Miami Dolphins Tua Tagovailoa is an easy mark for the media

Tua Tagovailoa is an easy “mark” for the mainstream media because they have to find something not to like about him. It’s not about their jobs.

Some in the media will hide behind the “I’m just doing my job” bit and in some cases, that works really well because it is the truth but when it comes to someone like Tagovailoa, it’s because they can’t find anything else to judge him on and lets face one fact, judging someone other than ourselves is the new American way.

Tagovailoa has faced scrutiny all his football life. From high school to camps and into college. He is a well-spoken and soft-spoken kid that others gravitate towards. He doesn’t demand respect, he earns it and his teammates love him.

So why all the vitriol towards him? For starters, many of these same “talking heads” were the same ones touting him as a can’t miss prospect. He was the guy that was going number one overall in the 2020 draft. He was the guy that teams would be tanking for. A bona fide Rookie of the Year candidate.

Then he got injured. His stock dropped and he faced a debilitating recovery. He couldn’t practice, he couldn’t throw, and for a while, he couldn’t walk. Despite all of that, he worked his way back, and less than a year after the injury, he was throwing and running. Many in the media said he couldn’t recover that fast but he did.

During the draft, the media folks saying he was a number one overall pick now said he may not get drafted in the first round, surely not in the top 10. They thought Miami was better off taking Justin Herbert. Naturally, when Herbert, who many had said was too raw and inconsistent won the Rookie of the Year award, Miami made the biggest mistake of their lives.

How could the Dolphins pass on a guy like Herbert for a question mark like Tua? Coming from the exact same people who touted Tua as one of the best in the class.

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After Tua’s rookie season, there was simply more fuel to throw on an already smoldering pile of rubbish, or their opinions. When Tua came out last week and said he wasn’t ”Very, very, familiar” with the playbook, those embers ignited into flames.

Those who take their jabs at Tua will continue to do so until they are either proven right in that he fails, or they see positive changes and slowly change their tune as they walk back on previous comments with explanations about being taken out of context.

Meanwhile, Tua is spending his off-season in Miami rather than in Hawaii. Tua is working out with the receivers and working out on his own when he is not at the Dolphins facility. Tua is doing what Tua has done every step of his career. He is working not to prove those against him wrong, but instead, he is working to get better for himself and his teammates. It’s easy to pick on Tua because he is honest, upfront, doesn’t lie, and takes responsibility. There is nothing selfish about him and some people just don’t like that.