Dolphins Surprise the NFL and Fans with Winning Season:
Growing up a Dolphins fan in the 1990’s,-2000’s, I have become a rather jaded fan. This Sunday the dolphins competed for a playoff game for the first time in 8 years. When the season started I had very little hope for my Dolphins. As we started the season 1-4 I was already thinking about next year and the draft. But then something unthinkable happened. The Dolphins started winning. Jay Ajayi rose from a late round back-up running back and started looking pro-bowl caliber. Adam Gase started to slowly but surely earn my trust, something a head coach for the Dolphins had yet to do since the Shula era.
Flash forward to last Sunday when the Dolphins were demolished by the Steelers 30-12. Disappointing, however, the result of this game doesn’t tell the story of how truly impressive this season was for the Dolphins. With everything going against them, Adam Gase pulled his team out of the gutter. He led a team once picked to finish near dead last into the playoffs. Despite having a banged up Line and holes on offense and defense he worked with what he had and did the only thing that matters in the end, win games.
Gase found a hidden gem in Jay Ajayi. Despite Gase’s loyalty to Tannehill, I still think in the end, the first round pick QB is a dud. He started to thrive when Ajayi started to run the ball well. When the defense was defending the pass Tannehill struggled. Face it, when he went down Matt Moore came in and played like a real NFL QB. There were games when Ajayi struggled, and Matt Moore accepted the challenge and won games by throwing the ball. The Jets were holding the dolphins to 67 yards rushing, so Matt Moore had to win the game by throwing which he did by tossing 4 touchdown passes that game. Tannehill always struggled when the game was on the line and it was on him to step up.
In my opinion, Tannehill is a choke artist. And the one thing I fear about this season is a false interpretation of Tannehill's performance. We won games in spite him not because of him. I don’t expect the front office or Coach Gase to bench Tannehill in favor of Moore, but I think it's time we all realize that Tannehill is not a winner. It’s time to sever ties, so we can continue to move forward not backwards. And return even deeper into the post season for the upcoming years.
