It's hilarious to me that nearly every time a poster has a negative take on anything Tua does they feel the need to explain how they aren't hating on Tua but simply pointing out an observation blah blah blah...
Peeps seem afraid to speak their minds without first explaining why they feel a certain way .... I guess the threat of getting roasted by or ignored by another poster is far too great ...
Oh damn ... I mentioned the word negative in the same sentence I mentioned Tua ... it's not that I am saying something negative it's just ...
We know our OL wasn't good enough and because of that any success Tua had throwing the ball had a lot to do with his pocket presence, footwork, decision making, release time and accuracy. We know his play helped us win despite the circumstances. We know we didn't put up huge PPG to win so we probably know we didn't really have a play maker @ the skill positions (WR,RB,TE) until we drafted Waddle.
The defense did us great favors (after 7 games) by keeping us in games and giving us a chance to win. I absolutely believe Tua can be the Qb we need to lead the team to the playoffs and beyond. It's a no brainer really. Given Tua's strengths (presence in pocket, footwork, decision making release time and accuracy) all you need to do is give him better tools to work with and you will get better results.
For me it's not about arm strength, his height/weight etc. but more about me wanting to see a Qb be THE reason we win. Don't go off the deep end on me. I KNOW one guy isn't the reason most football games are won. My point is, when the game is on the line, I want to have the confidence that Tua can take our offense down the field and score. When other winning teams' asses are on the line you never hear anything about the other skill positions... it's "give Mahomes 90 seconds with no time outs and ..." or don't give Brady the ball with 30 seconds and 2 timeouts" .... it's because those signal callers have the reputation of killing you just when you thought you had them beat .....
Mechanics, arm strength etc. are very real measurements and paying attention to those qualities are super important. The intangible I'm looking for is the one where, despite the tale of the tape, our guy is the one the opponent does not want to have the ball in crunch time.
This is year 3 ... and with a new coaching staff and some weapons with a track record it's crunch time for this team and Tua may never have a more qualified group to support him.