Tua Tagovailoa Criticizes Dolphins O-line

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Tua Tagovailoa seems like a really nice guy. He enjoys watching MacGruber, bought golf simulators for his teammates, and doesn’t like it when people call him fat. He’s someone you’d want to hang out with.

But the Miami Dolphins have broken him.

With a new season just around the corner, Tua has been struggling behind his offensive line. It’s almost like he’s developed Stockholm Syndrome from all the hits he’s taken.

Tua Tagovailoa Has Given Up Hope on Having a Competent Offensive Line
On August 26, Tua spoke to the Miami media about his faith in the Dolphins’ offensive line.

“Well Brotha, I get the ball out fast,” Tagovailoa said. “So I’m confident with anybody we got up there. I’ll tell you that. I’m confident with anybody we get out there.”

To be fair, he’s right about getting the ball out quickly. According to Next Gen Stats, Tua’s average time to throw has been around 2.5 seconds over his NFL career. In 2020 it was 2.55 seconds, in 2021 it was 2.52, in 2022 it was 2.6, and in 2023 it dropped to 2.36 seconds. These quick throws are crucial because his offensive lines have struggled.

He’s been sacked 90 times in his career so far. While not an astronomical number, it’s significant considering he’s only played one full season, and one of those seasons (2022) ended early due to concussions from being sacked. After that rough season, he even admitted he considered retirement “for a time.” It’s been tough.

The thing is, Tua knows he’s in a bad situation but tries to make the best of it with his quick release style of play. However, the constant poor protection seems to have affected him mentally.

Saying “I’m confident with anybody we got up there,” repeatedly isn’t exactly reassuring and actually suggests he’s not very confident at all.

What else can he say though? He can’t just admit that he’s playing hot potato professionally because his brain might turn into mush otherwise or suggest they invest more money in better players.

It sounds like Tua has accepted that he’ll always have weak offensive lines that even the big bad wolf could blow down. Even if you’re not a Dolphins fan, it’s hard not to feel for him since he seems like such a likable guy who deserves better protection on the field.

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