There seems to be a controversy surrounding Ryan Tannehill.
I say he's played, how to be tactful, not good enough this season and indeed if you want to go back further, he didn't exactly finish strong last season with two duds at the end of 2013. So four consecutive games of disappointing play.
ProFootballFocus.com, meanwhile, seems to think Tannehill is ballin'. He is the No. 2 rated quarterback on their site behind Matt Ryan.
I don't buy it. Hey, the PFF guys are good people. But friends can disagree. I have reached out to them to get clarification on why they're wrong and I'm right.
Anyway, here's the rewind of Sunday's Miami Dolphins loss to Buffalo.
Offensive Summary
Not including Lamar Miller’s 4 snaps to start the game, here is the RB snap breakdown after Knowshon Moreno left the game: Miller 50, Damien Williams 17, Orleans Darkwa 9.
Brandon Gibson “started” again, but Jarvis Landry played more snaps, 44-41. The Dolphins seems to be doing this a lot. They started Miller at running back in the opener and gave the ball more to Knowshon Moreno. On Sunday they started Michael Thomas at safety (a curious situation that suggests something amiss) but Louis Delmas played more snaps.
Dallas Thomas replaced Shelley Smith at right for all 41 snaps following Smith’s knee injury. (Smith is expected to miss 2-4 weeks). To that point, Smith (-1.7) had allowed a sack and two hurries.
Ja’Wuan James (+3.2) acquitted himself well vs. Mario Williams, committing just one penalty and allowing a sack.
Passing
Tannehill was sacked four times, but when he got the ball out under pressure, he was on target, going 7-of-8 for 44 yards when pressured. The rest of the time? He went 24 of 41 (58 percent completion).
None of Buffalo’s four sacks came on a blitz. All came with the four-man pass rush.
Rushing/Receiving
Beware of the small sample, but Damien Williams caused two missed tackles and 13 of his 19 yards gained came after contact.
Charles Clay, Brian Hartline, and Jarvis Landry all saw a target against at least five different Buffalo defenders.
Mike Wallace with another productive day, but he and Tannehill missed on another deep connection and he produced just six yards after the catch (YAC). That is now four potential TDs Tannehill and Wallace -- poor Tannehill throws is to blame on three of the four -- that this duo leaves on the field.
Defense
CB Will Davis only logged 14 snaps as the third corner with the Bills going heavy with plenty of two tight end and/or two-back looks. Davis might be winding down because when Reshad Jones returns to the team, Jimmy Wilson will move back to the third corner from safety. Jones is expected to return to the safety job.
Earl Mitchell (+4.3) once again provided elite run-stuffing play, as all four of his tackles went down as defensive stops. Mitchell is not steller and often goes unnoticed but he has been the most consistent performer of all Dolphins defensive line starters this season.
With Dannell Ellerbe and Koa Misi out, Jason Trusnik (59 snaps) and Jelani Jenkins (57 snaps) clearly ran as the nickel linebacker pair, with Philip Wheeler returning from injury to provide just 23 snaps. Trusnik's snaps are expected to diminish considerably next game against Kansas City as Misi is expected to return for the Chiefs.
Coverage
Despite his modest 14 snaps, Davis was picked on by Bills quarterback E.J. Manuel, who completed four of his five targets (all four to Sammy Watkins) when targeting the second-year cornerback.
Watkins proved to be the one threat in the passing game for Buffalo, commanding 11 of Manuel’s 24 targets, and catching passes against four Miami DBs. Watkins finished with eight catches for 117 yards and a TD.
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