Well, at this point, you have to ask yourselves as Tennessee Titans fans what it is that Ryan Tannehill has to do, don’t you? Maybe everyone has had a tendency to keep believing that he’ll never be anything in their minds other than that guy that we saw with the Miami Dolphins.
Have you ever had some friends or family members that wouldn’t allow you to be the person you were becoming because they couldn’t stop thinking about the person that you used to be? Well, though he’ll probably never admit it, that has to be how Tannehill feels as he enters his second full season as the Titans starting signal-caller.
Titans QB, Tannehill is shedding an image he earned with the Dolphins.
Much of this probably feels like it was an eternity ago (and in football years, it probably was), but Tannehill was the eighth overall selection of the 2012 NFL Draft. He was the third quarterback taken behind Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III.
Let’s just say that six years in Miami didn’t lead to what the Dolphins and their fans were hoping for. Let’s be frank. That’s why Tannehill made his way to Nashville in the first place. He appeared in 88 games and crafted a win-loss total of 42-46.
Miami never made the postseason with Tannehill at the helm in those six seasons thanks to an injury that forced him to miss the final three games of the regular season. Sure, that team in Foxborough, Massachusetts had a lot to do with that, but still, the Fins had high hopes when they took a young man who cut his teeth with the Texas A&M Aggies and saying that they didn’t quite get what they wanted would be a massive understatement.
It’s no wonder that, when he came to Tennessee, the belief was he’d be best suited to be a mentor to Marcus Mariota. Well, we all know how that turned out. Mariota was given up on by the organization after the 2019 NFL season began with three losses in the first five games with him at the helm.
Tannehill stepped in, and the Titans won seven of their final ten games, earning a playoff spot and coming within a few plays of playing in the Super Bowl. One year later, Tannehill returned as the full-time starter and led the Titans to a division title. He has the respect of his teammates and peers, but the national media has been slow to catch on.
Tannehill does have some support though. Recently, ESPN’s Mike Greenberg showed Number 17 a little love. Let’s just say that ‘Greeny’ hit the nail on the head here. Take a look.
Tannehill already has one Pro Bowl nod on his resume. That came during the aforementioned 2019 season when he led the NFL in passer rating en route to the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. It’s fair to state that, in 2021, a return trip to the NFL’s all-star team is a possibility.
Buckle up. Ryan Tannehill, with the 2021 Titans, has his best supporting cast ever, and it could lead to a few thrilling performances and a few nods as one of football’s best leading men when the smoke clears and the dust settles after another dominating ride versus Tennessee’s rivals in the AFC South. Just watch the show if you’re a Tennessee Titans fan.