Never ask your rookie QB to win games for you...

They say you don't start a rookie QB, and if you're stupid enough or desperate enough to ignore that adage, then you better protect him and give him one reliable pass catcher, preferably a tight end. And...under no circumstances—ever, should you ask to win the game for you. Ever!


Miami's not the only team ignoring that sage advice, and today shows you just why they should. Statistically, Tannehill wasn't all that impressive, if you judge him by his 21 of 29 for 185 yards day, with two touchdowns. And if you drag out the ole game manager yardstick, it still looks like a weak to ho-hum performance. Statistics like 4 for 12 on third down, 18 rushes for 19 yards for a 1.1 average per run. 26:37 minutes of possession. Nothing to walk off the field and be too proud of.


If you didn't watch the game and just read the statistics, you'd have thought Miami would have lost, maybe by a lopsided score—and you would be wrong. You'd probably be wondering if a rookie QB was more of a burden then the team could handle. And you would be wrong. Tannehill misfired a couple of times, but at no point did he throw anything even close to interception. His game plan was reduced to take a licking while waiting for his chances, because the offensive line lost the line of scrimmage battle early and never got it back. Tannehill got exactly three shots in this game, and converted on two. And Miami won.


It's one of those—I don't understand—because the statistics all say it was the poor to okay performance he's turned in all year. For the year he's thrown 4 TD's to 6INT's with a 71.54 QB rating. You have to watch his games and compare them to the other QB's, to understand the phenomenon, and why Miami fans everywhere are estatic. The rookie is running the offense, like Peyton Manning. Yes, I dare to go there. They are two different QB's, and Peyton has a lot more freedom, because he's been there and done that, but Ryan looks like he might get close in hurry. He made no bad decisions in this game, and he took what he could get, patiently waiting. He didn't press, like a certain other QB, who plays in our division. He didn't intentionally ground a ball twice in a close game, eventually losing, like another QB in our division. (We won't mention the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] QB, because he plays up north in a wasteland, we Phin fans hope continues to remain that way.)


No, he took what he could get, and waited for patiently for the chance. No pressing the ball into triple coverage on a third and eight, that he had originally converted, but was called back for holding not once but twice, putting the offense in a dire second and sixteen situation. Nope, two dink and dunks and it was forth and three. The punt team comes out. What you say? This is the NFL, you have to convert those if you want to win. Well not in this game. In this game, field position mattered.


This game was won in the red zone, because between the thirty yard lines, the Rams owned Miami. They seemed to move at will, but once they got inside the twenty, disaster struck continuously. You could call it bad luck, self implosion, problems adapting to the weather, whatever, but the Rams seemed to think crossing the goaline line was akin to 'paying for bounties. Maybe they were so use to winning on the leg of their rookie kicker, known as Legatron, they didn't want jinx him. Even the one TD they did score was questionable, because it was a close call whether Bradford actually stuck the ball in with Dansby trying to bend him like a coat-hanger.


Tannehill was asked to win this game and it wasn't by putting on an aerial display like in the Cardinal game a few weeks back. Coach Philbin is smarter than that, even in this platinum age of passing. You win by the pass , but you can die by the pass, especially—when your WR's aren't exactly know for being clutch.


Miami's rookie Head Coach asked his rookie QB to win the game using his head—something you never ask a rookie QB to do, but he did because he had to. Miami might have had the best front seven in football coming into this game, but Philbin had seen enough in the day, he didn't want the game in their hands at the end. He put it in Ryan's hands and asked to him to win it, and the Rookie did. Miami was clinging to a three point lead, with five minutes and some change on the board. They didn't need to score to put it away, they just needed to run some time off the clock, and give the ball back to the Rams in bad field position.


Tannehill did well, considering the Phins didn't score on the drive. He completed two passes on the drive when he had to, and ran once, making sure he stayed in bounds to keep the clock running. He produced when his veteran running back couldn't convert two third and one's. Philbin liked what he saw so much, he opted to fake a punt on fourth and inches, just to keep the ball in Tannehill's hands.


The Result? The Rams got the ball on their three yard line with a buck forty five remaining. They drove to Miami's thirty, before being sacked back far enough, their last chance was a 66yrd field goal aimed at the same set of goal posts, their kicker had missed twice from before. You knew at the moment it was over, and I seriously doubt many fans held their breath on whether he'd make it or not, because that would be a NFL record, and the NFL gods weren't being particularly kind to either team on this day. He missed, rewarding Philbin in his faith in Tannehill, and Miami trots into the bye at 3-3.


My game ball goes to Ryan Tannehill for using his brain instead of of his arm.
A wonderful victory against a team that we didn't match up with very well. A team that thoroughly dominated the lines today and still came up short.

 

So am I. The OL is not protecting him the way you would think, a line with three first round picks, and a third rounder should, especially with a know mangler we brought in as FA.

But today he proved he isn't just a rookie feasting on defenses who don't have a book on him yet. He played very smart, and I didn't see him get rattled at all, especially after that nasty blind side hit. Or the fact his line killed that drive in with two holdong penalties negating his third down conversion.

 

Thanks! I'm trying to be an indie author of novels for real. But I wouldn't mind posting once a week for certain sites as a guest.

I will say as a long time phin fan, who grew up spoiled with Marino and Shula, that the last ten years has been hard to watch. The funny thing is that after years of cringing, watching Henne or the never ending cycle of pretenders who tried to play QB since Marino, today was the first time watching a game where I didn't cringe--thinking oh my god, another clutch situation that will probably end up in complete disater.

I know he's only a rookie, and he will throw some bad balls in future games, but I feel like I did with Marino whenever the game was close and the ball was in his hand. We're safe and going to win...

 

Actually it is downright travesty. Especially not to have drafted a QB to sit on the bench to eventually replace Marino.

 

And he has taken some walloping hits, the kind that make rookies develop cases of happy feet. I'm very impressed, because nothing seems to faze him.

 

Thank you sir!
You and I are seeing things the same way. It can't be argued that Tannehill fell into the perfect postion, but it also goes the other way. Miami got extremely lucky in drafting him, because he's playing the A Rodgers captain of the offense role perfectly here in Miami, but you see the Manning-esque qualities coming out.

And his poise is incredible. The first three games, I thought he was just young and having fun out there--kinda of a--this is a dream come true and I'm just enjoying it, but now--reality has set in. He's learned those hits hurt. He's also heard the fan's screaming after losing the first three out of four, so he knows the honeymoon is over and it's time to start winning games. And it hasn't fazed him a bit. Impressive, really.

 

LOL, something to think about--because you would never guess Omar is a Dolphin writer...
Personally, I think he's secretly a Jet's fan.

 

It's absolutely mind boggling, isn't it? Someone said Mitchell, but we all know he was just a pretender who took advantage of an oppurtunity and parlayed that into a nice paycheck in Detroit.

I realize we needed help on defense and that became the primary focus in the Marino years, but just once, they should have stopped and said hey! Marino will not be here forever. Lets draft a rookie, and quietly develop them.

 

I have no idea what Miami or Shula was thinking at the time. Wanny was more interested in keeping the defense stocked, and he had Fielder, I guess. Then come the real dumb moments. Drafting Ginn and Beck, instead of Quinn. Passing over Matt Ryan, though I guess if Flacco had fallen to them, he might have been the pick and wouldn't that change things.

I can't fault the Culpepper over Brees decision. I would've been happy with either or (Not knowing at the time what would happen).

Wow, has it really been this long since Marino retired? Really? I've been a fan since 1980 when I was eleven. I was in my prime during the Marino years. I cannot imagine a Miami fan growing up during the dark years after he retired and thats what they were...

But having witnessed the start of the Marino Era, I can tell you personally, it feels alike this. No matter how we finish this year, you're witnessing the start of something special in Miami, right now.

 

I'll add this since I know most of you are young. Tannehill reminds me of Marino not in the way they play (RT looks like with some real weapons, he could be a sort of Manning/Rodgers hybrid) but in the confidence he inspires--having that so called it factor. In the prime Marino years. Miam could be down 21 to nothing, and you had no doubt we wouldn't come back to win the game.

IDK how many games I watched, where the winning drive started out with two incompletions and you didn't worry, because Marino only needed one pass out of three to convert. No, he didn't always win, but you always thought he would it and that's the kind of confidence I'm starting to get with Tannehill.