Why Tannehill Is Poised For a Breakout Year

  Ryan Tannehill had a rookie like rookie season make no mistake about this. He didn't wow a lot of people with 4th quarter comebacks (as a matter of fact he only had one against Seattle). Granted Dan Carpenter was at fault for this in a couple of occasions.Which is why Caleb Sturges is here, but that's a whole other story for another post. Ryan made a few mistakes and came up short in a couple of occasions in one or two games. Anyone who tries to sell you the opposite is a homer. However there is great cause to be very optimistic about the future. Here is why, Ryan didn't make the same mistakes twice.OK I'm not a football coach and I wont pretend to be, however you do not need to be one in order to notice this. You know when you really need to make a U turn and you are not allowed to make it. Yet you still make it because you checked for cops, none were coming. Even though the road is rather narrow you are an amazing driver and you can manage it?and in the end you get a ticket? OK lets not get of track with this analogy. My point is Tannehill believed in what he was doing, in what he saw out on the field even when what he saw led to mistakes. In one word he always appeared confident in his mental capacity and mid week preparation. Then he proved that this confidence was not only an appearance but a reality. Why? because he recognized what he saw, and what his mistake was. More importantly he didn't do it again.This is what gives me confidence in a quarterback who's knock was a lack of started games in college. This theory can go right out the window. In my humble opinion Tannehill is the exception to that notion telling us a quarterback must start a predetermined amount of games in college. As far as physical tools go I think he obviously has them.I'm of the thought process that he was limited last season. More then the lack of play makers to me, it was the way the pieces of the offense were utilized by this coaching staff. In addition to this protection wasn't very good, at best it was average. Weather you love him or hate him Jake Long not been here says a lot as to how this coaches feel about how we protected Tannehill last year. Here is my question though why not allow him to use his legs a bit more? why not move the pocket? All in all I think we can all agree Tannehill has the physical tools to be a top 10 QB in the NFL. This has never been in question. That's a positive sign and something to point out. What really tells me Tannehill is poised for a breakout season is his ability to absorb information quickly, and not set negative trends or make the same mistake twice. It should be a fun season ahead for everyone associated with the Miami Dolphins. We have a young promising QB with a lot of weapons such as Mike Wallace and a Dustin Keller. Hopefully Ryan could stay upright and exceed expectations.

Brent Grimes Is The Wild Card In This Defense

  Brent Omar Grimes was born in Philly in 1983. He is also 1 of the latest high profile acquisitions made by the Miami Dolphins this past off season. Grimes path to the NFL hasn't been an easy one. He has had to prove himself, time and time again. From very early on since his college days. Brent didn't go to a highly touted school or make a ton of noise on ESPN during his college career. He attended Shippensburg University actually. This is located in his home state of Pennsylvania in case you were wondering. He then went undrafted in 2006 by the Atlanta Falcons, but didn't play a snap for the Falcons. He actually went overseas to Germany and played for the Hamburg Sea  Devils of NFL Europe. Where he lef as a champion He left them to join the Falcons active Roster in 2007. His first two years were pretty average to be honest. In 2009 he had a breakout year. He managed to stay healthy played 16 games and racked up 6 interceptions. Not bad for an undrafted free agent out of Shippensburg University right? However here is what led him to the pro bowl in 2010. The fact that he was able to prove he can do it again. Grimes finished with 16 games played and 5 interceptions. Noticing a trend here? He does something that our Defense needs to go from good to great. The ability to hold on to the football. Bring in interceptions, and make game changing plays. Here is the thing though in the following seasons after that Grimes started to suffer some injuries. Most noticeably an Achilles injury. I could personally shed some light in to this because I had an Achilles tendon release performed on me. I can tell you that it is one of the most pain full places to suffer an injury. I can also tell you that it is extremely tough to recover from given the sensitivity of the area and all the nerves surrounding it. This is tough in particular for a zone cornerback like Brent Grimes which uses his instincts to break on the ball and make plays. As you can imagine it is probably not the most comfortable feeling putting pressure on a tender Achilles heel. This ruins timing, speed and overall movement. As we know football is a game of inches, and a split second could be the difference between getting burned, or taking one to the house. Grimes is a wild card because of the type of injury he is dealing with. However make no mistake about it; if healthy he is a perfect scheme fit which can take this defense to a whole new level. The fact that he signed a 1 year "prove it" deal with Miami is a good sign. A sign that he wants to prove something and believes he can prove whatever that is. Certainty is not a term we can associate with Grimes right now because of his health.Than again if he wanted certainty he would have taken that two year deal the browns were reportedly offering him right?