Drake? Allen Iverson?
No, just a new-appear Tua Tagovailoa.
The Miami Dolphins quarterback emerged from the bye 7 days sporting his curly hair in cornrows.
When asked about his new overall look on Wednesday, he smirked.
“The hair?” Tagovailoa said, “Oh, yeah, received them finished very last 7 days. My hair was outrageous, so I thought if I did not braid it, or if it was not prolonged sufficient, then I’d just slash it. So I just assumed I would get it braided.”
Tagovailoa failed to go as considerably to say that his new hairstyle — put together with a new tattoo sleeve on his proper arm that he exposed in instruction camp — was a reflection of a newfound self-expression. But it could be, as teammates have praised his renewed self confidence in games, in practices and on the sideline, all period.
And the reality that social media was previously ablaze Wednesday afternoon with feedback about Tagovailoa’s hair — some buyers evaluating him to the hip-hop star Drake — is a reflection of just how newsworthy Tagovailoa has been due to the fact he entered the league in 2020.
“I adore it,” reported edge rusher Bradley Chubb. “He advised me he was going to do it, but I didn’t believe him. Then he arrived in the upcoming day with the cornrows. The ‘uce’ is loose.”
Tagovailoa has been an particularly well known chatting level in the past two seasons as he is proven extraordinary improvement in his output on the area.
He has led the Dolphins to a 6-3 file and best spot in the AFC East at the midway issue of the time and is tied with Josh Allen for an NFL-most effective 19 passing touchdowns. He is second in passer rating (106.4) after main the NFL in that group final time, third in yards passing (2,609) and is averaging 8.5 yards for every endeavor. He is also the NFL’s optimum-rated passer on 3rd down considering that 2022, with a 113.6 ranking all through that span.
Tagovailoa is in some MVP discussions for the next straight season, which he insists does not indicate considerably to him.
“I just want to support our workforce win the Super Bowl,” he stated. “I imagine that would be the finest deal. When all the things is stated and performed, no a person can take that away from you.”
That is the goal for the Dolphins as they start out the 2nd 50 % of their season Sunday at home from the Las Vegas Raiders.
They have the top-ranked overall offense and have scored at a historic rate even through a period in which scoring is down across the league. Miami has 3,918 whole yards, which is the 10th most through the 1st 9 video games of a time considering that the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. If the Dolphins preserve up with their current rate, that would give them 7,400 yards by the close of the time — 74 shy of the single-period report of 7,474 established by the New Orleans Saints in 16 regular-season games in 2011.
“The bye week, I just needed us to choose up exactly where we still left off and not drop sight of the journey that we are correct in the center of,” claimed mentor Mike McDaniel. ” … What was essential to me is that we just take advantage of the relaxation, but we establish upon every thing that we’ve seriously created in these very first nine games, which has been unbelievable for this workforce.”
The Dolphins have also produced substantial strides on defense, which was an place of problem earlier this year.
When Jaelan Phillips not too long ago watched the Dolphins’ film from Week 1 versus the Chargers, it felt as if he was looking at a absolutely unique protection.
Just one game into the Vic Fangio era, the developing pains of finding out a new defensive scheme have been painfully obvious to Phillips, Miami’s standout 3rd-yr linebacker.
“I felt like we were actually sloppy in system and with our operate suits and things like that,” Phillips explained. “To see that when compared to how we performed … really the previous few weeks, it can be pretty much evening and day truthfully.”
Phillips pointed to the Dolphins’ defensive functionality versus the defending champion Kansas Metropolis Chiefs in Germany as an example of their development.
The Dolphins constrained Kansas Town to 267 yards — its cheapest output in a normal-time activity because Nov. 7, 2021 — and pitched a shutout in the second 50 %. Two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes passed for just 185 yards, his most affordable standard-year complete in nearly two many years.
Miami was rated in the bottom third amongst NFL teams in passing, dashing and scoring protection by means of the initial four video games of the period. The Dolphins now have the 12th-very best complete defense, are 13th from the pass and the run and have 28 sacks, which ranks No. 9.
Element of that is for the reason that they are finding wholesome. The return of All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey provided a spark in opposition to New England a handful of weeks back.
Another purpose is the resurgence of Phillips, who dealt with accidents before in the time but has experienced a few sacks, three quarterback hits and two tackles for reduction in the earlier 3 game titles, as very well as Chubb, who prospects the staff with 4 pressured fumbles and has additional four sacks in the past a few online games.
Tagovailoa lauded Miami’s defensive gamers for holding by themselves accountable and improving upon communication.
“Often the communication wasn’t proper and at times the conversations between defensive fellas is not generally fairly,” he reported. “To be capable to see how tricky they’ve worked by education camp and whatnot, to see anything commencing to appear with each other for those men is I feel a genuinely, actually empowering thing to see for us offensively and as a complete.”
NOTES: Managing back De’Von Achane practiced for the second straight working day as he works his way back again from a knee harm. He was mentioned on Miami’s injury report as a minimal practice participant. McDaniel was not ready to say Wednesday regardless of whether Achane will play Sunday, but he explained the rookie has “checked all the packing containers on air of doing ball managing, and he didn’t overlook his assignments.”
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