Ryan Tannehill years raise questions whether Lamar Jackson would’ve prospered with Dolphins | Opinion
Let’s address the elephant in the room: Ryan Tannehill had to go, OK?
He’s playing very well for the Tennessee Titans now. He took over as that team’s starting quarterback from Marcus Mariota and, suddenly, he’s a stud. He has completed 72.1 percent of his passes and has thrown 10 touchdowns to four interceptions. His quarterback rating is 111.4, or 18 points above his previous career high.
Tannehill is playing like a franchise quarterback.
And the Miami Dolphins — the team that paid him $5 million and then traded him and a sixth-round pick for a fourth- and seventh-round pick — still need a franchise quarterback.
So you know what comes next, right?
No you don’t.
I wish Tannehill well. It’s awesome his career is on such a massive upswing after the past few seasons of struggle. But I didn’t magically forget those struggles the past six weeks. And neither should you.
Tannehill played seven seasons in Miami.
Seven.
And he had significant injuries in each of the past three. And he regressed on the field each of the past three seasons he played (not including 2017, which he missed completely with a knee injury). And the Dolphins were on the hook for $26 million to keep Tannehill, that Tannehill, on the roster this season.
So forgive me if I do not rewrite history and say Tannehill deserved to remain in Miami. Because he did not based on his performances.
And now let me tell you one issue the Tannehill work does raise: The idea that Dolphins players often leave here and go elsewhere to play better. Or come from elsewhere after playing well and struggle here.
We have seen this through the years across multiple coaching staffs.
We saw it with linebacker Karlos Dansby who was better in Arizona before he came to Miami, then was better in Arizona again after he was cut by Miami.
We saw it with receiver Mike Wallace, who was better in Pittsburgh before he came to Miami, washed out with the Dolphins, and then was better in Baltimore after he left.
We saw it with linebacker Lawrence Timmons, tight end Jordan Cameron, receiver Rishard Matthews, linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, running back Lamar Miller and others. We’re seeing it now with defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, who has seven sacks for the Buffalo Bills, and Billy Turner, who is a starting guard in Green Bay.
We’re seeing it now with defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, who is a borderline Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Pittsburgh but this Dolphins staff wanted to move him around without settling on a position the player was comfortable playing.
We’re seeing it now with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick who produced better during all his stops the past decade in Tampa, Houston, Tennessee, and with the New York Jets, than he’s producing this season with the Dolphins.
We’re seeing it in quarterback Josh Rosen, who struggled mightily as a rookie in Arizona last season, still put up better numbers there than he has so far this year with the Dolphins.
And, yes, some of that is about the supporting cast the Dolphins put around players. That’s fair.
But the idea that other teams develop players better or put them in positions to succeed better than the Dolphins is a fair topic to explore. It certainly seems that’s a part of it.
This, by the way, is very important.
That’s because the Dolphins for the next several years will be bringing players into the organization who will be highly drafted or highly paid. The Dolphins have three first-round picks and two second-round picks in the 2020 draft; they have two first-round and two second-round picks in 2021; and they have more than $100 million in salary cap space for 2020.
So if they’re going to rise from their current 2-9 doldrums the Dolphins have to develop players better than they have and put players in positions to succeed better than they have.
And then there’s this: Lately, Dolphins fans have been wringing hands and gnashing teeth because the Dolphins did not draft quarterback Lamar Jackson in the 2018 draft.
The Dolphins had the 11th pick in the first round that year and selected Minkah Fitzpatrick. Jackson went to the Baltimore Ravens with the No. 32 overall selection.
And now Jackson has developed into a dynamic MVP candidate who runs an offense that is part college option, part downhill runs, part zone reads, part read option, part pistol, and fully unorthodox.
And he’s doing this behind an outstanding offensive line and No. 1 rushing attack.
So what Dolphins fan actually believes their team would have done the same if the team picked Jackson? The Dolphins, who don’t have a great history of developing players like other teams, would have developed Jackson similarly to how the Ravens have?
Really?
I have a hard time believing that because we have seen how quite the opposite would have probably happened.
Just look at how that’s going with Ryan Tannehill.
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 1:41 PM.
