After fighting off the young franchise QB as best as he could, midnight is striking on Ryan Fitzpatrick’s cinderella story. Tua Tagovailoa (forever here referred to as Tua, so I never have to learn how to spell his last name) has been named the starter for the Dolphins upcoming Week 8 game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Fitzpatrick’s Adieua
A magnificent beard can only take you so far. It seems like it was just yesterday that Ryan Fitzpatrick was slinging interceptions and being pulled in favor of Jameis Winston.
After a 3-3 start, Miami is looking to move forward with their number five overall pick over the hirsute veteran. This comes as a bit of a surprise, as Fitzmagic is having one of the best years of his career statistically. He currently has a completion percentage above 70% and is averaging over 250 yards passing a game. We’ve even seen the bearded wonder take off scrambling out of the backfield on multiple occasions this season.
Who knows where Fitzpatrick will end up? He may get another opportunity with another struggling franchise (he’s already appeared with 8, which, *checks math* is 25% of the NFL!) The bearded one may not re-sign at all and may just ride off into obscurity with nothing to show from his playing career besides millions of dollars and a degree from Harvard.
Is Tua Overduea?
Most didn’t expect much from the Fins this season and assumed the time for Tua would arrive sooner rather than later. However, they’re currently sitting at 2nd in the AFC East and only find themselves one game out of a wild card playoff spot.
Is Tua going to be the answer? Maybe. Tua is a lot more of a pocket passer than people realize. He doesn’t push the ball down the field that much, not because he can’t but because he is more risk-averse. This resulted in a lot of check downs at Alabama to players like Jerry Jeudy, who then, in turn, made Tua’s numbers inflated. That risk-aversion might be what this Dolphins team needs though. Ryan Fitzpatrick is a “fuck it and chuck it” type of QB, which is why he’s bounced around from franchise to franchise. If Tua protects the ball a bit better, the Dolphins could win some of those close games.
Injury experts have signed off on Tua’s hip and ankle injuries from the past. They should no longer be of issue.
Being away from Nick Saban and Alabama’s win with defense scheme, Tua should have the leash off and will be able to sling it in the Dolphins offense. Many might not realize this, but the weapons on this team are pretty good: DeVante Parker decided to finally start playing football, Preston Williams is a great undrafted free agent, people continue to say Mike Gesicki is good, and Myles Gaskin is apparently something. If Tua can utilize his weapons and avoid turnovers, we could see the Dolphins return to the good ol’ days when they were being featured on Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. As long as they don’t let Tua hold for field goals, everything should be fine.
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