Dolphins showcasing Tagovailoa’s deep passes sends a message

The Miami Dolphins media department has done a nice job lately of showcasing the deep throws by Tua Tagovailoa. It is sending a message to the NFL.

Is it a coincidence that Tua Tagovailoa throws the ball deep when practices are open to the public? Probably not. In fact, it could be, even should be, an excellent idea from Mike McDaniel. Get the tape out into the world, Tua Tagovailoa has no problem throwing the deep ball.

Why does this matter? Well, for starters, other teams will have someone watching these tape releases. They will watch the fan videos that are posted on the internet and they will have someone breaking them down, even in pre-season. They won’t tell you they do it but they do.

Showcasing the reported weakness of Tua not only builds excitement within the team but now, those other teams watching this unfold will realize that Tua isn’t going to be a dink and dunk QB in 2022. It is showing that Miami has the ability to stretch the field and Tua can make it happen.

In 2021, we didn’t see many deep passes through camp and instead heard more about his mistakes. Miami was installing a new offensive system that really didn’t gel and the coaching staff wasn’t very good at figuring out how to use their players, including Tua. When the season arrived, we saw a lot of slants and quick RPO plays.

We will still see the RPO as long as Tua is the QB but his arm strength has been on display a lot in this year’s camp. He is building a rapport and timing with Tyreek Hill. He is getting work with Eric Ezukanma, and Jaylen Waddle isn’t expected to simply catch and release but instead release and catch.

We are a long way from knowing how good or bad this offense will be but we do know that for the first time in a very long line of training camps, the offense isn’t trailing the defense by a wide margin. It’s pretty close and showcasing what Tua can do, is going to make teams think twice about stacking the line against him.