Brian Flores' Excitement About Tua Tagovailoa Not Reflected in Playoff Odds
By Peter Dewey
Tua Tagovailoa is entering a crucial year as the Miami Dolphins’ potential franchise quarterback.
I use the word potential because Tagovailoa’s rookie season was underwhelming to say the least. Despite posting a 6-3 record in his nine starts, Tagovailoa was benched on multiple occasions for veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick, and the Dolphins’ offense sputtered at times with him under center.
Tua finished the season with 1,814 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. While those numbers seem fine, they don’t tell the whole story. Tagovailoa averaged just 6.3 yards per attempt last season (30th among qualified quarterbacks), and he finished 26th in the league in QBR.
Tagovailoa struggled moving the ball down the field, as his longest pass went for just 35 yards and he averaged only 3.6 completed air yards per attempt last season.
What does this all mean? Essentially, Tua has a long way to go as a passer at the NFL level.
Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has been extremely supportive of Tagovailoa early on in training camp, but oddsmakers aren’t necessarily buying his sentiments.
“He has made a lot of progress, I would say, throughout the spring,” Flores said. “That was his first OTAs, but this will be his first training camp, preseason where he’ll be able to meet, practice, perform in games, healthy, all of it. We’re excited about Tua — really, excited about all the quarterbacks.”
Despite Flores’ confidence, WynnBET has the Dolphins favored to miss the playoffs after their 10-6 campaign in 2020. Miami has -169 odds to miss the postseason with just +140 odds to make it in 2021.
It’s no secret that the Dolphins were better offensively with Fitzpatrick under center last season, but he’s now in Washington and it’s Tagovailoa’s job until proven otherwise. If Flores’ comments are true and the second-year signal caller has progressed, then Miami may prove Vegas wrong in its current projections.
For now, WynnBET has the Dolphins projected to win 9.0 games in 2021 with the over (-140) favored to the under (+120) signaling that they’re likely in line for a similar finish this season.
The Dolphins sure hope that the former No. 5 overall pick is up to the task this season, otherwise it may be back to the drawing board for a quarterback to lead a team that seems ready to contend defensively.
Where do you think the Dolphins finish? Get in on the action with the WynnBET app in New Jersey, Indiana or Colorado.