https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.c...ysical-therapist-hes-doing-miraculously-well/
Dolphins rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is healing better than expected from the hip injury that ended his final season at Alabama.
That’s the word from Kevin Wilk, his Alabama-based physical therapist, who says Tagovailoa is approaching full strength on a shorter timeline than people with his injury usually do.
“He’s doing miraculously well,” Wilk told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “The miraculous part is that he healed so well. The second part is, he’s been so well at getting his strength back, which usually takes a long time after something like this.”
Tagovailoa does about three and a half hours of work a day to strengthen the injured hip as well as both ankles, which he struggled to keep healthy at Alabama, as well as his throwing shoulder. Wilk and the Dolphins’ head trainer were in regular contact and Tagovailoa is doing everything expected of him and more.
“He’s laser focused. One of the most focused I’ve ever seen anybody, to be honest,” Wilk said.
Although injured players are declared ahead of schedule so often that it’s a red flag if a player is merely on schedule, Dolphins plans have to be pleased to hear that Tagovailoa seems to be trending toward being ready to go as a rookie.
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People talk about the time off for covid setting players back, but I'm 100% sure Tua will come out shining mentally when the teams resume practices. His mental makeup is so strong I expect him to thrive in this situation. I hope i'm right as it could make for an amazing season for our Fins!
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That's great, but I still don't want him out on the field till after the bye-week AND that's assuming the OL is playing decently. If Fitzmagic has Miami contending for a playoff spot, then Tua can sit until 2021.
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As you Americans say, "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it," and if we’re winning, or at least losing competitively, it would be folly to bench Fitz in favour of Tua just for the Hell of it. -
Jmo, I would sit the Rookie, whom I love, allow Fitz to lead the team after an excellent 2nd half of the season last year, with better talent all around, and see how far he can take this years team, if he falters and the team falls out of contention, then make the switch..
Lots of folks don’t agree with me here, but I think after leading a team that had the worst oline in football, the worst running back unit in football, one of the worst tight end units in football, a coordinator that got fired after his first year, leading the team in rushing, and a winning record in the 2nd half of the season, which included beating the world champs at their house with lots on the line, he actually gets the gig out of respect for high level play under the worst conditions..
I think Flores makeup will feel the same. Jmo..
Also, it won’t matter if he outplays Fitz in practice, I would take the pressure off him immediately and let him know his role to start the year.Bumrush, firedan, Phil Hutchings and 2 others like this. -
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I think Tua should see the field but mostly in mop up duty in games that have been decided. Also, only when he is healthy enough to do so.
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I agree on letting Tua sit and develop. He has a great mentor in Fitzpatrick and can learn a lot from him. Besides, if you look at the history, particularly recent history of the pressure to start rookie quarterbacks, it hasn't worked out too well for the most part. Ther'es been those that have been able to develop with that pressure but in general, its typically better to develop your draftee behind a proven starter.
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See to me it isn’t about seeing What Tua has to offer early, it’s really about two things..
1) I’m genuinely interested to see how far Fitz can go with a better team around him..
2)I don’t care if doctors medically cleared him, medically cleared doesn’t mean he can’t improve on his strength in the injured area, Tua had some weight issues in college where he would let himself go, I would make sure he is absolutely at his best, and I mean, lean muscle mass, excellent body fat ratio, strength and conditioning best, That hip and the surrounding areas of that hip, is gonna be stronger than pre injury..He will be a lean mean, super fast grease lighting fast machine before he see the field imo.resnor likes this. -
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he is a fine quarterback and fun to watch. Just not a good one. -
I'm not saying Miami CAN'T make the playoffs either. We saw how 2019 was a tale of two halves; a team being blown out game after game in first half of the season, then a team winning more than they lost in the second half of the season.Phil Hutchings, AGuyNamedAlex and resnor like this. -
Still zero interest in the journeyman starting. -
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And Fitz will never come close to the kind numbers Tannehill had this season.
BUT, I think Fitz is a higher level when it comes to playing off script. However, that's also his Achilles heel. It's why he can be Jekyll and Hyde.VManis likes this. -
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PhinFan1968 To 2020, and BEYOND! Club Member
Based on every report I've ever heard about Tua's ability to lock-down an offense in record time, repeatedly, coupled with his seemingly ridiculous recovery regimen and results, and adding the fact that the OC they brought in is in-line with Tua's game...if he beats Fitzy in camp, he should start. Not all guys need a year, not that I think it would hurt him, but his football intelligence is off the charts, and his leadership is unquestionable. He's going to take over this team with quickness. He's lightning in a bottle.
I know that's probably not a popular opinion, just how I see it. I see no reason, as it stands right now, assuming he beats Fitzy, that he shouldn't start. We have no way of knowing whether Mahomes would've been just as good had he started right off...or if he'd have been even better this year with the extra experience with the game, its just a narrative that it helped him by sitting, because he sat.texanphinatic, resnor and Dol-Fan Dupree like this. -
I think one of the things we need to look at and take away from Mahomes and the situation in KC.. Is that They had a veteran QB in Smith who was established and could mentor Mahomes. What KC did that season was fine tune the offense Smith had a career year mentoring Mahomes. Smith led the NFL in several important categories... QB rating 104 Interception % 1... He led the NFL in yards per pass at 8.6
The Chiefs worked out all of the kinks... They had the O line performing. They had brought in Electric play makers like Kelce and Hill. And Mahomes got a year to see that offense perform like a well oiled machine. He got to study the offense working perfectly. He was not put into a situation where he has to learn how to be an NFL QB while the team is trying to learn how to fine tune their offense. It eliminated other variables and other growing pains that could have a negative effect on him and or slow his growth and development.
Miami has the established QB that Tua can learn from. Miami has issues to work out ( Offensive line. ) We do have good skill players... But we are learning a new offense... If Tua sits this year and takes over a year from now Every other player on the offense will be experienced in this offense and the only Variable then will be Tua... A well groomed Tua that is confident and ready to lead.
I am not against Tua starting for us this year... There is an excellent argument for him to sit thoughThe_Dark_Knight, Hooligan and resnor like this. -
IMO it would be best for Tua to sit at least half of the season. There’s value in watching a vet go through the preparations for different opponents each week. Now it’s obviously possible that Tua could handle starting right away just fine but I see absolutely zero downside in bringing him in slowly. This is not about this year. This is about what’s best for the next 10 years.
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I have a higher opinion than some here about Fitzpatrick. The fact is that PFF rated him as a top 15 QB the last two seasons. He has had a journeyman career but he was clearly better the last two seasons. I also believe that his experience will help a young OL develop. I suspect that Flores also has a higher opinion of Fitzpatrick than some here.
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Of course, I'm not for one minute suggesting that anyone on here is like that.....Puka-head and Triggercut like this. -
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I like Fitzmagic just fine... More than his stat sheet he was the MVP of the team last year because of his leadership... He took a beating especially early on when the team was historically bad. He took the hits and kept going out there. I have a lot of respect for Fitz
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We just do not know yet.
Rosen was put in a terrible position and took a beating... Not the kind of thing you want a young inexperienced QB to go through.
Flores does not bull**** or play games... He has no problem cutting players that do not fit in and work hard. ( Taco ) He has had the front office ship talented players out of here... ( Minkah, Tunsil ) He kept Rosen... He has praised Rosen and stated that he has shown consistent and considerable improvement.
It is a complicated mess now that we drafted Tua... But if Rosen did not show Flores something that would lead him to believe he turned a corner and has a future... I believe he would no longer still be on this football team.resnor likes this. -
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Once upon a time, it was common for a team to keep 3 quarterbacks on its roster. That's just not the case any longer so I don't see Rosen with a future here in Miami. The only question is where does he go?
Rosen needs to go to a team that is developed and has a quarterback in the twilight of his career. Green Bay would be a viable option, maybe even Indianapolis. As great as Rodgers is, he doesn't have many days left...neither does Rivers. -
This continued in the pros, both the system changes and the accuracy/processing issues. With any draft QB prospect, you're just playing the odds. Most will not succeed. Almost every prospect needs certain surroundings to have success and hide their weaknesses. Some need less help and/or are easier to build around. The less help they need (and therefore more likely to succeed), the higher I'm willing to take them. I did not believe that Rosen was likely to be successful, at least not on his first (or maybe even his second contract) b/c his issues rarely get better in the pros unless you have a very raw and inexperienced QB. Rosen wasn't that. He was young but he'd been a multi-year starter in HS and college. He was a touted prospect coming out of HS and had been privileged enough to be able to attend many QB camps. This guy had had a lot of coaching from some very respected coaches. He was pretty polished and my feeling was that those issues were most likely on him and not likely to improve anytime soon. I was willing to go with a 2nd rounder just b/c the position is so important, our need was so great and you just have o keep trying until you find that QB.
So IMO Rosen was lucky to get over-drafted and get a ton of money. I don't think he was likely to succeed anyways. He was lucky to land in some bad situations b/c then his lack of success will always be seen by some as somebody else's fault. I don't feel badly for Rosen. I think he's been very fortunate and will end up having a great life. His top 10 selection will probably result in a relatively long career. Probably as long as he wants it as some will keep saying, "he was a top 10 pick for a reason" (as if that implies it was a good reason). Back-up QB is a pretty sweet gig. A bunch of fans usually love you and you escape most of those hits that leave so many players hobbled physically and mentally in their old age. He may even have a small flash of success if he lands in a good situation after he's been in the league for awhile. Or he may leave with his riches and go become a lawyer or doctor or whatever he wants to do.M1NDCRlME, resnor and Dol-Fan Dupree like this. -
I can't understand people's idea to dump Rosen since we have Tua. I'll remind folks that we picked up an extra 2nd rounder to trade for Rosen, essentially making him free. He's only owed $2M a year as well and he's an excellent prospect that's younger than Joe Burrow. People have been BEGGING Miami to bring in young prospects and carry them on the roster- and now that we have two of them, you want to dump one? There's zero sense in doing that since Rosen is a value whether he's starting or not.
Additionally, it's not a given that Tua is our future long-term starter. We all want him to be, of course, but he could get injured or simply end up being a bust...we never know until we actually know. So hedging our bets with Rosen on the cheap is a very smart move for the next few seasons, and it's still possible that he's actually the long-term starter. Right now we have two chances of having a future franchise quarterback on our roster, and the last I checked 2 is always better than 1. So have some patience with the kid whether he's getting playing time or not.
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