Coaching staff pleased with Ryan Tannehill and his performance

Written by Matthew Cannata | Twitter: @PhinManiacs
Ryan Tannehill completed 23 of 31 passes for 278 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception while averaging 9 yards per completion on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders. The coaching staff, who weren’t particularly impressed with Tannehill so far this season before then, changed their tune on Monday.

“I thought he played very well. The big thing, I thought his play speed was very good. His decision making was good. He threw the ball accurately, so I thought he played a very good football game,” Joe Philbin said. “He had a good practice week. We talk all the time about the transfer from the practice field to the game field, and I thought he threw the ball well. He had good velocity. The location was good. I think he was just kind of clicking. He was kind of getting the ball out of his hand. We didn’t have a lot of third downs or third-and-longs. I thought he made a heck of a throw, maybe the best throw he made was that opening drive of the second half. I thought that was an outstanding throw when he threw to Brian (Hartline) on the sideline. They blitzed and he took a shot as he threw the ball. It had excellent location. I thought he threw the ball well, he really did.”

Offensive Coordinator Bill Lazor was in typical form on Monday, being careful not to go over the top with praise but giving just enough to show confidence in his quarterback and team.

“I felt like mentally he was really on top of what was happening. He wasn’t perfect, but he understood his mistakes. I believe he’s going to have a chance to learn from each of them. It’s just there is no substitution for experience. You can talk to a guy, teach him, walk through. But until he experiences some of the things that are going to happen on the game field, you are just not going to really learn it and take it in. I think every single thing that happened yesterday shows number one that the experience of the first three games plus the preseason is adding up for him, and number two the way he acted and reacted on the sideline tells me that he is going to continue to learn from what’s happening.”

Tannehill was criticized throughout the past week and there was a lot of drama surrounding him and the quarterback position. He came out though with a chip on his shoulder and proved to everyone that he can get the job done when it matters most. Now, he’ll have to keep that up in week 6 when they face the Green Bay Packers so he can continue to quiet the crowd.

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