Quarterback’s Harshest Critics Are Now Supporting Him
After an outstanding training camp, Tua Tagovailoa’s critics are now showing more support for him.
For the past two seasons, I have been banging the drum for Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. I haven’t been the only one either. But there have been many that have been criticizing Tagovailoa harshly. And that criticism hasn’t come because of spite, but because of, get this…ignorance. No, I’m not being sarcastic and meaning people are stupid, I’m meaning being uneducated. But to say that Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, or even Tom Brady for that matter wouldn’t have struggled the same way Tua Tagovailoa did if they were thrown in the same circumstances their first two NFL seasons…well, that is not necessarily being out of touch with reality, but rather once again, just being unknowledgeable.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s Critics Are Supporting Him Now
Yes, believe it or not, what happened to Tua Tagovailoa during his first two seasons was an anomaly. That means the type of circumstances that surrounded him was rare and hardly or has never happened before. For the fans that want to take up for quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, claiming Tagovailoa didn’t have it any different than them, please stop lying to yourselves. Burrow nor Herbert was drafted just a few months after having metal placed in their hip, and had to learn how to walk, run, and mechanically and fundamentally throw a football again when they were drafted.
But when fans saw Tagovailoa perform his first two seasons, many put the hip injury out of mind and were unaware of the other toxic issues surrounding the Dolphins organization. So, out of ignorance, yes, the uneducated kind, fans, and media began to criticize Tagovailoa for subpar performances compared to what Herbert and Burrow were delivering in the NFL.
Nicknamed “The Hawaiin Punch” by SEC broadcasters, Tagovailoa was the golden boy of college football. He was the most efficient quarterback in the history of college football. He was not just good; he was beyond outstanding in college as a quarterback. So, the bar was very high for Tagovailoa entering the NFL. And when it wasn’t Tagovailoa performing the way Herbert did or taking the Dolphins to the Super Bowl the way Burrow did, Dolphins fans were disappointed.
When Tagovailoa didn’t live up to expectations, he became a punching bag of criticisms for fans and media of the NFL. However, after the past two weeks of training camp and this past week’s joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, his harshest critics have been switching gears.
Colin Cowherd, who used to refer to Tagovailoa as Tiny Tua, is now realizing that certain limitations were placed on Tagovailoa that were beyond his control. He is now talking about how Tagovailoa will succeed because the coaching is better, the receivers are better, and his offensive line is better.
“..his issue with Miami is that they didn’t protect him and he didn’t have playmakers.. when I watch his vids in the pre season I’m kinda buying some of it. He’s been accurate when you’ve given him weapons, he gets the ball accurately to weapons.. pic.twitter.com/3r3ItW5coV — Tili🌺 (@tili____) August 8, 2022
Cowherd isn’t the only sports media personality that is starting to change gears when it comes to Tagovailoa. There actually have been too many to count that are now supporting Tagovailoa. And because all of those limitations that Tagovailoa once had on him has been taken off, those many personalities as well as fans who once criticized him are beginning to realize and understand reality.
Everyone Is Seeing The Dolphins Drafted A Franchise Quarterback
Now, it appears more evident that the former coaching staff may have been more of an issue for fan perception of Tagovailoa than everyone first realized. Instead of having to hear reports of a coach that is getting in yelling matches with the quarterback or hearing that the coach may have said he should’ve drafted the other Alabama quarterback, everyone is hearing completely opposite reports with new head coach Mike McDaniel.
Everyone is now seeing the head coach supporting Tagovailoa, telling him that he’s going to get all of the greatness to come out of him. Instead of having offensive coordinators that designed only dink and dunk plays for Tagovailoa, the offensive-minded McDaniel is letting him be himself and throw the ball downfield.
The fake narrative that he couldn’t pass the ball no more than five yards has been eliminated because he has been throwing multiple deep balls in training camp and in joint practices. People are seeing that he is more comfortable, he’s faster, and stronger, and that everything that was preached about and the reasons why he wasn’t who he was at Alabama was actually true. And for the first time, people are seeing that the Miami Dolphins actually did draft a franchise quarterback in Tagovailoa.