The issue with Tannehill has been his consistency and clutch play.
Is Tannehill’s issue of consistency solely based on his play?
Especially in this new era of the NFL, the maxim of “it’s a Quarterback driven league” is alive and well. Ryan Tannehill is experiencing the burden of the continuing “issue” that his team’s success or failure lands squarely on his arm as the starting QB.
In a sport where teams have a 53 man roster, it would seem unfair and unreasonable for one individual’s performance to be so crucial that it can make or break a squad of 11. The truth is that football IS a team sport, and no one man can solely determine a game’s outcome. But, it’s also the truth that the vast majority of perennial playoff teams all have the top QB’s in the league.
Tannehill has been the Miami Dolphins starting QB since the day he’s been drafted. And since that day, he has been an absolute ironman in terms of not missing any playing time and surviving both mentally and physically the effects of playing behind a terrible line. As the most sacked QB in the entire league in that 4 year span,Tannehill has had some success, but the major issue he has had to deal with is his inconsistent play.
In the latest preseason game against Dallas, Tannehill showed the best pay per head gambling fans that he has the skills and ability to be a good QB in this league — when he receives the proper support.
In the Dallas game, I was extremely impressed with Tannehill’s accuracy. He threw a good long ball to Stills on the 55 yard roll-out, and on Stills 2nd touchdown, he threw a difficult, yet perfect pass. The only real criticism was his one bad throw over the middle in the Red-Zone where he was bailed out by Landry.
In addition, he threw a perfect pass to Jordan Cameron and Jarvis Landry in the End Zone, both of which were dropped. This along with bad protection has been a theme that sometimes gets lost in the issue of his play. When you go back and look at Tannehill’s tape over the years, you will see that his receivers have dropped a lot of passes that have literally hit them right in their hands. This year will provide Tannehill with his best wide-out core of his career and this shouldn’t be a major issue in 2016.
The most crucial issue, as most of us can plainly see, is Offensive Linemen play.
This Thursday night, Miami will play it’s third Preseason game and reveal the most clear glimpse of what they will be like in 2016. Yes, Miami will run vanilla defense and scrubbed down offense, but unit cohesion and talent levels will be on full display.
And it will be Tannehill and his Offensive Line that will be and should be the most scrutinized.
The uncertainty of the Offensive Line will be compounded with the loss of Mike Pouncey. I don’t view his absence as the negative that it might initially appear, but reality that viewpoint will begin to be determined Thursday night.
The over-view of the line is this: Albert has been sub-par; Tunsil is growing, but falling short in the run game; Steen, Douglas or Urbik as the starter at Center is yet to be determined…as is the Right Guard spot with Bushrod, Thomas and Turner; James has been the most consistent of the linemen, but still must dial it in a bit more.
This foundation will once again provide or deny Tannehill the opportunity to show what he is as a QB.
This is why Adam Gase must coach the best week of his Dolphins career thus far because this week’s game is a big one in the terms of setting up confidence and credibility. While perception isn’t the end all be all, it certainly does have effect. Gase must coach up this line to perform and provide a functional running game and at least adequate protection so Tannehill can show his team, Miami fans and his critics that he isn’t the issue. Go Fins!!!