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The Miami Dolphins allowed just 1.8 sacks per game in 2023, which ranked fourth-best across the entire NFL.
But it doesn’t appear that was enough to instill star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with a whole lot of confidence.
Tagovailoa appeared to toss his offensive line under the bus on Monday when asked how confident he was about the Dolphins offensive line entering the 2024 season.
Tua was asked about his confidence in the Dolphins' offensive line:
"Well brother, I get the ball out fast. So I'm confident in whoever we've got there."
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) August 26, 2024
“Well brother, I get the ball out fast. So I’m confident in whoever we’ve got there,” he told report Marcel Louis-Jacques.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement!
Tua Tagovailoa’s Comment About Miami’s Offensive Line Had Some Truth To It
To his credit, Tagovailoa does get the ball out quickly.
Tagovailoa’s average time to throw (2.32 seconds) ranked first among all quarterbacks in the league with 350+ attempts last season according to Pro Football Focus. And in 2022, that number was 2.52 seconds, which ranked fourth-best in the NFL.
And Mike McDaniel’s offensive is designed to work that way. But you’d think he’d say something to the effect of “I have full confidence in whoever we put out there.”
Any old platitude would’ve been better than “well, it’s good that I don’t hold onto the ball.”
Despite the sack numbers, Miami ranked just 25th according to Pro Football Network’s Offensive Line rankings. And now they have to replace both starting guards after Robert Hunt and Connor Williams left in free agency. So the cause for concern is understandable. Especially given Tagovailoa’s history of concussions.
On Friday, McDaniel told reporters that his offensive line has more depth than what most people think. Whether that’s true or not, only time will tell. But it sure seems like Tagovaloa doesn’t exactly have the most confidence in the unit. And McDaniel’s unique scheme can only do so much to paper over the cracks.
Miami opens it season against the Jacksonville Jaguars and star pass rusher Josh Allen. So one way or another, we’re going to find out a lot about the offensive line.