Miami Dolphins Preview: Ryan Tannehill

After spending over a decade looking for a franchise quarterback, the Miami Dolphins believe they have one in Ryan Tannehill. Last month, the Dolphins backed up this assertion by giving Tannehill a six year, $96 million dollar contract extension.

But will the new deal be a sly maneuver by the Miami front office or will the contract weigh down his performance?

2014 Review

For the first time as a pro, Tannehill had to learn a new offense under offensive coordinator Bill Lazor after spending his first two seasons with Mike Sherman. There was doubt initially, but Tannehill flourished under Lazor’s short passing system.

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Tannehill improved in nearly every statistical category last season whether it was throwing more for yards and touchdowns, turning over the ball less, or just completing his passes more consistently.

Analytically speaking, Tannehill grew by leaps and bounds. In his first two seasons, he was a below middle-of-the-pack quarterback. In 2014, he was right in the thick of things with the likes of Joe Flacco, Cam Newton and Eli Manning. His success rate was fifth highest in the league among quarterbacks outdoing the likes of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

But there’s a caveat, Tannehill is still getting sacked way too often and he can’t complete a deep pass to save his life.

The former Texas A&M Aggie has been sacked more than any quarterback since entering the league in 2012. He’s been put on the ground for 141 sacks since then and not every single one can be blamed on the offensive line.

While the offensive line has been brutal, Tannehill still has the tendency to hold on to the ball too long. He got a little better in this regard in 2014 but not enough to avoid another season with over 40 sacks.

However, while Tannehill has gotten better in practically every statistical category, he has regressed in one field during his three year career: the deep ball.

In 2014, Tannehill completed a putrid 16.6 percent of his throws over 15 yards. That figure represents the second worst out of all starting quarterbacks in the NFL (only Alex Smith of the Chiefs had a worst percentage).

In Tannehill’s rookie season, he completed 19.2 of his deep passes and in his sophomore season he completed 17.5 percent. While the sample is only his first three seasons, the trend is there. Tannehill is getting worse at completing the long ball and breaking games open.

If the Dolphins are to be a true playoff contender in 2015, they’ll need their franchise quarterback to make those big plays.