The Miami Dolphins 2013 season begins Sunday in Cleveland and for the second straight year Ryan Tannehill takes the reigns as the starting QB. In Miami Dolphin fandom, there is a fixation with the quarterback.
The shadow of Dan Marino has loomed large over the Dolphins since he retired in 1999. The reasons are plenty, drafted in the 1st round of the famed 1983 "year of the quarterback," Marino’s career eclipsed nearly every passing record in NFL history. Danny’s notorious gun slinging came prior to the proliferation of the passing game in the NFL. To many fans, Marino paved the way for a new breed of passer since his remarkable skills led all the way to the hall of fame.
Thirteen years later, fans in Miami are still obsessed with the quarterback, so much so, Ryan Tannehill is only the 3rd passer to enter a second season as the starting signal caller since Marino. Of the others, Jay Fiedler was a game manager in Dave Wannstedt’s power running offense and Chad Pennington was permanently injured three games into his 2nd season.
Great QBs leave a tequila sized hangover after retirement. It took Peyton Manning to make Denver fans forget John Elway. In San Francisco, Colin Kaepernick has a chance to emerge from the shadow of Joe Montana and Steve Young.
Ryan Tannehill is an interesting example of how the landscape of the NFL is changing with the introduction of the rookie salary cap. QBs like Jamarcus Russell entered the league with all the expectations of a $20 million dollar a year price tag. Tannehill’s $12+ million dollar contract is $7 million less over four years than Russell made in a single season. Changing the investment, changes the expectations. Miami can afford to bring Tannehill along slowly now that the bank is not broken.
There is no longer the need to run a developing QB out of town shouting "bust" when the salary cap makes it conducive to bringing him along slowly. The Dolphins knew Tannehill started only twenty games at QB in college, but with his college head coach and QB coach joining the Dolphin's staff, there was no mystery. Miami would depend on a stellar defense and slowly develop Tannehill into an NFL QB. Perhaps unrecognized around the NFL, the Dolphins are breaking new ground in wisely using the rookie cap. If Jamarcus Russell is the poster child for not paying players before they have earned the big payday, Tannehill may prove the opposite.
2012 was an anomaly with five rookie QBs stepping straight into a starting role. Even the famed draft of 1983 did not see more QBs starting with Marino not taking the first snap until the 6th game of the season. The fact is most QBs take time to develop in the NFL. The previous Collective Bargaining Agreement with its continuous escalation of rookie salaries, left owners and fans demanding starting roles from day one. Russell joined Ryan Leaf and a litany of other QBs unable to hold up under the scrutiny of winning the lottery with the expectation to perform at the level of their riches.
To ease the burden on Ryan Tannehill, the Dolphins quietly put together the best collection of young defensive talent Miami has seen in forty years. Whether preordained or coincidence, the order of business in Miami is clearly to lean on an exceptional defense while building the team around an emerging QB. It's an old school approach to the new school NFL. The style of play and the type of player has evolved, but the coaching in Miami has reverted to the days before rookie salaries escalated beyond the ability to coach performance on the field.
While fans and the media fixate on the QB position, NFL offensive coordinators contemplate how to block Cameron Wake, Olivier Vernon and Dion Jordan. Double team any of these three and the trio of Paul Soliai, Randy Starks and Jared Odrick await in the middle of the line. The Miami defensive line may be the most talented six-man rotation in the NFL. Behind them, speedy Dannell Ellerbe, Philip Wheeler and Koa Misi form an impressive linebacking crew. The Duo of Chris Clemons and Rashad Jones return at safety to lead an experienced secondary featuring former pro bowler Brent Grimes and Dimitri Patterson at the corners. Patterson may have trouble holding his own against the best NFL receivers, but the ball will need to be in the air quickly when Wake, Vernon and Jordan pin their ears back on the pass rush.
The strength of the Miami defense is not by coincidence as the Philbin plan becomes apparent. Media, fans, GMs and owners caught in the instant gratification craze plant their QBs squarely in the cross-hairs. Many consider quarterback to be the hardest position to play in all of sports, yet the expectation of these supreme athletes is instant success or else. Success not instantly achieved equals catastrophic failure in the court of public opinion and ever-present character assault in the forum of social media.
The curiosity is, these same lambasters will blurt out a comparison to Aaron Rodgers when Rodgers sat four seasons behind Brett Favre. Tannehill is no Drew Brees who walked away as a free agent from San Diego after three miserable seasons. The Pittsburg Steelers cut John Unitas. Talent alone does not dictate the path to QB greatness in the NFL, it is an intangible desire to win no matter how many times failure has interrupted the quest. The question then is, does Ryan Tannehill have the desire?
Joe Philbin learned English in high school from a teacher named Mike Sherman. After thirty-three years, these two men may have switched roles, but clearly, the trust is absolute. Their careers ride on the answer to that question; does Ryan Tannehill have the desire for greatness? The skills are obvious, but these coaches are well aware of how difficult it is to play quarterback in an NFL offense. All the desire in the world will not overcome the inability to recognize defenses or see openings destined to appear during the sequence of a play.
Before Aaron Rodgers emerged, he was coached by these two men. The Green Bay Packers rose to prominence during the tenures of these two men. The media and fans should stand in front of a mirror and ask, are they more qualified to assess Ryan Tannehill? Don Shula once looked Dan Marino in the eye and completely changed his offense. Since then, no group of coaches, a GM or owner has had as much skin in the game. Their entire experience and future legacy is riding on their assessment of a single player, Ryan Tannehill.
Trust is a fool’s game they say. The Miami Dolphin organization is all in and thankfully, the English teacher and assay writer still trust and understand the word coach is a synonym for teacher. Ryan Tannehill may not yet live up to the fans or media expectation, but as long as his teachers see the progression, perhaps the outsiders should leave his potential to the experts. Sooner or later, the understanding of the game will catch up to the desire and Ryan Tannehill will reward his teachers.
Instead of vitriol, Miami fans should sit back and enjoy the ride.
Of course, there will be plenty of time after the plan reaches fruition for KV to say...
“I told you so!"
Tannehill vs. Weeden: A Matchup of Second-Year QBs
On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns will kick off the 2013 season against one another in Cleveland. Starting for both squads will be a second-year quarterback taken in the first round of last year's NFL Draft. While neither Ryan Tannehill nor Brandon Weeden had the type of rookie season in 2012 as say, Indianapolis' Andrew Luck, Washington's Robert Griffin III or Seattle's Russell Wilson, Sunday's contest should be a solid indicator of how far each has come as a NFL quarterback from year one.
For the Miami Dolphins, big things are expected out of Ryan Tannehill in year number two. Tannehill threw just 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions a season ago, but improved as the year went on. Tannehill led the Dolphins to a 7-9 season, but kept them mathematically alive in the playoff race until Week 16. Tannehill also led Miami to victories over playoff teams Cincinnati and Seattle after the Dolphins failed to beat a playoff team the previous year.
The Dolphins have upgraded the supporting cast of last year's eighth overall pick from Texas A&M bringing in Brandon Gibson and former Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Wallace to compliment last season's leading receiver Brian Hartline. Balance and protection will be the biggest questions for the Miami offense, but if Tannehill can get time to throw and the running game can keep opposing defenses honest, there is a strong possibility that he can be the most improved quarterback in the entire NFL in 2013.
For Cleveland, who finished just 5-11 in 2012, the expectations aren't as high, but significant improvement is expected from Brandon Weeden, the 22nd overall pick in last season's draft. Like Tannehill, Weeden threw more picks (17) than touchdowns (14) as a rookie. Weeden however, did lead the Browns to three wins over the final five games and complete better than 63 percent of his passes during that stretch.
Unlike Miami, who will be expecting big numbers from Tannehill, the bigger task for Weeden will be not losing games. With another second-year man in running back Trent Richardson, likely to carry the offense, Weeden and the Browns' passing game should have less on its shoulders.
Both quarterbacks were impressive in the preseason as Weeden finished 30-for-50 with 344 yards and three touchdowns in three preseason games. In four games for the Miami Dolphins, Tannehill was 34-for-56 with 387 yards and three scores. Neither Weeden nor Tannehill threw an interception this preseason.
Weeden will likely need to convert third downs for the Browns to have success against a revamped Miami cornerback duo on Sunday while the Dolphins are hopeful that Tannehill can utilize his new weapons and make big plays that were so few and far between last season against a Browns' defense that finished just 25th against the pass in 2012.
One thing is for certain and that is that both quarterbacks will be looking for better starts than each had in last season's opener. Tannehill threw three second quarter interceptions while the Miami offense was held without a touchdown in a 30-10 loss to Houston. Weeden and the Browns came up just a point short to Philadelphia to kick off last season, but in that contest, Weeden was a dismal 12-for-35 passing with only 118 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions. Miami and Cleveland are set to kick off on Sunday at 1:00 P.M. eastern time.
Mike Ferguson is a staff writer at Dolphin Shout and the founder and editor of Outside the Redzone. Like Outside the Redzone on Facebook! Also, follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson.
 |
| (Photo: Brett Davis/US Presswire) |
The Dolphins have upgraded the supporting cast of last year's eighth overall pick from Texas A&M bringing in Brandon Gibson and former Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Wallace to compliment last season's leading receiver Brian Hartline. Balance and protection will be the biggest questions for the Miami offense, but if Tannehill can get time to throw and the running game can keep opposing defenses honest, there is a strong possibility that he can be the most improved quarterback in the entire NFL in 2013.
For Cleveland, who finished just 5-11 in 2012, the expectations aren't as high, but significant improvement is expected from Brandon Weeden, the 22nd overall pick in last season's draft. Like Tannehill, Weeden threw more picks (17) than touchdowns (14) as a rookie. Weeden however, did lead the Browns to three wins over the final five games and complete better than 63 percent of his passes during that stretch.
Unlike Miami, who will be expecting big numbers from Tannehill, the bigger task for Weeden will be not losing games. With another second-year man in running back Trent Richardson, likely to carry the offense, Weeden and the Browns' passing game should have less on its shoulders.
Both quarterbacks were impressive in the preseason as Weeden finished 30-for-50 with 344 yards and three touchdowns in three preseason games. In four games for the Miami Dolphins, Tannehill was 34-for-56 with 387 yards and three scores. Neither Weeden nor Tannehill threw an interception this preseason.
Weeden will likely need to convert third downs for the Browns to have success against a revamped Miami cornerback duo on Sunday while the Dolphins are hopeful that Tannehill can utilize his new weapons and make big plays that were so few and far between last season against a Browns' defense that finished just 25th against the pass in 2012.
One thing is for certain and that is that both quarterbacks will be looking for better starts than each had in last season's opener. Tannehill threw three second quarter interceptions while the Miami offense was held without a touchdown in a 30-10 loss to Houston. Weeden and the Browns came up just a point short to Philadelphia to kick off last season, but in that contest, Weeden was a dismal 12-for-35 passing with only 118 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions. Miami and Cleveland are set to kick off on Sunday at 1:00 P.M. eastern time.
Mike Ferguson is a staff writer at Dolphin Shout and the founder and editor of Outside the Redzone. Like Outside the Redzone on Facebook! Also, follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson.
Make Your Miami Dolphins Predictions
Yes, I know we have talked about this earlier in the preseason. The difference is now we have seen a little more of the team play. From my seat I am seeing a very good defensive unit. It could be one of the better defenses in the entire league, which could win us a few games this season.
I do not think we have a playoff worthy offense quite yet. I know Polly will love this, but I see our running game being better than last year. I see our passing game being better than last year as long as Tannehill improves. I don't see our offensive line being a playoff caliber unit, nor is our tight end position. Simply stated, I don't have the confidence in the offensive unit like I do on the defensive side.
I do believe we have more depth than in the past, but even that depth has some weaknesses. We see that with our tight end and I don't think we have much depth at the linebacker position. The offensive line is still looking for starters. If someone goes down in those positions the entire year could change.
So here is my guess. Because of the lack of depth in a few positions I think the Dolphins will go 8-8 this year. If the team goes 3-2 in the opening five games (and I think they can if things go right) then we could be looking at a 10 win season, and that should put us in the playoffs. I suspect a 2-3 start, however, and that will mean we will be under the gun from the get go.
A three-loss start would mean the Dolphins will need to win some high pressure games later on. We have not done well in those situations for quite some time. We have failed in those games far more times that I want to think about. Unless we begin to win some of those games I see a .500 record. We must prove we can beat the good teams, and we must prove we can win the games we should win. We have not done that on a consistent basis, and that needs to change.
So give me your final prediction now that the NFL season officially begins tomorrow.
 |
| I wonder how many wins Steve Ross is expecting |
I do believe we have more depth than in the past, but even that depth has some weaknesses. We see that with our tight end and I don't think we have much depth at the linebacker position. The offensive line is still looking for starters. If someone goes down in those positions the entire year could change.
So here is my guess. Because of the lack of depth in a few positions I think the Dolphins will go 8-8 this year. If the team goes 3-2 in the opening five games (and I think they can if things go right) then we could be looking at a 10 win season, and that should put us in the playoffs. I suspect a 2-3 start, however, and that will mean we will be under the gun from the get go.
A three-loss start would mean the Dolphins will need to win some high pressure games later on. We have not done well in those situations for quite some time. We have failed in those games far more times that I want to think about. Unless we begin to win some of those games I see a .500 record. We must prove we can beat the good teams, and we must prove we can win the games we should win. We have not done that on a consistent basis, and that needs to change.
So give me your final prediction now that the NFL season officially begins tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
