Daniel Kelly spent 4 years in professional scouting with the New York Jets. He is the printed writer of the ebook “Whatever It Takes,” the story of a fan making it into the NFL.
You do not must be a scout to know Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa is having a stellar season. His numbers (71.2 completion %, league-leading 298.9 yards per recreation passing), nonetheless, solely inform a part of the story of a participant who’s among the many favorites for NFL MVP.
Before we dwelling in on his strengths, I wish to spotlight his few deficiencies.
Only New England, Buffalo and Philadelphia have managed to gradual Tagovailoa and the Dolphins (5-2) this season.
In a 24-17 loss to Miami, the Patriots did so by trying to remove what Tagovailoa likes to do most: assault the intermediate-to-deep route ranges. New England held him to 249 yards passing, though he did full 70 % of his throws. Credit Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who’s a defensive mastermind and has a deeper familiarity with Tagovailoa’s recreation than many of the remainder of the NFL.
In wins over the Dolphins, the Bills and Eagles received proper in his face and flat-out bullied him. Philadelphia restricted him to a season-low 216 yards passing. These groups have higher defensive personnel — particularly the Eagles — than many of the remainder of the league.
Other than the aforementioned groups, solely Tagovailoa has slowed Tagovailoa, who leads the league’s top-ranked offense (462.3 yards per recreation). He depends extra on pure arm energy than his footwork, and he generally locks in on receivers and telegraphs throws. These deficiencies have led to 6 interceptions and 20 extra defended passes (2.86 avg. per recreation).
Tagovailoa’s strengths, nonetheless, far outweigh these deficiencies. He relentlessly assaults secondaries and spreads the ball round to his receivers. He exploits opponents with a heavy dose of signature slant-pattern throws and pinpoint correct passes alongside the sidelines.
I am unable to say his success is shocking. In the summer season of 2021, I cued up tons of of Dolphins performs from the season prior. Despite ending 2020 ranked twenty sixth in QBR (44.8), Tagovailoa clearly had a excessive ceiling.
“The Dolphins have their best QB since Dan Marino,” I wrote in my evaluation then.
This season, I evaluated each snap from Tagovailoa’s video games in opposition to the Chargers (Sept. 10), Patriots (Sept. 17), Broncos (Sept. 24), Bills (Oct. 1), Giants (Oct. 8), Panthers (Oct. 15) and Eagles (Oct. 22). Here’s why Tagovailoa is so profitable:
1. Aggressive nature
Tagovailoa needs to tear the protection’s throat out by the air, which is evidenced by a league-leading 9.1-yards-per-pass common. He’ll take the little dump-off passes as a result of his stellar receivers — together with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, two of the league’s quickest — can gouge opponents with yardage after the catch. Tagovailoa, nonetheless, prefers going up high. He leads the league with 85 passes over 10+ yards and is second in total passing yardage (2,092).
2. Anticipation
Tagovailoa is extraordinarily instinctual, which permits for fancy ball-handling, the flexibility to keep away from pass-rushers whereas retaining his eyes downfield and the uncanny sense of figuring out the place his receivers shall be earlier than they even get there.
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