Tua Tagovailoa should stop talking; Ryan Fitzpatrick has an opinion on QB

The Miami Dolphins young quarterback Tua Tagovailoa wants to be cordial with the media and answer their questions but he shouldn’t because it’s just more fuel to use against him.

Tua Tagovailoa took his turn at the podium to speak with the media this week and was asked about his prep work in practice. Specifically what the Dolphins get out of the short sessions on a game week.

Tua, of course, answered the question and some have completely taken it out of context. To be fair, it’s not the media dissing him this time but instead, social media of course!

So here is our lesson in seeing the full picture. The media availability was presented live and a portion of the clip was used to highlight a small section of what Tua was saying.

"If we have a slant, and we have an over the ball player, and another player in the alley and a flat, for me, I can’t see because I’m not the biggest guy out there. So if I can’t see you, you can’t see me and I can’t get you the ball. And spacing with the guys. So if you can’t see me, get somewhere to where you can see me, then I can see you, then I can hit you. – Tua Tagovailoa – Via Dolphins transcripts."

It’s not a good look for Tua and probably something he shouldn’t have said. It has social media in a frenzy this morning but it’s also misrepresented.

Taken as it is above, the video that was released clearly has Tua saying exactly that. But what was really said? Why was Tua giving this information out that makes him look, well, not so good?

First, here ist he question that was asked.

"What does practice actually do for a Sunday? Like, what can you get better at these two days that can actually help you Sunday? – unkown reporter via Dolphins transcripts"

Here is the entire reply from Tua with the bold answers that were not presented.

"“Yeah, I mean you want the way you practice to translate to how you play in the game. And so that’s why we work a lot on timing. We work a lot on where guys need to be and for me, if I – for instance, if we have a slant, and we have an over the ball player, and another player in the alley and a flat, for me, I can’t see because I’m not the biggest guy out there. So if I can’t see you, you can’t see me and I can’t get you the ball. And spacing with the guys. So if you can’t see me, get somewhere to where you can see me, then I can see you, then I can hit you. And then even within our walkthroughs, that’s kind of what I use practice for.”"

There is a difference between the two as this is something he focuses on to get better and an area that he works at developing. It makes you realize that for some there is an agenda that includes making Tua look incompetent. Rather than focus on the areas that he needs to work at and the areas he excels in. That of course is social media at its best.

Now, speaking of Tua Tagovailoa we can also look at a breakdown from former Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick who answered questions about Tua on an episode of Pardon My Take, part of Barstool Sports. Fitzpatrick pretty much nailed what Tua is and needs to be.

"“Those are the things he has to be elite at. I think he’s very, very good at — very accurate and can anticipate. The problem is you sometimes have to create. He’s not going to be able to scramble – he’ll be able to scramble and get out of trouble and get you 5 yards.“But he’s not going to be able to scramble around, escape the pocket and make the big plays down the field. So he has to take what he has that [can become] elite. That’s accuracy and, as he gets older, that’s decision-making.“He has to be the best in the NFL at it, because he’s limited in some of those other ways.” – Ryan Fitzpatrick on a Pardon My Take – Barstool Sports."

Fitzpatrick is 100% correct in his assessment and he should know considering he was working with Tua during his rookie season. Nothing that Fitzpatrick says is derogatory but quite the opposite. Tua is a very accurate QB and the decision-making will come with experience.

We said following Sunday’s win over the Patriots that Tua needs to be more decisive. He needs to feel more urgency and this plays into what Fitzpatrick said. Tua can be elite but only part of his game will be elite. Josh Allen, as Fitz said, has elite arm strength and physicality with elite running ability. But he isn’t elite in other areas. You have to be elite at what you are good at and for Tua, as Fitz points out, accuracy and anticipation.