Tua Tagovailoa – December 19, 2021 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 19, 2021
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
QB Tua Tagovailoa
Opening statement:
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Before we start, just want to express that my heart goes out to Elijah (Riley). You know the player that got hurt, Elijah Riley. It’s tough playing in this league, and I would say I care more about the guys, who they are as people out there on the field whereas they are as football players, but I just wanted to say that before we get started.
Q. Hey, Tua, thanks for that. That was a thoughtful statement statement. First off, what was working on the ground game for you guys? What did you feel that you guys were able to find against the Jets and Duke Johnson having…?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I think the o-line did a great job today up front. With creating those opportunities for Duke to find the hole and hit it and find ways to bounce the ball and have Duke be himself running the ball. That’s how he was his entire career playing in the NFL and I’m glad that we were able to witness that today.
Q. I wanted to ask you your satisfaction of the disappointment of throwing the pick-six, and yet, you were able to help the team come back right away and get the winning touchdown to DeVante. Can you describe that ride of emotions you went through?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah. I mean, terrible decision on my part, obviously, with the pick-six, but got to move on. The game is not over. We got to go down and we got to put some points on the board, and that’s what we did. You never want that to happen, but it does happen, and so just got to move on from it, and I’m glad we were able to overcome it. Not just offensively, but as a team. It started the first half, and it really trickled all the way into the second half.
Q. Tua, looks like you channeled your inner Duke Johnson on one play on a run up the middle. Can you walk us through that play where you ran over a defender?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, just remind me not to ever do that again. (laughter) Much respect to number 30, (Michael) Carter. He is a hell of a player. I obviously don’t think that he was expecting me to lower my shoulder and try to run him over. Just from the previous runs I had, I either slid or tried to get out of bounds, but yeah, I mean, it was just an in the moment thing for me, and that’s really all that was.
Q. With Jaylen being out, what changes, if any, did you guys have to make to the offense? Obviously you guys… (Inaudible)
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I couldn’t really hear your question, but I heard Jaylen. Even if Jaylen is out, I think the approach that we all took with him being out is next man up and we have to continue to prepare. Jaylen doesn’t win us the games. He obviously is a help with us to win games, but I think all the guys that were out there, they put in a lot of hard work, and I think they did a great job with primary blocking whether it’s in the run game or responsibilities in the pass game, I think they all did a great job.
Q. I’m not sure if you can hear me a little better now, but what was clicking later on that maybe wasn’t working in the first couple of drives?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I think it was just adjustments in the second half for us. We just started to look at our matchups more, and then, obviously, with their coverages, they mixed in some man coverages on second-and-long, so we were kind of prepared for that if that ever occurred, but more often than not, they played quarters. Sometimes they play six and really we just try to run the ball and block primary and have their secondary guys make tackles.
Q. Hey, Tua, with the team having climbed from a 1-7 start to now a 7-7 record, what do you think are some of the biggest factors that have enabled that dramatic change to occur?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Just being around the guys, I really think it’s just the communication, just guys being in the building when we have off days. Guys wanting to work, stay back extra. I think all those play factors into our success on the field.
Q. How effective can this RPO offense be when that run game is working? Do you feel like this is something that you guys can build off?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I definitely think it’s very effective, and I think it’s something that we can build off. It has been something we’ve been trying to build off from the Ravens game to the time we played the Jets the first time and so on, so I do think that this is something that we can build on, but I think there’s also areas within our RPO game that we can get better with – more so with me and the decision-making.
Q. Christian Wilkins probably did everything imaginable after his touchdown. I mean, jumped into the stands, hit the worm, even did some break dancing. Just talk about getting that guy more into the end zone more often so we can see more of that stuff because that was a lot of fun, I guess, for fans and you guys as well.
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I would say I’m not the offensive coordinator, and I don’t have a say in it. I think now that we put that on tape, guys are going to start to kind of game plan that maybe. I don’t know.
I think it’s tough to run a lineman out again after him scoring once, so maybe next time we punch the ball in or we’ll game plan a gadget, but I think that was awesome. That was cool to see him score. I think that was the first time I threw a defensive lineman or a lineman a touchdown in my career.
Q. Can you talk about his celebration?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I only seen when he was trying to do the spin-a-roony on the ground. After that I turned around and went back to the sideline. (laughter)
Q. I was going to ask you about Christian, but instead I’ll ask you about Duke Johnson specifically. To have that performance in front of his hometown on the field that he played college football on, how cool is that as his teammate to see that kind of performance?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I mean, it’s very cool. Me and Duke actually live in the same estate, which is even cooler, and I didn’t even know that until he brought it up for Thanksgiving. But yeah, I think it’s super cool especially with the crowd. I think I heard the crowd saying ‘Duke,’ you know with a loud ‘Duuuuuuuke.’ I thought that was pretty cool. I know he enjoyed it. Just knowing the person that he is, he is very grateful for the guys out there as far as the linemen and what not. I’m happy for him.
