This is the day Dolphins fans have been waiting for since the dreaded “rebuild” was introduced in early 2019. And, for many Dolphins fans, this feels like they day they’ve been waiting for since Dan Marino last donned the number 13 for the Dolphins back at the end of the last century. And, if everything goes according to plan, today will indeed be that day. The day the world met the next franchise quarterback of the Miami Dolphins.
But there will inevitably be bumps along the road. Some of those may come today as the Dolphins clash with the Rams in Tua Tagovailoa’s first career NFL start. And if that is the case, remember to keep some perspective. Because Tagovailoa, for all his gifts, has thrown just 2 passes in his NFL career. And the end result of his first career start isn’t going to define his career, just as the hot starts for Joe Burrow in Cincinnati and Justin Herbert in Los Angeles don’t define their entire careers.
Perhaps the vibe would feel different if Burrow and Herbert weren’t both balling out relentlessly and hanging up 300 yard passing performances seemingly every week. But the Dolphins are absolutely introducing their new quarterback to a fanbase that has high expectations. Very high expectations. There’s nothing wrong with that — as this Dolphins organization also aspired to become a championship caliber franchise and certainly holds themself to high standards as well. But if, heaven forbid, the Dolphins don’t get a performance from Tagovailoa today that mirrors that of the other rookie quarterbacks, don’t fret.
This entire organization is about gradual improvements. Tagovailoa won’t be immune to that expectation either. The version of him we see today is expected to be the worse version we ever get. That’s the Flores way. And if you think about how the 2019 Dolphins evolved from Week 1 to Week 17 and how the 2020 Dolphins have evolved from Week 1 to Week 8, there’s little doubt that that process will sink its teeth into Tagovailoa, just like everyone else.
But all of that said, we’re hoping Tagovailoa blows it out of the water today so that the new floor at the quarterback position puts everything the Dolphins aspire to be in clear view and right in front of them.