Miami Dolphins rookie QB Ryan Tannehill seems to make history whenever he takes the field.
The eighth-overall pick in April’s draft continued to pencil his name into the record book following a 17-13 win over the Bengals last weekend. Tannehill is the only rookie in NFL history to pass for more than 1,200 yards in his first five games and record at least two wins.
Overall, the former Texas A&M star has completed 57.4 percent of his passes for 1,269 yards with two touchdowns against six interceptions. He also has a rushing score.
“He's stepping up in the pocket and finding throws to make,” Dolphins offensive coordinator Mike Sherman said. “He had a great throw to (Davone) Bess on a scramble in the game. He’s created some plays with his feet by pushing up in the pocket. Yeah I would say those two areas, push in the pocket and decision making have definitely improved.”
Tannehill’s 70.4 quarterback rating has him ranked 30th in the league, but it still puts him ahead of Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, Kansas City's Matt Cassel and Browns rookie Brandon Weeden.
And Tannehill has shown he isn’t afraid to throw the deep ball.
He's thrown 19 passes of 20 or more yards, with just five signal callers having more this season. His yards per attempt (7.5) also is the 13th highest in the league.
“I think the film shows that he’s getting better,” Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said. “I think his command was good yesterday. I thought his decision making was good, threw the ball accurately, thought he had poise and, if you watch the tape, he looked like a pretty good quarterback. I was pleased with how he played yesterday. I think there’s some signs of development there.”
Practice like you play: Defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle wasn’t surprised when Miami DT Randy Starks intercepted a pass from Cincinnati QB Andy Dalton on Sunday.
“Last week we changed our routine on Friday,” Coyle said. “We do a fumble recovery drill, but this week we decided we were going to work on catching the ball, because we were dropping the lineman (into pass coverage) in certain things we were doing. True story. Plus, sometimes we try to change it up so it doesn’t get monotonous for them.”
Coyle credited defensive line coaches Kacy Rogers and Charlie Bullen with preparing the players.
“Charlie was whipping the ball at these D-linemen Friday, and the balls were bouncing everywhere. But we joked about it, because sure enough in the game, that ball is humming across the middle, and Randy picks it off. He looked like Jerry Rice out there. It was a great job by those two guys.”
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