QB Tua Tagovailoa meets with the media | Miami Dolphins

QB Tua Tagovailoa meets with the media | Miami Dolphins

Not to live too much in the past, but you know, I’m sure you feel like if you were under center during the 24 2024 game against the Colts, you guys take it, right? Is this kind of a revenge game or do you not see it that way? No, I wouldn’t say this is a re a revenge game at all. You got to look at their coaching staff, different defensive coordinator. Some of the players are are different as well that they acquired. So, what they’re doing defensively is is going to be different than what we seen last year. Um, you know, with the coach. So, I I don’t look at any of those, you know, games as a revenge game or I need to do something special this game. Just got to do what I’m told. What What is my job? What is my footwork? My sound bite and go about it that way. What do you remember feeling as you watched the offense offense struggle and that was all you could do? Watch. Yeah, I would say it’s always a struggle when you’re not able to be out there with your guys. You work countlessly. You work tirelessly with them with getting the timings right. Uh the footwork, progressions, spots with those guys and just can’t do anything to help but cheer them on or have communication with them on the sidelines. So, you know, I I’ve said it many times, but I I really can’t be putting the team in that situation. How do you feel about or what do you I guess the confidence that you have and what you’ve seen in camp and now through preseason games that you guys are going to be at the spot you want to be offensively as you open the season. Well, only time will tell when when we get to play on Sunday. So, uh we know what the expectations are for our team. We know what the standard is for our team as as as a unit, right? Special teams, offense, and defense. We got to go show that. You know, you you don’t just talk about that. Yeah, sure. You want to talk about it with within the team, but we we got to go show that, you know, with the talking. We just got to go show it. What are the trademarks of who Adamo coached defense? Trademark uh meaning what is the scheme or Yeah. What stands out about what they do, especially uh I I think they they do really well with their personnels outside of their personnels. We’re going to have to see what they do with certain guys out there, right? uh fast nickel, regular nickel, their base, what they want to do against us. Um I mean I I would say the thing they do really well when we’re when we look at the the uh when we look at his tape at Cincy, they they do disguise some of their pressures really well while playing some coverage uh back there. So we’re going to have to be sound on that, being able to pick it up and being able to make them pay if they do. What would you say your connection with Tyreek is right now both on and off the field? I would say it’s good. I I think I think uh for what it was earlier in the summer was just that and I think uh people might have blown it out of proportion uh to where now I mean we’ve we’ve worked we’ve worked on it and uh I think that conversation is dead now. I think once once people see Tyreek score on Sunday, you know, everyone will forget about that, you know. So, we’re in a good spot. Um, and we’ve been in a good spot for some time as well. So, I’m really happy with that and pleased with that. Uh, and I’m I’m very pleased with how our guys are operating now. Um, in in all rooms, you know, tight ends, running backs, receivers, uh, you know, O line, all of that. So, I’m very happy. I want to ask you about the stretch last season when you came back from the injury starting with um the Arizona game. I think it was like a four or five game stretch where Mike was saying this morning that was some of your best football. Do you see uh that stretch as some of the best football you played? And and I guess if so like was that just a product of having a different vantage point of being able to look at the game a different way from the sideline or what would you say contributed the most? I I would agree that that was definitely some of my best football last year and I would say to to the point of being out I I did have a different different vantage point of uh coach to player uh how how the guys are seeing that versus how I see it. you know, you can take some of uh how certain guys see things and then use that and then also on certain plays being out, what teams are trying to look to take away and where I can get to quicker within the progression to make them pay for it. Going back to Joe’s question, how much more of a challenge is it for you to get ready for a week one game against a defense that has a new DC and new parts compared to later in the year when you have game tape on them? Yeah, it it’s always tough because I think we are a nuance to teams where they might show one thing against us but never show it again against another team and then that’s how other teams build off of okay if they found s if this team found success against the Dolphins then maybe we can try that but add to it. So, I I would say it’s week to week is is always going to be a challenge, but you go off off of the base and the fundamentals of what their defensive structure is, then you go from there and you build off of that. Sounds like Xavier Howard is going to play a lot. What do you think that would be like? I think that’ll be cool. I got a lot of respect for my dog. Um, he was really the last of the last of the Moheakans, you know, when when I got in. He was the OG when I got in here and so I got a lot of respect for him and uh I mean I I think he was the longest Dolphin um that that I can remember uh since being here. So two of your four and0 as a starter in week ones. How important is it to start the season off with a win? I think it’s always important to start the season off with a win. I I wouldn’t say uh you know I’m looking at it as 4 and 0 or 5-0 or whatever it is. uh you’re always trying to trying to get a good jump start. You only get 17 of these games and you’re trying to figure out uh how you can stack all of those into the win column and uh you know how you can eliminate those losses. How do you feel about this offense’s I guess cohesiveness now that Tyreek and Devon are working back in? Yeah, it’s good. I would say with with Reek um you know I’ve I’ve had three years under my belt with Reek. So timing um seeing things uh together I I would say that’s all there. Um and then with with Van I mean we we just had practice again and he was he was out uh in the last one of the other practices that we had uh prior to this practice. So uh you know I don’t think there’s there’s been a a misstep with with him as well getting back in. So, he’s been staying focused, locked in with what he needs to do in order to to help us win games. Colts do a good job of disguising some of the stuff they do. If I remember correctly, Texas did a really good job with that as well. I guess what were some of the teaching points from that game that we carried over? Yeah, I I would say a lot of the the things that gave us problems were the tricky twos and we’ve we’ve um we’ve made that a point of emphasis and how we want to attack that, how we want to look at that. Um and just it’s more so vision for the quarterback off of actions, you know, how we’re looking at seeing that, especially with the post player being the run through um guy. So, we know we’re going to be getting a lot of that, a lot of twoman. So, yep. What would make a successful season for you and the team? To win it. That I mean that’s that’s a successful season every time. It’s to win it. We’re trying to win it all. If not, I don’t know why we’re playing football, you know. Chemistry have you been able to build with Darren Waller in a short period of time? We we’ve been able to to to work a little bit. Um, you know, I think the the cool thing about Dwall is he he’s been staying locked in mentally. You know, when when we were on the road, he’d come and ask me questions like, “Hey, I seen you work this route with this guy. Why did you why did you throw it this way?” Or, “Why did you throw it that way?” Or, “What are you seeing?” Or, “What are you looking at?” I think he’s been really locked in throughout the past couple weeks. And then we’ve had some reps with him as well. So, we’ll see. Um, you know, how much playing time he gets this Sunday. What makes you confident that he’ll be able to do what you need him to do? Well, I’m I mean, there’s some plays that he’s made out there that I I would say I’m I’m pretty confident that he’ll make some some plays for us. Um, now, is he going to have a lot of playing time? That I’m I’m not too sure. um you know with with what the coaches got going on um and with game plan aspect of it you know I’m not too sure what have you said or would you say to Jonah Sava Naya uh between now and the first snap what have I said or or would you say what you know what do you want him to be aware of well if there’s something that I that I needed to tell him I I probably would have told him already uh because he I mean he has three games under his belt now, if you will. But this is this is when the going gets tough. You know, you’re going against the best of the best from from every team. Um, but I, you know, I don’t think he needs to change anything. Um, if anything, this is this is how you learn, right? Trial by fire. You find out who your guys are and you find out how they they react to adversity and you go from there. What does it mean to you in a couple years now, but what does it mean to you to be a captain just as far as a leader and how do you kind of take that into the season as you’ve grown? What that term means? Yeah, it it means a lot. I I I say that because I think um my leadership for myself and you know how I’ve grown as a person as well has has changed over the years uh with how I look at things within the team, with how I interact with guys. um all of that I I think it’s it’s changed and it’s it’s grown and I think as the season goes on you know that’s that’s not to say too for the guys that also got mentioned as captains like you know it’s it’s an honor for us to to be named by our teammates uh by coaches as well um to be named captain and you can’t take that lightly um there’s a lot of guys that wanted to be captains as well on this team but you know didn’t get voted so uh we don’t take that lightly but we can definitely carry that into the season. Uh because it’s it’s going to take us players to get this ball moving. Yeah, sure. You could say the coaches do this, do that, but it’s about the players. I watched the first episode of Under the Sun last night. I was just curious as to how this experience kind of compared to Hard Knocks a few years back. I would say I would say this that that that experience was was a little different because I I knew the the people, you know, that was riding in the car with me that came over to the house, you know, all of that was asking the questions. So, I would say there was there was some comfort in that, right? Whereas like you get people that you don’t really know. Are they after me? Are they nah? Yeah. I mean, you just don’t know, you know? So that whole trust thing and I would say that was the difference. Was there another receiver that you were able to build a good chemistry withh during the offseason while Tyreek was out? I would say Malik. I would say Malik. Um I had many reps with uh Esco. I had many reps also with Nick. Um, and so I was able to build some repertoire with those guys and you know how they come out of breaks on certain routes and kind of the their feel of the game as well. So I would say those three guys

QB Tua Tagovailoa meets with the media on September 3rd, 2025.

Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/channel/MiamiDolphins

#MiamiDolphins #NFL

For more Dolphins content: http://www.MiamiDolphins.com
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MiamiDolphins
Follow us on TikTok: http://tiktok.com/MiamiDolphins
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MiamiDolphins
Follow us on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/MiamiDolphins
Follow us on Reddit: http://reddit.com/u/yourmiamidolphins
Get the app: http://apps.apple.com/us/app/miami-dolphins/id563617073