After battling some adversity, Ryan Tannehill is thriving on the field

Written by Matthew Cannata | Twitter: @PhinManiacs
Several weeks ago before the Miami Dolphins took on the Oakland Raiders, Joe Philbin created a quarterback controversy by refusing to publicly name Ryan Tannehill the starter. That week was filled with drama, sound bites and much more but Tannehill quieted his critics in that Raiders game by going 23 for 31 with 278 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, Philbin said that dealing with those types of things are part of the game and he’s proud of the way Tannehill overcame it.

“Inevitably if you are in the game long enough or you walk on the planet long enough, you are going to have things happen to you that maybe you didn’t plan on happening, didn’t want to have happen, and you have to deal with them. I think that happens, and that is part of the maturation of all us I think at various points in time. I’m sure you’ve had some in your career.”

"He is doing a nice job. The last couple weeks we have certainly seen development and improvement with him. He’s done a good job with his feet. He’s done a good job decision making and he has taken better care of the football. I view the improvements he has made and the improvements the offense has made in general around him. I think the receivers, the passing game, the timing and the spacing of the passing game has been better. That has helped him and he has helped them as well.”

For Tannehill, he’s just glad he’s back playing football to the level he expects of himself and looks forward to improving each day and each week.

“I’m just glad we’re playing good football, myself and the team. You want to improve every week, and you know I think we’ve done that. Sometimes it’s been obvious, sometimes not so obvious. But I think we’re improving consistently, and that’s what you want is guys getting more comfortable on the field, myself included and things start clicking. When you’re out there playing in the flow, not thinking about things, just getting to know the offense better, getting to know all the concepts that we’re using. It’s fun to go out and play and not think about it.” 

With that in mind, how much potential does Tannehill really have? Philbin said that a lot of is untapped and he looks forward to developing him for as long as they’re together.

“That is the fun part of coaching and playing, we still think that there is a lot of room for development and we have seen development and we want to see continued development. He has got a strong arm, he’s a good athlete, he’s a very hard worker, he’s very diligent in his preparation. He’s kind of a gym rat, he is here all the time and it’s important to him. When something is important to someone and they have good physical skill then there is room and a chance for someone to develop.”

Tannehill will look to continue his string of impressive performances against the suspect Jacksonville Jaguars defense on Sunday.