Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
STILL ALL IN ON TANNEHILL?
Quarterback’s numbers say he’s the same average signal caller he has been — no matter what Dolphins coach Adam Gase says
So now you know: Dolphins coach Adam Gase rides or dies with quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
He said Thursday how Tannehill has, “some rare qualities you can’t find in a lot of guys.” He asked, “Where’s our ceiling at? I don’t think we’re there yet …We keep finding ways to maximize his skill set.”
He said of those who think it’s time for a change after seven years (raising my hand again), “What qualifications do the people saying that have? None. So I don’t care what they’re talking about.”
It was all noble, if oddly foolish, because unless Tannehill becomes Aaron Rodgers the rest of this year, the Dolphins can’t enter an eighth year with him expecting something better.
Where, again, is the vision? It’s all yesterday with this franchise. Maybe it was used up by Joe Thomas, the talent evaluator extraordinaire who stocked the Dolphins with Hall of Fame players for their Super Bowl runs of the 1970s.
Thomas did odd things to judge quarterbacks. He mixed with reporters at Bob Griese’s locker after the Rose Bowl to study the Purdue quarterback’s demeanor. He went to Gainesville and watched Steve Spurrier play Solitaire in a lawyer’s office. Who knows why?
Thomas also did something still relevant to these times. Each year, he compared every Dolphins position to their divisional counterparts. If they didn’t match up, he prioritized finding an upgrade.
For the past 17 years, the only thing more amazing than New England quarterback Tom Brady’s excellence is how no AFC East team has found a quarterback to challenge him. Not conquer him, considering Brady’s greatness. But just give his team a regular chance against Brady.
For the past seven seasons, Tannehill hasn’t challenged. His last chance, he took a 3-0 team to Foxborough, fumbled a snap that changed the game and led an offense that didn’t score a point. Disappointing days happen. But year after year?
Tannehill is hurt Sunday, so it’s Brock Osweiler who becomes this franchise’s 18th starter in the years A.B. (After Brady). Sunday’s opponent, the New York Jets, are up to their 15th in rookie Sam Darnold in that span. Buffalo rookie Josh Allen is the Bills’ 17th starter this millennium.
That’s the simple answer to why the Patriots thump The Leftovers in this division. Year after year, quarterback after quarterback, against most odds and all logic, The Leftovers haven’t found a consistently good quarterback, much less a great one.
By now, the idea isn’t to challenge Brady. It’s to succeed him. It’s to have someone ready for when Brady starts acting his age, assuming, at 41, he ever does. The Jets and Bills did something rare in that regard last offseason. They drafted top 10 quarterbacks and crossed their fingers.
You can grade Darnold and Allen on rookie curves and argue whatever you want about their futures. Who knows?
But we know Tannehill’s future. It’s his past at this point. Some good. Some bad. Some not his fault. Mostly, meh.
He works hard. He’s the ultimate team player. He’s also an eternal step away. Why would you invest an eighth season in a quarterback who turns 31, has a body now breaking down and has shown good flashes mixed with regular mediocrity?
Said Gase: “We have an athletic guy that can move around like he can, and his arm strength is something I’ve never been around, where we hit like the pass against Tennessee where we threw 50-plus yards in the air and the guy [Kenny Stills] never breaks strides.
And: “He has some rare qualities you can’t find in a lot of guys, physically, and the more he keeps playing the more he keeps learning game to game.”
And: “It’s hard to defend him when you don’t know what he’s going to do. Is he going to be zone read? Is he going to sprint out? Is he going to run naked? Is he going to play-action? Is it drop back? Are we going to run the ball?”
After seven years, the numbers say otherwise. They say he’s the 20th-rated passer this year (92.9). They say he ranks 17th in the catch-all of yards-per-attempt (7.54). They say he led a point-challenged offense and was efficient in three wins at home and awful in two losses on the road.
Where’s that quarterback Gase sees?
Where, again, is the vision in this franchise?
You expect coaches to defend players. But there’s can be nuance between defending and going forever in like Gase did Thursday. Yes, he knows quarterbacks. But does he know talent?
Jay Cutler played 11 mostly disappointing years, but was hired by Gase to save last season. Cutler’s 12th year failed like most of his previous 11. Would Tannehill’s eighth year defy his previous seven?
One more musty, old Thomas story. He took Kentucky quarterback Rick Norton with theNo. 1 draft pick to start the Dolphins in 1966. He then took Griese with the fourth pick in 1967. Reporters grilled him for taking another quarterback.
“I’m going to keep taking one until I get one,’’ he said.
That’s a blueprint to follow.