Is it time for the Miami Dolphins to move on from Tua Tagovailoa? | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC

You know, most of the time Tua looks good, right? But when it doesn’t go exactly as it’s supposed to go, the way that it was drawn up, that’s when and anybody that’s watched a lot of football, you can tell a quarterback who is confident and in control and calm and determined and a guy who like I’ve said for years that Patrick Mahomes does his best work when he’s running around like his hair’s on fire and that’s you know, but the way tour runs around Maybe he thinks his hair is on fire. Like he’s so like there’s so much of that like fish out of water demeanor that that overcomes him when the play isn’t going the way that it’s supposed to. When it does, it’s very crisp. It’s very boom. But then all of a sudden it’s panic. It’s panic mode. Just like Xavian Howard said, if you take away the first read, it’s panic mode. And when you watch him on the field, when the the play isn’t there and he starts running around there, there are flashes that create the impression to the neutral observer that he’s panicked. And I I I don’t even know if the the panic from Okay, Xavon Howard and I know I know part of the reason a a big part of the reason he said what he said because he’s a little bitter about how things ended in Miami. I understand it. And so former Dolphin, he was just waiting on that. He had that one waiting in drafts. That take it’s been there for a while and he just wanted to share it with the world. Um so I understand. I understand. But if you take away the Colts game, they were terrible. They were terrible in the Colts game. And that’s where all the uh that’s where all the the big proclamations and the hot takes about Miami and the shots at Mike McDaniel. Those all came out after week one. But if you want to talk about moments, Mike, if I take moments from game two for Miami and game three, you could say they had more positive moments than their opponent. probably 60% of the time. There were stretches in the Patriots game, Patriots Miami, where they were being dominated, the Dolphins were, and then they took over the game and they looked like the better team, looked like they couldn’t be stopped until a Tua interception where he just didn’t see Martu and just threw it right to him. And then last night, I’d say, you know, 52% of the time, there were times where the back and forth between Achan and Gordon, he’s hitting Jaylen Wadd, he gets Tyreek Hill involved in a touchdown. Like, okay, I can see the offense humming. It’s moving. And then he didn’t see Bernard. He just I it was just an interception. You felt like they were going to You felt like they were going to score. I I don’t know how they’re going to score. They’re going to score. And they do it right there. and that you knew that was the game. And so I I look at I just look at uh the Tua tongue of Ailoa Mike McDaniel marriage and you never want the marriage to end. But McDaniel has mission mission accomplished with what he was charged with doing with Tua. He would. Is it fair to say he came in to be the anti-Brian Flores? Just Just don’t be mean to Brian. Don’t be mean to Tua like Coach Flores was. And and and show us that there’s something more there with Tua that you know, Coach Flores didn’t see us, but didn’t see it, but show us there’s something more. Okay, I’ll be nice to him. Uh I’m gonna develop him. I’m going to show you that there’s more to get out of this quarterback than the previous coach saw and that’s it. I mean, I don’t think there’s any more development with I think this is this is who he is. And if that’s not good enough, well, yeah, you can move on from Mike McDaniel and Chris Greer, but the next coach either is going to have to do what McDaniel did with Tua and just kind of work around Tua’s limitations, or you move on to another quarterback. But I think Mike McDaniel has done exactly what he was asked to do when he took over the job with with regard to problem is the $53.1 million per year new money average contract they gave to Tua in 2024 had a threeyear full guarantee three years. So they are stuck financially with Tua through 2026. They don’t have to play him but you’re stuck with him. And what are you gonna do? Do you cut him? Do you trade him? Who’s going to trade for the contract? You’re going to have to eat a lot of that money. That’s a contract that never should have been given to him. And I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way to Tua. Just go back and look at what he was saying about Josh Allen this week. Like he’s in awe of Josh Allen because Josh Allen has all the skills. He has all the natural abilities. Plenty of people would love to play in the National Football League. their skills and abilities prevent them from doing it. And some of the guys who have made it to the NFL, their skills and abilities prevent them from being among the best of the best. And there’s no shame, as I said in relation to Brock Pury, when the 49ers were trying to peg his value and they ended up paying him too much. He’s middle of the pack. And there’s no shame in being in the middle of the pack. There’s no shame in being the guy who there’s only 15 people in the world who are better at this than I am. That’s pretty damn good. But you don’t just will your way to be Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson. You either are or you aren’t. And you hit your ceiling. By year six, we know who a guy is. Now look, that said, Jim Harbaugh is unlocking some badass in Justin Herbert and getting him to take more from his abilities. That’s a guy that still has toothpaste in the tube and Harbaugh is doing what he can to squeeze it out. With Tua, it’s squeezed. That’s it. That’s what you get. And it’s going to be the same song, the same movie, and sometimes it’s going to work and sometimes it’s not. And the irony, and I still never know if I’m using that word correctly, but it wasn’t a literal hair on fire moment. There was one play where I said, “God, it looks like he’s running from a bee.” Like, he I mean, it just calm down. Just calm down. Calm down when you’re in that moment and do something that’s authoritative. And your players sense that. Your players feel that. And I know they say all the right things, but there’s just something that’s very compelling to watch. But of as a Dolphins fan, it’s like I’ve never seen a quarterback play like this before where when the walls start to close in, it’s like, “Oh, what do I do? What do I do?” It’s and it’s I don’t know that he’s deliberately doing that. That’s just the way it comes off. If you’re watching the game, I don’t think that’s an unfair take. And it does add to the drama because the quarterback is suddenly very uncertain about what’s going on. But he was damn certain when he threw the ball that got picked off. That’s the irony of it. He knew exactly what he was doing there. There was no panic. That was his first read. He used his eyes to manipulate the coverage of the outside and then he came back and threw the ball and didn’t see that Terrell Bernard had broken on the ball. And look, you never know as you’re watching the game whether there was some sort of inspiration that the defender had in the moment or whether the defender has been grinding the tape and the defender has seen that play before and the defender knew what Tua was doing there. Look the guy to the outside, throw to the guy on the inside. Look the guy to the outside, throw the guy to the inside. Same formation, maybe similar down in distance, maybe. That’s why film review is so important. You see something like that, you understand the patterns because the way he broke, he knew what was coming. That wasn’t just the confidence. If you watch Terrell Bernard, the confidence when he starts to accelerate is I know exactly what’s coming. Watch him up there. He He breaks. He breaks because he sees. I know exactly what’s coming. To me, that was a film study interception, which is shame on the Dolphins, shame on Mike McDaniel, shame on the entire operation for allowing those clues to exist and not being aware that they’re out there and countering them. As Chris Sims says, you have to self- scout yourself and you can’t let that be out there. My guess is, and I don’t know because I don’t watch every single play on film and study it and look for anything that may replicate itself when my defense is facing the Miami Dolphins. But that just looked like a film study interception like the one I think back to Super Bowl 44 Colts Saints when Tracy Porter jumped the route with the dagger interception and everybody blamed Reggie Wayne because he didn’t cross the face of Tracy Porter. You know what Tracy Porter said after the game? I saw that on film. And you know who that’s on? Well, it’s on the Colts. And who was the de facto offensive coordinator and mastermind of everything the Colts were doing? Pton Manning allowed to say that, right? But it was on Pton Manning. It was on Pton Manning. He It was on the entire operation of what do we show on film and how do we counter that and you have to it’s a living breathing thing that changes every week and it’s part of the challenge. That’s why you could work every minute of every day working to find those things you’ve done and how you counter them. And you know the right way with that one is Terrell Bernard breaks that way. There’s a guy that comes back in over the top in the spot that he vacated. That’s how you know what you’re doing. And that’s when it’s cat and mouse where oh, you think I’m going to do that cuz that’s what’s on film. You left the spot where the guy now gets a gets a a short slant and he’s gone because you’re not where you were supposed to be because you jumped the route because you thought I was doing what I didn’t do. I would guess I I think you’re right. I think you’re right. I think he knew what was coming. He studied it. Either he studied it or he’s just the luckiest linebacker in the NFL. I think he knew I think he knew what it was going to be. But I also think Mike that uh Mike McDaniel knows this and and and I I have a guess that I just just have a feeling that Tua has been has been told about this before. Hey, that this is what they’ll do. And if you’re in this situation, if you get this look, you you may have to do something a little different uh because a smart defender will pick this up. I’m not I I wouldn’t be wouldn’t be surprised if the Dolphins know this is one of their tendencies and that the defense knows it. It’s just like you can’t throw the ball there. Hi, it’s Mike Fuio. Thanks for watching PFT on YouTube. Hit subscribe for the latest news and analysis from Pro Football

Following Tua Tagovailoa’s costly interception during the Dolphins’ road loss to the Bills on Thursday Night Football, Mike Florio and Michael Holley discuss the QB’s future with Mike McDaniel and Co. in Miami. #NBCSports #NFL #ProFootballTalk
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Is it time for the Miami Dolphins to move on from Tua Tagovailoa? | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC
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35 comments

  1. I would like a sound reason to start him next week. I think he panics when he knows it is likely the last drive and time is running out. This causes him to make poor decisions. He is not a franchise QB and he won't develop into one. Playing him because we are paying him makes no sense. Let's see what the other QBs can do. You are not going to lose more fans by looking like you are giving up on the season. I would rather you appear to be trying to fix a problem.

  4. As a backup HS QB, I was often put at safety in practice, told not to do anything but observe, and tell Coach what I saw. I once told him, our QB stared his intended receiver down, never took his eyes off him. Coach yelled at him for it.

  5. Not a Dolphins fan, and I'm not particularly knowledgeable with the Xs and Os, but my impression watching Tua last night was that if you're a DB, just jump the route. That's how the Bills got the game clinching interception, and that's how they blew up so many of those (bubble?) screens and dump off passes.

    Maybe I'm oversimplifying their offense, or I didn't see it right, but it felt like playing against an 8 year old in Madden who only knows 2-3 plays that worked well against the computer in rookie mode, but is laughably easy to defend for a competent human.

  14. “Flashes” is just another word for inconsistency.

    Short quarterbacks are inconsistent due to their height. Drew Brees being the one exception. And someway Russell Wilson.

    Tua, Bryce, Kyler are all inconsistent. And two of those have very limited physical talent. Weak arms and little mobility.

    Mac Jones, Bryce, Tua are examples of guys that thrived off of talented teams and their peak was college.

  15. I'm not really a huge Brian Flores fan but even I'll say he got done dirty in Miami since he did not have input in picking the quarterback Thule is just very frail doesn't have the biggest arm injury-prone can I get it that Drew Brees was pretty healthy after having injury problems early in his career but Drew Brees is a larger human being I would say he's a little bit taller but he's about 20 lb heavier he's somewhere to what Baker Mayfield is so I think the owner really missed the boat on this and this coordinator has gotten the most out of Tua you're going to get out of him

  16. It's funny how everyone loves Baker now but forget he was doing the same things Tua's doing. Late game interceptions with a chance to win the game. Happened in Cleveland and he was still doing it when he came to Tampa. Baker had a chance to beat Detroit in the divisional round a couple years ago and game ended on an INT. Dolphins dump Tua he'll figure it out somewhere else.

  24. Are y'all saying that Tua is lost because they lost? That was a close game. It went in the Bills favour because over an alleged foul made by the defence on a punt, the result was the Bills getting back on the field.
    As a person not too familiar with the game, I didn't know that was even a foul. I thought that contact was legal.

  34. Chris Grier should've been fired this morning!!!! Why hasnt Ross fired Grier??!! There must be something there as fans and media doesnt know, maybe Grier has something on Ross that we dont know!! No Gm in the league would survive this!! He put this team together, no one else!! Our d is one of the worst defense probably ever. Grier has to go period

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