In light of his early success in 2013 it's surprising to see Tannehill's Total QBR score through two games (52.7) hovering about where it was during his 2012 rookie season (50.4) -- right around the 50-point average on a 100-point scale. There is one primary reason for the lag, and the Dolphins are well aware of it. They are coaching to this specific point and saw positive results on the 34-yard pass to Wallace against the Colts.
Overall, Tannehill completed 23 of 34 passes (67.6 percent) for 319 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions against the Colts. He averaged 9.4 yards per attempt. But with five sacks and three fumbles, including one fumble the Colts recovered, Tannehill emerged from a rewarding victory with a below-average 44.4 QBR score. At first glance, Tannehill could have used better pass protection against the Colts' outside rushers. But any coach will tell you that avoiding sacks isn't just about creating the perfect offensive line. Quarterbacks must help out their blockers by stepping up in the pocket when the outside rushers reach target depths. Tannehill did this well when finding Wallace for the pivotal 34-yard reception. He erred in this aspect earlier in the game, with costly results.
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It happened on consecutive drives to open the third quarter, first when Tannehill dropped back on third-and-10. Running back Lamar Miller was able to push linebacker Jerrell Freeman just past the pocket, but Freeman reached back for the football, knocking it loose as Tannehill tried to throw. The Colts recovered. Later, the Colts' Robert Mathis forced a Tannehill fumble when he got around right tackle Tyson Clabo. Clabo was not blameless, but if Tannehill had stepped up in the pocket, Mathis might not have reached him so easily.
Win-probability models built on 10 years of play-by-play data showed the lost fumble dropping the Dolphins' chances of victory 7.8 percentage points to 36.6 percent. Erasing that play from Tannehill's ledger pumps up his QBR score for the game from 44.4 to 55.6, according to Hank Gargiulo of ESPN Stats & Information. Erasing all three fumbles attributed to Tannehill brings the QBR score to 72.1, which would have been sixth-best in the NFL for Week 2. Of course, every quarterback would like to selectively delete bad plays. In this case, Tannehill's position coach, Zac Taylor, consulted with Tannehill on the sideline to make sure the quarterback got the message about climbing the pocket. Tannehill did, and the Dolphins won largely as a result.
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"He improved in all the things you want to see," the coach said. "He was more poised, more decisive, more accurate in the intermediate to deep passes. Three times, he threaded it. One was on a seam. Another was a bootleg when a safety came down and crunched him. Another was on a blitz. His strength is he is not afraid on those inside throws to thread the needle, and he is able to do it."
The defensive coach said he thought Sherman "babysat" Tannehill with a conservative plan in the opener at Cleveland before becoming much more aggressive against the Colts. Every game is different, of course. The Dolphins needed more points to beat the Colts than they needed to beat the Browns. We should remember, too, that this offense remains in transition. Tannehill lost an important target when tight end Dustin Keller suffered a season-ending knee injury. Wallace and slot receiver Brandon Gibson are new this year. Fullback Tyler Clutts arrived from the Houston Texans via waivers on Sept. 1.
Wallace brings deep speed, but feeding the ball to him on vertical routes has not been an overriding priority. The thinking is that Tannehill cannot buy additional time for Wallace the way Ben Roethlisberger could when Wallace played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A wider range of routes might be necessary.
"That was unique to Roethlisberger," Sherman said. "There is no one like him at extending plays, and Mike has benefited from that. We are working with Mike on his route running -- curls, digs, comebacks and slants. He still has an opportunity to run go routes. We hit him on the double move."
Wallace is averaging 13.0 yards per reception, about the same as he averaged with Pittsburgh last season. Tannehill has averaged 15.6 air yards per attempt when throwing to Wallace. That is higher than Roethlisberger's mark when targeting Wallace over the past two seasons.
