Tua: My Confidence Level Never Varies

Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is focused only on continuing his improvement as an NFL quarterback

One of the issues brought up in the aftermath in the benching of Tua Tagovailoa against the Denver Broncos on Sunday was whether it would have an effect on his confidence.

The Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback says it's actually a non-issue.

“Yeah, I would say my confidence level as a person, it never varies," Tagovailoa said Wednesday during his weekly Zoom media session. "It stays the same to me. And with whatever happened in the Broncos game, it was really for the benefit of the team. ... For me there's no looking behind me or to the left or to the right, it's what I can do to help our guys be successful. We have another week another opportunity to do that.”

Tagovailoa was benched in the fourth quarter of the Dolphins' 20-13 loss at Empower Field at Mile High after completing 11 of 20 passes for only 83 yards.

Tagovailoa did not have a completion longer than 13 yards against Denver and threw for less than 100 yards for the second time in four starts.

One criticism about his play that has surfaced has been a reluctance to throw into coverage and give his receivers a chance to make a tough catch, something veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick does on a regular basis.

Tagovailoa addressed that concern as well Wednesday before news of his thumb injury appeared on the Dolphins injury report.

“Well, I would say to that question, it's not me playing like I'm scared or anything," Tua said. "It's me trusting what I see. If I don't see the guy open, I'm not gonna throw it. And that's really how it's been in the games and also in practice. So it's one of those things where you'v just got to practice. You see it, you practice, get throws with guys and tight coverages and tight windows, and then you kind of dictate how you felt through that and if you didn't like it, then it won't happen in the game. That's kind of how I see it.”