South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Dolphins
tive and negative — whether Miami made the right choice picking Tagovailoa over Herbert.
“They’ve been saying that we are auditioning Tua, and I’m just going to tell you about my thinking: We brought Tua here because we believe in him,” Flores said on Nov. 5 while disputing an ESPN report.
Chargers coach Anthony Lynn echoed the same sentiment regarding Herbert, his starting quarterback, when asked this past week whether the organization had any hopes Tagovailoa would fall to them with the sixth pick.
“We got the quarterback we wanted,” Lynn said of Herbert. “Tua is an outstanding quarterback and young man, but we got our quarterback.”
The Dolphins chose Tagovailoa, the former Alabama standout who had glaring health concerns during the draft process, for his superior vision, accuracy, ability to lead and his charisma.
Several days after Flores felt the need to clear the air on ESPN’s report, which insists Miami is starting Tagovailoa to evaluate him and their quarterback situation before the 2021 NFL draft,
Tagovailoa decided to give the game ball to Flores after leading the Dolphins to a comeback victory on the road against the Arizona Cardinals last week.
Tagovailoa said the gesture of giving Flores the game ball was a “thank you for taking a shot on me” to his coach and the Dolphins organization.
Tagovailoa, who is 2-0 as a starter and will make his third career start after sitting behind 16-year veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick earlier this season, hopes to help Miami improve its second-place standing in the AFC East and position in the seventh and final AFC wildcard playoff spot this week.
He also hopes to further the organization’s confidence in him and his hip, which appears to be holding up well a year after sustaining his gruesome injury.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be my old self because when something dramatic like that happens … it’s just a continuous process I think for me,” Tagovailoa said. “Just continuing to focus on what I need to do to continue to strengthen the muscles around my hip and so forth and just continue to stay on rehab.
“It’s been a journey. … I’m just blessed to be here,” Tagovailoa added.
Herbert, whose size and strength are far superior but lacks the extroverted people skills Tagovailoa has shown, has showed several early areas of significant improvement regarding his own pre-draft concerns.
In his seven starts since taking over for Tyrod Taylor, Herbert has thrown for
2,146 yards with 17 touchdowns and a 104.7 passer rating while averaging 8 yards per pass attempt — all
top-10 figures in the NFL. He is also second among all active quarterbacks, behind just Seattle Seahawks star Russell Wilson, averaging
306.6 yards per game passing this season.
“I didn’t really have any control over the situation,” Herbert said when asked this week if he thought he would be drafted by Miami with the fifth pick.
Herbert’s record as a starter is not ideal because the Chargers have lost all six of those games this season by a touchdown or less.
But Lynn likes the poise and resolve his rookie quarterback has displayed, while dispelling the notion he needs to be somebody other than himself to lead the team.
“Justin is going to be who he is and that’s all I want him to be. I don’t want him to be anybody else. He will find a way to lead,” Lynn said of Herbert. “I can tell you that I watch to see how people respond to him, and his teammates respond to him. So, that tells me all I need to know about his leadership qualities.”
Sunday’s matchup between Tagovailoa and Herbert will surely produce knee-jerk reactions on whether the Dolphins and Chargers made the right moves at the quarterback position.
And if both players light it up, imagine how the Washington Football Team, Detroit Lions and New York Giants must feel knowing they passed on them both?
Just look at the states of those five franchises since making their draft picks nearly seven months ago:
Washington drafted standout defensive end Chase Young second overall and benched secondyear quarterback Dwyane Haskins this season. WFT is 2-6, but second in the dreadful NFC East;
Detroit — still rolling with former No. 1 pick Matthew Stafford at quarterback — picked cornerback Jeffrey Okudah at No. 3 but are struggling on defense. The Lions are 3-5, and last in the NFC North;
The New York Giants drafted left tackle Andrew Thomas at No. 4 to protect starting quarterback Daniel Jones, who needs time to develop — a luxury not afforded in the New York market with a 2-7 record and potentially another top-five pick coming next year.
Which teams made the right decisions with their picks — especially between Tagovailoa and Herbert?
“I just think that’s just something that’s going to have to be dealt with in the media,” Tagovailoa said this past week.
“I have no animosity towards Justin Herbert and for me, it’s not even a competition between me and him. It’s a competition for myself to go out and see what I can do to help our team be successful against their defense. And I’m pretty sure it’s the same for Justin as well.”