CF DolFan
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« on: February 04, 2021, 02:11:20 pm » |
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Quite honestly this article kind of supports Spider's position that this coach may not be a coach to build a QB up or that he broke him. I like what Coach Flores has done so far so hopefully he does get involved. Even if you are planning to trade him you certainly need the best version of him to be there if it doesn't.
Miami Dolphins need to take these steps to build up Tua Tagovailoa. Right now | Opinion
BY ARMANDO SALGUERO COLUMNIST
FEBRUARY 04, 2021 12:09 PM
The annual Tua Tagovailoa Super Bowl week marketing tour, in which he promotes products for various companies during national media interviews, is almost over now.
And we should all be glad.
Because it’s been at times painful to watch.
First let’s establish Tagovailoa is a great kid. He really is. Salt of the Earth. Born again. Humble. Soft spoken and generally just someone you’d love your daughter to marry.
So rooting for him is easy.
And hurting for him is easy.
And I watched him on the Dan Patrick Show, on ESPN, on NFL Network, and listened to his interview on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio and left each of those interviews feeling like the Miami Dolphins starting quarterback is unsure of his future.
And that’s troubling because while Tagovailoa might be reacting to circumstances created by other people, only he has the power to him to change the atmosphere around him. And he isn’t doing that.
Specifically:
Every single program he went on asked a version of the same questions. Those were
1. How do you think you played last season?
2. Are you going to be the Dolphins starting quarterback in 2021?
And Tagovailoa, in a humble almost meek manner, responded the same way every single time.
“Last season was not what I expected myself to be at,” Tagovailoa told ESPN’s Mike Greenberg on Thursday.
“I have really high expectations for myself,” Tagovailoa told Dan Patrick days before, “and I didn’t meet those expectations this past year.”
This is fine. Good even because he’s not fooling himself.
Tagovailoa continues to have high standards and, in his rookie season with the Dolphins, for myriad reasons, he wasn’t that guy. He didn’t play to that level.
We all saw it.
But we didn’t get an important second sentence to Tagovailoa’s self-flagellation in these interviews. There was never a promise or statement that it’s going to get much better. We didn’t hear hope, trust, and confidence that 2020 was a disappointment, yes, but great things are on the horizon.
About the best I heard in that regard is when Tagovailoa said, “I hope to have at least a decent career.”
I think the Miami Dolphins and their fans are aiming higher than that. Everyone wants Tagovailoa to have an awesome career.
He was drafted No. 5 overall to be great. Not at least decent.
Maybe this is examining Tagovailoa’s speech too closely. But I believe out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, so I bring it up.
Anyway, other stuff concerns me more. And the other stuff is how secure Tagovailoa feels about his future.
It doesn’t sound like he feels too secure.
Because even the folks around him are telling him there are rumors about a Deshaun Watson trade to Miami. And such a trade would make Tagovailoa’s stay in Miami a one-year experience.
“The crazy thing is I never heard about the rumor until my agent reached out to me,” Tagovailoa told Adam Schein on Mad Dog radio. “I’m not one to really listen to the radio or watch ESPN. Really, the only time I would watch TV is to watch the football games on Sunday and watch teams.
“I don’t hear too much of that. The only time I did hear about that conversation was from my agent. That’s something that would be out of my control, regardless. That would be on the decision of the Miami Dolphins organization. I have to control what I can control. For me I got to continue to work hard and be able to prove myself next year.”
Patrick asked Tagovailoa if it’s safe to purchase a Tua Dolphins jersey to wear in the future and the quarterback said, “Honestly, I’m not too sure.”
This is weird because Tua Tagovailoa is the Dolphins starter for 2021. General manager Chris Grier has said as much.
If Tagovailoa is not sure of that, I’m quite certain he could call Grier and it would not go directly to voicemail. I’m sure Grier would pick up. And I’m sure Grier would repeat to Tagovailoa what he told reporters days after the season:
That Tagovailoa is the Dolphins starting quarterback for 2021.
So why all the uncertainty?
Is it because of rumors in the press? No one has “reported” the Dolphins are trading Tagovailoa. No one has “reported” the Dolphins are interested in Watson.
No one. The Watson trade talk is mostly a wish by Houston’s quarterback at this point.
So what’s the problem?
This: The person who went on this promotional tour reminds me too much of the quarterback who got benched twice by coach Brian Flores during the season and would have been benched a third time in the season finale if Ryan Fitzpatrick had been available.
This person is, in his own words, unsure.
This person is not the guy I saw play against the Arizona Cardinals on Nov. 8 -- the quarterback who led a tying and then go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter. This person is not who I saw come into a national championship game as a freshman at Alabama and throw a game-winning bomb.
This person seems weathered by a lack of confidence shown in him by the team’s coaching staff, from Flores with the multiple benchings, to former offensive coordinator Chan Gailey with the almost timid play-calling compared to how he called games for Fitzpatrick.
So what’s the solution?
Seriously, someone with the Dolphins should call Tagovailoa and show him love. Tell him he’s their guy. Tell him the team’s confidence in him is sky high and remind him he’s been a stud and one unremarkable rookie season won’t change that.
Lie to him if you have to. But build him up.
Because, regardless of whether he plays for Miami or elsewhere in 2021, everyone wants to see the Tagovailoa we saw in the fourth quarter at Arizona rather than the past week on his marketing tour.
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