As I was writing this, we had some breaking news out of Miami.
Fox Sports' Jay Glazer has reported that Ravens LT Bryant McKinnie has been traded to the Miami Dolphins. The trade has since been confirmed, but what Miami gave up is still unknown.
McKinnie, 34, was recently replaced as the Ravens starting left tackle by Eugene Monroe, whom the Ravens traded to acquire from the Jacksonville Jaguars two weeks ago.
The former University of Miami star has started 152 games in his 12 NFL seasons, and has let up one sack, four quarterback hits and 15 hurries so far this season.
Right now it remains unknown whether McKinnie will play LT, with Jonathan Martin sliding back to his RT position where he started 12 games last year, or if he'll replace Tyson Clabo at RT and keep Martin where he is.
I suspect it'll be the latter. We'll see.
Is McKinnie the player he once was? No. But neither is Tyson Clabo, and at this point, after yesterday, and after the first six games, there is no way McKinnie can be ANY worse than Clabo has been. This is a desperation move by Jeff Ireland, but one that needed to happen, and needed to happen today.
FALLOUT FROM LOSS
Now, back to what I was originally writing.
I have a couple takeaways from yesterday's disastrous loss:
- Lets start with Ryan Tannehill. I've listened to South Florida radio all morning, and after Tannehill's three turnover performance yesterday, many fans have (rightfully so) voiced their concern. Some are even calling for Matt Moore.
Let's simmer down, Dolfans. Tannehill had an atrocious start yesterday, there's no doubt about it. To come off a bye week, and throw a pick six on the third play of the game is nothing short of humiliating. However, lets not forget that Tannehill also brought this team back from the 14-0 hole he helped create. He threw a career high 3 TD's, AND had them leading with three minutes to play.
After six games, Tannehill's numbers look like this:
133-219, 1,577 yards, 9 TD's and 7 INT's. His QB rating sits at 83.1, and his completion % is 60.7.
He's currently the 18th best QB in the NFL, ahead of Andrew Luck, Alex Smith, Russell Wilson, and Colin Kaepernick.
In his upcoming matchup with Tom Brady, it's Tannehill who'll have the better QB rating, not Brady.
Are the turnovers a concern? ABSOLUTELY. But lets not kid ourselves here, there are MUCH bigger problems on this team than Ryan Tannehill. Let this season play out, let's see if Tannehill can learn from these mistakes, and then, come January, lets revisit this conversation. Not now.
- It's time to hold this coaching staff accountable. I'll give Joe Philbin the smallest shred of credit for taking responsibility after the loss yesterday, but I need to see more. This team was AWFUL yesterday. They were awful at home, against a depleted Bills team with their 5th string QB, and with TWO weeks to prepare. It doesn't get much worse than that, folks.
- Let's talk about Mike Sherman. Many people are berating Sherman for his fourth quarter play-calling yesterday, where he called for a second down pass with under four minutes to go, and the lead. Tannehill was sacked on the play, fumbled, and the rest is history.
I don't completely disagree with the decision to pass the ball. What I DO question is the pass play that was called. To have your WORST offensive lineman in Tyson Clabo, go up one on one with Mario Williams, one of the BEST in the league, was a disaster waiting to happen. And a disaster is what it was.
If I'm calling plays there, I run the ball against the league's 28th worst rush defense. If I'm calling plays there, I run the ball because you've average over FIVE yards a carry on the day. With that being said, it was a second and long, a passing down, and I can't completely disagree with Sherman's decision to go in for the kill. But the play that was called was awful. Just awful.
Three things I liked yesterday:
1. Sherman rolled Tannehill out more than in any other game this season.
2. Both Lamar Miller and Daniel Thomas were effective.
3. Tannehill shook off two bad INT's to throw 3 TD's and give Miami a late lead.
Three things I didn't like:
1. Down 14-0 before most fans were even in their seats. Unacceptable.
2. With 30 seconds to play, Miami got the ball back near midfield needing only a FG to win. They moved the ball ZERO yards on four tries. That's on Tannehill.
3. The defenses INability to get off the field on third down. Buffalo was 9-19 on the critical down.
Tense times in South Florida.
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