JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Young quarterbacks Ryan Tannehill and Blaine Gabbert had the same number of completions and considerably different performances Friday night.
Tannehill completed 5 of 9 passes for 75 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown pass to newcomer Dustin Keller, and the Miami Dolphins thumped the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-3 in a preseason game.
Gabbert, competing with Chad Henne for Jacksonville's starting job, completed 5 of 10 passes for 19 yards. He didn't get much help, though. Teammates dropped two passes, including one that ended up getting intercepted.
Tannehill's outing was longer and more successful than his preseason opener, a 24-20 loss to Dallas last week in which the former first-round draft pick played just 10 snaps. He started slow, gaining just one first down in his first three possessions, but got things rolling late in the first quarter.
Gabbert, meanwhile, was hoping to make a strong impression in Jacksonville's exhibition opener — the first for new coach Gus Bradley. Instead, he looked about like he did the last two seasons.
Aside from the QBs, here's five things we learned about the Dolphins and Jaguars:
1. KELLER A TARGET: With speedy receiver Mike Wallace working the outside, Keller should have little problem finding open space underneath and could be a nice safety valve for Tannehill this season. He caught two passes for 46 yards against the Jaguars, both down the middle of the field. The former New York Jets tight end had 28 receptions for 317 yards and two scores in an injury-shortened season a year ago.
2. BLACKMON'S OUTBURST: Forget the three points and four turnovers. Bradley's biggest concern coming out of this game centers on receiver Justin Blackmon. He sat out while recovering from groin surgery, but he was hardly quiet. He got into an argument with Dolphins cornerback Nolan Carroll during the second quarter. The verbal tiff escalated and included several teammates, getting so heated that it got Bradley's attention. Running back Maurice Jones-Drew eventually stepped in and escorted Blackmon to the locker room. Blackmon was in Bradley's office for a lengthy discussion after the game. It's not an ideal situation for Blackmon, who is suspended for the first four games of the regular season for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. He has spent the past two months trying to prove he's more mature. "We'll talk about it as a team and say you know that's not who we are or what we want to become, so we'll take it out of our game," Bradley said.
