It’s On You Joe Philbin, Ryan Tannehill Or Matt Moore?
Heading into the season the Miami Dolphins entered week one with one of the more interesting quarterback debates. Of course, it wasn’t a real debate. The guy in Miami is third year starting quarterback, Ryan Tannehill. Or, is it? Just three weeks ago this seemed like a silly question. The Dolphins were riding high off their week one victory against the New England Patriots, while fans were rejoicing the early connection of Tannehill and sixty-million dollar man Mike Wallace. Now, just two weeks later, head coach Joe Philbin is in an uneasy predicament – stick with Tannehill or turn to the veteran backup Matt Moore?
With the team off to a 1-2 start – losses coming from Buffalo and Kansas City – people are beginning to question whether Tannehill is the man for the job. In what is a make-or-break year for Tannehill, he is giving the City of Miami something they’re accustomed to seeing, bad quarterback play. In the three games Tannehill has played this season he has thrown a plethora of inaccurate passes, made poor decisions with the football and has failed to extend drives. His uninspiring play has put the third year quarterback on a thin leash.
While Joe Philbin has yet to name a starting quarterback for their match up against the Oakland Raiders (in London), many are expecting Tannehill to get one more shot. It is obvious, Miami is in a must win scenario. Oakland may not possess the talent defeat Miami but Miami has shown the ability to beat themselves. This game is especially important because for the first time in years, it seems as if the division is up for grabs. A 1-3 start would really deplete Miami’s chances at making a run at the Patriots or the Bills.
That is neither here, nor there. If the Dolphins want to snap their two game skid, they will need Ryan Tannehill to step up and make plays when needed. The way I see it, there are two options. One, you could take the safe route and turn Tannehill into a game manager. Despite being winless, the Raiders do one thing better than 28 other teams – defend the pass. Oakland’s secondary currently ranks fourth in the league in terms of passing yards allowed to the opponent. While they’re secondary is strong, their run defense is weak, ranking 31st in the league. If you’re Miami, you could consider running the offense through Lamar Miller and Daniel Thomas, keeping the ball out of Tannehill’s hands as much as possible.
That’s one option, but in my opinion, that’s the wrong one. What good will it do for Miami if they limit Tannehill? If the pressure is on Tannehill, make him go out and earn his stripes. With the Raiders pass defense being as good as it is, the Dolphins coaching staff will get a great opportunity to dissect Tannehill’s performance. If Tannehill can play up to par, then give him another week. If he can’t improve on his 5 yards per completion and 56% completion percentage, then they must go in another direction.
Owner Stephen Ross has spent a ton of money bringing in free agents to complete the team, expecting them to compete for the playoffs. With high expectations, head coach Joe Philbin is coaching for his job; therefore, the pressure to make a move is in full effect. But what does benching their 2012 first round pick in favor of Moore signify? It shows that the Dolphins are a desperate team. If benched, it would be awfully hard to go back to Tannehill. This mean’s benching him would most likely lead to the Dolphins clearing house and starting over.
In the meantime, Moore would serve as a stopgap to his evident successor. Moore hasn’t seen an extensive amount of action since the 2011 season, where he went 6-7 as the Dolphins starter.
Regardless, the Miami Dolphins have found themselves in an uncomfortable situation. A situation that will either end up with Tannehill progressing into the quarterback they hope for, or with Miami searching for their 18th starting quarterback since Dan Marino retired after the 99′ season.