Dolphins’ ‘big picture’ begins to emerge Saturday with unveiling of Year 2 Tua | Opinion
Tua Tagovailoa, before a joint practice against the Bears this week in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, was asked how he feels compared to the same time last year.
He smiled.
“Big picture question,” he said. “I think it’s hard to look at the big picture when you’re just dialed in on what we’ve got to do to accomplish what we want right now.”
No problem, Tua.
You don’t need to be concerned with judging then vs. now and gauging progress or how much you’ve improved in Year 2.
A million Miami Dolphins fans will be doing it for you.
And that judging starts Saturday in Miami’s NFL preseason opener, a 1 p.m. matinee at storied Solder Field. Tagovailoa will play, though likely not much. No matter. Every snap he takes, every pass he makes, will be scrutinized like the Zapruder film.
Dolfans will be rabid collectors in 2021, looking for evidence. Proof. Hints of how high the ceiling might be for the young quarterback out of Alabama. Signs that his second season will be one of appreciable improvement.
All hopes, coming off a 10-win season, are depending on that.
Players, especially young ones, are drilled on the micro view, the one Fins coach Brian Flores repeats like a mantra in saying, “We want all our players to focus on their alignment, their assignment, their communication, their fundamentals, their techniques.”
Bor-ring!
Luckily fans and Your Friend the Media are free to prefer the macro view and want to see it now, please, not eventually.
Is Tua the long-term answer? Will he be a Pro Bowl-level QB? Can he lead this franchise’s renaissance from 20 years of not mattering much?
This season is an especially fascinating one for sports’ most disproportionately important position — the reminder of that coming just last year when Tom Brady instantly made the lowly Tampa Bay Bucs champions.
This has been the offseason that saw Aaron Rodgers nearly leave Green Bay before re-signing for one more year. That saw disgruntled Deshaun Watson want out of Houston as allegations of sexual misconduct piled up around him.
This was the offseason that brought so many familiar faces to new places: Andy Dalton to Chicago, Jared Goff to Detroit, Carson Wentz to Indianapolis, Sam Darnold to Carolina, Matthew Stafford to the Rams, Ryan Fitzpatrick to Washington.
There are battles to start: Jameis Winston vs. Taysom Hill in New Orleans, Cam Newton vs. Mac Jones in New England, Drew Lock vs. Teddy Bridgewater in Denver.
And this season, unmistakably, dawns a new era, a fresh wave of young quarterbacks who will shape the league as the Bradys and Rodgers finally peel away.
Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City stands apart as the king of the new wave (although Buffalo is paying Josh Allen like he could be, too).
Tagovailoa will be more fairly judged against and compared to the constellation of rookies and fellow second-year quarterbacks. To Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, Jordan Love and Jalen Hurts. To Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields and Jones.
Somebody from that group will become a superstar. (Might it be Tua?)
There is most every reason why Tagovailoa should be much better than in his up-and-down rookie year.
He is completely healthy. Stronger physically. He is much more comfortable with the offense and playbook. He has had the benefit of a full offseason schedule and now preseason games after COVID-19 wiped all of that out last year.
He has added rookie first-round pick Jaylen Waddle and Will Fuller to DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki in what now could be one of the NFL’s best (and fastest) receiving corps.
Oh, and count the Fins defense as an ally, too. It should be good enough that Tagovailoa won’t be required to get into 30-point shootouts all that often.
The concerns? There are two.
Offensive line. They are babies. If the current depth chart holds, right tackle Jesse Davis will be the only real veteran. The other starters as of now are a rookie, Liam Eichenberg, two second-year guys, and a third-year guard who was moved to center.
And running back. Nobody in the room fighting for touches is keeping opposing defensive coordinators up nights.
All of the finding out about Tagovailoa and what the big picture might be starts Saturday.
It will be just a small glimpse, a tiny peek.
But it will serve to nourish highest hopes and anticipation ... if it doesn’t do the opposite.
For better (they hope) or worse, it will open the door to Year 2 Tua.
