Tannehill proving Dolphins so wrong
Titans QB showing patience, fighting adversity can pay off
The Tennessee Titans started the season 2-4, got tired of being patient with Marcus Mariota, the quarterback they selected second overall in the 2015 NFL draft, and handed the keys to the franchise to a discarded quarterback they picked up off the Miami Dolphins’ trash heap.
Ryan Tannehill, who the Dolphins traded to the Titans last offseason for a swap of lateround picks in a package that required Miami send $5 million to the Titans to unload their expensive underachiever, became the starter in Week 7 of the regular season and not only revived his career, but led the Titans to the playoffs.
He was the highest-rated quarterback (117.5) in 2019, completing 70.3 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,742 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. Tannehill led Tennessee to a 7-3 regular-season finish while running an offense custom-fitted for his skill set, and has quarterbacked the Titans to two straight playoff upsets while throwing for 160 total yards.
He’s one victory away from leading the Titans to a Super Bowl hosted by his former city, and the Patience Brigade — his loyal fan base of Dolphins supporters who waited seven seasons for him to become this quarterback — deserve to take their victory lap.
They told us.
See what happens when Tannehill has an elite offensive line, a physical running game, and an offense built off rollouts, bootlegs and a play-action passing attack?
Why didn’t that happen in Miami?
Did the Dolphins not build the right teams around him, and were they not patient enough?
Shouldn’t Tannehill’s success in Tennessee make Miami’s decision-makers question themselves for failing him?
Yet, during Tannehill’s tenure Miami made Branden Albert the highest-paid offensive linemen in the NFL, and had an offensive line that featured three firstround picks — Mike Pouncey, Ja’Wuan James and Laremy Tunsil — on it.
So resources were put into building a respectable offensive line.
During Tannehill’s tenure in Miami the Dolphins had two tailbacks in Lamar Miller and Jay Ajayi deliver 1,000-yard rushing seasons, and Reggie Bush was just 14 yards shy of getting past the 1,000-yard threshold in 2012.
So a running game was usually present. During Tannehill’s seven seasons in Miami the Dolphins made Mike Wallace the NFL’s highest-paid receiver, Tannehill helped Brian Hartline become the fifth Dolphins player to produce back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, and Jarvis Landry began his run as a five-time Pro Bowler with Tannehill as his quarterback.
Wallace, Hartline and Landry were all on the same team in 2014, as was tight end Charles Clay, so Miami had weapons during Tannehill’s era.
So why weren’t the Dolphins able to do what the Titans are achieving with Tannehill this season? Every level-headed Dolphins fan should be asking themselves, the organization, and the media that covers them — and often criticized Tannehill that.
The only justifiable answer this longstanding Tannehill critic can provide is coaching, injuries — and time.
Joe Philbin, the coach who drafted Tannehill and coached him for his first four seasons, was in over his head. Philbin was destined for failure, no matter who was at quarterback — unless it was a Hallof-Fame talent like Aaron Rodgers, who was the sole reason the former Green Bay Packers assistant got hired by the Dolphins.
Philbin was supposed to turn Tannehill into Rodgers. Then Tannehill got Peyton Manning’s former play-caller. Adam Gase helped Tannehill play some of his best football in 2016 and 2018, before his injuries — two years lost because of a knee, and half a season in 2018 because of a shoulder — derailed three of Tannehill’s seasons in Miami.
Maybe Miami would have seen this quarterback if Tannehill had been able to stay healthy during that stretch, and maybe it would be the Dolphins who knocked the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens out of the playoffs, and are preparing to play in the AFC Championship game.
We might also be underestimating the growth and development Tannehill has undergone since moving to Tennessee, which seems to be a city, team, and pressure-light environment that suits him.
Knowing that he’s playing for his NFL future and fighting to prove that he’s more than an NFL backup or journeyman, and someone worth another $100 million contract can’t hurt either.
When another franchise pays millions for you to go away it must serve as a reality check, a wake-up call — and most importantly provide fuel to prove them wrong.
Tannehill has never uttered one bad word about the Dolphins. That’s not in his character. It’s not his makeup, and maybe he’ll be the first to admit his disappointing tenure with the Dolphins wasn’t Miami’s fault.
The relationship had run its course, and like all failed marriages or relationships, he took the good and the bad in stride, and learned from both. Tannehill grew from the opening chapters of his career, and used all the lessons and experiences to make himself a better quarterback.
Hopefully the Dolphins and their fan base will do the same, watch Tannehill thrive and cheer him on as he continues to prove that sometimes patience and fighting through adversity does pay off.