3 bold predictions for the Miami Dolphins in the 2022 Season
By Juan Vasquez
As said by Miami Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel: “Tua Tagovailoa is breaking out of his shell.”
One of my biggest criticisms of Tua Tagovailoa over the past 2 years was the lack of confidence and competitive fire he brought whether on or off the field. I’ve posted multiple times how every great QB has a “killer instinct” that helps them overcome even the steepest of hills.
When Tom Brady is down 28-3 to the Falcons. When Patrick Mahomes is down a score with 13 seconds to go against Buffalo. when Matt Stafford is struggling in the SB and needs one more touchdown drive to close.
Do you know how all those ended? only a player with “killer instinct” can put themselves in a state of mind where they believe “I ain’t going out like that” and they come back and take your team’s soul.
That’s elite competitive fire, that’s what in sports we call “Killers instinct.”
With Tua Tagovailoa I never saw that, I saw a kid who lacked confidence in all aspects. Whether it was speaking to the press, body language in the huddle, or the amount of work put in. It all looked average to me (for NFL standards).
Well, we come to find out that the tension between Tua and Brian Flores is what sparked this disconnect from the young QB. Under McDaniel, Tua has slowly shown more confidence and let his personality shine.
More recently Tua Tagovailoa is letting his competitive fire show as well, for 2 years I saw a shy, scared player who turned away from confrontation. Now it looks like Tua wants all the smoke. This is the type of energy I like, and it’s the type of energy I want to see all year.
I don’t want a propped-up, washed-down version of a nice guy QB. I want a killer on the field and this type of attitude is what can lead him there. Now I’ve said before that Tua will not have a Josh Allen type leap, and I stand by that.
I’ll bet any amount of money that Tua won’t leap into runner-up for MVP this year, but he can definitely make his case for top 10 if he improves, given the loaded arsenal of weapons he has now.