The Miami Dolphins need Tua Tagovailoa far more than he needs them. His decision to keep playing is between him and his family, but when he does return, should Dolphins fans rejoice after he suffered yet another concussion?
Clearly after watching Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle, and Tyler Huntley run the offense, Tua is Miami’s system. The narrative that anyone can run Mike McDaniel’s offense has been put to rest, and the idea of Tua being a “system quarterback” seems more or less the system is Tua.
Tua is potentially going to get back on the field come Week 8. Will he be rusty? Will the team rally around him in time to save the 2024 season? There are a lot of questions surrounding his return, but for now, fans should be far more pessimistic about his return than optimistic. There is no reason to get your hopes up and hearts ripped out all over again. Why? These three areas are cause for concern:
3. The offensive line play still hasn’t been good enough
Tagovailoa can rip the ball downfield in a matter of seconds. He has one of the fastest releases in the NFL, but defenses have figured out how to take away the first quick-read route and that takes away Tua’s two-second release.
When defenses take away Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle at the snap, the offensive line has to do their job and they are not doing their job. Thompson may be a statue in the pocket, but Huntley is mobile. Defenses got to both of them and in terms of being in the pocket, Tua is closer to Huntley, but can he remain upright when the protection downfield puts the success of a play on upfront blocking?
2. Mike McDaniel’s play-calling isn’t adapting or changing
The “Boy Genius” isn’t being called a genius anymore. His impressive offense in 2023, much like the Wildcat offense under Tony Sparano, has run its course. Teams have figured it all out. Chris Perkins of the Orlando Sentinel said the Dolphins are one-dimensional. He is right.
Nothing McDaniel has done since defenses figured out how to stop the Dolphins speedy offense has worked. McDaniel continues to look lost and while he blames execution and transition from practice to the game field, the real blame is solely on him. That won’t change when Tua returns.
Dolphins fans have to know this: Tua wasn’t very good against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1 and he wasn’t very good in Week 2 against the Bills before he suffered his injury. The Dolphins played from behind in both games with Tua at the helm. Why should Dolphins fans believe that he will make all the difference when he comes back? He won’t. McDaniel is the key to the Dolphins’ success this season.
1. It’s more than just physical for Tua Tagovailoa – it’s mental
When Tua suffered a concussion against the Bengals in 2022, his return to the field wasn’t immediately successful in terms of production. He did enough to help the Dolphins win, but he was clearly off his game. When he was concussed against the Packers later that year, he turned to martial arts in the offseason to help himself mentally prepared.
This time around, he faces more internal questions. He isn’t superhuman, and despite the fact that he will have missed four games, his “fencing” posture after his concussion this year is concerning. It should be to him, but the question is, will his play be affected by it?
When Tua returned previously, he was cautious and Dolphins fans remember him scrambling and then sliding when there were still yards to gain before contact. There were throw-away balls when the pocket collapsed, and he took sacks he normally would have tried to avoid, going down when the pocket around got smaller.
Those are real concerns because for any person, there is an internal caution after a major health event. It will be no different for Tua when he comes back for McDaniel and Co.
