Tua Tackles Sliding Issue

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa scrambled three times in his return to action against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but slid only once

Sam Navarro - USA Today Sports

Tua Tagovailoa understands he really should slide when he scrambles out of the pocket to protect himself. That doesn't mean the Miami Dolphins quarterback is necessarily going to do it.

That pretty much was the essence of his answer to a question during his weekly media session Wednesday. And the problem, as it's always been with Tua when it comes to things like that, is letting his competitiveness take over common sense.

And there is absolutely no question that common sense should dictate that Tua slide every time he's in the open field to avoid contact, even if it means coming up short of the marker when taking on the defender might have resulted in a first down.

Tagovailoa scrambled three times during the Dolphins' 16-10 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night, but slid only once.

On the Dolphins' second possession of the game, he scrambled on a second-and-9 from the Pittsburgh 11 and gained 5 yards after lowering his shoulder and trying to run over linebacker Devin Bush.

Late in the third quarter, he took off from the pocket on a third-and-8 and gained 7 yards before being tackled by Steelers defensive back Tre Norwood, forcing a punt.

"Yeah, looked at it," Tua said Wednesday. "Obviously had my coaches telling me, 'We don't ever want you to do this.' Obviously I get that coming off of the injury and and what had happened prior with with the concussion."

So this is the part where Tua is making a lot of sense.

TUA FIGHTING NATURAL INSTINCTS

But then comes this.

"But to me, it's football, I mean, you go out there and like for me, I can see the first down in instances and want to do all that I can to go and get it. But it's football. I want to be able to continue making plays that I feel can contribute to moving the chains and helping our team.

"So, you know what, whatever it takes for me. But then again, I mean, I'm gonna tell you I've got to slide. I've got to do all of that. But instinctively, it's just, it's weird. It's like a weird competitive thing."

Look, it's all great to be competitive and everybody respects Tua for that.

But he's just got to be smarter than that, and we'd be saying this even if he hadn't suffered that scary-looking concussion at Cincinnati.

SLIDING THE RIGHT MOVE FOR QUARTERBACKS, EVEN JOSH ALLEN

Heck, it's not smart for Josh Allen to keep taking on defenders when he's scrambling because that inevitably will shorten his career. And Josh Allen is listed at 6-5, 237. Tua is not 6-5, 237 (he's listed at 6-1, 217).

Tua's best contributions to this Dolphins offense will come throwing the football. If he can contribute with his running and turn a negative play into a positive play, that's a bonus.

But it shouldn't come at the risk of getting him injured by absorbing an unnecessary hit he can avoid by simply sliding. Yes, we understand that sliding doesn't eliminate the possibility of an overzealous defender taking a shot at him anyway, but it greatly reduces the injury risk factor when compared to running into a defender.

It's admirable that Tua wants to do whatever possible to get the first down, and if we're talking about a potential game-deciding play or a situation that arises in the playoffs (should the Dolphins get there, as hoped), then it's a lot easier to accept.

But, as a general rule, Tua has to eliminate that part of his game. It doesn't sound like it's going to be easy for him to do, but the importance of it can't be stressed enough.

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