Ryan Tannehill Must Do More If the Dolphins Hope to Contend for the Wild Card

Even with all of the distractions surrounding the unprecedented Jonathan Martin bullying scandal, the Miami Dolphins still sit at a respectable 5-5 after a surprising win over the San Diego Chargers and are now behind only the Jets in the race for the second wild-card spot. They have an incredible opportunity to flip the entire script on their season and make a run at a playoff berth. 

But this team isn't going anywhere if Ryan Tannehill doesn't improve his play and his leadership. 

In his second season at the helm, Tannehill continues to struggle. He ranks 28th in the NFL in QBR, per ESPN.com, and has failed to create chemistry with highly paid free-agent receiver Mike Wallace. Wallace was supposed to add potency to the 'Phins' downfield passing attack, but Tannehill has actually regressed on his accuracy percentage on passes of 20 yards or more this year. 

According to the website Phinsider.com, his accuracy percentage (which is different from completion percentage because it doesn't include drops) is 35.3 percent this year, down from 43.1 percent last year. This is a startling statistic that deserves a significant amount of scrutiny given general manager John Ireland's efforts to surround him with more weapons.

If the playoffs were to start today, he'd have the second-lowest completion percentage amongst playoff quarterbacks at just 61.2 percent, just ahead of Alex Smith's 58.1 percent—per ESPN.com. But Smith has the benefit of an electric running back and a defense that has been nothing short of dominant.

Miami's defense has been solid as of late, but Tannehill doesn't have the luxury of falling into the "game manager" role that Smith has. He needs to be a lot more accurate with all of his throws down the stretch for the Dolphins to develop into a legitimate playoff team. 

Tannehill, who's a member of the team's five-man leadership council (it was six prior to Incognito's suspension), also needs to do more in the leadership category. Speaking to the media for the first time after the scandal broke, Tannehill shrugged and said, "If you ask(ed) Jonathan Martin two weeks ago about Richie he would've said he's his best friend," as reported by Frank Schwab of Yahoo! Sports. 

Can you imagine Peyton Manning or Tom Brady deflecting like that?

As a leader of a football team, you have to take some level of responsibility for your team's dynamic, particularly when the issues at hand are as serious as those alleged in this case. A true leader also needs to narrow his focus and elevate his play in this clear time of need, and so far, Tannehill hasn't done that. It's not too late for him to step up and assume a genuine leadership role, but it has to happen soon. 

Last week Tannehill had a message for frustrated Dolphins fans, saying, "Just hang in there. We're going to battle through this thing," as reported by James Walker of ESPN.com.

If they are indeed going to battle through, they'll need Tannehill to display a lot more leadership and tighten up his play. If he's not able to do these things, expect the Dolphins to fade further into mediocrity and be irrelevant come January.