Breaking Down the Best Tua Backing Yet
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Tyreek Hill has been the most vocal supporter of Tua Tagovailoa — and by far — since the offseason, but it's what Jevon Holland did Saturday that has spoken the loudest about the Miami Dolphins players' support for their quarterback.
Holland didn't have a press conference after the practice open to fans Saturday, the one where Tagovailoa shined, and but he posted a simple, yet powerful message on Twitter.
It was just four words long.
"In Tua we trust."
Fellow safety Brandon Jones doubled up on Holland's message with his reply to the tweet with this:
Again, this was way powerful than anything Tyreek Hill has said about Tua since he was acquired in the mega trade with the Kansas City Chiefs in March, and there are a few reasons.
HILL AND HYPERBOLE
First off, Hill is the most dynamic player on the roster and arguably also the best — though there could be a debate where Xavien Howard is part of the discussion — so from that sense maybe his words carry more weight.
But it should be clear by now that Hill isn't afraid of hyperbole and sometimes goes over the top with his comments, such as suggesting that Tua is the most accurate in the NFL. Yes, Tua is accurate, but all advanced metrics from 2021 indicate he wasn't the most accurate that season.
Another example of Hill's hyperbole is his suggestion that he and Jaylen Waddle will form the fastest wide receiver duo in NFL history. While there is no questioning those two are fast — very fast actually — Hill apparently already has forgotten his time in Kansas City.
Just Google Waddle's 40-yard dash time and it comes up at 4.37, which actually is a hair slowed than that of Mecole Hardman, who comes in at 4.33 and who — oh, by the way — played with Hill just last season.
The point here is that Hill, through his podcast or during press conferences, isn't afraid to make bold statements — even if the truth sometimes get stretched.
TUA'S TEAMMATE SUPPORT IN DIFFERENT WAYS
And one of the reasons, as Hill himself has said, is that he wants to inject confidence in his quarterback, so he'll talk him up every chance he gets.
It's not just Hill who's had great things to say about Tagovailoa in media sessions, one recent example being new wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. on Friday.
But here's the point here, and something we've mentioned before: Teammate compliments in press conferences are to be expected and should be viewed in the proper context.
Seriously, how would you expect a player to answer when specifically asked about their quarterback?
Does anybody really think for a second somebody like Wilson would be like, "Yeah, I don't know. He's all right, I guess"?
Now, THAT would be a story.
But Holland wasn't asked about Tua on Saturday. He went out and published the post on his own.
That's a young heading into his second season and with a future that looks as bright as any player on the team going out of his way to publicly support his quarterback, and another talented young safety doubling up.
And it also should be noted that Holland, while very open with the media, hasn't shown in his young Dolphins career to make bold or outlandish statements.
The show of support might not mean anything in the grand scheme of things or in the final analysis, but that might have been the most significant Tagovailoa development Saturday, even bigger than his perfect bomb to Hill in team drills.
It's what winning your teammates over — if it already hadn't been done — or confirming their belief in you looks like.
And, yes, that might be Tyreek-like hyperbole. Or it might not.
