Tua Tagovailoa – August 13, 2020
Download PDF version
Thursday, August 13, 2020
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(How have things been? How have you felt physically and what’s it been like out there practicing?) – “It’s been good. It’s definitely a different learning curve than what I’m used to at Alabama. There’s not as much time that we get on the field whereas we spend a lot more of our time watching film than really anything else – not to say we don’t get a lot of work out there, but it’s more in your meeting rooms watching film.”
(What has been your impression of Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey’s offense and I guess what’s the timetable do you think it is for a young player like yourself to learn it?) – “I think to answer that question, no matter what offense you’re stepping into, it’s always going to be a process of learning and I think that’s where I’m at. I’m still in the process of getting to understand Chan’s (Gailey) offense. Now from a perspective of personality with who Chan is and whatnot, I mean Chan is phenomenal. Really great guy, down-to-earth. When it’s time to work he’s out there, we go to work. It’s a very friendly environment with him and the other quarterbacks as well.”
(I wanted to ask you about Dan Marino. Anything you can share about the time that you may have worked with Dan? Some of the advice maybe he’s given you and if there was any kind of awe factor at first or whether it was just two quarterbacks talking football?) – “The first time I met Dan (Marino), I think Dan reached out to me after I got drafted, which was super awesome. That was cool, but the first day I got into the building, Dan was in our meeting and I got to talk to Dan. He’s also a really down-to-earth guy – someone that you can just chat with. For someone who pretty much is the talk of the town with Dan, he’s super humble. He doesn’t hold his head high or walk around here like he’s the man – which he is, but he’s super humble.”
(I know you just mentioned Dan Marino and obviously Miami is a high-profile city. He’s been the man here for a while. A lot of people are expecting you to be the next man here. How do you sort of look at that pressure and are you ready for maybe all the expectations people are going to put on you?) – “I think for me, my focus right now is just trying to get into the playbook – literally trying to understand what we’re doing offensively – and really just trying to build relationships with the guys on the team. I definitely believe that ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores), (Offensive Coordinator) Chan (Gailey), (Quarterbacks Coach) Robby (Brown) – all those guys that are going to be making the decisions – they’re going to put the team in the best position they think is possible; so if that means supporting someone or not, that’s what it’s going to be.”
(I wanted to ask you, a lot of know about your faith and your toughness and how battle-tested you are; but in regards to your culture and where you come from being Samoan and obviously coming from Hawaii, how do you think that’s helped shaped you in who you are? There are some proud former Samoans, Hawaiians who played in the NFL, for you to maybe join that line?) – “I think football definitely intertwines with the Samoan culture that I come from with my background because in our culture, respect is the biggest thing and in football, respect is almost demanded from the head coach, from your OC (offensive coordinator); so it’s one of those things where you grow up not knowing how to talk back to an elder when they talk to you about doing something. You learn how to take advice. You learn how to – when you get chewed out, you learn how to eat it, is what I’m trying to say. So I definitely think it’s helped shape me to the person that I am as well in that regard with being respectful and whatnot. That’s what I can say.”
(Obviously you’re wearing a QB Ryan Fitzpatrick jersey. We spoke to him about a week ago and he talked about the growing relationship between the two of you and how he’s trying to mentor you and bring you and the other quarterbacks along, so I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit about your relationship. It seems like things are going well if you’re already sporting his jersey.) – “Yeah, 100 percent. I thought I could break ice making you guys laugh wearing a ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) jersey because you know ‘Fitz’, (laughter) he’s very personable as well. But kind of to start it off with ‘Fitz’ – (he is a) very, very down-to-earth person. Very humble. I got to meet his family about two days ago and it was pretty funny because everyone while we were on FaceTime, everyone’s just scattered around the house. So he introduces me to his kids and then he introduces me to his wife and he’s like, ‘This is it. This is everyone and this is my family,’ and then (laughter), lo and behold he forgets two of them. It’s like, this man really has a family. He’s really been in the league for so long. To be behind a professional like that, to me it’s kind of mind-boggling how down-to-earth he is. It’s one of those things where it’s, this guy gets it. I don’t know what it is, but he gets it and that saying goes true. It says ‘if you want to get somewhere fast, you go alone, but if you want to do it with purpose, then you bring people with you,’ and I think ‘Fitz’ has done a tremendous job in trying to help shape and mold me and Josh (Rosen) as well. So it’s been really cool to go through that process with him.”
(I’ve got a two-parter for you about your transition down to Miami. First question – real simple – do you wear a mask when you’re out in public these days?) – “Yeah, that’s a great question. I’m not out ever. I just stay home or go to the team hotel; but in those instances where I do have to be out in public going to the hotel and whatnot, I do wear a mask so I have my mask right here.”
(Obviously we don’t know yet when your NFL debut will happen, but are you hoping to be tackled before that game or whenever it is, and are you feeling any or are you totally over the pain and discomfort deal with the hip?) – “I think to answer that question, honestly, you just never know until it actually happens. I won’t know the feeling until I actually do get tackled, so it’s almost like that trial and error kind of thing. You’ve got to go out and do it in order to know if does hurt or it doesn’t. That’s pretty much what I can say, but as far as how I feel right now, everything’s going well.”
(What’s your approach going into the season? We don’t know how many games are going to be that will actually be played. How would you feel if you were ultimately unable to play this season whether it’s COVID-related or Head Coach Brian Flores wants to go with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick or QB Josh Rosen?) – “Like I said, I think our coaches – I think they’re going to put the best 11 out there. Whether I’m in that lineup or not, I think they’ve done enough evaluation throughout the week, throughout the month and leadup to that game; so in that regard, I know they’re going to put the best out there. But to say if we didn’t have a season, I don’t think it would just be me that would be bummed, I think our whole team would be bummed and other teams as well that we don’t get an opportunity to play. This is something a lot of people work for. It’s our job for sure, but it’s also been a dream for a lot of us to get an opportunity like this and for a lot of the undrafted guys to get an opportunity. That’s going to mean something to them as well.”
(You were asked earlier a little bit about pressure and that’s something you dealt with obviously in college being in the spotlight and things. How do you deal with the spotlight now? You know every Dolphin fan will watch this and say, “hey, we can’t wait to see Tua on the field playing in that Dolphins uniform,” so how do you handle that pressure – the expectations that you’re the guy for the future?) – “I think the best way to handle it is really not pay attention to it, if that makes sense. Not being someone who just says, ‘oh I don’t like it, I don’t care about it.’ I understand that it’s there, but I just feel like the focus – the main focus – is just being able to get into my playbook, being able to – like I said – build relationships with the guys on the team and just focus on what we’ve got to do inside of the building. Just like almost every athlete has said, fans are good and fans can … so when we’re doing good, we’re all we’ve got as a team. The fans are going to say whatever. That’s all that outside noise, and really, we’ve just got to pay attention to what we’re trying to do and accomplish as a team here in the Dolphins organization.”
(I’m kind of curious if you’ve really been able to grasp how different the NFL is from college football without having a preseason, without having a full training camp. Is there kind of anyone that’s kind of designated to teaching you the rules or figuring out, “hey, here’s how we manage the clock here,” or “hey, here’s how we do certain things” to kind of get you adapted without seeing a real game yet?) – “That’s a great question. It’s definitely going to be different not having a preseason game. Not to say we had one in college, but college is a lot different. We have school involved. There’s just a lot of other things involved with that; but with the NFL not having a preseason and understanding game management in a real live scenario – what to do end of game, end of half and whatnot – how we do that here is ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) gives us kind of game-situational awareness football during our team meetings, so we probably go over about three or four things as a team and how we want to go about running the clock out in this situation, how we want to do things in situation, and that’s really how we go about doing that. Then we would walk through it on the field and do things like that. That’s how we’re going about that.”
Brian Flores – August 10, 2020
Download PDF version
Monday, August 10, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(This organization had a lot of momentum at the end of last season with the turnaround you had in the second half of the year and particularly the way the last game went. I’m wondering how much of that momentum do you feel carries over into what’s going on right now – particularly given the interruption and disruption you’ve had in the last six or seven months?) – “I don’t think any, to be honest with you. I think 2019 is in the past and every year is a little bit different. This year is no different from that standpoint. The things that happened a year ago – good or bad – we’re just kind of focused on getting better each and every day. Last year is last year. (We’re) just trying to improve and get better, build some team chemistry and learn and grow as a team right now. I’m not really worried about anything that happened a year ago.”
(I wanted to ask you, I know this is probably far down the list of things that are important to you, but where do you think fans are in the component of how important it is to have them in the stands this season? Is it necessary? I know they haven’t really made a decision yet, but do you think it’s worth the risk?) – “We’d love to have fans in the stands. I’d love to have them – home, away. Obviously the fans are a big part of the game and we’re not out there without their support, so from that standpoint, it is important to me. But look, there’s a pandemic. We need to obviously use caution which we’re doing here in our building; and as a country, I think we’re all trying to proceed with caution in all of our daily activities. If we can have fans and have them at the games in a safe way, then I’m all for it. If the people who make those decisions don’t think that’s the right thing to do, then we’ll play without fans.”
(I wanted to ask you, some teams have discussed possibly quarantining quarterbacks throughout the season to make sure you can line up on Sundays if something happens in your room. Have you given any thought to that and if so what would be the deciding factor of who to put in that quarantine?) – “We’ve looked into really every possible scenario – that being one of them. A lot of our meetings are on Zoom right now so everyone, from that standpoint, is in a quarantine. So in a lot of ways it takes care of itself; but yeah, we’ve thought about that. We’ve talked through that scenario as well as a plethora of other scenarios. I think we’ve got a plan in place that we feel good about.”
(This year is obviously unique but just generally speaking, do your training camp scripts differ year-to-year based on things like coaching and personnel changes?) – “Yeah, I think every year, it’s different. To set a script in one year and think that you’re just going to copy and paste it into the next year, that’s – because of different players, different coaches, just different things that you’re doing as a team. I think on a daily basis, you’ve got to be able to change, adapt and be flexible the same way you’re going to want your team to be able to adapt and be flexible within the game; so yeah, they change. The scripts change. The daily practice schedules change and obviously this year, everything is a little bit different, so anyone who’s setting a specific training camp schedule or practice, this year is definitely different, so we’re all going to have to adapt.”
(I’m not sure you’ve seen what’s been going on with college football, but I wanted to ask what your confidence level is that the NFL can finish a regular season and playoffs?) – “I think we take things day by day by day. We try to use caution and the testing that we’re doing – continue the testing – distance, wear masks and we just kind of string those days together. If we do that as an entire league, then we’re going to put ourselves in the best position to play as many games as we can play, and that’s really all we can do. To make predictions on whether or not we can do this or that, I don’t want to get into all that. All I’ll say is we’re going to try to wear our masks, wear our contact tracers, distance and do the best we can. Obviously we all know that it’s an airborne virus and people can get infected quickly, so all we can do is do our best to prevent that from happening. I think if we do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance to play a full season which is all – that’s all we can do.”
(I’m wondering if you could share your thinking in the hiring of Offensive Line Coach Steve Marshall. I know that putting together an offensive line is difficult. What are the challenges of doing it in 14 padded practices?) – “Steve, obviously when we went with (Offensive Coordinator) Chan (Gailey), I thought that it was important to go with someone who was familiar with that style of play. That played a role in hiring Steve. He’s a good coach. He’s a very good teacher of o-line play. He and I – I had a good feeling and a good vibe when we had our interview process. He works well with Chan, he works well with the offensive staff, he’s a good coach, he’s a tough coach, he asks a lot of his players. So far it’s been good. Obviously we haven’t – it’s been all walkthrough. We can only evaluate what we’ve done so far, so I’ve been pleased with that. As far as the padded practices, this is going to be the least amount of work across the league for all teams – the least amount of practices, no preseason games – in the history of the NFL. I think everyone knows and understands that. Is it enough? It’s going to have to be enough this year. We’re going to do our best to try to build camaraderie on the offensive line, on the defensive line, the quarterback room, the DB room, as coaching staff, and not make excuses about only being this or only being that. We’ll just do our best with the time we have. Again, every rep is going to be that much more important. Every meeting is going to be that much more important. That’s the messaging we convey to the players.”
(I wanted to ask you about CB Byron Jones. He joined the organization a while ago, but I don’t think we’ve ever actually asked you to tell us what you think he does well. In having watched all of the film of him from Dallas, what are some of his strengths, how does he fit into what you want him to do?) – “He’s a smart player. He’s a tough player. I think he can tackle, he’s got good cover skills, he’s got length, he’s got some leadership qualities. He’s a talented player and we’re happy to have him. Obviously there are some improvements he can make to his game like all players and like all coaches. Like everyone, we can all improve and get better. We’re pleased with him so far. I joke around with him a little bit that he wears some nice shoes. I was on him a little bit today. He’s good. He’s been fun to spend some time with. It’s nice to see guys get to know each other – guys from different teams – and just try to pull this whole thing together. I’m very pleased with that addition; but we’re still in a very early stage. We don’t have pads on, we haven’t put a helmet on. We’ve got a long way to go. He’s got to make some improvements. We all have to make some improvements. I know he’ll work towards that.”
(With everything that’s going on with college football, if there is not a college football season, how would that impact what you guys do organizationally in terms of scouting? Is that something you guys are monitoring?) – “Yeah, we’re monitoring that. Obviously from a scouting standpoint, this is the time where a lot of guys will be out on the road and looking at the prospects for next season. Yeah, if there is not a college season, that’s something we’ve talked about. (General Manager) Chris (Grier), myself, (Vice President of Football Administration) Brandon (Shore), (Assistant General Manager) Marvin Allen, we have a plan in place for how we’re going to go about this scouting season if there is no season. Yeah, obviously those conversations will be ongoing and those conversations obviously are going to stay between us. Yeah, that will be – I think everyone loves college football and wants to see it; but if we don’t feel like it’s going to be a safe environment for those young men and that’s the decision we make, we all have to live with that. From our standpoint, looking down the road, which we’re always doing that as well, if we have to make some adjustments then we will. With all of that said, my focus is on this team right now today. I’m monitoring that from afar but Chris handles more of that, really all of that I should say. When he gets on, you guys can ask him about it.”
(I wanted to ask you about Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer. You made a change at defensive coordinator. Why is Josh the right man for the job?) – “Obviously I’ve worked with Josh for a long time. He is a very good teacher defensively. He’s tough, he’s smart, he works extremely hard, and I think he has good rapport with the players. I’m very excited to see him lead the defense. I think he’s going to do a good job; but at the same time, we’ve got a long way to go and a lot of work to do. These guys are not even hitting the field yet or in pads or a helmet. But yeah, I’m excited for Josh and I think he’s going to do a good job with this opportunity.”
