Tua has admission about his rookie season. And ESPN keeps pushing for Watson-to-Dolphins
A six-pack of Miami Dolphins notes on a Monday:
▪ Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa began a series of national interviews on Monday with an admission:
He considered his rookie performance not up subpar.
And Tagovailoa, when pressed on the issue, conceded that he cannot be sure that he will be a Dolphin this fall.
“I would describe my rookie season as below average,” Tagovailoa told Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio. “This past season wasn’t up to my expectations that I have for myself. But there were a lot of things I was able to learn from. Being able to look at the defenses and how different all of the schemes are with defensive coordinators. Everyone runs different things. Hopefully I can compartmentalize everything and have a much better season next year.”
Meanwhile, Dan Patrick — whose show now airs on NBC’s streaming service, Peacock — asked Tagovailoa this:
“I was going to buy a Tua Dolphins jersey in the offseason. I just want to make sure you’re still going be there. Should I wait until August?”
To which Tagovailoa responded: “Honestly, I’m not too sure. I can’t control things that I can’t control. What I can do is continue to work hard.”
Tagovailoa said had not heard rumors about a Deshaun Watson trade until his agent informed him.
The Dolphins haven’t broached the Watson rumors to Tagovailoa because, well, it would be premature. But we’re told the Dolphins have shrugged off or dismissed the rumors to NFL people who have inquired to them about Watson, much as they did weeks before they traded Laremy Tunsil to Houston in 2019.
(And no, that does not mean that Miami automatically will trade Tagovailoa as they did with Tunsil. It’s too soon to know, and Houston controls that process more than Miami does.)
One NFL person who spoke to the Dolphins said the Dolphins expect any Houston decision on Watson to stretch many weeks.
▪ More nuggets from Tagovailoa during those interviews:
Asked if he believes that Dolphins coach Brian Flores considers him a franchise quarterback, Tagovailoa said: “In my mind and in my heart, I would like to hope so. With the way things went last year, you always have to prove yourself to do better and I want to do better.”...
He said he understood being benched in the second half of the Denver and Las Vegas games.
“In the heat of the moment, it just wasn’t working for me,” he said. “Coach did what he thought was best for the team and it was what was best for the team. If I didn’t have the relationship I have with the coaches and Fitz [Ryan Fitzpatrick], it would have been a little bit different. Fitz was a great help.”...
He said one of the biggest adjustments this season was needing to tell receivers where they should line up before plays. He said that wasn’t required of him at Alabama…
He told Patrick: “I have really high expectations for myself, and I didn’t meet those expectations this past year.”
▪ ESPN’s most prominent studio analysts continue to make the case for Miami as a Watson destination.
“It starts with Miami’s championship defense; their defense is a selling point for Deshaun Watson,” ESPN’s Dan Orlovksy said when discussing the pros of Watson going to the Dolphins.
“You are going to a place with a great head coach and GM combination. Chris Grier has put together a really good roster. We’ve seen Brian Flores establish himself as a players coach and one that has great feel for his locker room.
“They have some young pieces on offense that are great weapons. They’ve got a really really good young tight end in Mike Gesicki. DeVante Parker is a solid receiver. They have some young offensive linemen that are only going to continue to get better.”
And the downside for Watson with a Miami trade? “They don’t have an offensive coordinator yet,” Orlovksy said. “And the second [con in a pro/con list] would be how much does it cost to get him.”
But Orlovsky thinks a Watson/Miami marriage would be a good one.
So does ESPN’s Marcus Spears.
“The Miami Dolphins, to me, would be the No. 1 destination for Deshaun Watson,” Spears said. “When you look at what the Dolphins have done, they have positioned themselves to be a contender in that conference. Bringing in Kyle Van Noy, bringing in Byron Jones, they’ve been building to this point.
“I am not trying to cast any aspersions on Tua. But Deshaun Watson is better than Tua. He’s an upgrade. He’s a more known commodity than Tua. You insert Deshaun Watson into the Miami Dolphins’ lineup, now you’ve got a team that can legitimately go to the AFC Championship, and you feel good about who your quarterback is competing against Patrick Mahomes if you get Deshaun Watson. That, to me, is an ideal place. Everywhere else is wishful thinking.”
▪ Four weeks after Chan Gailey abruptly resigned as Dolphins offensive coordinator, the position remains open.
That’s led to some logical speculation: Perhaps the Dolphins have surreptitiously lined up their next offensive playcaller, but are not able to make the hire official since he’s coaching in the Super Bowl.
That might be the case, but we can probably strike one name off the list.
Harold Goodwin, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ assistant head coach and run game coordinator, told the Miami Herald on Monday that he has not had any conversations with the Dolphins about the opening.
Goodwin has been an assistant in the NFL for nearly two decades and served as the Arizona Cardinals’ offensive coordinator from 2013 through 2017.
But Goodwin, like Buffalo Bills quarterback coach (and former University of Miami great) Ken Dorsey, apparently is not on the Dolphins’ radar. The Herald reported last week that Dorsey had likewise not been contacted by Flores.
The Kansas City Chiefs, who face the Buccaneers in Super Bowl 55, also have what seems to be an appealing candidate on staff: passing game coordinator Mike Kafka, who speaks to reporters Tuesday.
The Dolphins also haven’t ruled out promoting either Eric Studesville or George Godsey, who shared playcalling duties in Saturday’s Senior Bowl, which Flores and his staff coached.
▪ Tagovailoa told Schein that he has spoken to Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith about the possibility of them playing together. Smith would be a strong option if Miami keeps the third overall pick.
“Me and DeVonta had a couple conversations,” Tagovailoa said. “That would be very exciting. Any time I am able to reunite with a former teammate from Alabama, that would be very special because of the chemistry we already have and the impact I know they would be able to have helping out our team.”
▪ Former NFL scout Bucky Brooks and former Dolphins vice president/football operations Mike Tannenbaum expressed some concern about Smith’s size (listed by Alabama as 6-1, 175).
Brooks: “DeVonta Smith is a great player, but the size is a major concern. It’s hard for some scouts to envision drafting a 170-pound wide receiver at the top of the board... We haven’t seen a lot of ‘skinny’ wide receivers dominate the pro game.”
Tannenbaum: “I see him as a top-five pick. I went to the national championship game and he was the best player on the field. Ohio State simply couldn’t cover him. They doubled him, they tried to jam him, they rolled safeties over the top and he was by far the best player. He has some Marvin Harrison in him in terms of you know what’s coming and you can’t stop it because he’s such a great route runner.
“My only concern with taking him in the top five is the cautionary tale of Tavon Austin, explosive, undersized player that never really panned out in the NFL. [Smith is] a much better route runner [than Austin]. But how is he going to be consistently getting off jams and getting off the line of scrimmage. That’s the big question mark.”
Smith declined to be weighed or measured at the Senior Bowl last week.
“If you’re a good player — I mean, you can nitpick all you want about a guy’s size — good players are good players are good players,” Flores said. “I think we all can see that, and this guy’s a very good player.”
This story was originally published February 1, 2021 at 1:20 PM.
