Interesting thoughts on Tannehill

When the Dolphins and Eagles met recently, the starting quarterbacks shared an unfortunate distinction. Of the QBs with the NFL’s 20 biggest contracts, Ryan Tannehill and Sam Bradford are the only ones who have had neither a winning season nor led his team to the playoffs. And Bradford, whose Eagles are tied for first place in the NFC East, is closer to changing that than Tannehill is.

That factoid wouldn't be quite as disconcerting if Tannehill’s play was consistently good. But it hasn’t been. And some pundits are starting to go on the attack.

“Tannehill is going to get more people fired,” former CBS analyst Shannon Sharpe said. “He’s not done.”

“With Billy Lazor gone, I assume Tannehill will stop telegraphing every pass, show pocket awareness and play with anticipation and accuracy,” ESPN analyst and former personnel executive Louis Riddick said sarcastically.

This much is clear: The Dolphins need a head coach and/or coordinator who can reverse this regression. If not, it will force a decision in spring 2017, just before the big base salaries on his $96 million contract start to kick in.

Despite his uneven play this season, the Dolphins remain committed to him, though they might draft a quarterback as protection behind him. They won't find anyone better in free agency this offseason, and they know that.

Keep in mind the $21.5 million in guaranteed money in Tannehill’s deal includes the signing bonus and his 2015 and 2016 base salaries, but nothing beyond, allowing Miami a clean break if he underperforms in 2016.

He's due between $17.9 million and $19.5 million every season from 2017 through 2020, after making $9.3 million in 2016.

One caveat: $3.5 million of his non-guaranteed $17.9 million base salary in 2017 becomes guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2016 league year, 17 months before that season.

“They need [a head coach] with a proven record to clean things up and somebody who can put together a staff to resurrect the quarterback’s career, somebody that can really get this guy playing with confidence and changing a little bit of his demeanor with his teammates,” CBS analyst and former NFL MVP Rich Gannon said by phone. “This isn’t like JP Losman or Colin Kaepernick. He throws the ball well enough.

“He has made steady progress in terms of completion percentage, decision making, touchdown to interception ratio. The guy is tough and durable. What’s troubling is the most important stat of all, which is wins and losses. That’s ultimately how you’re judged in our business.”

Tannehill is 28-32 as a starter.

Of the quarterbacks with the 20 richest contracts, Tannehill (21 TDs, 11 picks) has the fifth-worst passer rating (88.3) and the fifth-worst completion percentage (61.4) this season.

And among every quarterback in the league, Tannehill is third-worst in percentage of third-down throws (28.3) that are completed for first downs; only Bradford and Nick Foles are worse.

Former Falcons and Packers executive Ken Herock, who now prepares prospects for the NFL Draft, told me two years ago that Tannehill will always be a 7-9 or 8-8 quarterback and he still feels that way. Why so?

“I never thought he had the consistency to be accurate enough or make enough big plays,” Herock said recently. “I can see him maybe slipping into the top 15 among quarterbacks some season but not consistently staying there. He can be a starter on a 9- or maybe a 10-win team if he had a better supporting cast. But he can’t take a team over the hump.

“But where do you find someone better? It would not be in free agency. It would have to be in the draft. I would try to go another route, bring in somebody to compete with him.”

Others view him more favorably.

CBS’ Phil Simms said he is going to be the starter here for a long time.

“He’s a really solid NFL quarterback,” Simms said. "[Longterm], we’ll judge him on the won/loss record.”

Gannon said Tannehill “reminds me of [Cincinnati’s] Andy Dalton but hasn’t shown the consistency [that Dalton has this season]. Dalton worked with [QB guru and former MLB pitching coach] Tom House. There is some merit to working with someone. Ryan has thrown the deep ball so much better and has to continue to work on it. I’m a prime example: It’s an area you can get better.

“Everything around Ryan is impacting his production or lack of production. I look at changes with the coordinator, with the head coaches, the front office and philosophical changes. Being sacked [so many] times. All these things impact growth and development at that position.”

Gannon said Tannehill “has to be more demonstrative. I would like to see him show some emotion at some point. If it’s me, I’m marching to New York to [owner] Stephen Ross’ office [this offseason] and say, ‘I’m pissed off and I want to see change. I’m not going to tolerate this anymore!’ Unless he’s OK with how things are. Some guys are OK with that.”

Gannon said he told his Raiders teammates in 1999, “If this [expletive] doesn’t change, I will sell life insurance.” Gannon wants to see that fire from Tannehill.

Campbell, asked by Giants writers to assess Ryan Tannehill's season: "I feel like he's played solid football for us and I feel like with where we're trying to go now is to give him the best opportunity to have success. I think that there's a certain way to use Ryan Tannehill and that's what we're trying to do with him and set him up to give him the best chance of success possible. I'm glad he's our quarterback right now."

Campbell told Giants writers he believes he will be a head coach in the NFL for a long time: "I'm not the one who makes those decisions, but yes, I do feel like I know it's in my blood and I feel like I'm doing what I was meant to be doing. Certainly this is a win business, you've got to win games, but this definitely does not feel like it's too big for me or it's over my head, I've gotten more comfortable every week. I'm doing everything that I can to win games here."