Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Getting aggressive
Dolphins QB Tannehill taking more chances.
DAVIE — Ryan Tannehill wears a black brace on his left leg.
It’s the only reminder from last year, when the Miami DolDown phins’ quarterback sprained two ligaments in his left knee in December and missed the final four games of the team’s season, including a wild-card playoff loss to Pittsburgh.
The brace hardly seems to bother Tannehill, and through the first six days of training camp, his teammates think he’s being even more aggressive with it on.
“He’s making really hard throws in really tight coverage,” defensive back Bobby McCain said Wednesday. “And that’s good to see.”
Entering his second season with coach Adam Gase and his sixth year as a starter in the NFL, players have noticed that Tannehill is taking more chances.
On his throws. In the pocket. the field. “Definitely,” McCain said. That continued during Wednesdays practice, where
Tannehill routinely completed tight passes across the middle of the field to receiver Jarvis Landry and took a few shots down the field in the end zone. He also looked nimble in the pocket, occasionally scrambling for positive yards in 11-on-11 drills.
“Coach Gase wants me to push myself, wants me to take chances, test my limits,” Tannehill said. “We want to push those limits.”
Tannehill said he tries to test himself during practice anytime he can. If he sees a tight window or if he notices one-on-one coverage down the field, he’ll throw it, even if they may be throws he wouldn’t have attempted last year or even if he wouldn’t try them in an actual game.
“The closer we get to games, the more we’ll tighten things up and start protecting the football just a little bit more,” Tannehill said, “but right now we’re finding those boundaries.”
That includes testing his receiver’s limits, especially in trying to incorporate former Jacksonville tight end Julius Thomas into the offense and helping thirdyear receiver DeVante Parker make another leap from his career-high 56 receptions last year.
But Tannehill also wants to improve on the strong chemistry he has built with Landry and Kenny Stills. Landry is coming off his second consecutive season with at least 1,000 receiving yards, while Stills led all Miami receivers with nine touchdowns last year, the most in his four seasons in the NFL.
“He has a great trust with those guys. They’ve been working together longer than I’ve been working with them,” Gase said. “I think it’s just challenging yourself to do things that you haven’t really done in games yet, taking chances and seeing what you can do and what you can’t do.”
Tannehill said it helps that he feels secure in Gase’s system and with his role on the team, one where he has more freedom to control the offense, dictate the tempo and express his thoughts.
“Coach Gase has given me the freedom to be myself,” Tannehill said. “He has my back.”
Tannehill added that he’s finally getting the chance to lead the team the way he wants to lead it, and said he’s having more fun doing it.
“I think I’ve seen our team grow because of that,” Tannehill said.
That was evident during Monday’s practice, when Tannehill stopped the offense in between drills and pulled his teammates aside. He thought they had no energy, they were being careless and that the defense was outperforming them. And he told them.
“I felt everyone relaxing,” Tannehill said. “We don’t have time to relax.”
That’s a message Tannehill has continually tried to stress to his offense.
Tannehill and Gase will continue to take chances on throws and test the offense’s limits throughout training camp in an effort to improve on last year’s first-round playoff loss.
“I have a fire and a competitive spirit and a drive to win,” Tannehill said. “That’s always been a part of me.”