Ryan Tannehill adjusting to the new offense and ready to make noise

Written by Matthew Cannata | Twitter: @PhinManiacs
For the first three weeks of the season, Ryan Tannehill struggled as he missed open receivers, was inaccurate and had trouble making quick decisions. Yes, the receivers and running backs also dropped a ton of passes but there were also some downfalls to Tannehill’s game. 

Now that he has four weeks under his belt, including a huge game against the Oakland Raiders, he’s ready to continue to make some noise.

“I think first and foremost being in manageable on third downs. You can’t be in long-yard situations. Then once you establish that, it’s a matter of making the play - of making the throw that’s there, the receivers winning downfield, having the right play called and the protection.”

Joe Philbin believes that Tannehill has progressed well and is pleased with what he’s seen, although he admits that continues to need to improve and get to the next level.

“I think he’s done well. We saw definite progress in between year one and year two. He’s obviously coming off the best performance he’s had this season. I think he’s done a really good job in the decision making aspect of things. I think we’ve seen a lot of improvement there. He’s completing 60 percent of his passes. He’s cut down on his interceptions. The passing game, as I’ve said for years and years, it really kind of takes three things. It takes protection, it takes precision in the route timing and spacing and it needs accuracy from the quarterback. We’ve got to get better in all three of those things in our passing game. Our passing game is not quite where it needs to be but I think we’re making strides.”

Tannehill believes that these next few games will go a long way in determining how far the Dolphins go in 2014. They’ll have the Packers, Chicago Bears and the Jacksonville Jaguars over the next three weeks and this could make or break their season.

“Yeah, it’s the second half of the season. I think every year, no matter who is on your schedule, your destiny is determined by how you play in the second half of the season. So we’re not quite at the second half yet, but we have a big stretch in front of us that will determine how far we go.”   

Let’s hope they start this stretch with a win on Sunday against the Packers before heading off to Chicago to face Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and the rest of the Chicago Bears.

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