Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who was seemingly thrown under the bus by head coach Joe Philbin earlier this week, took it upon himself to name a starting quarterback for the team’s Week 4 game against the Oakland Raiders in London on Sunday (via NFL.com).
(I’m) taking the first snap of the game and playing the game.
That’s an interesting turn of events. As you might already know, naming a starting quarterback is normally left up to the individual (the head coach) in charge of actually making the decision about who will be starting under center.
Don’t tell that to Tannehill, who seems to agree that Philbin has caused an unnecessary distraction surrounding the team this week.
He (Philbin) has his reasons. Honestly, yes, does it feel good to deal with all the distractions that have been created because of the situation? No, but that’s life,” Tannehill said. “You face distractions, you face adversity in life and you have to be able to handle it, you have to be able to fight through it and become a better man and become a better player because of it. So here we are and we’re getting ready to play.
The level of ineptitude within the Miami Dolphins organization is real right now. No one in their right mind honestly believed that this team was going to throw veteran journeyman Matt Moore under center in Week 4 or at any point this season. And if that’s the decision that Philbin and Co. come to, it shows that there are larger issues than who is starting at quarterback.
An embarrassing performance from this team in Week 4 against a winless Raiders team could potentially lead to further questions about Philbin’s future as the Dolphins head coach. In reality, his future is much more cloudy than Tannehill’s right now.
Photo: USA Today