Ryan Tannehill believes a big issue for the Miami Dolphins has been their lack of consistency.
The former Dolphins first-round draft pick – he was just the third quarterback in franchise history to be selected in the opening round in 2012 – knows all about high expectations in Miami. He spent seven seasons as the franchise quarterback, making 88 starts during his Dolphins career.
However, he led the team to just one playoff appearance before experiencing greater success as the starting quarterback of the Tennessee Titans, winning Comeback Player of the Year, clinching a Pro Bowl bid and leading them to the AFC Championship Game.
The current Dolphins are experiencing a similar ceiling, failing to win a single playoff game in the Tua Tagovailoa/Mike McDaniel era. They enter their Week 10 game against the Washington Commanders in Spain at a 3-7 record, far below expectations.
“Haven’t sat down and studied the tape and really dove into it, but I’ve briefly watched parts of a few games and from what I watched, I can’t put it on one thing,” says Tannehill of the Dolphins’ struggles in a one-on-one interview. “It seems to be a few different things. It’s consistency I think is huge. You play in a tough League and if you’re not playing the best football each and every week, then it’s going to be hard to come up with a win. You got to be consistent and make big plays when it counts. I’m not sure what their injury list has been this year, and what that looks like. But it’s a tough league to win in and if you don’t go out and play good football week in and week out, it’s gonna be hard to come away with wins.”
Tannehill says he’s only talked to Tagovailoa after games – he took over at QB two years after Tannehill’s last game with the Dolphins – but that he wants the “best for him” and knows that he has a good reputation around the league.
One of the areas that the 37-year-old quarterback believes could be an issue for the Dolphins is in the trenches. He says most of the top teams in the league such as the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs rank near the top of the league in offensive line play.
Entering the month of November, Pro Football Sports Network had the Dolphins ranked in the middle of the league in offensive line play at No. 15. Tagovailoa has been sacked 18 times, which is the 13th-most in the NFL. In other words, the Dolphins are largely an average team along the offensive line.
It’s no surprise that the top four teams on that list – the Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs – all have winning records.
“When you look at building a team, it all starts in the trenches,” says Tannehill. “It all starts on offensive line, defensive line. If you are solid there, you have a chance. I saw a step couple weeks ago, it was one of the rankings at PFF (Pro Football Foucs), and it was talking about the top five ranked offensive lines in the NFL and it was basically five of the top teams in the NFL. It was Patriots, Chiefs, just all the top teams, and they all have the top offensive lines as well. It’s a pretty good indicator just on overall success, because it gives you so much room as an offense to grow.”
He says protecting the quarterback along with establishing a strong running game behind the backbone of a strong offensive line can go a long way towards determining a team’s success.
“You can do so much stuff, so many things open up for you when you have a solid offensive line,” says Tannehill. “You’re able to run the ball, you’re able to pass block and give the QB a little bit of time to get the ball off. You may not have to have four Pro Bowl receivers to to get open, because you have a little bit more time to get the ball out. So much of the game just depends on that offensive line and and you see that in the standings.”
Ryan Tannehill Teams Up With USAA For Salute To Service Flag Football Game In Spain
While Tannehill hopes to see the Dolphins continue to win after a big upset over the Buffalo Bills in Week 9, he’s actually in Spain leading into his former team’s game against the Commanders this week.
Tannehill partnered with USAA along with other former NFL players such as Alejandro Villaneuva and Joe Theismann to host a flag football game for US troops stationed in Rota, Spain. Naval Station Rota actually has the largest population of US troops stationed in Spain.
The winning team received tickets to this Sunday’s game between the Dolphins and Commanders.
The NFL will be hosting their first game in Spain after hosting other international games in fellow European countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany.
“Partnered with USAA to come over here for their NFL Salute To Service flag football experience,” Tannehill details. “They were able to take us, my family and I, around the naval base here in Rota, we were able to check out a ship, kind of see the ins and outs of the ship, which was really amazing. My kids absolutely loved it. Got to meet hundreds of servicemen and women, which was incredible. Just be able to chat with them a little bit, talk to them about where they’re from, what they’re doing here, and how daily life is aboard the ship.”
The former Pro Bowl quarterback says he served as an honorary flag football coach for the Salute To Service flag football experience.
“We were able to go out and be an honorary coach for a couple of flag football teams and it was just a blast,” says Tannehill. “Seeing these guys and women go out there and play some flag football, had a lot of fun. The Championship game actually came down to the last play, which was pretty cool and a lot of fun for all of us, so honored to be able to come here with USAA and be a part of their ”Honor Through Action campaign” to support our men and women, not only serving here in Rota and in the Navy, but all across our armed services.”
