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Miami Dolphins Quarterbacks: Worse Than the Cleveland Browns?

By Blake Yagman

Sep 11, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17) rushes for a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 11, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17) rushes for a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dolphins’ Ryan Tannehill Leads a Lengthy List of  Quarterbacks Who Have Failed to Make Miami A Contender

The plight of Cleveland Browns quarterbacks is one of the saddest tales known to fankind; however, the Miami Dolphins QB quandary may actually be worse. As a 24-year-old Miami-native, this is an article I have wanted to write since I was about six.

Since the retirement of Dan Marino, the Miami Dolphins have started enough quarterbacks to nearly field a full team (17). Marino– the Dolphins all time leading passer who retired in 1999– seemingly left the Dolphins in as bad of a quarterback vacuum as the Cleveland Browns.

In the 18 years since Dan Marino last wore a Dolphins uniform, Miami has won only one playoff game (2000): much of that is due to the the team’s constant state of flux at the quarterback position.

While the Browns have started 25 quarterbacks over the same period of time, Miami’s 17 signal-callers better represent the misery of the Dolphins franchise. Miami quarterbacks fall on a wider spectrum of talent than do the Browns’. They range from extremely physically gifted but raw (A.J. Feeley), to reconstruction projects (Daunte Culpepper, Joey Harrington), to the less-talented sons of former Dolphins quarterbacks (Brian Griese) and overvalued draft-picks (Chad Henne, John Beck).

Like Robert Griffin III, many Cleveland Browns quarterbacks only started one game or so; the Dolphins specialized in extending mediocre and poor quarterback play for as long as possible. Here are the Dolphins quarterbacks since the retirement of Dan Marino:

Sep 21, 2014; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterbacks Matt Moore (8) and Ryan Tannehill (17) prior to the game at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 21, 2014; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterbacks Matt Moore (8) and Ryan Tannehill (17) prior to the game at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports /
  1. Jay Fiedler (2000-2004): 59 Games, 36 Wins; 66 TD, 63 INT, 58.4%, 1 Playoff Win, 3 Playoff Starts.
  2. Ryan Tannehill (2012-Present): 64 Games, 29 Wins; 89 TD, 56 INT, 62.0%, 0 Playoff Starts.
  3. Chad Henne (2008-2011): 31 Games, 13 Wins; 31 TD, 37 INT, 60.7%.
  4. Chad Pennington (2008-2010); 20 Games, 12 Wins, 20 TD, 9 INT, 67.6%, 1 Playoff Start.
  5. Gus Frerotte (2005): 15 Games, 9 Wins; 18 TD, 13 INT, 52.0%.
  6. Matt Moore (2011-Present): 12 Games, 6 Wins; 17 TD, 11 INT, 59.9%.
  7. Damon Huard (1998-2000): 6 Games, 5 Wins; 9 TD, 8 INT, 59%.
  8. Joey Harrington (2006): 11 Games, 5 Wins; 12 TD, 15 INT, 57.5%.
  9. Brian Griese (2003): 5 Games, 3 Wins; 5 TD, 6 INT, 56.9%.
  10. A.J. Feeley (2004): 8 Games, 3 Wins; 11 TD, 15 INT, 53.7%.
  11. Ray Lucas (2001-2002): 6 Games, 2 Wins; 4 TD, 6 INT, 57.7%.
  12. Daunte Culpepper (2006): 4 Games, 1 Win; 2 TD, 3 INT, 60.4%.
  13. Cleo Lemon (2006-2007): 8 Games, 1 Win; 8 TD, 7 INT, 56.0%.
  14. Sage Rosenfels (2002-2005): 2 Games, 0 Wins; 6 TD, 6 INT, 49.5%.
  15. Trent Green (2007): 5 Games, 0 Wins; 5 TD, 7 INT, 60.3%.
  16. John Beck (2007): 4 Games, 0 Wins; 1 TD, 3 INT, 56.1%.
  17. Tyler Thigpen (2009-2010): 1 Game, 0 Wins; 3 TD, 4 INT, 52.9%.

The Miami Dolphins’ history at the quarterback position is nauseating: seventeen quarterbacks over eighteen seasons and one playoff win over only four playoff appearances.

What is more disturbing is the future of the Dolphins at the quarterback position. For all of the mediocrity that Miami has had under center, it appears as though they are committed to a continuation of this torture (namely, Ryan Tannehill).

After drafting Ryan Tannehill in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, the Dolphins prepared to make the Texan their franchise player.

The team hired Tannehill’s former college head coach (Mike Sherman) as their offensive coordinator in an effort to make him feel comfortable. Tannehill entered college as a receiver, only to transition to quarterback a season and a half before entering the NFL.

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Through his first two seasons, Tannehill’s development plateaued; so the Dolphins sought to make him feel even more comfortable. The Dolphins hired yet another offensive coordinator (who was later replaced by new head coach Adam Gase) and increased Tannehill’s paycheck.

As such, Tannehill and the Dolphins are locked into a contract that pays the former Texas A&M Aggie over $19,000,000 per season through the 2021 season.Tannehill’s contract makes him one of the highest paid players in the NFL annually. This begs the question…. Why?

Are the Dolphins simply reacting to their rotating history of quarterbacks and merely settling for an average player just to stop their QB turnover rate?

Looking back and attempting to understand the Dolphins failure to develop a quarterback shows that there is no one right way to try to find the leader of an NFL franchise.

However, one thing is clear: committing to mediocrity is only going to further delay an inevitable replacement and further anger an already annoyed fan-base.

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