Ryan Tannehill named Dolphins starting quarterback by Joe Philbin

Tannehill was named the Fins starter Monday. (US Presswire)

Spoiler alert: when you watch Hard Knocks this week, you're going to find out that Ryan Tannehill is the Dolphins starting quarterback for Week 3 of the preseason and the regular season. That's because Joe Philbin announced the news on Monday at his press conference.

The news isn't a tremendous surprise, given that Tannehill received the start on Friday night against the Panthers, didn't totally mess himself and also managed to outperform Matt Moore in one fell swoop.

"It was a close competition, but in the end we feel that this is the best decision for our football team at the present time," Philbin said Monday.

As we mentioned on Friday night, neither quarterback was great in Charlotte, but it was obvious that Tannehill has the edge over Moore.

The rookie struggled early on, but had an impressive group of drives in the second quarter and clearly flashed more upside than Moore possess. Moore's a known quantity, and that's not necessarily a compliment. That doesn't mean Philbin knew which direction he'd go with the quarterback decision, regardless of the outcome.

"I didn't have a lot of preconceived notion as to who it was going to be," Philbin said when asked how 'open' the competition was.

That's a nice sentiment, of course, but there's also this: Tannehill represents upside for the Dolphins and is the long-term face of the franchise. Moore might've been a leader last year, but as long as Tannehill's prepared to get out there and produce from day one without being an abject disaster, it's probably the best thing for this franchise.

And even if he totally and completely flops -- and he could, given the skill position talent around Miami -- it'll at least give him some "in the fire" experience and move the Dolphins towards the future.

In other words, it's the right call.

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