Ok, so he might not be that good and he might not be that reliable, but desperate times call for desperate measures, meaning that owners who are scrambling for a quarterback this week might want to familiarize themselves with Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill.
Just take a look at these numbers:
Week 9: 29/48, 400 passing yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs, 48.8 QBR
Week 10: Bye Week
Week 11: 19/28, 209 passing yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 91.5 QBR
Week 12: 19/36, 150 passing yards, 2 TDs, 1 INTs, 28.1 QBR
Week 13: 15/30, 272 passing yards, 0 TDs, 1 INTs, 67.6 QBR
Week 14: 29/44, 391 passing yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 87.7 QBR
Unfortunately, those aren’t Tannehill’s stats. However, they are what the Patriots passing defense has given up to Ben Roethlisberger, Cam Newton, Peyton Manning, Case Keenum and Jason Campbell over their past five games.
Add it all up and the Patriots have surrendered an average of 284.4 passing yards and 2.4 touchdowns over their last five games while picking off the ball less than once per contest. It’s also worth noting that the three quarterbacks on that list who are mobile: Newton, Keenum and Campbell, also were able to move the ball by scrambling with various degree of success. It’s not his best skill, but Tannehill is faster than he looks.
So what does all of that tell you about Tannehill? Not much – but he’s playing the Pats.
Considering how he has fared against Bill Belichick and the Patriots in his previous three career starts, that might not necessarily be a good thing, but his upside could be worth the risk. In his previous games against the Pats, Tannehill has completed 55 of 106 passes (52%) for 613 yards, two touchdowns and three picks. He’s also been sacked 16 times and put the ball on the ground three times.
That said, in his last three games of this season, Tannehill has been pretty good with 841 passing yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. Those numbers look even better when taking into account that they came against the fairly sturdy defenses of the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers. Granted, none of those teams are the ’85 Bears, but they are all better at defending the pass than the current incarnation of the Patriots.
For owners in need of a solid but unspectacular spot-starter, Tannehill could certainly fit the bill given the plus matchup.
Evan Bleier is a freelance writer based out of wherever he can plug in his laptop. You can send him questions, comments and Buffalo wing suggestions @itishowitis or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
