Statistically Ranked First
RPO- Tagovailoa was the best RPO quarterback in the NFL in 2021. He had 847 RPO passing yards in 2021. That led the NFL, even though he didn’t lead in RPO attempts. He was third with 90 RPO passing attempts. The run-pass option was a scheme that fits Tagovailoa’s strengths. That is one of Tagovailoa’s strengths that transferred from college to the NFL.
-- Put that in your pocket and forget about it. He's the master at that scheme.
Red Zone- Tagovailoa was the best red zone quarterback in the NFL in 2021. Tagovailoa had the best completion percentage in the red zone of any starting quarterback in the NFL in 2021. That completion percentage was 65.4%, which is a testament of his accuracy.
-- With the arsenal of weapons he had to work with, that's pretty impressive.
Clean Pocket Completion Percentage-When Tagovailoa had a clean pocket, he was the best quarterback in the NFL. He had the highest completion percentage among any NFL starting quarterback in the NFL when he had a clean pocket. Tagovailoa’s NFL leading clean pocket completion percentage was 76.3%.
Aaron Rodgers and
Patrick Mahomes was second and third.
-- Would like him to rank at the top with a dirty pocket as well, but I'll take it. The best completion % in any category is good.
Least Amount of Pocket Time- Even though this statistic is a reflection of the offensive line, it is a quarterback stat. According to
Pro Football Reference’s Advanced Passing Stats, among currently active quarterbacks, Tua Tagovailoa had the least amount of pocket time in the NFL in 2021. According to Pro Football Reference’s definition, pocket time is the average amount of time a quarterback has to throw the ball from the snap before pressure collapses the pocket. Tagovailoa’s pocket time was 2.1 seconds. The pocket time is another stat that proves how elite Tagovailoa can be with his accuracy despite the circumstances.
-- Inexcusable...and McD agrees.
Aggressive Attempts- Among all starting NFL quarterbacks, Tagovailoa led the NFL in having the most aggressive attempts. Those attempts were throws that are in tight coverage. Among his 388 passing attempts, he led the NFL with 19.3% of those passes being aggressive attempts.
-- Don't lose an ounce of that aggressiveness! Last year, it was out of necessity, this year he should have more room to operate with the targets, but it's good to know he shines when it's a tough throw.
Least Number of Batted Passes- Among all NFL starting quarterbacks in 2021, Tagovailoa had the least number of passes batted away. Out of 388 passing attempts, Tagovailoa had only one batted pass. No other NFL starting quarterback had that least number of batted passes in the NFL.
-- Don't know how to explain this one...he's shorter than average for QBs, had a trash line, and no run game to worry about. I guess the DL were too busy beating the **** out of our OL?
Number of Sacks- Out of all starting quarterback that started 10 or more games in 2021, Tagovailoa had the least number of sacks with 20.
-- Probably wouldn't have had the least amount of sacks if he'd played the whole season, but he did show he's a marked improvement over Tannehill in that area.
Goal Line Passer Rating- Tagovailoa was tied with three other quarterbacks with five or more passing attempts that had the highest passer rating on the goal line at 118.8.
-- Clutch gene alert!!!
Goal Line Touchdown Percentage- When on the goal line, Tagovailoa was the best in the NFL among quarterbacks with five or more passes. Tagovailoa had the highest touchdown percentage on the goal line with five or more passes at 80%. Out of the five passes Tagovailoa threw on the goal line, four were touchdowns. He threw no interceptions at the goal line.
-- Clutch gene alert, 2nd alarm!!! Small sample size for these two stats, however...but I'll take a 4 out of 5 ratio any day.
Even if his level of play was exactly the same as last year (which I highly doubt, he's improving), this team would do much better with the other improvements they've made to the offense. They'd have went deep into the playoffs last year with this roster and the play he displayed, IMO. We'll just have to see if the defense can maintain, and hope injuries don't derail this season, but I have every faith the offensive will be much better.
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