You want fiery leadership out of your quarterback?
Try this one on for size:
Ryan Tannehill kicked running back Kalen Ballage out of the huddle and off the field Sunday after Ballage appeared to miss an assignment, leading to a sack by Charles Harris.
But Tannehill did not stop there.
He sought out Ballage on the sidelines during a break the first-team offense, and scolded the rookie some more.
Tannehill, not surprisingly, had the full support of his head coach.
"He was right today, with what he did," Gase later said. "I would have been upset if I were him, because who knows what the result in a game would have been? ... I think he was in the right. He kind of made an example there. When he does things like that, for our offense, that's good."
Ballage, for his part, seemed to take the public dressing down in stride, and chalked up his mental error to the rookie learning curve.
"He's been in this offense for three, four years," Ballage said. "I've been in it for two months. There's still a lot I've got to learn. Just continuing to grow everyday."
Ballage said the criticism was constructive and he has to "just take it all in stride, keep building on it."
Sunday's heated exchange is just the latest example that Tannehill knows that he has to be this team's leader, and when the situation warrants, go off on his teammates.
"I think its can be difficult because you're trying to keep the tempo of practice," Gase said. "You can't kick a guy out of the huddle all the time. You can't shut it down all the time. Can't have big discussions. For me, it's a feel. Timing. What's the right time? 'You know what? We're not right here. We need someone else in here.' "
