Unlike previous QB’s Dolphins Tua Tagovailoa earned team’s respect
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins starting quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, has something that many of his predecessors didn’t have. Support.
When I think of the Miami Dolphins over the last few years since Tua was drafted, there was a lack of support from Brian Flores but unlike previous quarterbacks, Tua has the support of those a lot more important. His teammates.
We can dig into the Chad Henne stuff that led to problems with a WR or two and we all remember Ryan Tannehill being blasted behind his back by a certain teammate’s wife and a local beat writer that continually pointed out Tannehill was dividing the locker room. That isn’t the case now. Not with Tua.
Many wondered if the former Alabama QB could become a leader and he has shown that he can. Not with his on-field play but with his attitude, work ethic, and the way he handled the adversity that plagued him through his first two seasons.
When Tua was benched in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick, he didn’t whine about it. When he was pulled in the fourth quarter of a game, he didn’t throw a tantrum and didn’t sulk on the sidelines. When all the Deshaun Watson talk dominated the media, Tua took it in stride and shrugged it off. Last year with concussions ruling Tua’s world, he kept his inner-mind straight and continued to work on getting better.
Like him, love him, or loathe him, Tua is the type of quarterback players want to play with. He won’t throw them under the bus or blame them for bad games. He starts with himself. When a game is on the line, he doesn’t panic and he doesn’t show the nerves that many other QBs in the NFL display in their early seasons.
Tua is still a question mark when it comes to knowing what kind of football player he will be. Is he the guy that led the league in almost all stats during last season or is he the QB with all the talent that can’t stay healthy?
So far, Miami Dolphins players are not talking about him behind his back, and they are not talking about him to the media in a negative way, in fact, they are talking about him, as the team’s starting QB that they support and that is something we haven’t seen in a long time in Miami.
Will Tua be around for another 10 years? Hard to say because so much goes into that but we can at least say that, unlike his predecessors, Tua has his teammate’s support and that is a big deal.