Marino’s Legacy and the search for his heir Apparent

The Dolphins continue to search for an heir to Dan Marino 18 years later. With no QB drafted in 2018 and no competition for Ryan Tannehill, are the Dolphins content with a non top ten QB in the future?

I’m turning 30 this year. The big 3-0…no longer a young man, college student, or dreamer. I have a career and soon to be wife. I will have seen three generations of NFL players come and go. And if you do the math, I have never seen the Miami Dolphins play in a Super Bowl, let alone win one.

Most Dolphin fans that read Phinsider remember the Marino era. The good days where playoffs were expected and not a goal. It drives our hope that those days will return in the form of another great QB that will carry us in the manner that Dan Marino did in the 80’s and 90’s. It is in this sentiment that Miami fans are so polarized with Ryan Tannehill. We aren’t satisfied with a game manager, mid-tier, standard QB. We want the gun slinging, 400 yard a game touting, statistical top 5 QB.

Covering the QB timeline from 2000 till now is futile. We have had several QBs that have not panned out or been a Marino-incarnate. That is not to say that covering a timeline at all is pointless, doing so will shed light on the current Dolphin situation.

Joe ‘no cursing’ Philbin drafted Ryan in 2012 during the first round. Ryan Tannehill’s expectations were not a secret nor was a low bar set. He was to be the next franchise QB. This expectation was so strong that the Dolphins have NEVER brought in any sort of serious competition for Ryan at any point of his career.

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The fact that the Dolphins have never brought in another QB is the second most polarizing part for most Dolphins fans. The third year of our supreme leader, Gase, has seen us bring in one draft pick (7th rounder who is no longer with Miami), Matt Moore, and Jay Cutler. Cutler was not brought in to compete, but to fill the void for a year, which turned out to be unsuccessful.

Two questions I will pose are of equal importance:

1. Has Ryan Tannehill reached his peak, or is there more untapped potential?

2. Would Ryan Tannehill struggle with the prospect of competition?

1.Has Ryan Tannehill reached his peak, or is there more untapped potential?

I will add a caveat to this question and ask whether Adam Gase has tapped all of Ryan Tannehill’s potential. When Adam took the position with Miami, he was adamant concerning Ryan Tannehill’s value and perspective on his potential.

To be completely honest, the Dolphins played like a team under a new regime during the first part of 2016. The offense was broken and it was obvious that the players were still learning. From week six till week 13, when Ryan got hurt, look at his production.

• The team went 7-1 during this stretch with the Baltimore game being the loss.
• Ryan threw only 2 interceptions in those 7 wins and contributed 13 TDs
• 3 of the 7 wins sported a QB rating of 124 or above, while the other 4 games were 86 plus
• 5 of the 8 games, Ryan completed 70% or more of his passes and ran for double digit yardage.

These are not ELITE stats and granted I am using 8 weeks of his last season as a small sample size. However, Ryan was playing at a higher level then every before after the offense learned the playbook. At the start of the following year, Gase was quoted saying that Ryan was going to have a big year and “rip it”. Unfortunately, Ryan’s knee blew out again and he was lost for the 2017 year as well.

With a year and a half to master the playbook and learn from the team’s mistakes, I expect a smarter and quick minded Ryan Tannehill in 2018. His offense will also be on the same page and acclimated to the system. There will be no learning curve to the offense.

Furthermore, Ryan Tannehill SHOULD have better protection and a more reliable running game. This is important to his health and more importantly, will give him more open looks in the passing game. He also has 2 huge new tight ends that should give him safety valves in case a play breaks down.

Verdict: Tannehill has not hit the peak of his potential and will have one of his best years in 2018.

2. Would Ryan Tannehill struggle with the prospect of competition?

The Miami Dolphins did not draft a QB this year. That’s not a hot take, it is common knowledge. We also didn’t take a QB last year. Matt Moore was always considered a backup and even when Ryan went down, was not given a chance to be the starter. Miami added Brock Osweiler, a former starter in the NFL and was the shoe in to replace Peyton Manning.

Is Brock going to push Ryan Tannehill for the starting position? No. Adam has already christened Tannehill to be the starter and there will be no QB competition at camp. If Tannehill struggled in the first part of 2018, I doubt Adam would pull the plug. Number 17 will be the QB and will remain so in 2018.

This series of events from 2012 to 2018 seems strange. The Dolphins have put every chip on Tannehill’s table and haven’t seen returns. Yet, they have not invested in another QB. Could it be that Ryan would crumble under the pressure of another QB? Or is it merely an organization’s over sight of not suspecting number 17 of failing.

This is an impossible question to answer and one that I won’t try to. Ryan competes and plays hard in games and has never shown attitude or character flaws to show otherwise. To think that would change if a young prospect was brought in would seem irrational. Ryan has been our starter from the first regular season game and will continue to be until we move on from him.

Verdict: Unknown.

Why has Miami stopped investing in QBs? The Patriots drafted Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round when Tom Brady was still winning rings. The 49ers traded a second and fourth pick for Steve Young when Joe Montana was still creating magic. Both the Steelers and Ravens drafted QBs in the top 3 rounds this year while they both have top 15 QBs still playing.

Yet, the Dolphins still refuse to add a young talent to groom. There are no names to chant when Ryan struggles. No pillow soft to turnover on when Tannehill throws a bad game. Dan Marino’s prodigy is not on the roster, and he won’t be for this year.

Ryan’s projection is at best top 15, at worst is bottom 5. He is not going to be the Marino we are all waiting for. However, this league has changed. Super Bowl teams don’t need franchise QB’s to win it all. Miami may be completely content on Tannehill being the player that gives enough for his team to win week in and out. However, for Miami to stop searching for the next curly haired kid from Pittsburg seems strange.