As a lot because the opening drive in final Sunday evening’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers made it appear there was no rust for Tua Tagovailoa, the remainder of the evening supplied lots to level to after the Miami Dolphins quarterback missed two and a half video games resulting from concussion.
The Dolphins didn’t discover the tip zone once more after his 6-of-7 opening collection for 68 yards and a landing to operating again Raheem Mostert. They settled for subject targets on three of their subsequent 4 drives within the first half and didn’t rating in any respect within the second half.
Tagovailoa, who went 21 of 35 for 261 yards, had a number of throws that the often correct left-handed passer simply missed. He didn’t have a go intercepted, however 4 of his throws may’ve been snagged by Steelers defenders and have been dropped.
Miami (4-3), behind an injury-plagued protection that stepped up for late stops, was capable of squeak by with a 16-10 win, however Tagovailoa is aware of he needs to be sharper going ahead.
Sometimes, all it takes is a second sport again to shed off that preliminary rust. Tagovailoa will get that chance in Detroit this Sunday in opposition to the Lions (1-5) and their protection that’s final in complete yards allowed (412.2 per sport) and in scoring protection (32.3).
“I think you start to get into a rhythm again,” Tagovailoa mentioned Wednesday. “You start to get back into how your routine was coming off of the first week to the second week, staying in that rhythm of doing things.”
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, assessing Tagovailoa’s first sport again Monday, mentioned he “definitely” noticed the timing between his quarterback and go catchers was a bit of off.
“They knew it during the game,” McDaniel mentioned. “We speak quite a bit concerning the timing of our offense and after we need issues out of our breaks and the way we’re anticipating quarterbacks to anticipate and receivers to run the routes of theirs.
“We fell short because there was just a little bit of hesitation or just straying away from our fundamentals. And when you’re able to still find a way to win, it’s awesome to have those experiences because now you can learn from them.”
With Tagovailoa getting back from the concussion he suffered on Sept. 29 in Cincinnati, plus one other hit to the top that was not deemed to trigger a concussion 4 days earlier in opposition to the Buffalo Bills, the Dolphins would like to see him restrict what number of hits he takes.
Nonetheless, Tagovailoa twice in opposition to the Steelers nonetheless insisted on decreasing his head and shoulders to barrel into defenders on scrambles — as soon as, it was 234-pound linebacker Devin Bush Jr.
“Looked at it,” mentioned Tagovailoa, reiterating how he’s been instructed internally to keep away from that form of contact. “Obviously, had my coaches telling me, ‘We don’t ever want you to do this.’ Obviously, I get that, coming off the injury and what happened prior with the concussion.”
Tagovailoa didn’t decide up the required yardage for the primary down in both occasion, so the crew didn’t profit from him foregoing the slide.
“To me, it’s football,” he mentioned. “You go out there, and for me, I can see the first down in instances and want to do all that I can to get it.”
Outside of the scrambles, Tagovailoa was stored clear within the pocket in the course of the Steelers sport. He wasn’t sacked and was solely hit as soon as. The Miami go safety held up within the return for left sort out Terron Armstead and with veteran Brandon Shell sticking at proper sort out whereas Greg Little went again to the bench.
“I loved it. It was great,” Tagovailoa mentioned. “I think Mike really schemed it up really well, too. Only because we were getting the ball out quick. It was kind of hard, I think, for their D-line to get a feel for their rush patterns and then, also, get a feel of where the spot was for the quarterback. We were moving spots in the back there and not just catching the ball and dropping back, so I thought they did really well.”
Tagovailoa mentioned a serious aim for the Miami offense this week is to complete drives, just like the crew did on the scripted opening collection, sustaining a consistency all through Sunday at Ford Field.
Although the Lions enter with just one win on the season, Tagovailoa emphasised that they’re higher than their document signifies and mentioned he’s been impressed by a few of the issues they do defensively, regardless of it not displaying statistically.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com