Former Alabama All-American Tua Tagovailoa will make his first NFL start for the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, and the anticipation isn’t limited to fans.
“That kid is incredible, man,” Dolphins outside linebacker Shaq Lawson told reporters on Monday. “I’m looking forward to going out there and playing with him Sunday. I’ve seen a lot of him in practice — how athletic he is, how incredible a player he is. To get to see that this week on Sunday, it’s going to be incredible. He’s going to lead this team in the right way.”
But what if Tagovailoa isn’t incredible against the Los Angeles Rams? What if he plays more like a rookie quarterback than a franchise savior?
Miami has made two playoff appearances in the previous 18 seasons and has posted one winning record in the previous 11.
With 16-year veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback, the Dolphins have a 3-3 record and a two-game winning streak in a newly competitive AFC East. New England has won the division title for the past 11 seasons, but the Patriots have a 2-4 record in 20202.
But the Miami announced the QB switch to the No. 5 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft last week entering the Dolphins’ open date after Tagovailoa took his first five NFL snaps to close a 24-0 victory over the New York Jets on Oct. 25.
Miami coach Brian Flores doesn’t think the level of Tagovailoa’s performance on Sunday will affect team chemistry.
“I think the guys, they rally around each other,” Flores said. “I think they support one another. To think there would be division because a guy doesn’t play well, I don’t think we have that on this team. I think when guys make mistakes, this team, they kind of rally around each other and pick each other up. To say there’ll be division, I don’t see that. It hasn’t been that way, and I don’t foresee that.
“We’ll coach it the way we’ve always coached it. We pick each other up, we rally around each other, we bring energy to the team. To even bring that type of energy, to even speak about it, it’s unfortunate that anyone would even go that route. But, obviously, that’s out there or people are thinking about it. But I don’t see that on this team.”
DOLPHINS COACH EXPLAINS DECISION TO PROMOTE TUA TAGOVAILOA TO STARTING QB
Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki caught 22 passes for 202 yards and no touchdowns as a rookie. In his second season with Fitzpatrick coming in as Miami’s quarterback, Gesicki caught 51 passes for 570 yards and five touchdowns in 2019.
“I think he gave it everything he had from the second he was here,” Gesicki said of Fitzpatrick. “Last year, everybody out there saying we weren’t supposed to win a game and we go out there and give Dolphins fans something to be excited about going into this year, winning five games of our last nine, all that kind of stuff.
“And then this year, you see him 10 yards down the field blocking on running plays and having fun and enjoying himself and doing his little celebration every time he throws a big touchdown. Or even in training camp, 30 minutes after he finds out that his mother passed away, the first thing he’s thinking about is, obviously, his family and all that kind of stuff, and then he straps on his helmet and his shoulder pads, laces up his cleats and goes out to practice — all those things that make him the person he is and the leader he is and all that kind of stuff.”
MIAMI QB CHANGE SURPRISES TUA TAGOVAILOA, SHOCKS RYAN FITZPATRICK
But Gesicki isn’t concerned the quarterback change will divide the Dolphins’ locker room.
“I think he’s done a phenomenal job earning everybody’s respect in the locker room,” Gesicki said of Tagovailoa. “… Our locker room is tight. We all believe in one another and believe in coach Flores and (general manager) Chris Grier and (owner) Mr. (Stephen) Ross and everybody that is upstairs making decisions, and I think we all have confidence in Tua to go out and make plays. … We’re all excited, and, honestly I think there’s a lot of trust and a lot of belief in the players that are being put in position on the field on Sunday.”
Changing quarterbacks when the Dolphins finally look like postseason contenders won’t be a problem, Gesicki said, because the players aren’t allowed to think about the playoffs six games into the regular season.
“If you guys know anything about Coach Flo and the way that he coaches us and prepares us each and every week,” Gesicki said, “if you think anybody in here is thinking about playoffs or a playoff push or anything other than coming back in here after a bye week and focusing on our opponent this week and preparation and getting some timing down and all that kind of stuff, that’s really what our main focus is.
“I think for our fans, I’m sure they’re excited and all that kind of stuff, and I think that they should be. I think that it is an exciting time, but as a professional or as a team that’s starting to come together, we all trust in Coach Flo and the guys upstairs making decisions.”
Flores said the biggest thing that Tagovailoa could do to ensure success in his first start was to be ready.
“I think he’s just got to do a good job of preparing throughout the week,” Flores told reporters on Monday. “I don’t like to put expectations on anyone. I think we just need to go out there – really, not even go out there, but have a good day today, have good meetings, have a good walkthrough, have a good practice, put together a good week and just try to play a good football game come Sunday afternoon against a good opponent.
“It’s a team effort. Again, it won’t be just Tua, but he’s going to have to do his part as far as communication, getting us lined up, making good decisions. We’re saying specific to Tua, but this is anyone who steps on the field. We need them to do a good job with their communication, we need them to play with good, fundamental technique and we need them to execute, so we’re asking of him what we would ask of anyone that steps on the field. But again he’s young, but we’ll expect him to go out there and play with good fundamental technique and execute.”
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
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