Tua Tagovailoa Thread

[mild]

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/rank ... acks-list/
NFL's Top 10 CLUTCH Quarterbacks
A statistical analysis of who are the current most clutch QBs in the league.

No surprise that number 1 is Mahomes.

The big surprise (surprise to most people) comes with who is number 2. I wonder if the fantasy world is paying attention?

I'll save us all the click and tell you he wants us to know it's Tua.

I honestly think that's more of a Mike McDaniel stat than you'd want to believe.

So long as we're having fun with Tua stats:

The Dolphins faced aggressive defenses from Week 12 on, taking away Tua's favorite deep/middle throws.

From that point on, he was 31st in EPA per play out of 33 QBs. He was 1st before that.

Video number one of how the Chargers/Staley started solving Tua by closing down the middle of the field. They are outright disrespecting his ability to throw outside the numbers, because they don't think he can do it.

Video number two of Mike McD dialling up a perfect answer to the new defense in the same game... and... and......

I've never seen a defense "solve" Mahomes. We've outright seen multiple defenses solve Tua - just last year, in fact. Let's not be disrespectful and try and equivocate them, no matter how sexy the stat. (Clutch?! C'monnnnnn...)

Mike McD will have been in the lab, no doubt he'll have coached Tua on his need to beat teams by throwing outside the numbers. But he's going to need to show it to us still, because to this point: he ended the year on a pretty troubling streak of play... y'know...

... for those in the fantasy world paying attention.

[Anteaters]

The best QB performance of week 1 goes to Tua!!!!

It's about time he's considered one of the T5 QBs in the NFL and in fantasy. I'd go T3, but I don't want anyone's head to explode with the realization of reality.

Who's still on the outside looking in and unable to admit greatness?

[Cameron Giles]

The best QB performance of week 1 goes to Tua!!!!

It's about time he's considered one of the T5 QBs in the NFL and in fantasy. I'd go T3, but I don't want anyone's head to explode with the realization of reality.

Who's still on the outside looking in and unable to admit greatness?

There's no questioning how good he is when healthy, but his longevity to actually play the position is still a huge question mark.

[Anteaters]

There's no questioning how good he is when healthy, but his longevity to actually play the position is still a huge question mark.

I'm very ok with the take, "Tua is one of the best QBs in the NFL as long as he doesn't get hurt."

That applies to every top QB in the NFL.

Burrow has suffered an injury that required missed games every season. Lamar has missed games. Herbert has missed games (every season?) Hurts has missed games.

But when every QB is healthy and playing, Tua is definitely T5. Without a doubt. And that carries over to fantasy. I'm glad everyone underrates him, because it makes Tua that much easier to acquire everywhere.

[frerichs5]

Didn’t we do this last year too? Lol. Another great season opener and we are back again.

For me personally, he needs to put it together for a season before I consider him up there with some of the other QBs. He is certainly in an offense set up for him to succeed.

[CGW]

I love him, but one concussion and he's probably not a QB anymore. That's a real concern. Most QBs don't have his injury history.

[frerichs5]

There's no questioning how good he is when healthy, but his longevity to actually play the position is still a huge question mark.

I'm very ok with the take, "Tua is one of the best QBs in the NFL as long as he doesn't get hurt."

That applies to every top QB in the NFL.

Burrow has suffered an injury that required missed games every season. Lamar has missed games. Herbert has missed games (every season?) Hurts has missed games.

But when every QB is healthy and playing, Tua is definitely T5. Without a doubt. And that carries over to fantasy. I'm glad everyone underrates him, because it makes Tua that much easier to acquire everywhere.

Burrow hasn’t missed games since his rookie year. I guess if you want to count the last game of 2021 season when they sat everyone…lol

[Anteaters]

There's no questioning how good he is when healthy, but his longevity to actually play the position is still a huge question mark.

I'm very ok with the take, "Tua is one of the best QBs in the NFL as long as he doesn't get hurt."

That applies to every top QB in the NFL.

Burrow has suffered an injury that required missed games every season. Lamar has missed games. Herbert has missed games (every season?) Hurts has missed games.

But when every QB is healthy and playing, Tua is definitely T5. Without a doubt. And that carries over to fantasy. I'm glad everyone underrates him, because it makes Tua that much easier to acquire everywhere.

Burrow hasn’t missed games since his rookie year. I guess if you want to count the last game of 2021 season when they sat everyone…lol

You're right. I was conflating Burrow's constant minor injuries and missed preseason games. Definitely not the same as missing regular season games.

[Cameron Giles]

There's no questioning how good he is when healthy, but his longevity to actually play the position is still a huge question mark.

I'm very ok with the take, "Tua is one of the best QBs in the NFL as long as he doesn't get hurt."

That applies to every top QB in the NFL.

Burrow has suffered an injury that required missed games every season. Lamar has missed games. Herbert has missed games (every season?) Hurts has missed games.

But when every QB is healthy and playing, Tua is definitely T5. Without a doubt. And that carries over to fantasy. I'm glad everyone underrates him, because it makes Tua that much easier to acquire everywhere.

I think it's notably different with Tua, because a high volume of concussions will lead to an abbreviated career. It's not like we're talking about him moving past a shoulder injury or a strained calf.

[hoos89]

Yeah concussions are a major concern with Tua and he's missed 3+ games every season. I do think he should be considered a top 5 QB for next week though.

[Anteaters]

Those of you praising Tia’s accuracy - am I the only one who cringes at the amount of medicine balls he throws to his receivers?

I was only watching them on redzone, so just a fraction of his throws, and yet I still saw a handful of throws that put his receivers in terrible positions to take bad hits.

Do you mean throws like this one?
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1701013649677316139
On the run, pressure all around him, didn't have his feet set, and he hit the receiver right on the numbers FORTY-FIVE yards downfield between two defenders? Nope, no concerns at all about Tua's decision making or accuracy.

Aside from the concussion thing (which is a valid reason for those who are extremely risk averse to avoid him), I have absolutely no concerns about Tua.

There is some risk involved, but the return is possibly the QB1 for this season. I'll take that risk/reward ratio.

[murphysxm]

Tua is a starting caliber QB in the NFL with fantastic weapons and a cheat code in Hill. He is not a QB I would build around in a vacuum.

[Anteaters]

Tua is a starting caliber QB in the NFL with fantastic weapons and a cheat code in Hill. He is not a QB I would build around in a vacuum.

Yeah, but ...

Scottie Pippen had MJ
Alex Rodriguez had the Yankees
Belichick had Brady

No great player/coach in a team sport excels/wins without aid of talented people around him. (well, except maybe Lebron).

Even if I agreed 100% with your opinion that Tua is only putting up great numbers because of the rest of the offense around him and the scheme in which he plays, so what?

In fantasy football players do not earn extra points for playing with bad teammates, for bad coaches or in a bad scheme. Drake London did not get bonus points last week - he got zero fantasy points because his stats were zero. And in the NFL, Flacco did not have to return his SB ring because many don't consider him a top level QB.

In fantasy and in the NFL, producers are coveted. Tua is a top producer at the QB position, his surrounding cast is unlikely to change much, his head coach's job is secure, and the scheme will not change after this season.

It doesn't matter if we have some sort of off-the-field test to rate the quality of NFL QBs. The test we use in fantasy is on-the-field production. And for the past 13 months, Tua has been a Top five producer.

Hate it, but you can't deny it. As long as some in the fantasy community disregard Tua's stats because of some perceived lower level of innate QB talent, those same fantasy owners will keep drafting QBs ahead of Tua who produce less than Tua. That's a recipe for losing in fantasy football.

Skip him because you're worried about concussions? Fair enough. It's hard to overcome fear. Same reason I generally stayed away from Dobbins and Swift until this season.
Skip him because you don't think he's as good as QB X, even though Tua regularly outperforms QB X? Ehhhhhhh

In fantasy I think it's imperative to follow Talent+Situation. Tua's talent + the situation he's in make him a T5 QB with QB1 overall upside.

[murphysxm]

Tua is a starting caliber QB in the NFL with fantastic weapons and a cheat code in Hill. He is not a QB I would build around in a vacuum.

Yeah, but ...

Alex Rodriguez had the Yankees

He was a better player before he was a Yankee, please explain this take?

[Anteaters]

Tua is a starting caliber QB in the NFL with fantastic weapons and a cheat code in Hill. He is not a QB I would build around in a vacuum.

Yeah, but ...

Alex Rodriguez had the Yankees

He was a better player before he was a Yankee, please explain this take?

It's debatable. Difficult to say he was definitively a better player before or after, but I agree it's debatable. ARod won 1 MVP before he joined NYY, and won 2 MVP awards while playing with the Yankees. That's a great starting off point to say he was at least as good with the Yankees as before. Of course, no one would argue the last few years were among his best. But it's safe to say his first few seasons with the Yankees were some great years for him. He was a 7 time All Star with the Yankees. He placed 7 times in MVP voting before joining the Yankees, and 7 times with the Yankees.

But I apologize for the big push on Tua. I was merely trying to list the reasons I think he is a more valuable fantasy asset than many managers realize. I didn't intend to lead anyone to try to defend their reasons why they don't believe in Tua. Every player has supporters and detractors, both fantasy wise and regarding NFL performance.