I would like to see Ryan have more weapons to work with before I would make a definite conclusion on that.

He definitely has room to improve from an accuracy standpoint among other things, but he has shown a lot of promise as well.

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After the Dilfer topic you knew a counterpoint had to happen.

I personally think its pretty freaking stupid to use other rookies in different situations with different experiences as your barometer for how a guy should be performing.

I am just going to continue to ask the question: Do we need to have the definitive answer at this point?

So 6 weeks ago he's the man and now he's not. OK Adam.

Let's just hope this isn't Chad Henne, part deux. At least Ryan doesn't throw an interception in virtually every game. However, his TD's are an even rarer sight. I would like to see him with a true #1 receiver and a better O-line before pressing the panic button though. I really think he would have been better served to sit on the bench for the first year at least though....

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Philbin's countenance exudes confidence!
1984 was so long ago...Will there ever be another rainbow?

Ha.

Maybe not this weekend. But if things don't start looking up soon I think you have no choice but to look at QB as a top pick in April. Competition never hurt anyone and this team is going nowhere until someone laces up those number 13s again.

Top ten picks don't wind up on good football teams typically. Tannehill is no different. He's a rookie quarterback being coached by a rookie head coach on a team that is rebuilding. You can't expect a kid to play lights out in a situation like that. It just doesn't happen that often.

Is Tannehill struggling, yeah, but we're exactly where most experts thought we'd be at this point in the season. I know it sucks going through growing pains all over again with another young quarterback, but unfortunately it's just the nature of the beast. You've got to keep going through them until one sticks. Hopefully Tannehill sticks.

thanks Shefter, go back to what you get paid for, giving fantasy injury updates.

I know right?
Mark Sanchez and Joe Flacco got a 2 to 3 year pass before the critics started with the labels. Can we at least give Tanny 2 seasons? I mean we've been waiting for a decent QB for 12 years now, we can't afford to be picky and hasty. Fill the offensive roster with talent and let him keep gaining experience.

Tannehill may not be the answer at QB, neither might any of the other rookie QBs from this season.

You just never know.

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I can see using the rookie QB excuse when it comes to Tannehill , limited college starts , the NFL is much faster than college , etc. But please enough of the Rookie head coach excuse. Philbin has had more than enough experience in this league as a OC for a winning team. Remember when he was hired .... all that was talked about was that he had much more responsibilities at Green Bay than a normal OC & made alot of decisions normally reserved for the head coach. In this league as a Head Coach your time is limited to prove yourself. First time head coach or not some of his decisions have been questionable to say the least & should not be excused because he is a "rookie".

I remember a lot of the experts who said that Rick Mirer was going to be a great quarterback after his rookie season. Even Bill Walsh thought he'd be the perfect West Coast quarterback. He looked really good until he threw the ball. His decision making never improved.

Tannehill does not have what Luck, RGIII, and Russell Wilson have ... and that's a whole lot of starting experience at the QB position in college. Everyone said he'd have a learning curve and said he wouldn't be able to start this year for us. I really like the kid.

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Actually, I was arguing the opposite, Mitch. He had less responsibility than the typical offensive coordinator as the head coach was calling the plays on gameday.

I brought it up as a concern about his ability to make decisions on gameday.

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I don't think you use another top pick but you make darn sure you have a solid backup in place in case you have Blaine Gabbert.

There is just so much that can go wrong for any young QB. Griffin just had a bad knee injury. What do you think happens to him if he doesn't have that lightning quick mobility? Same goes for Wilson who would get crushed if he wasn't a scrambling machine. To judge any of these guys, good or bad, too soon is just dumb.

To me the only rookie QB that has proven that he is going to be around for a long time is Luck. RGIII is very injury/concussion prone and I think that might hamper his career long term. Wilson has played really well at times and really poorly at times usually on the road.

People forget that the plan was never to have Tannehill start this year. It was to have Garrard or Moore win the job in camp and let the rookie sit and watch. Garrard got hurt, Moore stinks in practice, and Tannehill wins the job. Tannehill reminds me a lot of Steve McNair. He has some wheels but he is not quick to tuck it and run. He also has a good arm and can make all of the throws. However, McNair sat as a rookie and Tannehill probably would have benefited from the same thing. And Tannehill has been playing the position the least amount of time of any of the QBs in this rookie class.

Is there a link?

So he is less sure now than earlier. So maybe it shows it is premature to say a qb is the future or is not the future with limited time?

Time will tell with all of the rookies.

Did he call in the article for Tannehill to be benched?

Eh I'm not so sure we can use this lack of talent around him thing. Sure we don't have Houston Texans or Atlanta Falcons type weapons, but these guys have been doing some good things. Hell if Tannehill hits a wide open Hartline on two different occasions in that Patriots game, they're going home crying with the Experts questioning if they're for real and we're holding our heads high with playoff hope.

I love the kid, have his jersey and all, but he has got to get his accuracy down.

Here's your answer. Luck, RGIII, and Wilson all have the weapons on offense they need to make plays. Tanny doesn't. And that's the bottom line.

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I don't feel like those guys have that great of weapons... with the exception of Reggie Wayne and Marshawn Lynch there are no real stars on any of those teams...

Andrew Luck's Weapons

// Vick Ballard - 562 yds, 3.8 ypc, 1 td
// Donald Brown - 417 yds, 3.9 ypc, 1 td

// Reggie Wayne - 94 rec, 1220 yds, 4 tds
// Donnie Avery - 52 rec, 706 yds, 3 tds
// TY Hilton - 41 rec, 638 yds, 5 tds
// Dwayne Allen - 37 rec, 446 yds, 2 tds
// Coby Fleener - 23 rec, 257 yds, 1 td

The running game has been average at best, with neither RB having any ability to find the endzone. Reggie Wayne has been lights out this year no doubt. But before this year Donnie Avery was thought to be finished. TY Hilton seems to be a nice rookie pickup and it seems their duel TE threat didn't really workout too well this year.


Robert Griffin III's Weapons

// Alfred Morris - 1228 yds, 4.9 ypc, 7 tds

// Santana Moss - 32 rec, 468 yds, 7 tds
// Leonard Hankerson - 34 rec, 465 yds, 1 td
// Pierre Garcon - 28 rec, 437 yds, 4 tds
// Josh Morgan - 42 rec, 429 yds, 1 td
// Fred Davis - 24 rec, 325 yds

Alfred Morris has been an amazing surprise pickup... but is it really a surprise that Mike Shanahan found a RB in the rough? As far as their receivers go, they leave a lot to be desired. They lost Fred Davis back in October and he is still only 100 yards behind the next best receiver. Four guys with over 400 yards each and the veteran Moss put it in the endzone 7 times... amazing. Still, no spectacular playmakers in this receiving core... they have home run threats up the wazoo, but how far does that get you?


Russell Wilson's Weapons

// Marshawn Lynch - 1266 yds, 4.9 ypc, 9 tds

// Sidney Rice - 45 rec, 658 yds, 7 tds
// Golden Tate - 37 rec, 492 yds, 7 tds
// Zach Miller - 30 rec, 337 yds, 2 tds
// Doug Baldwin - 22 rec, 286 yds, 1 td
// Anthony McCoy - 16 rec, 236 yds, 2 tds

Marshawn has been an absolute beast this year, something I'm sure has helped Wilson tremendously. On the receiving end, Sidney Rice has been his usual inconsistent self, but is still managing nearly 700 yards and 7 tds. Golden Tate is also contributing with 7 tds and 500 yards. After that it's dribble. Wilson's targets seem to be great at finding the endzone, but their numbers aren't stellar by any means.


Ryan Tannehill's Weapons

// Reggie Bush - 791 yds, 4.4 ypc, 5 tds
// Daniel Thomas - 319 yds, 3.5 ypc, 4 tds

// Brian Hartline - 62 rec, 925 yds, 1 td
// Davone Bess - 61 rec, 778 yds, 1 td
// Anthony Fasano - 30 rec, 233 yds, 4 tds
// Reggie Bush - 29 rec, 227 yds
// Charles Clay - 16 rec, 204 yds, 2 tds

So Tannehills run support is right on par with Seattle and Washingtons, albeit with two players instead of one. He also has two receivers both with 60+ receptions and potentially both with 1000 yards on the year. Now you definitely see a drop off after Bess and Hartline that reveals he may need some more WR help... but you also see that his current group isn't slacking by any means. Also, it seems we're more hesitant to put in our rookie playmakers. TY Hilton has done wonders in Indy, yet we've barely seen a peep out of Rishard Matthews, our best preseason WR. I would love to see Matthews get a lot more playing time now that we're out of the playoff chase... guess we'll have to wait and see if that happens.



Anyways... the point is, I don't think Tannehill has that much less to work with. I think the other QB's are simply out playing him at this point. I don't think it's really that much to worry about in his first full season as a starter... just trying to put it in a perspective that many like to cling to.

I totally agree with this. Even now I would draft Luck with the overall #1 pick. RGIII body will break down due to his style of play.

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Can't just keep using one game as an example. In other games he has hit the open guy or put the throw in places where the receiver could make the catch. Just like someone can't keep saying the Seattle game defines Tannehill's season because on several other occasions he blew it in the 4th quarter. That was the funny thing about Schefter's comments, he mentioned every bad game down the stretch but omitted the Seattle game.

Look, you can hedge by adding a good back up but its way too soon to start being definitive on the kid. It might take 3-4 years, but lets have the process play out.

Who does not want the process to play out?

If you're saying its going to take 3-4 years for him to show improvement, good luck. If I'm Philbin and I don't see more out of him by week 16, I make QB a priority in the draft. Until they find the guy that's going to turn the average people around him into stars, this team isn't going to win anything meaningful. Look at the .500 Broncos from 2011. Look at Indy the year Manning was out. Sorry, but a good QB hides a lot of talent issues.

But you would have given up on SOOOO many great QB's if their coaches had taken that approach...

There are prob. 5x the busts than the ones that sit and become great. BTW, that's oldschool thinking. The last Qb that sat was Rodgers and that's because they had Farve. The other example was Brees/Rivers and that was what 8 years ago? You know what? Good for SD for taking an insurance policy. It's either you can play or you are replaced in this day and age. Ben, Rivers, Eli, Locker, Dalton, Sanchez, RG3, Wilson, RT, Foles they all played in their rookie years. Kaepernick in SF sat a year, but he was the "future" not the present. We don't have that luxury.

So did Josh Freeman

He is not going to be the answer in TB. His acuracy makes RTs look like Brady. He left so many plays on the field Sunday. I was there, 40yrd line club level.

I just meant in terms of their play. Eli stunk his rookie season. So did Josh Freeman.

You gave 2 examples and I gave you half the league. lol

To invest in a different QB based off of what we've seen is beyond a ridiculous over reaction.

I agree 100%, but let's not be blind and put all our eggs into 1 basket. Let me know if the Skins are happy they got Cousins in the 3rd or 4th rd of the draft. My thoughts are RT has potetial, I also think that we should draft a QB in every draft. What is our QB position gonna look like next year anyway? RT and Delvin?

The run support is on par???? What are you talking about???? Washington and Seattle have elite 1,200 yard runningbacks on their team. Wilson and RG3 are scrambling quarterbacks. They have an obvious advantage over us in the running game. The only team you can make an arguement is for the Colts, but they're a team that is obviously content to let Luck throw the ball 50+ times a game so he can learn (something I think we should do with Tannehill at least twice before the season is over).

While I do think we have a solid trio of runningbacks who can obviously tote it, we lack the offensive line to consistently open up the rushing lanes for them. Until our offensive line can execute the zone blocking system we'll never be up to par with these other teams (Redskins / Seahawks).

Also, with regards to the passing game. While Fasano is quietly having a nice season, the rest of our receiver corps is far behind these other teams. Our wideouts (Hartline, Bess, Moore) have three touchdowns combined. Every single one of those teams has at least two receivers who have three touchdowns or more by themselves. It's obvious that our wideout group is lacking and very far behind these other teams. We're very thin at the positions. We have a slot wideout (Bess) lined up on the outside on more than half of our plays because we lack a second outside option. You don't see things like that on those other teams. They have three to four clearly established receivers on each of those teams.

Your arguement is very thin in my opinion. Tannehill's situation is extremely different to these other rookie quarterbacks. While he's been able to have a little success this year, it's still clearly obvious that he needs help, especially on the o-line and at receiver.

Our coaches like Devlin. He could be another Flynn type in a season or two.

I meant in terms of him reaching his full potential. He could be a top 15 QB the next year or two and get Miami to the playoffs. A lot of us would be happy with that.

EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!

same with Cam Newton Dave

he just put a long ball right on the money during the Niner game to Marlon Moore for a perfect drop, but that won't get mentioned.

You mean kind of like how you don't want to talk about his misses?

I mean c'mon man.

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At the end of the day whats it really matter how he does, or what he turns into. I see nothing right now that leads me to believe change is coming...

Figure if Schefter is right by the end of the 2014 season we will probably start reading about the jet trips to court the next up and coming college coach, or maybe Gruden will come out of the booth......

But for now, and the next season or two I will assume we are all in with this kid. I will continue to hope he is able to overcome it all and come out on top...

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Caution: Reply may contain sarcasm

Or the sure fire touchdown where Hartline let the defender who was laying on the ground trip him up by the shoelaces.

Nobody wants to talk about the difficult situation Tannehill was in against the 49ers (best D in the NFL in my opinion). They don't want to talk about the lack of a run game he had to deal with. They don't want to talk about how Bess and Hartline had mediocre games. They don't want to talk about the inconsistent blocking he had to deal with all day. They just want to complain about his numbers. They just want to whine about how every other rookie in the NFL that isn't wearing a Dolphins jersey seems to be having a magical season and meanwhile Tannehill is going through typical rookie season struggles.

Tell me what the excuse was for the Tennessee game again? ....or most of that pathetic stretch against subpar teams....

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Philbin's countenance exudes confidence!
1984 was so long ago...Will there ever be another rainbow?

Or the sure fire touchdown where Hartline let the defender who was laying on the ground trip him up by the shoelaces.

Or when he hit Bess for a sure TD and the 30 yrd line tripped him up.