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Tagovailoa says Flores, teammates alleviate pressures of being heralded rookie quarterback in the NFL
TuaTagovailoa is 3-0 as Miami Dolphins’ starting quarterback, with just asmany wins as fellow rookies JoeBurrowand JustinHerbert combined.
Tagovailoa has thrown five touch downs with no interceptions, and he’s leading the Dolphins (6-3) through a five-game win streak they hope to extend with Sunday’s road game against the DenverBroncos (3-6).
With success, comes the occasional quote that gets blownout of proportion. After Miami’ s win over the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday, Tagovailoa discussed his comfort level in the NFL and howthe Dolphins coaching staff has helped him prepare for his first games as a rookie.
Of his NFL experience thus far, T ago vail oat old Pro Football Talk :“I expected it to be a lot harder — not that it’s not hard.”
So Tagovailoa attempted to clear the air Wednesday:
“Well, yeah, I think that was probably taken out of context because after I said that, therewas like another paragraph,” he said. “I still have a long way to go. There’s a lot of things that I need to learn.
“By no means did I mean that the NFL was easy because it’s hard. It’s difficult to score, it’s difficult to move the ball against these guys. But from what I originally expected itwas going to be, as far as the difficulty, it wasn’t as I expected, is what I’m trying to say.” Hard. Harder. Difficult. Whichever variation of challenging youprefer, they all apply to winning football games in the NFL.
Just ask Burrow, the top pick by the Cincinnati Bengals, or Herbert, whom the Chargers drafted one pick after Tagovailoa. Burrow and Herbert have a combined 3-13-1 record through 10 weeks of their rookie seasons.
Andthat statistic has a lot more to do with the teams Burrow and Herbert have been surrounded with more than their play.
The same can be said for Tagovailoa, who has received timely contributions from the Dolphins defense and special teams during his three starts.
Two defensive touchdowns. A punt return touchdown. A blocked punt recovered at the 1-yard line three minutes into a game. (The Dolphins would’ve had another defensive touchdown too had linebacker Kyle Van Noy not fallen at the 1-yard line during Tagovailoa’s first start against the Rams).
“I think we’ve all been very fortunate to have won five in a row, and we hope to continue to do the same thing throughout this week.,” Tagovailoa said. “And that comes with our preparation and how we prepare with one another, the scout team giving us good looks, both offensively, defensively and in the special teams.
“So it’s not just me, it’s a collective effort from everyone.”
Tagovailoa, the Dolphins’ No. 5 pick in April’s draft, has already been tasked with being the franchise’s next great quarter back since DanMarino.
But Tagovailoa has not had to fill such a role as franchise savior in his first few starts— like first-round quarterbacks typically are tasked with doing when they first join a team.
Much of the credit belongs to Dolphins coach Brian Flores and general manager Chris Grier for assembling the team that sits in second place in the AFC East and is sixth in the AFC playoff picture after nine games.
Flores also sets reasonable expectations for his players, which has helped Tagovailoa in his transition to Dolphins’ starter.
“I think oach Flo alleviates all of that,” Tagovailoa said of the first-round quarterback-as-savior talk. “He tells all of us rookies, all of us players in general, just come out and perform to the best of our abilities. That’s all they ask of us.
“I think forme, I put pressure on myself to get the guys going and hopefully try to do good with what Ineed to, to help our team become successful. But other than that, there’s really no pressure.
“I just think everyone on this team— offense, defense and in the special teams — we just all want to do good. And we fight for one another out there on the field, and we play as a family, and we play for one another aswell.
“So I think that alleviates all the pressure and all the outside talk.”