Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill setting rookie records

[Cathal]

^^^ He might have if there weren't some key drops, i.e. Bess.

[EKnight]

I think people are getting a little too excited too early.

This I completely agree with.

2) He hasn't shown the ability to take a 3-point lead in the 4th quarter, drive down the field, and punch it in to seal the game

A franchise QB needs to be able to do both of those things.

Can't believe I'm going to say this, but in his defense, neither has any QB for Miami in the past few seasons. Coughing up 4th quarter leads and losing the game has been a problem going back to 2010. It seems as indicative of the rest of the team's players as it does the QB position. Henne, Moore, and now Tannehill have had this as an issue. Either they're all equally bad at closing games out, or there are other issues present. -EK

[CF DolFan]

He also hasn't won the Super Bowl or made the pro bowl which are two things we would expect a franchise QB to do. I say we release him right now and admit we have nothing to be excited about!!

[Spider-Dan]

No, I am not in the "Let's cut bait after two quarters of his first game" camp.

I would still say that through their first 6 starts, I was higher on Henne than I am on Tannehill right now.  So more time is needed to evaluate whether he is truly the solution at QB.

He looks promising, though (just as Henne did).

[EKnight]

No, I am not in the "Let's cut bait after two quarters of his first game" camp.

I would still say that through their first 6 starts, I was higher on Henne than I am on Tannehill right now.  So more time is needed to evaluate whether he is truly the solution at QB.

He looks promising, though (just as Henne did).

Curious- do you consider Henne a bust, given that he was drafted much lower or do you even consider where a player is taken in giving them that label? -EK

[Pappy13]

Can't believe I'm going to say this, but in his defense, neither has any QB for Miami in the past few seasons. Coughing up 4th quarter leads and losing the game has been a problem going back to 2010. It seems as indicative of the rest of the team's players as it does the QB position. Henne, Moore, and now Tannehill have had this as an issue. Either they're all equally bad at closing games out, or there are other issues present. -EK

Agreed, but Henne and Moore have had far more chances to do this than Tannehill has. If after a year or 2 in the league he still hasn't done it, then it would be cause for concern, but even then only that he's not a franchise QB which I'm not really worried about at this point. I'll settle for an above average QB right now because we haven't had one in a decade.

Before anyone reminds me, Pennington was an average QB that had a great year in 2008. I don't think he was an above average QB for his career.

[Pappy13]

Curious- do you consider Henne a bust, given that he was drafted much lower or do you even consider where a player is taken in giving them that label? -EK

I do and I wouldn't call Henne a bust. He was an average QB on a team with below average talent/coaching overall. I thought he would improve over time, but he didn't. I'm not sure if it just wasn't in him or he didn't have quality coaching. Perhaps a bit of both.

I will say that I think Philbin/Sherman have done a better job coaching Tannehill, but perhaps that's just because Tannehill is a better student. It's really hard to determine sometimes where the real credit lie, in the student or in the teacher.

[Spider-Dan]

Curious- do you consider Henne a bust, given that he was drafted much lower or do you even consider where a player is taken in giving them that label?

I don't really consider him a bust, much in the same way that I don't consider Moore or Fiedler busts.  He didn't live up to expectations, true, but those expectations were somewhat overly optimistic.  Not many late 2nd-round QBs turn into Pro Bowlers.

Tannehill needs to make a Pro Bowl (or win a ring) in his career.

[Pappy13]

Tannehill needs to make a Pro Bowl (or win a ring) in his career.

I'd say that's fair. At least play at a Pro Bowl level since I don't really trust the voters.

[CF DolFan]

From Peter King's MMQB column ...

We have to stop calling rookies rookies

STATS Inc. came up with this great number last week: Through the first five weeks of the season, not only were the Miami Dolphins leading all NFL teams in use of the no-huddle, running it on 58.9 percent of the snaps, but also they were more productive in the no-huddle, averaging nearly a yard more per play when they didn't huddle than when they did ... with a rookie quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, running the controls.
Tannehill, according to STATS Inc., ran 26 snaps of no-huddle in his first NFL game and never slowed down. In the stunning upset of the Packers in Week 5, Andrew Luck ran 13 snaps of no-huddle -- something his coach, Bruce Arians, said Peyton Manning never did until his third or fourth year in the league. College teams are running three- and four-receiver sets so regularly, and high-school quarterbacks enter college football so much more ready to play because of summer seven-on-seven passing leagues. Young quarterbacks walk onto NFL teams so much more confident and ready than their current veteran NFL peers were.
Rookie quarterbacks were 4-1 Sunday, first-pick Luck the only loser, and Cleveland's Brandon Weeden getting his first pro victory. What should amaze us all is the quick maturation of them all. Robert Griffin III runs the Redskins like it's Baylor. Tannehill picked up where he left off at Texas A&M. And Russell Wilson -- more about him later -- has overcome the height and rookie thing to beat Tony Romo, Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton and Tom Brady in the first six weeks of his pro career.
"In college football,'' Cleveland coach Pat Shurmur told me Sunday evening, "Geno Smith throws eight touchdowns in a game, and he might drop back and see every receiver open. Here, you might drop back and everyone's covered. So the young quarterback has to learn to take what's there.''
The last time rookie quarterbacks went 1-2 in a draft, before this year, was 1998, with Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf. The landscape's changed dramatically in 14 years, obviously, in how quickly rookies can be ready to play.

Check out the first six weeks of the rookie starters in 1998 versus 2012:
Comparing Rookie QB Classes
W-L   TDs-INTs
Manning-Leaf, 1998   3-9   7-26
Luck-Griffin-Tannehill-Weeden-Wilson, 2012   13-16   31-31

So you say: Well, 13-16's not a great record. But these quarterbacks landed on teams that went a combined 24-56 last year. Wilson, Griffin and Tannehill have already exceeded or matched Manning's three rookie-season wins with the Colts.
Sometimes we're in the middle of history and don't realize what we're seeing. But there's a new era of quarterback play, and it's trending much younger and happening before our eyes today.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/peter_king/10/15/week-6/index.html#ixzz29Ot4ph98

[MikeO]

This is WHY you take a chance on a QB in the top 10. Because you just never know and there's no bigger impact to your team that you can make then at the QB position. Don't get caught up in making Tannehill the "Savior" because that's too much to put on his shoulders, but do be excited that he's shown enough to build around despite the fact that he's still really green. He's still gonna have some rough starts, but I also expect that his best days still lie ahead. That's encouraging.

Yep! Get excited because he improves every week. That is why there is reason to be optimistic. He will still make mistakes, he is still going through growing paints. But the coaches made the 100% correct call in starting him from Day 1. Being on Hard Knocks and that "distraction" DIDN'T hurt him. The kid has made big throws in big moments when needed. He is all we could have asked for at this point. Going forward things look bright to say the least. But there is still alot of work to be done. I would love to see Tanny when he has a better supporting cast around him. More WR's and TE's.

QB is the most important position in all of professional sports, which is why when you have a chance to grab one who could be good and hopefully will be great you don't pass on that.

[MikeO]

No, I am not in the "Let's cut bait after two quarters of his first game" camp.

I would still say that through their first 6 starts, I was higher on Henne than I am on Tannehill right now.  So more time is needed to evaluate whether he is truly the solution at QB.

He looks promising, though (just as Henne did).

I think he is more promising than Henne through their first 6 starts. Henne had 1 great start vs the Jets. An OK start vs the Jets where he led a 4th quarter TD on the road for the win. But his other starts weren't nearly as impressive in my mind as what Tannehill is doing. Plus Henne NEVER had control of the offense like this making audibles and shifting line assignments. Slight edge to RT1 through 6 games in my opinion

[MikeO]

I think people are getting a little too excited too early.

He seems to be progressing well, but:

1) He hasn't yet shown the ability to take over a game (e.g. 300yds + 3TDs)
2) He hasn't shown the ability to take a 3-point lead in the 4th quarter, drive down the field, and punch it in to seal the game

A franchise QB needs to be able to do both of those things.

Agree.

[Pappy13]

I think he is more promising than Henne through their first 6 starts. Henne had 1 great start vs the Jets. An OK start vs the Jets where he led a 4th quarter TD on the road for the win. But his other starts weren't nearly as impressive in my mind as what Tannehill is doing. Plus Henne NEVER had control of the offense like this making audibles and shifting line assignments. Slight edge to RT1 through 6 games in my opinion

Henne didn't start in year 1 either. He had a full season of getting accustomed to the NFL game that Tanny didn't have. Taking that into consideration as well I think you have to believe he's further along than Henne was at this point in his career.

[MikeO]

Henne didn't start in year 1 either. He had a full season of getting accustomed to the NFL game that Tanny didn't have. Taking that into consideration as well I think you have to believe he's further along than Henne was at this point in his career.

I know Henne had a year to sit and learn. I was just comparing their first 6 starts though. Yes I agree Tanny is further along than Henne