Ryan Tannehill walked away from Sunday's 30-10 loss to the Houston Texans holding a laundry list of to-dos.
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The Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback tangled with arguably the NFL's best defense and produced an uneven first game that, among other things, included too many tipped passes.
Offensive coordinator Mike Sherman isn't blaming the play calling and he isn't blaming the behemoth linemen up front. This one falls on Tannehill to correct.
"He's got to find the passing lane. Guys (are) a little taller, a little bigger at this level," Sherman told Brian Biggane of The Palm Beach Post. "The window is a little bit smaller, and these guys have a lot of range. He hasn't had a problem with it in practice. It has not been an issue, and (if it was a problem) you would think it would be a recurring issue in practice."
Sherman coached Tannehill at Texas A&M last season, where the quarterback had 19 tipped passes. Only three of those were blamed on Tannehill, but he had another four in last month's preseason loss to the Carolina Panthers. All of his deflections Sunday came when Tannehill took a three-step drop, something the Texans might have zoned in on.
Tannehill stands 6-foot-4, nearly half a foot taller than Seattle Seahawks rookie starter Russell Wilson, who's all of 5-foot-11 and hasn't had a problem with tipped passes. Tannehill needs to use his size.
There's no end to what we could pick apart after one week on the job, but Tannehill did exhibit some moxie against the rugged Texans. Sherman isn't losing his mind because this is a facet of the rookie's craft that should improve with time -- and better.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
