“To be or not to be, that is the question…”-William Shakespeare
When it comes to Ryan Tannehill, 3rd year quarterback for the Miami Dolphins where should fans stand? One could make the argument that outside of Ricky Williams, there hasn’t been a more polarizing player on the roster since Dan Marino retired after the 1999 season. To really understand the depths to which Tannehill seems to provide hope for one half of the fan base and disbelief for the other half who don’t think he is the heir apparent. They must realize a few things.
Since Marino retired, only once have the Dolphins been in the top 10 in scoring (8th-2001) and only once have they been in the top 10 in passing yards (10th-2008). On the flipside, they have ranked in the bottom 10 in points scored 6 times (2004,2006-07,2010,2012-13) and also in the bottom 10 in passing yards 6 times (2000,2002-03,2007,2011-12).
There are generally 2 factions when it comes to Tannehill, #INTANNEHILLWETRUST and #BLAMETANNEHILL. To the fans who desperately want or dare I say need Tannehill to be THE guy, its completely understandable. Including Tannehill there have been 17 different starters since Marino retired. If there is an 18th then that likely means Ryan has failed, which means Philbin has been seen the door and the rebuilding process begins all over again. So with that being said it is crystal clear why you want him to be the QB for the next 10-15 years.
Now to the fans who have witnessed mediocre QB play at best in the last 14 years. These fans have witnessed Fiedler, Griese, Harrington, Culpepper rather than Brees, CLEO LEMON and Chad Henne. So they are perfectly capable of pointing out subpar QB play. It would be grossly unfair to try and compare Tannehill with Marino, as there are only a handful of QB’s who have ever played the game that are in his league. However I do think it is fair to compare him against his post Marino predecessors. Below are the cumulative averages 0f the QB’s from 2000-11 compared to Tannehill from 2012-13.
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As you can notice above, Ryan has positive differentials in all the categories that you would want him to with the exception of sacks. Also he is under the average for INT’s. To the hopeful fan, they will clearly point out that his numbers are better than his predecessors, that he is behind the eight ball when it comes to experience and that he had to endure a league sack total that can mess with any young QB’s pocket presence and confidence. They will also point out that while Brian Hartline is very reliable, he has not had star studded supporting cast to work with and that the $60 million receiver, Mike Wallace whom the Dolphins brought in to fix that just can’t seem to get on the right page with his young QB.
To the weary fans, they will point out that yes, while his numbers are better than his predecessors, they are not that substantially better by any means. They will say after 12 long years of inadequate QB play how do you expect me to trust that Tannehill is the man based on those numbers. They will say how do you expect me to go off his “potential” when he is so consistent at being inconsistent.
One way or the other, the mere mention of Ryan Tannehill is bound to generate some kind of reaction. Just remember, there is nothing wrong with being on the fence and taking a wait and see approach, rather than going all in or giving up to soon. Where do you stand?
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