I'm not sure what exactly the point of the thread was. Him blowing blocks the previous two weeks doesn't mean he wasn't playing well in that regard before. What exactly was the point of this thread, for people to pop up and say "Yeah sorry about that we made that up it didn't actually happen"
Tim Ryan has been a believer in Tannehill for quite some time actually. He was only going by what he saw, which was Tannehill holding the ball way to long at times, with open WR's he didnt notice, and taking unnecessary sacks, and not using his legs to make a play when things broke down. If you didn't see that yesterday, I dont know what to tel you then. As for the issue of DT and pass blocking, he had a few miscues again that lead to Tanny getting smoked, same as last week. Usually he's pretty good picking up blitzes, not so much the last few weeks. As for DT as a runner, I'm still not impressed. The TD run however was very nice.
' I think what I see is that neither back is good enough in pass pro. That's our issue. It's not whether either can run the ball, both can if needed. Thomas being a little bit better inside and Miller being more explosive and able to break the bigger gains. If you want to talk about their general lack of rushing production, it's more about how many touches our RBs are getting, not whether either can rush the ball. When there are only 13 rushing carries in a game in 50 or 60 play, that is the problem. If Miller gets more carries in a game, I think we see more of those 49 yard bursts from both Miller and Thomas, probably more from Miller since he's the #1 guy... Pass pro is another animal and both guys stink up the field at it. But, for the benefit of both, they've had their moments of good pass pro, just not enough of them. However, they both should be better, being 2 and 3 yrs in the league. My biggest complaint is more with the OL in general rather than the backs at this point though. Clabo is still a turnstyle and JJ isn't much better... I don't see us being able to fix this now. Clutz has to step up more or at least be used more in that role for us to see pass pro 'better' for this team...
Daniel Thomas was never all that impressive a backfield protector. He was never bad but he was never especially good. In my opinion, he was largely positioned that way by folks wanting to see some amount of value in him as a football player. The narrative will move on. Now that he's let up sacks and is a little shaky as a blocker, suddenly his two touchdowns will prove that he's become an excellent short yardage and goal line back. Then when that fails, he's a great pass catcher.
There should be no apologists for either of these guys. Miller has great speed and has potential to really be good but just needs a bit more confidence and concentration. But, he does have to get tougher - that is an open question. If he does he has much more potential than Thomas. Thomas flashed some good runs. But, he broke down on two key Pass Pros in the game that could have been very costly. So ironic that Rogers is blowing people up on Pass Pro and Thomas can't handle LBS. Thomas is a tall player and I think that gives him trouble. I am not sold on him as yet. It's ridiculous. If we have a 3rd down back that can pass pro - like a Rogers - we are a much better team.
None of the backs or Tight Ends are good at this.* It's not the line, it's the backs that are getting Tannehill smoked.* They should have a drill where Cam Wake (when he's healthy again) gets to tee off on these guys repeatedly until they actually block him once.*
I had Daniel Thomas allowing two sacks during the game. There was a third sack that I'd be curious to hear coaches comment on. It was the one where Richie Incognito pulled to the right and knocked Tannehill off balance. With Incognito pulling, the right side of the line already had an extra body to help pass protect. It would have made sense for the tailback, who unlike any other pass protector has the choice of blocking east or west, would steer to the left to make sure the blitzing corner could not get a free shot at Tannehill. Instead, Daniel Thomas stayed to the right and was just a superfluous extra blocker that had no job to do. That could have been on Ryan Tannehill as he perhaps needed to make a call before the play started to change Thomas' setup position. Or perhaps the tailback has that responsibility, as is the case in some offenses. Or perhaps Tannehill did make that call and Thomas didn't get it.
