David Butler II-USA Today Sports
Fans of the Miami Dolphins have high hopes for last year’s fourth-best rookie quarterback. Whether or not those hopes are justified remains to be seen.
Statistically speaking, Ryan Tannehill had a well below-average season. He finished up with 12 TDs, 13 interceptions, nine fumbles, and an overall rating of 76.1. His believers might point to the NFL learning curve as the reason for his struggles, but the obvious counter-argument to that would be Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, and Russell Wilson. If Tannehill was not ready to start his rookie year, then the Dolphins shouldn’t have started him.
But they did, and if a starting quarterback in the NFL throws more interceptions than touchdowns, that should be a warning sign, rookie or not.
The Dolphins may have done everything they could this offseason to surround Tannehill with playmakers on offense, but he will never be more than an average quarterback in the NFL. Dolphins fans got excited when they saw the kid make a few good throws and lead their team to second in the division. Unfortunately, second in the AFC East hasn’t meant all that much this past decade, as the team’s 7-9 record suggests.
If the term ‘franchise quarterback’ is taken literally as someone who is the face of a franchise and carries the hopes of an organization, then Ryan Tannehill may already be that. But, if it’s taken to mean someone who consistently makes their team better and carries them to sustained success, then Dolphins fans are in for a major disappointment.
Matt Ploss is a Buffalo Bills writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewPloss, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
