Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill Needs to Stop Being a 'Nice Kid' and Start Producing

This week, ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer was on Miami radio station The Ticket talking Ryan Tannehill. The conversation started off normally. Tannehill has talent. … Blah, blah. … Tannehill is smart. … Yadda, yadda.

"I'm going to go down in flames being a believer," Dilfer said. "He's supremely talented. That's without question. People who say he doesn't have the talent, they're just wrong. He's very smart. He works hard at it.

"My only concern was, does he have the over-my-dead-body mentality? He's such a nice kid. Does he have enough pr--- in him?"

Hold on. Wait. What? Can we rewind the tape?

(Tape rewinds.)

Yep, Dilfer wondered aloud, on radio, if Tannehill is enough of a pr---.

Many people don't get this part of quarterbacking. Tom Brady is a good human being who can scream and holler and demand the most from the people around him. He can act like a pr---. So can Peyton Manning. Definitely Peyton Manning. So could Joe Montana or Johnny Unitas or Dan Marino.

Throughout the history of the NFL, quarterbacks have always acted like pr---- on the field, and it has served them well.

Joe Mahoney/Associated Press

This is what Dilfer is saying about Tannehill.

He added:

"

Does he have enough I will succeed no matter what, the world could go up in flames and I'm going to find a way to stay out of the fire? That's the mentality you have to have to be successful as a quarterback. That was my concern coming out with him. That's kind of my concern right now.

"

Some of you love Dilfer as an analyst. Some of you hate him. I love Dilfer because he actually says things. He doesn't sugarcoat, and the reason I used so many of his words here—including him wondering if Tannehill is too soft—is because he's not alone in thinking this.

The debate about the young quarterbacks today mostly focuses on ranking them. Is Russell Wilson elite? (Yes.) How great is Colin Kaepernick? (Pretty great.) Where does Cam Newton rank? (High.) How good is Andrew Luck? (Unbelievable.)

Tannehill isn't part of that conversation, and when speaking to personnel around the league, they say the exact same thing about Tannehill that Dilfer did.

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

So this is a fair question to ask: Is Tannehill a bust?

It's starting to look like the answer to that is yes.

Tannehill's story isn't written yet. It's not done, but it's getting close. Tannehill is beginning to look more Mark Sanchez than Miami savior.

This is particularly true when you consider some of the other quarterbacks from Tannehill's 2012 draft class. Robert Griffin III. Wilson. Luck. Nick Foles. All of those players are better than him.

Top 8 QBs taken (pick #)	G	Cmp%	Yds/G	TD/G	INT/G	Win%	Rating
Russell Wilson (3-75)	37	64.0%	201.4	1.62	0.57	73.0%	100.5
Nick Foles (3-88)	26	61.7%	239.2	1.65	0.54	63.6%	95.5
Robert Griffin (1-2)	30	63.3%	223.6	1.20	0.57	43.3%	91.8
Andrew Luck (1-1)	38	58.6%	268.0	1.66	0.89	68.4%	84.7
Ryan Tannehill (1-8)	37	59.6%	225.8	1.19	0.95	45.9%	79.5
Brock Osweiler (2-57)	9	65.0%	11.9	0.00	0.00	0.0%	78.5
Kirk Cousins (4-102)	13	58.8%	222.4	1.38	1.38	12.5%	78.1
Brandon Weeden (1-22)	23	55.9%	222.4	1.00	1.13	25.0%	71.8

I've always been a Tannehill supporter. On radio interviews. In columns. I've tweeted my belief that he can be a good player in this league. I've always believed, but as the years have gone by, one thing has become startlingly true: He hasn't dramatically improved.

Look at the rapidity and depth of growth in young throwers like Kaepernick, Wilson, Luck and Newton. It's been exponential. One assistant coach who has game-planned against Kaepernick several times called him "the fastest learner I've ever seen."

The same assistant, who has watched Tannehill on tape, says the Miami QB "at times still looks confused by the speed of the game."

Dilfer seems to be saying that Tannehill needs to be nastier, more of a grinder, have more of a will to win, like Luck or Newton.

Again, I've heard that, but another reason is Tannehill's limp learning curve. For whatever reason—coaching, maybe the talent around him—he still looks overwhelmed by the game.

This isn't all his fault. He's been ill-served by a horrible head coach, a bullying scandal and a front office that hasn't put much around him. His offensive line has at times been porous.

But enough with the excuses for Tannehill.

"Now he's really coming under fire," Dilfer said. "Up until this point it's been, Hey, project. Wow. We see the flashes. Good kid. Everybody likes him. Now it's like, Hey, forget you dude, you're not winning enough games."

Because he needs to be a bigger pr---.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.