Forgotten man in 2012 QB class, Ryan Tannehill 'wants to be great'

Tom Pelissero | USA TODAY Sports

DAVIE, Fla. — Within weeks of the season finale, Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill had broken down every game of his rookie year.

He'd broken them down before, of course, but he couldn't see his first 16 starts this way.

"You kind of get jaded throughout the season as you just watch the game," Tannehill told USA TODAY Sports after the Dolphins opened training camp.

"You study a team all week; you watch the game. Study the next team all week, you watch the game. To go back at the end of January, February, and just watch each game with a clear mind and watch it for exactly what it is ... you get to see exactly what it is on tape."

Tannehill broke down all of his throws by area, too. Right, middle, left. Short, intermediate, long.

By the end, he thought he'd identified several problem areas — all tracing back to inconsistent footwork, which he locked in on fixing the moment the team reconvened in April.

This is the Tannehill people inside Dolphins headquarters say they see on a daily basis.

"He's a guy who wants to be great," newly acquired wide receiver Mike Wallace said. "I see a guy who just wants it. I see him in the weight room. I see him on the field. He comes to work like he's a seventh-round draft pick, but he's a leader."

Tannehill, 24, was drafted eighth overall last year, beat out veteran Matt Moore for the job and started every game. But he was the forgotten quarterback of the stellar 2012 class.

He threw for 3,294 yards with 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions on a 7-9 team that lacked weapons, while fellow rookies Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson reached the playoffs.

"You look at (Tannehill's) skill set, his arm talent, his football mind, his work ethic; he's a good athlete, has good intelligence — there's not a lot of things he's lacking," Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said. "With the proper amount of work and time, devotion, which he's more than willing to give, he should develop."

The Dolphins knew before they drafted Tannehill it would take time, given he mostly played receiver until midway through his redshirt junior year at Texas A&M, where his current coordinator, Mike Sherman, was the head coach and ran the same breed of West Coast offense.

Footwork is part of the equation, since it can ruin a good decision and good timing by causing an inaccurate ball. Tannehill also is approaching his leadership position differently than he did in 2012, when he arrived two days late to camp after signing a four-year, $12.7 million contract.

"I couldn't really step out and be the leader I wanted to be, because, rookie, don't know where I'm going to be on the depth chart, don't want to be the guy that's running his mouth and is the third quarterback on the depth chart," Tannehill said.

"But this year I knew it was going to be my show going into the offseason. So I really could step out, work on my leadership, get guys together, organize meetings, organize throwing sessions."

Tannehill threw with teammates at the Dolphins' facility last week, getting extra reps to build timing and working on nonverbal communication in an up-tempo offense that features a lot of different sets and signals.

"He's been awesome," said tight end Dustin Keller, another key acquisition in the Dolphins' free-agent spending spree. "He has such a firm grasp on this offense, especially for a second-year player. I know he's been in this offense for a little while. But he has a great feel for the guys that are around him, his protection, stepping up and finding where the spot is in the pocket."

Said defensive end Cameron Wake, "He's more confident. He's more poised, even moreso than he was last year. That's what you want from a quarterback. You want a guy who's out there, who's confident, who knows what he's doing, who has the trust from the other guys around him, the faith, and out there delivering the ball.

"From one of the guys out there chasing him around, trying to make his day hard, I can definitely see it. He's a guy who's come into his own."

Tannehill's quick to say he's not there yet, as the tape from last season shows. He knows it when he looks at, for instance, the way his shoulders get turned square to the field instead of staying perpendicular as he moves left in the pocket.

Philbin's offensive philosophy revolves around giving his quarterback as many options as possible, and the addition of a vertical speed threat such as Wallace has the potential to open up more routes underneath.

It's up to Tannehill to find the open man — and set his feet.

"As long as you have a guy who's going to be the leader of the team that wants to be great and wants to get better every single day, you're going in the right direction," Wallace said.

"That's a guy who I would put my money on any day."