What Hall of Fame QB Suggests Is the Issue with Tua

Plenty has gone wrong for the 1-6 Miami Dolphins, but Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner believes their biggest issue is confidence.

Appearing on the Rich Eisen Show on Wednesday, Warner explained that the Dolphins are second-guessing themselves, starting with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. 

“I just think [Tua’s] lost his confidence,” Warner said. “All the things he’s done well over the years, he’s not doing now. It looks like he’s second-guessing everything. He’s questioning every decision and every throw. 

"(Against the L.A. Chargers), he had an interception where he dropped back on a skinny post or quick-in to Jaylen Waddle, and that is a throw [where] he hits his back foot and he throws that thing every single time. That’s what he’s made his money doing. He comes back, and he hesitates, and then double pumps it and throws it late. Jaylen Waddle is over there going, ‘OK, he didn’t throw it on time, so I don't think it’s coming,’ and then the ball hits him in the numbers, and it pops up, and it’s intercepted. That, to me, is what’s going on in Miami right now — everybody is second-guessing everything.”

Miami’s 31-6 loss against the Cleveland Browns marked Tagovailoa’s second straight week with three interceptions. He has three games with multiple picks this year, and he is tied with Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith with a league-high 10 interceptions.

“Tua is second-guessing every decision and every throw,” Warner said. “A guy that used to be great in terms of anticipation and great in terms of accuracy, those things have gone out the window. In a timing-oriented offense, and you’re a timing-oriented quarterback, and those things have gotten away from you, it looks like it’s looked in the past few weeks. 

“There are some things structurally [in Mike McDaniel’s offense] that make it hard on a quarterback, but Tua was the perfect quarterback for it because of certain things and superpowers that he had. Right now, everything is a mess there.” 

Tagovailoa’s 6.4 yards per attempt is the lowest since his rookie season. He was sacked a career-high 29 times while playing 17 games in 2023 and is currently on track to break that with 15 sacks taken through seven games. 

“Tua is playing without any confidence, and when you have to go back and play this position with no confidence and you’re asked to make play after play, you’re asked to anticipate and throw into tight windows, and you’ve lost your confidence? It is a tough place to be, and we’re seeing that right now,” Warner said. “The hard part about it is that we’re so used to thinking ‘these guys are pros, they’ve been through this before, so just go find it again...’ It’s just not that easy because you feel like every mistake you make goes the other direction. When that happens, now you get afraid to make decisions.

“‘I hit my receiver in the numbers and it was an interception, now what?’ That to me is where he is at right now, and it’s not as easy as pushing a button or going out there and saying, ‘this week I’m going to be confident.’ He has got to start making some plays, and the team has to start playing better to help build that up and get that [confidence] back to where I've seen a couple years ago.”

While Warner believes Tagovailoa has lost his confidence, Miami’s sixth-year quarterback feels differently. 

Tagovailoa Still Confident After Fourth-Quarter Benching

Tagovailoa had his weekly media session Wednesday and was asked about his confidence level after completing 12 of 23 attempts for a season-low 100 passing yards before exiting in the fourth quarter against the Browns. 

It would be headline-making for Tagovailoa to agree with the idea his confidence is down, so his reply probably was to be expected.

“I wouldn't say there's any losing of the confidence,” Tagovailoa said. “I think the confidence comes from within, but then also the confidence comes from what you know you can do, what I've done in the past.

 “I think we're thisclose to being able to go out there and show what we've said we've wanted to do, but we just got to be able to put them all together. I think that's what it is. But I don't think I'm the only one who has that kind of confidence. I think there are a lot of guys in the locker room that have that too.”

Miami is averaging just 20 points per game and ranks 28th in the league with 1.7 turnovers per outing. The Dolphins’ 54 offensive snaps per game are the fewest in the NFL, and their -0.9 turnover margin ranks near the bottom, ahead of only the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets. 

Cutting down on mistakes would not only help sustain drives but also give Miami more chances to find the end zone. However, Tagovailoa and the offense face a tough test with an Atlanta Falcons defense that is holding opponents to a league-low 141 passing yards per game next on the schedule. 

“I'm frustrated [about] those [turnovers], and I've got to do something about that. That's for sure,” Tagovailoa said. “Can't turn the ball over. And I've been saying this for weeks, can't turn the ball over and expect to win the game. 

“And I gotta be better in that aspect coming into this game against the number one pass defense, or one of the better pass defensive teams that we're going to go against. My ball placement got to be supreme for our guys, for run after catches as well.”

All is Well Between Tagovailoa and McDaniel 

There will be times when frustrations boil over, and a 1-6 start to the year can be one of them. 

While McDaniel pulled Tagovailoa from the loss to Cleveland, he said Monday that Tagovailoa will start against the Atlanta Falcons, adding that his expectation is that they don’t throw 10 interceptions. 

When asked about McDaniel’s jab or joke or combination of both, Tagovailoa said matter-of-factly, "“You don’t want anyone that’s going in there to hinder the team from being able to win a game,” Tagovailoa said. “I go out there with the expectation to help our team win. You turn the ball over – you turn the ball over the way I’ve turned the ball over this year – you can’t expect to help the guys win the game. 

“My job as a quarterback is to get our offense going, march down the field, put points on the board, regardless of what that looks like. Three, six — whatever that looks like — you can’t do that when you’re turning the ball over. That’s all I’ve got to say.”

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