Tua's difficulty throwing the football

[Pappy13]

I couldn't watch the game live so I didn't see it till today, but I'm surprised that no one has talked about this. The problem was Tua couldn't get a grip on the ball because it was wet and he wasn't wearing gloves. The fumble that put them up 10-0 was a direct result of that and there were several other throws where clearly he didn't have a good grip on the ball. He's going to have to learn to wear gloves in cold/wet weather.

Having said that I was actually impressed with the passing game that was called. All this talk about running the ball more, I'm sorry but they were down 17-3 at that point, running the ball was not going to get them back into this game, they needed to throw the ball to do it but Tua just wasn't up to it, but I think that mostly had to do with his problems gripping the football. Actually I feel better about Tua after having watched the game then I did before I watched it. If it's not raining, I think Miami has a better chance to win that game.

TLDR: I feel better about Tua today than I did yesterday after seeing the box score. He had a bad game but it was clearly because of the weather and if he starts wearing gloves, that can be corrected. Miami had the right offensive game plan for this game, they just didn't execute it well enough to win. The defense did enough to give Miami a chance to win this game but the offense couldn't do it's part. The score really didn't indicate how close this game was until the last 10 mins of the game. Just take that fumble of Tua's away and it would have been a 10 point game going into the final 10 minutes of the game. Once Tennessee went up 3 scores Miami got into desperation mode and it got out of hand.

[EDGECRUSHER]

I hear what you're saying and I agree he had a lot of problems with grip, but he has to be prepared for that. Especially since he plays his home games in Florida. Not like it was a blizzard game.

[Pappy13]

I hear what you're saying and I agree he had a lot of problems with grip, but he has to be prepared for that. Especially since he plays his home games in Florida. Not like it was a blizzard game.

Right, but I would almost put that on coaching. All week long we knew the conditions in Tennessee were going to be bad. Did they practice with wet balls? If so, in the cold? Did Tua practice with gloves in case the conditions called for it? Maybe it's just the combination, but anyway you slice it, Tua should have been wearing gloves in the 2nd half of that game and perhaps the game turns out differently. Maybe not, but you can't let that ruin your playoff chances. Again, this is where I think Flores is making mistakes because he hasn't been there and done that. A more experienced coach would have known better. Shula would have known better, that's what made his teams so successful, they were always the best prepared on the field. I don't feel that way about this team under Flores.

Side note: I couldn't tell why Miami didn't challenge the fumble recovery that I think was in the 3rd quarter. Could they not challenge because the whistle was blown or something or did we miss another challenge? Has Flores had a successful challenge this year? Seems like he always challenges when he shouldn't and never does when he should.

[Phishfan]

Tua never had a plan to wear a glove. He told that to the crew before the game.

[Pappy13]

Tua never had a plan to wear a glove. He told that to the crew before the game.

Yes I assumed that was the plan, but when you are having issues you change the plan. That's what your head coach is for and you ALWAYS allow for that possibility and practice using the gloves beforehand....just in case. To do otherwise is foolish behavior on both your QB's part and your head coaches part.

[Downunder Dolphan]

What stood out to me in the NFL highlights package was just how little time Tua took/had to get the ball out in the majority of his completions.

Yes the weather was a factor, but the lack of a decent OL seemed to be equally as big a factor (again), if not more.

[CF DolFan]

I thought that was a given but no one is giving him slack for it. Like in everything else I'd assume he learns form it and adjusts moving forward.

[Dolfanalyst]

What stood out to me in the NFL highlights package was just how little time Tua took/had to get the ball out in the majority of his completions.

Yes the weather was a factor, but the lack of a decent OL seemed to be equally as big a factor (again), if not more.

I couldn't tell you objectively either way because I haven't charted the game myself, but keep in mind that 3 seconds after the snap is the point at which passes thrown are likely to produce lesser efficiency than passes thrown sooner.  It doesn't take long for the Cameron Wakes of the world and their tens of millions of dollar salaries to put pressure on the QBs of the league.  Also, the average time to throw a pass in the NFL is 2.5 seconds after the snap.  Any snap after which a QB has a clean pocket for 2.5 to 3 seconds should be judged fully adequate for the QB, and if he's throwing passes after that point they're likely to produce poorer outcomes than if thrown sooner.

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-the-perfect-timing-a-deeper-dive-into-time-to-throw-data

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/24892208/creating-better-nfl-pass-blocking-pass-rushing-stats-analytics-explainer-faq-how-work

Also keep in mind that the strongest predictors of pressure on QBs are 1) time to throw, and 2) scoreboard differential, and so in any game in which the scoreboard is titled strongly unfavorably against the QB and the entire world knows he's going to pass the ball, his offensive line is at a tremendous disadvantage in relation to defenders who know exactly what they'll be doing on virtually every snap -- pass blocking.  Expect a higher rate of pressure under those circumstances.

And that's one big reason why teams need good QBs -- to score points and keep them out of those situations.  In that sense the relationship between offensive line isn't just:

Offensive line --> QB

...but also:

QB --> offensive line.  The relationship is bidirectional.

The more advantageous the scoreboard for the team, the less of a disadvantage its offensive line has, and of course that has a lot to do with the QB and his scoring ability (as well as other important team variables).

[Pappy13]

Pretty much confirmation that it was an issue in the game. Straight from the horse's mouth...

Tua said he needs to simulate cold weather scenarios and practice throwing wet football