Miami Dolphins: 3 most beaten to death storylines going into training camp
By Matt Serniak
![Tua Tagovailoa (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) Tua Tagovailoa (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fphinphanatic-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2018-2F08-2F1336143325-850x560-5816a399754a2c681049bfa8b697d7b2f9ecf88b283e9c40b7abdabdee1b2957.jpg)
If you didn’t think this was going to be #1 here well then I don’t know what to tell you.
Tua Tua Tua, everything about Tua Tagovailoa gets discussed and that’s just the way it is. People often wonder why? Why does Tua get talked about so much? Why can’t Tua tie his shoe or blink without there being a host of articles and talking heads opening up the morning shows on what those acts mean?
There isn’t any kind of clear-cut answer. The best I can say without getting too deep with it is that Tua Tagovailoa is polarizing meaning everyone cares about what he does. And I mean they care about everything he does.
So when Tua does literally anything, the media and all the big networks and even the smaller ones know that if they talk about it people will tune in, which is good for business.
It started when he threw the ball to DeVonte Smith for the game-winning TD against Georgia back in 2017 and the infatuation hasn’t stopped. Since then, there’s been this lore about Tua. Maybe it comes from him being from Hawaii which might be a faraway mysterious land to some coupled with the incredible stats he put at Alabama?
Then the car-crash-style hip injury happened and people got even more fascinated with how he was going to respond and bounce back from that.
He goes to the Dolphins, gets jettisoned into the starting role when nobody thought he should, and does alright. But late in the year, he gets pulled in the 4th quarter of games when he and the offense weren’t doing well for Ryan Fitzpatrick something that never happens to #5 overall quarterbacks.
While this is happening, Justin Herbert who went one pick after Tua looks like early Dan Marino. That can’t be denied at this point. So, now the media know they can run infinite segments talking about how the Miami Dolphins whiffed on Tua and how they could have had a bonafide stud in Justin Herbert whenever they want knowing full well the ruckus Dolphins fans and all Tua detractors which there are many are going to go nuts about it.
This is just a synopsis of the Tua phenomena. There are several more layers that I could delve into but I’m not going to do that.
The point is, all the Tua talk is beyond old at this point. We’ve discussed his arm strength ad nauseam, his understanding of the playbook, his golf hobby, how he handled Brian Flores, how he handled the Watson rumors, his height, his leadership qualities, how he sits, and everything that a human being can do. It has been discussed to a very unhealthy level. I understand it’s what fans do, but it’s still weird.
Hopefully, he goes out there, shuts everyone up with improved play, and shows he’s the guy. That’s what I want to happen. Will it? I have no idea. If he doesn’t improve and holds this offense back, which is primed to run everyone out of the building, then I expect him to be gone after this year.
But until then, I expect more of the same in how Tua is covered by the media, which leads to all of us talking about him. I wish it were different but it isn’t. Hopefully, he balls out and the team is winning games and all they’re talking about is can Tua lead the Miami Dolphins deep into the playoffs or something like that. Then. I’ll be down for all the Tua talk.
Until then, let’s just see how training camp and the beginning of the season goes.
By the Way- I fully understand the irony of this whole article. Have fun
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