A couple of days ago, NBC Sports analyst Denny Carter published a controversial opinion piece on why the Miami Dolphins shouldn’t extend star QB Tua Tagovailoa‘s contract. Carter’s report was certainly controversial as his argument comes right after Tua undeniably enjoyed his best season in Miami. After all, scoring 29 touchdowns and passing for a whopping 4,624 yards in an NFL season is no mean feat.
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The NBC analyst opined that instead of spending a truckload of money on Tua’s extension, the Dolphins should rather look for a cheaper alternative in the draft / free agency and then spend the remaining in bolstering their defense. Carter backed Tua’s dropping by highlighting his one-dimensional ability to execute middle-of-field (MOF) passes.
The entire opinion piece wasn’t taken in good spirits by the Fins Nation. After all, for many, Tua Tagovailoa was their architect-in-chief to reach the playoffs. Naturally, Carter faced a lot of flak online for his bold stance from Tua’s fans. Surprisingly, the analyst in the latest edition of NBC’s Rotoworld Football Show didn’t hold back punches while hitting back at the critics.
The analyst first acknowledged that a few Dolphins fans initially concurred with his take. But later, in his own words, “the insecure Dolphins fans found [it] — and they are having a full-blown temper tantrum on the internet about it.”
He then went on a rant about how most of Tua’s fans are the biggest “crybaby losers”. He opined that his statement hurt those Dolphins’ fans because, deep inside, they knew it was the truth. As per Carter, all they are doing with the hate is projecting their insecurities about the QB on him.
“I think that tells you everything you need to know about Tua is the fact that his biggest supporters are the biggest crybaby losers online,” Denny Carter said. “No, it’s true. Like they are so deeply insecure about their guy because they know deep down (he is not worth the extension)”
While hitting back at the fans like this might have been a bit extreme, one can understand where Carter is coming from. His bold stance was purely backed by statistics after all.
Why Does Denny Carter Want Miami Dolphins To Not Extend With Tua Tagovailoa?
One of the compelling arguments Denny makes in his piece is the importance of the hyper-offensive and focused attacking system built by Coach McDaniel. Just like Brock Purdy being accused of being a Shanahan system player incapable of magic on his own, Denny also makes a similar point, albeit highlighting the difference between the two. Carter argues that Tua ranks highly on the passing list because his system demands that he make more middle-of-the-field passes than the traditional downfield corner passes.
The analyst argued that this relentless attack of the opposition defense in the “short and intermediate middle parts of the field” has made many non-elite quarterbacks look good. He backed this up with statistics proving that Tua outside the structured plays struggles massively when he comes under pressure. According to Fantasy Points Data, Tua was 28th in yards per attempt under pressure and ranked 39th in adjusted pressure, with only Mac Jones and Will Lewis worse than him. Data also showed that Tagovailoa was 18th out of 25 qualifying QBs in YPA on throws outside the pocket.
After quoting these stats, Denny backed his argument of Tua Tagovailoa not being an elite QB by likening him to Jimmy Garoppolo. Carter reminisced about Jimmy’s struggles under pressure and moments of flat-footedness when Shanahan’s plays were found out. Despite this, Garoppolo enjoyed a stellar career because the system carried him.
To sum it up, Carter believes that teams that use the MOF passing system don’t need to spend money on QBs because they do not need an elite player in that position to execute it. Hence, the NBC analyst believes that the Dolphins shouldn’t pay a monster contract extension to Tua and instead use it to get a promising rookie and bolster their defense. Do you agree with his take? Let us know in the comments.
