I just wrote an article about Tannehill on my blog and I basically said he's not comparable to Blaine Gabbert or Jimmy Clausen. You can check out the piece here. I watched the tape and I was pretty impressed. Give the article a read to truly understand my argument here. I think Tannehill is a good quarterback.
interesting read. however, i'm not sure i would put so much blame on his receivers for his low completion % and high INT rate. Some QB's can make receivers better with their timing, touch, and accuracy abilities. many believe that this is one of tannehill's biggest issues. he doesn't throw a very 'catchable' ball. if you noticed his receivers not having confidence in him, there's a reason why and completely absolving tannehill of any blame might not be the right way to view this situation. i think tannehill has the good pocket presence, leadership skills, athleticism, and intagibles that you mentioned. And, in fact, i would give him more credit for his reading/decision making ability than you are giving him but there is an issue with the ball he's throwing and we'll have to see if it can be fixed at the next level.
I just don't feel like any of his receivers had great hands. He didn't seem like he was able to trust his receivers making catches and I think that's why he fell apart in the fourth quarters of games.
I dont see Tannehill as a day one starter at all, and its going to take a lot of work for him to ever get there. The potential and physical ability are there but its going to take a lot of time and patience along with really solid coaching to get him where he needs to be at to succeed in the NFL, and I dont think thats going to be any quicker than a two year process at best. As you pointed out yourself, he has major issues with reads and progressions, and IMO those are probably the two most important things to be able to play QB at the NFL level. You can have all the confidence and pocket presence in the world, but if you cant read coverages and dont understand progressions, then you're never going to be worth a crap as a quarterback. He certainly doesnt have the same grasp of the position that guys like Luck and Griffin do having been quarterbacks more or less their whole lives, and thats going to be a problem if he's thrown into a starting role right away.
Tannehill still has alot to learn about being a QB, you cant blame his poor decision making on his WRs . Fuller had some drops but Swope turned alot of screen passes into long TDs. He had a great 1st season at QB and slumped in his 2nd, just like Jerrod Johnson did, but Johnson had surgery on his throwing shoulder before his bad season. Tannehill has a high ceiling but will need a great QB coach or QB to help him catch up mentally. He still needs to learn alot but has all the talent you could want in your QB.
