You, like me, might know Tua best by the name that meme pages have bestowed upon him: Tua ‘Turn-the-ball-over.’ But season 2022-23 is a brand-new story for Tagovailoa, and it all starts with his reliable left arm.
Everybody has seen the training camp videos of Tagovailoa underthrowing balls to Tyreek Hill, forcing Hill to stop and wait for the ball to arrive rather than catching it in stride.
Fans were understandably concerned: was Tua strong enough to throw to his speedy wide receivers in Hill and Jaylen Waddle? Did Tua have the accuracy to hit tight end Mike Gesicki on a back shoulder fade in the corner of the end zone? Was Tua going to waste a year of the Miami Dolphins’ explosive offence with ordinary quarterbacking?
At the beginning of the season, these were all probably fair questions, but questions we should also be asking of every other quarterback in the league and not just a third-year starter in an advantageous position (something he has not been in since he was drafted fifth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft).
Fortunately for me, Tua really put the Tagovailoa back into the pronunciation of his last name with his week two of the 2022-23 NFL season through his fourth-quarter heroics, defeating the Super Bowl hopeful Baltimore Ravens by 42-38 in their home stadium, scoring an unbelievable 28 points in that final period alone.
Unfortunately for me, this piece was not yet complete by the time that game concluded, and I couldn’t claim my prophesied genius and earn myself the right to walk about the office proclaiming my Nostradamus abilities.
At time of writing, I am yet to read any match reports or articles written about the performance, but from my vast knowledge of media outlets and meme pages (the latter being my true area of expertise), I’m assuming the majority of the praise will be given to Hill, Waddle and Gesicki for always being open, winning the majority of their routes (Hill broke off so far ahead in one touchdown route that I could have even thrown the ball to him for the score) and making clutch catches.
But Tua didn’t just play well in the final quarter when his receivers stepped up: Tua has played well across all eight quarters he has played this season.
I could back up my argument with statistics, but raw numbers never tell the entire picture and often leave context completely at the door. I always feel icky whenever I read an article that just throws impressive (or unimpressive) numbers at me, and the author just expects that me to agree with their narrative.
If I wanted to tell you that Tua is bad and that his receivers are good, I could tell you that he threw two interceptions, both when his team was trailing in their week two match against Baltimore.
The first was an accurate bullet thrown to Hill (who was undoubtedly in double coverage) that gave him an above-average chance to catch the ball, that Hill juggled into the defenders’ hands, which then required a miraculous effort just to hold onto the pick.
The second was a late, first-half heave down the sideline to Waddle, who looked like he didn’t expect it to come. That one was Tua’s fault but, again, it took a herculean defensive catch and toe drag to bring in.
But this interception proves his willingness to be aggressive when it matters, proves he has the trust of his coaching staff and most importantly, proves he doesn’t drop his head when things aren’t going his way.
From what I can tell, based on the (not so) very scientific evidence of two NFL games, the Dolphins’ offence runs primarily on slant/crossing and comeback routes. Waddle and Hill both excel in yards after the catch (YAC) so putting the ball in their hands is paramount to the their success.
Does it make him a poor quarterback that he throws an underneath slant route to either of his two, top-ten wide receivers and let them YAC the ball into the endzone?
I think most would argue he’s facilitating his incredible playmakers with the sole objective of winning the football game. After all, he plays a team sport and winning is the only thing that matters.
Two weeks into season 2022-23, and that’s all he knows… winning (I hope this doesn’t age poorly and Miami doesn’t end up going 2-15 on the season).
If anything, his ability to hit his jet-plane-speed wide receivers on crossing routes at such a ludicrous accuracy should have the NFL world singing.
But Tua doesn’t just have an underneath crossing route throw or an easy throw to a receiver running directly toward him. The week two matchup with the Ravens proved he has more than that in his arsenal.
He threw multiple contest balls that favoured his receivers and allowed them to ‘go up and get it,’ and worked the ball down the field by selecting his best read, not just firing nukes to Tyreek every play.
River Cracraft even caught a touchdown ball, a player you think about so little you may not have even known he existed, I sure did not.
If throwing the ball to a 27-year-old wide receiver named River, who’s never had more than 45 yards in a professional game, doesn’t tell you he reads the defence and throws the ball to the best available man, I don’t know what will.
My only concern with Tagovailoa is the very thing I opened this piece questioning, the questions that do still very much linger on my mind after two games this season and will need to be answered sooner rather than later. Is Tua strong enough to throw to his speedy Wide Receivers in Hill and Waddle?
On a third & ten play, halfway through the final quarter, Hill broke loose of his cornerback, Marcus Peters and over the top of rookie safety Kyle Hamilton, to score a delicious 40-yard touchdown.
The go route was so delightful that Tua delivered the ball behind Hill, which caused him to stop and wait for the pigskin to arrive.
What must have felt like an eternity to Tyreek, standing in the (almost) end zone with two hard-nosed defensive backs running at you, presumably lining you up, thankfully ended in seven points.
Every quarterback has a negative aspect to their game: if they were perfect, they would likely never lose a game.
Having something to improve upon, an achievable goal to work towards, is my favourite aspect of playing sport. The feeling of being horrible at a skill, only to work on it, improve and then excel is one of the best feelings. Seeing that progress is arguably the greatest aspect of being a human.
Tua and the Miami Dolphins aren’t likely to win the Super Bowl this season. Their new offence, their new coaching staff and their renovated defence need much more playing time before they can put all the pieces together to achieve success at the highest level.
But if they continue to improve every game, gel together as a team, and learn each other’s chemistry to an even greater extent than what they already appear to have, I have no doubt in my mind that the Dolphins can make a serious splash in the playoffs next season. Any success that comes before then is just the cherry on top.
Why do we focus on the weakness of Tua’s game, especially when he plays well, facilitates his receivers and continues to learn how to effectively read NFL defences? It’s time you and I unsubscribe from the anti-Tua meme pages and avoid spreading Tagovailoa hate.
We shouldn’t try and tear Tua down; when he plays well, we should be giving Tua Tagovailoa his (Trey) Flowers.
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