Plan A for me was Tannehill at #8. It was actually the only plan that wouldn't have disappointed me on draft day. So you could imagine how satisfied I was. Hadn't really ever been that nervous about a draft pick ever. Or praying no one(QB starved team) would trade ahead of Miami to draft him. My excitement was as if we just beat the Jets in the last seconds of playoff game. It's much easier to say this now that they've been doing well, but looking back on acquiring Philbin, Sherman, Taylor, and Tannehill is kind of brilliant. Still amazes me how it was a foregone conclusion that Tannehill needed to sit for a year given those circumstances.
that was a good call.. I agree on the connections... I don't think we're talking about how cool the process was to aquire all these harmonious pieces and how that can impact development and execution, exponentially. I wonder how early in the process Philbin had his offensive blueprint in place, and I wonder if Ireland knew about this connective tree during the process of hiring Philbin..
I live in Columbia, SC right now, Lattimore is a great kid, terrible that this happened to him. Horrific injury, I can't watch it again. I think he should never play again.
I think there's a way to run that really minimizes your injury risk. I'm talking about being very judicious where your QB gets 20 - 25 yds per game. It has to be in situations where the QB can just steal yards b/c it is so open. It most often arises against man defense where the D has their back turned and you can steal a first down. I think that doing that puts great pressure on the D. Sometimes it scares them enough that they stick to a zone most of the game. Or you use the roll out where the QB keeps it and runs for 5 yards before going out of bounds. That might make the D-end pause a beat before rushing the QB or crashing down on the RB dive. Anything that make the defense think and more one-dimensional is an advantage. But it has to be judicious. I think RG3 is putting that kind of pressure on the D, but is taking too many hits. And I thought that in college he showed poor pocket awareness and took too many hits already. I think the offense he's in protects him to a degree. But he struggles when you raise the percentage of 5 step and 7 step drops. In the end I saw a risk there I wasn't comfortable using extra picks for. I thought RG3's pure passing and QBing was more developed than RT's, but not enough for me to spend multiple 1sts to get. And I said before the draft, that risk was enough of a concern for me that I might have taken RT ahead of RG3 if they had both been available in the same spot.
It sucks watching any player get hurt, but when it's a truly special player it's quite disheartening knowing his elite potential might never be seen. Poor kid's gotta be broken mentally knowing his dreams, the type of rare dream that 99.9999999999999% never have a shot at, might be shattered.
19 College starts is generally an indicator that a QB needs more time to develop before being handed an NFL starting job. Some of the most spectacular QB draft busts have been from guys with all the measurable skills but limited playing time in college. Having the college coach and system the same obviously helps but there is more to RTs development than just that. - Having played WR whilst in college before becoming the starting QB. True it isn't the same as playing QB but it does mean he was deeply involved in the passing game not sitting on a bench watching games. Also I think it gives him a deeper and better understanding of what the receivers are doing. - He has a good internal clock. Something Dan Marino talks about as being essential for a QB. You can see it when he starts moving in the pocket before the defenders start breaking down the pocket because he knows how long he has to throw the ball given the blocking scheme. - He has very good anticipation. In the NFL if you wait until your receiver is open then you are throwing the ball too late (see Chad Henne, checkdown). He's willing to throw the ball while the receiver is in the process of getting open, which is what you need to do to make momentum shifting plays in the NFL. I think his playing time at WR has helped this out too. - His ability to recognise defences and make adjustments is up there with a veteran QB's, and given time I can only think that can improve. I'm not willing to anoint him the greatest QB since Marino yet, but he shares a lot of the mental qualities that Jay Fiedler and Chad Pennington brought to the team but with a much better arm and legs. The best case scenario for the 'phins is that he has Bob Griese's head, David Woodley's legs and Dan Marino's arm.
that's good stuff...as much as I love RGs game, I have to admit, I understated completely the risk factor of injury in that evaluation..Tannehills mere instinct to want to execute every play from the pocket lowers his risk of injury a heck of a lot more than RG.. Damn he's good tho Raf.
Now that almost half the season is over, it is time to admit that Ireland made a mistake when he traded Brandon Marshall. So far Marshall is on course to have his best season since he entered the NFL. The Dolphins so far used one of their picks from the Bears to draft Egnew, who can't get off the inactive list. Marshall may have had his issues, but he is still much better than any other receiver now on the Dolphins. I can only imagine how much more effective Tannehill would be right now if he had Marshall, Hartline, and Bess as his three top receivers to throw to. Marshall also seems to have matured this year and he hasn't been the same disruptive individual he was while playing with the Broncos and Dolphins. It is a shame this coaching staff didn't want to try and work with him, before sending him to the Bears for two third round draft picks.
I don't think thats necessarily the case. I think what Marshall is showing is that he and Cutler continue to work well together. I would be concerned that Tannehill's progress as an NFL QB would have Marshall's influence directing it instead of taking a natural path. I think looking for all receivers at all times is much better for a young QB than focusing on one all of the time cause he's chirping in your ear.
I think Pouncey is an awesome player. His mum and dad have great football genetics. Luck has hads to scramble alot, Tanny hasnt had to do that yet. Its in his locker. Remember hes an ex WR. The fact he hasnt had a pocket breakdown is testiment to his OLine.
Tannehill has taken some pretty big shots if you look back. You can't question the Kid's toughness. That has been a big positive so far.
Agree. He can take a hit. I think he can break a long run if the situations dictates it. I just dont want another 3int day. Poor weather imo males me think its in our favor. No turnovers!!!
at the end of the day, you can look at tannehill and say that we have a REAL leader at qb. a guy that we all believe in, a guy whose team believes in him. Its hard to explain but to better describe what i mean by this, he gives off this vibe and has the intangibles that reminds me of the absolute opposite of chad henne and more similar to some of the best qbs in the league. That in itself gives him the edge to be a great qb. He is not scared of ANYTHING.... I think it was a great decision to throw him in at starter from week 1
