Ryan Tannehill has been a polarizing figure for the Miami Dolphins since being drafted in 2012. The jury is out in 2018 and his judgement is looming.
When the Miami Dolphins drafted Ryan Tannehill eighth overall in 2012, expectations were understandably high. Now through six seasons (five active), that hasn’t really changed all that much. The issue is, circumstance has led to him not being able to be fairly judged. It seems no matter what your opinion on him is, it’s wrong.
If you think he’s a good starting quarterback that can lead the Dolphins moving forward it’s fair to point out the fact that he has never even won a playoff game. On the flip side, if you say he stinks and the team needs to move on, you can point to a miserable offensive line, poor coaching and still decent statistical output. First, lets make the case against Tannehill.
Every Dolphins quarterback has the unfortunate burden of having to live up the ghost of Dan Marino. That’s a nearly impossible task in Miami and, since he retired ,no one has even come close to comparing to bane of Ray Finkle’s existence. We are yet to see Tannehill throw 30 touchdowns in a season and the team has made just one playoff appearance and the guy wasn’t even healthy enough to clinch the spot or play in January.
Perhaps the line and coaching isn’t quite as miserable as they have looked, but Tannehill has no pocket presence and he’s getting coaches fired. It’s also been clear his deep ball hasn’t been a consistent thing of beauty. Excuses are for losers, they say, and Tannehill sure seems to have a lot of them.
On the other hand, maybe they aren’t excuses but legitimate reasons.
Any sane person will look at the fact that he was sacked at a league high alarming rate over his first five seasons and understand why the offense has often times struggles. Even with the protection issues, he had continued to progress before injuring his ACL, which cost him the last three games of 2016 and all of 2017. Tannehill was also playing the best football of his life in 2016 under new head coach Adam Gase.
He had won seven of eight games and was completing over 67 percent of his passes on the season. In those seven wins, he had a TD-INT ration of 12-2, which undoubtedly pushed them into the playoffs even if he wasn’t active for the game.
Overall, his statistics are good but his win percentage is not. He topped 4,000 yards in each of his last two 16-game seasons and has a career TD-INT ratio of 106-66 with a completion percentage of 62.7.
However, fans are understandably not thrilled with numbers that don’t result in wins. Especially when it comes to his zero playoff victories. Fair or not, quarterbacks are directly linked with wins and losses. You can just as easily let him off the hook and blame his coaching staff and supporting cast. Joe Philbin was a terrible coach and the team hasn’t exactly been loaded with talent, particularly on offense. Therein lies the conundrum.
Coming off a lost season in which he didn’t play a single snap due to injury, Tannehill will be judged this year no matter what. Circumstance will no longer be an answer fans will except. He will be 30 years old this season and has little to show entering his seventh season. If the team doesn’t have success this season and he doesn’t look like the same guy he did right before he got injured, the team will likely look to draft their future quarterback in 2019. Along with Tannehill, his legacy may have a direct link with coach Gase, who has gone all in on Tannehill and showed full faith in him.
Next: NFL 2018: Ranking the top 100 games of next season
With an improved offensive line and a head coach who has his back, Tannehill needs to step up this season. If things aren’t going in his favor around him, he simply must rise above it and overcome. Personally, I’m a believer in Tannehill. I don’t think he’s ever going to be a top five quarterback in the league or an MVP candidate, but there is no reason he can’t be comparable to Super Bowl champs like Joe Flacco and Eli Manning. This will surely prove to be a massive year for both the starting quarterback and the franchise.