Chat » Rivers McCown from Football Outsiders gives h

is thoughts on Ryan Tannehill Miami Dolphins Jerseys 2019 , Mike Gesicki, Xavien Howard, Cordrea Tankersley and more With the preseason halfway over, there are still many questions surrounding the Miami Dolphins. Rivers McCown from Football Outsiders joined us for an in-depth interview, where he answered a wide array of questions. When asked about why the national media is so low on the Dolphins, especially when they managed six wins with Jay Cutler/Matt Moore and a season full of distractions, McCown said that it’s because one can’t reliably predict star performance from anybody on the current roster. However, he did say that there may be some players who could get on that level this year, including Ryan Tannehill. “Ryan Tannehill has his supporters who believe it will just take time with Adam Gase to take the next step in his development.”But is McCown one of them? I pressed him further regarding his overall thoughts of Tannehill and where he would rank in this year’s crop of NFL quarterbacks, McCown said he believes that Tannehill is ultimately more of a steady quarterback than one with upside. “In the right offense, in a scenario with a bad defense where he has to throw a lot, I think he has pre-jitters Matt Schaub statistical ability. But as far as where he ranks on a list of quarterbacks, that depends on whether you value upside or stability in a signal-caller,” McCown said. “Personally, I value upside more. I would rather start with a Deshaun Watson or even a Baker Mayfield than a Tannehill. But depending on which of the young quarterbacks flame out or get hurt, I think Tannehill will finish the season somewhere in the 12-20 range as a passer. I expect a statistical season closer to what Gase did in the second half of 2016 with him.”In order to prove McCown wrong and his supporters right, Tannehill will need help from his skill players Andrew Van Ginkel Jersey nfl draft , including rookie tight end Mike Gesicki. McCown believes that Gesicki will have the chance to shine just based on Miami’s offensive system alone, but does caution against too much optimism. “Julius Thomas had the fourth-most targets on the roster, Jarvis Landry had the most. Those targets need to be re-distributed somewhere, and I don’t think Albert Wilson is catching 100 balls this season,” McCown said. “I think Gesicki is a really safe pick as a receiver, and I’m not worried about him going Jace Amaro on the NFL. But yes, we should have some caution about his short-term success. I would expect more involvement than actual carrying of the offense in his rookie season.”Some may point to Tannehill’s supporting cast and mention the lack of height and power that his receivers have. However, McCown says that Dolphins fans shouldn’t worry too much about it. “There are many ways to keep a player from getting jammed and having to fight off press coverage if the offense is creative enough. I think the receiving corps in general relies a lot on Parker though, because each player behind him is going to have problems filling an elevated role on the depth chart.”On the defensive side of the ball, McCown is bullish on the secondary, especially around Minkah Fitzpatrick and yes, Cordrea Tankersley. McCown even went so far as to compare the Tankersley /Xavien Howard combo to one several years ago under former head coach Joe Philbin.“I think Minkah Fitzpatrick gives them some explosive plays they didn’t have before. I’m very high on Cordea Tankersley and think he and Xavien Howard could one day be on the level of a Vontae Davis/Sean Smith pairing,” said McCown. “While Reshad Jones is getting older, we haven’t seen a true dropoff from him yet, so I’m not going to project that. I think the nickel corners are solid enough, perhaps even above-average depending on how much you believe in Bobby McCain’s 2017 season. McCown did warn that nickel cornerback stats tend to be remarkably up-and-down on a year-to-year basis and also said he is concerned about the loss of Ndamukong Suh. “Losing Ndamukong Suh makes me a little worried that the secondary will actually be empirically good (in results, not process) Daniel Kilgore Jersey , because pass rush is a big statistical key. But I think of this is as Miami’s deepest group at the moment.”At the end of the day, McCown said all of this adds up to the Dolphins not being looked upon favorably this season by the national media. If the Dolphins want that to change, they’re going to need to win games and have guys step into the spotlight.“The AFC East has been in a rut with regards to storylines for almost an entire generation, and you don’t win over national media without a player who really shines at a position they focus on. Miami’s best skill position player since 2008 is probably Chad Pennington? Maybe Brandon Marshall, Jarvis Landry, or Ronnie Brown? Cameron Wake has been amazing, but came out of nowhere, so he had no build-up momentum. That’s a tough combination for the respect-hungry crowd.”The NFL plays the games for a reason, and in just a few weeks, we’ll see if this year’s Dolphins are like the teams of the past or if a new chapter will be written as they look to make their way back to the playoffs.Note: Football Outsiders is the internet home for Innovative Statistics and Intelligent Analysis of the NFL and college football. Click here to purchase their 2018 Almanac and to learn more about Football Outsiders.Matthew Cannata is the host of the award winning podcast, Phinsider Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @CannataNFL Well that was painful, yet fitting. The Miami Dolphins finished their 2018 home schedule with a 17-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team led by a combination of Cody Kessler and Blake Bortles. The promise of a young season, just 16 weeks ago, seemed like the Dolphins would finally have the offensive line, the quarterback, and the defense ready to push forward toward the playoffs.On Sunday Youth Andrew Van Ginkel Jersey , it all finally crashed as the Dolphins blew up their slim payoff chances on their own. Instead of playing a game in Week 17 which could mean January football, they will now head to their second meeting with the Buffalo Bills with just a .500 record as their best finishing spot.The locker room after the game was rightfully subdued. This was the end of what the team had tried to build toward since April. The offseason training program, the minicamps, training camp, the preseason, all came down to 15 games over 16 weeks. And, on Sunday, the Dolphins crashed and burned as they hit the end of that journey.And, they still have a game remaining.“That’s why you play the game,” wide receiver Danny Amendola said after the defeat. “Try to get to the playoffs and win the last game of the year. Unfortunately we lost today. It really sucks.”He added, “Ultimately, we’ve just got to play better. That’s it.”The Dolphins tallied 183 total yards on Sunday. That makes the fifth time this season the offense has failed to reach 200 yards. The offense has been stagnant all season, and Sunday definitely did nothing to suggest better days are coming. It is not like the defense has dominated this year, either, however. While they held the Jaguars to 244 yards this weekend, that was their lowest total allowed of the year. They were over 400 yards allowed each of the last four games, and nine times on the year. The Jaguars simply outplayed the Dolphins. They out-executed them. They out physicaled them. “They just dominated us up front and holes were closing quick Josh Sitton Jersey ,” head coach Adam Gase said after the game. “I know the backs were trying to get as much as possible but we were 2-3 yards a clip and then we just kept leaving ourselves in third-and-long. Penalties crushed us. We could not get in any kind of rhythm.”He continued, “They dominated us up front. We got sacked. We couldn’t run the ball. There were no holes. We were getting pushed back. We just didn’t do a good job.”He was not done. Asked about the defense getting sacks on the Jaguars quarterbacks, and if that amplifies the frustration with the offense, Gase replied, “It’s terrible. I mean, the offense was awful. It was brutal to watch, to be a part of.”Gase was then asked if he is getting winning football from the quarterback position. He answered, “I think sometimes we are. I think today was a rough day for [quarterback Ryan Tannehill]. I wish he would have played a little better. I wish he would have made a few more decisions that were different. I think there’s been games that he has – that he’s played really well – and there’s been some games where we haven’t played well. And it’s as much on me as it is on him. I have to do a better job of making sure that he’s doing the right things at the right time.”Tannehill was asked about the inconsistencies for the offense. He explained, “I think they’ve been all over the place. I think every position has its faults. Start with me and just go right down the line. I think when you have that, it all stacks up and you’re not moving the ball. We have to be cleaner, every position, starting with me and that will give us our best chance, obviously, to put the ball in the end zone.”“We put a lot of work in throughout the off season and not making the playoffs, it’s tough,” safety Reshad Jones said. “It’s part of it, though.”“We just didn’t get the job done Andrew Van Ginkel white jersey ,” running back Kenyan Drake said. “We started off hot, and then didn’t catch that momentum. The defense played great, on the offensive side of the ball, we just didn’t get the job done. They have a great defense and they had a great plan against us. They were able to create a little pressure. We’ve got to be able to adjust and go out there and make the most of the plays.”Miami was broken this year. Offense, defense, even special teams all struggled at times - or throughout - the season. And, now, sitting at 7-8 on the season, the team is looking toward one remaining game, hoping to finish a sweep of the Bills on the year. When asked how difficult it is to go into Buffalo, knowing they are already eliminated from playoff contention, Drake simply said, “It’s not difficult at all. We are paid to play football and that is what we are going to do.”Can the Dolphins show that professionalism and finish the season strong? Can they put 15 games behind them and give one strong performance heading into an offseason that will likely include plenty of change?