Quiet QB making the right noises in Miami
Think of the Miami Dolphins, and you will probably think of Dan Marino, the enigmatic quarterback who held almost every single record for a player in his position during his career. Or maybe Don Shula would spring to mind, the coach who led the franchise to two Super Bowl victories, which also included the NFL’s only perfect season. There are many more names linked forever in both the history of Dolphins football and the game itself.
Now, think of this year’s rookie quarterbacks and the names that spring to mind are Andrew Luck, who has been entrusted in getting the Indianaplois Colts over the post-Manning era, and he’s doing a good job so far. You may also think of Robert Griffin III, or RG3 as he’s more easily known. The explosive QB has more than turned heads in his first month in charge of the Offense in Washington.
If we put these two thoughts together we have the story of Ryan Tannehill. The 24 year old rookie QB out of Texas A&M, being placed in control of the future of the Miami Dolphins. He hasn’t come into the league on the back of a media circus like the others I’ve mentioned, but if we’re patient enough we may just see this be the real story of the season. Head Coach Joe Philbin has seen this youngster improve steadily in every game he’s played so far. A nervous start against Houston saw him throw three interceptions, fumble the ball once, and get sacked three times, but he bounced back the following week to stun Oakland with a near flawless game throwing and rushing for a touchdown, in a 35-13 win. Backing this up with decent play against the Jets and Cardinals in narrow defeats, and then his best game of the season just this past Sunday in Cincinnati. A rating of 92.3 as he completed 17 from 26 attempts for 223 yards. The Dolphins winning 17-13.
With a 2-3 record the Dolphins are probably ahead of schedule, most predictions saying that this would be their total wins for the whole season, but now with games against the Rams, Jets, Colts and Titans coming up, Miami could be in a good position to challenge through the halfway point of the year. Other teams and other players will grab the spotlight but this may suit Tannehill as he settles into his role, and if they acheive a winning record then this could be the start of Miami re-emerging as a force again.
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As a footnote to last week’s article about the condition of Jim McMahon, the NFL is this week investigating the condition of Washington QB Griffin after he was knocked unconscious during their loss to Atlanta. At the time, the Redskins reported him as a ‘questionable return during the game’ despite RG3 not knowing what the score was or what quarter they were playing in when asked these questions in the locker room. He is expected to make a full recovery for next week, but with the ongoing lawsuit the NFL needs everyone to be open and honest with player injury assessments of this kind.
