Tua Tagovailoa needs to develop irrational confidence with his teammates

Tyreek Hill’s highly anticipated podcast, It Needed To Be Said, with Tua Tagovailoa as his guest finally came out last night. Honestly, not much really came of it besides some funny pictures of Tua sitting like the nicest 12-year-old with a beard you ever saw. But, there was one thing that stood out to me and that’s Tua Tagovailoa needs to develop some irrational confidence and parlay it into leadership.

I was hoping, from a selfish standpoint, that Tyreek Hill and his co-host, who was doing his best Andy Richter impersonation, were going to ask him about how last year came about and how it was with Brian Flores. That didn’t happen and I guess that’s a good thing because if he did go in at all or even eluded to Flores’ weirdness, it would have blown up not just Dolphin’s Twitter but probably the planet.

However, there were a few lines of dialogue that stood out to me.

Basically, Tyreek Hill had to explain to Tua Tagovailoa that he’s the quarterback which basically means that it’s his team and that what he says goes. Tua was a bit taken aback by that and I could understand why.

But at the same time, he does need to convey to his teammates that it is his team and what he says is gospel.

Now, I can empathize with Tua not wanting to go that route for one obvious reason; he hasn’t done anything in the NFL to warrant walking around with that kind of machismo. It is like a freshman on his first day of high school walking up to a senior cheerleader and saying he’s going to pick her up at 7 on Friday night even though he doesn’t have a license. It wouldn’t make any sense and would surely lead to a problem for that kid.

Or, you can think of it as a role player for a basketball team who isn’t crazy talented but has no problem taking big shots sort of like how Marcus Smart always does. I’m not saying I want Tua to start ripping foolish throws, but I do want him commanding the offense and that team. That will only get his teammates to believe even more which leads to a better overall team.

Tua does need to walk like he’s the man and that he knows everything that is supposed to happen. Obviously, that means he has to put in the homework so that he really does know everything that’s supposed to happen. But based on what Hill said, Tua already has a good grip on the brand new offense. Hill mentioned that Tua had to tell him where to go on a few routes.

Tua did say that he is humble but also confident.

I love this because I can understand it. Tua Tagovailoa isn’t that much of a flashy guy. I mean, I bet he has some awesome-looking cars but I don’t think he’s ever going to be rolling into a stadium with a huge diamond chain. I just don’t think that’s his personality. He just wants to be comfortable and give out that quiet cool attitude which is something that I like.

The main point is Tua needs to be true to himself and be that humble confident guy to everyone else on Earth. But to his teammates, he needs to know that they’re looking at him for what’s going to happen. They want him to lead them because they know if the quarterback got their back, and is uber-confident in his skills and preparation then they know that the team can handle a lot of tough spots. Tua needs to display that and demand excellence even if it’s a bit uncomfortable.

Believe me, if Tua does that now and in training camp and the team wins early, then everyone really needs to look out for this team.

Enjoy your holiday weekend. Love everybody, be safe, eat well, drink responsibly, and try not to blow your fingers off. Fins Up

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