How much credit does Ryan Tannehill really deserve for the turnaround of the Miami Dolphins in 2016?
After a nightmare start to the season, the Miami Dolphins have been hot lately. The team has fully recovered from the slow start, and are now a game above .500 for the first time all season. We all know that the NFL is a quarterback-driven league. They get too much of the blame when things are going poorly and too much of the credit when things go well. Such is the case with Ryan Tannehill.
When the Dolphins were struggling, pundits across the Internet—myself included—were quick to jump all over Tannehill. It seemed like every other day brought someone calling for Tannehill’s head. Now that the Dolphins have turned the season around, those same pundits are writing think-piece after think-piece espousing the virtues of Tannehill. Claiming that he’s finally living up to the monster contract the Dolphins brass gave him to head the franchise.
But is he really? How much of the credit really deserves to go to the young quarterback?
Tannehill has not thrown for over 300 yards during the Dolphins four-game winning streak. He only has three touchdowns in the last four games. During the win against the division rival New York Jets, Tannehill failed to eclipse 150 passing yards.
To Tannehill’s credit, he has cut down on the turnovers, not throwing a single interception during the team’s recent hot streak. He has also significantly reduced the number of sacks. Tannehill has been sacked only three times in the last four games, this after suffering 11 sacks in the two games prior to the streak.
Much of the credit should, but won’t, go to the offensive line. This is the main reason the Dolphins have turned their season around. With the return of Mike Pouncey, and a healthy Branden Albert, the change in the Dolphins offense has been night-and-day. Prior to these two returning, the Dolphins couldn’t open a hole for a running back to save their life. Tannehill was lucky if he had two seconds to throw the ball.
Now that those two are back and the Dolphins have the offensive line combination they envisioned, running back Jay Ajayi has been playing at an All-Pro level. Tannehill has time in the pocket to survey the field and occasionally drive the ball downfield to DeVante Parker and Kenny Stills. Without Pouncey and Albert, the Dolphins are likely looking at losing at least two of the last four games, if not all four.
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The other big reason for the Dolphins winning ways is the resurgence of the front four, specifically the combination of Ndamukong Suh, Cameron Wake, and Mario Williams. In the past four games, these three have been a nightmare for offensive coordinators. If you’re going to talk about anyone on the Dolphins roster living up to a big contract, it should be Suh. Suh has been a monster on the inside of the line and both Williams and Wake have benefited in a big way.
Wake, coming off an Achilles injury, finally looks to be completely recovered and playing at full speed. And the difference is staggering. Wake has been an absolute monster. He’s notched multiple sacks in three of the four wins and added two forced fumbles in the Jets game.
Williams has also seen a significant uptick in his performance, though it’s not necessarily reflected in the stat sheet. He only has one sack on the season, coming in the first game against Seattle. Williams’ contribution in the past four games can easily be seen, however.
Watching the games, the pressure that Williams has been bringing jumps out, especially in the match-up against Buffalo. In the second half, Williams was everywhere. Make no mistake about it, Williams is playing extremely well.
The pressure that these guys have been able to put on opposing offenses has made the difference in both of the Dolphins’ last two wins. Tannehill had an abysmal game against the New York Jets, throwing for fewer than 150 yards. Ajayi followed up his back-to-back 200-yard performances with a respectable 111 yards on the ground against the Jets. But where that game was won was with defense.
The Dolphins defense was able to hold the Jets to only 3-of-11 on third down. They were also able to keep the Jets out of the end zone on all but one trip to the red zone. Strong defense won the game, not anything that Tannehill did.
The same can be said for last week’s game in San Diego. Miami won that game because of a strong defensive performance. Capping off the game was an interception for a touchdown by linebacker Kiko Alonso. Down the stretch, it almost looked as if Philip Rivers was trying to gift Miami the win, but the defense did their job and capitalized on the opportunities they were given.
None of this is to say that Ryan Tannehill is bad. He’s not. Tannehill is a serviceable quarterback, and he’s playing exactly the way that Miami needs him to. He’s being careful with the ball, isn’t making the big mistakes, and he’s not taking costly sacks. Tannehill’s managing the game and not doing anything to halt the recent hot streak.
But let’s pump the brakes on giving him the lion’s share of the credit for Miami’s resurrection. At the end of the day, this team is only going to go as far as the offensive and defensive lines take them. For right now, everything is clicking. How much longer it will be able to do so remains to be seen.
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