Is Tua's career on ‘life support?’
Mike Florio and Chris Simms examine Tua Tagovailoa's career at this point and question if the Falcons quarterback's days in the NFL are numbered.
Video Transcript
Well, and to call back to some of the things we were discussing earlier, two of them in particular.
Yeah.
For Tua, we talked about the pain for a player that he goes through when his career ends, and how one certain player who's involved in this program cried more every Sunday than he did when his grandmother died.
Because you could brace, you could brace for what was happening with your grandmother.
I think Tua has gotten to the point where he realizes that his career is on life support, and he's about to activate the DNR.
I just feel like that's, that's where his career's going.
That he's made a shitload of money.
He's won.
He can adjust his earring and show us his watch and his necklace- You're funny anytime he wants.
You're funny.
And, right?
Yeah.
And he can just say, "I don't need this shit anymore."
Yeah, yeah.
"I don't need this.
I don't, I don't need to do this.
I'm gonna make $54 million this year.
So what if they bench me?
So what if they cut me?
And if I'm not gonna be the starter, why do I even wanna be here?
Why do I wanna play this year?"
I could see all that, all that kinda coming together in his mind and, and getting him to say, "Hey, you know what?
I tried it, but time to move on."
Yeah.
Well, what, yeah.
And he could choose to walk away.
Yeah.
He can walk away before the game spits him out.
I, I, I hear you though.
He's winning in the life, in w- in life he's winning, no doubt about it.
Yeah, but, you know, I think you couple everything that you're saying, the fact that he's had the concussion problems too, and that can maybe lead you to, to, you know, be that way as well.
A- and that's been some of my issues with him the last two years playing in Miami, of just going, well, he's not gonna hold the ball and take a hit.
He, he's making a lot of money and he's not gonna get that next concussion that people are gonna go, "You gotta quit.
You're out of here."
Like, it's done, th- no more.
He, he, he's, he's not gonna do that.
It's affected his play.
I, I'm very interested to see how this goes at their quarterback position.
Michael Penix is clearly got more talent than Tua, that's, that's for sure.
But we know it's been all over the place, so there's nothing that he's done yet to make a team feel confident in him, or warm and cozy to just go, "Hey, that's our guy going forward."
Tua, I'm gonna be interested in for all the reasons you just said.
And, you know, this is a different offense, and he's not gonna have the, the tricks of the trade that Mike McDaniel, as we know from Xavien Howard and everybody else for years talked about where, "Oh, this guy motions here, we shift here.
They motion here, boom, set hut" And there's a guy wide open for a three-yard throw, and then he runs for, you know, 25 yard, 25 more yards.
Th- that's just not gonna be available.
Maybe Tommy Rees and Stefanski can get to that, but they've shown, they haven't shown that, you know, much offense or as a creative as offense as what we've seen with Mike McDaniel.
So that's where- Oh, no.
Oh no yeah, it is.
Avert your eyes.
Right.
And that's where you look at it and you go, yeah, he's in a offense where there's not gonna be just silver pa- platter plays.
He's gonna have to stand in the pocket and make throws into tight windows and do that, and I, as you always know, have questioned his ability to do that at all, going back to college.
Keep that going.
Yeah.
Wait, keep that going.
Yeah.
I got an idea.
All right.
Keep Put that back on.
Put that back on.
I got an idea.
Ba la da da, la da da da da da da da.
Ba da da da la la.
Anyway, all right.
I can't do it very well.
Yeah, yeah.
That's what I heard once- We've, we've, we've had better at the Benny Hill song.
We've had better.
And, yeah, sorry, I tried.
What am I supposed to do?
I don't have any, I don't have any instruments here.
Well, I thought, you know- You know, it also had, like, a Three Stooges feel to it.
It was like Curly Howard running around trying to I, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Look, the guy has Hey, the guy, again, he can do this.
He can do this with his diamond earring.
He's made millions.
And when you step into the arena, you set yourself up for potential criticism.
It was jarring to me to see a guy W- what, what do we say about rookies?
Do they pass the eyeball test?
Yeah.
Here's a guy who's in his seventh season, and he's failing the eyeball test.
He's progressively getting worse.
I- His vision is getting worse every year.
I- Or ours is.
Yeah.
It's bad.
It just doesn't look like an NFL quarterback anymore.
No, I, I, I, I hear you.
He certainly wouldn't be my starting quarterback.
I, I, I know that.
The, that, that would not be what I would want my team to look like taking the field.
I, I don't mean that to be personal, just talking about- Would you even want him on your team at this point?
No.
Would you want him on your team?
Not really.
'Cause I think there's a chance they're gonna cut him.
I Pasta and meatballs, if you I think there's a chance they're gonna cut him.
Why do we, why do we want him here if he can't play?
Why- Why do we want him here?
Yeah, b- I, 'cause, they got a quarterback that's, you know, got one leg that still doesn't work, and another guy that's from, you know, Moorhead- Jack Strand State, Minnesota.
Right.
Jack Strand.
Right.
But- Minnesota State Moorhead.
Get it right.
Either one.
One of those stupid Moorheads, just like my dad.
He went to Moorhead State, one of those dumb ones, either way.
I'm just joking.
But, but yeah, this is one of the questions.
Atlanta, as we've talked about, the NFC South, I think we all agree it's pretty wide open.
I wouldn't be shocked if any of the four teams won the division.
I, you look at Atlanta and you go, you know, like one of those teams, again, that's in the middle class where you can go, man, I, I could see there's some parts of their roster here that I go, ooh, they could, you know, maybe sneak into the playoffs.
But you can also look at it another way and go, yeah, between the quarterback play, and do they have enough pass rushers to get after the quarterback with James Pierce being suspended, and that's why they're bringing in Za'Darius Smith.
You know, could, could they just be an average team?
And Jalen Walker gone.
Yeah, and Jalen Walker gone.
Right?
But yet they have an offensive line that's one of the better ones in football.
They got the, maybe the best running back in the game.
They do got Drake London and Kyle Pitts, and they got a bunch of young talent on the defensive side to where you could see they're being a pain in the ass.
But the quarterback play is going to be the big question, no question about that.
I mean, that really is.
That and the Tommy Rees offense, and do they have enough tricks there to help Tua along as he's the starter here, you know, to start the season?
I think, I think he'll be the starter.
All right.
Well, well- I didn't wanna jump the shark on the audio, but we did.
But we're gonna swing back around.
Good We got two clips from Kevin Stefanski, first-year coach of the Falcons, and two-time Coach of the Year with the Browns is the Browns.
Here's Kevin Stefanski on the status of Michael Penix Jr.
I'm not gonna get into week one.
Obv- obviously, we're I'm best served and we're best served by s- keeping it day-to-day and, and focusing on what's in front of us.
Really w- this was an important week for Mike.
First time out there with people around you.
The, the offensive line, the defensive line, and I think, going through a, a, a drill where you gotta move up in the pocket or get chased out of the pocket, whatever it is.
So, I thought a really good first step for Mike in that regard.
But, outside of this week, I don't think it's fair to, to go farther than that.
Week one is only two and a half weeks away, and the guy just got cleared now to participate in 11 on 11 drills.
It's amazing.
How is he gonna be ready- It, it's- for week one?
It's amazing.
How is that gonna happen?
It, it's amazing.
Yeah.
He's gonna have to blow them out of the water here, but again, I just think those are little inklings to go.
Tua has not grabbed the bull by the proverbial horns there to go, "No, the job's mine.
I'm taking over."
it, it, again, that's why I started off, you gotta make it make sense to me.
It doesn't make sense.
Stefanski's a smart guy.
He knows all the things you're saying and we're saying.
So, th- yeah, a- a- and he knows that anybody that's, like, reasonably following the NFL for years and years is gonna be like, "What?
Huh?
Wait, the guy that's practicing and playing m- still might not be starting with the guy that just got into drills this week?"
Th- that is crazy, to your point.
And yeah, I think that's the, about the only conclusion you can draw from it right now, is that Tua has not blown them away or done well enough for them to go, "Hey, you're the starter."
You know, I, I let the return of lit-ness test pass earlier in the show, even though we've established time and again that it's litmus test.
Didn't I say lit-ness?
I can't let this one go though.
I didn't do that one?
I didn't say it?
I- I thought I did.
Okay it sounded like lit-ness- Okay but I'm not sure.
All right.
Maybe I'm conditioned to hear lit-ness.
But, but you don't grab a bull by the proverbial horns- because a bull has literal horns.
Yeah, right.
You grab the proverbial bull by the horns.
Oh, okay.
You just gotta- Okay you got the right word.
I, I got you.
I got you.
You just gotta put it in the right spot.
I, I- Yeah I'm coachable.
You grab- You, I'll fix you.
You fix me up.
You grab the bull by the literal horns, or b- or the bull by the literal balls.
But proverbial goes before bull.
Okay.
Not- Okay after bull.
Thank you.
All right, I'll, I'll, I'll take that.
All right.
I The lit-ness one, I really thought I, I might've just misspoke, but I, I do feel like that's in my brain for lit-ness.
It, it always has.
I don't know why I've ever spit it out with the N. No.
Yeah.
Lit-ness.
Lit- lit, with an o- with a second I. Lit-ness, is how I've heard it- and I thought that's how I heard it today, but maybe, maybe I'm just hard of hearing today.
