Miami Dolphin Talk

  With offense slumping, rookie QB might be best bet for wakeup call

By Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel 6:58 p.m., November 21, 2012


DAVIE — The pressure is on Ryan Tannehill, the Miami Dolphins' rookie quarterback. It's up to him to breathe life into an offense that's desperately searching for its next breath.

Early in the season, Miami's opponents put eight or nine men near the line of scrimmage to stop the run. Now they've figured out they don't need to do that to stop Reggie Bush and the pedestrian running game that's averaging 3.6 yards per carry.

They've figured out they need to stop Tannehill, so they've been dropping more men in coverage.

  Now it's Tannehill's turn to answer their challenge.

"It's a back-and-forth game," he said. "The more plays you put on tape, the more tendencies that an offense puts on tape, defenses are going to start adjusting."

Dolphins coach Joe Philbin, perhaps in an effort to spread the responsibility, said waking up the sleep-walking offense doesn't rest primarily on Tannehill. He contends the receivers, offensive line and everyone else has to do their part.

"It's not incumbent on him to rescue us," he said.

But in the quarterback-driven NFL it's almost always on the man under center. It's their league. That's why they're so prized. And that's why bringing back the Miami offense falls mainly on the quarterback.

"I know I have to go out and play well," Tannehill said. "I realize we're in a tough stretch right now coming off three tough losses, so I really need to go out and play well for four quarters, not just part of the game, and get us out of this slump."

Tannehill, who has been struggling mightily the last two weeks, is tasked with performing this miraculous offensive revival against Seattle, the NFL's fourth-best defense. It won't be easy. In fact, nothing has been easy for Tannehill in recent weeks.

The Dolphins contend the youngster isn't taking a step backward. They say defenses have taken a step forward.

"I don't see him regressing," Dolphins offensive coordinator Mike Sherman said of Tannehill, who has posted miserable quarterback ratings of 42.4 and 46.9 in his last two games.

"Some opportunities haven't really arisen enough where we've been able to say, 'Wow, that's a great job.' "

Seattle, with its multi-talented defense, could defend Miami any way it wants. They've got aggressive, Pro Bowl-caliber cornerbacks in Brandon Browner (6 feet 4) and Richard Sherman (6-3). They might be the best tandem in the NFL.

"[They're] big guys, physical guys," Philbin said. "They do a good job … they certainly aren't afraid to get in a receiver's [face], move up close to the line of scrimmage and get hands on guys."

Seattle also has quality safeties in Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor. Both made the Pro Bowl last year. The Seahawks, widely regarded as the best secondary in the NFL, don't need to drop extra men in coverage to make life tougher on Tannehill. But they have the option.

Defenses have also been giving Tannehill different looks and having success. They're not just showing zone at the line of scrimmage and then playing zone, for example.

"There is some disguise," Philbin said. "It looks like a two shell and then all of a sudden you snap the ball and they're spinning down to a different coverage."

The Dolphins say just because Tannehill's numbers have declined doesn't mean he's necessarily at fault. Sherman pointed to two such plays last week against Buffalo.

"To be honest with you, we've had some communication errors on the field," Sherman said. "One interception, there was a communication error between he and [wide receiver] Davone Bess and how he was going to break that route.

"The interception at the end of the game, he'll be the first to tell you [in] hindsight it wasn't a good decision, but he explains to you what he saw."

Tannehill remains a smart quarterback. But he knows the pressure will be on this week to turn that knowledge into a victory.