j-off-her-doll has got it exactly right. Hand size isn't everything, but it's not nothing. I have almost 10 inch hands and I have trouble gripping an NFL football really well (I don't help myself by resting the last knuckle of my middle finger on the first lace -- I should hold it farther back). Anyway, if you look at the way Tannehill grips a football his fingers are really far apart -- especially his index finger. Which is what you'd expect from smallish hands. He wants to cover as much of the football as he can. But holding the football that way is hard on the tips of your fingers.
You can't hold a football like this unless you have a really strong grip. I'd wager Tannehill works on his grip strength a lot.
Now if you look at Brett Favre (who had really big hands) for example, his hand looks a lot more relaxed than Tannehill's, and you can tell just by looking at this picture that even with a relaxed grip he's covering a lot more of the football than Tannehill is with his spread-out grip.
I don't know if Favre worked on his grip strength or not (he wasn't known as a hard worker). But with hands this size he probably didn't have to. It just came naturally to him.
At the end of the day it's all a means to an end, which to be an accurate thrower of the football who doesn't fumble. Having big hands helps you do that. Like a lot of traits, it's easier if you're born with it but it can be worked around. Tannehill is pretty accurate and he's not a chronic fumbler.
You can't hold a football like this unless you have a really strong grip. I'd wager Tannehill works on his grip strength a lot.
Now if you look at Brett Favre (who had really big hands) for example, his hand looks a lot more relaxed than Tannehill's, and you can tell just by looking at this picture that even with a relaxed grip he's covering a lot more of the football than Tannehill is with his spread-out grip.
I don't know if Favre worked on his grip strength or not (he wasn't known as a hard worker). But with hands this size he probably didn't have to. It just came naturally to him.
At the end of the day it's all a means to an end, which to be an accurate thrower of the football who doesn't fumble. Having big hands helps you do that. Like a lot of traits, it's easier if you're born with it but it can be worked around. Tannehill is pretty accurate and he's not a chronic fumbler.
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