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Change for change's sake. That's the mantra of the Miami Dolphins fan. One bad play, one bad series, one bad game, and it's time for a change. It doesn't matter what it is. Just change it. That will make it all better.
Before I get hate mail/comments, I fully know it's not all Dolphins fans. I know it's not a majority of Dolphins fans. But, it's a vocal minority that for some reason cannot be happy unless someone is being fired.
Look at the reaction to Jake Long's injury. People were happy a four time Pro Bowler was out of the game, despite the fact that the offensive line got worse without him. Nate Garner struggled at right tackle, and he was only there because rookie Jonathan Martin had to move to left tackle to replace Long. But, the simple fact that Long was out of the game made people happy.
Change for change's sake.
Now comes the even more confusing desire for change. There seems to be a growing desire to bench rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill. You know, the quarterback who is breaking all of Dan Marino's rookie passing records? The first round draft pick that many of these same people were demanding the team take, since no first round pick had been used on a quarterback since Marino.
And, I bet these same people were the ones dying for the team to get rid of Chad Henne last year. And the year before. And the year before that.
Change for change's sake.
The comments are starting to pop up here on The Phinsider. They are on our Facebook page. They are on our YouTube page. They are sent to me on Twitter. I've read them on ESPN articles. There they are on Palm Beach Post, Sun-Sentinel, and Miami Herald stories.
Again, it's a minority, but what is the origin of this desire? What has made Tannehill the target of the need for change?
Here is an example of the comments I am questioning:
"Give Tannehill a new set of golf clubs and a golf cart and give Moore starting job back please. T.Y." and "Fins Sck. Coach Scks. QB scks. No B. Marshall. No running game. No hope.Just enjoy the weather.Team is managed by a bunch of loser softies. Just like marlins.Coincidence or sell-out to soccer leagues? You decide." Both those quotes are comments left on our YouTube page from "justafanmanful."
But that's not the only one. That's just the most recent.
So, why suddenly do Dolphins fans want a change, just to make a change? What do they think will suddenly happen with the team if Matt Moore is inserted? How will that help the team develop Tannehill for the future? Or, should Miami just already decide that Tannehill is a bust and cut him?
I don't understand this at all.
Is the problem that he has more interceptions than touchdown passes? Good thing Peyton Manning wasn't a rookie in Miami.
Is the problem his 72.3 passer rating? He's just four points behind Andrew Luck on that.
Is it his 57.9% completion rate? Matt Moore has exactly the same percentage on the season, and he's actually ahead of Luck.
Is it just the 2,559 yards for which he has thrown this year? That ranks him 20th in the league, and is the highest yardage for a Dolphins rookie, ever.
Maybe it's the 7.05 yards per attempt average. That's 19th in the league, ahead of Carson Palmer, Matthew Stafford, and Phillip Rivers. And, that's running a west coast offense that uses short passing route predominantly.
Is Ryan Tannehill a sure fire "franchise" quarterback, destined to take Miami to the Super Bowl? Who knows. But, I do know, benching him serves no purpose, and will make it even harder for the Dolphins to win that Lombardi Trophy. Stunting the rookie's growth now would be the biggest mistake the team could make.
Tannehill's going to make rookie mistakes. Maybe, that's because he's a rookie.
While I know it's a small percentage of fans, I just don't understand where this idea that changing Tannehill for Moore now would do anything for the Dolphins.
But, maybe I just don't like change just for change's sake.