Cardinals will look to bring heat on Tua
Defense certain to send extra pressure at rookie
What it’s like to be a rookie quarterback in the NFL making just the second start of your young professional career? Well, to borrow a famous line from the great Norm Peterson of “Cheers” fame, it can be a lot like this:
“It’s a dog-eat-dog world, Sammy, and I’m wearing MilkBone underwear.”
Don’t laugh. Too much. The Cardinals’ defense plans to be in hot pursuit of Tua Tagovailoa when it meets the Dolphins and their rookie quarterback on Sunday at State Farm Stadium. Just like he experienced last season with quarterback Kyler Murray, Cardinals veteran defensive tackle Corey Peters says you can always tell a lot about a first-year QB by the way he responds to pressure.
“I’m a firm believer of, and I think the expression is, ‘If a dog’s gonna bite, he’s gonna bite as a puppy.’ I think that’s true for quarterbacks as well,” Peters said earlier this week during a Zoom interview with reporters. “Obviously, they will struggle in certain instances, but as far as meat and potatoes, I think when you put a quarterback out there, you’ll see what he has.
“It may not look the best, but you’ll be able to see where he made nothing
from something or made the best out of a bad situation. For me, I think it’s just about the quarterback himself – how he carries himself, how he operates in the huddle. Does he command the respect of his teammates? Those sorts of things and just the competitive spirit. When things go bad, does he tuck tail and run? Does he fight back?”
Peters and the Cardinals (5-2) will find out soon enough come kickoff at 2:25 p.m. in Glendale. The truth is, they just don’t know yet. It was perceived as a bit of a stunner two weeks ago when the Dolphins (4-3) and second-year coach Brian Flores, after Miami’s second straight win, elected to bench veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick in favor of Tagovailoa, this year’s fifth overall pick out of Alabama.
But Tua is now the future in Miami. And there’s likely no turning back, no matter how he performs for the foreseeable future. Just because Tagovailoa is only making his second NFL start doesn’t mean the Cardinals have the edge on him. Rookie quarterbacks have
often surprised in big moments and found their stride in their first year.
“It can go either way,” said Murray, who won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors last season. “They can underestimate you, they can respect you, but at the end of the day when you’re a rookie quarterback, you’ve just got to prove yourself. And that was kind of my thing every Sunday was just go out there and get better. I had to prove myself each and every week that I belong. I’m still doing that to this day.”
Tagovailoa, the former Heisman Trophy finalist who lost the award to Murray in 2018, made his NFL starting debut on Sunday and it was rather nondescript. He completed just 12 of 23 passes for a mere 93 yards and a touchdown in a 28-17 victory over the Rams. The Dolphins won it on defense, forcing four turnovers by Jared Goff, including a fumble that was returned for a touch
down and a Miami punt return for another score.
“Like everyone else, some good plays, some bad plays,” Flores said of Tagovailoa after the game. “A lot of things we can get fixed. For his first time out, some good and some bad. Hopefully, we see some improvement next week.”
Unlike their last game, when in many ways Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph waited until overtime to really bring the heat on Russell Wilson during Arizona’s 37-34 overtime victory over the Seahawks, Tagovailoa can likely expect to see a lot of exotic blitz schemes and different defensive formations that he’s never seen before.
When you’ve only made one start, you haven’t seen anything in the NFL.
“Obviously, with somebody who lacks experience, you want to put him in situations where he’s uncomfortable,” Peters said. “I’m sure their whole game plan is going to be figuring out what he does well and where he’s comfortable and trying to get him in as many of those opportunities as possible.
“From a defensive standpoint, we’ve got to try our best to pressure him, move him off the spot, change up some looks, try to deceive him post-snap, and hopefully, we encourage him to make some mistakes.”
After forcing just three turnovers through their first five games, the Cardinals’ defense has seven takeaways in their last two games, recording five interceptions and two forced fumbles. They’ve managed to convert those takeaways into 27 points.
If Arizona hopes to win its fourth consecutive game, something it hasn’t done since winning nine in a row during the 2015 season, the defense will have to hound Tagovailoa and imagine he’s wearing those MilkBone underwear.