Judging NFL Week 2 overreactions: Can Tua lead the Dolphins to the playoffs?

[andyahs]

The Dolphins are a legitimate AFC contender​

​

You can sit there and argue for days about whose comeback win on Sunday was the most ridiculous. You want to argue Jets? Cardinals? Go right ahead. But somebody in your fantasy league won this week because of what the Dolphins did, erasing a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit against a very well-regarded Ravens defense with Tua Tagovailoa just straight up airing it out to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Each of those dudes had 11 catches, two touchdowns and over 170 yards.

Tagovailoa finished with 469 yards and six touchdown passes on 72% passing. The Dolphins' defense, which was being strafed by Lamar Jackson for three quarters, got its stops. And Miami is 2-0 and in solo first place in the AFC East (pending the result of Monday Night's Bills game). Tagovailoa wanted to prove the doubters wrong, and his doubters are going to have to be pretty quiet this week.


The verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION

Yes, the AFC is stacked with contenders, but ... the Ravens are supposed to be one of them! To come back like this, throwing the ball with a maligned quarterback to the high-speed receivers you were trying to build this offense around, is a straight-up statement to the rest of the league that Miami is going to be hard to play this year. The Bengals look wobbly. The Broncos look lost. The Colts look awful. It's possible there aren't as many monster contenders in the AFC as we thought there were in the preseason. Should we be talking about the Dolphins along with the Bills, Chiefs and Chargers right now? The Fins probably haven't quite earned that just yet. But Sunday's outing tells us they absolutely could, before long.

Judging NFL overreactions: Let's overreact to Week 2 quarterback performances

Tua Tagovailoa had a breakout performance. TB12 looked shaky for a second straight week (so did Mitch Trubisky). These are the QB storylines eliciting overreactions.

www.espn.com

 

[LibertineOneThree]

Reading this stuff literally brings a tear to my eye.

There are multiple ways to build a super bowl contending team. We could have signed a QB with 24 civil sexual assault lawsuits. We could have signed a guy that’s cheated and terrorised our own franchise for decades at the very end of his career… If this team can evolve into a title contender it’s going to be 100 times more special than it could have been with other leaders at the helm.

There’s a long way to go but good lord we haven’t been in such a position to build something so special in 22 long years. I’m here for every second of it. LFG.

 

[The Bopkin]

Yeah, I didn't get the love for the Broncos; I mean, Russell Wilson and all, but until they actually do something, I'm not counting them a contender.
The Bengals could rebound, but history dictates that most Super Bowl losers don't even make the playoffs the following year.
The Colts always get love, and man I wish we had taken Jonathan Taylor, but they are pretenders too.
Ravens, Bills, Chiefs, ... and I am not even including the Chargers in that list until I see more out of them. They are in the Colts tier to me until they actually do something.
The Ravens will rebound, they're a good team and a strong organization. AFC still goes through Buffalo or KC.

 

[Sarnics13]

I'm not overreacting. I saw my QB mature 10 fold yesterday and don't be surprised if the confidence in his play has us seeing a whole new guy.
He's heard all the negativity and it's impossible for that not to get into your head. Now he knows he can do it. Now he knows without any doubt what he's capable of. I believe we just witnessed the rebirth of Tua Tagovolia.

 

[EasyRider]

As long as Tua plays within himself and doesn’t attempt to be a gunslinger he can, absolutely. Yes, we all saw what he did yesterday but the first half decisions is what he needs to refrain from. He was pushing and pressing and it showed

 

[1972forever]

The Patriots made the playoffs last year and many people predicted the Ravens will make the playoffs this season.
The Dolphins have beat both of these teams. So of course the Dolphins are good enough to make the playoffs.

 

[superphin]

Playoffs? The question is are we going to be the 2nd team in NFL history to go undefeated. The answer is yes.

 

[Rev Kev]

I'm not overreacting. I saw my QB mature 10 fold yesterday and don't be surprised if the confidence in his play has us seeing a whole new guy.
He's heard all the negativity and it's impossible for that not to get into your head. Now he knows he can do it. Now he knows without any doubt what he's capable of. I believe we just witnessed the rebirth of Tua Tagovolia.

 

[1972forever]

I'm not overreacting. I saw my QB mature 10 fold yesterday and don't be surprised if the confidence in his play has us seeing a whole new guy.
He's heard all the negativity and it's impossible for that not to get into your head. Now he knows he can do it. Now he knows without any doubt what he's capable of. I believe we just witnessed the rebirth of Tua Tagovolia.

It not just Tua gaining more confidence in himself after playing the way he did yesterday. It is also all the players on the team having a lot more confidence in Tua as well as the coaches.

Last year if the defense had a bad game and if Tua had thrown 2 ints in the first half, the team would have folded and Flores would have probably pulled Tua entering the second half.

Now the defense knows it doesn’t have to play a great game for this team to win and McDaniel sees that with Tua in the game and the offensive weapons they have now. The game is never over until the final whistle blows.

I have no doubt there were some Dolphin fans who gave up early yesterday and turned off their TV’s and ended up missing the best Dolphin game in over 2 decades. I doubt they will be doing that again if the Dolphins fall behind in the first half of games going forward.

 

[DOLFAN_51]

As long as Tua plays within himself and doesn’t attempt to be a gunslinger he can, absolutely. Yes, we all saw what he did yesterday but the first half decisions is what he needs to refrain from. He was pushing and pressing and it showed

As long as Tua plays within himself and doesn’t attempt to be a gunslinger he can, absolutely. Yes, we all saw what he did yesterday but the first half decisions is what he needs to refrain from. He was pushing and pressing and it showed

I don’t understand the critical comments about Tua’s decision making. The first throw was not that bad. I would even say that would be a completion or incompletion 99 out of 100 times.

He had one bad throw after our defense and special teams dug us into a huge hole and time was running out in the first half. For most teams it’s a long shot that worst case scenario is a punt. We go into half time with the same score and get the ball to start the half. The defense let us down in that 1 minute TD drive.

I see worst decisions get praised by people. It’s not like he was throwing up prayers all game long. It was one bad throw. In a situation that makes that decision understandable. There is nothing to this point. It isn’t justified. And it’s biased. So let’s not repeat it.

 

[EasyRider]

I don’t understand the critical comments about Tua’s decision making. The first throw was not that bad. I would even say that would be a completion or incompletion 99 out of 100 times.

He had one bad throw after our defense and special teams dug us into a huge hole and time was running out in the first half. For most teams it’s a long shot that worst case scenario is a punt. We go into half time with the same score and get the ball to start the half. The defense let us down in that 1 minute TD drive.

I see worst decisions get praised by people. It’s not like he was throwing up prayers all game long. It was one bad throw. In a situation that makes that decision understandable. There is nothing to this point. It isn’t justified. And it’s biased. So let’s not repeat it.

Dude, seriously, he’s made bad decisions since he’s been a starter
And I believe it’s because he’s trying to overcome the bad talent around him
Yesterday was a case of being way behind and trying for a big splash, he was clearly forcing himself
Second half he regained his composer and was a different QB than we’ve seen

 

[DOLFAN_51]

Dude, seriously, he’s made bad decisions since he’s been a starter
And I believe it’s because he’s trying to overcome the bad talent around him
Yesterday was a case of being way behind and trying for a big splash, he was clearly forcing himself
Second half he regained his composer and was a different QB than we’ve seen

Do you even watch other teams? Anyone who says that Tua has a “problem” with bad decision making just doesn’t understand the game. Does Tua make bad decisions? Yes. Rarely. Is it a problem that will hold back the team and prevent him from being an elite QB? No. Because he is on par with those guys already. So, Yes. I am serious.

Are you serious?

Int% Career

Tua 2.2%
Burrow 2.3%
Mac Jones 2.6%
Herbert 1.9%
Brady 1.8% (2.5% first 5 seasons)
Mahomes 1.5%
Rodgers 1.3%
Stafford 2.4%
Josh Allen 2.4%
Deshaun Watson 2.1%
Kirk Cousins 2.1%
Jimmy G 2.6%
Russel Wilson 1.8%
J Hurts 2.1%
Dak 1.7%
Wentz 1.9%

 

[EasyRider]

Do you even watch other teams? Anyone who says that Tua has a “problem” with bad decision making just doesn’t understand the game. Does Tua make bad decisions? Yes. Rarely. Is it a problem that will hold back the team and prevent him from being an elite QB? No. Because he is on par with those guys already. So, Yes. I am serious.

Are you serious?

Int% Career

Tua 2.2%
Burrow 2.3%
Mac Jones 2.6%
Herbert 1.9%
Brady 1.8% (2.5% first 5 seasons)
Mahomes 1.5%
Rodgers 1.3%
Stafford 2.4%
Josh Allen 2.4%
Deshaun Watson 2.1%
Kirk Cousins 2.1%
Jimmy G 2.6%
Russel Wilson 1.8%
J Hurts 2.1%
Dak 1.7%
Wentz 1.9%

Dude
Seriously with all the fluff and BS
You don’t watch the games and understand the variables
You response is just dumb because you think I’m blaming Tua for all the Fins problems up until this point
His play was so so and bad at times but there were other factors that went into it like Flores Oline etc

 

[ONole1]

Yesterday was a great ending to the game, what a fun game to watch and enjoy. I enjoyed it last night and this morning. Now that we are closing on on 24 hours I look at the first two wins with tempered enthusiasm. We saw what this offense, and what Tua can be when it's firing on all cylinders. Tua doesn't and never will have the physical abilities of Allen, Mahomes, and Rodgers. Fitzpatrick nailed it last week, if Tua is going to be great it's with his anticipation and accuracy. We saw that yesterday, those that say but he made bad picks earlier, just don't watch enough football. Name a QB that doesn't make a pick pick...name ONE.

IMO, Tua's best trait is his short memory. No matter how the game has gone in the 4th qtr he is a stone cold killer. Hearing some of the sound bites from teammates he is a leader, and while he may have wont the media and fanbase over, he has won his teammates over. I have compared him to Drew Brees from day 1. He showed yesterday while not a great athlete, he has quick feet and was able to extend plays for 2 TD's, including the game winner.

This team has done what good teams do in the first two games, they play really good complimentary football. If all three components weren't playing well one of the other ones grabbed the torch and lead the way. The first game Defense and special teams did that while the offense did just enough. Yesterday all phases got off to a rocky start, but the offense took the lead, and it sparked the defense. Miami has already shown they are good enough to be considered in the second tier of the AFC teams. This week we get to see where they stand against the top tier. This is the measuring stick of where they are. To beat a team like Buffalo they need all three phases playing well.

IMO, we are going to see where the stack up...

 

[dan the fin]

As long as Tua plays within himself and doesn’t attempt to be a gunslinger he can, absolutely. Yes, we all saw what he did yesterday but the first half decisions is what he needs to refrain from. He was pushing and pressing and it showed

I disagree with this line of thinking. All great QBs are gunslingers. In the second half Tua was decisive and it showed. You don't have to have a cannon of a arm to be a gunslinger. If you can't hit the target doesn’t matter how big the bullet is. Tua can be a gunslinger because he has natural accuracy.

Throws like the Gesicki TD, and the last TD to Waddle are gunslinger Throws. It is I will throw to a guy that is covered but throw it in a location that only my guy can make a play on it. Tua has that kind of accuracy to just ball out.