Read the full transcript from Tua Tagovailoa's press conference on November 7, 2024.
(How do you build on a performance where you had just three incompletions?) – "We just continue to find ways. We build on the things that we did good in that game and we continue to find ways to grow. In that sense, find other ways to run maybe similar routes or how I'm sitting in the pocket and how I'm trying to read through progressions and whatnot. So I would say that's something I've been working on."
(I think it was like nine different players touched the ball on Sunday. How much of a point of emphasis was it to implement that level of balance into this offense after two years where it seemed like just the game plan was WR Tyreek Hill?) – "I would say we didn't go into the game saying, 'hey, we're going to need you to spread the ball around.' We just went into the game with the mindset that this is the call, play the call out. If this is what you see, throw it; if not, then go through your progression. That was basically it and I'm glad it worked out that way that we got to spread the ball around to different guys."
(I wanted to ask about the short pass game. I know a lot is always made about the big play with this offense, but how effective has that been for you guys and how big will that be on Monday against another really good pass rush?) – "That's been really effective these past couple weeks for us offensively, and I think what helps with that is the run game. We've been doing really well in our run game, and I think going into this week, it'll definitely help with the front that they have. They've got some good guys on the front end and in the back end and we'll see how they come out and play us and then we'll adjust from there."
(With that RB De'Von Achane has been so big in both the pass and run game. What have you seen from him and his growth and I guess versatility that he's brought?) – "I would say the same thing that we all got to witness his first year with his versatility and playing in a backfield and going out wide has shown itself evident. And then it really helps when he's in the backfield and can run routes from the backfield as well and you get the matchups that you like."
(I think it was DT Calais Campbell who said if you guys play the way you did against Buffalo, you can pretty much beat any NFL team but that the margin of error is so thin now. So where is that fine line between, dare I say, playing guarded, not wanting to make a mistake but also going all out because you've got to win the way you know how to win?) – "I think it starts in practice and how we prepare with conversations you have as a leader of the defense, as a leader of the offense, as a leader of the team. Having those conversations with the guys of what the expectation is and continuing to harp on the guys to stay in it, stay in it. We could be one game away from going on a streak and hopefully turning this whole thing around. So I would say that's sort of the process."
(Speaking of staying in it, everybody's banged up in the NFL. You were banged up a little bit. Guys have been out. What does it say about your team, about these guys – like FB Alec Ingold or WR Jaylen Waddle who are battling, LB Emmanuel Ogbah – that they want to be in this despite what the record says right now?) – "Tough guys, tough guys. You can tell that they love football. They want to be out there for their teammates. They want to be out there to be able to help our team win games and you really can't say anything negative about guys like that. They're just football guys. They want to be out there regardless of what they are going through whether they're playing at 60 percent or not; you just have nothing but respect for guys like that."
(You talk about conversations. What would you say you get from your teammates when you're having those conversations with them about this tough stretch that you're going through right now? I imagine they are tough. It's a tough moment in the season.) – "I would say a lot of guys that are on our team, they've got some experience in this league and some guys have actually gone through what we're going through now and have been able to turn it around, myself included. We all have different stories of what that looks like and the outcome of what can happen if you go on a streak. All these external things, but really regardless of the experience and things that we share and whatnot; we've got to put the product out there on the field and win games. At the end of the day, that's what matters."
(Do you believe that the success in the run game and the high completion percentage on the short-range passes will at some point open up some of the more explosive 25-plus-yard opportunities?) – "I would say with the plays that have been given, we just run whatever is called. If Mike (McDaniel) calls for a shot play and we check it down, that's just what the play entails for us to do. So it's not like we haven't been trying to stretch the ball down the field. That's just what the defenses have been showing us and then there are some things on film that look like, 'man, I could've hit this person,' but sometimes it's not within our progression with what we talked about with how we would read it."
(You mentioned postgame in Buffalo about your dive forward for the first down and not to make a big deal out of every time you scramble and protect yourself, but you successfully slid the week before but – a different way to protect yourself, similar play to the one you got hurt on where you dived to the ground though instead…) – "Just knowing the situation of the game, knowing the time that if we didn't get that first down, that could potentially be the game if Buffalo played their cards right with the plays and allowed us to use all our timeouts and whatnot. So to me it was important – obviously wouldn't have wanted to try to run somebody over or try to do that to get a first down, so as you can see I sort of, as I'm scrambling to the right, I'm looking at the sticks so that I know where to dive. So that's sort of what ended up happening on that play and luckily we got it."
(With WR Tyreek Hill I think he's on pace for either a career low or just lowest yards since his rookie year. Feels like the first time we haven't been talking about the 2k race, but when we talked to Head Coach Mike McDaniel and Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith and Pass Game Specialist/Wide Receivers Wes Welker, they say he's doing XYZ well, he's doing this, this. From your perspective, what does a guy like Tyreek do? Like how does he positively impact the game even when he's not getting these 180-yard, three-touchdown games we've seen in the past?) – "I think what's so cool is you turn that film on, you get to watch what him and '17' (Jaylen Waddle) do with the blocking game or with the run game and how they do blocking. They allow our runners some pretty big holes outside of the o-linemen, but those guys are getting to the second level quick and I really think that it translates to the way that they play in the pass game as well and that was something that we've been trying to find for those guys and there were also some things where if '10' (Tyreek Hill) was out, '17' was in. The DC (defensive coordinator) could play the chances of it being more run than pass and vice versa. If 'Reek' (Tyreek Hill) is in, okay, maybe it's more pass than it is run. But those guys staying in the game, staying in the run, staying in the passes; it forces the DC to, 'okay, I'm going to play my cards here and just stay in a two-shell and if these guys want to go 15-play drives to go score, we'll be fine with that.' So it's sort of pick your poison."
(How much is different in terms of the two-shell that you're seeing now? Because I mean, I would think that WR Tyreek Hill has been double covered his whole life, but why does it look so different now?) – "I would say because it's variations of two-high coverages with what guys want to do into the boundary or if 'Reek' is into the boundary, what they want to do to 'Reek' versus what they do to (Jaylen) Waddle. And then back side looks, some teams play two-man while they're playing zone on the front. So it's just different ways they try to get to their two-high against us."
(Kind of following up on the blocking, what you're saying about them blocking, was there any moment over the past three years and maybe even this year, any specific block that you remember where you're like, "oh damn, he's pretty efficient at this" for somebody who's 5'9, 5'10, like he can actually get this done?) – "I think it was throughout the five-week stretch that I was out that I've heard conversations with '10' (Tyreek Hill) and '17' (Jaylen Waddle) talking about like a mindset that like, okay, if we can't get the ball down the field or if we're not getting the ball, how can we help the team with what we have right now? And so I would say it was more so of a mindset that when we came back or when I came back for the Cardinals game that it just felt different with those guys. They were in more, the efficiency went up with the run game. The efficiency went up with the passing game as well and it's due to everyone, but those guys definitely played a big role in that."
(With the offensive line, obviously they had a lot of criticism coming into the season. What kind of growth have you seen from that unit as a whole?) – "I would say those guys have never blinked and never really wavered from what they said they wanted to do this season. Obviously it's different when your quarterback goes out, hearing cadences, hearing different guys in the huddle. Things can get a little dicey especially in loud environments so it's, 'wait, did I hear this run or did I hear that run?' Like all right, communication, 'oh, the snap is going.' So I would say they haven't wavered. They've been in their playbook. They've been doing their thing and I'm super excited for them. I think they've done a great job up to this point and they're only going to get better."
