No rookie quarterback in Dolphins history has won each of his first three starts, and only one other NFL quarterback since the 1960s has started 3-0 and not thrown an interception.
But when Tua Tagovailoa told NBC that he expected the transition to the pros to be more difficult, naturally it would raise eyebrows, especially for a player who says his family wouldn’t tolerate anything but humility from him.
Tagovailoa sought to clarify himself when asked about it Wednesday.
"I think that was probably taken out of context, because after I said that, there was like another paragraph that I said after that,” Tagovailoa said. “I still have a long ways to go. There's a lot of things that I need to learn. By (no) means did I mean that the NFL was easy. Because it's hard. It's difficult to score, it's difficult to move the ball against these guys. But from what I originally expected it was going to be, as far as the difficulty, it wasn't as I expected, is what I'm trying to say."
Tagovailoa credits Dolphins coaches with helping him make the transition, just as in the past he has credited Ryan Fitzpatrick for serving as his mentor. In many ways, the step up couldn’t have been smoother. It’s not often that a quarterback gets drafted high to a team that isn’t struggling, that isn’t looking to him to be the savior.
Instead, the pressure on Tagovailoa is to keep this streak rolling along.
“I think coach Flo (Brian Flores) alleviates all of that,” Tagovailoa said of the pressure. “He tells all of us rookies, all of us players in general, just come out and perform to the best of our abilities. That’s all they ask of us. I think for me, I put pressure on myself to get the guys going and hopefully try to do good with what I need to, to help our team become successful. But other than that, there’s really no pressure.”
Tagovailoa is playing like a loose quarterback. As a starter, he has completed 32-of-50 passes for 341 yards, three touchdowns and a 103.8 passer rating. He hasn’t put up monster numbers in two of the three games, but he hasn’t needed to. What he has had to do is be flexible. The Dolphins suddenly are without their top running back (Myles Gaskin), No. 2 receiver (Preston Williams) and were without their starting left tackle (Austin Jackson).
Tagovailoa has adapted, building chemistry with Jakeem Grant, who has nine receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown over these three games in addition to standout performances as a punt returner.
"Jakeem's a phenomenal player,” Tagovailoa said. “He does a lot of brotherhood routes. What I mean by brotherhood routes, he runs routes knowing he's not going to get the ball, but to get other guys open. When his number's called, here's there to make plays.”
In Sunday’s 29-21 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, undrafted rookie Salvon Ahmed stepped in and ran 21 times for 85 yards. Tagovailoa complimented him after the game.
“He’s a rookie as well,” Tagovailoa said. “Any time I can give someone like that some love — he's undrafted, and he's just trying to make a name for himself. I think he did a really good job for us in protection and also on the ground, every time he got the ball, running. Every time I can give credit to all of our other guys that don't really have that opportunity, I'm going to do it."
It’s noteworthy that Tagovailoa praised Ahmed’s blocking. A week ago, Flores was critical of a block Ahmed missed.
The Dolphins have been under the NFL’s intensive COVID protocol with multiple assistant coaches unavailable. With the outbreak worsening throughout the country, the league announced Wednesday that all teams will be under those intensive rules. Most meetings will be held virtually, facemasks must be worn at the facility (including the practice field), locker-room use is strongly discouraged except for game days and player gatherings outside the facility are banned.
“I definitely think that that’s going to be a big change for everyone in how we prepare,” Tagovailoa said, “not being able to hopefully walk through plays before practice and what-not due to the times that we’re meeting and the times we’ve got to drive over to the facility.”
Tagovailoa wouldn’t speculate on the likelihood of the NFL getting to finish the season.
“That’s I would say beyond what I’m getting paid to do here,” he said.
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The Link LonkNovember 19, 2020 at 04:49AM
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/nfl/2020/11/18/tua-tagovailoa-no-nfl-not-easy-but-its-going-smoothly/3767885001/
Miami Dolphins: Tua Tagovailoa clarifies things, says NFL isn't so easy after all - Palm Beach Post
https://news.google.com/search?q=easy&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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