If we continue to use this style of offense and with so few rushing attempts, there is no such thing as quarterback development. The particulars will vary slightly but not the bottom line or any of the relevant issues. Tannehill a year from now will be virtually on the same level as today.
We need basic formations, considerably more emphasis on play action, less shotgun, rushing attempts in the 28-34 level per game, and to all but eliminate garbage like empty sets and 4-receiver looks. These are the same themes I was posting prior to the season. Now there are related threads, like the ones pointing out that Tannehill fares best out of standard sets. No kidding. It's hardly Tannehill alone. It's quarterbacks of that caliber period. I have considerable advantage because I worked in a stats office for a long time alongside very, very sharp people. We used to break it down by Cream, Crowd and Crap. Cream can violate any rule. Crap is not saved even by ideal strategy. Crowd has to do the right thing. Sorry, but Tannehill ain't cream. There are dunce coaching staffs all over this league who learn the wrong lesson from the top handful of quarterbacks and try to force that style with a mediocrity behind center. It's like watching John Daly or Bubba Watson carry a water hazard at 300 and then sending your guy Corey Pavin out there to try it. What could go wrong?
It's a damn shame that Bill Walsh died relatively early because he wouldn't be silent about this. Walsh ranted against 4 and 5 receiver sets as the future of football. Of course, the rules have changed, and that's largely responsible for the Cream abuse of the open and empty sets. But overall it's sickening football. Walsh's old school Stanford is one of the few programs that get it right. Hard to believe I've actually seen knocks on David Shaw on this forum, with posters saying they wouldn't want him, due to the Jonathan Martin irrelevancy. Give Tannehill fundamental power sets like that and he'll come as close to finding his upside as possible. If we throw 40 and run 17, there is no upside.