What Ryan Tannehill's Short Preseason Debut Means for Miami Dolphins Offense

Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill has improved each year he's been in the NFL. If his debut in the preseason opener against the Chicago Bears is any indication of what's ahead in 2015, that trend should continue.

The Dolphins' franchise signal-caller went a solid 6-of-7 for 56 yards with a two-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jarvis Landry. 

Make no mistake: All of this should be taken with a huge grain of salt. Heck, you might as well take a trip to Tooele County in Utah and visit the Bonneville salt flats immediately after watching a preseason game.

It was one drive. In a preseason game. Against the Bears defense, which ranked 30th overall against the pass in 2014. All of these are important facts that color the perception of Tannehill's night.

But there's something to be said for starting on the right foot, which is exactly what Tannehill did Thursday night.

"It's always fun to get started that way," Tannehill said, stating a fact so obvious it could be featured in a Hotels.com commercial someday.

But Tannehill couldn't have been the only one who was excited to see the offense fire on all cylinders in its first action of the preseason. The Dolphins had to be feeling a little giddy about the four-year extension they gave Tannehill and the $77 million in new money that came with it. 

And it wasn't just because of the pure stats that Tannehill posted. It was the situational performance of converting two third-down tries and a fourth-down try on that same opening drive. Those "clutch" moments may be decidedly less "clutch" in a meaningless preseason game, but everyone needs a chance to get back in the flow, and it's still wildly important to continue to perform well in those situations.

The Dolphins also overcame some adversity and were still able to score a touchdown even after a holding penalty at the 2-yard line set the offense back 10 yards. That was after another holding penalty earlier in the drive.

"Really good opening possession," Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin said. "Guys stepped up and made plays. We overcame a little bit of adversity within the drive."

And even with their penalties, the Dolphins offensive line avoided being the story of the night. The starting offensive line did not yield a single sack, and Tannehill was not beaten up the way he's been pounded like a pile of grapes in a wine factory. 

Overall, it was the stuff that Dolphins fans' dreams have been made of for years. Their franchise quarterback looked like a franchise quarterback. Their offensive line looked like an NFL offensive line. 

Imagine how much better the offense could look when wide receiver DeVante Parker finally gets on the field. When that happens, the Dolphins may have suddenly solved all the offensive woes of a year ago.

No deep threat. Found one.

Shoddy offensive line. Fixed it.

Of course, this is all conjecture until the regular season kicks in. Only then will we finally get to pull back the orange-and-teal curtain and find out exactly what lies ahead for the Dolphins offense. Until then, it's OK for Dolphins fans to bask in the early success of their offense, which has been the object of criticism for so long. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release.