In this series, Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar dives down into the NFL’s common myths and examines what the real story is. In this installment, it’s time for a greater appreciation of Ryan Tannehill, who has developed from an iffy guy in some bad Dolphins offenses to one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks — regardless of scheme or personnel — with the Titans.
How many NFL quarterbacks are truly scheme-transcendent? In other words, how many quarterbacks could succeed at or near their current levels of efficiency no matter their offensive structure? It’s a very short list at any given time. Right now, you’d probably bring up Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson (heck, you could argue that Wilson would be even better in other offenses), Deshaun Watson, and unless the system required the quarterback to run 100 times a season, perhaps Tom Brady.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)Ryan Tannehill has done his best to put to rest the idea that he’s a one-hit wonder. The 2019 AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year who led the league with a career-best 117.5. The Tennessee Titans have their quarterback of the future in Ryan Tannehill. And they’ve had him — it was evident during the back half of the 2019 season — but Tannehill’s performance in 2020 was paramount with such a limited sample size. In part, Tannehill “shut up the haters,” but some. Ryan Timothy Tannehill III (born July 27, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas A&M transitioning from wide receiver to the team's starting quarterback.
If I bring up Ryan Tannehill’s name, you’d probably respond that without running back Derrick Henry and the specter of play-action, Tannehill is Just Another Guy. It is the purpose of this particular MythBusters piece to disabuse you of that notion. That’s the story, and most people are sticking to it. In truth, Tannehill has proven this season that he can succeed in just about any structure as the facilitator of the league’s top scoring offense.
In 2019, Tannehill’s first season as the Titans’ starting quarterback (an honor he didn’t actually gain until Week 7), he was by far the NFL’s most efficient quarterback when using play-action. Including the postseason, per Pro Football Focus, Tannehill completed 77.1% of his passes for 1,382 yards, 11 touchdowns, three interceptions and a passer rating of 140.6. Wilson ranked second with a passer rating of 124.6, to show you how large the divide was. Add in Tannehill’s numbers when he wasn’t using play-action — a 64.6% completion rate with 16 touchdowns, four picks and a passer rating of 101.7 — and it could be said that while he didn’t collapse when not using play-action, it certainly helped, as did Henry’s presence to influence linebackers and safeties and create stacked boxes that Tannehill could exploit.
Through the first 14 games of the 2020 season, Tannehill is once again working defenses to death when using play-action. He’s completed 62.6% of his passes for a league-high 1,580 yards, 12 touchdowns, three interceptions and a passer rating of 114.4, If those numbers (especially the league-high 10.2 yards per attempt) tell you that the Titans are using play-action to create even more shot plays this season … well, sort of. On play-action throws of 20 or more air yards, per Sports Info Solutions, Tannehill has 10 completions on 19 attempts for 414 yards, 314 air yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. On the type of throw last season, Tannehill completed seven passes on 15 attempts for 313 yards, 240 air yards, two touchdowns and no picks. If you prorate that over a full season, there isn’t much of a difference in opportunity.
But here’s where the narratives about Tannehill go south. When he’s not using play-action this season, Tannehill’s been absolutely ridiculous: a 68.7% completion rate (much higher than with play-action) for 1,902 yards, 6.9 yards per attempt, a passer rating of 108.2 … and 19 touchdown passes to just two interceptions. Only Rodgers, Watson and Wilson have higher passer ratings with no play-action. The increased diversity and effectiveness of the Titans’ passing game in this regard is one reason Tennessee leads the NFL with 436 points (31.1 points per game) after 14 games, and why Tannehill’s overall numbers have been dizzying since he became the team’s full-time starter.
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Does it help that the Titans have Henry loading up against stacked boxes (eight or more defenders) on 29.91% of his runs? Sure, it does. But Henry faced stacked boxes on 35.31% of his runs in 2019, per NFL Next Gen Stats, so it’s not quite the factor it used to be. Defenses are respecting the quarterback in this case at a higher rate than last season, and there are obvious reasons for that.
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So, why is Tannehill so effective without his alleged crutches? First, it’s no fun for any defense to have to deal with wide receivers A.J. Brown and Corey Davis all the time, especially as Davis has come on in the second half of the season.
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Second, they’re great in the passing game with heavy personnel. Per Sharp Football Stats, Tennessee leads the league in 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) at 33%, and in that grouping, Tannehill has a 100.2 passer rating with seven touchdowns and three picks. The Titans have also run 13 personnel on 9% of their plays (only the Browns and Giants have used it at a higher rate), which makes a defense waver between stacked boxes and coverage alignment for more explosive plays. When in 13 personnel, Tannehill has a 124.7 passer rating with six touchdown passes to no interceptions. Just as sure as you’ll see play-action out of those heavier packages, you’ll also see motion used without it to influence a defense.