Ryan Tannehill excelling as Titans QB
ALAMEDA, Calif. — When Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel chose Ryan Tannehill to start at quarterback instead of former No. 2 overall draft pick Marcus Mariota, the Titans were 2-4 and coming off a 16-0 loss to the Broncos.
Six games later, with Tannehill at QB, the Titans are 7-5 and in the thick of the AFC wild-card race, trailing the current No. 6 seed Steelers due to a worse in-conference record.
After an unsuccessful tenure in Miami as the No. 8 overall pick in the 2012 draft, Tannehill looked like he might be destined to be a backup for the rest of his career. In 88 starts, the Dolphins went 42-46 with Tannehill at quarterback. While there, he completed 63 percent of his passes, throwing 123 TD passes and 75 interceptions while averaging 7.0 yards per attempt.
While Vrabel downplayed what Tannehill has brought since taking over — “Ryan is just trying to lead our team and be decisive with the football and get us in and out of the correct play,” Vrabel said on Wednesday — he’s been nothing short of a revelation for the Titans’ offense.
He’s been much more productive and efficient with the Titans, completing 72.7 percent of his passes while throwing for 12 touchdowns with only four interceptions. Among qualifiers, he leads the league with 9.1 yards per attempt.
After scoring at least 20 points just twice in the first six games, the Titans haven’t scored fewer than 20 in their last six. They enter Sunday’s matchup against the Raiders 5-1 with Tannehill as a starter, averaging 29.7 points per game.
“Taking over the job, really, six or seven games into the season is hard — really hard,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “I thought he’s done some good things with his decision-making. He can run. They’re creative with the playbook. He’s been real accurate throwing the ball, and he’s been money at crunch time.”
As a quarterback himself, the Raiders’ Derek Carr said Tannehill is now likely finally in a spot where he can excel.
“Well, this game is funny. Some situations are good for guys, some aren’t. He’s always been a guy who’s made a lot of great plays, especially some of the most amazing throws under pressure you’ll ever see,” Carr said. “It’s no surprise to people that watch the film and compete against him, that, oh yeah, he’s having a great year.”
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Contact Myles Simmons at msimmons@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow @MylesASimmons on Twitter.