For Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill, Dan Marino comparisons begin

Tannehill impressed in his first preseason game. (US PRESSWIRE)

There are two schools of thought when it comes to young quarterbacks, particularly those drafted in the first round: bring them along slowly, let them learn by watching, and put them on the field when they're ready (see: Philip Rivers). Alternatively, team can throw rookies into the fire and see what happens (see: Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez).

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For the Dolphins, an outfit that won six games last season and with little in the way of expectations heading into 2012 despite hiring new head coach Joe Philbin, the time is now for their rookie first-rounder Ryan Tannehill. Offseason acquisition David Garrard topped the team's first official depth chart but that was before arthroscopic surgery sidelined him for 4-6 weeks. Matt Moore capably handled the job during the second half of last season but he's not the long-term answer in Miami. Tannehill, taken eighth overall is and he showed glimpses of that during his Week 1 preseason performance against the Buccaneers.

And that effort was enough to prompt the Miami Herald to proclaim that "Tannehill is what fans have been longing for since Dan Marino." So much for managing expectations. To be fair, this is also a fan base that, since 2000, has had to endure the likes of Jay Fiedler, A.J. Feeley, Gus Frerotte, Joey Harrington, Cleo Lemon, Chad Pennington and Chad Henne among others. You can forgive them for lacking patience while latching onto anything resembling the qualities found in a franchise quarterback.

“(Tannehill's) really impressive,” running back Reggie Bush said via the Herald's Armando Salguero. “I've been really impressed with him these last few weeks [with] what he's been able to do and, as a rookie, just coming in here with the pressure obviously of potentially being the starting quarterback.

“He looks really poised. He throws a very nice ball. He's on time and he has that leadership about him. You can see with the way he's running the offense and with the way he just stands back there and throws the ball. He's looking really good.”

Unlike Indianapolis or Washington, two organizations that used first-round picks on franchise quarterbacks, Miami and Tannehill have faced little of the media scrutiny that now engulfs Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. Again, part of that has to do with expectations while some of it is the result of the distractions brought about by Chad Johnson's off-field issues.

Appearing with the second team in Miami's first preseason game, Tannehill completed 14 of 21 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown (the only Dolphins score on the night). While it's silly to conclude that Tannehill's now ready for the rigors of an NFL regular season, there's no logical reason to keep him on the bench, either. Unlike Jake Locker, taken eighth overall in 2011 by the Titans, the Dolphins didn't sign a veteran and pay him $9 million. That helps explain why Matt Hasselbeck started most of Tennessee's games a season ago.

So let's say Tannehill is the Dolphins' Week 1 starter. What can we expect? No idea, but there are reasons for optimism. In general, recent showings by Cam Newton, Andy Dalton and even T.J. Yates are encouraging. Getting specific, Tannehill has something none of them do: undrafted rookie free agent Chris Hogan. As you may have heard in the second episode of HBO's Hard Knocks "he's always open."

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