Obviously, to allow the QB time to throw the deep ball the OL needs to block longer before the QB releases the ball. That means better pass protection. But once we hit on one or two of those, the defenses usually back off on that tight coverage sitting on the short stuff, and it opens up the entire passing game and the running game. It's an essential element, which is why people always talk about occasionally "taking a shot" deep. Without it, we become what Tannehill faced for much of his Miami career, without enough time to throw the deep ball, the defenses clamp down on the underneath stuff, and we get shut down.
I wholeheartedly agree with the OP, we need to stabilize this OL's pass protection so we can take some shots deep. Oddly enough, Ryan Fitzpatrick is one of the best QB's in the league at throwing the deep ball too early, lofting lots of air under it, and dropping it into the bucket for his bigger WR's to get it. It's risky, and one of the many things that makes him a gunslinger. But, it can and does effectively allow a team to take shots deep even when the OL's pass protection sucks.
Either way, I'm expecting us to throw more deep balls this year, just from the personnel changes alone. Hopefully this loosens up coverages for a more effective short passing game, and it should definitely open up run lanes a bit more. This isn't a season where I'm expecting us to become a good team, but in this one area I am actually excited. I'm going to worry less about the long INT's that are almost as effective as a punt, and focus more on the long chunk yardage completions that lead to points. Kinda like golf … I'm gonna concentrate on the good shots.
