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

[EKnight]

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

[MikeO]

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.

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.

[Pappy13]

No game in which a QB throws for less than 100 yards through 3 quarters should be used as evidence of his achievements.

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.

[EKnight]

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

[MikeO]

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.

cause he is cherry picking games to back up his stance

[MikeO]

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  

[EKnight]

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

[Sunstroke]

...shows how strong the Tannehill Kool Aid must be.

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.

[MikeO]

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?!

[EKnight]

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

[MikeO]

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

[EKnight]

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

[MikeO]

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!

[Pappy13]

Pappy I don't know.

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 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.

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.

[Spider-Dan]

Better hope he wins by 20+ against Henne tomorrow, or there'll be talk aplenty of Miami's "coulda's" and "shoulda's."

Done and done.