What Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa has done better and worse than most NFL quarterbacks
A six-pack of Miami Dolphins notes on a Tuesday:
▪ According to tidbits unearthed by ESPN’s Stats and Information department, nobody is better than Tua Tagovailoa in one area and few are worse than him in another.
The area where he’s the best: He has 10 touchdown passes and no interceptions when he has a clean pocket to throw from. No other quarterback in the league has that many touchdowns and no interceptions with a clean pocket.
But here’s the bad news: On passes thrown at least 15 yards in the air, Tagovailoa has completed only 35.9 percent of his attempts, which is 31st among 36 qualifiers.
Conversely, Ryan Fitzpatrick has completed 62.5 percent of those passes, which is first in the league.
Tagovailoa is 23rd in passer rating at 93.2, between Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Ryan. (Fitzpatrick is 17th at 95.6.)
Tagovailoa is averaging just 6.3 yards per pass attempt, which is tied with Roethlisberger for 31st among qualifiers — ahead of only Carson Wentz, recently released Dwayne Haskins, Nick Foles and Sam Darnold.
But Tagovailoa’s two interceptions are the fewest by a quarterback who has thrown at least 200 passes. He also has 10 touchdown passes.
▪ Among a bunch of network analysts, Brian Flores has earned something that few second-year coaches earn: faith and trust.
“I trust Brian Flores as much as I trust any coach in the NFL; he has 100 percent earned that,” ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky said when addressing how Flores has handled the Dolphins’ quarterback situation.
Former NFL coach Steve Mariucci, now an NFL Network studio analyst, awarded Flores his weekly “Moochie’s Man” award for his handling of the team’s quarterback situation. “He handles it well, and both quarterbacks handle it well; I tip my hat to Brian Flores for that. I marvel at the job he has done.”
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said coaches around the league — in talking with Mortensen — praised how Flores is handling his quarterback situation.
▪ Keep an eye on North Carolina running back Javonte Williams as an option for the Dolphins in Round 2 if they don’t draft Alabama’s Najee Harris or Clemson’s Travis Etienne with their second first-round pick.
Per College Football Focus: “Before 2020, the highest single-season rushing grade ever recorded in the PFF College era was Ronald Jones’ 93.8 for USC back in 2017. This year, Williams has shattered that mark with a 95.9 rushing grade, and he has also broken more tackles per attempt than any FBS running back since 2014 (0.48).”
▪ According to The Monday Morning Quarterback’s Albert Breer, the NFL will move ahead with a 17th regular-season game for each team next season, and AFC East teams will play a game against the NFC East team that finishes in the same spot in the division. That means Miami — which has clinched second in the AFC East — will play either Philadelphia, Dallas or the Giants at a site to be determined.
The Dolphins’ other NFC games next season are home against Carolina and Atlanta and at Tampa Bay and at New Orleans.
▪ Quick stuff part 1: Bills coach Sean McDermott said Tuesday he won’t disclose publicly whether he will rest any starters against the Dolphins on Sunday. As we explained here, the battle for the No. 2 seed (between the Bills and Steelers) is less significant under the NFL’s new playoff format....
Raiders coach Jon Gruden is still kicking himself for Saturday’s last-second loss to the Dolphins.
“They have 19 seconds left with no timeouts at the minus-25-yard line,” Gruden said. “For us to not get off the field with a victory, it’s a shame, it’s a disgrace and it’s a reflection on me only. We have to do a lot better job than that.”...
The Dolphins brought in quarterback Jake Rudock for a visit — which involves five COVID tests — but we’re told that Tagovailoa and Fitzpatrick are healthy in terms of being able to play on Sunday…
▪ Quick stuff part 2: Betonline.com doesn’t expect any of the four possible ways for the Dolphins to make the playoffs to happen on Sunday. Miami is a 4.5-point underdog at Buffalo, while Indianapolis is a 14-point favorite over Jacksonville, Baltimore an 11.5-point favorite over Cincinnati and Cleveland a 7.5-point favorite over Pittsburgh. Miami can make the playoffs with a win in Buffalo or a loss by Baltimore or a loss by Cleveland or a loss by Indianapolis….
Dolphins receiver Preston Williams, healing from a foot injury sustained Nov. 8 against Arizona, joined The Ultimate Gaming League (UGL), an organization which allows players to invite fans to join the team, not just watch.
Williams is a part of Glitxh Gaming with fellow NFL players Rashard Higgins, Sidney Jones and Avonte Maddox.
In an interview through a UGL publicist, Williams said his injury was diagnosed as a foot sprain, indicating the foot is not broken. He said he’s “day to day” and declined to say if he will play again this season; Brian Flores did not close the door on Williams possibly practicing this week and being available for a playoff game.
Williams said he’s doing gaming — besides rehabbing his injury — because “participating in Glitxh Gaming appeals to me because I have a passion for gaming and I feel that we have a solid gaming team in Glitxh. Also, I saw an opportunity to compete and win!”
Here’s my Tuesday Dolphins piece on some players the Dolphins wanted and missed out on and how it worked out.
Here’s my Tuesday piece on WSVN-Fox 7’s Steve Shapiro, who retires on Wednesday after anchoring more sportscasts than anyone in South Florida television history.
This story was originally published December 29, 2020 at 5:12 PM.
