The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

ESPN NFL analyst Adam Schefter isn't so sure the Miami Dolphins have their quarterback of the future.

Schefter said on The Sid Rosenberg Show (640-AM) on Monday that rookie Ryan Tannehill may not be the answer after all.

"I'm not as convinced [they have their QB] as I was six weeks ago," said Schefter. "Week after week Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson continue to make plays and continue to win games. You walk away from their games and say, 'Those guys are really good.' Have we done that with Ryan Tannehill?

"I'm not saying Ryan Tannehill is not going to turn out to be a great quarterback," said Schefter. "He may, but I don't know right now. All I'm saying is I haven't walked away from a Miami Dolphins game in a good month, saying, 'That quarterback was really impressive.'

"Let's look at the larger body of work. The 49ers game, he was not overly impressive. The Patriots game, not overly impressive. Against the Bills, not impressive. Before that Tennessee . . . terrible. He was OK against the Colts. They've lost five of their last six games."

Schefter added that Tannehill has shown flashes of solidifying the team's quarterback position for the first time in years.

"I've spoken with enthusiasm earlier this season that the Dolphins have found their quarterback," he said. "I'm not as convinced of that now."

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-12-10/sports/sfl-espns-adam-schefter-miami-dolphins-qb-ryan-tannehill-may-not-be-the-answer-20121210_1_ryan-tannehill-russell-wilson-robert-griffin-iii

Take it for what it's worth, but members of the national media are starting to come around. They don't ALL believe Tannehill will be a "rockstar." -EK

I think it's pretty safe to say he may not be the answer.  It's not really a stretch.  Tannehill's performance to date tells me that he isn't a bust yet, but he isn't the long-term answer either.  We have to continue working with him to improve.  If he does, great.  If not, you make a change later on.

What?!  You mean we're going to have to let him play more before we can truly evaluate him?!  That's unpossible!

I said it before and I'll say it again. I see shades of Henne.

He doesn't have the weapons on offense he needs.

Good Qbs create their own weapons...

^ I think that this is true, to an extent.  However, QBs still learning and growing need help.  Confidence also plays into it.

I think that Tanny has been OK.  He's not good enough, though.  If he improves, like many rookies do, great.  If he plateaus, like some do, that'll be that.

Actually I think it's great QB's that create their own weapons. Good QB's need help. Bad QB's need LOTS of help. You see bad QB's become good ones and good ones become great ones all the time once they get some help.

Very well put.

The Seahawks suck on the road. Wilson is good at home, with the crowd noise, and he has a top 5 defense to keep the games close or win them outright.
Remember RT beat Wilson heads up this season.
WIlson did not beat the Packers, or the Patriots.

Andrew Luck is hilariously overrated this season because of his team's record. I think he is very talented and can be a great QB, but his TD:INT ration this year is 18:18 and he has fumbled 9 times. He is completing 54.9% of his passes and he isn't running for much.

In his last 5 games, he has thrown 8 TD's to 10 INT. He has also thrown for under a 50% completion rate. Yet, his team is 4-1 because they have played absolute garbage. As a matter of fact, other than Green Bay in Week 4(before the Pack got their shit together), they have had only ONE win over a team with a winning record, that was the 7-6 Vikings in Week 2.

His high passing yards total is because he has the 2nd most pass attempts in the league. His Completion% is behind Mark Sanchez. Yes, read that again. It is the 4th worst in the league and he is only ahead of Chad Henne, John Skelton and Josh Freeman. The Colts have gotten every possible break with an easy schedule and that is why they are 9-4 with a -37 point differential. Their biggest win was against the Jaguars where they won 27-10. All of the other 8 wins were by a combined 31 points.

You know how some of us say that if Carpenter just made this kick or this guy didn't drop a pass or this and that and we'd be 9-4? Well, that is exactly what has happened to the Colts. They are the Miami Dolphins top scenario.

His praise is reaching Tebow levels of absurdity.

I was gonna start a thread about this soon and point it out. Glad you did. Luck is good and probably will be great, but he is getting hyped up far too much and his numbers don't match the hype

Um, he MISSED a game there. Oh yeah that Seattle game. The one where he brought his team back from behind to win the game in the 4th quarter. Yeah, I wonder why he skipped that game? Could it be he skipped that one on purpose because THAT one goes completely contrary to EVERYTHING he just said? He wouldn't do that, now would he?

But lets look beyond that 1 game for just a second and just look at the stats for the last 3 games that Tannehill has played against Seattle, New England and San Francisco. Why those 3 games? Well aren't those some pretty good teams and aren't those the last 3 games he just played? Why shouldn't we look at how he's done against some pretty good teams in the last couple weeks to see where Tannehill really is in his progress this year?

Here's his stats in those 3 games:

48-85 passing (56%) for 594 yards (6.9 ypa), 2 TD's and 1 INT.
He's also run 11 times for 78 yards (7.1 ypa) and a TD.
He's been sacked 5 times for -33 yards and lost a fumble.

So on average he's throwing for around 200 yards while only losing about 10 from sacks, rushing for another 25 and scoring a TD per game either throwing or running the ball. I don't know, when I look at those stats, especially when you take into consideration the teams he was playing against and the weapons he has to work with, I see some pretty good work there. Certainly those stats are good enough to win those games if Miami's special teams doesn't turn the ball over twice and practically hand New England and SF TD's. About the worst you can say about those stats is that the completion percentage isn't that high and the YPA isn't that great, but I'll take that over more turnovers per game.

That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

The Seattle game? Really? The game he absolutely STUNK through three quarters and had an INT in the end zone on a bad pass overturned on a questionable penalty? There are 32 teams in the NFL and RT's QB rating is 33rd! The bottom line with him is against those last 3 teams, his record is 1-2. He can't get in the end zone to save his life. You already pointed out his stats- 2 passing TDs in 3 games is just bad. Field goals aren't going to win games. Didn't we all figure that out last year? The future of the franchise at QB needs to do better than 12 TDs and 15 INTs- which is what he's on pace for. In what scenario is that an upgrade over the guy he replaced? I seem to recall that one of Miami's rare wins this year was with Moore playing 90% of the game, and he looked like the best QB in aqua and orange that's been on the field all year in that game. -EK

You mean the one where Tannehill was 11 of 17 for 97 yards and 19 yards on 2 scrambles and 1 INT through 3 quarters? That's a 64% completion rate. He wasn't playing that bad. Certainly less then you would like, but then again when you see that he finished 18 of 25 for 253 yards a TD and a pick, you can easily overlook the first 3 quarters mediocre numbers. Even Schefter AVOIDED mentioning that game. If Tannehill was so bad, why didn't he mention the Seattle game? Seems odd to me especially when that was the point that he was making. Yeah, Miami was 1-2, but it wasn't Tannehill in there on the special teams. I only grade Tannehill on those plays that he's actually a part of.

I'm gonna ignore all the rest of your post because it has little to do with Schefter's comments which is what my post was about.

No game in which a QB throws for less than 100 yards through 3 quarters should be used as evidence of his achievements. As a whole, his fourth quarter QB rating is 25th in the league. He has already shown this season (just like at A & M) he is more likely to lose a close 4th quarter game than win it. He makes awful decisions (he missed at least three open receivers against NE, and badly at that and was bailed out by a ridiculous Fasano catch against SF). And let's revisit the 49ers game. Five minutes left in the game, 1st down at the opponent's 35, and RT throws four straight incomplete passes. Ball game's over on Tannehill's disappearing act. On third down his QB rating is in the mid 50's (think Sanchez, but worse) and he's tossed 7 INTs vs. 1 TD. A quarterback who can't win games late and can't convert 3rd downs is going to have a short shelf life. Meanwhile, the team still can't cover anybody, did nothing to replace Marshall, and may actually finish with a worse record than last year playing an easier schedule (.496 in '12 vs. .516 in '11). Had Miami stayed with Moore, made a play for Blackmon or made a trade for a decent CB, how many of those second half losses this year wouldn't have come down to Carpenter's leg? Nope! Instead, the front office goes all in reaching way too high on Tannehill at #8 and the team as a whole will suffer for it. Meanwhile fans are so enamored just to have a rookie starter, no one seems to notice that the actual QB play on the field is WORSE than last year, and the other areas that could have been addressed weren't and they have the same problems they had last year. As unlikely as it is to happen, if Henne somehow blows up and beats Miami this week, the media is going to be savage in calling out RT and his poor performance overall this year. -EK

Tannehill had a PERFECT QB rating in the 4th quarter of the Seattle game. Led 3 scoring drives in the last 8 minutes of the game. He led a 4th quarter comeback and a team victory. And Miami had scoring drives of 94, 82, and 80 yards Vs a Seattle defense that was ranked 3rd overall, 2nd in points, and 3rd in passing defense.

Some of the comments in this thread are very laughable! They really are.

Please explain then why Schefter didn't mention this game? He mentioned every OTHER game he has played in the last 4 games, BUT this one.

Pappy I don't know. I'm not him. Perhaps someone can tweet him and ask. I fail to see how one game (in which he really only played well in ONE QUARTER) is evidentiary of good seasonal performance for a QB who has shown not only no growth, but regression as the season has progressed. The article was about the entire season- not one quarter of one game. How bad is RT under pressure late in games? Before The Seattle win (the ONLY time RT has won a game late as a pro) Tannehill had been 0-8 in that situation — 0-5 at Texas A&M and 0-3 with the Dolphins. He promptly followed the Seattle performance up with the inability to beat SF when he had a chance. That makes him 1-9 between colleg and the NFL, and 1-4 as a pro. No growth.

Game on the line, I'd take...oh...ANYONE else in the league and the numbers back that up. Heading into the seahawks game, Tannehill had an 8.0 quarterback rating in the final two minutes of the first and second half. An 8.0. How do you perform so badly you can't even get into double digits??! In case you're wondering, yes that's the worst in the NFL, and he and had the league’s fifth-worst rating (62.5) in the fourth quarter of games with a margin of seven points or less. Miami is not a team that is going to blow people out. They're built to keep games close. He lacks the ability to win those close games.

Edit- right on cue, ESPN runs an article on this very topic http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/52236/does-tannehill-lack-the-clutch-gene:

"Does Tannehill lack the clutch gene?"

The quarterback class of 2012 could be one of the deepest in recent memory. The Indianapolis Colts (Andrew Luck), Washington Redskins (Robert Griffin III) and Seattle Seahawks (Russell Wilson) are all happy with their rookies. There is a strong chance two or three of these quarterbacks will lead their teams to the playoffs.
 
The Miami Dolphins (5-8) feel they have a good rookie quarterback, too, in No. 8 overall pick Ryan Tannehill. However, there’s something with Tannehill that really stands out: Tannehill drastically trails his rookie counterparts in fourth-quarter comebacks.
 
Is Tannehill not clutch?

Tannehill has the lowest Total Quarterback Rating of all four rookie quarterbacks in the fourth quarter. The Dolphins have five losses by seven or fewer points this season. Tannehill's inconsistent play in fourth quarters is a major reason.
 
Despite throwing for a lot of fourth-quarter yards, it hasn't resulted in victories for Tannehill. His only fourth-quarter comeback came against the Seattle Seahawks at home in Week 12.
 
Tannehill failed to produce in the clutch in recent losses to the San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts. If any of these games had a different outcome, Miami would still be in wild-card contention.


And don't start with any of that "It's just a blog" stuff! The FACTS that are presented in it are dead on. -EK

cause he is cherry picking games to back up his stance

Guess Peyton Manning wasn't clutch his rookie year with 28 INT's and a 3-13 record. Or John Elway with his 7 TD's to 14 INT's his rookie year. Yep, you can make FINAL conclusions on a player based on his first season in the NFL   ::)

Elway and Manning were proven commodities coming out of college, not players who had a track record of losing close games that continued their rookie years. Even mentioning Manning or Elway in a discussion with one of the WORST QBs in football is insulting to them and shows how strong the Tannehill Kool Aid must be.

For all the hate Henne got, his numbers in 2009- his first real season as a starter- are just about the same as RT's. Yet somehow RT is supposed to be a guaranteed "rock star?" He's no better than anyone he replaced and some of the media is finally starting to see what I've said all year: he's actually worse. -EK

No one knows what Tannehill will develop into, but I'm certain that the kool-aid has to taste a lot better than the vinegar you seem to be chugging these days.

Some college players are "proven NFL players" coming out of college into the NFL? Never heard of that before!

Explain Rick Mirar and Heath Schuler. And about the 900 other players I could list as examples!

On Henne, he was so good in Miami that nobody wanted him as a free agent but Jax, and that was for a back-up position. And if Gabbert didn't get hurt Henne wouldn't have played at all this year. Yep, Henne is a Quarterback God! Henne is the next Tebow now..lol  A one in a million talent and a Top 10 QB right?!

Thank you for proving my point- Henne got run out of town for his play and no one wanted him but Jax, and yet RT's numbers and ability to lose games is pretty much the same. "Rockstar" material there! -EK

comparing a rookie to a 3 year vet. Yeah, that's fair  ::)

Comparing his first season to Henne's. Not Henne NOW, but then. RT the rockstar- worse than the gu he replaced. Better hope he wins by 20+ against Henne tomorrow, or there'll be talk aplenty of Miami's "coulda's" and "shoulda's." National sports media is already starting to sour on him, as I've shown with the two recent pieces.  -EK

So the 2 or 3 national media pieces in the last week or so that say Tannehill isn't the problem in Miami (Mayock and Dilfer off the top of my head) don't count. Only the ones who rip him count. lol lol

Too funny!

Well I do. It's because that game didn't support his criticism of Tannehill, so he conveniently skipped it. That's why. You only don't see it because of your personal bias against Tannehill.

I just showed a few posts up that his play in the last 3 games against very good oppoenents has been acceptable. Not terrific, but certainly NOT evidence that he has regressed. In Tannehill's first game he had 3 picks, I don't know how anyone can think the last 3 games have regressed from that. You only see regression if you JUST look at the W/L column with no regard for the rest of the team or how they performed or you cherry pick the games like Schefter did. Tannehill's play in the last 3 games has probably been as good as any 3 game stretch he's had when you consider the competition. Now the 2 games PRIOR to that, in the losses to Buffalo and Tennessee, he absolutely was playing poorly and deserved the criticism, but it was only those 2 games, in the last 3 games, that's NOT the case. There have only been a few games this year where Tannehill has been REALLY good, but one of them was Seattle despite the fact that he was only meh in the first 3 quarters. If you will recall that was the week that ESPN had his game as the 3rd best that week in their Total QBR ratings.

I don't have the energy to battle you point for point EK (even though I could). You are CLEARLY biased against Tannehill. Nothing I can say will EVER change your mind. Your mind was made up about him the moment they drafted him. Everyone who is willing to give him a chance sees him for what he is, a player with potential, but nothing else. No one is claiming he's the savior, YOU have claimed that we have done that, but I challenge you to find a post on this site where someone has claimed that he is the savior of the franchise. You have done that in your head because your bias runs so deep. You can't stand the fact that he gets even a tiny bit of credit even if he deserves it. You have this overwhelming desire to shoot down any praise of him and are DESPERATE to find anyone that says anything negative about him even if all they are claiming is that he MIGHT not be the future. Wow, THERE's a revelation...NOT. You claim that's it's MikeO that finds all the positive stuff and brings it here, but you have matched him post for post from the negative perspective. That's your right as a forum poster, but it doesn't make you right, all it's done has made me lose all respect for you that I had. I actually appreciated your comments on a lot of stuff, but it's becoming increasingly difficult for me to read anything you post lately. You need to get over your Tannehill rant and get back to just talking football. I'm sorry that I have to say that to you, I really am. I like you, but I've lost all respect for your opinion when it comes to Tannehill. You had some valid points earlier, but now it's just blind criticism and you trying to prove your point. The problem is that it's impossible to know at this point who's right about him, that won't happen for at least another year or 2 in the league no matter what anyone says so just be patient. If you're right it will eventually be shown, you trying to make it happen sooner is just frustratingly petty.

I think a lot of the issues that you have with RT come from your desire to have had Moore starting in place of RT. You seem to have been enamored of him from last year and I can understand that to a point. Moore is a nice QB, but he'll NEVER be a franchise QB. He's had his chances and he just doesn't have it in him. In his 6 years in the league he has 3 4th quarter comeback victories, something that you are criticizing RT for having 1 in less than a year's time. RT hasn't had much time to prove himself. If he fails to become a franchise QB, so be it, but at least give him the chance.

Done and done.

Any Tannehill haters wanna run their mouths after their performance today??

**Hearing a deafening silence**

No silence. He beat the worst team in football and still struggled to score touchdowns. 3 field goals and a bad play in four tries isn't a stellar feat by your QB against a 2-12 team. Yes they won; no it wasn't impressive. -EK

struggled? He had 13 passing first downs. He was 22/28. He also ran for 50+ yards. He has gone over 100 consecutive attempts now with no interceptions.  His second streak of the year of going over 100 attempts with no INT's. He had 2 TD passes and a 2-pt conversion pass! I will take this kind of struggling every week!

It's not his fault Thigpen dropped a TD!

He did all of that against the worst team in the league. He SHOULD have done that and more. Not impressive. -EK

The level of competition didn't matter Week 1 when he struggled vs Houston and you ripped him and called him a bust at halftime. Why should the level of competition matter now this week? Be consistent! Isn't that you always say.

I have consistently said he sucks all year. I'm not going to get Ito this with you in yet another thread. Done here. Post something else because you can't stand to not have the last word or walk away. Either way I'm not going to argue with you further about his performance against the worst team in the league. -EK

And now the knock on Tannehill is that he only scored TWO touchdowns against JAX?

Christian Ponder, Matt Schaub, Matt Stafford, Andrew Luck, and the illustrious Mark Sanchez all had ZERO touchdown games against JAX, in wins that were by a smaller margin of victory than Miami's win today.

Excellent point. 

And to get back on topic, this was a game that the Dolphins had to win and Tannehill had to play well in, and that is exactly what happened.  If Tannehill plays poorly, Henne shreds the Dolphins secondary and the Jags win this game, there would've been some serious fallout among Dolphins fans, Tannehill's future would've come into question, and Jeff Ireland's job would be in serious jeopardy.

get him some weapons and then judge him. True...good QBs create their own weapons and automatically make stars out of no-name receivers. But Tanney is still just a rookie so i think its twice as tough for him, or not enough of work yet to judge him just yet. But a solid WR like Marshall!! would def help.

^^This is weak. Show me a team in the league that couldn't use a 1300+ yard, 10+ TD receiver. When Brandon was here, everyone hated him. The consensus in the thread I started about the trade (everyone but Spider) was that they wre glad he was gone because he wouldn't produce in Miami like he is in Chicago. You can't have it both ways. Either he sucked while he was here and would have hurt RT's progress, or he is needed. Not both. -EK

Quite honestly when Brandon was here ... he hated everyone. He became the product of the environment that he created.

RT has done OK this year. No single game should or will define him just as it doesn't Luck, Manning or Dan Marino in their infant portion of their career.

I tend to agree. I think there is a flawed logic in repeatedly saying that if Marshall was here to help RT he'd be better, and simultaneously saying Marshall was a problem.

One of the issues with RT is that among the rookie QBs who have started all or most of their teams' games this year, he is the only one who has not improved his teams W-L record from last year, despite having an easier schedule than last year and depsite the opportunity to win late in games 7 times and winning only one of those, while the other guys have all already gotten more wins than in their teams' previous years. Indy is already at +7, Washington is at +3, Cleveland is at +1, and Seattle is at +2. And Indy did that while losing major pieces of their offense. A franchise QB has to be able to lead his team to wins inclose games. RT has whiffed on that against the Jets, Cards, Colts, Bills, and Pats. That isn't good. Luck has 4 already. Wilson and RG3 have 3. Even Weeden has 2 second half comebacks, to RT's one. -EK

To be fair about this you have to consider who the QB was replacing as well.

I could have outplayed whomever was playing QB for Indy last year. Luck has been good at times and bad at times, but the +7 is not indicative of his play so much as indicative Indy's QB play last year.

RGIII has been terrific. He deserves every bit of credit for that +3.

See Indy. This isn't really something to be impressed with.

Russel Wilson has been terrific as well and deserves credit for the +2 here as well.

Tannehill is even, but Moore and Henne didn't play nearly as bad as Indy's QB's played last year and better then Seattle's, Cleveland's or Washington's so therefore the fact that his game differential isn't as large is not really anything unexpected.

Tannehill lost the #1 WR from Miami last year.

I'd say that Tannehill has done a better job than Weeden this year considering who they both replaced and isn't that far behind the others who by most accounts have played EXTREMELY well for rookies. RGIII and Luck were both drafted higher than Tannehill and pretty much considered locks and Wilson has been a HUGE surprise, so all in all I'd say that Tannehill is in good company.

But only 1 4th quarter comeback, just like Tannehill. A 2nd half comeback isn't typically associated primarly with the QB the way a 4th quarter comeback victory is. All 4 of Luck's comebacks are 4th quarter comebacks. The same for RGIII and Wilson. I'm curious as to why you changed to 2nd half comebacks when comparing Weeden to Tannehill? Actually I'm not curious at all, I know exactly why you did it.

I'm glad that wasn't lost on you. While RT is supposed to be a "Rockstar," Weeden (who is nearly the same QB that Tannehill is- their numbers and struggles are very similar) has already found himself questioned as to whether he will be starting next year. Two QB's with nearly identical W-L records (remember RT took what- 3 snaps in the Jets game? That win was Moore's not his), nearly the same stats (QBR: 75.9/72.4; TD:INT ratio: 0.83/0.82; yards: 2,929/3281; %: 58.7/57.2) but Weeden is fighting for his job in Cleveland and RT is still touted as a "Rockstar." How's that work? -EK

Weeden is old. RT is young

Excuses! He hasn't improved on ANY of the baggage he had in college. Why is it that when Tebow doesn't improve his throwing motion from college to the pro's, he sucks and will never change, but RT is a rookie and gets room to grow? Stop the double standard BS. He hasn't grown or gotten better with any of the flaws he's has since he got in the league, and now 31 teams have game film on him. He's going to get crushed next year (and likely the next two weeks, since the Bills and Pats have already beaten him once through), like most second year QBs do, and I'm sure you'll have an excuse for that as well. RT is in Cleveland doing what he's doing in South Florida, he has to fight for his job. In Miami people are just so happy to have drafted "someone" to replace #13, they'll take chicken shit and believe it's chicken salad! -EK

strictly you're opinion and I believe the vast majority of informed football people totally disagree!

Well I've already posted two articles from people who DO agree. And every talking head who refers to the "three great rookie QB's" now is referring to Luck, RG3, and Wilson. RT isn't even being mentioned by most of them anymore unless it's either flat out negative (as per what I posted) or undercutting any praise with a "but" (as in "but he's still near the bottom of the league in XXX"). It took a while but the national media is coming around to what I've said since the get go. -EK

I'd say that's a problem with Cleveland more than it is a problem with Weeden. Expectations were too high.

For every 2 articles of someone knocking Tannehill I can post 2 or more of people praising Tannehill (Mayock, Dilfer, Brandt...etc)

Just because someone writes an article and gives their opinion doesn't make them right or what they say gospel.

You posted "QBR" there but I believe you mean passer rating.  In 2012 QBR, Weeden's rating is less than half (26.1) of Tannehill's (52.5).  Given that (as you pointed out) they both have the same number of wins, this indicates that RT is contributing significantly more to his team's wins than Weeden is to his.  This shouldn't be surprising, given that in three of Weeden's five wins:

- CLE was +3 in turnovers at home vs. CIN and won by 10 points
- CLE was +7 (!!!) in turnovers at home vs. PIT and won by 6 points (i.e. Weeden's offense scored less than one point for each turnover!)
- CLE scored one first-quarter rushing touchdown at home vs. SD, Weeden did nothing for the rest of the game, and they won

The other two wins were a 3 point win at OAK (whom RT beat by more than 2 TDs) and a 23-point win at home against the other worst team in the league, KC (which, according to your analysis of RT last week, doesn't count).

Where is Weeden's signature game winning drive against a top-2 defense in the league, as RT did against SEA?  That's right, it doesn't exist.

If you want to crow about Luck and RG3 being better than Tannehill... well, they damn well should be.  If you want to argue that Wilson is better, that's fine too... he's played far better than anyone expected.

But Weeden?  Try to keep your bashing of RT somewhere within the realm of reality, please.

I didn't say Weeden was better. My exact words- quoted from my post: "who is nearly the same QB that Tannehill is." So try to keep the fodder you create to back up your argument "somewhere within the realm of reality, please." -EK

In every comparison you made, you either said that a) Weeden's stats are better or b) their differences are not significant.

But you're right: you didn't technically say that ANY of those QBs were "better" than RT.  You just said they had more wins, and more comebacks, and superior improvements from the previous year.  But not that they were "better."  Bravo.

And if you want to play the semantics game, I didn't say you claimed Weeden was better.  I just said, "But Weeden?"  It sure is fun to pretend context doesn't exist!

O.K....stop the damn comparisons between a QB (Tannehill) and a sideshow in Tebow.  Tebow is a CFL QB at best....not accurate and a gimmick running the wildcat.   When we surround him with some weapons, the kid will flourish, not replace #13, but add to a team that wins with a solid defence.

we're bitching and moaning over a guy who didn't play QB up until his junior year in college, was overlooked because of that...yet because he's not lighting up like Luck or RGIII he's not the long term answer???  are you guys watching the same player? for a relatively NEW convert to the QB position the kid has a hell of an arm, veteran-like pocket awareness and poise, has proven to be decent when mobile, and can read the defense pre-snap a la Peyton Manning...all this with a 50/50 run and pass gameplan and absolutely NO offensive weapons (just a couple decent pass catchers in Hartline and Fasano)...not to mention a very pedestrian defense...Luck has Reggie Wayne and a rising star in T.Y. Hilton, RGIII has a pretty good duo of Santana Moss and Pierre Garcon (i know moss isnt having a good year but he's still a threat) and a running game, Russell Wilson has a great defense, a great running game and a good duo of WR's (Golden Tate and Sidney Rice)....not to take anything away from those guys because they ARE taking full advantage of what they have and are having great seasons but it just bothers me how even Dolphin fans are snubbing their nose at Tannehill KNOWING he has nothing to work with...i understand the popular media talking heads are gonna focus on the rookie QB's who are slinging the ball 30-40 times a game because it's a good show but i believe Tannehill will only get better with more experience, a more competent game plan, and weapons...so stop spitting into the wind fellow Phinatics, we have our QB of the future...just let up on him and see how this next year's draft/free agency plays out

I still do not understand why everyone continues to feed this troll. That is all EK is. You can put out all of the articles or reviews you want. Make as many valid points about the lack of weapons Tanny has to work with. EK will still just find the one Internet guy who agrees with him and call you all stupid.

Barry Jackson today put out a bunch of numbers that show how Tannehill compares over other ROOKIE QB's in recent years and over the last 30 years. Here is some of the article...

But Tannehill, with a mediocre supporting cast, also has outperformed several recent rookies who played in this pass-happy era. Consider:

### Since 1980, 51 quarterbacks have started at least nine games as rookies. Excluding the four that played in other leagues before going to the NFL (Jim Kelly, Dieter Brock, Jeff Garcia and Warren Moon), Tannehill’s 75.9 quarterback rating ranks 12th. (Robert Griffin III is first and Ryan Leaf is last, by the way.)

Except for Charlie Batch (a serviceable Pittsburgh backup in his 15th year in the league), the 10 others who rank ahead of Tannehill either are in the Hall of Fame (Dan Marino), excellent (Matt Ryan, Ben Roethlisberger), solid pros (Joe Flacco, Carson Palmer) or young players on track for good careers (Robert Griffin II, Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, Sam Bradford).

The average quarterback rating has increased about 10 points in the past 30 years, but Tannehill’s rookie rating margin over Troy Aikman (55.7) and John Elway (54.9) is considerably better than 10 points. Peyton Manning’s, by the way, was 71.2, and Eli Manning's 55.4.

And among 14 quarterbacks drafted since 2009 who started at least nine games as rookies, Tannehill’s rating ranks a solid sixth --- ahead of Andrew Luck (75.5), Brandon Weeden (72.4), Christian Ponder (70.1), Blaine Gabbert (65.4), Mark Sanchez (63), Matt Stafford (61), Josh Freeman (59.8 ) and Jimmy Clausen (58.4).

### Of those 51 who started at least nine games as rookies, Tannehill’s 58.7 completion percentage ranks 11th --- or ninth, excluding Kelly and Brock. Griffin and Roethlisberger are first at 66.4. Aikman was 52.9, Elway 47.5 and Eli Manning 48.2.

### Of those 51, Tannehill is 14th in passing yards per game (209), with Matt Leinart (212) the only bust ahead of him. This stat obviously is skewed by how the game has changed, but Tannehill’s rookie yardage average is comparable to Ryan (215), Dalton (212) and better than Seattle’s Wilson (192) and Eli Manning as a rookie (149).

### This, too, is encouraging: Among those who started at least 13 games, only Roethlisberger, Ryan and Griffin have thrown fewer interceptions as rookies than Tannehill’s 12. Sanchez and Stafford threw 20, Aikman and Freeman 18, Newton 17.

“I thought Tannehill would be very good to solid,” ESPN’s Mel Kiper said this month. “Great would be a stretch. But he has all the components you need to be a good starting quarterback – the size, arm, athletic ability, mindset and competitiveness. He needs to be more precise, but that will come. He’s made some great throws.”

As fellow draft analyst Mike Mayock told Joe Rose on WQAM recently: “The kid can play” but is handicapped because “there’s no vertical threat on a consistent basis. It’s almost like watching an offense in a red zone for 100 yards.”

Hall of Famer and former Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese mentioned last week how he became so much better when Miami acquired Paul Warfield.  He believes the same could happen to Tannehill if Jeff Ireland can find an elite receiver. “My three things are a quarterback needs to be accurate, needs to be a playmaker and make good decisions,” Griese said. “He does all three.”

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sports-buzz/

The more outlandish, ridiculous stats that you post trying to validate that he's a "Rockstar," the more desperate you look in doing so. Three years from now when Miami is looking AGAIN for a QB, I'm sure you'll have a bunch of outlandish, ridiculous excuses. The most important stat- the only one that matters- is winning games. Out of the five big name rookies, RT is has one of the top defenses, a solid run game, and is the only one to not yet get more wins than the previous year. And he's had plenty of chances, with four missed opportunities to win games late. Keep digging up stats on Rockstar Tannehill, though. It's entertaining to watch so many heads in the sand about him. -EK

- WSH has the #1 rushing offense (MIA's "solid run game" is #16)
- SEA has the #3 defense and #3 rushing offense (MIA's "top defense" is #17)
- IND's receivers are far superior to Miami's
- CLE has a worse record than MIA

The majority of your argument seems to be based upon "Matt Moore was better than Colt McCoy, Curtis Painter, and Rex Grossman, therefore Tannehill sucks."

^^ What I don't get is he can post stats and spin them to say Tannehill sucks. He can post articles from reporters that back up his stance that Tannehill isn't any good. But if you, me, or anyone else uses any stat that shows Tannehill doesn't suck or post any article from anyone in the media that says he doesn't suck,  its just outlandish and foolish. Either we can use stats and reporters opinions or we can't!

Luck was drafted by a team that was designed for a passing QB and he struggled early,
Yet he had an offensive line that's sole purpose was to protect the QB first run second.
RT was drafted into a team that was designed for running the ball. No need to protect the QB when the ball is on the move. Matt Moore's job was mostly handing the ball off last season. I am not knocking Matt Moore I think he is a great athlete and I would love to keep him as a back up QB. Yes we drafted receivers but they were scrubs after all we were a running team. Philbin has been weeding threw them hoping for something but there was nothing there. Our o-line was used to protecting for the run so that is why we started the season off in the hurry up offense, The no huddle was working great for us early on, we won games and delusions began. But you can't play sixteen games in the no huddle. I realize now we were trying to teach our O-line to protect RT.
I can't wait to see Ryan Tannehill next season with a couple of receivers who can outrun the defenders because he will put the ball where they can get it.
I may be wrong but I would rather listen to guys ,Ex players/Qb's Db's etc.\ as a guy who makes his money on the story he can write. I mean lets ask Stephen King ?
I am ecstatic we have gone 7-8 this season it is more than I thought possible.
I think we have a QB but know it's time to fix the rest of the Offense and I think Philbin is the one to do it .....

Ps I tried to preview but it would not let me , I was going to add let's end it 8-8...........
On a side note I keep getting call's asking for someone I don't know , I was getting mad but then I realized I recognized the number so I ignore it >:D