Ryan Tannehill is making his doubters eat some crow.
Imagine if Ryan Tannehill had started his career out with Gase and a team.
For 4 seasons and 5 games, Ryan Tannehill has been asked to carry this ‘team’ on his back and arm, and throughout that time, there has been a lot of ups and downs — more downs than ups.
But let’s be clear, being the most sacked and hit QB since his first start in the league, Tannehill has had a career better suited for crash dummy than a professional signal caller. Yet this abuse has been a true testament to his elite toughness as he has not missed any time: zip, zero, zilch. While he has had a difficult job getting victories for the Dolphins, a large portion of this ‘flaw’ is now obviously exposed as the result of him just having far too little help.
Coach Adam Gase has believed in Tannehill since day one, and his laser like focus on the O-Line being the cause of the team’s issues was spot on — despite a torrent of critics.
His ‘awesomeness’ though is an article for another day.
Back to Tannehill finally having an actual team.
Despite what ESPN says, QB’s don’t win on their own.
During the last four games, the Dolphins have transformed into a smash-mouth football team, abandoning the pass-happy ways of Joe Philbin, and the initial pass-happy approach of Coach Gase, who has admittedly forced himself to focus on running the ball and not giving up on it late in the game. This commitment to the run has them averaging 180 yards per game on the ground.To put this output in perspective, the best rushing team in the league is the Dallas Cowboys, and they’re averaging 161 yards per game this season!
On the other side of the ball, the Dolphins are also causing turnovers and getting to the QB. The Defense had 4 interceptions against a possible future Hall of Famer QB in Philip Rivers. The Coaches have also taken the leash off of Cameron Wake, who has been a rabid monster tallying 6 sacks and 2 forced fumbles over the last 4 games.
More importantly is that the run defense has tightened up. Over the last 4 games, the Dolphins have only allowed 101 yards rushing per game, which brings their season average down to 128.8 yards per game. The 128.8 yards per game still ranks them 30th in the league in rushing yards allowed per game; however, the 101 yards per game would rank them as the 14th best in rushing yards allowed per game. The Dolphins have made massive strides in this department, which has been a large quantity in their recent success.
Ryan Tannehill is even showing more passion as he grows more comfortable.
With Tannehill getting help from all parts of the team, he has not had to throw the ball 35 to 40 times a game as was usually the case. Over this stretch,Tannehill has only been asked to throw the ball an average of 27 times per game and has averaged a 103.55 rating. That 103.55 rating would put him as the 5th best QB in the entire league by rating. In addition, Tannehill has not thrown an interception in his last 4 games and has incredibly only been sacked 3 times in the last 4 games. Tannehill is proving many of the best pay per head fans wrong, showing that if he has time to throw, and players around him make plays, he can win football games…and win them in bunches. While managing the game for the most part — as if that is somehow a bad thing — he has also made truly stellar plays, especially in the fourth quarter.
If the Dolphins can continue to follow this game plan, then Tannehill is the answer at QB. He still has a bit more to go in regards to accuracy and consistency in order to reach the value of his $20 million dollar cap hit over the next 4 seasons, but man is he getting real close…and if anything, Ryan Tannehill has proven to be tough enough to outlast his doubters. Go Fins!!!