Tua will handle the scrutiny and pressure. Question is whether rest of Miami Dolphins can | Opinion
You would have plenty of ammo to argue that no NFL player is under more scrutiny and pressure than Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa as the 2022 season inches closer.
In fact so many already have lined up to make that argument it has nearly morphed into self-fulfilling prophecy, something hardly even open to debate. A probing national spotlight sears hot on Tagovailoa and that’s that.
Which is funny to me for two reasons:
First, the very premise is silly. There are others on the Dolphins with more pressure on them. Lots. Just about everybody else, actually, which we’ll dig into shortly.
Second, if there is pressure on him beyond that which media consensus has created, I can think of few players more ready for it and better steeled to deal with it. That is because Tagovailoa’s baptism into the NFL has been what feels like an unprecedented two-year storm of doubts and disrespect.
If what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger or whatever that bromide is, Tua is Godzilla by now. His entire pro career has been one of undue scrutiny and pressure, not so much from his performance, but for factors beyond his control.
An entire year twisting in the wind and embarrassed by his own team as Miami maneuvered in the shadows to try to sign Deshaun Watson, which owner Stephen Ross was poised to do had all of Watson’s accusers agreed to sign non-disclosure agreements. Recall Tagovailoa being asked amid this mess if he felt wanted. The long, awkward pause. Then, finally, “I don’t not feel wanted.”
With the incessant comparisons to Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow another backdrop, there also were the reports Ross was enamored of luring Tom Brady, even if it meant arranging a clandestine luncheon meeting on a yacht that might have violated NFL tampering rules.
Oh, and an intrepid local media sleuth reported Tagovailoa had not developed chemistry with his teammates, was too reserved, had shied away from the captaincy. So his psychological makeup was now in play, too.
All of the doubts about Tua have fomented because the Dolphins have spent two years weakly saying he’s our guy but behaving as if drafting him was a mistake that needs fixing. And that speculation continues, still.
Just this month, Mike Florio of Pro Football Focus speculated that Tampa Bay’s Brady or Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson could end up with Miami in 2023.
Never said enough, in Tagovailoa’s defense, was how hamstrung he was those first two seasons by an awful offensive line, a weak running game, and a scared game plan that (largely because of that bad O-line) had him getting rid of the ball quickly in a popgun offense.
Tua was sacked on only 20 of 408 pass attempts in 2021, the eighth-lowest percentage of all QBs. That is because he was doing so many quick dump passes because Miami’s play-calling was so afraid of its own line, to give Tagovailoa that crucial extra second in the pocket.
Plainly, until this coming season, Miami’s young QB has been handcuffed and bereft of enough playmakers around him.
We have not been able to judge him fairly yet, though judge him we have. And harshly.
The fair judging starts in 2022. After a dynamic, huge-spending, all-in offseason. With superstar Tyreek Hill and Cedrick Wilson joining Jaylen Waddle and Mike Gesicki in what is now a top-tier receivers room. With Chase Edmonds leading a beefed-up running back corps. With top free agent Terron Armstead fronting what should be a much better offensive line.
Tagovailoa cannot help but be clearly better in Year 3. It’s all but a guarantee. The only question is how much.
There is pressure, sure, and in this sport it always is disproportionately on the quarterback.
But on this team? Look around. The pressure pie chart has lots of slices beyond the QB.
Ross begins his 14th season as owner under the cloud of an NFL investigation over serious allegations by fired coach Brian Flores that Ross offered him bribe money to intentionally lose games in 2019. Chris Grier begins his seventh year as general manager. The pressure starts at the top, with the people running this franchise.
Mike McDaniel has not been a head coach at any level before now, and the Dolphins were the only team to interview the former 49ers assistant for the top job. Is he ready? That’s pressure. Same with new offensive coordinator Frank Smith, last an OC for the small-college Butler Bulldogs in 2009.
The improved offensive line must prove it is. Can Armstead stay healthy? Can 2020 first-round draft pick Austin Jackson show he isn’t a bust?
The running back room has an interesting quartet in Edmonds, Raheem Mostert, Sony Michel and Myles Gaskin, but is there a bona fide starter there?
While the offense is revamped, the defense returns largely intact, led by ascending stars such as Christian Wilkins and Jevon Holland and corners Xavien Howard and Byron Jones.
But there is pressure within the defense, too.
The NFL website run by former Dolphins executive Mike Tannenbaum, the33rdteam.com, on Tuesday ranked Miami’s defensive front seven in the sixth of seven tiers, one described as “a lack of top-end talent, especially in the pass-rush category.” That seems a bit harsh for Miami to me, but it invites the pressure of something to prove.
Finally, there is pressure on Tyreek Hill, not just on Tagovailoa to get him the ball.
Recall the one viral video that showed Hill catching a deep pass from Tua in practice — but appearing to slow down for a slightly underthrown ball. I don’t think any video since the Zapruder Film has been more widely scrutinized as the NFL world obsesses over Hills’ speed and Tagovailoa’s arm strength.
Hill must make Tua better. It’s part of his job. It’s why they made him the NFL’s highest-paid receiver.
Way back in the day I recall once asking Mark Clayton how lucky he was go to have had Dan Marino throwing to him.
“How lucky was he to have me!?” Clayton replied.
Hill has a new podcast called ‘It Needed To Be Said’. So this needs to be said: Hill must adopt Clayton’s attitude and accept that a big part of why he’s here is to elevate Tua Tagovailoa.
He was given a four-year, $120 million contract ($72.2 million guaranteed) to do just that.
No pressure or anything!
