The Miami Dolphins have been in the news all offseason. Whether it is trading for linebacker Benardrick McKinney, trading for Isaiah Wilson, or making a trade back to pick 12, from pick 3, and then another trade back up to pick 6. However, there has been no bigger storyline than starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa has become clickbait, and not in a good way. Many analysts, writers, and TV show personalities have decided that Tagovailoa is their target to stir up controversy. Oddly enough, it has become popular to suggest that the Dolphins should move on from Tagovailoa this offseason, whether it is a trade for Deshaun Watson or taking a quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Well, we know the Watson trade is not going to happen this year at least, so some people have suggested that Miami traded back up to 6 to draft a quarterback, even though they had the third overall pick…
Some of these stories are almost satire at this point, but it is the media world we live in today. However, I am here to tell you the Dolphins are not drafting a quarterback at pick 6, and they are riding with Tagovailoa in 2021.
Tagovailoa went 6-3 in his rookie season after returning from a major hip injury, a COVID-19 offseason, a bad offensive line, and below-average weapons. Somehow, people are ready to move on from the former No. 5 overall pick even with those facts. Luckily the Dolphins are an intelligent organization, and they have been “Trusting the Flocess.”
Head coach Brian Flores obviously wants Tagovailoa to improve from Year 1 to Year 2, so here are three expectations for Tagovailoa in 2021.
Tua Tagovailoa needs to stay healthy in 2021.
I will be the first person to tell you injuries stink, and they are uncontrollable. Anyone can get injured on any given week, and getting injured in the NFL day is not a rare occurrence. If Tom Brady can tear his ACL and miss an entire season, anyone can get injured and miss a season. And the reason I’m saying this is because there is talk regarding Tua Tagovailoa’s health and if he is “injury prone.”
That injury-prone label is one you want to avoid as a player because once one person says it, many people start saying it. Is Tagovailoa injury prone? I think it’s too early to decide, but I will say this; Tagovailoa’s injuries aren’t injuries that happen all the time. His horrific hip injury was as rare as they come, and the injury seems more like an outlier than anything.
Also, it is impressive for Tagovailoa to come back from that injury, so kudos to him for doing so. He had the ankle injury at Alabama too, which required surgery, so that’s of significance and worth noting. And then he had the thumb injury in 2020. It’s worth noting that none of these injuries really connect or have any sort of trend, which is why I think it’s unfair to label him as injury-prone.
I believe injury prone is when a player pulls a muscle all the time or has a few years in a row of the same injury or same type of injury.
Tagovailoa could have another freak injury this year, as I said anyone can, but one of his expectations for 2021 is to stay healthy and not sustain an injury. By doing so, he will check off a box that his haters will no longer be able to use.
Tua Tagovailoa needs to play more aggressive in 2021.
If there was one knock on Tagovailoa in 2020 that I agreed with, it was his lack of aggression throwing the football. But let’s not forget he was a rookie, so this isn’t something to be concerned about. And if we are being truthful, Tagovailoa showed signs of aggressiveness throwing the ball; his weapons were just terrible and did not help him succeed doing it.
I’m sure if Jakeem Grant didn’t drop that deep ball in the Cincinnati game, some people wouldn’t even think about this as a knock on Tagovailoa.
However, throw all the stats away. Throw all the weapons away. Let’s just focus on Tagovailoa for this discussion.
For me, Tagovailoa played too safe. “Why is it bad for a quarterback to play safe?” Listen, I get it. Quarterbacks throwing interceptions isn’t a good thing, and imagine if Tagovailoa did throw more interceptions last season. The media would already be holding his retirement segment, saying he is done for good in the NFL.
But, again, for me, I want to see Tagovailoa learn more. I want to see him try to make an aggressive, tight-window throw that’s picked off so he can learn and find that perfect balance of game manager and gunslinger.
I want to see him take a deep shot where his guy is covered and trust his elite accuracy to place the ball where only his receiver can get it. I think the time is now for Tagovailoa to get as aggressive as possible and learn from it.
Peyton Manning is an excellent example of this. He went out in his rookie season and threw 28 interceptions. It was one of the worst rookie seasons ever, but he learned and got better from it. Even in Year 2, Manning still threw 15 interceptions, so I think Tagovailoa should not stress about throwing picks.
I expect Tagovailoa to open it up and let his arm be live this season. Having Will Fuller and whoever they draft will surely help, but I’m focusing more on Tagovailoa.
Tua Tagovailoa needs to win football games in 2021.
There are quarterbacks in the NFL that won’t lose you games, but they also won win you any football games either. I’m talking about the middle of the pack, average starting quarterbacks. It may only be Year 2 for Tagovailoa, but he needs to show progress as a quarterback that will win the Miami Dolphins football games.
Some people may feel he needs to take Miami to the playoffs on a deep playoff run, but I think that is an unfair expectation. Tagovailoa doesn’t need to do that. Would it be nice to see? Yes, absolutely. However, that’s not what he needs to do, and expecting that to happen would just be having too high of expectations. And that’s not a knock on Tagovailoa; it’s just a rationale football take.
Miami fans and the Dolphins front office should expect to walk away from Year 2, saying they are in good hands at quarterback. Tagovailoa needs to show that when the Dolphins need a spark or need a big play with the game on the line, he will be able to provide that. He needs to show that when it’s 3rd and 7 with the game coming to an end, he can make the big-time throw to move the chains and lead his team to victory.
All the great NFL quarterbacks find ways to win football games. In 2021, Tagovailoa needs to show that he isn’t going to be a game manager that won’t win you games and won’t lose you games, but instead, he’s on the path of becoming an elite quarterback in the NFL.
Lastly, winning cures all, and if Tagovailoa can win a ton of football games in 2021, the Tagovailoa haters will need to eat their words quickly.