Ryan Tannehill excelling under offensive coordinator Bill Lazor

Written by Matthew Cannata at 2:00 PM EST | Twitter: @PhinManiacs

It was only a few weeks ago that there was chatter about Ryan Tannehill possibly being benched because he was struggling and wasn’t executing the offense at a high level. Fast forward a few weeks and Tannehill is one of the best quarterbacks in the league. What’s the reason for it? Tannehill said that it all has to do with the comfort level in the offense and really getting the offensive system engrained into his mind.

“Obviously I’ve become more comfortable in the offense. I think the receivers are getting more comfortable in the different things that we’re running and we’re getting better at it. The more and more reps you get, the better you are at it. Guys are playing well right now. You look at the offensive line, who did an outstanding job in pass protection today, kept me clean and I got to go through my progressions. Got to number four in progressions a couple times and kept me clean. And in the run game, they did a good job of creating holes and having an effective run game.”

Mike Pouncey, who is the leader of the offensive line, said that you can see Tannehill getting more and more comfortable each day and week and believes that he will only continue to get better.

“This is the second offense that he has been in since he has been in the NFL. Anytime you switch to a new offense it takes time to adjust to it, and get to all the kinks and stuff out. He’s been playing great all year, and this was a game where he showcased his talents. I think Bill Lazor is doing a great job. He came in, he’s brought the intensity we needed on offense. He’s brought in the playbook that matches our skillset. We went out and played and performed really well today.”  

One example of the comfort level that Tannehill is experiencing is the touchdown pass to Rishard Matthews after he scrambled around the pocket trying to avoid a sack.

“I got all the way back through the progression, they were playing a zone coverage,” Tannehill said. “They had the first three guys covered, almost threw it to number four, pulled it down, escaped to my left and Rishard did a great job of uncovering and creating space to the outside. I was about to run it, but then I saw him with no one around him and then just got him the ball.”

That play, along with many others on Sunday, proved that Tannehill can be one of the best quarterbacks in the league if he has everything clicking for him. He’s done a great job over the past several weeks and we can only hope that it continues and this hasn’t been some kind of fluke. 

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