Is Landry the future?
Oct 19, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry (14) before the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
This offseason, Stephen Ross showed the entire league how deep his pockets are, by signing Suh and Tannenhill to monster deals. Ross thought by showing such a large financial commitment he had ironically labelled his future leaders of the offense and defense sides of the ball.
When anyone thinks about the true spotlight position for any football team, the attention turns to the quarterback. Throughout the offseason (OTAs, training camp and preseason) the talk was all about the maturity of Tannenhill. Fast forward to week 1 of the starting season, and many fans are wondering if all that talk was just….talk. Tannenhill looked like the exact same QB fans have grown accustomed to seeing.
On the other side of the ball, not since Reggie White has an offseason been solely focused on defensive player. Ndamukong Suh is a beast of a player, the best player at his position that has been seen since White. By now, everyone knows Suh signed the richest NFL contract for a player that wasn’t a QB. Like Tannenhill, the offseason media spin was split between covering the growth of Tannenhill and the acquisition of Suh. Suh is a player that would make the Dolphins defense elite. Pairing him with Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon was a recipe for disaster for all opposing team, more specifically the New England Patriots.
On paper, all media outlets thought that Ross had done enough to ensure that the Miami Dolphins have labelled and allocated proper players to become the future of his franchise.
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Now, rewind back to last week, opening kickoff, and you can see what other teams franchise players achieved. Brady and Gronk (as much as I hate to admit it) did their thing, J.J Watt was shown running around the field without a helmet, Aaron Rodger knocked out his 3TD performance without his best WR, and a rookie QB, Marcus Mariota had a perfect introduction to the NFL.
Tannenhill had a 65% completion rate, and two passes that should have been picked off. As per Suh, his biggest play was a tackle that NFL analyst decided to dissect showing viewers what a dirty player he is. Bottom line, not the type of media coverage Ross was expecting when he signed those substantial cheques.
With all this negativity surrounding the team, one would think that the Dolphins got blown out by the Redskins. The truth is the Dolphins actually won. Believe it or not, the local media is portraying this victory as a loss. Which is disappointing, at the end of the season, when everyone looks back at the W and L, no one is going to remember that the Dolphins barely beat the Redskins, what they are going to remember is the W, and the person that lead them to the W, which is Jarvis Landry.
The 2nd year player is showing signs of becoming the next great Dolphins Wide Receiver. Landry’s on field effort goes well beyond what other players are doing and more importantly he is outperforming those players that just signed two of the richest deals in Dolphins history. Reviewing the game tape, we can see Landry fighting and carrying three Redskins defender to achieve a first down, seamless effort in catching 8 of his team high 12 targets, and let’s not forget the Punt Return that sealed the victory for the Dolphins last Sunday.
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This type of effort is what you expect from a franchise player. A player that other players look up to and when the 4th quarter comes around you rally behind. It might only be week 1 of the NFL Calendar year, but Landry is providing and showing the confidence that ignites team chemistry. Perhaps it is even a little premature to anoint a player whom should be considered the face of the franchise, but these players having been waiting for their chance to shine, to silence their critics, and to prove to themselves that they belong in the NFL.
It’s week 1 , and Landry is the brightest player the Dolphins have.