Tom Pelissero

USA TODAY Sports

Tannehill has spent six years in the offense%2C dating to his days at Texas A%26M under Mike Sherman

Defenses can dictate some throws by the looks they throw at him

Tannehill is diplomatic%2C but it isn%27t lost on detractors that Sherman%27s record at A%26M was 25-25

Ryan Tannehill was silent for a moment when asked if the Miami Dolphins' offense focuses enough on matchups, which probably said plenty even before he began speaking.

"I think we try to," Tannehill told USA TODAY Sports recently, "but a lot of our offense is progression-read."

Tannehill has spent six years in that offense, dating to his days at Texas A&M under Mike Sherman, who was fired as head coach in December 2011 and became the Dolphins' coordinator a couple months later.

They've ranked 27th in offense both years since, despite their young quarterback's development and substantial investment in the weapons around him.

Running a system-based offense in a matchup league is part of the problem.

"You have alerts that you can take advantage of," Tannehill said. "But that's just our system at this point. I would say 80 to 90 percent of it is just going through progression."

Tannehill's eyes tell the tale. Defenses can dictate some throws by the looks they throw at him. Too often, he's simply not getting to the open man.

"You want to tailor certain things to the guys you have on your team," Tannehill said. "If you have a guy who does certain things really well, you want to try to include those in your game plan and just be balanced enough to where you're covering up your tendencies."

Tannehill is diplomatic on the subject, but it isn't lost on Sherman's detractors that his record at Texas A&M was 25-25. The Dolphins were 8-8 this season, and they may not do much better until they find someone to bring their offense into the 21st century.

It'd be an easier choice if not for Sherman's history with Dolphins coach Joe Philbin, who got his first NFL job as assistant offensive line coach on Sherman's staff with the Green Bay Packers in 2003.