Read the full transcript from Tua Tagovailoa's press conference on November 13, 2024.
Q: I had a question about the completion to WR Odell Beckham Jr. to get that final first down on that last drive before the WR Malik Washington play. I noticed that T Terron Armstead like did a jump set on Jared Verse and he took the inside angle and then you immediately flushed out. I was curious if that's a conversation that you and Terron have about how he might do his pass set or does that kind of happen on the fly where you just read in real time?
"That sort of just happened on the fly, just reading it real time. That was one of the 'got to have it' situations. We sort of had in our mind what they were going to bring out defensively. They showed something different. That was our 'got to have it' play and just got to extend it for the first down."
Q: Opponents taking WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle, is that something you just see more and more concerted efforts now and can you just explain how you combat that?
"I would say a lot of teams are turning to a lot of two-high shell but then they're trying to play variations of that two-high shell deal. I would also say that it's also, for some of the teams that we've played, going out of what they normally would run scheme-wise and what they've shown throughout the season has been different against us. But it is what it is. You've just got to read the play out and whoever's open within that progression, you've just got to give it to them."
Q: This past game you guys didn't run the ball as well as you had the previous several games. Can you explain the difference just what you see when the team is running the ball as opposed to not as much?
"I would say not having everyone in there – I think Alec Ingold is definitely a big piece to that puzzle with our run game – but sometimes that's what the games ask. That's how they're going to defend the run. That's how they're going to stop it and if we can't run as well, then we're dependent on our pass game with short pass game to be essentially our run game now, and if we can sort of maneuver through those short passes to intermediate and take our shots when we get them, hopefully that can end up opening the run game. So we're continuing to work through that."
Q: The tackle attempt has made a lot of discourse this week. What did you see when you watched it on tape?
"I would say it didn't feel as bad as what it probably looked like, may have looked like. When we watched it, our coach had said that 'he sort of kneed you in the head.' Essentially you're out there playing football; I didn't necessarily feel that and I wasn't just going to jump out of the way for him to just run down the sideline and potentially score. So you've got to make decisions and I should have never threw the pick in the first place so that's it."
Q: But if you're in that position again what would you do differently?
"I wouldn't do anything differently. I'll make the tackle, that's what I've got to do. It is what it is. It's hard to score in this league."
Q: Do you think maybe different form, do you have to keep your head up and out of the picture there?
"You want me to shoulder punch next time? (laughter) I don't know, maybe could do some things differently with tackling, but I'm not looking to be making tackles like that a lot of times within games."
Q: Seriously even going back to training camp, do you guys even spend any time tackling as a quarterback?
"No."
Q: I didn't think so.
"I don't know what teams spend time using their quarterbacks to tackle so I would say that would be news to me if they did."
Q: I had a fashion question. You were wearing like a ski cap hood? What's the reasoning behind that?
"Jalen Ramsey gave me one of those and just threw it on."
Q: The win on Monday obviously keeps a lot of things on the table in terms of your guys' goals this year. Was there ever a sense of desperation in the building or was it – I asked this question to Head Coach Mike McDaniel and he characterized it just more urgency after each win?
"Yeah, for sure. That's exactly what I would say. Definitely the urgency of trying to find that win. You can tell that guys really want to win. Guys are in the building a little longer meeting with each other, meeting with their coaches and when we're able to go on the road these past two weeks and sort of play the way we've played and sort of found something there; although there's always things we can clean up, I think it's continued. It's still a good step in the right direction. We're not where we want to be, but winning definitely helps things when you're in the building."
Q: The next two teams have a combined I believe like five wins. What's the process of not overlooking your opponent?
"It's the NFL, anything can happen. It doesn't matter what their record is. They're a good team, they're professionals. Those guys on the other side of the ball get paid as well. They've got really good coaches so you've got to continue the same process that you've been doing as if it were Week 1, try to find any way that you can to out-leverage the opponent in any way and go find a win."
Q: What do you think as OL Austin Jackson will now be out for the year playing the position that protects your blind side?
"Man, I would – I've even told Austin (Jackson) – prayers to him and I appreciate him doing everything he can to keep me upright as much as possible. But Kendall Lamm, I mean Kendall Lamm has played in this league for a long time. He's probably one of the greatest pros that I've ever been around with how he takes his position work, just everything – how he is on the field, how he is off the field, how he goes about his business. Just a tremendous amount of respect for him so I'm glad that we got someone like being able to protect for him although Austin is out."
Q: What was the level of confidence and chemistry with WR Odell Beckham Jr. now? We don't notice unless he has catches, he's probably been doing his job, but is it more comfortable, are you catching him quicker now? He's more dependable than you thought or what is that relationship right now?
"It's been good, and Odell (Beckham Jr.) has continued to get reps after reps after reps after reps in practice when guys would go down, and that's not essentially the rep that he should be working at X or Z or F. He'd essentially just take the rep just so that he could continue to see how the ball is coming out, where the spots are that he needs to be on the field and then also within the timing of the play."
Q: Did it take a little while to develop?
"I would say it's just like anything else. You've got to continue to practice it, you've got to continue to work it in order for you to get better at that."
Q: I don't know if you saw DeShon Elliott's comments, but he called last year's team "soft AF" – what do you think when you hear a former teammate speak in those terms?
"I would say every man speaks for themselves. For him, I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. I'd been able to have a lot of conversations with him last year, but that's it. Every man has their own voice. They should be able to speak what they feel, and if that's how he feels, cool. That's how he feels."
Q: When we were speaking with Head Coach Mike McDaniel earlier, he made a mention of how having Maxx Crosby across the line would affect you on Sunday. Just your thoughts on going against him and how much it might accelerate the time clock in your head?
"Tremendous player, tremendous player. I don't think there's anyone in here that (would) say anything bad about Maxx – dude's got a motor. He's in basically every play. You look back at the game last year and same thing, and it was sort of late in the season so I've got a tremendous amount of respect. We've definitely got to keep aware of where he is on the field, but as far as timing wise and how I'm looking at their defense, just play within the timing of the offense."
Q: Do they move him around a lot or is he usually the same spot?
"They move him around. They move him around. I guess it's just dependent on the the game plan is that week, but they move him around."
Q: There's stats about your stats the rest of the game after an interception and it's really good, ranked really high across the NFL. I'm curious what's your process after throwing an interception. Is it different than any other drive?
"Not necessarily. It really is sort of like the Seakeeper mindset is what we have in our quarterback room. So if anyone in here has a boat or anyone knows much about boats, boats that don't have Seakeepers and there's waves, the boat will start to rock. You turn the Seakeeper on while there's waves, the boat kind of – there's like a gyroscope thing in there that sort of counters the weight of the waves and how the boat is moving. So that's essentially what we sort of have. It's like turn the Seakeeper on; that play is over, just move on to the next play and just continue playing."
Q: Two of the last three games you guys have come out of the locker room at halftime and gotten a touchdown. Is there scripting that goes on the first series of a game coming out of the locker room and why you guys have had success?
"I would say just adjustments to what the defense is showing us and how they want to play against our guys with 'Reek' (Tyreek Hill) and (Jaylen) Waddle on the outsides – how they're playing our run game as well. That's basically how we sort of come out with that."
Q: Can you explain kind of the split-second decision making that goes on within a game? Whether it's the deciding to take off and run for the first down, or like we say the other day, going and making a tackle. I know Head Coach Mike McDaniel said in the moment, you didn't obviously know that you were giving yourself up or being vulnerable in that moment, but what is that process?
"I would say it's just going out there and being a football player. Not thinking of anything else, not thinking of the repercussions that could happen – somebody's going to hit me, or they won't hit me. I would say it's just sort of too hard to be thinking of protect myself here when I'm trying to make a play and things like that. But yeah, just going out there and playing football."
Q: As a player, is there any way to – I know they're kind of inherent, the nature of instincts – but as a player, is there any way to prepare for a situation where you're going to have to, maybe your instincts come into play, and you've got to battle against them during a game?
"I think it goes back to the same way I answered that question, it's just being a football player. Instinctually, as you've grown up playing football, if you played football at a young age, you revert back to what you know, but then it's also the happy medium between that. You just can't be thinking of anything else when you're going out there and playing; the game is too fast and it's too hard to be thinking of anything else."
Q: It's only human nature to look forward and for everybody on the outside trying to find ways of you guys making it to the playoffs. What's the process for you to stay within this week and if that's something that you've developed throughout your career or it's just easy for you?
"I think that's something that, like anything else, you've got to continue to work. You've got to work your mind; you've got to work anything you want to get good at. So for us, I wouldn't even say looking that far, but it's this next game and what our process has been for other games, that's sort of the same process that we've got to take. That's the same approach that we've got to take into this week – get in our gameplan, get in our book, hope we can get things dialed enough to where we can find ourselves a win this Sunday and then we'll move on from there."
Q: Big plays have been kind of hard to come by in this offense, you hit two on Monday. How cool was it for you to be involved in those two but then also, do you think that hopefully will be contagious throughout the season?
"Yeah, definitely tough – well tougher this year within our offense because of the two-high shell that we're getting with defenses. But when we get them and when we get those opportunities, we want to make the best out of them. We know those opportunities don't come by as much, so any time we're given a shot to throw the ball down the field or even if it's not that, check it down to one of our guys to go make a play for us, that's what we got to do."
