Sherman talks pluses/minuses of Tannehill's mobility

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill began his college career as a wide receiver. So while he was drafted by Miami eighth overall to be the team's franchise signal-caller, Tannehill still has some of that wideout in him.

"Well the advantage is that he’s a heck of an athlete and he’s able to escape and make plays with his feet," Dolphins offensive coordinator Mike Sherman said Monday. "It was evident in the first drive (against the Raiders) when I made a third down call, I think it was a third down call, and he ended up getting some yardage with his feet.

"The fact that he’s a good athlete as well as an excellent quarterback I think plays to our advantage. The fact that we can move him out a little bit, and his target point isn’t always the same, his launch point I should say isn’t always the same."

Sherman said another advantage of Tannehill's athleticism is that it makes the Dolphins' offense more versatile, as teams "have to scheme up for him to be on the edge," and it also enables Sherman to pinpoint protection.

But with positives come negatives, and Tannehill's out-of-pocket tendencies are no exception.

“Well it limits your receiving core to a certain degree," Sherman said. You’re cutting the field in half for the most part, because you’re not throwing back across the field. So you do limit yourself a little bit, but if you have certain routes against certain coverages, they match up pretty well.”

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