Joe’s Average Takes is a new weekly column where I will go through some of the opinions thrown out by the mainstream media or on Twitter. Are these takes enlightened or just average? I’ll go through that on each edition of Joe’s Average Takes. (Yes there is some irony with Joe’s average take calling out other average takes)
Stephen A. Smith was talking about Tua Tagovailoa’s MVP chances on First Take this week. He mentioned that Tua isn’t throwing the ball “18 or 19 yards downfield”, but rather he is just dumping it off for two yards and his receivers (Tyreek Hill) in this instance is doing all the work.
The funny thing about this take is that ESPN is rolling highlights of Tua connecting with receivers down the field for completions in the background of Stephen A. Smith. So the anecdotal evidence already starts out in favor of Tua, not Smith.
Now, here is a look at the stats. Tagovailoa has passed for 1,876 yards, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions on 71.1 percent completion on the season. The stat that really matters to combat Stephen A.’s argument is that he is averaging 9.5 yards per passing attempt. That leads the league. Now, sometimes those numbers can be boosted by receivers taking the ball and running after the catch, but for such a good number, typically quarterbacks have to push the ball downfield.
He’s third in the league with 25 plays that have exceeded 20 passing yards. Tua is first in the league with six plays over 40 yards.
Stephen A. mentioned Tyreek Hill, so using the touchdowns he has scored can show that Tua does much more than throw just two yard passes.
This was Tyreek’s first touchdown of the season, which came against the Chargers in week 1. Tua placed a nice pass deep for this 35-yard touchdown.
This was Tua’s second touchdown pass to Hill, which ended up winning the game. While the ball was on the four yard line, this wasn’t a play where Hill had to do anything after the catch. Tua puts a pass right past the defender and in Tyreek’s hands for the touchdown.
In week 2, Tua did have a two yard touchdown pass to Tyreek. But it still took accuracy by Tua and required little to no after the catch running by Hill.
In week 3, Miami played the Broncos. Hill opened up the scoring with a 54-yard touchdown, which did actually require some running after the catch. The throw from Tua was still 20-30 yards downfield, so it’s not like Hill had to do all the work, like implied by Smith.
While he didn’t score against Buffalo, Hill got back in the scoring column with a 69-yard touchdown pass from Tua. This was a long throw down the field that Tua dropped in the bucket.
In week 6, Hill scored his sixth touchdown of the season. Tua again put a nice pass to him downfield. Hill only had to run after the catch a little bit to reach the end zone.
So if Stephen A. Smith wants to argue that Tyreek Hill deserves the MVP over Tua, that is an ok take. I prefer Tua, but understand it is still early and Hill has a great case as well. But making a case for Hill in a way that makes it look like Tua is just dumping off two-yard passes is disengenous. Hell, even watching a highlight reel of the Dolphins’ season could’ve proved that.
Verdict: Average Fan Take
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