Can the Miami Dolphins Trust Ryan Tannehill as Their Franchise QB?

The vultures have begun to circle yet again in Miami as the Dolphins have begun another late-season collapse.

There was plenty of blame to go around in the 28-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, but the man who bears the brunt of fan frustration lines up under center—Ryan Tannehill.

The embattled college wide receiver-turned-quarterback has gotten mixed reviews since entering the league nearly three years ago. With meager team success to show for his development, Tannehill was behind the eight ball to begin with—especially when stacked up against the likes of Indianapolis' Andrew Luck and Washington's Robert Griffin III, whose fantastic rookie season is now a distant, bittersweet memory.

Now he sits here, in late-season decline and on the brink of another postseason miss despite showing promise this season.

Naturally, some Dolphins fans have doubts as to Tannehill's viability as a franchise quarterback.

What is a franchise quarterback, anyway? Is it a guy who is a perennial MVP contender, one who can all but singlehandedly get his team to the playoffs? Or is that too lofty a classification, considering there are only a handful of guys who really fit that bill?

If one thing is clear, it's that Tannehill is nowhere near that grade. He is not the type of quarterback that will elevate his teammates, at least not at this stage in his career. Whether he might ever get there is a complicated question—there is still too much time to tell.

This is what ESPN.com's James Walker had to say earlier this season when asked if Tannehill was a franchise quarterback:

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The Dolphins are still asking themselves this question...It really depends on your definition of a franchise quarterback. I think a safe benchmark is top-10 quarterback, and Ryan Tannehill is not there 36 starts into his career. I view Tannehill more in the Alex Smith category than the Aaron Rodgers category. If Tannehill is coached well, only asked to manage the game and with a lot of good players around him making plays, he can win. But a lot has to go right, because Tannehill has proven he cannot take over games. 

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For a while there, it seemed like the third-year quarterback had figured it out. A slow start to the season gave way to a nice string of games that coincided with a run that had the Dolphins in wild-card position as of last week.

One bad loss in a crucial game has put Miami out of the playoffs looking in and needing help with just three games to go.

What happened to Tannehill, anyway? The ingredients that came together to turn him into a budding star earlier this season have congealed into a toxic elixir. 

Once deemed fixed, the offensive line has regressed to horrific 2013 levels after free-agent acquisition Branden Albert went down for the season. To wit, Tannehill was sacked six times in the loss against the Ravens on Sunday.

Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor's offense had utilized Tannehill's running ability to great effect after the first three weeks, but it has recently reverted to early-season predictability. His receivers haven't been helpful, either—save for rookie receiver Jarvis Landry, Tannehill is getting little consistent help from his skill-position players.

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For the second straight week ... an NFL analyst (Radio/TV) has questioned Mike Wallace's "effort" on a realistic TD pass/catch. #Dolphins

— Jay Clemons (@ATL_JayClemons) December 7, 2014"

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The problem with simply saying Roethlisberger could complete passes to Wallace so Tannehill has no excuse is that MW is a lot worse now.

— Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) December 7, 2014"

An expensive relic of the past general manager, Mike Wallace is proving he is not a No. 1 receiver on a weekly basis. 

Even the defense has begun to crack. 

Of course, great quarterbacks can make lemonade out of lemons. Just take Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, for example, a man who has overcome horrendous offensive lines, porous defenses and a nonexistent running game in years' past. 

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This is the place Tannehill has to make his name, protection or no protection. Season on the line. 3-and-out doesn't cut it. One more chance

— Dave Hyde (@davehydesports) December 7, 2014"

Tannehill is just not that guy, and he may never be.

The third-year quarterback is currently on pace to set career highs in completion percentage (66.5), passer rating (92.4), passing touchdowns (26) and rushing yards (363)—all of those on a positive career trajectory. He had a nice five-game run of games with at least 70 percent completed passes, too.

Unfortunately, he is also stagnant in some important categories like yards per attempt (6.7) or its more advanced cousin—adjusted net yards per attempt (5.8), according to Pro-Football-Reference.com. The explosive plays are few and far between.

Part of that is simply the offense he is running—Lazor is content to let the short game do the talking, playing to Tannehill's strengths and avoiding his weaknesses.

Those weaknesses include a deep ball that hasn't developed at the same pace as the rest of his game, though perhaps not having a reliable downfield threat has stunted his growth in that area.

USA TODAY Sports

Another part of his short-circuited long game is the pounding he has gotten behind that offensive line in his first three seasons. He was sacked a team-record 58 times as a sophomore, and that specter has come back to haunt Tannehill and the Dolphins again in recent weeks.

Injuries have ravaged the roster, and Tannehill is the easiest player to blame. Simply put, the team is crumbling around him, and he doesn't have the ability right now to hold it all together. 

So can the Dolphins trust Tannehill as their franchise quarterback? The sad answer is we probably don't know yet, almost three years into his NFL career. 

What we do know is that he possesses tools to become a quality, consistent starter down the line. For that to happen, he will need stability, pass-blocking and offensive weaponry that can get open downfield and be trusted to make catches.

Which means the Dolphins have to trust him for now, lest they fall into quarterback purgatory alongside many other teams. He has played too well and still has too much potential to give up on him now, and trying to find a franchise quarterback in the draft is harder than it sounds.

He may not be Rodgers, but Tannehill is capable of winning in the NFL. By the time the Dolphins stop churning the roster, though, it may be too late.

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