Watch Every Ryan Tannehill Dropback vs. the Kansas City Chiefs Defense [Video]
By Brett Gering
The past week hasn’t been kind to Ryan Tannehill. Time and again, he dropped back in the pocket, looking like an upright deer in the headlights as a swarm of locusts—the Kansas City Chiefs pass rush—engulfed him.
Alex Smith averaged 7.4 yards per pass attempt and completed 76 percent—or in his critics’ books, a solid “C”—of his passes; Tannehill averaged 4.8 and completed fewer than half (48.8) of his.
When a starter authors a subpar effort, it can spark a quarterback controversy. Most head coaches downplay the thought; Joe Philbin doused it with 747 fuel.
A compilation of Tannehill’s Week 3 dropbacks, courtesy of Reddit user Mikedubs22, shows three things: a blitzkrieg of a pass rush, a disjointed passing “attack” and (offensive) play-calling that makes Brian Daboll look like Bill Walsh.
Let’s start with this: If Branden Albert and Ja’Wuan James entered Sun Life Stadium with egos, they didn’t leave with them.
Albert’s battle with Tamba Hali seesawed back and forth. Justin Houston, on the other hand, bullied James throughout most of the afternoon. (And just to reiterate, Dee Ford’s first step is ridiculous.)
Miami was also it’s own worst enemy, though.
Tannehill’s footwork was erratic at best. Throwing off of his back/plant foot became a trend, usually resulting in misfired duds. There were several instances in which his decision-making negated easy second- or third-down conversions as well.
Miami’s receivers have the hands of Thing from Fantastic Four.
And the play-calling? If you’re an offensive coordinator and the opponent is breaking the huddle with a makeshift secondary, running the ball on 3rd-and-10 seems…counterproductive. Flip the script, and when your team is averaging seven-plus yards per carry—trailing by six with 10 minutes and change on the clock—2nd-and-1 shouldn’t pave the way for two consecutive passes.
In other words, Miami’s ineptness probably made Kansas City’s defense look a hair better than it should have. Then again, the Chiefs also dropped a handful of (what would’ve been) momentum-swinging interceptions.
This much is true: Even if Tom Brady is deteriorating, he’s still head and shoulders above Tannehill. He’s not going to heave a 30-yard prayer on 3rd-and-1 instead of hitting the open checkdown in the flat.
This much is also true: Nate Solder is one of the worst left tackles in the league. In terms of skill, he and Albert reside on opposites sides of the spectrum. Outside of right tackle Sebastian Vollmer, the Patriots O-line blocks pass-rushers like tents block avalanches.
Win or lose, Brady can expect Arrowhead to be just as deafening in the fourth as it is in the first.
Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com.