USA TODAY International Edition
Dolphins’ Gase may give Tannehill boost
New coach and new offensive system aside, Ryan Tannehill doesn’t want to overcomplicate his explanation of how the Miami Dolphins can apply lessons from last year’s mess to do better under coach Adam Gase.
“It’s not like we’re trying to fricking split an atom here,” Tannehill told USA TODAY Sports recently, sitting after practice at Dolphins headquarters. “It’s little things that ultimately help us play a little better and we’ll win a few more games.
“If I improve this much,” the fifth- year quarterback added, holding the tips of his thumb and index finger a half- inch apart, “then hopefully I push the guys around me to improve that much, and then we’re going to be in a whole new spot.”
It’s reasonable to think Tannehill can resume an upward trajectory under Gase, whose work with quarterbacks, including Peyton Manning and Jay Cutler, was a selling point in getting the job.
Statistically, Tannehill was headed that way before the 2015 tumult: coach Joe Philbin’s firing four games in, offensive coordinator Bill Lazor’s dismissal less than two months later and a tonguelashing from Tannehill to Dolphins practice squad members that became public. Tannehill’s completion rate dipped ( 61.9%), but he set career highs in yards ( 4,208) and yards per pass ( 7.2) with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Tannehill, 27, is an ascending player with enviable physical traits. He’s known as a grinder. And while consistency has been elusive, for him and a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2008, the new regime seems to have genuine belief in Tannehill, evidenced by two shifts:
Unlike Philbin at times, Gase has had no problem saying publicly Tannehill is his quarterback. “I understand it’s a business at the end of the day, so if you’re not performing, then they have to look for someone to replace you,” Tannehill said. “But right now, I feel like Adam has my back 100%. It’s definitely a little bit of a changeup for me, so I enjoy it.”
Unlike Lazor, who replaced Mike Sherman after Tannehill’s second season, Gase wants to empower his quarterback to make adjustments. “He kind of gave me the keys and said, ‘ Go play,’ ” Tannehill said. “We’ve slowly built on what we’re doing, but he gives the quarterback a lot of freedom, and that’s one of the beauties of this offense. I think that’s one of the most exciting things for me is being able to have that influence in game- planning and putting my brain together with Gase.”
Could there be mind games at play? Sure. Having signed a fouryear, $ 77 million contract extension before last season, Tannehill was Miami’s guy in 2016 no matter what. Doing anything but throwing the full weight of the franchise behind him could be counterproductive. The same could’ve been said a year ago about Cutler, whose guaranteed salary and a lack of viable alternatives kept him with the Chicago Bears. In Cutler’s lone season under Gase, he posted a career- best 92.3 passer rating despite injuries that depleted his receiver group.
“I know I put a lot on ( Tannehill’s) plate, and it’s almost to the point where it’s probably too much this fast,” Gase said during June’s minicamp. “But I want to see … where the breaking point is, and he keeps battling and he keeps doing things ( well) in practice.”
The Dolphins have won 29 of Tannehill’s 64 career starts. It’s not hard to find drives ( a rally past the Atlanta Falcons in 2013) and games ( home wins vs. the New England Patriots the last three seasons, with Tannehill posting passer ratings of 120.6 and 112.8 in two of them) to stoke optimism.
Fundamentally, Gase and his staff have focused on Tannehill’s footwork, movement in the pocket and keeping his body in good throwing position. The line looks like the best Tannehill has played behind, which figures to help as a young skill group sorts itself out.
Tannehill’s contract runs through 2020, but he’s approach- ing a key trigger: After making $ 9.34 million this season, his salary jumps to $ 17.975 million in 2017, with just $ 3.5 million fully guaranteed until next March. He acknowledges this season is important. “But I’m not putting myself under the weight of the world,” he said. “I have a drive to go out and succeed and drive this team to win, but I’m not stressing at night, like ‘ This has to be the best year ever.’ ”
Another change is coming: Tannehill’s wife, Lauren, is pregnant with the couple’s first child. He is in a different place personally and professionally from when the Dolphins drafted him eighth overall in 2012 out of Texas A& M, where he mostly played receiver until midway through his junior year.
“I’ve learned a lot of football over the past four years,” Tannehill said. “I’ve had a lot of negative things that have happened that we’ve been able to learn from, that I’ve been able to learn from, both on and off the football field. You build on those things.
“To have a guy like Gase come in who really commands an offense and brings the attacking mind- set each and every day to practice and games — he really wants to find the weaknesses in defenses and exploit those — I feel like it’s coming at a great time for me.”