MIAMI GARDENS – Mike McDaniel has seen the change in Tua Tagovailoa: His jovial nature on the Miami Dolphins’ sideline throughout online games. His air of willpower in methods and even walkthroughs. His elevated self esteem when talking with his teammates.
All of it plays a role in the fourth-year quarterback’s output on sport days, McDaniel explained Wednesday, introducing that considerably of Tagovailoa’s development on the subject has begun with inner do the job every week.
“He is starting off to see the ability that he retains at that place,” McDaniel stated, “when you are in demand of providing the play and executing every single and every single engage in with ball-dealing with and assignments. But what it can do for teammates … You have a team of men and women that, ‘Wow, how I work and then what my abilities are, people put together have residual outcomes on a ton of people’s journeys.’ So I consider he’s extremely substantially leaning into and making the most of that extra.”
Tagovailoa is leading an offense that ranks 1st in the league in practically every single important class, including details (43.3), full yards (550.3), yards dashing (188.3) and yards passing per match (362.).
As the Dolphins (3-) head to Buffalo to face the division rival Bills on Sunday, Tagovailoa isn’t treating it like just a different activity.
“We have gotta conquer these men,” he claimed. “That is how I see it. I will not believe there is any other way to look at it. They’re the subsequent crew up, and which is how all our men see it. We are not nervous about anybody else this week except for the Costs.”
The Dolphins split the normal-season series with the Expenditures in 2022. Tagovailoa missed Miami’s loss to Buffalo in the wild-card spherical of the playoffs following he sustained his 2nd recognized concussion of the period in a Christmas Day game in opposition to Environmentally friendly Bay.
He claimed it was rough to observe the sport from house.
“I couldn’t enable but look at it and be a lover,” Tagovailoa stated. “I understood the video game approach that we went into the game with. I experienced the ranges of factors that they’d worked on. I was in a position to be a supporter but also get a gist of plays they have been likely to operate as properly. It’s often tricky for any competitor to have to sit and observe their staff go out there and engage in.”
In 7 days 3 very last yr, Tagovailoa briefly still left a 21-19 gain in excess of Buffalo when he appeared to be disoriented by what the workforce at first stated was a back again damage soon after taking a tricky strike from Expenses linebacker Matt Milano late in the to start with 50 %. He missed 3 snaps and returned soon after halftime, a determination that prompted a joint evaluation by the NFL and the NFL Players Association.
Just after he was stretchered off the field the next week from Cincinnati, the NFL modified its concussion protocol to mandate that any participant who demonstrates achievable concussion signs or symptoms – together with a absence of stability or balance – sit out the remainder of a sport.
Tagovailoa is 2nd in the NFL with 1,024 yards passing – the most yards in any a few-match span of his job – and prospects the league in yards for every go (10.1) and passer score (121.9). He has also only been strike 5 instances and sacked after on 105 dropbacks.
Tagovailoa has began 3- in consecutive seasons for the initially time in his occupation, but that is not what drives him.
“I you should not imagine anyone close to the league cares who’s 3- or who’s 4-, who’s -3,” Tagovailoa said. “There is a lot of football left to be played, and which is how we’re looking at this as a group.”
