The Miami Dolphins, in their endless search to find the heir apparent to Hall-of-Famer Dan Marino, might be on to something with this guy named Ryan Tannehill.
Tannehill, who was basically the consolation prize behind Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin- III in the 2012 NFL Draft, got the better of Luck in last week’s duel with the Indianapolis Colts, leading the Dolphins to a 24-20 upset victory.
Tannehill passed for 319 yards, with 117 of them going to free-agent speedster signee Mike Wallace. The second year quarterback showed poise and patience despite being sacked five times in the game.
For Tannehill, this wasn’t merely a revenge victory for last season’s heart-breaking loss to the Colts. It was a message to the league that he can hold his own with the rest of the elite young quarterbacks in the game.
And judging by the looks of things, Tannehill could be moving into this elite young group sooner rather than later or not at all.
When Tannehill was drafted eighth overall last year, he was considered a major gamble; a player with tremendous talent but lack of experience at the quarterback position.
He wasn’t a Heisman Trophy contender or winner like Luck and Griffin. In fact, he didn’t play quarterback until his senior season at Texas A&M (He was formerly a wide receiver).
And to make matters worse, fellow young quarterbacks Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson have also joined Luck and Griffin in this elite group of young signal callers, making Tannehill’s place on this list a little bit harder to achieve.
While Luck, Griffin, Kaepernick and Wilson were busy last season leading their teams to the playoffs, Tannehill was forced to learn the hard way, playing for a 7-9 team that exceeded expectations, but came up short in their playoff hunt.
Yet, despite the bumps and bruises from last year, Tannehill finished 2012 with a respectable 3,294 yards and 12 touchdowns. And his completion percentage of 58.3 was better than Luck’s 54.1.
A lot still has to happen in order to determine Tannehill’s place among the great young quarterbacks in the NFL today.
The talent is there; the athleticism is there; the potential is there.
Perhaps, one day, we’ll say Tannehill was the diamond-in-the-rough, the one that got away.
Maybe, one day, Luck will be compared to Tannehill rather than the opposite. So far, he’s proven that he can hold his own with Luck. Now, he just needs a little luck.
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