Dolphins Tannehill Breaks Another Marino Record

Nov.25, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17) warms up prior to a game against the Seattle Seahawks at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

This past Sunday the Miami Dolphins welcomed the Seattle Seahawks to Sun Life Stadium. Many things happened during this game. First and foremost the Dolphins won and ended a 3 game losing streak, Ryan Tannehill got his first comeback win, the sprinkler system on the field turned on, and Tannehill broke another Dan Marino rookie record.

Dan Marino set a lot of franchise rookie records, and now Ryan Tannehill has taken two away. Tannehill broke his first Marino record in the Dolphins week 4 overtime loss against the Arizona Cardinals. That record breaking day was for most passing yards in a single game by a rookie which came from an 80 yard touchdown pass to WR Brian Hartline who also broke a record of his own that game. Tannehill threw for a total of 431 yards and Brian Hartline broke a franchise record for most receiving yards in a single game with a total of 253 yards. That record was previously set by WR Chris Chambers.

This past Sunday Tannehill’s second record breaking game was for most single season passing yards by a rookie in franchise history. Tannehill ended the game with 2,373 yards on 334 attempts for the season. Tannehill has started all 11 games this season, but was knocked out early in the Dolphins big 30-9 win against the New York Jets.

Dan Marino ended his rookie season with 2,210 yards on 296 attempts. Marino only played a total of 11 games his rookie season and started 9 of them. Tannehill has also only thrown for 7 touchdowns and has 12 interceptions on the season already. Marino on the other hand had 20 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions. Plus Marino had a significantly higher quarterback rating then Tannehill.

There’s still 5 games left for Tannehill’s rookie season, so those number will only increase. For someone who wasn’t even suppose to start, and was considered by some another bust for the Dolphins, Tannehill has done a very exceptional job. Are his numbers as impressive as Marino’s? No. Can Tannehill be just as good, if not better, then Marino? I don’t know. Only time will tell. I do know that he has surpassed my expectations and I strongly believe he will only improve from here.