I was really hoping that this wasn’t going to get turned into anything but based on the amount of reporting there was yesterday and this morning, I can’t say that I’m surprised. Also, I know that I myself blogged yesterday about Tannehill throwing rookie RB Kalen Ballage out of the huddle for missing a block and then going in for seconds on the sidelines. Some said that I just wanted to bash Tannehill. Not the case though, but I can see why you’d think that. My hot take was that it was annoying reading how everyone thought it was a real sign of leadership for Ryan to flip out on Ballage. I thought it be weird if he didn’t do that to at least some degree. I really had no problem with it because I feel that this kind of stuff happens all the time. Like you’ll hear if you click the link below, we’ve seen Brady and others flip out on the sidelines before and didn’t think much of it and usually praise them for their passion. Aaron Rodgers did it last week in a press conference and no one batted an eye, but of course Ryan Tannehill is not Rodgers or Brady.

ESPN Clark rips Tannehill for kicking RB out of huddle

ESPN Clark rips Tannehill for kicking RB out of huddle

Posted by I am a Miami Dolphins fan on Monday, August 13, 2018

Man, I think it’s safe to say that Ryan Clark is none too pleased with how Ryan handled the situation. What’s interesting to me is that he says Ballage is a professional, or an independent contractor as Clark says which is a completely normal way to say that Ballage is a professional, therefore he doesn’t deserve to be spoken to in such a way by someone who has been there longer.

But what really fascinates me about this situation is the clear division in thought between fans and players. Yes, there are other differences between fans and players such as players being finely tuned athletic machines and myself and most people are at the opposite end of the spectrum in that regard, but this difference in ideology gets my engine going (I know I know, I’m living a fascinating life). I haven’t seen really any posts from fans saying that Tannehill was in the wrong here though I’m sure there are some. I only saw posts like this

But you get a former player like Ryan Clark who thinks its bad form for Tannehill to call anyone out mainly because he hasn’t earned the right to do anything like that. If Clark is saying that on the air, then I will easily assume there are many others that he’s talked to throughout the league who think the same way. I’m the farthest thing from a player, but I’ll be honest, I had a quick thought like that too. I thought to myself that Tannehill, a guy who hasn’t really accomplished anything in the league might want to do something like that in private, but I ultimately thought if he wants to plant the flag of being a big time leader on the team and show that he’s a leader to the rest of the guys, this is a way to try and convey that message. I don’t think it shows that you’re a leader because I think it’s expected to let the rookie know that he screwed up. Gase had this to say about the situation;

“He was right today with what he did,” Gase said. “I would have been upset if I was him because he knows what the result in a game would have been. It would have been painful for him, for sure.

“I think he was in the right to kind of make an example there. When he does things like that, I think for our offense, that’s a good thing.”

Of course, Gase has to say this. It’s not like he can come out and say that his starting QB, the guy that has the biggest hand in if Gase will be here next year, should handle things in a better way. Makes sense. Clark called for other guys on the team to step up and let Ryan Tannehill know that he’s Ryan Tannehill and if you’re Ryan Tannehill you have no place telling anybody else what to do. I have no idea if that happened or not and it will probably be something we won’t ever know. I’d love to know what other guys on the team and even guys on other teams think of this. Was Tannehill out of line for lighting up a rookie who made a mistake or is he trying to convince people that he’s a leader by holding others accountable? Fans certainly love when guys hold others accountable, but it seems that players don’t enjoy when it happens in front of others.

But, I really don’t hate that Tannehill did this. Like anything in sports, if you win, nobody cares. So, let’s just hope Miami go out there and win every friggin game by a 100.

 

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