Tua Tagovailoa – September 8, 2021
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Wednesday, September 8, 2021
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(I’m curious how much you and WR Jaylen Waddle have looked at Alabama tape of when you played together, if at all. Have you done that a single time since the Dolphins drafted him, and is there benefit to that or not really?) – “I haven’t talked to him about it, but we haven’t had the time to sit down and look over our tape at Alabama. I think tape is one thing, but going out there and getting reps with that person is another. You don’t know if they got better at this certain route or if the timing is a little different. I think that’s the thing that we continue to stress, that we continue to harp, and that we continue to work on.”
(Is there anything specific that you remember about playing the Patriots last year defensively that they did that you’re kind of working on now? How much of that game film from last year?) – “They are a tough defense. If you look at the resume of Coach (Bill) Belichick – I mean really, really good defenses. This is like no other week. We take all of these games serious. For me, I think it’s really just getting the ball out quick and letting our playmakers make plays for us.”
(How does this start ahead of Week 1 of this season feel different or similar to your first start last year?) – “I think it feels different this year because we had prior games leading up to the opener against the Patriots. But I think another thing too is you have more of a feel as far as the expectation of the team and what you also expect the Patriots to come out doing as well.”
(Are the emotions similar? Butterflies or excitement or those kinds of things?) – “I think there is more so excitement this year than last year. Last year when I had my opportunity, there were more so butterflies just because I didn’t know how things were going to hold up coming off of the hip injury and whatnot.”
(How different do you feel from the quarterback that was on the field that teams will view this season, now that you’re in Year 2?) – “For me, I’m just focused on what we can do. I try to put myself in a situation where I’m Bill Belichick. If I was Bill Belichick, what would I want to do to stop myself? That’s how I try to go about that.”
(A Bill Belichick team is going to be a great defense and you know that going in. I know it’s absolutely not easy, but is there a difference preparing for a certain scheme when you’re in your second year? How you noticed the difference when you’re looking at film and just how you are processing things as opposed to the way you were last year?) – “I would say yes, only because of the experiences I’ve had with a veteran like ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick). Then carrying it over to the experiences I’m now having with Jacoby (Brissett) in the room. Just different ways of coaching. For me, I try to find the middle and what works for me, as far as my preparation going into a week like this.”
(You said you can’t just rely on the experience in college because you never know where people have improved. Where has WR Jaylen Waddle improved since your time together?) – “I think his biggest improvement is his communication. In college, Jaylen would speak up here and there but you really see him now. You come to the sideline after a series and he’s out there telling me ‘hey, this is why I’m running this route. I’m running it because of this and that, and this is where I’m expecting the ball.’ He’s telling me ‘do this.’ And it’s not asking, it’s more so telling. I think as a quarterback, you look at that and for someone as young as him, you look at that and I would say you’re really happy because it shows his confidence in his play and he is hoping to have that same confidence in me to trust to throw him the ball in certain areas.”
(In terms of raising your voice and putting your input in not just the offensive concepts in general, but also the weekly game plan. How has that evolved and changed in your second year here?) – “I would say I had that last year too, but it’s really us as quarterbacks talking in the quarterback room. For me, I might like something and someone else might have an input of ‘this is how we can make it better, by doing this, or doing that or maybe giving a fake on this.’ It’s really just open communication in that room.”
(I was reading a story about you back at Alabama and it was you, QB Jalen Hurts and QB Mac Jones; and Jones playing the scout team and doing so well against the first-team defense they started to get riled up and him giving them the business and talking back and forth. Do you always remember him as being that fiery competitor and what memories do you have of him going up against the first team as the scout quarterback?) – “Mac is fiercely competitive. Mac is a ‘put my head down, I’m going to work and I’m going to do whatever I can, no matter who is on the other side, I’m going to do whatever I can to beat you guys.’”
(It almost a brawl, that’s what I read. That he was giving the defensive linemen – he got them on a hard snap.) – “I think that is something you guys would have to ask Mac. I don’t want to be the one to initiate that, or maybe you guys can ask Jaylen about that. (laughter) I don’t know. From my memory, Mac has always been a big competitor in our quarterback room. He takes what we learn in the quarterback room out to the field. Really his input, just how smart he is on the field and whatnot, and knowing where to go with the ball. He’s really smart.”
(Can you take us through some of the battles you and QB Mac Jones had – ping pong, free throw shooting, accuracy in practice? What are some of the battles you two had?) – “It was none of the first two things that you said, but maybe the third one. We had accuracy passing throwing into the net. We were all competitive – me, Jalen (Hurts), Mac and whoever was in our quarterback room. That was really the expectation. You’ve got to do good. We expected that out of everyone.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores said this morning and he’s said versions of this many, many times. He’s one day at a time, he stays in the present, never nostalgic, nothing like that. How does that approach that he lives by and he coaches by, how does that permeate the room? How do you guys process that and do you find yourself thinking the same way? That you’re just worried about today – not before, not tomorrow?) – “Yeah. It keeps everyone even-keel. It keeps everyone level-headed. I think that helps with consistency for all of us in the building. When you try to look too far ahead, you’re not focused on the task at hand and what we’ve got to do now. The execution on the offensive side is not going to go well and I would expect the same for the special team guys and the defensive guys. I would say I live by that, taking it one meeting at a time, one practice at a time and maybe one sip of this Pedialyte at a time. That’s really what it is.”
