Tua Tagovailoa – December 27, 2023
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Wednesday, December 27, 2023
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(I know you didn’t watch the episode I’m assuming, but we loved your spirited desire on Hard Knocks. They kept replaying you harassing everybody about opening the gifts.) – “Yeah, I was excited for the gifts that I got them.”
(What did you get the offensive line?) – “I got them MacBook Pros. Like some new ones. Lot of them have aspirations to be rappers. (laughter)
(Offensive linemen?) – “You’d be surprised brother. (laughter) You’d be surprised. You can do whatever you want with that MacBook.”
(The team is returning back to Baltimore where there was a historic comeback and a career game for you. I was curious, what do you remember from that game and really just that performance and what it meant for you in the moment?) – “Yeah, I would say what I remember from that game was it was a hard-fought game. Our team last year, we were able to not let the win or let the score dictate how we wanted to finish and how we wanted to continue to play that game. Obviously the result was a win, but it’s a new year. They’ve made some changes to their defense. Same scheme, but personnel wise, they’ve moved some guys around and they’ve also acquired some new guys. What they’ve put on film, they’re very sound in the back end. They’ll get to you on the front end and then also with their front seven in the run game, we’re going to have to be on our p’s and q’s when it comes to who we’re pointing out. What they’ve put on film is they’re very physical. So we’re going to have to match their physicality and we’ll be ready come Sunday.”
(Did you watch the Monday night game against the 49ers? And what were your impressions from their performance?) – “I didn’t watch. I didn’t watch the game. I think I was sleeping probably from after opening gifts and whatnot and spending time with family. But watching the film, they played the 49ers well. You don’t just show up to a game and get the amount of turnovers that they had. We know that they’ll be ready for us and we have to be ready for them.”
(I know you can’t come into a game thinking if we win this, we win the division, but how much is it at least in the planning of the week in your mind, in the players’ minds, that this is a chance to win the AFC East with a victory?) – “I’d say every time we step foot on that field, we want to win. It doesn’t matter what’s at stake, we want to win. If we know we win this next game, we win the following game, we continue to win, we’ll get to where we want to go to as a team.”
(You mentioned the Ravens are very physical. A lot of times when people talk about your offense, they mention the speed. What do you think about maybe the speed versus the physical description of this game?) – “I think both can be true. You can have speed and you can be physical as well. I think that’s what people misunderstand when it comes to our team. They see, yeah, okay, guys are fast. Guys are flying around the field. But look at our runs. Look at everyone that has man blocks, that has crack blocks. Guys are willing to take on d-ends that are way smaller. With the receivers that we have, we don’t have the biggest wide receiver crew, but guys get in there, they do what they need to do. And that’s what I would say to that. We have a fast and we have a physical team.”
(I’m sure winning a game is never a bad thing. It always makes you feel good. But we talked about the Baltimore trip last year and the historic comeback that you guys had there. You’re also coming off a nice comeback against Dallas as well. Does it feel any different when you win a game coming back like that? Extra satisfaction to know you can pull it out in the end?) – “Yeah, I would say when you’re able to do that, it does feel a little different. But any way we can get a win here in December, that’s what we want to do.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel has always talked about building momentum to this point in the season and sort of peaking at the right time. What has you convinced that is what’s happening in this process?) – “Well I don’t think for us as a team we even think about that. I think that’s what has me convinced that we have the right guys in the locker room I would say. No one is talking about, ‘oh, we need to beat this team to do this, we need to beat this team to do that.’ Guys come in and, ‘hey, how was Christmas? It was good, it was good.’ Then guys go to their meeting rooms and guys lock in. Then when it’s time for us to break and have some time, guys – we understand what’s at stake. But I think if you overdo it, it could get to a point where you start chasing ghosts in a way. Whereas if you study the way you study and you do things the way you’ve done things, and then if you add just a little one each time on top of that, we could possibly be the team that we’ve always wanted to be since training camp, since OTAs, things like that.”
(We saw a little glimpse of your leadership on Hard Knocks of you talking to T Terron Armstead at halftime and inside the huddle. I’m curious how you’ve maybe grown in your comfort in talking to your teammates in your own way?) – “It was just I think a conversation that needed to be had at the moment, or at the time. I can’t remember what was said. I can’t remember those instances. I just feel as if we’re just all in the moment at the time. As those scenarios play out, I was in the moment. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but with whatever was said, I would say my leadership is just that.”
(I guess just in general, what is your comfort at this stage of your career to speak to whoever it is about whatever point it is in that time?) – “Yeah, I think I’m very comfortable. Very comfortable. Just the way that I lead is different than others lead. But I would say I’m very comfortable with the way I lead.”
(In what ways does this current team feel more complete than maybe teams you’ve been on in the past?) – “Well every season is a new deal. I would say it sounds cliché, but every season you always hope and pray that this is going to be the team. I think what sets this team apart than any other team is the leaders that we have, both offensively and defensively. If I’m doing something wrong, guys are willing to hold others accountable to what they need to do. I would say that’s what feels a little different this year than maybe a couple of the other years with the teams that we’ve had.”
(It’s a weekly conversation of every big game there’s this MVP talk about this team or that player. With this case, with Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, obviously your play as well, what do you think about that in a game like this? It means so much to the talk of MVP.) – “Oh, I couldn’t care less about that. I got a lot of respect for Lamar. The things that he’s done throughout his career. I can vividly remember when I was in college, I think he was in the NFL, and he reached out to me. He told me I was balling, and I thought that was the one of the coolest things. I think that was the year he won the MVP. But just the amount of respect I have for him, who he is as a player. And then I’ve been hearing talks about what people say about him and whatnot and how he handles himself and how he goes about his business. Very respectable. Very commendable. He’s a baller. That’s just flat out what he is and that’s what he does. He’s a gamechanger with what he can do in the pocket, throwing the ball deep, on the run and then he can make you miss with his legs as well. I got a lot of respect for him.”
(If WR Jaylen Waddle can’t go, what does that do to this offense after you guys had to recently overcome being without WR Tyreek Hill?) – “Yeah, it does make it tough when one of your star wideouts is down. But like I’ve said time over time, it’s next man up. That’s the mentality we have. Whoever is in, I have trust that they are going to do what they need to do and they have trust that I’m going to put the ball where it should be and make the right reads and whatnot.”
(So here’s a stat I think you’re going to like. The last four weeks, you guys are +8 in turnover margin. Obviously as a quarterback, you have a lot to do with that. What’s the value of that overall?) – “I think it’s good. Anytime you can do that, not turn the ball over, and end drives with kicks, I think that does a lot of good things for our team. I say that with the merit of obviously we didn’t have a good game against Tennessee, but with the merit of these other games, it’s worked in our favor.”
(That time that Lamar reached out, did he call you or was it social media?) – “No, it was on Instagram.”
(Have you guys had much contact since then?) – “Just when we play. Just when we play against each other.”
(As we continue to see RB Raheem Mostert just have a career season, as a quarterback, what do you appreciate the most of just knowing him? Besides the fact that it’s helping to win games, just to see that out of him?) – “Yeah, if you heard his story then you’d understand why his teammates gravitate so much to him. Obviously everyone has their own story, everyone has their background and things they’ve come from to be who they are today, but I think he has a really cool story. He has a really cool perspective on life and how he goes about his life with his family, obviously his kids and his wife. Sort of knowing that and then him traveling from teams when he got to the league. I think he only had 18 touchdowns in however many seasons he’s played up this point this year. Now he’s broken that for his career and then also he holds the Miami Dolphins record. We have conversations about that. Like, oh, I didn’t know that. Thanks for sharing that. Now I’m going to go share with social media right here. (laughter) But yeah, I’m just very happy for him and I think that’s what makes and allows his teammates to gravitate towards him is understanding who he is and hearing his story.”
(You talk about the individual stories. I think Head Coach Mike McDaniel mentioned the ‘you can’t’ guys who have been told you can’t do something throughout their career. How have you maybe connected with your teammates on each of your individual you can’t stories?) – “Yeah, I think everyone has one that’s in this league. There’s not one person that hasn’t had one or two or three people tell them you couldn’t do a certain thing or you couldn’t do this or do that. But for others, it’s the level of you can’t that some people get. Some guys on the team can’t relate to and others can, but it’s cool to see everyone’s journey. It’s just cool to see the success of the team with a lot of the guys on the team that have had people that have doubted them.”
(I wanted to throw kind of far back to Alabama and your time playing for Nick Saban. What was it like playing quarterback for Saban? How did he kind of see the position?) – “I would say Coach Saban never necessarily focused much on the offensive side of things. He let the offense do their thing. He was focused more on the defensive side. But I can say when we did have bad practices, it was when the offense was destroying the defense. And when we had good practices, it was when the defense was destroying the offense. (laughter) That’s what I would say. And he held a lot of pride in that. But throughout my time playing there, he has a lot of jokes. He’s very sarcastic when the offense would come up and in the drive in the 2-minute deal against the defense. He’s very sarcastic. It’s pretty funny.”
(I know he played DB at Kent State. Did you know he played quarterback in high school and won a state title and everything?) – “He’ll tell you that he’s the best athlete. He’ll tell you that. But I don’t know, he’s a coach now. He didn’t play any further than that. I don’t know. (laughter) But I got a lot of respect for Coach Saban. I appreciate the things that he’s done for me and whatnot.”
