Dolphins Bess Should Be Tannehill’s First Look

Nov 15, 2012; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Miami Dolphins wide receiver Davone Bess (15) runs after making a catch during the second half of a game against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Buffalo won the game 19-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-US PRESSWIRE

The Miami Dolphins rookie QB has quite the rapport with WR Brian Hartline.  For good reason.  Ryan Tannehill has been able to go to Hartline at any time and find the receivers’ sure hands waiting.  Hartline has been so solid that he has been the go-to choice for Tannehill since week one of the season.  While the Dolphins have no true number one wide-receiver, Hartline is the man lining up in that spot but it may be time for Tannehill to look towards Davone Bess first.  Instead.

Davone Bess has been money on third downs for the Dolphins since his arrival as a free agent rookie out of Hawaii.  He works the slot as well as anyone and with a better surrounding cast there is no reason why he couldn’t put up Wes Welker type numbers.  For the Dolphins though, it’s time that Davone Bess became a first and second down option as well.  To put it simply, Davone Bess is finding ways to get open.

On Sunday, the Dolphins managed to roll out a win but early in the game Bess was wide-open and Ryan Tannehill never saw him.  Two of those plays would easily have been scores if not long gains.  The fact is Bess is finding away to get behind coverage and get open in the middle of the field.  Tannehill’s first look is at the designed go-to receiver for that particular play.  So it may be a RB, TE, or the wide-1 receiver.  While the looks belong to Tannehill, the designed plays belong to OC Mike Sherman.

Sherman needs to get Bess more involved.  Sunday’s 123 yard effort is not a fluke.  Bess is the most sure-handed receiver on the Dolphins roster and only lacks the outright speed and bulk to play on the outside.  Despite that, Bess who has consistently improved year to year needs to be a larger part of the Dolphins offense.  In the 4th quarter of Sunday’s game, Ryan Tannehill finally realized that Bess was there.

The last two scoring drives for the Dolphins featured big completions to Davone Bess and it was easy to see that Tannehill was looking his way over Hartline’s or Marlon Moore’s.  It needs to continue.  Unlike some WR’s in the NFL, Bess doesn’t need a few plays or series to get hot.  He is ready to go out of the gate and there is little reason why he shouldn’t be a more featured product in the offense.

Perhaps after Sunday’s game, Ryan Tannehill will realize that Bess deserves some of those early looks instead of the later ones.  If he can get the ball to Bess in stride on 1st or 2nd downs, the Dolphins could make their WR corp look very good.