Miami Dolphins: Why You Should Build Around Team, Not a Player

The Miami Dolphins running out to the field.

Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, and Tom Brady.

That’s a short list to get named on. It’s only those five quarterbacks in the NFL today that are considered elite and for good measure. Each of these teams has quarterbacks that are intelligent, careful with the football, not turnover prone, and they all thrive under pressure.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill (#17) with owner Stephen Ross.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill (#17) with owner Stephen Ross.

Outside of those five, you might be able to say that Andrew Luck, Jameis Winston, and Marcus Mariota are on a short list of getting to that level too because they all will reach elite status in the future (especially Luck when he cuts down on turnovers). However, unless you have one of those five players on your team then your formula to win games is simple, build a better team.

Nevertheless, unless you have one of those five players on your team then your formula to win games is simple, build a better team.

The season for the Miami Dolphins is over, that’s the bad news. The good news is they’ve found out that the problem with their offense really isn’t their quarterback Ryan Tannehill. At the end of the day, you could ask teams like the Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Houston Texans, Chicago Bears and St. Louis Rams if they would take a flyer on Tannehill. You could even ask more teams than that. Tannehill’s role as a player is to limit mistakes on the field and take shots downfield when they are available. At times, we get a little too impatient because we want him to play at a level that he wasn’t created to reach. Has Tannehill reached his full potential as a player yet? Probably not. But can he still continue to get better, and that answer is probably, too. Tannehill isn’t the reason the Dolphins have been mediocre the last two decades. It’s not his fault that their mediocre now.

Tannehill’s role as a player is to limit mistakes on the field and take shots downfield when they are available. At times, we get a little too impatient because we want him to play at a level that he wasn’t created to reach. Has Tannehill reached his full potential as a player yet? Probably not. But can he still continue to get better, and that answer is probably, too. Tannehill isn’t the reason the Dolphins have been mediocre the last two decades. It’s not his fault that they’re mediocre now.

At times, we get a little too impatient because we want him to play at a level that he wasn’t created to reach. Has Tannehill reached his full potential as a player yet? Probably not. But can he still continue to get better, and that answer is probably, too. Tannehill isn’t the reason the Dolphins have been mediocre the last two decades. It’s not his fault that they’re mediocre now.

The Dolphins team needs to start building their team not around a single player like Tannehill but around a single principle of winning. For a quarterback like Tannehill, having a bit of the game plan not focused around you isn’t a bad thing. The proof is in the pudding when the Dolphins are running the football and getting physical at the line of scrimmage they are a much better team. Instead of trying to force the issue through the air, why not start working the ground game more?

The Miami Dolphins running back Lamar Miller (#26).
The Miami Dolphins running back Lamar Miller (#26).

The Dolphins have dialed back Tannehill’s game and it’s been productive to their overall team success. In the last game against the Baltimore Ravens, Miami escaped with a 15-13 win because the game plan was to run the football, control the clock, and to play good defense. Their plan worked and Tannehill in the process only threw the football 19 times, and his teammate running back Lamar Miller got 20 carries. Against the New York Giants, Miami started applying the same logic and their intelligence paid off. In the first half alone Miami put the football in Lamar Miller’s hands seven times in the first half and he answered with 69 yards, a 9.9 yards per carry average and two rushing touchdowns. It was also a game the Dolphins scored 24 points which

Against the New York Giants, Miami started applying the same logic and their intelligence paid off. In the first half alone Miami put the football in Lamar Miller’s hands seven times in the first half and he answered with 69 yards, a 9.9 yards per carry average and two rushing touchdowns. It was also a game the Dolphins scored 24 points which was the fourth time they’ve scored 20 points all year.

Having Miller as the homerun threat and using Tannehill as the way to move the chains is a plan that everyone has been dying for the entire year. Ryan Tannehill isn’t Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady or anyone like that and it’s ok. His game is good enough to win and he most of the time will not be the reason why you lose.

They need a better team including bigger cornerbacks, offensive linemen, a new decent tight end, and some linebackers.

D’Joumbarey A. Moreau covers sports in Miami-Dade & Broward County. You can follow him on Twitter@DJoumbarey.

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