What's With the Tua Disrespect?
Where is Tua?
That's the simple question as you scroll through social media and see national pundits discuss the arrival of Aaron Rodgers and what it means to an AFC already loaded with prolific young quarterbacks.
You see discussions or polls that lump those hotshot young QBs and they always include Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, and sometimes you can find Trevor Lawrence or Lamar Jackson included as well.
But Tua?
Nope.
Sports Illustrated national NFL writer Albert Breer didn't have him on his list of prominent AFC quarterbacks when he made the point that a great talent will miss the playoffs.
Heavy On Sports Senior NFL Reporter Matt Lombardo didn't have him among those quarterbacks the Jets have to get past even with Rodgers on board.
A couple of days ago, Pro Football Focus expanded beyond the AFC in a poll of which quarterback fans would want to lead their offense with the game on the line. The choices again did not include Tua.
PFF then doubled down Tuesday by highlighting the top QBs in the AFC after the Rodgers news.
The worst snub, to be honest, came from the NFL Twitter feed itself when it decided to highlight just how great the AFC is at quarterback after the addition of Rodgers by the Jets.
See if you can spot the missing name here?
WHY TUA PROBABLY DESERVES BETTER
So what's the deal?
Why is Tua getting overlooked, dissed or omitted on all these lists?
Last we checked, it was Tua who led the NFL in passer rating in 2022 and not Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, Herbert or Lawrence, or anybody else.
Last we checked, Tua was in the MVP conversation last season past the halfway point of the season when the Dolphins were 8-3 and no defense could figure out how to stop the Miami passing game.
So, again, what's the deal?
Is it because national media members are ignoring Tua because of the concussion issues that have put a cloud over his NFL future? Is it because Tua struggled once December hit and had an 80 passer rating over his final four starts? Is it the idea that he benefited last season from having arguably the fastest starting wide receiver tandem in NFL history?
Well, first off, 2022 was the only time in Tua's NFL career that he had to deal with concussion issues and it's ridiculous to suggest that it's guaranteed to happen again in the upcoming season, therefore he shouldn't be dismissed because of the specter of injury. Secondly, yes, Tua struggled in December, but it's not like every other QB didn't have some down periods and, again, Tua did lead the NFL in passer rating. Lastly, Tua did have the benefit of playing with Hill and Waddle, but he still had to get them the ball and he sure did a good job of doing that for the first three months of the regular season.
To be sure, Tua does have his fans in the national media, with ESPN analyst and former Lions QB Dan Orlovsky quickly coming to mind, but it does look like he still needs to convince a lot of other folks that he belongs in any conversation of the best QBs.
