Ryan Tannehill Proves He Can Be Part of the Solution

If Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin had the choice, he might take a mulligan on this past week. A media firestorm surrounded his declining to name quarterback Ryan Tannehill as his starter heading into Sunday's trip to London. 

With the Dolphins picking up a decisive 38-14 "road" win over the Oakland Raiders at Wembley Stadium, Philbin and Tannehill may be able to leave last week's controversy across the pond. Or at least, part of the controversy.

Make no mistake; Tannehill's stat line—a healthy 74.1 completion percentage, nearly nine yards per pass attempt, two touchdowns, a flukey interception and a 109.3 passer rating—must be taken with a grain of salt, given the level of competition the Dolphins faced this weekend.

But when it comes to mending fences in the NFL, it always starts with one question: "What have you done for me lately?" Of course, Tannehill couldn't put all the doubts to bed in one single performance—maybe if he had put up the same numbers against the Seattle Seahawks—but this was a good start.

Tannehill has all the raw skill you could want in a quarterback, from the mobility to the arm strength. Where things fall apart for him is his ball location and his decision-making. He doesn't always get the ball out quickly enough, and when he does, he's not necessarily giving his receivers a good chance to make a play.

The Dolphins receivers have not helped the matter, either. Heading into today's game, they ranked second in the NFL with 11 drops, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). There's no way that Philbin could put all the blame for the offense on his quarterback, even if he did so outwardly.

That being said, a truly great quarterback would be able to overcome drops—and even some of those drops need to be put on Tannehill's shoulders for inaccurate throws.

Take, for example, the interception thrown against the Raiders. The pass bounced off tight end Dion Sims' hands, but it was thrown a bit wide by Tannehill. A better ball could have resulted in a completion. 

Instead, it was one of only a few speed bumps the Dolphins hit on the day. Those speed bumps may not prevent Miami from picking up wins against bad teams like the Raiders, but enough of them over the course of a season could bode poorly for its playoff chances.

In that sense, the Dolphins are still looking for long-term answers at the quarterback position—though that doesn't mean they are immediately looking to move on from Tannehill. We have seen plenty of strong performances like this from Tannehill over the years. He has notched a passer rating over 90 in 14 games in his career, and a passer rating lower than 67 in 11 games. 

That's the problem with Tannehill. It's not that he hasn't shown any ability—because he has displayed his talent on repeated occasions—it's that he hasn't shown it consistently, and in his third year, the consistency should be seen more often.

But take nothing away from Tannehill, because that consistency was on display today in full force. How else do you explain only eight incomplete passes on 31 pass attempts?

There are always flashes of brilliance with Tannehill, and he gave us a sampling of that with his bootleg touchdown pass to Sims with one minute and 58 seconds left in the second quarter, showing off both his athleticism as well as impeccable touch to float the ball over the linebacker and into the waiting hands of his tight end. 

For their part, his weapons gave him some help. Mike Wallace muscled through three Raiders defenders for a 13-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the second quarter. 

Tannehill will have to keep up performances like this if he wants to avoid the hot seat again, and he has to wait an extra week before he'll get a chance to keep his momentum going. With two weeks to prepare for the Green Bay Packers, though, the odds are in his favor.

Opponent	W-L
vs. Green Bay Packers	2-2
at Chicago Bears	2-2
at Jacksonville Jaguars	0-4
vs. San Diego Chargers	3-1

The margin of error has grown a bit in the AFC East: the New York Jets fell to 1-3, the Buffalo Bills are back at .500 after starting the season 2-0 and the New England Patriots look more vulnerable than usual—especially after struggling against a Raiders team that got thrashed by the Dolphins. 

But Miami can't count on its rivals to drop the ball. The team must take things into its own hands. And with today's performance, Tannehill proved there's a chance he could be part of that process.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release and all stats obtained via Pro-Football-Reference.com.

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