Tua Tagovailoa – October 30, 2024
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(What do you take from Sunday’s improvement in the offense in your first game back and take it into the Buffalo week to build on?) – “I think we can continue to build on the possessions that we had, and on the number of possessions that we had, what we could’ve done to stay on the field to give us chances to score points or put points on the board whether that’s a field goal or getting into the end zone. I think that’s something we can build off of.”
(What’s it like to come back, you’re trying to get your feet wet and you return to a situation where the team is already in a deep hole and trying to bring itself up so early in the season?) – “You just got to work through all of that. Sometimes that’s just the cards that you’re dealt with as a team. It’s not an issue for me, it’s an issue for us as a team. That how we win games. I can’t go play defense; Jalen Ramsey can’t come play offense, that’s just how it works. This is the cards that we’re dealt with, we’ve got to stick together as a team. We’ve got to just continue top grow stronger, stay in the film room, communicate with our guys. I don’t think anything is over until it’s actually over, so I believe we still have a shot and we can still do it. It starts this week against Buffalo, against a really good team and see you guys Sunday with it.”
(What message did you learn from that 2021 season where you guys won eight of the final nine games after starting 1-7?) – “Worrying about your job and what you have to do. I know that sounds cliché, but that’s exactly what we did. It’s like all right, I’m so worried about the defense giving up touchdowns, the defense saying to the offense, ‘We’re tired of you guys not putting enough touchdowns on the board,’ and things like that. Well if we just focus on what we have to do and worry about ourselves, worry about our jobs and what we’ve got to do – the game is hard as it is. So that’s all we’ve got to do and just go out there and play, trust the guy that you’re playing with. And if the ball falls into our hands and that’s how the game is going to go, that’s how the game goes.”
(You’re 1-7 against the Bills. Do you take anything from those games and apply to this one and hopefully try and snap those three-game losing streak already against them in reflecting back on that?) – “That’s a great question. All and all, you’ve got to find a way to beat them regardless of what that looks like. That’s what throughout those eight times that I’ve played them and the seven that we’ve lost, that’s just been the recipe for it. We just couldn’t find a way to do that. Here’s another opportunity for us to do that.”
(What comes to mind when you think of playing in that stadium specifically in Buffalo?) – “It’s nice. It’s loud, a hostile environment. I think that’s what you want as a team. You go in there knowing it’s going to be hostile. You just love when you’re able to do good as a team, as a unit and be able to quiet those guys down. You love to do that as a team.”
(They obviously play a lot of two-high, two-deep safety, but a lot of teams do now. What about their style is different?) – “I think when you look at the film against us, they do that more against us than they do against any other team that we have seen on film. They have multiple things that they do out of that two-high with how they run it against us as well. We’re looking to have some answers for what they’ve been showing us the past couple of years.”
(Part of that answer is you got WR River Cracraft back. How did he look out there today?) – “My man. That’s my man.”
(How excited are you to have that guy?) – “The ‘great white hope,’ River. (laughter) That’s my man, I’m excited. Not just me, but a lot of those guys on the offense as well.”
(As one of the leaders in the locker room, you know in the National Football League things can change drastically for any team. What’s the energy that you are trying to give to your teammates like, “Hey it’s not over, there’s still plenty of football left,” but kind of keep that message of positivity?) – “I would say positivity is definitely a thing that’s being portrayed from my leadership still, but it’s also not being blind to what we know is stopping us from getting to where we want to go and that’s in all three phases of our game – special teams, offense and defense. We’ve had a lot of conversations about that before I even came back, five weeks ago, four weeks ago, three weeks ago, and we’ve been continuing to have these conversations. The thing that can become very discouraging is the message starts to sound redundant, and it’s like, man, it’s the same thing we’re hearing, but it’s also what are we going to do about it. Screw the message – what are we going to do about it as a locker room, as a group of guys, and how do we want to change what that looks like coming this Sunday.”
(How does the messaging change versus Game 1 versus Buffalo than coming into Game 2 against Buffalo?) – “I would say it doesn’t change. I would say if you look back at the way we played Buffalo earlier in the year, three turnovers – you can’t do that. You just can’t do that, and I’m just speaking from an offensive perspective. Can’t worry about what the defense does, they’re going to do what they do. We’ve got to eliminate turnovers, eliminate takeaways in that sense. We’ve got to stay ahead of the sticks, take what they give us. If it’s a 16-play drive and we get points on the board, we’re OK with that and we’re willing to do that. This team is – you know you’ve got to go battle it out for 60 minutes, that’s what these kinds of games are.”
(The missed handled snaps, what can be done there? Is it as simple as catching the ball, which you mentioned about the one from shotgun, but we also didn’t get to ask you about the one under center that occurred, too.) – “It’s as simple as catching the ball in the gun. I would say I’m a pretty good shortstop guy; I have pretty good vision; I have pretty good hands. I’d like to see a lot of other people go in the back there and try to catch that ball, too. You’ve seen it – it wasn’t ‘Brew’s’ (Aaron Brewer) best and ‘Brew’ knows he can get it better, but it wasn’t my best as well. But I’m just saying to give perspective, it’s not as easy as what it looked like sitting down on your couch eating chips.”
(And the under center one?) – “The under center one? That was just my fault, that was just my fault.”
(You mentioned earlier about some of the occurring themes of things that need to be corrected. What are one or two of the biggest things?) – “I’m not going to tell anybody that. I think that stays within what we’re trying to work on, what we’re trying to do, and when it shows up on Sunday, I’ll let you know.”
(A lot of the games that you played against Buffalo, you’ve suffered some pretty big injuries. Has that entered the thought process of your mind that every time you play them, something happens?) – “No. No, I’m a football player. (You) go out there – if you have any of those thoughts, I think that’s when it’s time to call it, man. So go out there, just enjoy it. Enjoy being out there, enjoy that opportunity. I love it. I just love football and being out there with our guys, but nothing is better than getting a win and we’re looking for our first win in however long over there at Highmark Stadium this Sunday.”
(Given that you played Sunday after a pretty long layoff, when you watch the film, was there anything that you did that surprised you? A pleasant surprise? And was there anything contrary to what you might have expected of yourself?) – “Not really. There were some things that I was really not happy about with myself with some of the play passes and things that we did in the pocket that we (will) try to get fixed and work on a lot this week.”
(The team worked a lot on getting a third receiving option this year, whether it’s WR Odell Beckham Jr. or TE Jonnu Smith or training RB De’Von Achane to be more of a receiver. How has that chemistry been built despite the month you spent away? Where do you feel that level is with the third pass catcher?) – “Well, I think it’s been tough just because there’s been guys on IR – Odell (Beckham Jr.), ‘Riv’ (River Cracraft), and then you also have Malik (Washington), but then the packages with Malik – Malik is playing special teams, Malik is doing a lot. So I think being able to work a little bit with Odell while we’ve both been on IR, a little bit with ‘Riv’ and now the band is sort of coming back together and meshing, being able to throw more routes, throw more timing throws with them knowing where they need to be in the spots of the field of the play. I think we’re getting to where we need to be, and like I said, hopefully this Sunday, we get to use the weapons that we’ve acquired this offseason.”
(Going back to part of what you were saying about being clean in the operation and playing mistake free football, what is the process of going into a hostile environment knowing that you have to be clean, but also not thinking too much on the fact of, “OK, I can’t mess up. I can’t mess up?”) – “I would say that it’s just the preparation that you need to take into the week. You need to think of looks that you won’t get and that you could potentially get if it’s in the pass game. If it’s in the run game, sort of same thing, ‘OK, but if this happens on the fly,’ like oh, all right if this happens, I need to go communicate this to the guys like ‘Hey, I’m going to make this call on the fly. Even if he starts his cadence and this is how we’re going to block it and that’s how we’re going to do that.’ So I think it starts with the preparation of how you’re looking at the playbook and then how you’re also going about it, thinking of what the defense does and the multiple things they can do out of that.”
(I’m curious what you learned from your time spending with the coaches and sitting down learning about what their role is and how they put they put the gameplans together and how that will make you a better quarterback?) – “I would say first off, being with the coaches, I respect a lot more of what – I have a different respect and understanding of what they do. Guys sleep here, that’s crazy to me. Like go home to your wife, even if it’s for 30 minutes, like that’s crazy but guys do that. They’re dedicated in that sense. I love that, but I don’t necessarily agree, but that’s for another day. I would say a lot of guys are up there at two and are there until like 10, and then some of them just still don’t sleep – ‘OK, now we got to do third downs after this Wednesday.’ Just being with those guys and seeing what they’ve been talking about in 2:30 meetings, in 3 o’clock meetings, I’m like, ‘Jeez,’ it feels like it should be lunch at 7 (a.m.) when it’s in the morning with the way their scheduling is. You just get a better grasp of what the communication is, what the talks are like and then how they also see the field, and then got to have some communication deals with the defense as well. But you have a different type of respect, I would say, being with the coaches.”
(So you’re not going to be a coach someday?) – “Probably not. (laughter) Probably not.”
