Hall of Fame Advice for Tua

Dolphins Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese says first-round pick Tua Tagovailoa would do well to emulate fellow Hall of Famer Dan Marino in at least one aspect

Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese was among the many former Miami Dolphins players who shared their memories of legendary coach Don Shula after he passed away Monday.

One thing many of them mentioned was Shula's ability to adjust to the talent around him, including Griese talking about how Shula went to a pass-first offense once he landed Marino in the 1983 NFL draft.

While talking about Marino, Griese also made an important suggestion to Dolphins rookie Tua Tagovailoa, the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft.

"Everybody says that the offensive line that Marino had was a great offensive line," Griese said. "Some of those guys were great, but he never got sacked hardly and I smile when I talk to Marino about this. Marino just got rid of it.

"If there wasn’t anybody open and there was a guy coming at him right down the middle, Marino would get rid of that football. That was a great trait to have. That’s a great coaching point. If you don’t see anybody, don’t take the sack and get rid of the ball.

"That’s going to be one of the great things that the Dolphins are probably going to tell Tua when he gets in here is look at Marino. Look at some films of Marino. If nobody is open, get rid of the ball and don’t take the sack.”

If there has been a concern with Tagovailoa's play on the field, it's been a habit of hanging on to the ball to try to make something happen.

The hip injury that cut short his 2019 season was a great example, as he was injured when two Mississippi State players landed on him after he scrambled out of the pocket.

“No. 1 thing we’ve tried to convince him of here is he’s got to learn self-preservation is part of the job,” Alabama coach Nick Saban told South Florida reporters in a video conference call last week. “Tua’s a great competitor. You don’t want to take his competitive spirit away. He’s always trying to make a play, even when the play breaks down. And that’s good. He does it well. He’s made a ton of plays in those circumstances.

“But I still think there are times when there’s just nothing here. Several times when he got hurt here, I felt like there’s no reason for him to even get hit. The receiver fell down, whatever the circumstance was, there’s nothing there. Play the next play. Sometimes the other guys wins, but I think that’s probably No. 1. No. 2, he is so instinctive.”

Marino played 17 seasons with the Dolphins and didn't miss a start for nine consecutive years starting with his record-breaking 1984 campaign.

His streak ended in October 1993 when he sustained a torn Achilles tendon at Cleveland with no one around him in the pocket.