Dolphins: We know Tua Tagovailoa can throw down the field

If Tua Tagovailoa develops into an elite, upper-echelon pro quarterback, it seems clear his super powers are going to need to be accuracy, touch and quick decision-making.

But he's also going to have to hit at least the occasional deep ball.

"We know he can throw the ball down the field," Dolphins coach Brian Flores said this week, after Miami won its third consecutive game.

Tagovailoa completed a 65-yard touchdown pass, which carried about 50 yards in the air, to Mack Hollins in a road defeat of the Jets on Sunday.

That's the good news.

The not-so-good news is it was Tua's first touchdown pass beyond 20 yards this season.

By comparison, and everyone loves comparisons, Joe Burrow has 11 touchdown passes of 20+ yards this season and Justin Herbert has six.

"I was happy for (Tua) but at the end of the day, you don’t want to force a deep ball that’s not there to try to give people something to write about or people to be happy about," Miami tight end Mike Gesicki said this week. "You’ve got to play within the game plan and play within what the defense gives you."

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In general, Tagovailoa has 18 completions that resulted in a gain of 20 or more yards (he could use more yards-after-catch help).

Burrow has 34. Herbert has 33.

There are many reasons why Miami's game plan with Tua has been focused almost exclusively on short passing, with some mid-range attempts. After all, the quick-passing, run-pass option was always intended to be a core element of Miami's offense.

But it is also true that opposing players seem to be under the belief that Tua is not capable of consistently completing a deep ball.

"Just sometimes Tua Tagovailoa threw up some prayers and sometimes you know prayers are answered, so that is just kind of how it goes," Jets defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers said after Sunday's game.

A diss, for sure. And probably not fair as it relates to the touchdown pass to Hollins. Tua went through a progression, noticed a Jets coverage bust and heaved it far enough for Hollins to complete the long score.

It wasn't really a "prayer."

“‘I told you,’" Hollins said to Tua, as they celebrated the score.

"That’s something we’ve talked about for a little while," Hollins said in a post-game news conference. "‘Hey, it’s there.’ The opportunity just finally hit, which is great. It’s great when things finally play out."

One reason Miami's offense has not been focused on long pass attempts is that the teams' offensive line has struggled as badly as any in the NFL.

Among NFL quarterbacks, Tua and the Dolphins rank 35th in time to throw, according to NFL Next Gen stats. It's hard for receivers to get open downfield, and find them, and complete a pass, with little time.

"It’s all about the opportunity to do so in a game," Flores said of the deep passing play. "We try to create those opportunities with our play design and play calling. I think there’s a timing element to it.

"You can get the exact look you’re looking for, get the matchup you’re looking for and get an opportunity to push it down the field, get the protection you need to get it down the field. There’s a lot of things that play into that."

The Dolphins have also had long-term injuries to their best deep threat, Will Fuller, and another top receiver, DeVante Parker. And, yes, Tua, whose durability is still in question, has been injured, too.

It's impossible to suggest that broken ribs and a broken finger on Tua's throwing hand have not inhibited his decision-making, aggressiveness or success rate.

"You'd have to talk to him about that," Dolphins co-offensive coordinator Eric Studesville said. "I'd be speaking out of place about how that works. But Tua is a competitive person. He comes in here and works his tail off to do everything he needs to do to get ready for games. And he's out there when we need him."

Tagovailoa has at least six more games to show the Dolphins he can make the kind of "big-time" throws required of a franchise quarterback.

Pro Football Focus actually has a metric called "big-time throws" in which certain markers are required to be hit to qualify.

According to PFF, Tua has three such throws this season. By comparison, Burrow is credited with 14 and Herbert 10.

On passes with a targeted depth of 20 yards or more, Tagovailoa's ranks, according to PFF, are: attempts (33rd), completions (23rd), yards (22nd), touchdowns (31st), average depth of target (29th) and passer rating (9th).

That last statistic is cause for some optimism.

What if it's not just about Tua's arm strength? What if it's not just about Tua's health?

What if there are many factors, some of which can very well improve or be tweaked over the remainder of this season and in future seasons?

Perhaps Tagovailoa and the Dolphins can build on the long touchdown pass to Hollins last Sunday. It was no "prayer," and it counts on the scoreboard.

"It was a great play by Tua, being able to locate Mack down the field," Studesville said. "And throw the ball and complete it. We're always looking for those explosive plays when we can get it. We were able to locate that one."

Sunday's game

Panthers at Dolphins

1 p.m., Fox

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tua Tagovailoa's deep passing has been lacking for Miami Dolphins