Patrick definitely struck a nerve among Miami Dolphins fans this week with his post yesterday about Ryan Tannehill falling short in the loss Sunday against the Patriots. The post has sparked a huge reaction and the discussion has been much larger and much more intense than anything we've experienced this season. That means that it is something that you guys want to talk about, so we will happily oblige you.
Patrick was rather negative of Tannehill in his piece yesterday, so I am here now to provide an alternate point of view to you guys.
First, let me say that I think we all understand that Tannehill had a poor game against New England. We can all agree on that. He missed some throws that could have easily changed the outcome of the game. We recognize that.
What we don't seem to agree on is the degree to which Tannehill should be faulted and what it means for him long term. I personally see it as nothing more than a bump in the road for the rookie. He is bound to have his ups and downs. It is unrealistic to expect Andrew Luck-type production from any rookie quarterback, especially one who was supposed to take time to develop due to lack of in-game experience.
Others seem to want to put a more negative spin on his performance, questioning whether or not he can truly be the franchise quarterback he was drafted to be.
I'm here to tell you that he is still the franchise guy we've been looking for. He's still a great quarterback, and he will be just fine in the long-run.
Remember, just a week ago Tannehill led the Dolphins on a couple of crucial drives in the 4th quarter to beat a very good Seahawks team. Just a week ago we were praising him, but now it's like that game never happened. How quickly we forget.
Tannehill has one bad game, and all of the sudden we need to blow everything up. Nothing is right and everything needs to change. Were you guys expecting a playoff run or something? I am normally a very optimistic person, and I didn't even see us making the playoffs. I saw us in the hunt, but not actually making it. We get too emotional and it clouds our judgement.
As fans this season we have gone through a lot of ups and downs. After each high point we overreact and become overly excited, and after each low point we overreact and become overly pessimistic. What we need to work on is lowering our high points and raising our low points so we can become more even and objective.
We need to look at this team objectively. As fans it is hard, and I recognize that, but we have to. This team is still in developmental stages. It is unreasonable to expect us to play consistently great each week like the best teams in the league. It will take a few years to get to that point. This is only year one.
This won't be Tannehill's last poor game. He will have games like this where we see him struggle, but I assure you his successes will far outweigh his struggles long term. Patience, patience, patience. We need to give him time to develop. Winning when we're not supposed to is fun, but it won't be nearly as fun as a few years from now when we're really winning.
Patience is key. Now chill out and enjoy the ride (objectively of course).
Thanks for stopping by. Email me at paul@dolphinshout.com. I'm on twitter @PaulDSmythe.
