Miami Dolphins Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's Day in Orange
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa earned the orange "practice MVP" jersey for his efforts during Tuesday's practice.
That means he stood out the most among his teammates. It's a daily honor with the team, and comes with perks.
The recipient of the orange jersey also selects the music playlist. The Hawaii-product stuck to his roots as he played tons of relaxing music.
Throughout Tuesday's practice, Tagovailoa was tested against the blitz, and he beat a lot of them. Like he often did with the Crimson Tide, the quarterback consistently evaded the pass rush and was able to move outside the pocket and not only throw the ball away, but also find receivers like Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle over the middle.
Although it didn't show up on the highlight reel, being able to throw the ball away is crucial in the NFL. Granted, you lose a down, but it also ends the risk of a turnover or lost yards. It's not a won play, rather avoiding what could have been a disastrous loss.
It's extremely difficult for quarterbacks to roll outside of the pocket as they get sacked more often than they throw it away, but Tagovailoa seemed to excel at it on Tuesday.
Additionally, Monday's red-zone practice was no different.
Last season, Miami's red zone defense allowed touchdowns 52.63 percent of the time, the seventh-least in the NFL. Tagovailoa connected with five different pass catchers, including Waddle and Hill, in the end zone during the drills.
Tagovailoa's orange jersey practice wasn't as good as the previous two, but he still had a solid day. He unofficially finished with 10 completions on 16 attempts Wednesday.
The 24-year-old had to throw at Xavien Howard, one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, every practice. Hill and Waddle have both lined up against the three-time Pro Bowler. Waddle beat him on a deep route and Tagovailoa found him in time, but Howard extended to break up the pass.
Since Hill was traded to Miami, the NFL community and media haven't missed an opportunity to criticize the left-handed quarterback's under-thrown attempts last season.
Tagovailoa responded, once again, to his critics.
Tagovailoa is the third member of the Dolphins to get the orange jersey twice during training camp. He donned the jersey during the second OTA practice as well.
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