To me, the OL play is obscuring the fact Ryan Tannehill is our Qb for a long time to come. Averaging 270 yds per game behind the worst pass blocking OL in the league is no small feat, and he's still improving. 4th and 10 and he sticks that throw to Gibson for the first down, if his OL had not failed him it is most likely we were headed to overtime. So it's not all bad, toss in Charles Clay's emergence and you can see the rudiments of a great offense moving forward. We have three players who are on track for 1,000 yd receiving seasons, Wallace, Bline and Clay, things are not as bleak as people would like to make them out to be.
I am just in shock on how bad they are on the OL, with the amount of resources they have had and are now investing into it since Long came here...
After 17 different quarterbacks, we finally have the guy to hang our hat on. No turnovers from RT and 300 passing bouncing back after some big adversity! Loved what I saw. Hes smart, tough and still learning. Buffalo is in for a spanking in 2 weeks.
I'm stunned Clabo is this bad, BUT THill is excelling despite the atrocious OL play. That to me means everything, we can get new offensive lineman, cannot just make a 25 yr old franchise Qb show up out of thin air.
Right on Padre, I agree 1000 percent. What scares the bejeebus out of me...is we finally have our QB and he gets destroyed behind this OL. The line is a complete and utter embarrassment. On the radio yesterday, I heard them saying other teams dont worry about us going deep as much because they know they can get to Tannehill so fast. So...they stack the box. I remember when we couldnt go deep because we didnt have the speed. I remember we couldnt go deep because we didnt have the QB. Now we have both...and our line is so abysmal, we are right back to being limited again.
I agree. Really excited about Tanny. Just hope he makes it through the season in one piece. Clay has me really excited too. Seems like he's finally coming into his own.
If his OL hadn't failed him, the Ravens would have had no shot to beat us in overtime. We would have whipped them running away.
Oline letting him down big, but also, coaching letting him down big. You cannot put the entire offense on the shoulders of your young QB when all the other aspects are failing so epically. Only 9 rushes the entire game, fail. No moving the pocket, fail. Poor play calling, fail. No creativity, fail. Then you have Wallace very poor route running causing incomplete passes, and the drops, oh the drops. He needs other players to help him out. He has shown to be capable of making plays.
Progression under these conditions is impressive..and that includes no real threat of the run to play with..
stunned is a good word. I was convinced during the offseason that he would at least be above average. agreed with your other points. I would add that if our defense was even remotely healthy, we likely win yesterday and go into the bye week 4-1 and tied with New England. The two major problems keeping us from competing for a wildcard are awful OL and too many injuries on defense. At least the 2nd point might be somewhat fixed during the bye-week. Really keeping my fingers crossed that Ellerbe isn't out for the season.
Agree on the optimism for the future - it's undeniable. Just still upset that we lost a winnable game. Can't wait for two weeks!
The lack of rushing is indeed bad. We're just not even trying. Tannehill is not Aaron Rodgers yet, and we can't get by running less than 10 times a game.
Agreed - i've said it a few times, there's not too many QB's outside of the older elite guys i'd prefer right now, maybe Luck. THill's young and getting better. I just get that feeling when he drops back that the result will be a completed pass - you know, like when you watch Brady or Rodgers. Haven't felt that way about a Miami QB in a long time
Exactly. He's going to struggle but when wr are dropping balls and oline can't even let him finish a drop back, what can you expect. The 4th down play says it all. There's not many qbs that make that throw. Be happy we have one of them.
I complained about him last week but he bounced back enough for me to shut my mouth. I really do like Ryan Tannehill as our QB now and in the future. We have to protect him.
I'd have to agree with that. The obvious growth we've seen in him from last year to this year is nice to see. The performances he's turned in this year, behind this putrid OL, is pretty impressive. I just wish we could see the kid behind a reasonably average OL at least, and with a running game. Given the fact our OL sucks, and we have no running game whatsoever, its very impressive to see what Ryan has done this year so far. That being said, he's got some area's to work on, I think we can all agree on that. Leading Wallace deeper down the field is one of them for sure, in general though it appears as if his accuracy has improved, his decision making has improved, although it still seems like he's late sometimes on a few throws here and there. I'd like to see him use that pump fake, and look off defenders more, I'd like to see him use his feet to get himself out of trouble more often. That pick he threw early in the game, that got overturned, was an ugly decision/throw. He's either got to see that safety, try and look him off, or throw that ball earlier. He got lucky on that one. All in all though given the circumstances behind this line, you've got to be impressed and encouraged with his progression.
We can. Will we? LT is our first pick next year watch. Hell make the whole draft oline. Throw sh** on the wall and see what sticks!
I have no problem with Tannehill being our QB. The O line and lack of a running game will make him look bad. He will be forced to pass his way through this season. I just hope he can avoid injury with all these sacks and hits he is taking.
While I think he's improved from the pocket, I don't from a playmaking standpoint..his manipulation of the pocket is still poor, his lower body is not working in unison with his field vision, so the ceiling is not yet determined.
I agree with your assessment, however, at this point there is little that can be done. I suspect Garner will be inserted at right guard or tackle. having said that, if we cannot protect RT, better to replace him with Matt Moore rather than destroy a Franchise QB in-the-making. and he will be destroyed, if this sack-rate continues. it all begins in the trenches. Philbin is well aware of the predicament. to move forward, sometimes you have to take a step backwards. will be interesting to see how the coach resolves this issue.
I do agree that Tannehill does appear to be headed in the right direction and the Dolphins may have finally found their long term answer at the QB position. My only concerns are that he definitely needs to do a better job of moving in the pocket. He just doesn't seem to react quick enough to all the pressure around him. Most of this is because the OL and the backs have done such a terrible job in pass blocking, but some of those sacks have been the fault of Tannehill. His ability to escape the pressure by throwing the ball away or sensing where the to move in the pocket to escape the rush needs to improve if he wants to take the next step in his development. My biggest concerns if he continues to get hit so often is that he will suffer a serious injury. I also would not like to see him suffer the same fate David Carr did with the Texans. Carr was expected to be a franchise type QB coming out of college, but he was never able to progress because of the fact he was sacked so often in his first few years with the Texans. He appeared to lose his focus in the pocket after a few years of taking all those hits in the pocket, and he never did develop into a quality NFL QB. Hopefully this won't happen to Tannehill.
You an anti-Lane Johnson guy too? ha I follow him every week, he had ONE horrid game against Justin Houston, an excellent pass rusher, which National viewers probably seen on Thursday Night football and assessed LJ to be having a poor season. He has been playing fairly well actually and rebounded nicely the past 2 weeks. He is an every down starting rookie for the top rushing team in the NFL. Dion Jordan has added DL depth at this point but we desperately NEED OL help and LJ would have been nice. And as Poor as he played in that Chiefs game, he is still better than both the Fins starting Tackles.
After three games, Vick had been pressured 48 times, the most among NFL quarterbacks according to ESPN, and had been sacked 11 times, more than anyone except Tannehill... not all Johnson's fault I am sure, but let's not act like Johnson would have made a difference this season with the schedule we have faced thus far. DJordan has made an impact in every single game and with limited snaps. He was directly responsible for the hit on MRyan that resulted in the Wilson INT against the Falcons and for the hit on Flacco that resulted in the Pick 6 by Jones. Depth, my ***. Save the propaganda...
Goodness no, at some point the "franchise Left Tackle" myth dies. Basically now, you need to really good tackles, not a high cost LT and some schlub at RT, defenses just flop their best pass rusher to that side of the formation now. Back in the day of the left tackle, Lawerance Taylor was destroying them, that was 20 yrs ago or more.
Yes, but we can't constantly put Tannehill in 3rd and 8+ either just to run the ball for the sake of running the ball. Our offensive line can't run or pass block very well. Passing the ball is the lesser of two evils at this point.
No one denying Dion Jordan has progressed nicely (i'm not gonna go as far as saying Jason Taylor yet) but what is the team's biggest weakness is all I'm saying, OL not DL. Jason Peters is having a down year as well, has let up 3 sacks this year according to PFF, a few rumblings are that it's the fast paced offense Chip Kelly has implemented which has caused some of the early season woes and they seem to protect better with Foles in at QB. I like LJ and if the fins drafted him it would be one tackle position taken care of going forward. It's likely we'll be spending a 1st round pick next year on a Tackle, which is unfortunate, it's a weak draft for Tackles...we probably won't draft high enough to get Jake Mathews, maybe Antonio Richardson or former Guard Cedric Ogbuehi, but they come in with some questions.
You can't do that... You can't just say "Matt Moore is the starter because we don't give a **** about him and we're trying to protect Tannehill's future." And I don't believe David Carr (the poster boy for QB's with bad lineman) was ruined. QB's either have it or don't. Right now, a young QB is gaining experience, is having success, and is battling turmoil. Nothing wrong with that... At least, as far as longevity of his career. Obviously, there's not OK in terms of wins and losses in the here and now.
I'm happy that Tannehill is the Dolphins QB, but I also imagine the Jets and Bills fans are happy with their young QB's also. It certainly doesn't appear that it is going to be easy for Tannehill to take over as the best QB in the division in a few years after Brady finally retires. I think Smith and Manuel have already shown that certainly have the talent to challenge Tannehill for the best young QB in the division over the next few years.
The only thing Ireland deserves props for is his ability to pull the wool over the owners eyes for the past six years. He has been well paid for basically doing a lousy job and yet the teams owner continues to support him. I am beginning to think that no legitimate GM wants to work with Ross and that is why Ireland is still here. It certainly isn't because of all the fabulous teams Ireland has put together in his time with the Dolphins.
