Mastering a new offense is never as easy as it sounds and is almost always accompanied by massive potholes in the road.
Such is the life Ryan Tannehill leads during the Miami Dolphins' training camp.
Learning his first truly new offense since switching to quarterback in college, Tannehill has been on a rollercoaster ride to start camp under coordinator Bill Lazor.
Recently Tannehill has thrown a slew of interceptions in practice as he and his targets get comfortable with the scheme.
"It's a combination of a bunch of stuff," Tannehill said, per The Miami Herald. "Some throws we're just trying to make in practice to see if it's something we want to move with on during the season. We have other answers on the plays, but the coaching staff wants to take a look at some throws against some different coverages and see if we can complete them.''
The coaching staff doesn't like the picks but isn't worried about the third-year quarterback working through the trials.
"There were too many interceptions," coach Joe Philbin said. "However, I thought we responded well later in the practice and kind of worked through it."
One issue that that has hindered Tannehill's immediate growth in the offense is the absence of his top playmaker, Mike Wallace, who has missed time with a hamstring injury. According to The Herald, the tandem's chemistry on the deep ball -- which they struggled with last season, going 6 for 36 on 20-plus-yard balls -- continues to be an issue.
Wallace blamed the hamstring for part of that nagging chemistry problem.
"A little bit on the deep ball because I can't go as fast as I want to go, but I think we'll be all right," he said. "I know the media has been saying that for a while, but he's getting better with the deep ball. It was a problem overall with everybody not just me last year. Coach Lazor is doing a good job staying on him."
The Dolphins need the Tannehill-Wallace combo to be a hit, otherwise the return on investment of both players will always be marginal.
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