Dave Hyde: A Dolphins moment unlike any other — Tua Day has arrived

There’s no need to sell this moment. No need to hype it with superlative-laced sentences. Sunday’s debut of Tua Tagovailoa is simply the biggest on-field moment for a Dolphins player in nearly 40 years.

That’s right.

I’ll pause here and let you consider that.

And, again, that’s written with the understanding there’s absolutely no need to inflate this moment — and it is the moment rather than the game. The Dolphins can lose the game. The game, by itself, has no more consequence than next week or the week after.

The moment has a rare spotlight, though. Sometimes such moments arrive in sports without any advance warning or involved history. This does with both ladled in such deep proportions it’s tough to cover them all.

Start here: The Dolphins sacrificed a full season for this moment. They hope they’ve found the quarterback they’ve searched for over the past 20 years covering 21 quarterbacks, seven coaching staffs, two owners — and one forlorn playoff win.

When was the last time a day involved such extended pain and forever planning?

Never is when.

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s first start wasn’t like this — he was considered a project. He wasn’t a college rock star like Tua. The only comparable is back in 1983, back when Dan Marino made his first start six games into the season.

Marino’s first pass that day was an interception. He fumbled twice in a first half that was so bad Orange Bowl fans chanted for the quarterback he replaced: “We want Woodley.” What, you thought it was all blue skies and perfect touchdowns for Marino from the first start?

The Dolphins lost the game, too. But coach Don Shula was smiling. He saw what he wanted. In the second half of a 38-35 overtime loss to Buffalo, Marino threw three touchdowns and put on an electric show that didn’t end for 17 years.

You’d take that loss again Sunday.

You’d love that moment.

There’s a lot swirling in the pregame air, including the clumsy manner this start was announced. That gets into if Tagovailoa was prepped properly in recent weeks. Since we’re doing comparables, Shula told Marino to act like a starter from the moment he was drafted. He had Marino call plays that training camp to accelerate his learning. He played him through the preseason and in two full halves of the regular season before starting him.

Tagovailoa seems to have none of that advance work. Much of that was COVID-19 cutting preseason. Part was the Dolphins holding him to a five-play cameo in mop-up time against the Jets as his only advance work. He practiced on the scout team. The only special work the Dolphins have divulged is coach Brian Flores examining video with him each Tuesday to emphasize what defenses are thinking.

Was starting Tua in the bye week the plan all along? Did rookies Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert playing so well accelerate the Dolphins’ process with Tagovailoa? The Dolphins say no. They just say it’s time. Herbert, especially, is linked to Tua. The Dolphins took Tua with the fifth pick; the Los Angeles Chargers took Herbert with the sixth pick.

The Dolphins liked Tagovailoa’s Type A personality. They’re right about that, too. It’s fun. It’s feels infectious. If Tagovailoa has an opening stretch like Herbert — 12 touchdowns against three interceptions, 108.1 rating — the Tua Train will be in high gear.

“He understands that it’s not Tua against the Rams,” Flores said. “It’s the Dolphins against the Rams. He’s a team guy and I think his teammates are supportive of him. That’s kind of the approach we’ve all taken. I think he’s taken that approach also.”

Yes, that’s what the coaches say, what they have to say. It matters, too. Marino stepped into a team just off the Super Bowl in 1983. Tannehill stepped into a team with holes across the roster in 2012. You don’t need a lecture on the difference.

This day is still all about Tua. The curtain goes up on his Dolphins time. The game matters in that context. The moment, one of offered hope, needs no overselling.

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