Miami Dolphins OC candidates that are still in the playoffs
Addressing the Tua Tagovailoa situation the Miami Dolphins have.
The Dolphins have a young quarterback, meaning the fanbase and media alike are going to live and die with every throw. After the Cardinals game Tua was the next Russell Wilson, but after the Buffalo game he needs to be shipped away and the Dolphins should draft another quarterback. The reality of the situation is, he was a rookie coming off of major hip surgery, with no off-season, and a horrible cast of weapons outside of Mike Gesicki.
To add context, Tagovailoa had two less total touchdowns (passing and rushing) than Joe Burrow, but had 214 less passing and rushing attempts. His struggles were massively overblown. Burrow was allowed to throw for much more yards because the Bengals were constantly trailing. How about the supporting cast? Burrow had markedly better weapons while Tagovailoa had the edge on the offensive line.
There are two sections of Dolphin fans and media right now. One side, who is fond of Tua, believes he has no limitations to his game. The other side, who have questions (some of them just harbor resentment towards the kid), believe that his limitations are such that preclude him from being a high level quarterback, and the Dolphins should cut bait after just nine starts. Both sides are objectively wrong.
Here is Tua Tagovailoa's final 2020 passing chart. The Buffalo game really hurt his numbers. As did drops.
— Matt Infante (@MattyInfante) January 5, 2021
Per @SportsInfo_SIS, Tua finished 5th in NFL in catchable pass % (79.7%). Only 1 of his final 5 games saw his catchable % below 80%.
From empty sets: 35/44 311 yds, 1 TD pic.twitter.com/fcYS9dr30T
Tua has limitations. He doesn’t have the physical traits that the Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allens of the world do. His arm is slightly above average and he is a sufficient athlete. He’s 6-0 not 6-4. All of that is true, but traits don’t win Super Bowls. Sam Darnold was heralded as the savior of New York and has been an abject failure. Tagovailoa is supremely accurate, smart, is a quick mental processor, is mobile enough, and is excellent in the red zone when not handcuffed by Chan Gailey. That wins championships and always will. Would it be easier if he was the physical specimen that Justin Herbert? Absolutely! No question! However, there is more than one way to be a high level quarterback in the NFL.