Ryan Tannehill may not be Dolphins' QB answer, says Adam Schefter

[EKnight]

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

[Dave Gray]

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.

[mecadonzilla]

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

[badger6]

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

[Landshark]

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

[tepop84]

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

Good Qbs create their own weapons...

[Dave Gray]

^ 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.

[Pappy13]

Good Qbs create their own weapons...

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.

[el diablo]

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.

[bsmooth]

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.

[EDGECRUSHER]

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.

[MikeO]

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

[Pappy13]

"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.

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.

[EKnight]

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

[Pappy13]

The Seattle game? Really? The game he absolutely STUNK through three quarters

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.