Pro athletes love to claim that they ignore the noise. And yet, somehow, they remain keenly aware of it.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has claimed in the past that he doesn’t listen to the opinions of outsiders. The simple truth is that he does.
Tua proved it on Wednesday, when he was asked by reporters where he has grown the most, and where he’d like to grow in the second half of the season.
“Well, I think I’ve grown a lot with the deep balls, huh? Don’t we think?” Tua said. “That was probably a subtle jab, but it was a jab. So I would say the deep ball, and then I can continue to get better on the deep ball.”
He definitely can. On multiple occasions, Tua has underthrown the deep ball to receiver Tyreek Hill, whose presence has made the deep ball a much more viable component of Tua’s repertoire.
Tua has played incredibly well, there’s no denying that. The Dolphins still have plenty of work to do, however, to get to where they want to be.
“I think throughout OTAs and throughout training camp, we could see the potential that we had as a team offensively and defensively, and we’re not afraid to talk about Super Bowls here” Tua said. “We’re not afraid to talk about going to a playoff game, having an opportunity to go to one and then hopefully winning one.”
While it may be hard to win the division, the Dolphins remain squarely in the mix for a playoff berth. And they have an offense that is good enough to beat anyone.