Ryan Tannehill is not playing well and the Miami Dolphins are once again struggling at the start of the 2014 season. The quarterback got the upset win over the New England Patriots, but followed that up with two devastating losses, showing little signs of improvement despite having a new arsenal of offensive weapons. Now, head coach Joe Philbin is making non-committal comments regarding Tannehill's status as the team's starter for Week 4.
The Dolphins latest depth chart still lists Tannehill as the starting quarterback as practice gets underway in preparation for Week 4. There was plenty of doubt that this would not be the case. Philbin spoke with the media following the Dolphins' loss on Sunday and would not guarantee that Tannehill would be the team's starter for another week. When asked about Tannehill's shaky performance, Philbin would only say that the best players would be on the field each week.
"We're going to get our 46 best players in the game and we're going to utilize them the best way possible," Philbin said, via ESPN.com. "We're going to start our game plan for Oakland when I leave here and we're going to decide which 46 players are going and how to best utilize them."
The Miami Herald speculated that there was a lot of inner discussions regarding the status of Tannehill. Words like "released" and "traded" have been tossed around as the coaching staff has considered benching the quarterback for the upcoming game. The Dolphins have Matt Moore as a perfectly capable backup who could start for Miami if they decide to make a move. While Tannehill might enter Tuesday's practice and even Sunday's game as the starter, one more bad game could force a change under center. Tannehill is clearly running out of chances.
It is not like the Dolphins do not have weapons for the quarterback to work with. Mike Wallace, Jarvis Landry, Brandon Gibson and Brian Hartline headline their receiving corps while Knowshon Moreno and Lamar Miller are capable running backs. Yes, the offensive line is shaky, but not enough to support Tannehill's struggles. With plenty of quality quarterbacks entering the 2015 NFL Draft, Tannehill better step up quickly or he will be replaced and fast.