The 3 elements Tua Tagovailoa needs to improve upon

The #1 thing that #1 needs to get better at is ad-libbing and making something positive happens when the play falls apart

I used to be in an improv comedy group a few years ago. No big deal. What I’m saying is that I would have no problem taking Tua Tagovailoa under my wing and teaching him how to come up with excellence on the spot when it appears like nothing is there or when his teammates falter. I would do that for him and the team. So, you know, let him know that.

But seriously Tua’s #1 thing that, to me, he needs to get better at is making positive plays when the original play breaks down.

Since he’s been on the Dolphins, I’ve seen too many times where when that first read is covered or even the second one is that Tua doesn’t really have an answer to that. Then, we’ve seen Tua throw up a ridiculously bad ball into multiple defenders. It’s disgusting mostly every time.

Sure, you can put some of that on the beyond a terrible offensive line from last year that has been upgraded or the sub-par receiving core Tua has mostly worked with. But you can’t put it all on that. Tua needs to step up and not lose his mind when the design of the play is out the window and it’s on him to create something out of nothing. Whether that’s taking off and using his legs or embracing his inner Marino by stepping up in the pocket and giving somebody a chance, something has to happen.

Something needs to happen that isn’t the ball that he likes to sail over the middle. That’s the last thing that can happen because we know how that usually ends.

It’s hard to predict just exactly how this offense is going to work but I have to think that Mike McDaniel will do everything he could to avoid situations where Tua has to create too much. I expect everything to be predicated on timing and rhythm.

But you can only design so much. Eventually, a few times a game the defense is going to be in the right spot, or a lineman is going to bust through the offensive line and it’s going to be up to Tua to be an artist and create a masterpiece or at least a five-yard dump-off.

The best quarterbacks in the league are the ones that can still produce positive, a big chunk, game-changing plays when they’re thrown off their spots. The guys who can’t like the Kirk Cousins of the world, who is solid, who always have their teams on the outside looking in can’t create. What kind of player is Tua going to be?

Tua doesn’t have to be Mahomes, Allen, or Rodgers but he has to have a little of that backyard football in him. That’s when so many big plays happen because the defense is out of position as well. Going over their heads happens all the time in that spot. I want that for Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins.

Here’s some Jack Handey for you to chew on

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