Response To Turnover Problem Is Showcasing Miami’s New Environment
Syndication: Palm Beach Post
The Miami Dolphins are deep in the throws of a turnover problem. At the center of that problem is their man under center.
Of the 18 turnovers Mike McDaniel’s offense has committed this season, 10 of them are interceptions thrown by Tua Tagovailoa. Another four are fumbles he’s lost. Additionally, the quarterback has six fumbles that the Dolphins were able to recover.
Over the past two weeks, despite back-to-back victories, Miami has committed six turnovers with Tua firing bad interceptions in both games.
Photo Credit: Jim Rassol via USA TODAY Sports
While fans and media are quick to point the finger, the head coach and his quarterback are currently showcasing their maturity, mutual respect, and resolve during this issue. Both Tua and McDaniel are saying all the right things in response to their struggles. We could, and likely will, spend our time dissecting fault and potential fixes, but it’s important to use this as a moment to recognize the culture and relationships that currently exist within the locker room.
After a controversial and tumultuous end to the Brian Flores era, one in which the locker room seemed to be non-cohesive at best, Miami has found their way to a great culture and a healthy and respectful environment.
“Mike (McDaniel) calls the plays, we’ve got to go out there and execute them.” Tua said after the Black Friday win over the Jets. “I didn’t execute them. That’s what that was. Very, very disappointing in how I did that drive, those two drives, at the end of the half. Just can’t do that, and put our defense in some tough situations…You just can’t do that. With that pick six, I basically—to look at it this way—kind of kept them in the game. Our defense played phenomenal up to that point and throughout the entire game. I just can’t do that.”
Despite Tua’s complete willingness to laud his coach and take all the blame, Mike McDaniel, as he has done all season, was there for his signal caller with his own perspective on the turnovers.
“I think that everything’s a learning situation. I think Tua’s going to say that that can’t happen.” Mcdaniel’s said of the first interception. “I’m going to say that I definitely wasn’t right in my play call. So, we’ve got to work together. I put a lot of trust in his hands and he’s going to protect me in that way.”
“The second one, that’s a tough one.” McDaniel’s continued. “I think it’s more the first one that I think in hindsight we can really have back. He’ll say both, but I’m always looking for those type of scenarios to make sure that we’re in our progression as working together that he’s in the appropriate space, because things are going to happen that you’re not going to like. One of the biggest obstacles that he’s had to climb is frustration within his own game within a game, and making sure that doesn’t linger. What I did see was him bounce back, and that takes a lot of training. Especially when he’s as accountable as a player as he is. He is absolutely positively so angry with himself in those moments, but to be able to come back and be with authority and do all the things that we ask him to do, to execute a down and out basis for the rest of the game, I thought was very encouraging. I also thought that he probably had his best third-down game against a really good third-down defense. That’s a good defense in general, but on third down, it’s not easy to move the chains. I think we were 11-for-16 on third down, so there was some good stuff there, too, so it’s not all picks in my mind. There was a lot of good performances by him, and also I really liked how he bounced back from that and didn’t let that keep him from playing the position as we know he is capable of throughout most of the game.”
Just sit and process those responses from the head coach. So thoughtful and forward moving. There’s no reason to blame or try to motivate with criticism. Everyone gives Mike McDaniel credit for his scheme abilities, but what we don’t talk about enough is the environment that he has created that has allowed Tua to evolve. Yes, there are better players here. Yes, having an incredible offensive mind as your head coach will elevate your play. But the respect and support has as much to do with his growth as the football work.
Miami has been able to escape their mistakes thus far against teams like Las Vegas and New York, but against the elite competition, they likely won’t be that lucky. Respect and support ultimately won’t win Miami a Super Bowl. But maybe it will give this team a chance to survive their struggles an grow through them to achieve their goals. A lot of credit is due to this current group and the environment that they foster. It may be one of the main reasons the ultimately correct this difficult trends.
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