Tua Tagovailoa – November 18, 2020
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Wednesday, November 18, 2020
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(The NFL released information that everyone is going into the intensive stage of COVID protocols. How does that impact preparation for games; and for you, is there concern that the league may not finish this season?) – “I definitely think that that’s going to be a big change for everyone and how we prepare – ot being able to hopefully walkthrough plays before practice and whatnot due to the times that we are meeting and the times we’ve got to drive over to the facility. But as far as us finishing the season, with all of that, I’m not going to speculate anything. I would say that’s beyond what I’m getting paid to do here. (laughter)”
(The team is 3-0 since you’ve taken over and you’ve been playing well. Did you picture your career starting with this sort of efficiency on a team level and a personal level?) – “I think for us, as a team, our goal is to just take it a game at a time. I think we’ve all been very fortunate to have won five in a row. We hope to continue to do the same thing throughout this week. That comes with our preparation and how we prepare with one another, the scout team giving us good looks – both offense, defense and in special teams. It’s not just me; it’s a collective effort from everyone.”
(I’d like to follow up a little bit on the previous question. I don’t have to tell you that most of the time when a quarterback is drafted, especially high like yourself, you wind up going to a team that’s rebuilding. I’m wondering for you, what is the pressure like to keep this thing rolling to get to six in a row, seven in a row or whatever it may be? How is that pressure compared to if you were in a situation where you were on a one or two win team, and you’re looked upon as the ‘savior?’) – “I think ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) alleviates all of that. He tells all of us rookies, all of us players in general, to just come out and perform to the best of our abilities. That’s all that they ask of us. I think for me, I just put pressure on myself to get the guys going and try to do good with what I need to help our team become successful. But yeah, other than that there is really no pressure. I just think everyone on this team – offense, defense and special teams – we just all want to do good. We fight for one another out there on the field and we play as a family and we play for one another as well. I think that alleviates all of the pressure and all of the outside talk.”
(I wanted to ask you about – I guess you did a podcast on Pro Football Talk, and you said you expected the NFL to be a lot harder. What did you mean by that? What specifically is easier than you thought it would be, and has Head Coach Brian Flores gotten into your year to say ‘hey rook, it’s going to get harder before it gets easier?’) – “I think that was probably taken out of context because after I said that, there was another paragraph that I said after that. But I still have a long ways to go. There are a lot of things I need to learn. By any means, I did not mean that the NFL was easy because it’s hard. It’s difficult to score, it’s difficult to move the ball against these guys. But just like from what I originally expected it was going to be as far as the difficulty, it wasn’t as I expected, is what I’m trying to say.”
(A couple of questions ago, you talked about the special teams, defense and offense all working together. You guys are the ninth scoring offense in the NFL but 28th in terms of total offense. I went back and looked at it and over the three games you’ve started, you’ve got nine takeaways and 49 points off of those. Four drives have started in plus territory and two of those on the plus one-yard line, so winning that hidden yardage battle. Obviously you guys want to score every time you touch the ball, but does that quick change opportunity created by the defense and special teams sort of give you an added since of urgency like we’ve got to go pay this thing off?) – “I think you always want to end the drives in a kick. Whether it’s a field goal or a punt, you always want to end it in a kick. When the defense gives us the ball back, we’re just thinking opportunity. It’s an opportunity for us to put points on the board for what the defense did for us. For us, repaying it, we need to put points on the board. I would say yes to that question.”
(I have a two-part question about two of your offensive teammates. The first is about WR Jakeem Grant. I was wondering, what is it about his skillset that you’ve developed a pretty good chemistry – eight catches over the past two weeks. The other one is about RB Salvon Ahmed, you went out of your way to mention him after the game on Sunday without us even asking. What is it about him that he brings the juice to the games?) – “I think first off with Jakeem – Jakeem is a phenomenal player. He does a lot of brotherhood routes. And what I mean about brotherhood routes, he runs routes knowing he’s not going to get the ball but to get other guys open. And also, when his number is called, he’s there to make plays. It’s not just a wide receiver, it’s also in the kicking game as well. He’s just a really good teammate at the same time. With Salvon, he’s a rookie as well. Any time that I can give somebody like that some love – he’s undrafted and he’s trying to make a name for himself. I think he did a really good job for us in protection, and also on the ground every time he got the ball running. Every time that I can give credit to all of our other guys that don’t really have that opportunity, I’m going to do it.”
(What’s the coldest game you’ve ever played in and I’ve also wanted to ask you about the one day at a time mantra that Head Coach Brian Flores has been incessant with and you’ve repeated with us as well. What does the one day at a time thing mean to you?) – “The one day at a time thing, to me, is worrying about what you’ve got to do today. Thinking of adjustments you’ve got to make in practice and after practice, things we’ve got to fix after watching the film. So you’re not looking ahead, you’re just worried about what you have to do to accomplish the things that need to be done today. I’d say the coldest game I’ve ever played in was in 19-degree weather in Seattle, Washington. It was raining and it was windy. I don’t think that was a good combination. (laughter) I was super cold. That was when I was in high school.”
(Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey was talking about how you have an ‘everything is going to be alright mindset,’ which is good. People like to be around people who have that mindset. I was wondering what went through your mind when the ball hit the ground and you just kind of didn’t panic and threw it over to WR DeVante Parker on the right-hand side. And then, is there someone in your life who really when you think about that concept of everything is going to be alright, what sort of resonates in your head?) – “Coach Chan (Gailey) and (Quarterbacks Coach) Robby (Brown) and all of our other coaches offensively have helped me tremendously throughout the week, throughout the prior weeks as well, in helping me get ready and knowing where to go with the ball, being decisive with all of that. When the ball was on the ground, already in my head I knew where I wanted to go with the ball as far as my pre-snap read. So I got the ball, took a peek a little bit before I threw it, and with DeVante (Parker), you’ve just got to give him an opportunity to go up and get it. To me, I like my chances with giving him a chance.”
(In terms of a broader perspective in life, is there a person who has helped instill that peace in you that everything is going to be all right?) – “I would say that I probably get that from my mom. My mom thinks that everything is going to be good. She is a very optimistic person. She is very prayerful over her kids. I would say I get that from my mom. When everyone else panics, mom is the one (to say), ‘ok everybody, relax. Everything is going to be good.’ Then she goes on and eventually they do become good; but even when they are not, they end up getting good.”
