Photo From: USA Today
Wednesday morning Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores announced that quarterback Tua Tagoviloa will be the starting quarterback for the first time this season against the Los Angelos Rams on November first. As a Dolphins fan, I am super excited to see how Tua translates to the league and handles the pressure of being the starting quarterback on an NFL team. I, like many Dolphins fans, was ecstatic to see the Dolphins acquire Tua during the draft, and some were disappointed to see him not get any playtime this season so far. Spectators and coaching staff confirmed that Tua has had major improvements which has been shown during practice and that he seems ready, his time has come. "He's gotten more comfortable -- accuracy, decision-making has been good in practice. But again, practice is very different from games. We're going to do everything we can from a meeting, walk-through, practice standpoint to get him ready to play in a game. Obviously, we're comfortable and confident that he'll be able to be competitive in those games when that time comes. There's a lot that leads into that," Dolphins coach proclaims hoping Tua can translate from a practice situation to a game situation. On the other hand, Ryan Fitzpatrick, also the quarterback of the Miami Dolphins is confused as to why his starting position is being questioned. Flores said that Fitzpatrick, “has done a great job. He's been productive. His leadership has been great. It's not an easy decision for me or us as an organization, but we felt like for the team now and moving forward, this is the move we needed to make." Which he has, he has shown great leadership and work ethic this season. But, change might be exactly what the Dolphins need. While Tua announces his full healthy self, many of his teammates backed-up how impressive Tua has been, and that he is improving quite quickly. "He works hard in meetings and walk-throughs. He's got a good rapport with his teammates. Every week we're going out to win, so, yeah, I'm confident that if we prepare the way he's been preparing, then I'm confident that we'll go out there and have good results. But it's not a one-man game." Flores says as he clarifies the team needs to be there to back Tua up. Coach Flores did not warn the team about this change, most of them found out by the news being released on ESPN and other outlets, which makes sense why Fitzpatrick is very confused about this decision. Flores confirmed that “I'm not happy about that at all. So I'll address that to the team and apologize that they had to find out on social media because I don't think that's fair to him." So far this season Fitzpatrick has completed 71.1% of his passes accumulating to 1,535 yards, averaging 278.3 yards a game, and 10 touchdowns along with seven interceptions. Coach Flores supports his decision by saying "I have great respect for him, and that made this decision very tough. At the end of the day, we felt like as a team that this was the best thing for the team now and moving forward to go with Tua. Fitz, the way he handles himself and his impact on the team, will still be there. He's been a tremendous asset and leader on this team." Do you agree with this decision? How do you think the Dolphins will do after this switch? Will Tua fit in the league amongst the young star quarterbacks?
