Tua Tagovailoa passionately defends Dolphins backups over preseason opener

Don't talk to Tua Tagovailoa about his backup quarterbacks because he doesn't want to hear about how bad they were against the Falcons in the preseason opener. The Miami Dolphins starting QB spoke with the media and gave his opinion on their play.

Tua stood up for Mike White and Skylar Thompson, saying they "Did a pretty good job." His endorsement was overly passionate. He pointed out that the guys they needed to play with were different from last season, and he was right. The Dolphins WRs did not do the quarterbacks a lot of favors. There were plenty of dropped balls to go around, but the scheme wasn't exactly scripted. Tagovailoa also pointed out that this is the first game of the summer, and there are always "jitters," but at this point in their career, Tagovailoa shouldn't have to stick up for them like this.

Mike White and Skylar Thompson need to improve for the Miami Dolphins

Fans will applaud the standout signal-caller over standing up for his teammates and that is what a leader should do publicly. Hopefully, behind the scenes, he is being a bit more instructive on what they are doing wrong and need to improve on. Miami supporters have been brutal over the play of the two backups against Atlanta, and many are begging for a change.

While Tagovailoa is defending the guys behind him on the depth chart, the reality is that neither quarterback showed they are better than the other. Thompson was marginally better at most. The Dolphins are likely only keeping one of the two when final cuts are released, with the other likely to be a practice squad addition.

A new QB being brought in to serve as Tagovailoa's backup can't be ruled out either. Fans are calling for Ryan Tannehill, but it remains to be seen if Chris Grier will give him a call or not.