Does Miami play Tannehill or Moore in the playoffs?

Florio wrote:Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the week-to-week scenario has now become day-to-day for Tannehill, who suffered 15 days ago a Grade II MCL sprain and a slight tear of his ACL on a low hit from Cardinals defensive lineman Calais Campbell. With the cast, which was used to stabilize the knee so that the MCL could heal, now gone the question becomes whether the MCL has healed enough to let Tannehill play.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/12/26/dolphins-taking-a-day-to-day-approach-to-ryan-tannehill/

So what ya'll think. I say keep him out until we know that he is healthy enough to play which might be next year. Risking his knee might not be worth it but at the same time Tannehill might be Miami only hope to the Superbowl. Moore on the other hand has shown that he can hold his own and could get a win for Miami in the playoffs.

What do you do if you were Gase.

Roll with Moore. A gimpy Tannehill is of no use.

I keep thinking about RGIII out there in 2012 unable to move laterally and ending up severely injuring his knee. As it turned out, a very promising career was derailed and he never has been a productive player again since.

I also remember the 2003 NBA playoffs. Nowitzki hurt his knee seriously in the first game against San Antonio. Even though a trip to the Finals was at stake, Don Nelson refused to rush Dirk back out there before his knee was healed properly. It created a rift between the owner and the coach, but the coach was right. You don't risk the man's career for one post-season. As it turned out, a properly healed Nowitzki took them to the playoffs every year for another 12 years, including two Finals trips and a title.

I wouldn't risk a complete ACL tear by rushing him back. I'd ride with Moore. But it is a tough decision.

If Tannehill is completely healthy, he's the QB - it's not even a question. But, we don't really know what the full story is...my guess is that he's not going to be ready to play again this season.

Game on the line and need to move the ball. Tanny drops back and gets sacked and fumbles or throws a pick. Moore hopefully does what is needed. Matty SHOW ME Moore.

I guess that says a lot. Tannehill has way more game winning wins then I thought. IMO, Tannehill has come a long way from what he was when he first started with the Dolphins. I play him if he was healthy and ready to go if he not then don't risk it, especially not for the NE game.

I would not risk Tannehill. Not in the 1st playoff game at least....

Now if they somehow miraculously make it to the AFC Championship game....

I say brace that sucker up two or three times and trot him out there!!!

Besides, I am really enjoying Moore playing and winning just because I know how much JMP LOVES Matt Moore!!!!

If Tannehill is not recovered, he should not play.  We are not running the table in the playoffs.  We need him for next year.

Besides, Moore is Jesus.  Ask any Tannehater.  We only need Matt Moore, the guy who was so good not one team would take a runner on him in free agency.  He's the new Johnny U.  All Hail Matt Moore!

Don't get me wrong, I'm loving that Moore is winning, and I'd like nothing more than to keep winning. Just, perspective.

I say allow Matt Moore take the helm then trade him to Cleveland for one of their picks.

Moore was awful for most of that Bills game.  We're not beating the Steelers if he plays like that against them.  I certainly don't want to rush Tannehill back if it means his knee could get worse, but I'd feel a helluva lot more confident heading into the playoffs with him at QB instead of Moore.

As for trading Moore to Cleveland, the Browns have enough issues at QB.  They need a solution, not Matt Moore.  LOL

Ryan Tannehill could play if Gase feels that he is healed enough to play.

Gase wrote:“I’m going to have to see him practice. I’m going to have to feel really good about this.”

At this point, it's evident that they're not going anywhere anyway. Only play Tannehill if he's ready.

Degarmo wrote:At this point, it's evident that they're not going anywhere anyway. Only play Tannehill if he's ready.

I wouldn't play him against Pittsburgh. But I wouldn't rule out the Patriots should a miracle occur Sunday.

Seems like Gase has been ultra-conservative with injured players this season, so I'd be shocked if Tannehill plays.  

That said - if he's healthy, I'd definitely play him.  I'm already sick of seeing Matt Moore throw late and behind receivers, and close his eyes and randomly throw the ball up 2-3 times a game.

It's an easy decision for me.

Why not roll with Moore? Multiple reasons to do so:
1. Look at our defense. It's a shambled mess and we're playing way too many backups to have a real shot at making any noise in the playoffs. It's easy to forget the magnitude of the injury bug until you really look at what has transpired: we're missing both starting safeties, one of whom is a probowl talent. We're missing two starting linebackers on what was already a weak unit. We're missing a starting boundary CB in Maxwell. Pittsburgh is playing worlds better than when we last saw them in Miami, it will be a miracle if we can hold them under 30 points.

2. Tanny is not healthy. Even if he can play, he won't be able to move and run like he needs to. A huge part of his game that will be missing.

3. Tannehill hasn't played in live game action for four weeks. What do you think the chances are he'll hit the ground in Pittsburgh and play sharp? There's going to be more than a negligible amount of rust to work off.

4. For all the flaws in Moore's game, statistically he is performing at a high level. His passer rating of 105.6 ranks ahead of Prescott and Aaron Rodgers. He doesn't have Tannehill's upside, and doesn't play as mistake-free, but he's playing more than well enough to win. The problem, again, is going to be our defense (especially back 7) and offensive line. Starting Tanny does nothing to address those problems.

This is the playoffs.  Do whatever you can to try to win.  If Tannehill can play, he needs to play.  He gives us the best chance to win, and it's not even close.  Statistics aside, Moore is a trainwreck that makes tons and tons of bad passes every game.  He's played better than I expected, but he just makes way too many off-target throws and loves to throw the ball up for grabs.

Postseason time, you go all in.  You can stand up, you play.  That's how I look at it.  I'm not thinking about next season right now...I'm thinking about beating the Steelers.  If Gase thinks Tannehill is ready, line him up and go.

This is the playoffs. Do whatever you can to try to win. If Tannehill can play, he needs to play. He gives us the best chance to win, and it's not even close.

I will qualify that by saying a HEALTHY Tannehill gives us the best chance to win. With limited mobility, I think what he does best takes a huge step back. Namely, his rollouts and throwing while on the move, and his play-action passing. For both he needs to be able to move and cut at full speed, and I just can't see that after a grade 2 sprain of both MCL and ACL, and only a few weeks recovery.

Assuming he gets cleared to play - as long as Tannehill's arm is fine, I'll take my chances.  Again, pull out all the stops - get your best players on the field and find a way to win.

his knee has to be great before I start him. Don't want him to hurt it worst then it will end his career

Don't want him to hurt it worst then it will end his career

It would be nearly as bad to aggravate it to an extent he needs surgery. If that happens being we are in the first week of January, highly unlikely he could play at all in 2017.

white1 wrote:

Don't want him to hurt it worst then it will end his career

It would be nearly as bad to aggravate it to an extent he needs surgery.  If that happens being we are in the first week of January, highly unlikely he could play at all in 2017.

We have no real idea what the extent of the injury is, and we don't know if he can re-injure it further by playing.  We also don't know how long he'd be sidelined if he does need surgery.  Many players return 9 months after ACL surgery - sometimes sooner.

Bottom line - if Gase thinks he's ready to go, he's going to start - regardless of what we think.  If you can have your #1 QB in the game, you do it - no question.

I don't think he'll be ready to play - but we've gotten almost zero factual information about the injury, so there's no way of knowing for sure if he'll play till we get closer to gameday.  But if he has been practicing even a little bit, as has been reported, I'd say that's a good sign.

Ryan Tannehill is still not ready, and probably won’t be in time for Sunday’s wild-card game against the Steelers.

“Unless something changes drastically in the next few days,” Matt Moore will start on Sunday, Gase told reporters.

Tannehill’s injured knee, which has kept him out of the past three games, was not healthy enough for him to practice Wednesday. He was an observer in street clothes, wearing a brace on his ailing left knee.

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article124488609.html

i think the Dolphins have known all along that there was no chance Tannehill would play, but put the possibility out there just to make Pittsburgh think about it.

i'm also not entirely convinced that Gase doesn't prefer Moore to Tannehill (at least in the short term), but knows full well that his long-term wagon is hitched to Tannehill being successful.

mercury22nathan wrote:i'm also not entirely convinced that Gase doesn't prefer Moore to Tannehill (at least in the short term), but knows full well that his long-term wagon is hitched to Tannehill being successful.

I don't know...Gase has spent a lot of time grooming Tannehill, and while Tannehill still isn't great, he did show a lot of improvement in key areas.  The offense just isn't as good with Moore.  Yes, he was great against an awful Jets' defense, but he was awful for the entire first half against the Bills and he was awful for the majority of the game against the Patriots.  Hell, the Dolphins didn't even reach 200 yards of offense till the 4th quarter against New England.  Moore has done well as a backup - better than I expected - but let's be honest...he's not Ryan Tannehill.  Moore's accuracy sucks...far too any passes thrown late and behind receivers and far too many passes chucked up for grabs.  Tannehill is far from perfect, but he's the best QB this team has, and it's really not close.  I think Gase understands that.

Tannehill's knee injury was 1 cm away from being gruesome. Gase knows that if he rushes Tannehill back, with a less-than-stellar supporting cast, that his own future could be in serious trouble. He's smarter than that, and he's not gonna Shannahan Tannehill all Robert Griffin III style.