Did The Dolphins Make A Mistake On Tannenhill?

Did The Dolphins Make a mistake on Tannenhill?

Dec 14, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17) reacts to a missed pass during the second half against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots won 41-13. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Listen, the title already will put me on a few of your blacklist.  For that I understand.  I am just trying to understand the depth chart of our team heading into OTA (Organized Team Activities) and Training Camp.

Now that the dust has settled, and the draft is officially over, our roster is starting to take shape.  As this starts happening one has to start thinking about the most highlighted position, the quarterback.  Ryan Tannenhill is entering his fourth year and the Miami Dolphins decided to pick up his 16 million dollar option.  This is what surprised him. Why would the Dolphins allocate such a high price tag to a player that cannot attack all elements of the field?

I never played quarterback, but I did play Safety.  My DB coach would tell me about three segmentations on the field.  Segment 1^st, was the line of scrimmage.   The 2^nd Segment, was from the Line of Scrimmage to 20 yards and lastly the 3^rd segment was anything beyond 20+ yards.  Our DB coach would advise us how to react to opposing QBs tendency for each segment.  How to attack them and what to specifically look for.

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As all Miami Dolphins fans have seen, Tannenhill can only attack 2 segments of the field; segment 1 and 2.  We have not constantly seen him using the third segment or even try to attack it. This limits his abilities and caused opposing Defensive Coordinators to attack this weakness.  You can easily call a press man coverage with only single high safety and not have to worry if the Wide Receiver breaks the press.  It allows for different variations and schemas to be applied for segment 1 and 2.  It causes more players to be in a limited amount of space.

As of right now, Tannenhill doesn’t deserve a 16million price tag.  I am sorry, that is the truth.  In all likelihood he hasn’t proved to me that he is better Alex Smith.  Alex Smith is a situational quarterback.  One that strives in quick read and react playbook that allows him to make swift decisions…sound familiar?

Smith contract is a cap friendly deal.  One that doesn’t stretch into the 16million dollar range.  Truth be told, as of right now, Smith has a better NFL resume than Tannenhill.  So why does the front office think it is okay to allocate this type of money to a QB that hasn’t even played in a playoff game, let alone earned a victory?

Let’s play devil’s advocate again.  Say this upcoming season doesn’t end any differently from the past two years, and the Dolphins once again finish outside of the playoffs.  I am making the assumption that Stephen Ross will clean house.  From the VP all the way down to training staff.  Now that the office has been cleaned, how are the Dolphins going to entice a perspective General Manager or a new Vice President or Czar of player development when you have over 36 Million in cap space allocated to two players. (20 Million to Suh and 16 to Tannenhill)

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That doesn’t really look like the most attractive destination.

This year the Dolphins front office has shaped the entire team around Tannenhill. The Dolphins have the most talented offence line, the youngest and talked about Wide Receiver crew, a dynamic and large group of Tight Ends and now a Running Back duo that could turn some heads.  All the ingredients are there for Ryan to perform well, and perhaps earn his first playoff experience.

Even if that happens, 16 million dollars to a QB that hasn’t won anything, is a steep price. We aren’t talking about Andrew Luck, or Russell Wilson, we are talking about a situational QB that can’t hit a deep ball and doesn’t have a winning record.

That’s the bottom line.  Don’t get me wrong, I am true Dolphins fan.  I hoping RT comes out and lights up the NFL this year and proves that perhaps he is worth 16 million.  However, since we already guaranteed that contract, it doesn’t allow him to go out and prove that he is worth it.  That’s my problem with the option pick up.  Who cares about the deadline, I would have let it past, and told Ryan here is a contract for you to sign.  You go out and prove you are worth, perhaps get us to 10 wins and then we sit back here and you can officially sign this contract and become the QB we want you to be.  Unfortunately, that didn’t happen….now we have to wait and see if we just let 16 million dollars of our cap go to waste.