With Tua still out, ex-Pro Bowler presents unusual plan to use him. The team’s response
In the wake of three former players-turned-national television analysts imploring the Dolphins to play Tua Tagovailoa immediately or within two weeks, another former Pro Bowler - ESPN analyst Ryan Clark - is now passionately advocating a slightly different idea:
Giving Tua Tagovailoa some playing time in every game.
Coach Brian Flores said Thursday that is not something Miami is looking at doing.
“A series is not really something we’ve really talked about, but that could change,” Flores said. “As a No. 2, he’s one play away from being in the game. He has to be ready to go.”
On Thursday, Tagovailoa remained sidelined for a second day in a row with an undisclosed illness that Flores said is not related to COVID-19. San Diego rookie quarterback Reid Sinnett, who’s on Miami’s practice squad, is the only other quarterback under contract besides starter Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Flores said Tagovailoa was “under the weather”; the issue is not considered serious. But Flores couldn’t definitively say that the rookie would be available for Sunday’s home game against Seattle (1 p.m. Fox).
“We’ve gone through all the contingency plans here; Reid is part of that,” Flores said. “He has practiced well. We’ll have someone if Tua is not ready. We have to plan for the worst case scenario. We’ll see how Tua looks the next couple days. We’ve still got some time.”
Could former college quarterbacks Lynn Bowden Jr. or Malcolm Perry - two rookies now playing wide receiver - serve as backup quarterback Sunday?
“Quarterback in college and quarterback in the National Football League are two different things,” Flores said. “Malcolm has yet to be active. Lynn has played sparingly. To throw that on those guys would be a lot as rookies. I get it; they’ve played quarterback before. I understand the thinking that we could just put them out there but that’s easier said than done. That would be tough.”
Flores said Tagovailoa has “done a really good job really since we started training camp. We’ve got projects for him he’s working on as well as practice. He’s improving in meetings and walk-throughs. He’s smart. He’s talented.
“And we go through situations in third down, in the red zone, in two-minute and then he and ‘Fitz’ have a really good relationship, and he asks ‘Fitz’ questions really on a daily basis about being a professional but also about the different situations that we see on a week-to-week basis – game planning, things of that nature. So Tua is doing a nice job and I think he’s got a bright future.”
But Clark is among a handful of national analysts who say Miami is making a mistake by not using him in games. Clark, a former Pro Bowl safety, offered a lengthy soliloquy on ESPN’s NFL Live explaining what the Dolphins should be doing with the rookie quarterback.
“Tua should have already played, should have played in the first game, should have played in the second game, should have played early [against Jacksonville]. He should have a package. We already know he’s going to be the executive chef of the Miami Dolphins really soon. Do you want that first time to be after Ryan Fitzpatrick tries to run over Myles Jack or do you want that first time to be when another team has a whole week to prepare for him as a starter?
“Give him a package! Give him some plays! Let him see it. Give yourself an opportunity to see him in game time because you missed him in the preseason. This is not Ryan Fitzpatrick’s team. You need to find a way if you’re Brian Flores to see your future on the field right now. Other people have packages for backup quarterbacks. Why not you?
“This is not how you integrate a quarterback. Let’s not sit around and say we’re waiting for the bad Ryan Fitzpatrick game. You’ll act like it has to be a five pick game. The first two games weren’t good games and now all of a sudden we’re waiting for the bottom to fall out?
“Your plan doesn’t need to be we’re waiting for FitzMagic to become Fitzpatrick. Your plan needs to be how do we acclimate Tua into being our starting quarterback? Ryan Fitzpatrick shouldn’t factor into this at all whether he plays well or he doesn’t. This isn’t a playoff team. This needs to be Tua’s team.”
ESPN’s Keyshawn Johnson and Marcus Spears and NFL Network’s Michael Irvin are the other network analysts who say Tagovailoa should be playing now or by mid-October.
THIS AND THAT
▪ The Dolphins (and Jakeem Grant) have had only one kickoff return all season.
“A lot of teams have been kicking it over my head and not really giving me a chance,” he said. “I understand. I get it.”
Grant then added, only somewhat in jest: “I’m always waving my hand and telling them to kick it to me. A lot of guys always run down and say ‘come on man, bring it out of the end zone.’ I’m like, ‘You’re kicking it nine (yards) deep. There’s only 10 yards in the end zone and you’re kicking it nine deep, there is no way I’m bringing it out. If you give me a chance, I’ll bring it out.’ Like I always tell them, if you kick it to me then you’ll see what happens.”
▪ Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, in a conference all with South Florida reporters, said: “Ryan Fitzpatrick looks like he’s having the time of his life, running with the football, seems to be the centerpiece of the offense.
“They’re difficult on defense. They are built to play man to man. That’s the history for Brian coming out of New England. They can really lock you down, aggressive in their style and they have a lot of talent. I know it’s a little banged up. They are going to be really good this whole year.”
Carroll also noted the play of Dolphins rookie left tackle Austin Jackson. “Good to see a [Southern California] Trojan out there playing. We had a lot of regard for Austin Jackson going into the draft.”
▪ Flores said “there was some love” for explosive Seattle receiver DK Metcalf in Miami’s draft room 17 months ago. He was drafted 64th overall in 2019; Miami didn’t have a second-round pick in that draft because of the Josh Rosen trade.
▪ Miami will stick with 13,000 capacity for Sunday’s game.
This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 9:16 AM.
