What about these Tua haters, doubters and skeptics? | Schad

Josh Allen said this week that he's proud of Tua Tagovailoa and that the Dolphins quarterback has overcome both "adversity" and the "naysayers."

Credit to the Bills quarterback, a very nice guy, for saying something very nice about Tua, also quite a nice young fellow.

We can all agree that Tua has overcome some adversity.

1. A very serious hip injury.

2. Multiple offensive coordinators and schemes.

3. A head coach who did not believe in him.

4. An offensive line that did not adequately protect.

5. Receiving weapons - other than Jaylen Waddle - that did not create separation.

But naysayers?

Many great players, including the likes of Tom Brady and Derek Jeter, will claim to have carried a "chip on their shoulder" and to have "kept receipts" about anyone and everyone who ever wondered about if they would make it. The doubters!

(Even when Brady was heavily favored in some big games).

(And even when players like Brady and Jeter are almost universally celebrated and praised).

But, whatever works, by all means, go for it.

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Interestingly, Tua has never really claimed to either be motivated by or driven by a desire to prove others wrong. At least, he never has publicly.

It's always about trying to be the best Tua he can be.

And even Tua has said that his performance over the first two years of his career was not satisfactory. Even Tua. So if others have noted Tua's previous lack of deep-ball success and some questionable velocity as well as decision-making in the past, it's critical analysis and nothing more, really.

As the 5th overall pick in an NFL Draft, the bar has been set high for Tua. In the fourth quarter last Sunday, at Baltimore, he cleared that bar with ease. Now he must continue to execute at the high level coach Mike McDaniel and superstar receiver Tyreek Hill believe he can.

When Kurt Warner released an understandably flattering breakdown of Tua's six touchdowns recently, he dedicated it to the "haters."

Haters. Naysayers. Eh.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Sean Payton, Chris Simms, Matt Hasselbeck, Keyshawn Johnson, Mike Tannenbaum, Colin Cowherd and a number of national analysts and local Dolphins reporters have commented about Tua's concerning possible weaknesses over the first years.

But, nah, turns out they're not haters. Or even naysayers.

They're all just doing their job, which is making an informed analysis based on the information known at the time of such analysis.

Tua's personal trainer (and good friend and public advocate) Nick Hicks wondered aloud this week if I was still among the "naysayers!"

Here was my response (via @schadjoe):

"Hi Nick. One role of a sports journalist is to try to be as objective as possible, providing realistic analysis, including skepticism, of performance contrasted with expectation. That doesn’t mean the journalist opposes or hates any such player."

One of the great sports truths is that many coaches and players and teams look at anyone and everyone (including media members) as either for or against them. When, really, they're neither.

Most sports reporters would prefer that the team they cover wins. And they would prefer that the players they cover have success. It makes things more enjoyable for everyone.

But in the end, no, it's really not our role to "root" for anyone. We hung up our fandoms when we picked up our laptops. At least, that is best practice.

Hicks, the trainer, replied: "I don’t think you hate him one bit. But it would be nice if you provided some optimism here and there. So again, are you proud? Are you happy for him and the franchise? All I’m saying is, it’s ok to be wrong sometimes. And it’s even more admirable hearing someone admit that."

We all have jobs to do and clearly Hicks has done a nice job of helping Tua strengthen his entire body. Without doubt, Tua can throw a football farther since his work with Hicks.

But, no, it's really not my job to express "pride" or "happiness" for any particular player or the franchise. It's more my job description to be honest about what I see and what I think and where things have been and where I think they're headed.

Where do I think this thing is headed?

Well, as I tweeted: "I strongly pushed for Miami to draft Tua. I would love for that to be proven to be a correct opinion. Tua is better physically, mentally and emotionally in Year 3. And last week was a remarkable performance. I loved to see it. I continue to believe he’ll do well overall in 2022."

Again, all that is true.

Anyone who has actually read all of my Tweets, and, even more importantly, all of the stories and columns I've ever written about Tua would, I believe, come to the only possible conclusion that I have been fair and objective.

In the end, that's all that should matter to the journalist. Does he think he was fair? Does he have any reason to believe he wasn't?

So, yeah, I'm happy for Tua, and I find it remarkable that he led one of the great comebacks in Dolphins' history last Sunday. I wrote it. I said it. I said it again.

And if he doesn't do so well next Sunday, well, I'll feel fine about pointing that out, at well.

I continue my recovery from a retinal detachment surgery less than three weeks ago. I've been resting, and working a little bit from my home.

And I can't wait to get back to spending time around the players and coaches. Maybe in a couple of weeks. We'll see when doctors clear me. I do feed off the energy of in-person conversations with the people I cover.

And, again, I will always try to be honest, transparent, open-minded and fair in my approach.

I believe most all of the people I've gotten to know in this business will tell you they agree.

Here are some of the stories our staff has been working on recently. Drop me a note at jschad@pbpost.com or comment to and with me on Twitter @schadjoe.

Thanks for being here.

- Joe.

Joe Schad is a journalist at the Palm Beach Post part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: What about these Tua haters, doubters and skeptics? | Schad