Tag Archive for: Ryan Tannehill

Ryan Tannehill came back from…. Adam Gase?

/0 Comments/in /by

This is somewhat confusing.

It’s never been entirely clear what a Comeback Player of the Year is in major sports. Come back from what? Drugs? Tragedy? Incompetence of a team’s management?

This is one reason why the NBA changed the award to Most Improved Player a few years back.

So it’s tough to know what to make of now-Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill winning the award at NFL Honors on Saturday in Miami, during Super Bowl LIV week.

Tannehill, after all, was never terrible.

He hasn’t endured a tragedy.

He has had two significant injuries, yes, but nothing that was considered career-threatening.

So can we say that what he came back from was…. playing for the Miami Dolphins under Joe Philbin and Adam Gase?

Either way, Tannehill did have a solid season. Better than solid. Aided by an elite offensive line and bruising runner (Derrick Henry), a combination he never really had in Miami — 2016 with Jay Ayaji was closest — Tannehill did more than game manage. He led the league in some categories after taking over from Marcus Mariota. And he didn’t mess up as Henry carried the load and the Titans to the AFC Championship Game before they were exposed against Kansas City.

Still, Comeback Player of the Year?

Seems a stretch — just as it’s a stretch to expect Tannehill to be a top-5 quarterback next season.

Ryan Tannehill One Game from Super Bowl (in Miami!)

/0 Comments/in /by

How to feel about this?

There’s never been a seven-year itch quite like what was caused by Ryan Tannehill’s tenure as Miami Dolphins quarterback, the itch to see something new. He was good here, but never great, and just as he started to get closer — playing at a higher level during a 8-5 start to the 2016 season under Adam Gase — he got hurt, missed a season, returned and got hurt again. So even the durability argument, the one that was always in his favor, was lost.

Remember?

That was the shoulder, after the knee.

Most agreed that it was time to move on.

Even those who didn’t think Tannehill was terrible.

 

But now, what to make of Tannehill moving on to the AFC Championship in his first season as a Tennessee Titan, with the Dolphins paying most of his salary?

 

How to handle the possibility of Tannehill going on the road for a third time, now against either Kansas City or the Laremy Tunsil/Kenny Stills Houston Texans, and playing in Steve Ross’s stadium for Super Bowl LIV? And how much does it matter that Tannehill has thrown for about half as many yards in the Titans’ two playoff wins as teammate Derrick Henry has rushed for? (Check Luis Sung’s excellent column on Henry’s free agency and the Dolphins here).

Here are some of the top Tanny takes from Twitter:

 

A meme got put to good use:

There was Tua talk, of course, especially with the Alabama QB in Miami for the weekend:

 

And this from Jeff Darlington, who knows Tannehill as well as any national reporter, probably sums it up best:

Ryan Fitzpatrick’s bomb to DeVante Parker was the longest pass of Week 13

/0 Comments/in , /by

In a season of lows, Ryan Fitzpatrick has provided some excitement for Dolphins fans. Miami has won three of its last five games and Fitzpatrick is a crucial part of the recent run.

Sunday’s 37-31 win over Philadelphia was no different. Fitzpatrick finished the afternoon with three touchdowns and 365 yards. His favorite target on the day was DeVante Parker, who caught seven receptions for 159 yards and two touchdowns.

Fitzpatrick showcased his big arm on a third and 13 from Miami’s 40-yard line that went 52.4 yards through the air and ended in Parker’s arms for a long completion.

Parker and Fitzpatrick have developed quite the rapport. Parker already has career highs in yards and touchdowns. He also caught touchdowns in three-straight games earlier in the season. Keep in mind, there are still four games remaining in the 2019 season.

Fitzpatrick’s big performance was noticed by the league as he was nominated for the FedEx Air & Ground player of the week award.

Madden also added a little Fitzmagic to the popular video game with a new Fitzpatrick card available in the Ultimate Team game mode.

It is also worth noting that Ryan Tannehill, the former quarterback with the Dolphins, was responsible for one of the week’s longest passes. Tannehill has been impressive with the Titans since taking over as the team’s starting quarterback. He has thrown 12 touchdowns to just four interceptions with a quarterback rating of 113.9.

The Titans are currently 7-5 and riding a three-game winning streak. They’re currently one game behind Houston and will play them twice over the seasons final four games.

Miami will look to end the season on a good note. They’ll head to New York on Sunday to face Adam Gase and the Jets. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

Ryan Tannehill is turning the corner… for Tennessee

/0 Comments/in /by

Maybe he just needed another seven years.

Or another month?

Either way, this is the most Miami Dolphins thing ever.

They have spent 19 years looking for Dan Marino’s replacement, so much so that executives and coaches accepted seven seasons of slightly-above-mediocrity from Ryan Tannehill, making excuse after excuse for his inconsistency, simply because he was better than some of the impostors who preceded him.

Finally, everyone, from owner Steve Ross on down, had enough. So, after Tannehill lost the last remaining argument for retention — durability — they let him walk, and he went to Tennessee ostensibly to back up Marcus Mariota. Mariota, however, has his own issues, and so Tannehill has replaced him.

And now Tannehill is 2-0, after beating Tampa Bay, 27-23, on Sunday.

Sorry, we had to get the Adam Gase mockery in there.

Tannehill, who had his best previous stretch under Gase in 2016 before getting hurt, has been sharp for the Titans.

What about the fade pattern he struggled to throw with the Dolphins?

Even our Luis Sung is impressed…

He seems to be enjoying himself, after South Florida got stale…

Look how comfortable he appears at his post game presser. He was a bit, shall we say, stiff, here.

 

And they love him in Tennessee…

So, are they getting suckered, or is this for real?

Is Tannehill, at last, on the fringe of elite?

Are we bored, during this lost Dolphins season, to be asking these questions?

Mike Tannenbaum

Former Dolphins executive Mike Tannenbaum offers baffling insight

/0 Comments/in , /by

Hindsight is always 20/20. It’s easy to look back and see what you should or should not have done in any given situation. That is a concept that every single person on this planet can relate to. This, of course, includes NFL executives. So when former Dolphins executive Mike Tannenbaum went on Twitter to offer insight on the NFL’s quarterback situation, some eyebrows were raised.

Obviously, stating that teams should draft a quarterback every year is ironic coming from Mike Tannenbaum. He acted as a consultant for the team during the 2014 season, and then was hired to be the team’s Executive VP of Football Operations in 2015. He was essential to the Dolphins landing Ndamukong Suh that same year. However, aside from that, Tannenbaum’s Miami tenure was filled with skepticism from fans and analysts.

This is where he dropped the above gem, regarding drafting a QB every year. However, if this is what Tannenbaum truly believes, then why did he not push harder for Miami to do the same? Even if the Dolphins truly believed Ryan Tannehill had what it takes to be a franchise quarterback, that should not have stopped them from drafting QBs if this is Tannenbaum’s philosophy.

Miami drafted only one QB during Tannenbaum’s tenure. In 2016, they selected Brandon Doughty out of Western Kentucky. He was selected in the seventh round, 223rd overall. That is not exactly a high ceiling pick.

Perhaps this adds credence to the reports that Chris Grier was ultimately in charge of drafting, and not Mike Tannenbaum. If so, hopefully Grier has learned a valuable lesson, as he’s in charge of rebuilding the Dolphins from the ground up.

Luis Sung has covered the Miami Dolphins for numerous outlets such as Dolphins Wire for six years. Follow him on Twitter: @LuisDSung

Who will step up as captains of the 2019 Miami Dolphins?

/0 Comments/in /by

After a preseason that saw the Dolphins purge their roster, they’re not only lacking talent, but also leadership and captains.

Miami rosters roughly 20 players that were on the team last season and first-year coach Brian Flores is looking to discover guys that his vision.

With players like Laremy Tunsil, Ryan Tannehill, Cameron Wake and John Denney no longer with the team, Flores spent the preseason looking for players who can step up as leaders and captains for a team that features one of the youngest rosters in the NFL.

When speaking to the media on Wednesday, Flores told reporters that the Dolphins are yet to name the team’s captains.

With everything we have heard this offseason, players like Jerome Baker and Xavien Howard seem like perfect candidates to lead the new era of the Miami Dolphins.

Will Ryan Fitzpatrick earn the title, despite having to play for his job on a week-by-week basis? Can Daniel Kilgore bounce back from an injury-shorted 2018 season and provide leadership for an offensive unit that has combined to start just 88 games?

Who would you like to see step on to the field as captains when the Dolphins welcome Baltimore to Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday?