After getting off to a poor 1-3 start this season the Miami Dolphins fired head coach Joe Philbin earlier this week. Interim head coach Dan Campbell talked about changing the Dolphins’ practice habits in his introductory press conference. Campbell probably felt compelled to address his team’s practice habits because of reports that quarterback Ryan Tannehill was taking out his frustration in practice on the practice squad players. Reportedly, after some poor performances in practice, particularly one where a practice squad player picked off Tannehill, the former Texas A&M Aggie lost his temper and told a practice squad player, “Enjoy your practice squad paycheck, enjoy your practice squad trophy.”
TOM BRADY’S LEADERSHIP SKILLS ARE WAY AHEAD OF RYAN TANNEHILL’S
If that story is true, and both the Miami Herald and FoxSports.com confirmed the basis of it, Tannehill needs to take a long look at another quarterback in the AFC East. Ryan Tannehill needs to try emulate New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Brady is one of the most decorated quarterbacks and players in NFL history. Whether you love or loathe him, his accomplishments can’t be denied. There are many reasons why the former Michigan Wolverine has been so successful during his NFL career, but two main ones that come to mind are his drive and his leadership.
And Brady displays both of those traits in how he handles getting picked off in practice. Spoiler alert, he handles it much differently that Tannehill reportedly does. Donte Stallworth was a wide receiver for the Patriots in 2007 and 2012, and he tweeted out, “Brady actually paid practice squad and look team guys if they picked him off in practice.”
Now, just to be clear, is what Tannehill did the worst thing in the world? No, but it is very far from how an NFL quarterback should behave. There are different ways to lead, whether it’s quietly and by example or by being more vocal. But no matter the method, a quarterback should be a leader on his team, and Tannehill has shown that he is not ready to take on that responsibility.
Brady’s approach does two things: He builds up his teammates, and shows that everyone is accountable to do his job. It also allows Brady to push himself to be better, because he goes against players that are playing hard in practice. The future Hall of Fame quarterback doesn’t want teammates taking it easy on him (as Dolphins coaches allegedly told practice squad players to do with Tannehill). Brady wants to continue to work to get better, and to help his team get better. While the position of quarterback is the most important in football, particularly in the NFL, Brady understands the importance of having a good and confident team behind him.
This is not to say that every quarterback has to pay practice squad players for interceptions or good plays. Or that comparing Brady and Tannehill is really an exact comparison. Stallworth himself went on to tweet that “comparing Tannehill to Brady is like comparing a rowboat to a battleship.” For all of Stallworth’s tweets on this subject, click here. But building teammates up, and working as a team, goes a long way toward a team performing well. Brady’s leadership allows the Patriots to do that, and it’s a large part of why he has four Super Bowl rings.
