Tua Tagovailoa – August 18, 2021
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Wednesday, August 18, 2021
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(I wanted to ask you about tight ends. You seem to find them a lot. Is the offense geared to more opportunities for them or is it maybe a chemistry thing you have?) – “I think they do a good job of getting open out there on the field. A lot of the plays are tailored towards us going through our progressions in the quarterback room. Whoever is open, that’s really who we are trying to get the ball to. Obviously, it’s easier said than done.”
(You had joint practices with the Bears last week, now the Falcons. Are you getting different looks out there this week?) – “Yeah, I think their DC does a great job and their defense overall, they do a great job disguising looks. They have a lot of good players on their team. They do a great job communicating what they want to do and what they want to accomplish. I think today, for us offensively, we’ve got to be a lot better operationally. Getting on the ball quicker, seeing what the defense is giving us and playing. If you look at their two-minute drive, I think that they did a really good job from an operational standpoint. That’s something that we can also look at and continue to learn and grow not just on our side of the ball, but both sides of the ball.”
(Regardless of how many series you play on Saturday, what do you want to see from yourself and the offense in the second preseason game?) – “I think what we all expect to see is a cleaner operation. Everyone knowing what to do, minimizing the mental errors going out there; but really just going out there and executing at the highest level that we possibly can.”
(How would you compare how much you get out of joint practices opposed to how much you get out of a preseason game?) – “I think joint practices are really good because you get to see a good glimpse of the packages that these coaches have installed with the players on the defense and with their team. I would say when it comes more time to the preseason games, they obviously don’t want to show everything. Us too, it’s the same and I think it’s like that around the league too.”
(You mentioned their two-minute drill. On yours, you got pressured a couple times and after you came back to the sidelines. What was the nature of the conversation?) – “It’s just communicating. Just, ‘hey, how are you feeling in the back there.’ For me, just kind of talking to those guys about what I’m feeling and what I’m seeing as far as pressure and just communicating that to them. They don’t see everything. All they see is the guy they’re blocking.”
(You’ve gotten a chance out here to work with a lot of different receivers, which I’m sure that you would think is a good thing to develop chemistry with them; but at what point is it a concern that some of your top receivers that may be starting a lot of these games, that you are not getting to work with them because if injury? At what point is that concerning?) – “I don’t think it is a concern. For me, I think the most important thing for them is their health and making sure that they’re right because if they’re not healthy then that’s going to be a concern. We won’t have any of those guys to come out and play with. It gives a lot of opportunity to the other guys. For me to get work with them and for them to also experience the different looks, the coverages. Whereas a lot of the veterans who are injured, they’ve seen a lot of that. We’re all still in the same room, we’re all still in the same meetings communicating and talking through that. I don’t think it’s a concern at all.”
(I know we’ve been asking you about the hierarchy of the play caller. In regards to this dynamic when you were at Alabama, you had Josh Gattis and Mike Locksley kind of co-offensive coordinate. Do you see any similarities to back then and now?) – “Really, when I was at Alabama it was only Locksley that was talking to the quarterbacks and kind of giving us the play calls. I think that’s something that they would discuss; but it was always one person coming and talking to our group in the quarterback room. I think it’s very similar to here with Charlie (Frye). Charlie is the one that gives us the plays. He’s the last person that we hear in our headset. Whatever discussion goes on between Charlie, Eric (Studesville) and George (Godsey), that’s what they communicate. But the last person we hear is just Charlie.”
(When did you begin your relationship with Charlie? Was it 7-on-7 as I’ve read?) – “It was when I was in high school at the Elite 11.”
(What was your interaction with him then and impression of him then?) – “I thought Charlie was a good guy. He’s a good coach. Very fun to be around. When I was able to talk to ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) about a lot of that, when he was talking, ‘hey, what do you think about this?’ I was all for it.”
(You had mentioned that they disguise coverages real well. You’ve seen the Bears defense, now the Falcons and the Bengals next week. How do you think that has helped your progress, having an offseason where you’ve had different defenses, different schemes to look at compared to last year it was just the Dolphins you were facing every day?) – “I think it’s really good for not just young quarterbacks, but young rookie players to also get this opportunity. To see different looks, how guys can go from four down, to a three-down drop and what to expect within the coverages. There are just a lot of things. For us, that’s what we’ve seen and we’re going to go into the film room later on today and try to get those things corrected come tomorrow.”
(I noticed in the last preseason game that there were moments where you were able to avoid pressure by sensing or feeling where it was coming, and you were able to keep your eyes down field. What are some of the specific drills that have helped you improve in that area, and what do you think is the key to keep in mind on gameday in terms of pocket mobility?) – “I think Charlie (Frye) does a great job with the drills we do beforehand – before practice starts for us, just to get our feet in line with our arm. But we’re never looking down. You always want to look at your target. I think it just comes with practice – the practices we’ve had with our defense, and also the practices that we’ve had against the Bears and now the Falcons.”
(Inaudible) – “I don’t remember, but it’s good to see you.”
(Having the opportunity to kind of comingle with other veteran quarterbacks from around the league – last week in Chicago and now a guy like QB Matt Ryan. What can you gain from conversations here and there?) – “You can gain a lot. From a personality standpoint, I think Matt is a great guy. He came up, first class and introduced himself to all of us in the quarterback room. Also just watching how he’s played and how he’s handled himself throughout the years, growing up when I was young, it’s fascinating to see that he’s still in the league and I’m just starting my journey here. It’s awesome.”
(I couldn’t help but notice that you made a few connections with WR JaylenWaddle today. Where has that growth grown in the last few weeks that you guys have been together in camp?) – “I think it’s tailored to what the defense is giving us more importantly. With these guys, when they are bringing pressure, what we’re trying to do is we’re trying to get the ball out quick. We’re not trying to get hit. We’re trying to work on the operation of our feet and timing it with our arm, and really what we’re seeing out there. I never realized how many times he was targeted today. But that’s the mindset that we have, just try to get the ball out quick, and let our guys and our playmakers make plays for us.”
