Ryan Tannehill has not been bad in his first two seasons with the Miami Dolphins, but he also has not been great. The issue is that the young quarterback was taken the same year as Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson. All three of those quarterbacks have been to the playoffs and Tannehill has not. However, the young quarterback plans for that to change in the coming season.
Tannehill understands this will be a crucial year for him. The Dolphins have made moves to surround him with more talent. The signed Knowshon Moreno to help take care of the ground game. He worked for Peyton Manning. The team will have a better looking Mike Wallace who should improve in his second year with the team. All signs point to Tannehill looking better and he knows he needs it.
"It's huge. I have to make a big jump, I'm aware of that," Tannehill said, via ESPN.com. "I'm putting in the work, putting in the time to get myself physically ready, mentally ready and learn this new offense that we're going with this year. So there is still work to be done. I look for a big jump in myself, both in production and wins. That's what we ultimately play for is wins. So, I'm excited to see what this team does."
In Tannehill's two seasons, Miami has gone 7-9 and 8-8. He has completed 59.4 percent of his passes with 36 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. The Dolphins did not completely rest on Tannehill's shoulders. The team struggled in all three aspects of the game, but the quarterback got the blame, mainly because who was in his draft class.
Miami will look for protection for the quarterback in the draft. They already signed Branden Albert to help in the effort, but after their offensive line was completely wiped out due to multiple issues, the Dolphins need depth. They could easily grab Jake Matthews or Greg Robinson in the first round.
This is a sink or swim year for Tannehill. Whether he likes it or not, the quarterbacks taken in his class are excelling at a high rate. He was a first-round draft pick and the Dolphins need him to play like one. If he fails, his fate could be more like Christian Ponder or Josh Freeman.
