Photo: US Presswire
- Adam ParkerWe're still two weeks away from a meaningful NFL snap, and rookie Ryan Tannehill has already gone where no Miami Dolphins quarterback has gone before — winning the starting quarterback job in his first NFL training camp.
New head coach Joe Philbin handed over the reins to Tannehill on Monday, meaning the Dolphins will have a rookie quarterback in the huddle for the opening snaps for the first time in franchise history when they travel to Houston to play the Texans and that ferocious pass rush on Sept. 9.
Still not blown away yet? Well, maybe it would help if I told you this: Tannehill is in such a unique spot right now — not even Pro Football Hall of Famers and Dolphins greats Dan Marino or Bob Griese was under center for the first game of their rookie season.
Marino retired following the 1999 season, and since then, Dolphins fans have seen more starting quarterbacks make rather underwhelming attempts to lead the team than any other team in the league. I like to call it the Marino Hangover.
Tannehill will be the 17th quarterback (oddly enough, Tannehill's college and now professional jersey number of 17 fits the situation perfectly) in Miami to try and fill the colossal void left in Marino's wake.
Coming into camp, the quarterback battle was a three-horse race between Tannehill, veteran free agent David Garrard and Matt Moore, who started the final 12 games last year. However, the race quickly became a cat-and-mouse game between Tannehill and Moore after Garrard fell out of contention when he underwent minor knee surgery on Aug. 11.
"It was a close competition," Philbin said of his biggest decision so far in his new tenure as an NFL head coach. "You're trusting your instincts in terms of what's in the best interest of the team. ... We like a lot of things about Ryan. He has a chance to be a very good player."
A few reasons that this doesn't really surprise me:
1) Overall, the Dolphins just look like a horrendous offensive team on paper and giving Tannehill the nod should put butts in the seats if for no other reason than curiosity about the team's future with Tannehill.
2) Historical Symmetry. Or maybe it's just misguided hope. Either way, it's worth noting that Tannehill (eighth overall pick out of Texas A&M) is the first quarterback selected by the Dolphins in the first round since Marino back in 1983.
3) Tannehill is not in the typical situation faced by most rookie quarterbacks entering the NFL. His college coach at Texas A&M, came to the NFL as well this season, and it so happens it's as Miami's offensive coordinator.
It's unheard of for a rookie to be the most knowledgeable quarterback on the roster when it comes to learning an NFL offense, but in this case, Sherman bringing the Texas A&M playbook along to install in South Beach made the transition that much smoother for Tannehill.
It seems like the stars are aligned for Tannehill to have a long, successful NFL career, right?
Not so fast. The rookie season of one Blaine Gabbert tells otherwise.
Like Gabbert in Jacksonville last year, Tannehill enters Miami with a receiving corps that's less than stellar — and that's saying it lightly.
Honestly, Tannehill, who spent the bulk of his career at A&M as a wide receiver before starting 19 games at quarterback (chose to learn to play wide receiver after losing quarterback battle to then-incumbent Jerrod Johnson; once Johnson was out of the picture, Tannehill stepped in at his more natural position) might be better off throwing to himself in some instances.
Another thing Tannehill has working against him is that Reggie Bush (despite his glass half-full on his potential performance this upcoming season) and the plethora of other running backs combined on Miami's roster don't come close to the level of Maurice Jones-Drew. At least when things got tough, Gabbert could simply check to a run and hand it off the pint-sized Superman behind him in the Jags' backfield.
Tannehill doesn't have that same luxury. He had a shot to have someone decent to throw to, you know, before Chad Johnson was cut from the team for getting into an altercation with his soon-to-be ex-wife over a box of condoms.
Thanks in part to the "boneheadedness" of Johnson, Tannehill's career in Miami will probably be filled with more bumps and bruises than touchdowns; at least in the beginning.
Do I hope I'm wrong? Absolutely. I hope Tannehill tears it up on the NFL scene from Day One. After all, why should Andrew Luck and RGIII get to have all of the fun?
The season is almost here, and I think I can say for Dolphins fans everywhere (even though I'm a devout Steelers fan) that Miami's season falls squarely on the young Tannehill's shoulders. Will it be 'In Tannehill We Trust' or 'With Tannehill, We Bust'?
Either way, we as NFL fans can take solace in one thing — at least we'll have plenty of shots of Mrs. [Lauren] Tannehill to keep us company if the Dolphins fade into the abyss of irrelevancy once again...
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