IamPZ wrote:
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.
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.