Apologies to Tua

The Dolphins rookie QB has proved me wrong and has shown he belongs in the NFL following two impressive performances

by Brendan Smith, Sports O’Clock Writing Team Member

(photo credits: Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press)

Two weeks ago, after Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s first NFL start, I said that everyone should stop praising him because he was not that good. I said that everyone should save their praises for later, but deep down I did not think Tua would be good enough to succeed in the NFL.

Fast forward to now, and I could not have been more wrong. Tua has taken the NFL by storm and is proving he belongs. Concerns about Tua’s size have been proven unfounded so far, and his accuracy has been better than expected. Even though the Dolphins are not expecting him to make a lot of big plays, Tua has been incredibly efficient and has played turnover-free football.

Against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9, Tua outdueled Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray by completing over 70 percent of his passes and throwing two touchdown passes. On Sunday against fellow rookie Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers, Tua threw two more touchdown passes and was not sacked.

It is clear that the Dolphins defense is the most important part of this team, but Tua’s performances deserve to be recognized. Head coach Brian Flores’ decision to bench Ryan Fitzpatrick for Tua was questioned at first, but Tua is proving that he made the right choice.

I would like to apologize for criticizing Tua. I was wrong about his “lack” of ability, and I believe he will have a long and successful career in the NFL.

(Statistics taken from Pro-Football-Reference.com)

(All photos are cited properly. No copyright infringement intended.)