Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill has a new fan: Jets coach Rex Ryan.
The rookie has led the Dolphins to two straight wins and has completed 59.6 percent of his passes this season for 1,454 yards with four touchdowns against six interceptions. The eighth-overall pick in April’s draft also has a rushing TD.
“Unusual for a guy, a rookie or anybody else, to have that kind of accuracy on the deep ball,” Ryan told the Palm Beach Post. “And he hangs in there and makes accurate throws down the field, so it’s been impressive. You can see he’s getting very comfortable, probably getting comfortable adjusting to this league, maybe the coverages he’s seeing and the speed of the game. But obviously he’s really an impressive guy.”
Tannehill will try to be more impressive than he was in a 23-20 overtime loss against the Jets in Miami last month. The rookie completed a season-low 16 of 36 passes for a season-low 196 yards with an interception. His costly turnover near midfield in overtime set the stage for the Jets to kick the game-winning field goal.
Gaffney wants to go: Miami WR Jabar Gaffney is ready to play.
The recently-signed free agent was inactive for wins over the Bengals and Rams before this week’s bye. However, the former Washington Redskins standout said he had a strong practice on Wednesday as the team installed its game plan for the Jets.
"I'm a lot better than I was when I first got here," Gaffney told the Miami Herald. "I've gotten better with each and every practice, and it's helped me play rather than just thinking. I would have to say today was my best practice, definitely better than Monday."
Dolphins coach Joe Philbin, however, urged patience.
"He looked good in practice," he told the newspaper. "I thought he's doing some things well."
Walking wounded: Dolphins CB Richard Marshall remains sidelined with a bad back.
“We focus more on the guys that are out there and able to practice,” Philbin said. “You would hope that the guys on your ball club want to be out there, want to compete, and want to play. So you feel for a player when he is unable to practice and compete. Whenever he is ready, then we’ll get him back.”
The team’s top free-agent acquisition this offseason has missed the last two weeks with his ailment, and CB Nolan Carroll is expected to again start in his place if Marshall can’t go. Returning to practice was RB Daniel Thomas, who missed the win over St. Louis with a concussion. He has suffered two this season.
DB Jimmy Wilson, who has played nickelback the past few weeks, was limited on Wednesday with an ankle injury.
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