So far so good Rook

phins newsRyan Tannehill was the 8th pick of the 2012 draft and the third QB taken in the draft, and many sports gambling fans, including myself believed this was a reach for a player who had only played the quarterback position for a year and half. Then many NFL pundits believed that he would spend this season sitting on the bench behind either Matt Moore or David Garrard. Then when Tannehill won the starting QB job, most sports gambling fans were betting that he was going to have a tough time. Well after the first 5 games of the season, RT has proved all the naysayers wrong, because he has played well above everyone’s expectations.

For a rookie QB, who has started the first 5 games, he has thrown for 1269 passing yards, which is 2nd most of all time, behind only Cam Newton’s 1610. However he is the first rookie to have that many passing yards and record at least 2 wins. He has thrown 19 passes of 20 or more yards, which only 5 other QB’s have done this season, and his yards per throw is 7.5, which ranks him at 13th. The two areas where he needs improvement, is in throwing touchdowns, where he only has 2 so far, which is the fewest by a starting QB this season. Also his QB rating is 70.4 which ranks him 30th among QB’s.

However, if you want to look past all the numbers, the most encouraging thing about RT this season has been his composure and his response to pressure. He said “he thinks the pressure is fun,” and his ability to handle it has been impressive. When the pressure is on late in the game, and the Dolphins desperately need an offensive play, he appears to become more focused and has often come through late in games. That is the “IT” factor that all the great QB’s have. When the game is on the line and the pressure is mounting, they perform at their best. The next step for RT in this process is for him to led his team from a 4th quarter deficit and throw a game winning touchdown. I would wager that we will see such a feat in the next few games.

8 comments

  • Nigel

    It was clear from the post draft material put out on the dolphins web site that Tannehill was Ireland’s QB way back in October 2011. A video put out had Ireland saying he only told Chris Grier (Director of College Scouting) and his own wife that he had found his QB. Whatever you think of his picks (draft is OK, acorns not so good) Tannehill has his hand prints all over this pick. If it works out give the man credit for seeing what others didn’t see. I think there are a few teams out there who would like to have that pick now!

    • Jimmy Bourbon

      Yeah bottom line is he is the one responsible for making the picks and RT was the pick, so yes I will give him credit for it regardless if he was influenced by others. At the moment is looks like a great pick that he made

  • Lance

    Have to disagree with Phinfreak on not giving credit to Ireland. From everything I’ve followed regarding the Tannehill pick, Ireland was high on him from the beginning and it was merely coincidence that Sherman was the new OC. Of course, Sherman being the OC helped, but I believe Ireland would have picked Tannehill either way.

    As I mentioned in another post, I’ve never been on the anti-Ireland bandwagon. As Omar Kelly said, judge him by his draft picks. Yes, every GM will have misses, but look at some of his picks still on the team: Sean Smith, Jared Odrick, Koa Misi, Mike Pouncey, Brian Hartline, Reshad Jones, Ryan Tannehill, Jonathan Martin, Olivier Vernon, Lamar Miller, John Jerry, Chris Clemons, Nolan Carroll, Charles Clay, Daniel Thomas. That’s not to mention all the undrafted “acorns” he has brought in that have made the team, or the free agents he has brought in (Reggie Bush, Karlos Dansby, Randy Stark, Kevin Burnett). And keep in mind that Pat White and Chad Henne are both Parcells’ picks.

    • Jimmy Bourbon

      Yes it is not a terrible group he put together, now with a good coaching staff, that knows how to use its players properly, Ireland’s job may be safe.

  • Ireland is a country not a GM

    Toss the numbers out. The poise this kid shows is what we’ve been missing since Marino. He does not get rattled. When he makes a mistake, he brushes it off. Another thing that I really like is how he reads a defense at the LOS. He recognizes blitz packages and audibles when necessary. Curious to see what he can do with real weapons. Hartline is having a real nice season, but he’s not a #1. Hartline is also a free agent after the season.

    As for the guy who commented on your last post about the Dolphins entering the “weak part of the schedule,” I guess he missed the memo about the Dolphins having a really weak schedule in general. The Jets stink. Raiders are awful. Cincinnati is a .500 team and the Cardinals offense stinks, especially their O line. The Phins do not have to play Atlanta, GB, da Bears, Giants, Ravens, or Steelers. They have some week teams yet to play – Jets once more, the Bildoes twice, the Colts, Titans and Jags. New England (twice) and San Fran are the toughest games they have left. No win is automatic in the NFL, but lets get real; the Phins schedule is soft. I’m hoping for the best and my only goal is to see Tannehill improve as the season goes on. So far, so good.

    • Jimmy Bourbon

      Yes I totally agree he has the poise that everyone after Marino did not. He has everything that we wished Henne would have. Well if Hartline can keep up this pace, its hard to argue that he is not a #1 WR. The best thing about Hartline is that he almost always makes the tough sideline catches, and his speed is very deceptive. I wonder if this season is another one of those “guys playing out of their minds during a contract year.” It always seems that when a guy is in a contract year, he decides to actual care and play up to his potential and then once he gets paid he goes back into sleeper mode. I don’t really think this is Hartline, because he has always seemed like a blue collar type guy.

      Yes the schedule is very weak all season and that is why in one of my first articles I actually argued that there was an outside chance of us going 10-6 this season. To be honest I thought the QB position would be the question mark holding us back, however it is the kicker, because if we had a decent kicker than we would be 4-1

  • phinfreak

    I like Tanny over Mike Vick…I mean RGIII. LIke him over most young QB’s playing right now. Tanny has it. Finally we have a QB.

    I do not credit Ireland on this pick, I credit Philbin and Sherman, I am convinced it was Sherman who insisted, Philbin trusted him, and Ireland made the political move, it sure wasnt Ireland keen eye for talented QB’s.

    Couple this with an aggressive attacking offensive play calling by Sherm, the WCO, the tempo, …Fins are definitely headed in the right direction.

    A couple peices and this team is competing for the playoffs. Another pass rusher, a shut down Corner for the D, a franchise TE and an acrobatic speedy WR on the outside, and perhaps another OL at G and a future LT, and this team is off to the races.

    • Jimmy Bourbon

      I agree Sherman had the inside track on this kid, and honestly I was not sold on him when we drafted him, and thought it was a tremendous reach, however at the moment I stand corrected. The one thing I did like about him before we drafted him was the fact that he was an extremely accomplished WR for Texas A&M before moving to QB. This tells me two things, 1 he is a phenomanal athlete, and 2 he knows what goes on in the mind of a WR better then any other QB in the league.

      haha i like how you say a couple of pieces and rattle of 7 positions, seems like more than a couple to me