I’m all for pettiness in the proper context. More often than not? No thank you. When it comes to Tua Tagovailoa and all the undue criticism he’s received during his tenure as Miami Dolphins quarterback? Yes please.
You know the likes of Mike McDaniel and Tyreek Hill will never stop having Tua’s back. But how about the idiots who wrote him off so flippantly, or just had flat-out misinformed analysis about him? Thanks to “Dolphins Receipts,” we have a glorious display of football ignorance for public consumption:
It all started with Stephen A. Smith’s assertion this week on First Take that Tua hasn’t been put on blast before to any unreasonable degree:
“Why are y’all acting like this dude has been victimized!? And oh my lord, they’re killing him! Who are these people!?”
How does the compilation kick off, you ask? With Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio talking about Tua getting neutered as a way of “fixing” him. Wouldn’t that be the antithesis of ALPHA MALE FOOTBAWWWL PLAYER? Weird energy M.Flo, but OK.
Then we have Dez Bryant X-posting/tweeting the following (he didn’t delete it!):
OK — done and done, Dez! Bookmarked. Filed away under the “IDIOTIC TAKES” category. If the 2024 NFL Draft were held today, Miami would be picking 29th.
Caleb Williams, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, is widely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick. So the Dolphins either mortgage their entire future in that scenario, or, you know, they’re way out of range to get him.
That’s far from the most flagrant hot take on Tua from Dolphins Receipts’ compilation, though. Chris Simms ranking Tua (before last season…?) below Marcus Mariota and Mitchell Trubisky is pretty rough.
Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson once said Tua can’t get past his first read. If he does, he just chucks the ball up for grabs. Meanwhile, Jackson was among the biggest free-agent busts in the past decade for the Chargers, and because Bill Belichick can’t help himself but retread-hire coaches/ex-players of his, he traded back for Jackson for peanuts.
How about this from the founder of my most recent former employer?
Christmas Day of last year!? While Tua was battling concussion issues? Say it ain’t so, El Pres!
There are so many problematic-to-say-the-least takes in the video. Like so problematic I don’t even want to write about them in this space. See for yourself. Lots of 2021-ish takes about wanting Deshaun Watson instead. Yikes.
To cap it all off, Dolphins Receipts comes full circle with Stephen A’s super-accurate assertion that Tyreek will enjoy the money in Miami, but deeply regret leaving Kansas City from a football standpoint. I guess until the Fins win a Super Bowl, that’s somewhat valid. Then again, Cheetah is producing at a much more prolific rate individually than he ever did with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
It’s almost like Tua Tagovailoa is…good? And as far as the MVP race is concerned, any reasonable sportsbook will have him as the favorite to this point. Numbers don’t lie.
Please don’t come at me with “system QB” arguments, either.
The timing, anticipation and accuracy Tua plays with are so uncommon as to be uncanny. Watch J.T. O’Sullivan break down these attributes in phenomenal detail on The QB School and try to keep gaslighting yourself into believing your “Tua sucks” tenets.
You won’t be able to…
Combine those abilities with McDaniel’s genius scheme and the track team of skill position players Miami has, and it’s a borderline unstoppable passing attack. Tua is the perfect trigger man for it.
Sunday night’s showdown with the 5-1 Eagles is a great test to see where the Dolphins are truly at as a team. If they lose to the reigning NFC champs, I can almost guarantee you it won’t be because Tua played bad. He’s a baller, likely future MVP and probable Super Bowl winner as long as he stays healthy. Deal with it.
What a sad, cold place it must be to not be a member of TuAnon. Expect us.
PS, Dan Orlovsky responded to Stephen A’s barb that sparked the Dolphins Receipts vid. It’s quite entertaining to watch and listen to. Highly recommend. If you’re a card-carrying TuAnon member, even better.
