There's no such thing as a "Tannehater".
There is merely skeptical Dolphins who want to see this quarterbacks impact reflect on the WIN column, not on the stat sheet. Because that's ulitmately all that matters.
Can we win with him?
Results are the bottom line, and we're out of the playoffs yet again. When Tannehill starts leading the charge against quality opponents, when everything is on the line, (I.E against Baltimore at home), then I'll be fully entrenched on the bandwagon. Until then, I'll remain skeptical, and hopeful.
Oh for the love of GOD.
Posts like this are a good part of why THREADS like this exist, answering JoeHarley's post from earlier. If you're implying that there aren't people who hate Tannehill just because they don't want their opinion to be wrong, then you're simply not paying attention. Those very people use criteria like yours to judge whether or not a QB is a good QB. And...I think there's a reason for it, which I'll get to in a moment. But first...a rant.
I'm going to use your analogy to make some outlandish statements that should never be taken seriously, but make sense with your criterion:
1) Dan Marino was not a great QB. Why? Because the Dolphins didn't win a SB while he was their QB. And wins are all that matters when judging a QB.
2) There was no better QB in 1972 than Earl Morall. Except, possibly for Bob Griese. Why? Because wins are all that matter when judging a QB.
3) Mark Sanchez was a better QB in his first two years than Andrew Luck. Why? Because the Jets went to the AFC Championship game in his first two years in the league, and wins are all that matter when judging a QB.
You can't sit back and make statements that equate to
Tannehill isn't a good QB and the future of this franchise because the Dolphins didn't make the playoffs. And you know this, because I've read your postings, and you're a pretty smart guy. As much as it's understandable to point out the Baltimore game, it's pretty biased to ONLY point that out. Let's not just talk about that...let's talk about the Green Bay game. And the Detroit game. And the Denver game. And let's finally say, "Okay, Ryan Tannehill ISN'T THE REASON THE DOLPHINS DIDN'T MAKE THE PLAYOFFS AGAIN THIS YEAR." Because he HAS showed up in big games. And this team isn't in the playoffs because THIS TEAM did not win some of those big games for reasons that cannot even remotely be linked to Ryan Tannehill. Because Ryan Tannehill doesn't play defense.
What is becoming pretty commonplace thus far in the Tannehill era is to point out his shrinking list of flaws, and point to them as the sole reason the Dolphins are failing. And that's ridiculous whenever someone is using terms like "we" and "our" and "this team." Now, is Ryan Tannehill a GREAT QB right now? No, I don't think he is. His deep ball, while improving, is simply the oddest weakness I've ever seen in a QB. I think a good bit of the lack of the Tannehill/Wallace connection can be attributed to Wallace, as well, but that's a whole different conversation. Also, it drives me crazy when I see the pocket collapsing around Tannehill, and he tries to step sideways rather than forward, when there's an opening in front of him. While his reads are progressing as nicely as can be expected, he does still lock onto a receiver, miss an open receiver, and try to force a ball into double coverage. (This last point can be argued as confidence in his arm, and the kid has an absolute cannon, but I still don't think it's the best idea.) So, no, he's not GREAT. Not yet.
But he's progressing, and I certainly think he's better than any other options right now.
Now....to the point from earlier, I think it's understandable that a lot of people look at Tannehill's flaws and say "The Dolphins are not winning because of Tannehill's flaws." Why? Because for 16 years, the Fins had a QB who would win despite having a team that had massive shortcomings. He'd win NO MATTER WHAT. And, unfortunately, I think a good reason that the Fins never won a SB under Dan Marino is that Marino was good enough to hide glaring flaws in the team. But when push came to shove in the playoffs (or Super Bowl), those flaws were exposed. And the Fins were never good enough to win
when it really mattered, because those flaws were hidden most of the time.
But this is a team sport. The Dolphins aren't in the playoffs because the TEAM isn't good enough yet. Is Tannehill part of that? Sure. But he certainly isn't the main culprit.
(Completely unrelated aside: There's a pretty strong parallel to Marino's career that's taking place in Indianapolis; a spectacular QB on a very flawed team. They'd better be really freakin' careful with that.)
