Dolphins’ Tua says he wants to deliver for title-hungry South Florida sports fans, with home opener next

David Furones, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Dolphins’ Tua says he wants to deliver for title-hungry South Florida sports fans, with home opener next

MIAMI GARDENS — It’s only Week 3. And all the Miami Dolphins are right now is 2-0, albeit an impressive 2-0 with road wins against the Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots.

With the team’s home opener next, the Dolphins will play a regular-season game at Hard Rock Stadium for the first time since they were clinching a playoff berth in last season’s finale against the New York Jets.

Thinking about playing in front of his home fans against the Denver Broncos Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium had quarterback Tua Tagovailoa openly expressing his desires to deliver a championship for South Florida when he spoke to the media Wednesday.

“We feel that the city of Miami has been waiting, and they’re ready for a championship,” Tagovailoa said. “You look at the Heat. You look at the Florida Panthers. I mean, all those guys were able to make it to the final dance. And they were able to do special things throughout their season. We’re kind of trying to trot along that line and sort of follow the lead of those guys.”

Tagovailoa has to have an extra degree of appreciation for running out for pregame introductions on his home field after his last game there was one that sidelined him for the remainder of the season due to a second diagnosed concussion.

“That moment’s going to be special,” he said. ‘It’s not something that we take for granted. This game comes and goes, and nothing’s ever promised. Any time that we get to run out there and play for our families, play for each other and play for the fans, it’s a blessing.”

Tagovailoa is taking a lot fewer hits these days. Through two games, he has only been sacked once and hit four times. That’s second-lowest in the NFL.

A Miami offensive line that’s received its share of criticism in Tagovailoa’s time with the Dolphins has held up strong, even with Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead missing the first two games.

“That should tell you all you should know with the guys we have up front,” Tagovailoa said. “There’s been a lot of naysayers. I know our guys in the O-line room hear what everyone’s saying, as well. That’s the way they’re able to shut the haters up, basically.

“To me, it’s nothing new. Those guys have been working their butts off this entire offseason. OTAs, training camp, they’ve been working their butts off, so this is nothing surprising for me.”

And there are other factors that are keeping Tagovailoa off the ground.

“Having Tyreek (Hill) and (Jaylen) Waddle,” he said, “having fast guys also helps me get the ball out quicker to be able to distribute that and throw off timing for the rushers, as well. That’s been a big key to that.”

Tagovailoa has also utilized a quick release when he drops back.

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“That’s just understanding pre-snap where we need to go with the ball and then also, post-snap, adjusting and making that adjustment quick,” he said.

It’ll be a potential key against the Broncos defense and coordinator Vance Joseph, who has been top five in blitz rate with Denver and previously with the Arizona Cardinals.

“They present a lot of challenges,” Tagovailoa said. “You got to understand where those blitzes are coming from. You got to understand where you got to protect them. There’s a lot of things. We’re going to have to find out, if they’re blitzing from here, where the opening’s going to be. We got to figure out how we want to attack them in that sense.”

The Dolphins quarterback could also be down one of his top pass catchers for beating the blitz. Waddle missed Wednesday’s practice as he is in concussion protocol coming of the hit to the head he took in last Sunday night’s win over the Patriots.

Tagovailoa showed how coach Mike McDaniel’s humor might be rubbing off on him in his response to a question about potentially being without Waddle.

McDaniel, earlier Wednesday, quipped: “I think I’m just going to go home.”

After practice, Tagovailoa’s response: “I was going to be funny. I was going to say, ‘I might as well stay home.’ ”

He added: “It’s tough. … I would say the rest of the guys in that room, they’re ready to step up. They’re ready to play. Doesn’t change how I prepare.”

Tagovailoa enters Sunday with a record-tying streak of beating Super Bowl-winning head coaches. His win last Sunday over Bill Belichick put him at nine, and he gets another opportunity this Sunday against Denver’s Sean Payton.

“It’s a team sport,” he said. “You win games as a team. I’ve been very fortunate to have great teammates. We’re just in here day in and day out trying to do everything we can to win.”

Payton, before returning to coaching this season, made critical comments about Tagovailoa last year while working as an TV analyst.

“I think at some point we’ll see Tua [benched] in Miami,” Payton told Fox Sports early last season. “I think at some point — and they played well [Sunday] with Tua — but Teddy Bridgewater, I’ve had before, he’s an outstanding player.”

Now, Tagovailoa gets a crack at Payton and the Broncos in the Dolphins’ home opener Sunday.

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