Why the Dolphins Have Failed Ryan Tannehill so Far

As the NFL playoffs continue to progress into the Super Bowl, the strongest teams always seem to transcend over teams lacking talent. This isn’t new, or a surprise, as talent is the most important driving force for a championship team. Great coaching goes hand-in-hand with talent, and neither will be successful without the other.

The first step the Dolphins took to building a sustainable winner was drafting Ryan Tannehill in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft. Tannehill was the first quarterback selected in the first round by the franchise since Dan Marino, and his progression is promising. In his third season, Tannehill took a major step toward fulfilling his potential. Take a look below at his statistical accomplishments in 2014.

Yards	Completion Percentage	Touchdowns	Interceptions	QB Rating
3,294	58.3%	12	13	76.1
3,913	60.4%	24	17	81.7
4,045	66.4%	27	12	92.8

Statistics don’t tell the entire story, as it takes high levels of execution by the offensive unit to really excel. But they’re a good starting point for discussion and comparison. When comparing the Dolphins’ supporting cast for Tannehill against what other teams have given their young signal-callers, there’s no question that Miami has failed Tannehill to this point in time.

There are three areas that comprise an offensive supporting cast. Coaching, playmakers and offensive line all affect how good a quarterback looks and performs. Since it’s a team game, a quarterback with a strong overall support system shouldn’t be held as a negative against the signal-caller; rather it’s a testament to the organization’s ability to maximize opportunity.

Let’s evaluate how the Dolphins have struggled to give Tannehill a comparative cast to that of his peers across the NFL.

Coaching

How good a coach actually is can be a tough thing to determine because the only real empirical evidence of such a claim is a coach's win-loss record. Everything else is inferential, such as how well a coach handles personalities or builds a quality staff. Make no mistake, though, that those two things are extremely important.

Head coach Joe Philbin has proved thus far throughout his first head coaching stint that he does not handle difficult personalities well. Instead of allowing his team captains to be close-knit and sustain a “leadership council,” Philbin has parted ways with many of the individuals who have graced that designation.

Such examples are Paul Soliai, Kevin Burnett, Karlos Dansby, Jake Long and Reggie Bush. The constant overturning of leaders on the roster and in the locker room has led to a situation where Miami is devoid of leadership. Some may demand that Tannehill undertake the reigns, but there must be numerous on- and off-field leaders on the roster.

Philbin’s struggles with complex personalities have cost the Dolphins many talented players in addition to leaders. Besides the aforementioned group, receiver Brandon Marshall was traded away in the midst of his battle with borderline personality disorder. Cornerbacks Sean Smith and Vontae Davis were deemed too immature, and yet years later, each is a top-10 player at his position. Think Miami could use that type of talent?

Relating this back to Tannehill, his public profile would be higher had the Dolphins made the playoffs in either of the last two seasons. But to reach the playoffs, Miami needed a stronger overall roster. And most of the impact players that Miami had acquired through the years were simply thrown aside by Philbin.

Philbin’s credentials when he came to Miami should have shown that he wasn’t really ready for a head coaching job to start with. Philbin described his responsibilities with the Green Bay Packers back in 2011, via The Palm Beach Post:

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Later on Monday, Philbin and his fellow offensive coaches would split up game plan responsibilities — third down, red zone, blitz, short yardage, goal line, etc. – and collaborate on Tuesday morning to put it all together in a PowerPoint presentation.

Everything about that presentation had to be perfect.

“If any PowerPoint slide had a spelling or grammar mistake, any typo, any scheme error, that was my responsibility, just like a teacher,” Philbin said.

"

From his past and how he’s performed so far with the Dolphins, Philbin is not a motivator or game-planner but rather an administrative piece. That puts emphasis on having an excellent set of coordinators.

Philbin originally hired two buddies to coach the Dolphins offense and defensive units in Mike Sherman and Kevin Coyle, respectively. Sherman was replaced at the demand of owner Stephen Ross last year. Luckily for him, Bill Lazor did just enough with Tannehill to save Philbin’s job and get him an extension.

So far, Philbin has stymied Tannehill. He grew under Lazor’s watch in 2014, but Philbin was fortunate to even reach the point where he could hire another offensive coordinator after "Bullygate" and a late-season collapse filled with coaching errors.

Supporting Cast

With Tannehill and Sherman in 2012 and 2013, some of the offensive playmakers the Dolphins rely upon were fully maxed out. Specifically, receiver Brian Hartline and tight end Charles Clay had career seasons when the two were featured in the passing game. That, however, is part of the issue.

We’ve now seen what the two can produce when they’re the focal point, and it isn’t enough for a Super Bowl contender. Hartline has a total of 12 touchdowns in his six career seasons and has no physical upside left. At best, he is a low-end second receiver who offers little yards-after-catch potential.

Clay is a bigger impact player for Miami, but he had a knee injury that lasted the entire season. If that knee injury is chronic or zaps some of Clay’s speed, he will never improve upon his status as a mid-level tight end. He’s a great piece to have for the offense but is somewhat overmatched as a starting tight end for a team looking at a deep playoff run.

Miami’s top receiver, Mike Wallace, has been in a tough position since becoming a Dolphin. His skill set is not a good fit with Tannehill, as Wallace wants the ball early and often and basically just wants to run deep. He’s been productive but is still not a well-rounded receiver who is a reliable pass-catcher in clutch situations.

Tannehill comes from a spread offensive approach, where ideally the ball gets out quickly and involves numerous receivers. This keeps everyone involved throughout the game and keeps the defense from keying in on a single receiver.

Comparing the group to teams in the playoffs, it’s easy to see that Miami is lacking. Its most comparable situation is the Carolina Panthers, who are with the Dolphins at the bottom of the league with surrounding casts. Carolina barely got into the playoffs, though, and likely wouldn’t have gotten in had its division been better. Its defense is also elite.

The Dallas Cowboys have continuously invested in talent around Tony Romo. Dez Bryant is one of the best receivers in the NFL, and Jason Witten is a potential Hall of Fame tight end. Terrance Williams is about as good as Wallace, despite the lack of national attention. Their offensive line has been built with three first-round picks who have panned out wonderfully.

Up north, the Green Bay Packers have built a similar structure, with another elite receiver in Jordy Nelson. They didn’t stop there, though, adding Randall Cobb and Davante Adams in the second round of recent drafts. Eddie Lacy at running back is one of the best at his position as well. Green Bay also boasts the second-best pass-blocking offensive line, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

In Baltimore, Joe Flacco has been given two solid receivers in Steve Smith Sr. and Torrey Smith. Neither is elite, but Baltimore is more run-centric behind its stellar offensive line. Baltimore has the fourth-best pass-blocking line, and its guards rank among the top six in the league as run-blockers.

The Colts have also continued to build around Andrew Luck. Reggie Wayne, when healthy, is a borderline Hall of Famer. T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief and Hakeem Nicks all bring explosiveness and reliability to their receiving core. And tight ends Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener are one of the best duos in the league.

Seattle has one of the more nameless receiving groups in the league, but it gets by with creative play-calling and a terrific running attack with Marshawn Lynch. Of course, its defense is exquisite, and the offense only has to average 16 points a game to win—best in the NFL. The Seahawks truly win with a complete team effort.

Let’s compare the resources that these teams have devoted to their offense to what the Dolphins have. As mentioned before, Wallace is a good piece if he’s the secondary option. Clay is a hybrid-type who can start and be an average contributor. Jarvis Landry is a great slot receiver but not much more.

Outside of those three, Miami is severely lacking, and there’s a good chance that Wallace’s time in Miami could be coming to an end after his antics in the season finale.

The Dolphins offensive line is still in shambles as well. Things should improve as Branden Albert comes back from injury and Ja’Wuan James goes back to his more natural right tackle spot. Mike Pouncey is a much better center than guard, and Miami can use Billy Turner at his spot in 2015.

But still, Miami ranked as the worst pass-blocking unit in 2014 by PFF, allowing more pressures on the quarterback than any other team in the league. That’s unacceptable when considering that the line was a huge issue entering last offseason as well. Miami has to fix this immediately.

Moving Forward

Although the Dolphins haven’t supplemented the proper talent around Tannehill for him to lead the team into the playoffs, this regime has another chance to make things right. The 2015 free-agent and NFL draft class is deep with receivers and linemen. Considering that Miami can get out of several bad veteran contracts with reasonable cost, the time for a makeover is now.

Sign a guard who can come in the first day and establish himself. Orlando Franklin and Clint Boling are both capable of this. Draft a receiver in the first or second round, as well as another later on. Become more dynamic and explosive by adding players with those traits.

The quarterback-driven narrative that is so prevalent has overtaken the real reason that teams win in the NFL. A good quarterback is a requirement, but so are a good receiver, offensive line, defense and coaching staff.

For the Dolphins to climb the mountain and hoist the Lombardi Trophy again, this roster must improve around Tannehill. His talent is certainly not the issue holding this franchise back.

All stats used are from sports-reference.com unless otherwise noted.

Ian Wharton is a Miami Dolphins Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, contributor for Optimum Scouting and analyst for eDraft. 

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