Share Lines:
Andy Dalton and Matthew Stafford were propped up by great supporting casts Tannehill isn't a Top 10 quarterback yet. But he's just outside that.
Finally, something for Dolphins fans to get indignant over that doesn't involve their team.
The Pro Bowl quarterback replacement picks!
OK, this isn't No. 1 on the anger list. But it is curious what's happened. Six quarterbacks were originally picked, but Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers declined because of age/injuries/risk/been there/done that. Tom Brady is in the Super Bowl.
That means four replacements were taken to go with the two who were selected and actually are going (until further notice): Andrew Luck and Tony Romo.
Drew Brees? No problem.
Matt Ryan? No problem.
The other replacements could be Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco and Philip Rivers and ... no problem at all. But Wilson is in the Super Bowl, Flacco reportedly declined and you'd have to assume Rivers did, too.
So? So Ryan Tannehill should be the next man up. He had 27 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 92.8 rating. There's a theory that you get chosen for the Pro Bowl a year after you should and stay on the roster a year longer than you should. That sounds about right here.
The final two quarterback replacements were Andy Dalton and Matthew Stafford. Ugh. And, please, don't say they led teams to the playoffs. They accompanied them there. Dalton and Stafford had some of best supporting casts (receivers, defenses) of any quarterback in the league.
Stafford had the league's top defense (meaning shorter fields in general) and the NFL's best receiver in Calvin Johnson. He threw for 22 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and an 87.7 rating. That's his highest rating in the past three years, too.
Dalton? He was worse: 19 touchdowns, 17 interceptions and an 83.5 rating.
Look, Tannehill isn't a Top 10 quarterback just yet. But he's made strides. The hardest thing to do is project where a quarterback will be a year from now. The critics of Tannehill have seen him the past three years as a static idea - only for what he is doing at that moment in time. They refuse to project what he can become.
He became a 27-12-92.8 quarterback this year (helped by Bill Lazor's offense). That's not great. But it's the definition of good. It's certainly better than what Dalton and Stafford did and should earn him a Pro Bowl trip.
Arguing over a Pro Bowl bid? Oy.
This is what January has become for Dolphins fans.
