Tua Tagovailoa is now showing us why Tank for Tua became the rage leading up to the 2020 draft, as he begins to mount an MVP campaign with what could be the modern-day Greatest Show on Turf, 24 years after Kurt Warner’s Super Bowl XXXIV champion Rams.
“I think it’s just a different style,” Warner, an elite NFL Network analyst these days, told Serby Says. “We were so much more push-the-ball-down-the-field, chunk plays, that was kind of how our offense was built. But we were very much based on timing, and rhythm.
“We obviously had tremendous talent, and my skill set matched the skill set of my skill guys. We were very creative with how we did things offensively. Even though the nature of how we throw the football is a little different, I think those similarities are very much there.
“[Dolphins head coach] Mike McDaniel does a great job of being creative with how he uses his skill players, and getting them set up to play to their strengths. Tua, his anticipation, his accuracy, very much similar to mine. And they’re kind of aggressive nature to throw the football, and even though they throw it in a different way, they’re very explosive just like we were very explosive. They were built on big plays and chunk plays just like we were, it was just we probably threw the ball down the field more than they did.”
Warner, during his Greatest Show on Turf days, was throwing to receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, and running back Marshall Faulk. Tagovailoa is throwing to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Tagovailoa has so many speed demons that his attack often resembles a video game.
“I appreciate what Tua’s doing maybe more than most … the ability to throw guys open, the ability to see spacing and understand movement of defenders and how that means somebody’s going to be open,” Warner said. “No hesitation in the pocket. Getting the ball out quick, those are things that I know if I did really well that I really appreciate, and I think it’s hard to appreciate unless you understand what that takes to do that. And then I think I always appreciate good, creative play-calling and play design, and how that’s setting guys up with a little nuance that plays into that.”
Bill Belichick’s Patriots strained to limit Hill to five catches, 40 yards and a touchdown last week. Warner said he understands Hill is much more than a Cheetah receiver.
“It’s easy to appreciate the physical skill,” he said. “It’s easy to appreciate that he’s just fast, faster than everybody else. But there’s so much more to his game that I appreciate, and the biggest thing I think of is his feel for the game, things that they do within the offense, and the freedom that they allow him to be able to feel openings, and settle in openings and the way him and Tua work that together.
“It’s kind of ironic, I suppose, that the two guys in the league that I think do that better than anybody are [the Chiefs’] Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. And just that feel and the nature of, ‘I know what he’s going to do and I know what he’s capable of and I’m gonna work to these open spaces that another guy might not work to just because I understand so well.’ It’s really, really fun and special to watch.”
Then there’s Waddle, recovering this week in concussion protocol.
“That speed on both edges makes ’em really, really tough,” Warner said. “He’s really good over the middle, which is how Miami wants to play. They want to throw the ball inside. But he’s got the speed then to be able to make big plays. I don’t think he quite has the feel that Tyreek does. Together, they’re a big play waiting to happen. I think they complement each other really well.”
out of nowhere to win with the Rams in 1999.
A lot has been made of Tagovailoa’s struggles throwing the deep ball, when in fact it is hardly a terrible thing orchestrating an offense like a left-handed Kurt Warner.
“First of all, I’m a guy that didn’t have this cannon arm, and so I think you come to appreciate the idea that if you play the game on time, you don’t have to have a big arm,” Warner said. “And in most cases, you don’t. You don’t need it or you don’t really want it. I don’t want to have to throw the ball 70 yards. I don’t think I ever threw a ball 70 yards in a game. I want to throw the ball 50-55 maximum. Because the shorter I throw it, the more accurate I’m going to be with the football. The more on time, that means I am with my routes. But here’s the thing: I always felt like when I played, I could throw the ball 0-40 [mph] with the velocity and firmness that I needed to make those throws. And that’s where 95 percent of the game is played.
“When I watch Tua, I believe he plays the same way. Tua can throw it far enough. It’s just about the ability to get kind of the power and the firmness on the ball, and he’ll have some that kind of hang up on him with some of those deeper ones. But I believe with all of the stuff that they normally do and that most teams normally do, the 0-40 stuff, he’s really good with, and he’s firm and he gets the ball out accurately and he doesn’t have to throw it hard, because he’s on time. The only thing that he struggles on every once in a while is the deep ball, but you can look around the league and a lot of guys were late and short on deep balls. And so you just have to be conscious of that when you’re a guy I’ll say like us, like me.”
Warner had tons of fun playing for offensive coordinator Mike Martz and head coach Dick Vermeil, just as Tagovailoa is while playing for McDaniel.
“You can give us all the same play, and we can’t all run it the same,” Warner said. “We don’t all feel that play the same way. Some will love it, some will be like, ‘I hate it’, some will be kind of in-between. The key to playing quarterback to me is finding a system that’s built around you where the plays are designed, for the most part, to play to how you see the game, and what you do well. We were empty, we would get the ball out of our hand, we would process information quick, we were built on timing. Let Kurt be able to anticipate and throw to windows and you guys run into those windows — that’s what they do in Miami.
“Any time you can be with a creative coach that pushes the envelope that gives you more opportunities. To me, I didn’t want to be bored, I didn’t want to run the same plays over and over again, or at least not the exact same way. I wanted to be creative with how we did things and changed things up. And it challenged me, but that’s what made it fun. Can I execute this?
to with the Greatest Show on Turf Rams that won Super Bowl
XXXIV vs. the Titans.
“When I was with Mike Martz, we would have 220 pass plays a week. We couldn’t even practice all of our pass plays. And we’d call plays in games that we never practiced. That was exciting to me, because it was, ‘Kurt, you have to be able to see this, understand it and process it even though you don’t get reps at it.’ ”
Warner couldn’t wait to show up for work.
“What are we going to do this week? What are we gonna call in the game? What can we do that nobody else can do because of the skill set of our players?’ And then to have a coach that creatively can tap into that,” he said.
“I think that’s what Kansas City does with Andy Reid because they have Patrick Mahomes, and I see a lot of those elements in Miami now ’cause they have those skill players and they have a guy like Tua that does certain things that most guys in the league can’t do.”
Warner’s Rams would spread the field and he would take a seven-step drop and fire 25-yard dig route completions.
Kurt Warner was able to nearly lead the Cardinals to their first
Super Bowl win.
“We just said, if you can cover everybody, God bless you, but I bet you can’t,’ ” Martz said once. And they couldn’t.
Warner provided a snapshot analysis of other quarterbacks around the league:
Zach Wilson: “I just don’t think Zach’s ready. I just think he’s a young quarterback that hasn’t played a lot, that has a great skill set. I want to see a quarterback drop back, and I want to see his head in certain spots knowing where he’s looking, knowing what he’s focused on, the slowness from going from one read to the next read and not my head bouncing around or not me just trying to find a receiver and throwing it really hard. It’s identifying what I need to identify, and processing that information and working through it, and I don’t think Zach is there. I think Zach is playing the game, the game’s fast, he’s going back and he’s trying to find somebody open as opposed to understanding why somebody’s going to be open, and who can tell me that from a defensive perspective so we can slow the game down and play? I just think he’s a baby in terms of playing quarterback and having experience, and he’s got a long way to go.”
Justin Fields: “The beautiful thing is that he’s had some success while he’s learning how to play the quarterback position. But I just don’t think he sees it very well right now. It’s worrisome to me when I watch him play ’cause I don’t know if he knows what he’s looking at. He’s holding the football when plays seem to be right out there in front of him, that really if you understood what you were seeing, or you’re processing it fast enough, the ball would be out of his hands a lot quicker than it is. … He’s played a lot of football, and it doesn’t seem to be getting better. … And then I think you can couple that with he’s got some technical issues throwing the football as well that he just misses too many throws. It’s gonna be tough to play the position consistently when you struggle to see it first, and then even when you do see it, you struggle to make the layups over and over again. And let me just say this, too: They’ve got a mess of a situation going on around him.”
Mac Jones: “I kind of want to see him settle in again before I can really determine what he is fully as a quarterback, but I like Mac. I think Mac, without a doubt, can be a starter in this league for a long time.”
Baker Mayfield: “I like Baker for what Baker is. But if you can put him in a system where you can run the ball, you can play-action, you can get him in space and allow him to be a big playmaker down the field, and then manage him as a drop-back passer, I think he’s a good quarterback. I definitely think he’s a starting quarterback in this league, because he has the moxie, he has the ability to win games, he has the ability to make plays. I just think you have to keep him in his wheelhouse. He’s just a guy that you have to build around as opposed to build through.”
Sam Howell: “I think he’s got a little moxie to him, which I like. I still think he’s getting comfortable with the big picture and what to see and timing-type stuff which I think will come. But I think he’s got a good feel for the game, I think he sees the game pretty well for a young guy that hasn’t played. It excites me to see what he can become.”
Desmond Ridder: “I don’t think at this point he sees it great. I’m not also sold on Atlanta’s pass game, they’re so much built on the run game that I’m not sold on the scheming of the pass game, which can make it harder on a quarterback. I don’t see a quarterback there that’s comfortable in the pass game yet, that can get from his first read to his second read on time, understanding what he’s seeing with the defense, getting the ball out consistently and accurately on time. Can do some things, without question, but just not sold that he’s there to be that starting quarterback and that you can count on to win games with your right arm quite yet.”
Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson: “None of ’em have made me say, ‘This guy’s gonna be a superstar.’ If Anthony Richardson can get more consistency technique-wise throwing the football, he’s the one guy that kind of stands out like, ‘OK, this guy could be a superstar.’ Doesn’t mean the other guys won’t. The other guys have been nice players and have done some good things these first couple of weeks. The returns have been good early on to go, ‘OK, we’re trending in the right direction,’ that it doesn’t look like any of these guys can’t play at this level.”
