Are Ryan Tannehill's Toe-Thumbs to Blame For His Struggles?

A rough week for Ryan Tannehill just turned rougher with a blistering investigation by the sports site Deadspin on the Dolphins quarterback's apparent toe-thumbs. On Thursday night, an astute reader with apparently way too much time on their hands sent the website an email positing a theory that Tannehill's struggles...

By Chris Joseph

September 26, 2014

[
        {
          "name": "GPT - Billboard - Slot Inline - Content - Labeled - No Desktop",
          "component": "16971022",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "15769925",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Rectangle 2x - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782206",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Leaderboard to Tower - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782207",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

A rough week for Ryan Tannehill just turned rougher with a blistering investigation by the sports site Deadspin on the Dolphins quarterback's apparent toe-thumbs.

On Thursday night, an astute reader with apparently way too much time on their hands sent the website an email positing a theory that Tannehill's struggles might be due to the fact that he has toes for thumbs.

Yes, toe-thumbs.

From Deadspin:

Hey guys,

I'm not sure whether this has already been scooped, but Ryan Tannehill's thumbs are shaped like toes. You might want to look into this. It could shed light on the REAL reason why Philbin "doesn't want to tip his hand".

Deadspin did dig deeper. And by "dig deeper," they did what most of us do and hit up Google.

What they came up with was a fascinating medical condition known as brachydactyly type D, or, as they call it on the street: Clubbed Thumb Syndrome.

Interestingly, one in 1,000 has this syndrome -- including actress Megan Fox.

And, apparently, Ryan Tannehill.

Deadpsin has its own photos as proof.

Unfortunately, all photos New Times has taken of Tannehill have the football concealing his thumbs.

But that didn't stop us from investigating. So, we scoured Twitter images for proof and this is the best we could find:

Dolphins coach Joe Philbin stopped short of saying Ryan Tannehill would start on Sunday. http://t.co/kmjlIhOGgO pic.twitter.com/Y6Mlhd2ibk
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) September 22, 2014

Dolphins players reportedly told Ryan Tannehill will start Sunday vs. Raiders. http://t.co/ADpUNJgh8Q pic.twitter.com/dCSCV1MNPD
— theScore (@theScore) September 23, 2014

Our verdict: Yep. Looks like the Deadspin reader is on to something here.

Tannehill's thumbs are clubbed.

And now a very serious question: Are Tannehill's toe-thumbs screwing with his accuracy?

For all his talent, arm strength and athleticism, Tannehill has one very serious issue, and that's with getting the ball to his receivers at a consistent clip.

Accuracy is everything for NFL quarterbacks and Tannehill has been pretty bad with his, particularly with his deep balls.

According to his 2012-13 numbers, Tannehill's deep ball passes were all over the place.

And this year -- albeit just three games in -- he seems to have regressed.

Maybe the toe-thumbs are to blame.

Though one Twitter follower has his own theory:

Is that...is that....JJ Barea? @MarcHochman pic.twitter.com/uLr8dyj7R1
— Jordan⏙ (@jordub) September 26, 2014

Send your story tips to the author, Chris Joseph. Follow Chris Joseph on Twitter

Follow @NewTimesBroward

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of South Florida, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.