to Draft Ryan, who was ranked as the number 1 QB in that year’s Draft class, but instead they decided to select OT Jake Long.
That decision can now be added to our long list of what ifs?
But, with RyanTannehill taking a big step forward in 2016, the question now is, can he follow Matt Ryan’s career path, and in doing so, redeem the missed opportunity of the 2008 Draft.
Matt Ryan has been a good QB for his entire tenure in the league, but the knock on him was that he never won the big game.
Before this season, Ryan had a 1-4 record in the playoffs after 8 years in the league. Most pay per head bookie service fans would have given up hope on Ryan ever being able to become an elite QB. However, in Ryan’s second year in Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s Offense, Ryan has been able to set career highs in Completion Percentage (69.9%), Yards per Pass Average (9.26), Touchdowns (38), Low in Interceptions (7), and QB Rating (117.1). Oh, and he is also probably the shoe in to be awarded the NFL’s MVP award this season.
It would seem that Patience is nearly a lost art in the modern NFL.
Enter Adam Gase and Tannehill getting ready for their second year together in the offense.
Will there be a large bounce in Tannehill’s quality of play in year 2, similar to what there was in Matt Ryan’s?
Matt Ryan, like Tannehill, had a lot of question marks on him going into this season
Well, there are two certain mitigating factors: surrounding talent and health.
Atlanta’s offense is filled with talent to support Matt Ryan, starting with Center Alex Mack to Receiver Julio Jones. Miami is close in talent in the skill positions, but they are light years away in O-Line talent.
And then there is the big question mark around Tannehill’s knee.
But, simply from a production standpoint, up until this past season, Ryan and Tannehill had very similar completion percentage and QB ratings. So, it’s not insane to hope that Tannehill can take at least another step forward.
In addition, Matt Ryan played QB for 5 years in College, whereas Tannehill only played QB for 2 years in college, which means Tannehill has had to make up for a lot of lost time and experience at the QB position.
In Tannehill’s first 13 games in Gase’s Offense, he was able to put up his best numbers in Completion Percentage (67.1%), Yards per Pass Average (7.70), and QB Rating (93.5).
Matt Ryan was supported by an very good offensive line in 2016
The big surprise was that Tannehill displayed better pocket presence, and his deep ball took another step forward, becoming a true strength in his toolkit.
As long as Tannehill’s knee heals, and surgery isn’t needed, then he will have the chance to continue the growth of 2016.
But, will Miami finally give their QB a real offensive line?
And if they do, what will Tannehill do with that chance when it comes in 2017, or 2018 when he is fully healthy, should he end up having surgery?
Any chance to redeem the missed pick of 2008 will begin this crucial off season. A Qb’s ceiling is made or broken by their offensive lines. So, how this Front Office goes about acquiring talented linemen will likely determine if there is redemption or not. Go Fins!!!