Last year, Ryan set a team record with 392 completions. Will he get even more this season? There are plenty of playmakers to feed the ball too.
Really, I hope not. That would mean the offense has nothing close to balance between the running game and the passing game. Could he? Sure.
He can. But I hope he doesn't. Would probably indicate the defense is putting them in a position where they have to throw a lot. Or that the running game is ineffective. Or both.
Rather not. If you look at Tony Romo the past few years, his worst season was also his most prolific, at 40 attempts per game with 65% accuracy. Dallas' defense isn't a whole lot better, but the team was much more successful last year once they decided the QB doesn't need to throw it 650 times. Seriously, in two years they went from 648 attempts to 435 for Romo. More often than not, a balanced approach is better for everyone involved.
With 392 completions, we had the most effective rushing game in the league.... Did we not ? So don't tell me more completions ( first downs ) are bad. Is it crazy to prefer to play to our strengths and shoot for 25 completions a game ? How often can you win completing less than 20 ?
With 392 completions, our effective rushing game was used much less than it could have/should have been. More completions with more rushes is good (because it's the result of longer drives). More completions and less rushes is not. We were 12th in the league in total yards from the ground. We had the 2nd highest ypc (behind Seattle) but they got 2700 yards on the ground (yes Wilson is a part of that) and we got 1,800. If we achieve 400 completions in a balanced offense that'd be fantastic considering Romo only attempted 435 passes all year. But they scored a lot more than us ...
I sure hope he does. With a balanced offense, 400+ completions means you went deep into the playoffs (and with a more pass heavy one, it still means we likely went to the playoffs).
I say no, as I think having Jay Ajayi involved in the running game will give Miami some more opportunities to run it in short-yardage and goal-to-go situations this year. We saw how effective having a power runner could be for a single game - Moreno in week one - and I think having Ajayi will allow Miami to run it more. That said, while I don't know if Tannehill hits 40 completions, I do think he could end up with more than 27 TDs, even if his attempts are fewer. I think the biggest thing will be how well the new receivers integrate into the offense. Obviously, Tannehill had some kinks to work out in the first 3 or 4 games (I'd even argue the 1st half of the Packers game, which was pretty bad) last year. With him being more comfortable, I think that helps, but you still have to get the receivers and Jordan Cameron up to speed.
The Cowboys are a good example if you completely ignore that elite online and totally disregard the emergence of D.Murray as a pro-bowl back. There was concern all year Murray was being overused too. Miller's no different, but our interior line sure is. This also is not the NFC East. On 3rd down and 2 in a tight division game... We're a passing team. If I was Dallas I'd run in that situation. ( reminded of their last play of the season) Everyone is talking as if our high # of completions was a result of some other inefficiency when that's not true. If we complete more passes at the same rate, that means good things for our offense. Balance is necessary only to a certain extent. Dallas didn't mind taking it out of Romos hands because he was handing it to the NFLs leading rusher. How many times more per game would you prefer we lean on Miller and some unproven backs as apposed to having Tannehill find an open weapon ? Its been pointed out plenty that there may be a change in philosophy, post Suh signing.... To a more run balanced/grind it out approach... But since then we've loaded up on pass catching talent and mostly ignored the backfield.
Ryan's 2014 was tied for the 28th most completions in a single season. Almost all above have occured in recent years, with Moon and Bledsoe each having a season around 400 in the early 90s. Drew Brees and Peyton Manning combine for 12 of the spots ahead of Tannehill on the list, and I'm certain that few would be complaining if those seasons had come in a Miami uniform. Brees actually has five of the top seven single season completion marks in league history, with Manning holding the other two. Starting in 2007, Brees has failed to get at least 400 completions just once, when he sat out the final game in 2009 after the Saints had clinched.