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Marcel Louis-Jacques, ESPN
MIAMI – For two quarters, the Miami Dolphins offense didn’t look like it did on Sunday.
Trailing the Jacksonville Jaguars 17-7 at halftime, the unit — which finished No. The stadium was crowded.
Something had to be changed at half-time; quarterback Tua Tagovailoa made sure it did.
Addressing his teammates in the locker room, the once-quiet quarterback and fifth-ranked offense — calling on veterans Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Terron Armstead among others — and demanding that the unit play to a high standard. set the previous season.
“For my quarterback to call me in front of the whole offense like that, I have to step up,” Hill, who caught an 80-yard touchdown in the second half, said after the game. “I have to do my thing. I like the leadership.”
Tagovailoa’s fiery speech worked. The Dolphins finished with 400 yards and beat Jacksonville 20-17 on a walk-off field goal. It’s also the latest example of Tagovailoa’s improved leadership. His teammates say he’s more vocal on and off the field. While he’s always had natural charisma, his confidence has been restored since the arrival of coach Mike McDaniel in 2022. Tagovailoa’s increased mastery of McDaniel’s offense gives him the agency to speak and direct a team that wants to win its first playoff game since 2000. .
Miami has gone five postseason games without a win since then and hasn’t won a division in 16 years. After racing to a 9-3 start in 2023, the Dolphins have lost four of their last six games, including an underwhelming 26-7 wild-card loss at the Kansas City Chiefs.
In July, Miami showed faith in Tagovailoa to get the Dolphins over the hump, signing him to a four-year, $212.1 million extension that makes him the highest-paid player in franchise history. Along with the outlay comes increased expectations to lead the team in the deep playoffs, starting with this season, which will continue there against the Buffalo Bills (8:15 pm ET, Prime Video).
That’s Tagovailoa’s responsibility.
“The weight of the crown is who wears it,” Tagovailoa said. “I’m the highest paid employee in this office. I’ve got to get things done, I’ve got to do things right and get the guys to move in the direction they need to go, to get things done. those things.”
HILL JOKED earlier the beginning of the season that Tagovailoa can be also vocal this year.
“He’s more vocal in the huddle, he’s more vocal in the locker room, he’s vocal everywhere,” Hill said. “Like everywhere I walk in this building, you’ll hear Tua’s mouth to the point where I’m like, ‘I want you to shut up right now.'”
It wasn’t always like that.
Tagovailoa said he didn’t feel strong during his first two years in the NFL, which coincided with former coach Brian Flores’ time with the Dolphins. Two seasons with McDaniel have been the opposite.
During an interview on “The Dan Le Batard Show” in August, Tagovailoa described the differences between Flores’ and McDaniel’s coaching styles.
“In the simplest words, if you wake up every morning and I tell you (that) you suck at what you do, if you don’t do what you do, you shouldn’t be here, this person. should be here, if you haven’t gotten this right, and then someone else comes in and says, ‘Mom, you’re the best for this,'” she said in an interview, “how do you make you feel like you’re listening to one or the other?
“You start to believe that. And so what sort of ended up happening. It basically had two years of training that came out.”
McDaniel was hired a month after Flores was fired. One of his first priorities is building Tagovailoa’s confidence, which includes showing the QB a 700-play highlight tape that shows the qualities that make him a perfect fit for McDaniel’s offense. As Tagovailoa’s confidence grew, so did his production. As of 2022, he ranks fourth in the NFL in passing yards, fifth in passing touchdowns and third in points.
Tagovailoa also started to speak up, gradually improving each year before blossoming this offseason.
“When he was young, (he was) more of a lead-by-example guy, but I just got comfortable the last couple of years, and there were a lot of factors that came into it,” Dolphins tight end Durham said. Smythe said. “In this game, when you play well in terms of your standard, it’s easy to be confident and comfortable. And actually these last two seasons, he played very well … When you do … You can say what you want to say , you can be yourself around men.”
The Dolphins offensive lineman said Tagovailoa has also become more assertive this season, becoming a hangout leader on the field to build chemistry.
According to Hill, who joined the Dolphins in a March 2022 trade, there are clear differences between Tua and now. Tagovailoa has taken on greater command and responsibility for the offense, making sure to gather his teammates after each play to discuss what he saw.
“When I first came here, we’d open a play and then we’d be like, ‘Where’s Tua? I need to talk to him about this play.’ Versus now, he came looking for you.
“The same thing (Patrick Mahomes) used in KC to make sure guys see it the same way he does. It’s great.”
TAGOVAILOA ADMITTED has shown a different side of himself on the field this year, but he said leadership qualities are always inside people.
“A lot of guys know who I am off the field. Just on the field, I’m just going to come out now,” he said. “That’s just what it is. I feel more comfortable bringing my personality to the field … bringing my own personality to the game of football.”
McDaniel thinks Tagovailoa’s leadership qualities run deeper. He says his midfielder has an innate charisma that makes people like him, backed by his authenticity and production on the field.
“There are certain guys who have that ‘it’ factor with big groups, especially teams,” McDaniel said. “There is a way to measure the wave of energy, and the strongest wave of energy you can give off is authenticity. So I think that people feel and that’s why people follow, not only do they like and believe in him, believe in his skills and his ability to lead him to a place he’s never been before, but he also believes.”
Tagovailoa acknowledged McDaniel’s claim that it was a factor, saying it’s something he’s felt since he was young.
“I’ve had that factor since I was in high school, then I went to college, then I came here,” he said. “That’s how I’ve always seen myself as – come out and compete. Yes, very nice, very nice, cool, calm, collected, but inside I’m just competitive. So many people know me and others. but I think now it shows that I become more vocal.”
Tagovailoa’s natural charisma combined with his willingness to talk more is why teammates say his halftime speech against the Jaguars was well received.
Armstead praised Tagovailoa for standing up and directing the team. Armstead said Tagovailoa’s willingness to challenge and call out veteran players — and even coaches — helped create a sense of urgency that fueled his second-half comeback.
From a coach’s perspective, McDaniel’s respect for Tagovailoa means taking words out of his mouth. He called the team’s address “genuine” and “constructive.”
“There are details that drive execution in how we are organized and communicate,” McDaniel said. “I guess at the time, he definitely felt that there were some people who let him down there. I can’t deny that at all and was really pumped to hear him constructively lead. It’s not, ‘Let’s win,’ or ‘Let’s play.’ That is, ‘Let’s live up to our standards,’ that’s what the captain and quarterback of the franchise should be – that voice will echo.
For Tagovailoa, who finished the afternoon with 338 passing yards and a touchdown, the motivation to speak up was simple: He wanted to help the team win.
“This is just one of those deals that we need to get off our ass,” he said. “We got punched in the mouth. That’s what you asked for. How are you going to respond?”
If the Dolphins fail to meet expectations in 2024, there will be no accountability — especially from Tagovailoa.
“I think you see (the change in Tagovailoa), right now it’s just infectious. It spreads throughout the entire locker room in the best way,” fullback Alec Ingold said. “The results on the field were one thing last year, but the way he leads this locker room on and off the field is completely different now.”
