Miami Dolphins Week 3 Stock Report

The Miami Dolphins are 1-1. Their season is far from over.

Why, then, does it feel like this team is headed for the same fate it has suffered in the three previous years under head coach Joe Philbin?

Maybe it's the mountainous expectations that people had for this team to dominate its opponents right off the bat. Maybe it's the mediocre performances against less-than-mediocre opponents. Maybe it's because the Dolphins look unprepared and have had to fight back from double-digit second-quarter deficits in each of their first two games.

It's better to struggle early in the season and find your footing as the season wears on than it is to coast through the early-season slate and slip up once winter kicks in. 

Hope is not lost for the Dolphins. They still have 14 games left to turn things around. Here are some players who need to keep playing well and others who need to pick up the pace, if Miami is going to make some noise as a playoff contender in 2015.

Stock Up: Ryan Tannehill

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

The Dolphins have a lot of problems that have resulted in their disappointing start to the season, but quarterback Ryan Tannehill is not one of them.

He is operating behind an offensive line that still can't protect him on a consistent basis, and yet he continues to throw accurate passes and give his team a chance to win games. He completed 30 of his 44 pass attempts on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, throwing for 359 yards and two touchdowns in the process. 

Tannehill has thrown 78 passes this year and has still not thrown an interception. He is one of only eight quarterbacks to have thrown at least 50 passes without an interception this year. 

Now, if Tannehill can only get his offensive line to protect him better and get his defense to play up to its potential, the Dolphins could still realize their playoff dreams this season.

Stock Down: Ndamukong Suh

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

So far, the Dolphins' $114 million investment in defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has not paid off the way they hoped it would.

The All-Pro defensive tackle has tallied just three total tackles this season. He has logged no sacks, batted passes, forced fumbles or any of the disruptive plays that were the driving force behind signing him in the first place.

His struggles have given way to a firestorm of media scrutiny, with a report from Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald that Suh was freelancing instead of staying true to his assignments on any given play against the Jaguars. Head coach Joe Philbin shot those rumors down, but the fact that such a discussion could even be entertained is an indictment of Suh's performance to this point.

There's still plenty of time for him to turn it around, but his early struggles do not bode well for the Dolphins.

Stock Up: Jarvis Landry

Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

Not much has worked for the Dolphins this year, but one player who's worked his tail off is wide receiver Jarvis Landry.

With 16 catches this season on top of the 84 he hauled in as a rookie, Landry became the fastest player in Dolphins history to reach 100 career receptions by doing so in 18 games. On the season, he has hauled in 16 of the 22 passes thrown his way, taking them 163 yards in the process. He has also returned five punts and took one to the house for the game-winning score in Week 1.

The Dolphins made several additions to the wide receiver group this offseason with veterans Kenny Stills and Greg Jennings along with rookie DeVante Parker, but Landry's experience in the offense and rapport with Ryan Tannehill made him an easy bet to be the leading receiver this year. 

So far, he's proved to be as reliable in his second season as he was in his first.

Stock Down: Lamar Miller

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

With four words, Lamar Miller could easily pull a Gene Snitsky with regard to his slow start to the season: "It's not my fault."

So far, Miller has racked up just 67 yards on 23 carries (2.9 yards per carry) and 50 receiving yards on six receptions. 

Blame it on an offensive line that's not protecting the quarterback and failing to open holes in the running game. Blame it on a coaching staff that continues to abandon the run at the mere thought of a three-point deficit. That being said, blaming it on everyone else will only whitewash the problem. If the running game was more efficient, the coaching staff wouldn't be abandoning it so readily. 

Miller made something out of nothing time and time again in 2014, on his way to 1,099 rushing yards and 5.1 yards per carry. If he wants to work his way back into the game plan on a consistent basis, it looks like he'll have to make lemonade out of lemons once again in 2015.

Stock Down: Joe Philbin

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Usually, I prefer to be like George Costanza in these stock-report slideshows: leave on a high note.

I just couldn't do it this week. 

The Dolphins should have won both their games by double digits, but they squeaked past the Washington Redskins thanks to a Jarvis Landry punt-return touchdown and lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars thanks to another defensive meltdown. 

Both losses fall square on the shoulders of the coaching staff.

The Dolphins have started slow in both their games this season, falling behind 10-0 to the Redskins in the first half in Week 1 and 17-6 in the first half in Week 2. The team has played much better in the second half, which is a tribute to the coaches and the adjustments they've made, but the fact that Miami is starting slow is an indictment of the staff and their preparation during the week.

If the Dolphins can find that magic they've had in the locker room and extrapolate it over the course of the week, they could quickly improve on their slow start to the season. Unless that happens, this could be Joe Philbin's last year as Dolphins head coach.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes and paraphrasing of quotes acquired via team news release.